Primarily a collection of news links about all 11 Horizon League teams on a daily basis, culled from online newspapers, school athletic websites, the conference website, and school newspapers, plus some other content from time to time.
Nationally ranked point guard Trey Burke III, who looked at Butler before committing to Penn State, has re-opened the process, his father told the Patriot-News of central Pennsylvania.
"Butler just e-mailed me and said they would love to get him back down there," his father, Alfonso "Benji" Burke, told the newspaper.
Burke is a 6-1 senior-to-be at Columbus (Ohio) Northland High School. He is ranked No. 117 by Rivals.com. Cincinnati, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, Arizona and Wake Forest also are interested.
Detroit: G Ray McCallum. As with Zeigler, McCallum is a touted recruit who decided to stay home and play for his dad at a mid-major school. McCallum is a four-star recruit from Detroit Country Day who is the No. 43 player in the class nationally. Ray Sr. was an accomplished college point guard at Ball State, and the younger McCallum has a chance to do the same with the Titans. He is the most touted player to sign with a Horizon League school in a long time, maybe ever, as he was higher-ranked coming out of high school than former Butler star Gordon Hayward. His presence should boost Detroit's offense and put them in the mix for a second-place finish in the league behind Butler.
Park Tudor point guard Yogi Ferrell is playing "up" by a year this spring and summer with the 17-and-under Indiana Elite. Though his team was upset in the quarterfinals of the Adidas May Classic, he said playing with prospects such as Washington's Cody Zeller and Muncie Central's Jeremiah Davis has been worthwhile.
"I can focus more on passing the ball," the 5-11 Ferrell said. "That's a little different mentality than my high school team, where I have to do more scoring."
Ferrell, whose current scholarship offer list includes Butler, Illinois, Indiana, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Virginia and Washington, said his offseason goal is to improve his ballhandling and his ability to catch and shoot. He works with his high school coach, Ed Schilling, two hours a day at Champions Academy, a basketball training facility.
• Princeton junior Jalen Packer suffered a setback when he tore ligaments in his right thumb March 2 when the Tigers defeated Evansville Bosse 62-58 in a first-round sectional game.
Packer stayed in shape by running track, but with a cast on his thumb, his basketball activities were limited. He was finally back on the court last weekend.
The 6-1 Packer has offers from Chattanooga, Evansville and Southern Illinois. He said Butler, Iowa and Purdue have continued to recruit him and he plans to visit Butler, Purdue and Southern Illinois next month.
Starting Lineup: G Shelvin Mack, G Ronald Nored, G Shawn Vanzant, F Matt Howard, C Andrew Smith
I realize Gordon Hayward was their best player, but people are acting like Butler will fall off drastically in his absence. I’m not convinced; in fact, I think they’ll be a top ten team throughout the season. Shelvin Mack only gets better and better with his jump shot, improving by around 6% in both FG% and 3pt% last year. Now that Chris Kramer has left us, Ronald Nored may take on the role of best perimeter defender in the nation. Nored contained Andy Rautins, Jacob Pullen and Durrell Summers during their NCAA Tournament brigade. If he stays out of foul trouble, Matt Howard is a reliable low-post presence. Their success in March could depend on whether the role players- Vanzant, Smith, Butcher and incoming freshman Khyle Marshall- contribute in the absence of Hayward and Willie Veasley.
Gordon Hayward, Butler: A smart, skilled and versatile player who is not oozing with potential, it's difficult to see how much higher Hayward's stock can rise after helping his team reach the NCAA final. He likely has enough fans among NBA GMs at this point to warrant a solid spot in the first round, which is tough to pass up when considering the risks involved in returning.
LOSERS ... Butler: Gordon Hayward stayed in the draft, and while is was probably the correct decision for Hayward to make, it really does suck for the rest of us. How cool would it be to see a player from the Horizon league be one of the player of the year favorites? How much fun would it be to follow Butler this season as they chase their second straight final four? Hell, this team would have had the talent to compete for a national title (again).
20. Butler: If Gordon Hayward had returned, it would have been an easy sell to put the Bulldogs in the top 5. But Hayward's decision wasn't hard to make because he's likely a top-20 pick. It just makes sense. But to give up on this squad would not be prudent. Sure, Butler also loses Willie Veasley and Avery Jukes, but coach Brad Stevens has plenty to celebrate again with Shelvin Mack (one of the elite guards in the country), Matt Howard (a gritty post player still figuring out how to play without fouling so much), Ronald Nored (an elite defender) and Zach Hahn (a legit 3-point threat). Butler will be the class of the Horizon League again, a Top 25 team again, in the mix in March again, and on your television set quite a bit with quality games all over the schedule.
