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.
Could've Gone Either Way ... Shelvin Mack, PG/SG, Junior, Butler*
A huge part of Butler's two straight runs to the national title game, Shelvin Mack has quite a few fans among NBA teams, but he may have difficulty being guaranteed a spot in the first round by May 8th. ... Testing for the Sake of Testing
Every year of group of juniors enter the draft solely because they have nothing to lose. Under NCAA rules, student-athletes are allowed to "test the waters" once without jeopardizing their eligibility. While it's debatable how much these players will actually accomplish due to the shortened window legislated by the NCAA -- they must withdraw by May 8th at the latest -- the following players will almost certainly return to school when the smoke ultimately clears. ... Brandon Wood, SG, Junior, Valparaiso*
• Valparaiso leading scorer Brandon Wood declared for the draft. But according to Valpo assistant coach Bryce Drew, Wood wanted to see the process and get a sense of where he stood. If he doesn't hear anything positive, then he will withdraw from the draft. But there is another curveball. Wood is a fourth-year junior at Valpo and is graduating. He started his career at Southern Illinois and went to a junior college for a year. The Crusaders aren't expecting Wood to return, even if he were to withdraw with the option that Wood would transfer to a Big Ten school for graduate school and a fifth year. One option for him might be Michigan State, according to a source. If Wood were to join the Spartans, it would be a huge pickup because of his ability to score from the perimeter. ... • A number of NBA personnel said they wouldn't be surprised if Maryland's Jordan Williams, Butler's Shelvin Mack, Washington's Isaiah Thomas, Boston College's Reggie Jackson or Fresno State's Greg Smith all stayed in the draft. But there is a consensus already that Michigan's Darius Morris, Xavier's Tu Holloway, Georgetown's Hollis Thompson, Miami's Reggie Johnson, Pitt's Ashton Gibbs and Northwestern's John Shurna should go back to school before they make a mistake of leaving too soon, and in the case of those who can't make an NBA roster, a major error in giving up their eligibility.
Moving on to some other thoughts, who are the schools that generally surprised us with a lack of support (or expected support)? Removing any of the above from our list, here’s our top eight.
We hate to bust on Pitt at 86.7%, but come on Panther fans… you’re the only hoops game in town and your arena isn’t all that big at 12,508. Considering your team ended up as a #1 seed last season, how do you not fill that place? BYU — you had the most must-see player in the country on your team and a rabid fan base — no excuse to not be above 90% last season. Ohio State… sigh. Football school, we get it. But you were #1 most of the season — nothing more needs to be said. Look at some of the others… Butler is completely shocking to us, coming off a national runner-up season;
"It's really valuable because a lot of times you're not going to have very many people to talk to who played in the same exact system, that played the same position and had a successful career in the NBA," Jazz rookie Gordon Hayward said. "There's not very many guys like that around. Just the knowledge that he has is really valuable."
Though he worked hard to hone his outside shot, Hayward credited Hornacek's assistance and advice for helping him shoot a respectable 48.5 percent overall and a sizzling, team-high 47.3 percent from 3-point range in his first NBA season.
Hayward also said Hornacek's tips and pointers proved invaluable. The 47-year-old coach helped him be more confident and showed him the importance of using spacing and timing in the NBA game.
Corbin also lauded Hornacek for helping Jeremy Evans improve his shot, something that happened over time as the Western Kentucky product and Hayward worked with the coach on a consistent basis.
2. Blue II: Some might argue that our lovable live mascot should be No. 1, but keep reading to see why he is my runner-up. Blue II is easily the cutest mascot in all of sports, and he represents Butler’s sports teams well. He is tough, has endurance and enjoys a good nap—just like most college students do.
The sophomore guard paced the Ramblers this year with 16.7 points per game, good for fifth in the Horizon League. Besides leading the team in scoring 17 times on the season, Albano led the Ramblers in minutes per game, logging an average of 33.8 minutes while playing in all 31 games.
When Butler made their first national title game back in 2010, the Bulldogs were led by a three-man attack of Gordon Hayward, Matt Howard, and Mack. Hayward went pro after the 2010 season, and Matt Howard will graduate this spring. That leaves Mack, who is currently a borderline first-round pick, as the only one with a chance to be a Bulldog next season. Butler has some talent coming back next season, as well. Khyle Marshall looks primed to be the next Butler star and is the kind of athlete you rarely see in the Horizon League. Andrew Smith is a solid interior presence. Floor leader Ronald Nored returns, as do Chase Stigall, Chrishawn Hopkins, and Garrett Butcher. Without Mack, this team will once again be at the top of the Horizon. But with Mack's scoring, leadership, and ability to knock dow
Moser had a successful three-year run at Arkansas Little-Rock before struggling for three of his four years at Illinois State. He gets a third chance, after spending the past four years as an assistant at Saint Louis.
INDIANA 1. Butler: Two consecutive appearances in the NCAA title game and a committed coach in Brad Stevens … enough said. 2. Purdue: The Boilermakers will be glad they ponied up extra dough for Matt Painter. 3. Notre Dame: Mike Brey was a national coach of the year candidate this past season. 4. Valparaiso: The Crusaders have been a model of consistency under Homer Drew, who has had just three losing season in his past 16. 5. Indiana: Tom Crean is in the midst of a major rebuilding project in Bloomington. ... OHIO 1. Ohio State: The Buckeyes will join North Carolina, Kentucky and a few others as NCAA title favorites next season. 2. Xavier: The Musketeers haven’t missed a beat under Chris Mack. 3. Cincinnati: Mick Cronin’s squad won 26 games this past season, and the Bearcats will be even better in 2011-12. 4. Cleveland State: The Vikings tied Butler and Wisconsin-Milwaukee for the Horizon League title. 5. Dayton: Archie Miller was the perfect hire for the Flyers, who benefit from strong fan support.
Here’s what we know thus far about next year’s non-conference schedule: ... - Butler at Assembly Hall. This will be the fourth game of an exempt tournament in which both IU and Butler will host three games at home and then meet in Bloomington.
Ask him for an individual head-coaching highlight, and Corbin might point to the Jazz's thrilling Gordon Hayward-led road win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Or the win at New Orleans. Maybe the season-finale victory against Denver.
The Bulldogs will wait for Shelvin Mack to make a decision in the next two weeks. It's quite simple: If Mack returns, no one should doubt Butler's ability to make another Horizon title/NCAA run, even without Matt Howard inside. If Mack stays in the draft, the Horizon League will be wide open.
I used the 2010 bowl tie-ins, but switched the BCS conferences up to better represent the college basketball landscape. The swaps were made based on conference size, strength and relevant tie-ins. Keep in mind this isn't based just on the past season (the tie-ins are always set before a football season begins).
For this exercise...
SEC (Football) = Big East Big 12 (Football) = ACC Big Ten (Football) = Big Ten ACC (Football) = Big 12 Pac-10 (Football) = SEC Big East (Football) = Pac-10
Additionally, I took all of the other conference tie-ins and made them available to all mid-major teams, which I ranked based on the RPI (aka, BCS Formula). Two mid-major teams - BYU and San Diego State - were automatic qualifiers for BCS bowl games based on their top five RPI rankings. This left 20 bowl spots for mid-majors.
If a team from a major conference had a losing record, they were not bowl eligible (Virginia was the only team close at 16-15).
Purdue took the third at-large BCS bid since Ohio State qualified for the national title game and the Rose Bowl needed a Big Ten representative. This left Duke (BCS #4) to claim the fourth at-large bid.
Conference champions were based on final regular season standings, not conference tournament results.
Here's what the 2011 college basketball bowl schedule would have looked like: ... March 31
Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl: BUTLER (Mid-Major #11) vs. HARVARD (Mid-Major #12) ... April 11
BCS National Championship Game: KANSAS (BCS #1) vs. OHIO STATE (BCS #2)
NOTES:
--Of the 70 bowl participants, 18 - California, Cleveland State, Miami, Northwestern, Boston College, Colorado, Virginia, Harvard, Alabama, Virginia Tech, Nebraska, Minnesota, Missouri State, Saint Mary's, Washington State, Princeton, Baylor, and UTEP - did not qualify for the NCAA Tournament.
--National champion Connecticut is facing Old Dominion in the Liberty Bowl.
--National runner-up Butler is facing Harvard in the Armed Forces Bowl.
Eastern's Remy Abell, Lyonell Gaines, Kameron Woods and Arman Marks were selected to the Kentucky squad that will face Indiana on June 10 in Louisville and June 11 in Indianapolis.
