For those that care... SEC players drafted in the NBA Draft 2011

Enes Kanter went at #3 to Utah. Even though he never set foot on the court at Kentucky I'm going to count him.

Brandon Knight went to the Pistons at #8. He actually played for the Wildcats.

Tobia Harris went to the Wizards at #18. I guess Bruce Pearl produced something last year.

Trey Thompkins and Travis Leslie went to the Clippers at #37 and #47. Those UGA dawgs can hold each other's hand in the LBC.

Chandler Parsons went to the Rockets at #38. Not sure if he got what it takes to make the team, but good luck to the former Gator.

Vernon Macklin rounds out the SEC in the NBA draft at #52 to the Pistons. Another Gator.

Say what you will about John Calipari... they guy has an eye (or other things) for NBA talent. The players he's coached at Memphis and Kentucky the past 5 years have made an impact on the NBA.

Top 100 Center Considering Alabama

Gavin Ware, a 6'8, 247 lb Center from Starkville, MS lists Alabama and the hometown school - Mississippi State - as the final two schools he is considering. Ware, a member of the 2012 class, is planning a visit to Tuscaloosa sometime this week. He seems to be leaning towards MSU, but the fact he has Alabama in his final two and is planning a visit certainly doesn't hurt Bama's chances. Unfortunately, the only video I have come across is from 2010. Anyone who has a link to something more recent, please share.



UPDATE: Gavin Ware has chosen to remain in Starkville and sign with Mississippi State

The Steele Basketball Curse Comes To A Fitting Conclusion

Bad news out of Tuscaloosa, as the university has released a statement stating that Andrew Steele, due to continued medical issues, has decided to end his basketball career at Alabama. He will remain on scholarship as a medical hardship, but his playing days appear done. You can read the release here.

I don't know what karmic debt Andrew and Ron owed, but it certainly didn't do them any favors on the basketball court during their college careers. I certainly hope it's been paid for by now. Due to injuries, Andrew was never able to fully develop as a player after a stellar high school career. Same with Ron, who probably stayed at Alabama too long for the good of his basketball career.

What this means for next season is that the young guys are going to be counted on even more. Andrew may not have been a steady offensive threat, but he was very good on the defensive end. His experience and leadership on the floor would have been key for the team.

Fortunately, he will still be with the team in some capacity as a medical hardship while he works towards earning his degree. Some say everything happens for a reason. Hopefully for Andrew, this is merely a bump in the road in an otherwise fantastic life.

Add Kansas State our our schedule on Dec 17th...

From the KSU site

MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Looking to build on the success of an unprecedented five consecutive 20-win seasons and five straight postseason appearances, K-State Athletics announced today official ticket information for the 2011-12 men’s basketball season.

In addition to season-ticket details, the department also announced information about its games with West Virginia in the Wichita Wildcat Classic at INTRUST Bank Arena on Thursday, Dec. 8 as well as Alabama in the Hy-Vee Wildcat Classic at the Sprint Center in Kansas City on Saturday, Dec. 17.

Our OOC schedule is looking tough... we might make the NCAAT with a .500 overall record. Heh.

2011-12 Schedule Update: Add Oklahoma State

It looks like the Oklahoma State Cowboys will return a game against Alabama in 2011. I haven't seen anything official from Alabama sources, but an article in a Tulsa newspaper quotes Cowboy head coach Travis Ford that a game against Alabama will take place in Birmingham this upcoming season. My guess it will be a double header with another team from the state of Alabama (Auburn?) playing a non-conference opponent the same night as OSU and Oklahoma did last season.

For those keeping up, Alabama is now slated to play in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off (teams include Colorado, Iona, Maryland, Purdue, Temple, Western Michigan and Wichita State), a road game at Dayton, a game at Phillips Arena against Georgia Tech, the home game against Georgetown and now this game (let me know if I forgot one). Obviously the coaching staff is determined not to let the strength of schedule be a factor next year if the team is in position to secure a bid to the NCAA Tournament. This is a daunting non-conference schedule to say the least, but certainly one the team can navigate successfully if they live up to expectations.

Conference Basketball Divisions Go Bye Bye

In a move that is long overdue, the SEC has decided to scrap the divisions for basketball and adopt a 12-team format. This will begin in the 2011-12 season. East division teams will no doubt celebrate this move as their 3rd and even 4th place teams have been getting screwed for several years now thanks to the top two teams from each division receiving a bye, regardless of conference record. Since the schedule has already been set, according to Mike Slive, the teams will play the standard 16-game schedule of years past. The following season could see further changes such as an 18-game schedule.

Offseason post- Atlanta Thrashers move to Winnipeg (NHL)

First, here's the story in case you want to read about it. Now let me talk about why this happened (again) to Atlanta.

1) Miserable ownership. The Atlanta Spirit Group (ASG) have been a bumbling mess from the start. They didn't have a hockey guy amongst them and it showed. They did little to market the team and when the economy crashed, most of their business deals shriveled up and died. I've seen some bad ownership (Cincy Bengals, Oakland Raiders, Pitt Pirates, LA Clippers, etc), but the former owners of the Thrashers were the worst of the worst. They traded away all of their stars (Heatley, Kovalchuk, Hossa) and got almost nothing in return.

2) Fan support. Re-read point #1 and you have a hard time blaming the remaining fans to spend their hard-earned money on slop. Still, ranking 28th of 30 in attendance didn't help things.

3) Location. Most of the fan base live north of the city. The Thrashers played in 'beautiful' downtown. Hard to get them to drive 60-90 minutes in traffic to see the slop on the ice. If the team played in Gwinnett Arena I suspect turnout would've been much better. The inhabitants of downtown Atlanta had no interest in hockey.

I used to go to 4 games a year. I stopped going a few years ago as the product on the ice was dreadful. Most of the people in attendance were there to see the visiting team anyways. I'll miss seeing live NHL games down the road from me... hate it that my kids won't get a chance to see it (unless I take them somewhere like Nashville or Tampa), but the hard truth is the NHL south of the Mason-Dixon line just doesn't work.

If only Winnipeg took the Hawks too... then I'd probably celebrate. As it stands there is some sadness in seeing the Thrashers go, but Winnipeg will support them (despite being 1/7th the population size) much better.