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Hoop Thoughts: Howland happy in Starkville, Pitino giddy in Greece, my top 25 and lots more
Seth Davis / The Athletic
Ben Howland does not want to talk about Steve Alford, which is understandable. It has been nearly six years since Howland was fired by UCLA, which last week dumped Alford midway through the season. “It’s not relevant to me,” Howland told me during a telephone interview last week. “I had a great experience at UCLA. It’s a very challenging job, and everybody who works there understands that. But I’ve moved on.”
Indeed he has. Following an involuntary two-year hiatus from coaching, Howland took over at Mississippi State in the spring of 2015. That program was coming off three consecutive sub-.500 seasons and a six-year absence from the NCAA Tournament — a far cry, to say the least, from the championship-laden tradition Howland inherited at UCLA. Howland, 61, grew up in Santa Barbara, Calif., went to school at Weber State and worked previously as the head coach at Northern Arizona and Pittsburgh. He had never lived in the South, but he is finding that it suits him better than he anticipated.
“Starkville is a small college town. It’s just the opposite of being in L.A. There are no distractions here,” Howland says. “You come to the South and you see a lot of kindness, hospitality, being good to your neighbors. Being friendly is the norm here.”
Of course, the fans are a lot friendlier when the team is winning, and Howland’s Bulldogs are doing plenty of that. They have a 12-1 record and are No. 17 in the AP poll. Before this season, MSU hadn’t been ranked since 2011-12. It should come as no surprise that Howland turned things around since he has won everywhere he has been. In this case, he built his program the old-fashioned way – year by year and class by class.
When I asked Howland how he has done it this time, he gave the obvious, one-word answer: “Recruiting.” The talent level had fallen off considerably under predecessor Rick Ray, who had never been a head coach before taking over for Rick Stansbury in 2012. Howland has consistently recruited well despite losing what was billed as a breakthrough signee in Malik Newman, a 6-3 guard from Jackson, Miss., who was a consensus top-10 prospect in the high school class of 2015. When Newman transferred to Kansas following his freshman season, he and his father, who played for MSU, took some not-so-thinly veiled shots at Howland, claiming his system was too rigid to accommodate Newman’s talents.
The idea that Howland coaches boring basketball dogged him during his final years at UCLA, but there is nothing boring about winning. Besides, this year’s squad has dramatically improved its ability to score. The Bulldogs are averaging 80.2 points per game and rank 16th nationally in offensive efficiency, per KenPom.com. They have also become an effective 3-point shooting team, which is surprising considering last season the Bulldogs ranked 13th in the SEC and 329th nationally in 3-point percentage, at 30.1.
That improvement speaks to the culture Howland has created, one that is predicated on hard work and unselfishness. At the end of last season, he pointedly told his players that opposing teams and the media frequently pointed out their poor 3-point shooting as a fatal flaw. As a result, his guys put in a lot of work in the off-season to shore that up. Junior guard Lamar Peters has made the most significant leap. The 6-foot junior point guard from New Orleans has gone from making 27.7 percent from behind the arc last season to 42.4 this year. “I can’t remember ever having a team work so hard in the off-season,” Howland says. “You’re always good when you have the players giving leadership and coaching each other and bringing the young guys along. We have good guys that are talented, and they’re also unselfish. They make the extra pass, help each other, pick each other up, love each other, care about each other. That really speaks to the culture of the South as well.”
Aric Holman, a 6-foot-10 senior forward who was in Howland’s first recruiting class, has likewise improved his 3-point shooting, from 15 percent as a freshman to 40 percent as a senior. Asked how the program has changed since his freshman season, Holman replies, “I’d say it’s the will to want to get better. When I got here, guys just showed up to the games and practice. Now everyone is putting in that extra work that builds competitiveness.”
Moreover, three players – 6-4 junior guard Tyson Carter, 6-7 freshman forward Robert Woodard and 6-10 freshman forward Reggie Perry – are sons of former MSU players. “That’s a lot of Bulldog DNA,” Howland says. The starting lineup also features two brothers in Quinndary Witherspoon, a 6-4 senior guard, and his brother Nick, a 6-2 sophomore. It has taken some time, but that family vibe is finally manifesting onto the court. Mississippi State started to jell in late January last season, when it won seven of nine games to put itself in contention for an NCAA Tournament bid. The Bulldogs finished 9-9 in the SEC, but a nonconference schedule ranked No. 345 in the country on KenPom.com sent them to the NIT. This year, the nonconference SOS is ranked 129th, which reflects Howland’s confidence in the squad as well as the practical reality of what it takes to get into the tournament.
Mississippi State’s lone loss came against Arizona State on a neutral court. The team’s maturity, balance and improved shooting led to neutral-court wins over Saint Mary’s and Clemson, a gritty seven-point win at Dayton and a 70-59 win over Cincinnati at home. Five players average double figures, and Howland likes to say that his top eight players are all good enough to start. That is a healthy formula to take into SEC play, which begins on Tuesday night at South Carolina.
Combine all this with the recent events at UCLA, and Howland would have every right to crow that he has been vindicated. After all, he took the Bruins to three consecutive Final Fours from 2006-08, and he was let go after winning the Pac-12 regular-season title. He demurs, preferring to reflect on the two years he spent outside of coaching that refreshed his spirit. “It made me really realize how blessed I’ve been to be a coach and to do this my whole professional life,” he says. “That appreciation is the biggest thing I got from being away. That’s made me a better coach and a better person.”
He is six years and 2,000 miles removed from all that unpleasantness in Westwood, but Howland’s winning ways have remained the same. Southern hospitality is nice, but if history is any guide, Howland’s team will be well-prepared for the hostilities of March.
Rick Pitino: It’s all Greek to him
When I caught up with Rick Pitino by phone on Sunday, his Panathinaikos team had just won its Greek League game by 22 points. It was the fourth game he had coached since coming to Athens last week, three of them wins, and he sounded quite happy to be back in the game.
“It’s been a great experience because the players are really nice guys,” he said. “I had never been to Greece before. I packed my bags on Christmas Day and just took off. The coaching part has been awesome.”
I reminded Pitino that when we met in California in the fall for an interview that coincided with the publication of his book, he insisted that he did not want to coach again. I asked if he really believed what he was saying – because I sure didn’t. “I did,” he replied. “I just resigned myself to the fact that I’ve had 28 awesome assistants who were loyal and did the right things, but I had two who were disloyal and did the wrong things, and as the leader, I have to pay for their mistakes. That’s the reality I have to live with.”
The language barrier isn’t an issue in his new gig, since all of Pitino’s players speak English, as do many people in Athens. He has been living in a hotel but is moving into an apartment this week. The hardest part has been being away from his family, which is back in the States. His wife, Joanne, will probably join him in April, but Pitino said there hasn’t been a whole lot of downtime. He didn’t even bring his golf clubs. “It’s all hoops,” he said.
Pitino has been pleasantly surprised by the passion of the locals. When he arrived in Greece, more than a dozen photographers were at the airport to meet him. The announced attendance for his first game was 15,733. “It’s really like Kentucky in terms of how much they love their basketball team,” he said.
As for his prospects in the States, Pitino said that despite seeing his name loosely linked to UCLA, he knows that he has no chance to get that job. He hopes to someday find work in the NBA, and though he is not optimistic that he can get another college job, he would clearly welcome the opportunity. He added that while he is not limiting himself to a power conference job, he would only go to a school where he felt he had a chance to make a Final Four. “It’s going to take a president and an AD who’s willing to listen to me and learn the truth about what happened, and I’m not sure there are too many that want to do that,” he said. “In the meantime, I’m enjoying this very much.”
Other Hoop Thoughts
• The big news of the weekend was Kansas’ announcement that junior center Udoka Azubuike is done for the season because of torn tendons in his wrist. This is devastating news for the Jayhawks, to say the least. Remember that their best backup big man, 6-10 sophomore Silvio De Sousa, is still being held out because of eligibility issues. I know KU had success in the past going small, but this team has a pair of freshmen in their backcourt and their 3-point shooting is suspect. Even when Azubuike wasn’t scoring, his presence forced defenses to give him attention, which opened up clean looks and driving lanes for the guards. I am certainly not ready to say the Big 12 streak is over, but this one is gonna take some doing.
• On the flip side, Gonzaga junior forward Killian Tillie made his season debut on Saturday night in a win over Santa Clara. Tillie missed the 15 games with a stress fracture in his leg. It was an inauspicious beginning as Tillie fouled out in just nine minutes, but coach Mark Few told me on Sunday that Tillie had only been cleared to practice for four days, so it will take him some time to get into game shape. The Zags also brought back 6-3 senior guard Geno Crandall, who had missed the last nine games with an injury on his right (shooting) wrist. Having those guys back will obviously help Gonzaga’s depth during games, but Few sees the greater benefits for practices. “It’s hard to get better when you only have six or seven guys healthy,” he said. “We’ve already seen an uptick at our practices in terms of intensity and competition.” I’ll say it again: When fully healthy, the Zags are my pick to win the NCAA championship. For now, anyway
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• Is any point guard in the country playing better than Michigan State’s Cassius Winston? He has scored at least 24 points in three of his last four games and went for 25 in a win at Ohio State on Saturday. He has a nearly 5-to-0 assist to turnover ratio, and he is shooting 46 percent from 3 and 83 percent from the foul line. Winston has always had talent, but in each season, he has improved his understanding of how to play the position. This is what happens in quality programs, and it is why the Spartans remain my choice to win the Big Ten.
• OK, Shamorie Ponds has been pretty good too. As in 63 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists in wins last week against Marquette and Georgetown. Ponds, who made 10 of 17 3s, is going to play a long time in the NBA and make a lot of money. His skill set is tailor-made for the way that league has gone.
• Speaking of which, St. John’s beat Georgetown on the same day Lou Carnasecca turned 94. Tell me God isn’t a college basketball fan.
• Who could possibly point out Duke’s flaws after that 19-point pasting of Clemson on Saturday night? I’m glad I asked. Consider that in the win, Jack White shot 4-of-6 from 3-point range but the rest of the team was 3-of-17. Also, Cam Reddish is regressing. He shot 1-of-8 and had four fouls in just 16 minutes. Sure the Blue Devils are rolling, but remember, this team has not played a road game all season, and tougher tests are fast approaching. As Nick Saban likes to say of such warts, they don’t get you til they get you.
• I’m a big Ethan Happ fan, but his horrific free throw shooting is going to be too much to bear for the Badgers over the course of the season. Wisconsin lost at home to Minnesota last Thursday largely because the Gophers played Hack-a-Happ down the stretch. He rewarded them by making just 1 of 7 from the line. He is converting 49.2 percent for the season after making both free throws attempts on Sunday in a rout of Penn State. That’s not how you get Capone.
• Braxton Key, a 6-8 junior forward who transferred from Alabama, had a season-high 20 points in Virginia’s win over Florida State. If he is going to be a consistent offensive option, the Cavs basically become impossible to beat.
• Imagine if Virginia still had Marial Shayok. Instead, he transferred to Iowa State, where he is leading the Big 12 in scoring. Shayok had 24 points in the Cyclones’ 17-point thrashing of Kansas. That win was all the more impressive when you consider Iowa State is not yet getting real help from sophomore guard Lindell Wigginton, who is the team’s best player but has only played in three games since returning from a foot injury.
• I was disappointed to hear Bob Huggins say it was classless of Texas Tech to post a video of its players celebrating a win in Morgantown last Wednesday, which was caught by ESPN cameras in the locker room. In the first place, if Huggins doesn’t like other teams celebrating in the visitor’s locker room, then his West Virginia team should outscore them. More important, as Red Raiders coach Chris Beard pointed out in response, the fact that the players were so happy is the ultimate compliment to Huggins’ program. It was clearly a win worth celebrating.
• Speaking of which, is anyone mentioning Beard as a candidate at UCLA? I know he doesn’t coach the most exciting style, but that’s by necessity. You know anyone who has done a better coaching job the last two seasons?
• Factoid of the Week That May Only Interest Me: Vanderbilt, UNLV and Princeton are the only programs to make a 3-pointer in every game since the 3-point shot was introduced before the 1986-87 season.
• Some not great but not entirely unexpected news out of Virginia Tech: The Hokies’ top recruit, Landers Nolley, and last year’s leading rebounder, senior forward Chris Clarke, won’t play this season. Both players had sat out every game, Nolley because of an eligibility issue and Clarke because of a suspension for undisclosed reasons.
• Honestly, I don’t see the point in having a college basketball season if Bol Bol can’t play in it.
• Wouldn’t it be great if after all this meshugas UCLA won the Pac-12 tournament? Stranger things have happened. This team has some talented dudes, and the league is there for the taking.
• I’ve never liked the baseline benches at Vanderbilt.
• I can’t figure Florida out. Almost beats Michigan State at home, crushes Butler by 34 points, then loses in Gainesville to South Carolina. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a player – especially a fifth-year senior – regress the way Jalen Hudson has. He went from averaging 15.5 points per game and almost turning pro to 6.6 points as a fifth-year senior. A real head-scratcher, that one.
• I’m digging Zavier Simpson’s running hook shot.
• My man Fran Fraschilla, who sees more live games in person in a month than most of us see in a lifetime, has been all over Texas freshman center Jaxson Hayes from the beginning, and for good reason. Hayes is now in the Longhorns’ starting lineup, and as Fran pointed out on Twitter Hayes has shot 27-of-29 over his last seven games. He had four blocks in 20 minutes during a win over West Virginia on Saturday.
• Counterintuitively, I think there is such a thing as having a field goal percentage that is too high. If you’re making everything, you’re not taking enough shots, or at least enough tough shots. Expand! I’m thinking here of Maryland sophomore center Bruno Fernando. I was courtside for the Terps’ win over Nebraska last week, and I was impressed with how much Fernando’s understanding of the game has improved. He leads the Big Ten in field goal percentage at 67.8 percent. I’d like to see him hunt his shot a little more and bring that number down.
• It didn’t get a ton of notice, but N.C. State’s 87-82 comeback win at Miami on Thursday from a late 10-point deficit was as impressive as anything I saw last week. Any road win in the conference is quality, but the Wolfpack’s ability to dig deep when their shots weren’t falling showed me a lot of mental toughness. Big game coming up at home against North Carolina on Tuesday.
• You know what else isn’t getting enough notice? Ole Miss under first-year coach Kermit Davis. The Rebels’ win at Vanderbilt on Saturday was their eighth in a row and improved their record to 11-2. They are ranked No. 40 on KenPom.com, which is where you typically find NCAA Tournament at-large teams. Ole Miss is a long way from making the bracket, but that would be an amazing accomplishment for a program that has made the tourney just twice in the last 16 years.
• You’d think if a team gets off to a 21-0 start at home it is probably going to win, but somehow Western Kentucky lost to Old Dominion, 69-66, on Saturday. That’s the same ODU squad that beat Syracuse in the Carrier Dome. Remember that when you’re filling out your bracket.
• This week’s really good player no one knows about is Utah 6-2 senior guard Sedrick Barefield. He had 24 points in the Utes’ upset win at Arizona State (Utah trailed by 17 in that one), and he had 26 in Saturday’s overtime loss at Arizona. Sean Miller conceded afterward that if Barefield hadn’t fouled out with 1:44 to play the Wildcats probably would have lost.
• It should be a fun year in the Ivy. Penn, Yale and Princeton both have marquee wins (against Villanova, Miami and Arizona State, respectively). Harvard could join that mix if it ever gets its two best players, 6-7 junior forward Seth Towns, last year’s Ivy POTY, and 6-foot junior guard Bryce Aiken, who averaged 14.1 points per game last season. Both sustained injuries last year and have yet to play, and there is no word when (or if) they’ll be back. Remember, the Ivy has a four-team conference tournament now, so if those guys can get healthy, the Crimson will have a chance to make the tournament.
• A hearty Hoop Thoughts mazel tov to Wofford guard Fletcher Magee, who became the Southern Conference’s all-time leader in made 3-pointers over the weekend. The previous record was held by some guy named Curry who played for Davidson. I wonder whatever happened to him.
• Here’s something you don’t see every day: UCF did not have an offensive rebound in its 65-53 win at UConn on Saturday.
• Finally, there were a couple of cool social media posts last week featuring bench warmers who are sons of well-known hoop guys. The first was from former Georgia coach Mark Fox, whose son, Parker, is a walk-on at Clemson and somehow banked in a 3-pointer from the right wing against Charleston Southern. Likewise, Jay Bilas tweeted this video of his son, Anthony, making a layup in traffic for Wake Forest in the waning seconds of a win over Cornell. Great stuff.
Five games I’m psyched to watch this week
Oklahoma at Texas Tech, 9 p.m. ET Tuesday, ESPNNews. I love a shooting match as much as the next guy, but these teams are ranked sixth and first, respectively, in the country in defensive efficiency. I think Lon Kruger ha himself a really good team, but the Sooners were unable to pull off the upset win at Kansas last week.
North Carolina at N.C. State, 9 p.m. Tuesday, ESPN. This is the biggest home game for N.C. State in a long, long time. Beating Auburn was well and good, but the Wolfpack need this one to prove they can hang with the big boys. The problem is that the way to beat the Heels is to slow down the game and try to make them grind, but that is not N.C. State’s style. No need for a shot clock here.
Duke at Florida State, 2 p.m. Saturday, ESPN. It’s amazing the Blue Devils got this far without having to play a true road game, so this will be a tough test. The Seminoles are outstanding defensively and do a great job protecting the rim, but they need to do a much better job taking care of the ball. Duke’s defense is relentless, and the Blue Devils convert rather well in transition if you haven’t noticed.
Seton Hall at Marquette, 2 p.m. Saturday, FS1. Or maybe just have Myles Powell and Markus Howard play fullcourt one on one?
Gonzaga at San Francisco, 10 p.m. Saturday, ESPN2. The Dons very well could be the second best team in the WCC, so if Gonzaga is going to lose a league game, this would be a likely spot. That’s especially true considering Killian Tillie and Geno Crandall are still getting up to speed following those long injury absences.
This week’s AP ballot
(Last week’s rank on my ballot in parentheses)
Tennessee (2)
Duke (3)
Michigan (4)
Virginia (6)
Michigan State (8)
Gonzaga (7)
Kansas (1)
Virginia Tech (9)
Texas Tech (11)
Auburn (12)
Florida State (10)
Nevada (5)
Kentucky (13)
North Carolina (14)
Ohio State (15)
St. John’s (NR)
Marquette (18)
N.C. State (19)
Mississippi State (22)
Iowa State (NR)
Oklahoma (24)
Houston (NR)
Buffalo (21)
Minnesota (NR)
Seton Hall (25)
Dropped out: Nebraska (16), Indiana (17), Wisconsin (20), Louisville (23)
The last time Kansas got clipped, I left the Jayhawks at No. 1 because they lost a close game on the road, and they didn’t have Udoka Azubuike. However, there was nothing close about Saturday’s loss at Iowa State, and now Azubuike is out for the year with a hand injury. Star-crossed? Is the team? Will the Jayhawks’ 3-point shooting and defensive issues be ironed out? These questions will be answered in the coming weeks. Plus, the loss at Iowa State makes it harder to overlook the recent close shaves against Villanova and Stanford. So the Jayhawks got dropped.
As for their replacement, I kept my order intact from the last several weeks, which traces itself to the transitive property that Tennessee beat Gonzaga, and Gonzaga beat Duke. So congrats to the Vols for their ascension. I think they’re gonna be there for a while. On the other hand, I subjectively leapfrogged Michigan State ahead of Gonzaga because I think the Spartans are playing that well. Inconsistent, you say? Too subjective, you accuse? It’s my ballot, and I’ll cry if I want to.
Yes, I know Kentucky lost to unranked Alabama, but the way I see it, the game came down to the final possession on the road against a good conference opponent. That was not enough to move UK behind a North Carolina team it dominated on a neutral court three weeks ago.
Welcome to my top 25, St. John’s. I knew you’d get here eventually, but I had to make you earn it. The Johnnies went undefeated against one of the weakest nonconference schedules in the country, but last week they dominated a really good Marquette team at home and squeaked by Georgetown on the road in overtime. Likewise, I had been holding off ranking Houston because it did not have any marquee wins, but the Cougars beat a plucky Memphis team at home on Sunday to stay undefeated, so I guess it’s time to put a number next to their name. I’ve seen them play enough to believe they are rank-worthy.
We know how hard it is to win on the road in the conference, so I wanted to reward Minnesota for taking down Wisconsin in Madison. Every time I watch the Gophers play I’m impressed, and they are still working in Eric Curry following his long absence from injury.
Sometimes teams get dropped not because of any bad losses but because other unranked teams play their way in.
That’s what happened this week to Louisville. I probably over-penalized Indiana for losing at Michigan without its starting point guard, but to be honest, I think Indiana was overrated in the first place. So that correction felt right.
See ya next week, Hoopheads.
Seth Davis / The Athletic
Ben Howland does not want to talk about Steve Alford, which is understandable. It has been nearly six years since Howland was fired by UCLA, which last week dumped Alford midway through the season. “It’s not relevant to me,” Howland told me during a telephone interview last week. “I had a great experience at UCLA. It’s a very challenging job, and everybody who works there understands that. But I’ve moved on.”
Indeed he has. Following an involuntary two-year hiatus from coaching, Howland took over at Mississippi State in the spring of 2015. That program was coming off three consecutive sub-.500 seasons and a six-year absence from the NCAA Tournament — a far cry, to say the least, from the championship-laden tradition Howland inherited at UCLA. Howland, 61, grew up in Santa Barbara, Calif., went to school at Weber State and worked previously as the head coach at Northern Arizona and Pittsburgh. He had never lived in the South, but he is finding that it suits him better than he anticipated.
“Starkville is a small college town. It’s just the opposite of being in L.A. There are no distractions here,” Howland says. “You come to the South and you see a lot of kindness, hospitality, being good to your neighbors. Being friendly is the norm here.”
Of course, the fans are a lot friendlier when the team is winning, and Howland’s Bulldogs are doing plenty of that. They have a 12-1 record and are No. 17 in the AP poll. Before this season, MSU hadn’t been ranked since 2011-12. It should come as no surprise that Howland turned things around since he has won everywhere he has been. In this case, he built his program the old-fashioned way – year by year and class by class.
When I asked Howland how he has done it this time, he gave the obvious, one-word answer: “Recruiting.” The talent level had fallen off considerably under predecessor Rick Ray, who had never been a head coach before taking over for Rick Stansbury in 2012. Howland has consistently recruited well despite losing what was billed as a breakthrough signee in Malik Newman, a 6-3 guard from Jackson, Miss., who was a consensus top-10 prospect in the high school class of 2015. When Newman transferred to Kansas following his freshman season, he and his father, who played for MSU, took some not-so-thinly veiled shots at Howland, claiming his system was too rigid to accommodate Newman’s talents.
The idea that Howland coaches boring basketball dogged him during his final years at UCLA, but there is nothing boring about winning. Besides, this year’s squad has dramatically improved its ability to score. The Bulldogs are averaging 80.2 points per game and rank 16th nationally in offensive efficiency, per KenPom.com. They have also become an effective 3-point shooting team, which is surprising considering last season the Bulldogs ranked 13th in the SEC and 329th nationally in 3-point percentage, at 30.1.
That improvement speaks to the culture Howland has created, one that is predicated on hard work and unselfishness. At the end of last season, he pointedly told his players that opposing teams and the media frequently pointed out their poor 3-point shooting as a fatal flaw. As a result, his guys put in a lot of work in the off-season to shore that up. Junior guard Lamar Peters has made the most significant leap. The 6-foot junior point guard from New Orleans has gone from making 27.7 percent from behind the arc last season to 42.4 this year. “I can’t remember ever having a team work so hard in the off-season,” Howland says. “You’re always good when you have the players giving leadership and coaching each other and bringing the young guys along. We have good guys that are talented, and they’re also unselfish. They make the extra pass, help each other, pick each other up, love each other, care about each other. That really speaks to the culture of the South as well.”
Aric Holman, a 6-foot-10 senior forward who was in Howland’s first recruiting class, has likewise improved his 3-point shooting, from 15 percent as a freshman to 40 percent as a senior. Asked how the program has changed since his freshman season, Holman replies, “I’d say it’s the will to want to get better. When I got here, guys just showed up to the games and practice. Now everyone is putting in that extra work that builds competitiveness.”
Moreover, three players – 6-4 junior guard Tyson Carter, 6-7 freshman forward Robert Woodard and 6-10 freshman forward Reggie Perry – are sons of former MSU players. “That’s a lot of Bulldog DNA,” Howland says. The starting lineup also features two brothers in Quinndary Witherspoon, a 6-4 senior guard, and his brother Nick, a 6-2 sophomore. It has taken some time, but that family vibe is finally manifesting onto the court. Mississippi State started to jell in late January last season, when it won seven of nine games to put itself in contention for an NCAA Tournament bid. The Bulldogs finished 9-9 in the SEC, but a nonconference schedule ranked No. 345 in the country on KenPom.com sent them to the NIT. This year, the nonconference SOS is ranked 129th, which reflects Howland’s confidence in the squad as well as the practical reality of what it takes to get into the tournament.
Mississippi State’s lone loss came against Arizona State on a neutral court. The team’s maturity, balance and improved shooting led to neutral-court wins over Saint Mary’s and Clemson, a gritty seven-point win at Dayton and a 70-59 win over Cincinnati at home. Five players average double figures, and Howland likes to say that his top eight players are all good enough to start. That is a healthy formula to take into SEC play, which begins on Tuesday night at South Carolina.
Combine all this with the recent events at UCLA, and Howland would have every right to crow that he has been vindicated. After all, he took the Bruins to three consecutive Final Fours from 2006-08, and he was let go after winning the Pac-12 regular-season title. He demurs, preferring to reflect on the two years he spent outside of coaching that refreshed his spirit. “It made me really realize how blessed I’ve been to be a coach and to do this my whole professional life,” he says. “That appreciation is the biggest thing I got from being away. That’s made me a better coach and a better person.”
He is six years and 2,000 miles removed from all that unpleasantness in Westwood, but Howland’s winning ways have remained the same. Southern hospitality is nice, but if history is any guide, Howland’s team will be well-prepared for the hostilities of March.
Rick Pitino: It’s all Greek to him
When I caught up with Rick Pitino by phone on Sunday, his Panathinaikos team had just won its Greek League game by 22 points. It was the fourth game he had coached since coming to Athens last week, three of them wins, and he sounded quite happy to be back in the game.
“It’s been a great experience because the players are really nice guys,” he said. “I had never been to Greece before. I packed my bags on Christmas Day and just took off. The coaching part has been awesome.”
I reminded Pitino that when we met in California in the fall for an interview that coincided with the publication of his book, he insisted that he did not want to coach again. I asked if he really believed what he was saying – because I sure didn’t. “I did,” he replied. “I just resigned myself to the fact that I’ve had 28 awesome assistants who were loyal and did the right things, but I had two who were disloyal and did the wrong things, and as the leader, I have to pay for their mistakes. That’s the reality I have to live with.”
The language barrier isn’t an issue in his new gig, since all of Pitino’s players speak English, as do many people in Athens. He has been living in a hotel but is moving into an apartment this week. The hardest part has been being away from his family, which is back in the States. His wife, Joanne, will probably join him in April, but Pitino said there hasn’t been a whole lot of downtime. He didn’t even bring his golf clubs. “It’s all hoops,” he said.
Pitino has been pleasantly surprised by the passion of the locals. When he arrived in Greece, more than a dozen photographers were at the airport to meet him. The announced attendance for his first game was 15,733. “It’s really like Kentucky in terms of how much they love their basketball team,” he said.
As for his prospects in the States, Pitino said that despite seeing his name loosely linked to UCLA, he knows that he has no chance to get that job. He hopes to someday find work in the NBA, and though he is not optimistic that he can get another college job, he would clearly welcome the opportunity. He added that while he is not limiting himself to a power conference job, he would only go to a school where he felt he had a chance to make a Final Four. “It’s going to take a president and an AD who’s willing to listen to me and learn the truth about what happened, and I’m not sure there are too many that want to do that,” he said. “In the meantime, I’m enjoying this very much.”
Other Hoop Thoughts
• The big news of the weekend was Kansas’ announcement that junior center Udoka Azubuike is done for the season because of torn tendons in his wrist. This is devastating news for the Jayhawks, to say the least. Remember that their best backup big man, 6-10 sophomore Silvio De Sousa, is still being held out because of eligibility issues. I know KU had success in the past going small, but this team has a pair of freshmen in their backcourt and their 3-point shooting is suspect. Even when Azubuike wasn’t scoring, his presence forced defenses to give him attention, which opened up clean looks and driving lanes for the guards. I am certainly not ready to say the Big 12 streak is over, but this one is gonna take some doing.
• On the flip side, Gonzaga junior forward Killian Tillie made his season debut on Saturday night in a win over Santa Clara. Tillie missed the 15 games with a stress fracture in his leg. It was an inauspicious beginning as Tillie fouled out in just nine minutes, but coach Mark Few told me on Sunday that Tillie had only been cleared to practice for four days, so it will take him some time to get into game shape. The Zags also brought back 6-3 senior guard Geno Crandall, who had missed the last nine games with an injury on his right (shooting) wrist. Having those guys back will obviously help Gonzaga’s depth during games, but Few sees the greater benefits for practices. “It’s hard to get better when you only have six or seven guys healthy,” he said. “We’ve already seen an uptick at our practices in terms of intensity and competition.” I’ll say it again: When fully healthy, the Zags are my pick to win the NCAA championship. For now, anyway
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• Is any point guard in the country playing better than Michigan State’s Cassius Winston? He has scored at least 24 points in three of his last four games and went for 25 in a win at Ohio State on Saturday. He has a nearly 5-to-0 assist to turnover ratio, and he is shooting 46 percent from 3 and 83 percent from the foul line. Winston has always had talent, but in each season, he has improved his understanding of how to play the position. This is what happens in quality programs, and it is why the Spartans remain my choice to win the Big Ten.
• OK, Shamorie Ponds has been pretty good too. As in 63 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists in wins last week against Marquette and Georgetown. Ponds, who made 10 of 17 3s, is going to play a long time in the NBA and make a lot of money. His skill set is tailor-made for the way that league has gone.
• Speaking of which, St. John’s beat Georgetown on the same day Lou Carnasecca turned 94. Tell me God isn’t a college basketball fan.
• Who could possibly point out Duke’s flaws after that 19-point pasting of Clemson on Saturday night? I’m glad I asked. Consider that in the win, Jack White shot 4-of-6 from 3-point range but the rest of the team was 3-of-17. Also, Cam Reddish is regressing. He shot 1-of-8 and had four fouls in just 16 minutes. Sure the Blue Devils are rolling, but remember, this team has not played a road game all season, and tougher tests are fast approaching. As Nick Saban likes to say of such warts, they don’t get you til they get you.
• I’m a big Ethan Happ fan, but his horrific free throw shooting is going to be too much to bear for the Badgers over the course of the season. Wisconsin lost at home to Minnesota last Thursday largely because the Gophers played Hack-a-Happ down the stretch. He rewarded them by making just 1 of 7 from the line. He is converting 49.2 percent for the season after making both free throws attempts on Sunday in a rout of Penn State. That’s not how you get Capone.
• Braxton Key, a 6-8 junior forward who transferred from Alabama, had a season-high 20 points in Virginia’s win over Florida State. If he is going to be a consistent offensive option, the Cavs basically become impossible to beat.
• Imagine if Virginia still had Marial Shayok. Instead, he transferred to Iowa State, where he is leading the Big 12 in scoring. Shayok had 24 points in the Cyclones’ 17-point thrashing of Kansas. That win was all the more impressive when you consider Iowa State is not yet getting real help from sophomore guard Lindell Wigginton, who is the team’s best player but has only played in three games since returning from a foot injury.
• I was disappointed to hear Bob Huggins say it was classless of Texas Tech to post a video of its players celebrating a win in Morgantown last Wednesday, which was caught by ESPN cameras in the locker room. In the first place, if Huggins doesn’t like other teams celebrating in the visitor’s locker room, then his West Virginia team should outscore them. More important, as Red Raiders coach Chris Beard pointed out in response, the fact that the players were so happy is the ultimate compliment to Huggins’ program. It was clearly a win worth celebrating.
• Speaking of which, is anyone mentioning Beard as a candidate at UCLA? I know he doesn’t coach the most exciting style, but that’s by necessity. You know anyone who has done a better coaching job the last two seasons?
• Factoid of the Week That May Only Interest Me: Vanderbilt, UNLV and Princeton are the only programs to make a 3-pointer in every game since the 3-point shot was introduced before the 1986-87 season.
• Some not great but not entirely unexpected news out of Virginia Tech: The Hokies’ top recruit, Landers Nolley, and last year’s leading rebounder, senior forward Chris Clarke, won’t play this season. Both players had sat out every game, Nolley because of an eligibility issue and Clarke because of a suspension for undisclosed reasons.
• Honestly, I don’t see the point in having a college basketball season if Bol Bol can’t play in it.
• Wouldn’t it be great if after all this meshugas UCLA won the Pac-12 tournament? Stranger things have happened. This team has some talented dudes, and the league is there for the taking.
• I’ve never liked the baseline benches at Vanderbilt.
• I can’t figure Florida out. Almost beats Michigan State at home, crushes Butler by 34 points, then loses in Gainesville to South Carolina. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a player – especially a fifth-year senior – regress the way Jalen Hudson has. He went from averaging 15.5 points per game and almost turning pro to 6.6 points as a fifth-year senior. A real head-scratcher, that one.
• I’m digging Zavier Simpson’s running hook shot.
• My man Fran Fraschilla, who sees more live games in person in a month than most of us see in a lifetime, has been all over Texas freshman center Jaxson Hayes from the beginning, and for good reason. Hayes is now in the Longhorns’ starting lineup, and as Fran pointed out on Twitter Hayes has shot 27-of-29 over his last seven games. He had four blocks in 20 minutes during a win over West Virginia on Saturday.
• Counterintuitively, I think there is such a thing as having a field goal percentage that is too high. If you’re making everything, you’re not taking enough shots, or at least enough tough shots. Expand! I’m thinking here of Maryland sophomore center Bruno Fernando. I was courtside for the Terps’ win over Nebraska last week, and I was impressed with how much Fernando’s understanding of the game has improved. He leads the Big Ten in field goal percentage at 67.8 percent. I’d like to see him hunt his shot a little more and bring that number down.
• It didn’t get a ton of notice, but N.C. State’s 87-82 comeback win at Miami on Thursday from a late 10-point deficit was as impressive as anything I saw last week. Any road win in the conference is quality, but the Wolfpack’s ability to dig deep when their shots weren’t falling showed me a lot of mental toughness. Big game coming up at home against North Carolina on Tuesday.
• You know what else isn’t getting enough notice? Ole Miss under first-year coach Kermit Davis. The Rebels’ win at Vanderbilt on Saturday was their eighth in a row and improved their record to 11-2. They are ranked No. 40 on KenPom.com, which is where you typically find NCAA Tournament at-large teams. Ole Miss is a long way from making the bracket, but that would be an amazing accomplishment for a program that has made the tourney just twice in the last 16 years.
• You’d think if a team gets off to a 21-0 start at home it is probably going to win, but somehow Western Kentucky lost to Old Dominion, 69-66, on Saturday. That’s the same ODU squad that beat Syracuse in the Carrier Dome. Remember that when you’re filling out your bracket.
• This week’s really good player no one knows about is Utah 6-2 senior guard Sedrick Barefield. He had 24 points in the Utes’ upset win at Arizona State (Utah trailed by 17 in that one), and he had 26 in Saturday’s overtime loss at Arizona. Sean Miller conceded afterward that if Barefield hadn’t fouled out with 1:44 to play the Wildcats probably would have lost.
• It should be a fun year in the Ivy. Penn, Yale and Princeton both have marquee wins (against Villanova, Miami and Arizona State, respectively). Harvard could join that mix if it ever gets its two best players, 6-7 junior forward Seth Towns, last year’s Ivy POTY, and 6-foot junior guard Bryce Aiken, who averaged 14.1 points per game last season. Both sustained injuries last year and have yet to play, and there is no word when (or if) they’ll be back. Remember, the Ivy has a four-team conference tournament now, so if those guys can get healthy, the Crimson will have a chance to make the tournament.
• A hearty Hoop Thoughts mazel tov to Wofford guard Fletcher Magee, who became the Southern Conference’s all-time leader in made 3-pointers over the weekend. The previous record was held by some guy named Curry who played for Davidson. I wonder whatever happened to him.
• Here’s something you don’t see every day: UCF did not have an offensive rebound in its 65-53 win at UConn on Saturday.
• Finally, there were a couple of cool social media posts last week featuring bench warmers who are sons of well-known hoop guys. The first was from former Georgia coach Mark Fox, whose son, Parker, is a walk-on at Clemson and somehow banked in a 3-pointer from the right wing against Charleston Southern. Likewise, Jay Bilas tweeted this video of his son, Anthony, making a layup in traffic for Wake Forest in the waning seconds of a win over Cornell. Great stuff.
Five games I’m psyched to watch this week
Oklahoma at Texas Tech, 9 p.m. ET Tuesday, ESPNNews. I love a shooting match as much as the next guy, but these teams are ranked sixth and first, respectively, in the country in defensive efficiency. I think Lon Kruger ha himself a really good team, but the Sooners were unable to pull off the upset win at Kansas last week.
North Carolina at N.C. State, 9 p.m. Tuesday, ESPN. This is the biggest home game for N.C. State in a long, long time. Beating Auburn was well and good, but the Wolfpack need this one to prove they can hang with the big boys. The problem is that the way to beat the Heels is to slow down the game and try to make them grind, but that is not N.C. State’s style. No need for a shot clock here.
Duke at Florida State, 2 p.m. Saturday, ESPN. It’s amazing the Blue Devils got this far without having to play a true road game, so this will be a tough test. The Seminoles are outstanding defensively and do a great job protecting the rim, but they need to do a much better job taking care of the ball. Duke’s defense is relentless, and the Blue Devils convert rather well in transition if you haven’t noticed.
Seton Hall at Marquette, 2 p.m. Saturday, FS1. Or maybe just have Myles Powell and Markus Howard play fullcourt one on one?
Gonzaga at San Francisco, 10 p.m. Saturday, ESPN2. The Dons very well could be the second best team in the WCC, so if Gonzaga is going to lose a league game, this would be a likely spot. That’s especially true considering Killian Tillie and Geno Crandall are still getting up to speed following those long injury absences.
This week’s AP ballot
(Last week’s rank on my ballot in parentheses)
Tennessee (2)
Duke (3)
Michigan (4)
Virginia (6)
Michigan State (8)
Gonzaga (7)
Kansas (1)
Virginia Tech (9)
Texas Tech (11)
Auburn (12)
Florida State (10)
Nevada (5)
Kentucky (13)
North Carolina (14)
Ohio State (15)
St. John’s (NR)
Marquette (18)
N.C. State (19)
Mississippi State (22)
Iowa State (NR)
Oklahoma (24)
Houston (NR)
Buffalo (21)
Minnesota (NR)
Seton Hall (25)
Dropped out: Nebraska (16), Indiana (17), Wisconsin (20), Louisville (23)
The last time Kansas got clipped, I left the Jayhawks at No. 1 because they lost a close game on the road, and they didn’t have Udoka Azubuike. However, there was nothing close about Saturday’s loss at Iowa State, and now Azubuike is out for the year with a hand injury. Star-crossed? Is the team? Will the Jayhawks’ 3-point shooting and defensive issues be ironed out? These questions will be answered in the coming weeks. Plus, the loss at Iowa State makes it harder to overlook the recent close shaves against Villanova and Stanford. So the Jayhawks got dropped.
As for their replacement, I kept my order intact from the last several weeks, which traces itself to the transitive property that Tennessee beat Gonzaga, and Gonzaga beat Duke. So congrats to the Vols for their ascension. I think they’re gonna be there for a while. On the other hand, I subjectively leapfrogged Michigan State ahead of Gonzaga because I think the Spartans are playing that well. Inconsistent, you say? Too subjective, you accuse? It’s my ballot, and I’ll cry if I want to.
Yes, I know Kentucky lost to unranked Alabama, but the way I see it, the game came down to the final possession on the road against a good conference opponent. That was not enough to move UK behind a North Carolina team it dominated on a neutral court three weeks ago.
Welcome to my top 25, St. John’s. I knew you’d get here eventually, but I had to make you earn it. The Johnnies went undefeated against one of the weakest nonconference schedules in the country, but last week they dominated a really good Marquette team at home and squeaked by Georgetown on the road in overtime. Likewise, I had been holding off ranking Houston because it did not have any marquee wins, but the Cougars beat a plucky Memphis team at home on Sunday to stay undefeated, so I guess it’s time to put a number next to their name. I’ve seen them play enough to believe they are rank-worthy.
We know how hard it is to win on the road in the conference, so I wanted to reward Minnesota for taking down Wisconsin in Madison. Every time I watch the Gophers play I’m impressed, and they are still working in Eric Curry following his long absence from injury.
Sometimes teams get dropped not because of any bad losses but because other unranked teams play their way in.
That’s what happened this week to Louisville. I probably over-penalized Indiana for losing at Michigan without its starting point guard, but to be honest, I think Indiana was overrated in the first place. So that correction felt right.
See ya next week, Hoopheads.
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