College Basketball: Midterm Grades Are In
Mike DeCourcy - SportingNews.com
Jan 21, 2010
(Grade A) New Mexico coach Steve Alford. Despite two Big Ten tournament titles, Iowa fans convinced themselves he couldn't coach. They were wrong. Along with recruiting ace Craig Neal, Alford has Los Lobos rocking.
A) Duke PG Jon Scheyer. Dook haters mocked Scheyer's playmaking cred because he can't blow by defenders, but he is leading an 84.6-point per game attack with averages of 18.9 points and 6.1 assists.
(A) Pitt coach Jamie Dixon. Rebuilding without an established center or point guard, he has persuaded the Panthers to defend like their meal money depended on it .
(A) Villanova's guards. Starters Scottie Reynolds, Reggie Redding, Corey Stokes and Corey Fisher are averaging a combined 51.3 points — and backups Maalik Wayns and Dominic Cheek another 13.1.
(A) William & Mary. At one point, the Tribe went on a double-digit winning streak, and they beat Wake Forest and Maryland on the road. This team could make its first NCAA trip.
(A) Purdue's defense. Opponents are averaging 62.8 points and 17.3 turnovers. The Boilers defend so tightly it's as though they're all auditioning for Dancing with the Stars.
(A-) Mississippi PG Chris Warren. Last season's knee injury hasn't slowed him. It's time to forget he's not a traditional playmaker and embrace that he makes plays.
(A-) Gonzaga SF Elias Harris. He gets marked down a half-grade for being older (20) than most freshmen, but there is little he does not do well on a basketball court.
(A-) Kansas' veterans. Freshman Xavier Henry leads KU in scoring, and his teammates seem fine with that. There has been no accompanying decline in offensive efficiency or defensive intensity.
(B) Kentucky C DeMarcus Cousins. Everybody wants him to be Wes Unseld, but becoming a man takes time. Cousins, a freshman, is embracing the concepts of playing harder, tougher and more intelligently.
(B-) Sporting News' Final Four picks of Kentucky, Kansas, Michigan State and North Carolina. We get marked higher for ignoring those who believed Kentucky couldn't get this good, this fast. We get marked down for excessive worrying about
(B-) Texas' point guards. Texas' point guard rotation. Since the Longhorns began alternating Dogus Balbay, Jai Lucas and J'Covan Brown, they've been efficient. The position no longer is a glaring weakness, but none has consistently directed the offense.
(C+) North Carolina's freshmen. The Wear twins have been a bright addition, and guard Dexter Strickland could be doing better with more opportunities. Forward John Henson will need more time than anticipated.
(C+) Maryland's seniors. They played with such urgency late last season it seemed they had found common purpose. But inconsistency produced a loss to William & Mary and a 1-3 mark against nonconference BCS opponents.
(C) Ohio State's supporting cast. After supersized superstar point guard Evan Turner broke his back, the remaining Buckeyes appeared unable to sustain a serious challenge late in games and lost three straight on the road.
(C) Notre Dame's defense. The Irish allowed UConn's Charles Okwandu (who was averaging 0.8 points entering the game) to shoot 5-for-5 but held WVU's Devin Ebanks scoreless and Da'Sean Butler to 4-of-20. Maybe they're catching on.
(C-) Mid-major elites. Competing in neutral-court tournaments, mid-major powers such as Butler, Northern Iowa, Siena and Saint Mary's all fell to power-conference opponents — and not always to great power-conference opponents.
(D) Michigan's bench. Starters Manny Harris, DeShawn Sims and Zack Novak are pulling 30-plus minutes — just to be roughly .500 against the nation's No. 140 schedule. Seven guys aren't enough for a finesse team.
(D-) The Pac-10. The Pac-10 had to rally to reach a 9-26 record against nonconference BCS opponents. That's worse than the marks of the Atlantic 10, Missouri Valley and Mountain West.
(D-) The NCAA eligibility center. Folks there might argue for an incomplete because they haven't ruled on Mississippi State forward Renardo Sidney. That's the problem. He's a pro or he's not. The delay tactics are gauche.
(F) Tennessee SF Tyler Smith. If he had wanted to check out, he should have remained on the NBA's early-entry list. His effort was awful, and he got arrested and dismissed on top of that.
(F) Stanford's scheduling. Stanford's developing team played five nonconference games away from The Farm — and went 1-4. The Cardinal were so prepared for conference play they lost their opener (at rival Cal) by 26.
(Incomplete) Iowa State. It's impossible to get a good read on the Cyclones. They win and lose in streaks and fall in most challenging situations but accomplish just enough to remain viable.
(Expelled) USC. Hey, don't blame us — this wasn't our call. The school's athletic department self-imposed a one-year postseason ban, robbing the Pac-10 of its one story of positive momentum.
Mike DeCourcy is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at decourcy@sportingnews.com
This story first appeared in the Jan. 18, 2010 edition of Sporting News magazine. If you are not receiving the magazine, subscribe today, or pick up a copy, available at most Barnes & Noble, Borders and Hudson Retail outlets.
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