College Hoops Video

At a quiet time in the College Basketball and basketball betting world in general, the biggest news seems to be coming from the court-room, where Louisville coach Rick Pitino is part of an extortion case, and from Drexel, where the men’s hoops program could be about to fall apart.

Two players from the Philadelphia school, a member of the Colonial Athletic Conference, face robbery and weapons charges after an armed robbery took place at a fellow student’s apartment.

Police allege that starting point guard Jamie Harris and forward Kevin Phillip hatched a scheme with a third man to steal money believed to be on the premises in Western Philadelphia last week.

All three face robbery, theft and weapons charges but the Drexel players only turned themselves in almost 48 hours after arrest warrants were issued, some media outlets reporting them to be fugitives on the run from the law.

According to the police reports, the three accused managed to make it away with only two cell phones but the charges they face could mean serious sanctions personally, and will almost certainly mean trouble for the basketball team.

Harris is one of the better players on a squad that went 16-16 and would have been looking to push on towards claiming a place in the expanded March Madness field, but it remains to be seen whether he will be a part of the Dragons roster by the time practice starts in a couple of months.

Whatever the outcome, it is trouble that coach Bruiser Flint could have done without as he makes his plans for the season, and it seems unlikely according to most basketball predictions that he would ever have been thinking about having to prepare without his leading scorer and top producer of assists.

Without Harris, Drexel’s season could well be doomed before it even starts, and again it comes thanks to a story where you find it hard to think of anything to say but ‘Why?’ Harris could well have been looking at a career in the NBA – now prison might be more likely.

The Louisville Cardinals were on the NCAA Tournament bubble until they pulled off a season sweep of then #1 ranked Syracuse in the final home game at Freedom Hall. The Louisville Cardinals finished the season at 20-12 and 11-7 in Big East play. Besides the sweep of Syracuse, the other big win for the Cardinals was a February victory over Notre Dame, 91-89. Rick Pitino did have some bad losses this season with dropping games to Charlotte (65-87) and Western Carolina (83-91) reminding Cats fans of some of Coach G’s big losses the previous two season to mid-major teams. Coach Rick Pitino is 38-13 in 14 NCAA Tournament appearances and took the Cardinals to the Elite Eight in the 2009 NCAA Basketball Tournament.

This season’s Cardinals have improved along with the performance of big man Samardo Samuels. Samuels has blossomed into the talent fans expected his freshman season, scoring 15.3 ppg and grabbing 7.0 rpg. Jared Swopshire has also improved this year increasing his scoring average to 7.6 ppg and has a 3 point shot to go with his inside game.

Louisville averages 8 3 pointers a game. When they are at or above their season average of 33% from 3, they are a difficult team to beat. When they are under 30 % and are turning the ball over, games like the Charlotte facality have occurred. Edgar Sosa has matured significantly since he first came to Louisville, and is averaging 4.5 apg running the point for Coach Pitino while averaging 13.3 ppg. Fellow senior guard, Reginald Delk, is only averaging 6.6 ppg but when he gets hot, he is capable of 20 or more a game with his 3 point shot.

Overall, Louisville is averaging 76.7 ppg on offense while giving up 69.6 ppg on defense. The Cardinals shoot 44.8 % from the field and hold opponents to a 43% shooting average from the field. The Cardinals are a decent free throw shooting team at 70.6 % and have a team assist to turnover ratio of just over 1.1 per game.

The Cardinals are a #9 seed in this year’s tourney and will take on California in their opening round game. If they are able to make it to the 2^nd round, they will likely take on the #1 seed Duke Blue Devils.

Kentucky Coach John Calipari

Now that the majority of the 2009 NCAA recruiting classes are set and we know who is going into the 2009 NBA draft, I figured it was time to put out my pre-season Top 25. We’ll see a little movement over the next few months depending on what Lance Stephenson decides to do and where the USC recruits end up, but the 2009-10 NCAA basketball  season does prove to be an exciting one!

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 1 Kansas
Bill Self is heading into the 200910 season fully loaded with his talent from last year as well as another great recruiting class headlined by star shooting guard, Xavier Henry. Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich are back for another shot at the NCAA title, and the Jayhawks should repeat as Big 12 champions next season.

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 2 Kentucky
Its debatable on what the impact of Jodie Meeks not coming back to Kentucky for the 2009-10 season is going to be. He led the Wildcats and the SEC in scoring last season, but if the number 1 recruiting class of 2009 performs as expected, Coach John Calipari will have the Wildcats heading deep into the 2010 NCAA tournament next year! The Wildcats will have one of the strongest front courts in the country with Patrick Patterson, DeMarcus Cousins, and Daniel Orton to go with the top rated point guard prospect in the country, John Wall.

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 3 Villanova
Scottie Reynolds returning to Nova with a great recruiting class is making the Wildcats the Big East favorite and a threat for the 2010 NCAA title!

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 4 Michigan State
The Spartans have three starters returning but will have a fight for the Big Ten title with Purdue and Ohio State.

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 5 North Carolina

Ed Davis and Deon Thompson are back along with prize recruits John Henson and Leslie McDonald. This might be a bit high for the defending champs, but something tells me they’re going to be going deep again in the 2010 tourney!

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 6 Purdue
Purdue will be challenging Michigan State for the Big 10 title. They have all of their starters back along with JaJuan Johnson and will be a regular in the Top Ten during the 2009-10 season.

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 7 Texas
The Long Horns have a great recruiting class headed by Avery Bradley and Jordan Hamilton. They’re going to give Kansas a run for the Big 12 Title and will be a force to be reckoned with in the post season.

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 8 Duke
Duke is bringing back a solid core from last season’s team. Gerald Henderson will be missed and they may have a bit of trouble at the point initially, but the Blue Devils will be a top ten team next season.

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 9 West Virginia
West Virginia is led by point guard Joe Mazzulla and Devin Ebanks will be a first round pick in the 2010 or 2011 NBA draft. The mountaineers should go deeper in the post season in 2010 than last year and will be one of the powerhouses in the Big East in 2009-10.

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 10- Ohio State
Ohio State lost B.J. Mullens to the 2009 NBA draft, but they have Evan Turner back as well as a number of other starters to go with David Lighty.

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 11- Washington
Washington was able to sign the second best point guard in the 2009 NCAA basketball recruiting class in Abdul Gaddy who will complement Thomas at the 2 guard position while leading Washington in the 2009-10 season.

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 12 Oklahoma
Oklahoma had a strong recruiting year in 2009 and with Willie Warren coming back they will push Kansas, Texas, and Oklahoma State in the Big 12.

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 13 Tennessee
With Tyler Smith returning, Bruce Pearl has an experienced team heading in to the 2009-10 season. The Vols will be looking to keep Kentucky from going undefeated in SEC play next season and will be a top 15 team heading into the season.

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 14 Cal
The Cal Bears will be competing with Washington for the PAC-10’s top spot next season. UCLA could come into the mix as well depending on how quickly their 2009 recruiting class performs as well.

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 15 Miss State
If Renardo Sidney can gain his eligibility, Mississippi State will be a Top 20 team all season and will be trying to give Kentucky a run for their money for the SEC overall and tournament titles.

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 16 Connecticut
Stanley Robinson, Ater Majok, and Kemba Walker will be leading the Huskies to another season atop the Big East and a national ranking.

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 17 Dayton
Dayton almost has their entire team back from last season’s that won 27 games and a NCAA tournament game. They will be vying for the A-10 championship and we’ll see them ranked the majority of the season.

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 18 Minnesota
Former Kentucky Wildcat coach Tubby Smith has his starters returning with a decent recruiting class. He’ll have a tough time trying to get past Ohio State, MSU, and Purdue, but the Gophers will be in the thick of the Big 10 race for the majority of the season.

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 19 Butler
Butler could easily be ranked higher. They have everyone back from last season to include star Matt Howard.

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 20 Oklahoma State
OSU has a great 2009 basketball recruiting class inbound in Travis Ford’s run and gun offense. They’ll score a lot of points, have fun, and just might pull some upsets along the way!

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 21 Michigan
DeShawn Sims and Manny Harris will be two of the leaders on the Wolverines squad next season. They could play up in the rankings once the season gets going.

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 22 Missouri
The Tigers have a deep bench and will be dangerous again next season. Look for the team to take a bit time to gel after losing Leo Lyons and DeMarre Carroll, but will be clicking by tournament time.

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 23 Louisville
Samardo Samuels and Terrence Jennings are going to be the “go to” players for Coach Rick Pitino next season. They have to perform to keep the Cards afloat in the Big East and the 2010 NCAA tournament.

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 24 Memphis
Coach Josh Pastner has been putting together a pretty impressive recruiting class after taking over from Coach John Calipari. Many have counted the Tigers out, but with their current recruiting crop, look for them to win more than 25 games next season!

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 25 Siena
Siena has a majority of their core players coming back from last season. Losing Kenny Hasbrouck drops them a bit, so they eeked by Illinois to make Nr 25 on my rankings.

Close to Being Ranked:

Florida State – Solomon Alabi, Jordan Mercy, and Chris Singleton lead the Seminole front court along with incoming recruit Michael Snaer.

Illinois – The Fighting Illini have a great 2009 recruiting class. They just missed being in the top 25, but can quickly find themselves there once the season gets moving.

Georgetown – Georgetown was one of the disappointing teams of last season. With Greg Monroe back, the Hoyas should be able to build on the 2008-09 season and make it to the NCAA’s at the end of the year.

Refs:

http://kenpom.com/rate.php, http://www.latimes.com/sports/college/basketball/la-sp-renardo-sidney5-2009jun05,0,7406854.story, ttp://beyondthearc.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/04/17/1897733.aspx, http://bleacherreport.com/articles/162509-the-return-of-marcus-ginyard-your-2009-10-north-carolina-tar-heels, http://www.collegesports-fans.com/basketball-previews/2008-2009-previews/kansas-jayhawks-preview.html, http://www.zimbio.com/Chante+Black/news/PDWD71712ST/2009+Duke+Blue+Devils+Basketball+Recruiting, http://www.secsportsfan.com/2009-2010-kentucky-wildcats-basketball-preview.html,