Midnight Madness is upon us
Washington, Tennessee enjoying unusual expectations
Posted: Saturday October 17, 1998 10:57 AM
The usual pomp and circumstance was in place Friday night when college basketball teams across the country held their first practices of the new season. But the circumstances are quite different at Washington and Tennessee, two teams that are entering the 1998-99 campaign with huge expectations.
Washington hasn't been ranked in the AP poll since December 1984, but after coming within a Rip Hamilton fallaway from making the Elite Eight of last year's NCAA tournament, the Huskies are bringing all of their key players back, including senior center Todd MacCulloch and guards Donald Watts and Deon Luton. Down in Knoxville, Tennessee, Vols coach Jerry Green not only welcomes back all five starters from last year's NCAA tournament team, but he has also added 6-foot-7 freshman Vincent Yarborough, the most talented Tennessee recruit since Bernard King.
Early ailments
Two teams with national championship aspirations will begin practice this weekend without their most important players.
UCLA sophomore point guard Baron Davis had knee surgery in April, and might not be available until mid-November. Davis is said to be recovering well, but he's put on a few extra pounds and will need to work to get back in shape.
UConn's player of the year candidate Richard Hamilton, who had foot surgery in July, will probably dress for practice this weekend, but he won't do much more than go through layup lines. UConn coach Jim Calhoun is playing it safe with Hamilton, which means Hamilton might not get full clearance to practice until early November.
Potential value
One point of contention in the current NBA labor dispute is whether the standard rookie contract should be increased from three years to five years. If that happens, teams could be more willing to take chances on prospects who may be short on skills but long on potential.
According to one NBA executive I spoke to this week, some college players who would be helped by such a change would be Massachusetts center Lari Ketner, Georgia Tech guard Dion Glover, Maryland center Obinna Ekezie and Rhode Island swingman Lamar Odom.
Sports Illustrated writer-reporter Seth Davis covers the college basketball beat and appears regularly on CNN/Sports Illustrated.
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