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These jucos flamed out
Sports Illustrated senior writer Grant Wahl answers your college basketball questions every Wednesday. Click here to send him a question. SEATTLE -- Thought I'd begin this week by updating folks on a story I did a year ago for Sports Illustrated. So let's send it out to Jon-Claud Nix of Kailua, Hawaii, who asks: "Could you please fill dedicated Wahl-ites in on what impact those juco players you profiled in SI last year are having?" Glad you asked, Jon-Claud, because it gave me a chance to track down the four juco stars I wrote about for "Where the Stars Don't Shine" last March. One of the points of the story was that, more and more, jucos are seen as legitimate springboards to success in basketball, from Division I to the pros. These four haven't exactly proven that point: Kenny Brunner. Last year I visited Brunner at the College of Southern Idaho, where he was trying to rehab his image after leaving Georgetown and Fresno State and being cleared of charges from assault (with a samurai sword) to robbery to attempted murder. Amazingly, the day I arrived in Twin Falls, Idaho, Brunner got suspended indefinitely for organizing a mutiny, but within days he was back on the team. Southern Idaho finished second at the national juco tournament, and it appeared Brunner would land with Georgia last summer. But then the local media and alums started putting heat on the school and coach Jim Harrick about Brunner's past, and Georgia refused to admit him when it didn't receive his official juco transcript on time. These days you can find Brunner playing for the San Diego WildFire of the ABA 2000, where he's averaging 13.6 points in eight games alongside such luminaries as Geno Carlisle (Cal), Stanley Roberts (LSU) and Stevie Thompson (Syracuse). Antwan Jones. Last year Jones was a star forward at Tallahassee (Fla.) CC who had used a juco to go from anonymity at a tiny high school in Florida (he didn't even play AAU ball) all the way to signing with Cincinnati. Jones' year at Cincy has been hard, though. In January he left the team for four days because he didn't think he was getting enough playing time, and he has had to work his way back into the rotation. A junior, Jones has played in 19 games, starting once, and is averaging 6.9 points and 14.8 minutes a game off the bench. Ernest Brown and Cory Hightower. Brown and Hightower had big plans when I saw them last year at Indian Hills CC in Ottumwa, Iowa. They had decided to skip D-I ball altogether and make themselves eligible for the NBA draft. Both were taken in the second round (Brown by the Heat, Hightower by the Lakers), but neither one is on an NBA roster these days. Though Hightower averaged 9.8 points per game for the Lakers' summer-league team, he was their last cut at the end of training camp. (Lakers brass said he wasn't strong enough.) In December Hightower was cut by the Gary Steelheads of the now-defunct CBA after missing a practice because of a flat tire, but lately he has resurfaced with the Harlem Globetrotters. Brown, meanwhile, is playing for the Kansas City Knights of ABA 2000, averaging 4.3 points in 21 minutes per game. The Heat retains his rights, but don't get too excited: Brown didn't make the 18-man roster for training camp. On to the questions ... Why can't Iowa State be mentioned (in all seriousness) as a legitimate Final Four team? The Cyclones happen to have all the qualities the media love: senior leadership, balanced scoring, great D, great rebounding, guards who can take you off the dribble and hit the three, a potential lottery pick, and the AP coach of the year (never mind a general toughness that Gary Williams would kill for).
There's no reason the Cyclones couldn't make the Final Four, and while I don't generally like to give all the credit to coaches, Larry Eustachy has done another amazing job in Ames. Sure, they have a star in Jamaal Tinsley, but for the second straight year Iowa State is at the top of the Big 12 because of its dependable no-name supporting cast. Kantrail Horton and Martin Rancik, for example, are two of the best players you've never heard of. What's more, your point that Iowa State is "the anti-Maryland" is spot on. The Cyclones come at you with a confidence that they're going to beat you, and they're going to work hard doing it. What are your thoughts on Jim Harrick taking Georgia to the Elite Eight and possibly squeaking into the Final Four?
Better worry about making the tournament first, Dale. While the Dawgs have an RPI of 15 (thanks to the nation's toughest schedule), they're 13-11 and have lost four in a row, including two at home to Kentucky and Florida. Georgia is 6-5 in the SEC and, if form plays out, will finish 9-7 (16-13 overall). That means Georgia would need at least one win, maybe two, in the SEC tournament to make the NCAAs. Even if the Bulldogs can pull it off, I wouldn't expect much in the postseason. They've been wildly inconsistent. I am a frustrated Seton Hall basketball fan. Were we all wrong to rate Tommy Amaker so highly? He obviously can recruit as well as anyone in the country, but can he coach? I'm not ready to write him off yet, but Amaker has to be a finalist for worst coaching job of the year. What are your thoughts on the underachieving Pirates?
While nobody thought Seton Hall would be a national-title threat this year, the Pirates have to be one of the nation's most disappointing teams, having lost six of their last seven to fall to 12-9 (3-7 Big East). I don't expect them to reach the tournament, and the main reason is plain to see: They don't play together, they never set screens and every offensive set devolves to one-on-one. I'm not ready to put Amaker in Pat Kennedy territory yet (he engineered a fine NCAA tournament run last year), though what I've seen this year hasn't been encouraging. Seton Hall simply folded after Eddie Griffin punched Ty Shine in January. We'll know a lot more about Amaker when we see how well his team plays next year, when the Pirates should be preseason top five. Are Casey Calvary (Gonzaga) and Brandon Armstrong (Pepperdine) NBA players? They dominate the West Coast Conference, but no one will mistake that league for a similarly named conference on the Atlantic shore.
It may not be the ACC, but I like the WCC, which has given us such tournament stalwarts as Gonzaga, Pepperdine and Santa Clara over the years. I've done Sports Illustrated pieces this year on both Calvary and Armstrong, and both have pro-quality skills and good heads on their shoulders. NBA scouts whom I've talked to are impressed by Armstrong's athleticism and ability to create shots, while they like Calvary's hops, size and heart. Taking into consideration team records, quality of schedule and head-to-head competition, is there any legitimate reason why Oklahoma is currently rated ahead of Ole Miss in both major polls? Or, unfortunately, is this another clear case of anti-Mississippi bias?
Well, let's see. No. 16 Ole Miss and No. 13 Oklahoma have the same records (19-4). Ole Miss' schedule strength is No. 27, while Oklahoma's is No. 96. Ole Miss has quality wins over OU, USC, Kentucky and Tennessee, while Oklahoma has quality W's over ... Texas? And, of course, Ole Miss beat Oklahoma 60-55 on Dec. 2. Nope, there's no reason for Ole Miss getting the shaft. I don't think it's a case of bias against Mississippi (since when is there a bias toward Oklahoma?) but I do know that I almost never saw the Rebels on TV when I lived in New York, and it's the same now that I'm in Seattle. In fact, the last time I saw Ole Miss was on ESPN Classic last week against Valparaiso in the 1998 NCAA tournament. I'm not one of the AP voters (how about sending a ballot my way, guys?), but if I were, I'd have Ole Miss ahead of the Sooners. DWAYNE SCHINTZIUS AND BILLY DONOVAN'S BARBER FOUND! Our quest to find former Florida goofball Dwayne Schintzius was unsuccessful, sadly, but Rick Bosang of Ormond Beach, Fla., wrote in to say that he talked to Dwayne over Super Bowl weekend in Tampa. According to Bosang, Schintzius (a bleached blond these days) said he was living in Orlando and working out, hoping to return to the NBA. But Rick makes a good case when he writes, "I think he would do better in wrestling seeking out a match with Cap'n Ahab, a.k.a. Don Devoe !" More important, thanks to tips from readers Scott Clay of Tampa, Fla., and Edward Bittof of Jacksonville, Fla., I was able to get a hold of a man who has performed a remarkable feat, sculpting both Billy Donovan's gel deluxe and Schintzius' spectacular mullet. His name is Chip Ratliff, and he runs the Mane Stop across from UF in Gainesville. Chip, a former high school football coach, has one of those wonderful, high-pitched Southern male accents, and he's fond of wearing cowboy boots. Here's a transcript of our Wednesday afternoon conversation: Me: I hear you're the man for haircuts around the UF program, Chip. Chip: I've been doing this for 23 years, and I've done guys like Steve Spurrier, Danny Wuerffel, Billy Donovan, Jason Williams, Lon Kruger, Teddy Dupay, Brett Nelson and Mike Miller. Me: And Dwayne Schintzius, too? Chip: Yes, sir. Me: Amazing. What are your secrets? Chip: You know what the secret is, Grant? First, you give a good haircut. Second, you talk to 'em, but not as you would if you were a fan. I don't wear jerseys and stuff, and I don't ask 'em questions about the inside of the team. That way they can trust you. Me: Chip, you've got to be an extremely talented barber to handle both Coach Donovan and Dwayne Schintzius. Chip: Well, I'm a hair stylist, not a barber... Me: Oh, sorry. Chip: ... but the way I cut hair, it's the way you want it, no matter how good or bad it might appear. Me: Hence, Dwayne. Chip: For Dwayne we had a flat-top on top and long in the back, and we kind of blended it in between. Coach Donovan goes shorter than I'd like to, but he uses gel, so that's OK. Me: I like your style, Chip. Chip: We have six locations throughout Gainesville. Come see us sometime. Many thanks to Chip, which brings us to next week's WATN: Where in the world is former Alabama-Birmingham lummox Alan Ogg?
Click here to send your college basketball question to Grant Wahl.
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