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Duke, Florida waiting on early entries
Posted: Friday April 13, 2001 2:24 PM
Updated: Sunday April 15, 2001 9:16 AM
It sure has been raining this spring in Tucson, Ariz., and East Lansing, Mich. And contrary to what you might have heard, I still believe a drop or two will fall in Durham, N.C., and Gainesville, Fla. Just a few April showers, folks, which will no doubt prompt the annual chorus of Chicken Littles to insist that the sky is falling. No doubt these storms make for a rough ride, but the game will sail on just fine. The beauty of college basketball is that there are always new faces to be unveiled, new stars to be born.
So let's get to some informed speculation. It says here -- again -- that Duke's Jason Williams will enter this year's NBA Draft. A source close to Williams told me that the sophomore point guard has already informed close friends that he has decided to turn pro, and all that is left is for Williams to work up the moxie to let Coach K know. I suppose it's possible he will decide to return, but don't count on it. In fact, if the May 13 deadline passes and Williams still has not entered the draft, I will personally drive out to Plainfield, N.J.,and treat the Devil Momma herself, Althea Williams, who is surely first-team All-Mom, to lunch. And, yes, I will ask the waiter for one order of crow.
I'm also told that Carlos Boozer, who submitted two very strong performances at the Final Four, is putting out feelers to see where he would be drafted. My gut tells me he'll stay, but at this point nothing would surprise me.
Down in Gainesville, fans are already looking forward to next year, when Billy Donovan is again due to welcome the nation's top-rated recruiting class. If everyone is in the fold, the Gators will no doubt be a consensus preseason No. 1 choice. However, I'm told that Kwame Brown, the 6-foot-11 forward from Georgia with raw skills but Kevin Garnett -like potential, is strongly considering entering the draft, where he would quite possibly be the first high school player selected.
Not only that, but a surprising development emerged at the Roundball Classic all-star game, which was held April 9 at at Northwestern's Welsh-Ryan Arena: James White, the reed-thin, 6-7 swingman from Maryland who is another Florida recruit, put the word out that he is seriously considering also taking the leap to the pros. White's name hasn't been on anyone's short list of possible draftees, which is why I think he'll do the right thing and go to school, but it wouldn't be a bad idea for Donovan to spend the next few weeks re-recruiting his recruits.
If Boozer, Brown, White and Williams are all playing college ball next season, look for Florida and Duke to be 1-2 in the preseason polls (with Kentucky and Maryland right behind). If any or all of those guys bolt to the play-for-pays, those two schools will have to make do with what they have, which is still plenty. This is the reality of today's game. The schools that compete the best will be the ones most adept at navigating the choppy waters.
SPRINGTIME HOOP THOUGHTS
Of all the coaching moves made this spring, the most telling is Dave Odom's decision to leave Wake Forest for South Carolina. Wake had put off renewing Odom's contract for some time and he obviously saw the writing on the wall. (Meanwhile, Herb Sendek still chugs along at N.C. State, despite much lesser credentials.) Odom's decision was a classic instance of the need to stay one step ahead of the proverbial posse.
If I'm Deamon Deacons AD Ron Wellman, my list of candidates to replace Odom has only one name on it: Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson. Sampson perfectly fits the profile of the type of coach who could succeed in Winston-Salem. In the first place, he's a North Carolina native. Second, he's used to winning without blue-chip talent because no matter how good a recruiter someone is, it's almost impossible to beat out Duke, UNC and N.C. State for players. And finally, I believe Sampson would take the job because it would give him a chance to work at a school where basketball doesn't take a backseat to football. Quickly making this move would save Wake Forest the embarrassment of being turned down by potential replacements.
When Bob Knight was tossing chairs at refs and hurling vases at secretaries, his allies defended him by citing his record of academic integrity. But Knight sacrificed what was left of that integrity when he ran three players out of the Texas Tech program and didn't provide a reason. ("They just needed to be dismissed, period. That's all.") On top of that, Knight had the temerity to appeal to the NCAA to be exempt from the rule that was put in place to stop this very practice. The NCAA denied his request earlier this week.
Regarding Arizona, I hope Michael Wright is smart enough to do what teammate Jason Gardner is doing and not sign with an agent so he's left with the option of returning to school next year. Gardner, at least, has a chance to be a first-round draft pick. Wright doesn't.
Regarding Arizona (Part II), it was a little unbecoming of Lute Olson to complain during his interview with CBS following the national-title game about the refs' easy treatment of Duke's Williams. While there is no denying the Blue Devils get favorable treatment from the zebras (so did Michael Jordan ), that was not the reason Duke won. If anything, the refs did Arizona a favor by keeping Williams in the game, considering he had his worst outing of the season.
I was surprised to hear that Connecticut's Jim Calhoun came so close to taking that South Carolina job. It used to be that people loved it when a coach stayed in one place for so long. Now it's perceived as a problem.
The early winner in the will-they-stay-or-will-they-go sweepstakes is UCLA, where it appears both Dan Gadzuric and Jason Kapono will return to school. Add a highly regarded recruiting class, and the future looks bright in Westwood. So when do we start speculating on Steve Lavin's status again?
Do you think DePaul's Steven Hunter and Bobby Simmons opted for the NBA draft because they realized they're no better now than they were as high school seniors? If Pat Kennedy was looking to shed his reputation as a guy who knows how to recruit good players but doesn't know what to do with them, he hasn't helped himself in those two cases.
Sports Illustrated staff writer Seth Davis covers college basketball for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.
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