Early season tournaments continue to emerge and increase from a competition standpoint. Non-conference schedules have gotten tougher and college basketball fans prepare for premier match-ups and upsets even in November.
Let’s take a look at five storyline to watch for at the Maui Invitational:
More: Rant Sports NCAAB Season Preview: What does the Maui Invitational hold : The Arena Pulse
Early season tournaments continue to emerge and increase from a competition standpoint. Non-conference schedules have gotten tougher and college basketball fans prepare for premier match-ups and upsets even in November.
Let’s take a look at five storyline to watch for at the Puerto Rico Tip-off: Rant Sports NCAAB Season Preview: Five Storylines-Puerto Rico Tip-off : The Arena Pulse
As we gear up for college basketball season, a handful of writers at Rant Sports will preview different topics. Here’s the Rant Sports NCAAB Season Preview: Nation’s Top 5 Returning Scorers, taking an up close look at returnees with the five-highest scoring averages from the 2011-12 season.
Top 5 Returning Scorers: Rant Sports NCAAB Season Preview: Nation's Top 5 Returning Scorers : The Arena Pulse
While the scorers in college basketball get the majority of the publicity on television and in print, let’s not forget about the folks that clean the glass for their respective team. There are several guys returning this season that ranked at or near the top in rebounding last season. Let’s take a look at our 2012 – 2013 Rant Sports NCAAB Season Preview: Nation’s Top-5 Returning Rebounders: NCAAB Season Preview: Nation's Top-5 Returning Rebounders
When Mike Aresco left a high-profile position with CBS Sports to become commissioner of the Big East, he wasn't aware Notre Dame was in the process of taking its non-football sports to the ACC, he said Wednesday. But, he insisted that knowledge would not have impacted his decision to take the job, nor does it change his view of the Big East's future as a premiere league that will eventually have 14 football-playing members and at least 17 in basketball.
"We knew they'd be reassessing their situation," Aresco said in a phone interview with USA TODAY Sports. "We had some feeling about that, but we're looking ahead. We're a very strong and resilient conference, and we're still the strongest top-to-bottom basketball conference in the country. Our television reach remains the same."
Aresco said it was "too early to speculate" whether the Big East would look to fill the spot vacated by Notre Dame, which had housed its basketball programs and non-revenue sports since 1995 while maintaining independence in football.
The Big East is evaluating candidates to fill its 14th football slot, with most of the speculation centering on BYU (currently an independent) or Air Force. With Notre Dame's departure, however, the Big East could look at inviting a school in all sports or try to lure a basketball power like Xavier, which doesn't compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Or the Big East could simply move forward with its current alignment of 17 basketball programs.
Read More: Mike Aresco still believes in Big East's future
Early season tournaments continue to emerge and increase from a competition standpoint. Non-conference schedules are getting tougher as college basketball fans prepare for premier match-ups and upsets even in November.
Let’s take a look at the 2K Sports Classic:
Read more at Rant Sports NCAAB Season Preview: Five Storylines-2K Sports Classic
So, Kentucky went ahead without anyone's blessings or approval and changed college basketball recruiting forever earlier this month by building the "Wildcat Coal Lodge" which will now serve as the "dormitory for UK’s men’s basketball team."
As if they didn't already have the upper hand by having recruits meet Coach Cal directly under the 2012 National Championship banner and be constantly reminded of the incredible NBA draft record UK has had in recent years, they just had to go ahead and build themselves a little basketball frat house didn't they?
Don't worry you whistle blowing, SEC-haters, the dorm will also host "other UK students" to keep from any NCAA violations for having players accepting any extra hand outs not readily available to the average student.
If you don't have enough time to watch the eight minute video attached above, here are the highlights:
-The Wildcat Coal Lodge will be stationed directly across from the practice facility/weight room/training room and all players will have access to it, day or night (not sure about the "other" students though). It also seems to be near the academic support building for those keeping score at home.
-The new dorm has an office assistant/"Aunt" that looks after everybody (again, not sure if that includes the "other" students). Her name is Betsy and she does have all the security codes.
-Not only is the Wildcat Coal Lodge the new home of the National Championship trophies, it also houses a very sentimental plaque dedicated to Kentucky's coal industry, which apparently has a lot more to do with a basketball team than one would think because if a coal miner has to pee, all the coal miners pee together...or something like that.
Read More: NCAAB: UK's New Recruiting Tactic and How Iowa Can Become the Next Powerhouse | Bleacher Report
Early season tournaments continue to emerge and increase from a competition standpoint. Non-conference schedules have increased in toughness and college basketball fans can prepare for premier match-ups and upsets even in November.
Let’s take a look at the Diamond Head Classic: Rant Sports NCAAB Season Preview: Five Storylines-Diamond Head Classic
Early season tournaments continue to emerge and increase from a competition standpoint. Non-conference schedule are getting more difficult and college basketball fans are preparing for premier match-ups and upsets even in November.
Let’s take a look at the Hall of Fame Tip-off: Rant Sports NCAAB Season Preview: Five Storylines-Hall of Fame Tip-off
Early season tournaments continue to emerge and increase from a competition standpoint. Non-conference schedules have gotten tougher and college basketball fans prepare for premier match-ups and upsets even in November.
Let’s take a look at the CBE Hall of Fame Classic.
Read more at Rant Sports NCAAB Season Preview: Previewing the CBE Hall of Fame Classic
Aaron Harrison Sr., a no-nonsense former military man, knows the pitfalls of recruiting process, so he exhibits total control over his sons, Aaron and Andrew, twin brothers who national recruiting analysts say represent the best package deal in recent memory.
Harrison Sr., said that until September even the college coaches courting his sons had to go through dad first. One exception: Chris Hightower, in charge of basketball marketing at Under Armour.
"He is my saving grace that there are some upright, straight, humane people in the basketball business," Harrison Sr. said. "He is the one guy who can call Aaron and Andrew.
"They text him, 'Hey, Chris, appreciate what you sent us, thanks a lot. Hey, Chris, do you have a black hoodie? Does Under Armour make this or that?' He will text them, 'Great game I saw on TV.' "
Under Armour sponsors Maryland's basketball team as well as the AAU team for which Harrison coaches and his sons play. And if the connection between Hightower and Maryland was not clear enough, Hightower uses an image of the Under Armour-designed Maryland football uniforms for his Twitter picture.
Read More: Under Armour could be key as Harrison twins choose Kentucky or Maryland
Aaron Harrison Sr. said he enjoyed a "very good" lunch with Maryland Coach Mark Turgeon and assistant Bino Ranson today.
Maryland is making a visit to the Houston area today to make a closing argument in its attempt to secure commitments from Harrison Sr.'s sons, Aaron and Andrew, twin brothers who national recruiting analysts believe represent the best package deal in recent college basketball history.
Read More: Harrison twins' father: 'Maryland has come on strong'
North Carolina says Roy Williams' second kidney tumor isn't cancerous.
The school announced test results Thursday night, a day after the Hall of Fame men's basketball coach had a biopsy of the tumor discovered on his left kidney. The school says the tumor is an oncocytoma, which is a benign growth often indistinguishable from kidney cancer on X-rays that doesn't spread like a cancerous tumor would.
Doctors removed the same kind of growth from Williams' right kidney during a 3½-hour procedure on Sept. 19 and said last week that there was a "good chance" the second tumor was also benign.
In a statement, Dr. Eric Wallen, one of Williams' surgeons, said the 62-year-old coach won't need surgery on the left kidney. Wallen said Williams could return to his normal schedule and should be ready for the start of preseason practice next week.
"The result of the biopsy of the tumor on the left side is great news for Coach Williams and his family," Wallen said. "He is recovering very well and we will continue to follow his progress."
In a statement, Williams thanked his family, players, assistant coaches and friends for their support, as well as the medical staff for his treatment.
Read More: UNC's Williams' second kidney tumor isn't cancerous
Long Island is seeking their third consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament this season, but a fight at an on-campus party this past fall has the potential to put that streak in jeopardy. Defending NEC Player of the Year Julian Boyd, along with fellow starters Jamal Olasewere and C.J. Garner were all involved, but if their off-the-court issues don’t affect the Blackbirds’ season, then expectations will soar under first-year head coach Jack Perri.
In addition to LIU, Wagner and Robert Morris should also be in the mix atop the Northeast Conference. Bashir Mason takes over a Wagner program that was left in a great position by Danny Hurley, who made the switch to URI this past spring. Andy Toole has a Robert Morris squad that is consistently in the hunt for the league’s crown.
Quinnipiac and Sacred Heart also have the potential to make a move within the upper half of the standings, but for a conference that will likely only have one spot saved in the field of 68, the race for conference supremacy will come down to one run in March.
NEC Predictions:
1. Long Island
2. Wagner
3. Robert Morris
4. Quinnipiac
5. Sacred Heart
6. Central Connecticut State
7. Monmouth
8. Mount St. Mary’s
9. St. Francis (NY)
10. Fairleigh Dickinson
11. Bryant
12. St. Francis (PA)
First Team All-NEC Predictions:
G Velton Jones, Sr., Robert Morris
G Shane Gibson, Sr., Sacred Heart
G Jason Brickman, Jr., Long Island
F Julian Boyd, Sr., Long Island
F Jamal Olasewere, Sr., Long Island
NEC Player of the Year Prediction:
Shane Gibson, Sr., Sacred Heart
Coach of the Year Prediction:
Jack Perri, Long Island
Newcomer of the Year Prediction:
Dwaun Anderson, Wagner
Last Team to Win NCAA Tournament Game:
2008- Mount St. Mary’s in Play-in Game
Read more at NEC: Rant Sports NCAAB Conference Previews
Any reference to a geographical triangle usually brings to mind the Research Triangle in North Carolina. Make no mistake, North Carolina and Duke will be Final Four contenders once again. And North Carolina State, fresh off a Sweet 16 appearance and the recruitment of three McDonald's All-Americans, is well positioned to win its first ACC regular season title since 1989. There also are off-court issues at Duke and North Carolina. Investigations continue into a widening academic scandal that has ensnared the entire university at North Carolina. And at Duke, the NCAA is investigating an allegation that Lance Thomas may have received an improper loan from a jeweler in December 2009.
That said, the triangle connecting Bloomington, Ind., Lexington, Ky., and Louisville is where the best basketball will be found this season. Indiana, Kentucky and Louisville are all strong national championship contenders. The Hoosiers' Cody Zeller might be the nation's best overall player. Louisville returns Peyton Siva, Russ Smith and a healthy Wayne Blackshear. And the only thing Coach John Calipari knows how to do at Kentucky is reload: A star-studded crop of freshmen, led by shot blocker extraordinaire Nerlens Noel, bolsters the Wildcats' hopes of repeating as national champions.
Read More: Five things to watch for college hoops season
The star of the Long Island University Brooklyn basketball team and three teammates arrested in a campus brawl had their suspensions lifted Monday and were instead put on school probation and will be suspended for two games each.
Julian Boyd, a forward who was Northeast Conference player of the year in 2011-12, and three other players — Jamal Olasewere, Troy Joseph and C.J. Garner — were suspended from school after the brawl last month.
The fight broke out Sept. 15 during a welcome-back party for students at the Brooklyn campus. Initially, there was an altercation among members of the basketball and track teams. Then, a second fight broke out between basketball players and other students, including a DJ at the party. Police say the four players were arrested after five students filed complaints. Those students were not seriously injured.
The four were arraigned on assault charges and suspended from school, but they appealed the suspension.
Monday, LIU provost Gale Stevens Haynes said the suspensions were lifted after careful consideration, but the school would require the students to undergo anger management and other counseling, and do community service.
They also will have to sit out the first two conference games of the season.
Read More: Suspensions lifted for four LIU players in brawl
"Nobody knew about it. I shouldn't have told anybody," Boeheim said, ready for the start of his 37th season at Syracuse.
Everybody around here realizes it now. It's been 50 years since Boeheim enrolled as a freshman, and T-shirts have been printed to mark the occasion.
The 2012-13 season will be like no other in Boeheim's long tenure. It is Syracuse's final year in the Big East before the school moves to the Atlantic Coast Conference, Jim Calhoun has retired at archrival Connecticut, and when the Orange start practicing in earnest after Midnight Madness on Friday night it will mark the first time Boeheim will be without former assistant Bernie Fine in the preseason.
Fine, who started with Boeheim in 1976, was fired last November after sex-abuse allegations lodged by two former ballboys became public. Fine denied the accusations and has yet to be charged. A federal investigation is still under way.
Boeheim, soon to be 68 and just 10 victories shy of 900, says everything seems pretty much the same as it's always been.
Read More: Jim Boeheim ready for season No. 37 at Syracuse
Once Murray State guard Zay Jackson entered a guilty plea Friday to charges of wanton endangerment and began serving a 30-day jail sentence, police released surveillance footage of the September incident in a Walmart parking lot that led to his arrest. To say the least, the disturbing video doesn't portray Jackson in a flattering light.
When Jason and Alia Clement briefly confront Jackson after he pushed his shopping cart into a parked car, the Murray State guard pulls up alongside the couple to continue the argument as they're loading their own groceries into their vehicle. Jason Clement then goes behind Jackson's car to snap a photo of his rear license plate, leading the Murray State sophomore to behave in a matter that's completely indefensible no matter what words were exchanged between the two parties.
He backs up several times to nudge Jason with his rear bumper. He puts his car in reverse so he's now facing both the Clements. And he plows his car straight into them, even driving a few hundred feet and speeding up with Jason still clinging to his hood before breaking to send Jason sprawling to the asphalt.
[Also: Hoosiers aim for first national basketball title since '87]
It's hard to believe Jackson's actions haven't led to Murray State dismissing him from the team, but the Racers continue to remain loyal to the promising guard. Although the school has suspended Jackson indefinitely, athletic director Allen Ward said in a statement released to the Murray Ledger that Jackson is "still a very big part of the program" and will likely return to the team sometime this season.
"He made a mistake, he's taken responsibility for that mistake, he's been accountable for it, and we're going to do everything we can to help him through this and let him know that he has the support of the Murray State program," Ward said.
"He's got some tough days ahead of him. It hasn't been easy on him, these last couple of months, not being a part of the team activities, but we will continue to work through those times and we'll be there for Zay, and he's going to be a very big part of this program, and he will be part of the team this year."
Why would Murray State be reluctant to cut ties with Jackson? Maybe he has otherwise been a good citizen, but part of it also surely is related to the potential he flashed in limited minutes as a freshman. He scored 4.9 points, dished out 2.3 assists and played pesky defense for a veteran-laden Murray State team that finished 31-2 and advanced to the Round of 32 in the NCAA tournament.
With starters Jewaun Long and Donte Poole having graduated, Murray State needs perimeter players to complement All-American Isaiah Canaan. Coach Steve Prohm envisioned Jackson as a potential backcourt threat alongside Canaan prior to his arrest, but Murray State should be careful now with the message it's sending.
If Jackson serves his prison sentence, sits out all of this season and behaves as the most perfect of citizens, maybe that's sufficient to reinstate him to the team for the 2013-14 season. But if Jackson serves his jail sentence and returns to Murray State soon afterward, that's too lenient a penalty for someone who showed such disgusting disregard for human life just a few months earlier.
Video: Disturbing surveillance video surfaces of incident involving Murray State
After shocking 2nd-seeded Duke in the NCAA Tournament last spring, Lehigh returns All-American candidate C.J. McCollum this season. So, we might as well chalk things up in favor of the Mountain Hawks and label them as a dangerous threat come March.
Well, not so fast.
While that could very well could be the case, there is another team just waiting in the balance who is also returning a star performer of their own. That team is, Bucknell.
Mike Muscala is back and despite Lehigh taking the league’s lone bid to the NCAA Tournament, it was Bucknell who captured the regular season crown.
The race for conference supremacy may very well come down to both Bucknell and Lehigh again this season, but schools like American, and an improving Holy Cross group are also looking to make a run in 2012-13.
Patriot League Predictions:
1. Lehigh
2. Bucknell
3. American
4. Holy Cross
5. Army
6. Lafayette
7. Navy
8. Colgate
First Team All-Patriot League Predictions:
G C.J. McCollum, Sr., Lehigh
G Stephen Lumpkins, Sr., Ameican
F Ella Ellis, Sr., Army
F Dave Dudzinski, Jr., Holy Cross
C Mike Muscala, Sr., Bucknell
Patriot League Player of the Year Prediction:
C.J. McCollum, Sr., Lehigh
Coach of the Year Prediction:
Brett Reed, Lehigh
Newcomer of the Year Prediction:
Dom Hoffman, Bucknell
Read more at Patriot League: Rant Sports NCAAB Conference Preview
The long-awaited moment finally came for Harvard a season ago, as the Crimson qualified for the NCAA Tournament by way of winning the Ivy League outright. With expectations of backing that up with another trip to the Big Dance in 2013, the school, and most notably the basketball program, was wrapped in a cheating scandal that will force head coach Tommy Amaker to replace two of his expected starters.
Kyle Casey and Brandyn Curry are gone, but the Crimson still have enough talent to take the conference crown. The only problem: their window of advantage is not nearly as wide. Princeton, led by all-conference forward Ian Hummer is looking to regain the Ivy League title, while Columbia and Cornell look to provide a threat of their own.
Ivy League Predictions:
1. Harvard
2. Princeton
3. Columbia
4. Cornell
5. Penn
6. Yale
7. Brown
8. Dartmouth
First Team All-Ivy League Predictions:
G Laurent Rivard, Jr., Harvard
G Brian Barbour, Sr., Columbia
G Miles Cartwright, Jr., Penn
F Ian Hummer, Sr., Princeton
F Mark Cisco, Sr., Columbia
Ivy League Player of the Year Prediction:
Ian Hummer, Sr., Princeton
Coach of the Year Prediction:
Kyle Smith, Columbia
Newcomer of the Year Prediction:
Agunwa Okolie, Fr., Harvard
Last Team to Win NCAA Tournament Game:
2010- Cornell advanced to Sweet 16
Read more at Ivy League: Rant Sports NCAAB Conference Previews
Let’s take a look at five storyline to watch for at the Maui Invitational:
More: Rant Sports NCAAB Season Preview: What does the Maui Invitational hold : The Arena Pulse