Lance Stephenson is one of the top high school players in the country. He was a McDonald's All-American. He is also just about the only major recruit not running screaming from the rubble of USC that is without a college destination.
I'm sure Memphis' athletic department has a lot on its plate in preparation for tomorrow's hearing before the NCAA Rules and Infractions Committee, but they might want to get on this.
In an effort to talk about something college basketball-related other than scandals in the summer, let's talk best current coaches. We'll attempt to order the top 25 current coaches in the nation. This is about the present and the future, not the distant past. What a guy did in the mid-90s doesn't matter near as much as the direction his program is currently headed. Past pedigree also matters, to an extent. For the perfect mix of past accomplishments with present achievement and a paved road for future success, look no further than the man atop the list.
What a bombshell from the University of Memphis. It has exhaustively determined that it has found nothing to suggest Derrick Rose did not take his own SAT test. Just for good measure it has also concluded that even if -- somehow -- it did turn out that someone other than Derrick Rose took the SAT there was no way the school could have known. Therefore, in Memphis' humble opinion, there should be no punishment of Memphis.
The main thrust of the document (PDF) seems to be to make it clear that Memphis knew nothing. This should not be surprising since it will be a document that Memphis plans to submit to the NCAA as part of its defense.
When initial reports surfaced of the allegations against the University of Memphis when it came to an anonymous freshman's contested SAT results, most assumed the University learned of the charges on January 16, 2009 when they received a letter of discovery from the NCAA. According to an ESPN report by Andy Katz, that isn't exactly true.
The University of Memphis actually found out about the nefarious testing allegations via email, and they found out just one month after their April 7, 2008 NCAA Championship appearance. Public assumptions -- due to the logistics of the allegations -- point to then-freshman superstar Derrick Rose, who now plays for the NBA's Chicago Bulls.
Lost amid the kerfuffle overtaking John Calipari, Memphis, and Kentucky is the question that everyone should be asking: Is your average athletic director smart enough to handle their job given the intense pressure and attention that now descends upon the position?
When the news of the NCAA investigation of the University of Memphis broke, the first thing that came to mind was that Kentucky is heading down the same road as Indiana -- having hired a coach who recently came under fire by the NCAA. The situation does seem a bit different, though, because the allegations at Memphis are allegedly not personally tied to John Calipari.
On the other hand, Kentucky knew the allegations were coming to a head and would be made public prior to the June 6 hearing. UK officials have released a statement that says as much.
Besides nothing ever was proven or even suggested by the NCAA that John Calipari even knew what Marcus Camby was up to at UMass. Just like there is nothing at this point to indicate that Calipari was aware of the things the NCAA is now accusing Memphis.
The NCAA is accusing the Memphis Tigers with failure to monitor with regards to actions relating to the 2007-08 season in which the Tigers went to the Final Four. While the name of the key player has been redacted the letter from the NCAA indicates that the player, "subsequently competed during the 2007-08 season and specifically the 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship." In other words, Derrick Rose.
This has to be the absolute last thing on Earth the Kentucky administration and fans wanted to hear. Less than two months after one of the nation's most prestigious basketball programs snatched John Calipari from the University of Memphis, it has now been revealed that Memphis is under investigation by the NCAA for major violations. Obviously, these allegations took place during Calipari's tenure at Memphis.
The infractions at hand involve some possibly nefarious practices during an SAT exam for an unnamed player and that the university provided $2,260 worth of travel expenses for an "associate" of a player. Both of these allegations occurred during the 2007-08 season.
Each week, ESPN's Joe Lunardi predicts the NCAA tournament field if the season ended today. While he's good at this, Lunardi only focuses on past performance, and wins and losses. Bracketology Busters looks at which teams should be expected to perform significantly better or worse than their projected seeds.
This week in Bracketology Busters we'll look at a couple teams that are both currently projected to be No. 2 seeds, but are going in dramatically different directions at this stage of the year. Today, it's a team that was front and center a year ago, but has been largely ignored this season despite performing at a similarly high level.
Lance Stephenson is one of the top high school players in the country. He was a McDonald's All-American. He is also just about the only major recruit not running screaming from the rubble of USC that is without a college destination.
Great timing, Memphis. Pay a visit to the Tigers' Athletic Compliance page and you'll see that it is "temporarily under construction" (hat tip to Gary Parrish at CBS Sports). 
What a bombshell from the University of Memphis. It has exhaustively determined that it has found nothing to suggest Derrick Rose did not take his own SAT test. Just for good measure it has also concluded that even if -- somehow -- it did turn out that someone other than Derrick Rose took the SAT there was no way the school could have known. Therefore, in Memphis' humble opinion, there should be no punishment of Memphis. 
When initial reports surfaced of the allegations against the University of Memphis when it came to an anonymous freshman's contested SAT results, most assumed the University learned of the charges on January 16, 2009 when they received a letter of discovery from the NCAA. According to an ESPN report by Andy Katz, that isn't exactly true. 
When the news of the NCAA investigation of the University of Memphis broke, the first thing that came to mind was that Kentucky is heading down the same road as Indiana -- having hired a coach who recently came under fire by the NCAA. The situation does seem a bit different, though, because the allegations at Memphis are allegedly not personally tied to John Calipari. 
It is a coincidence. 
This has to be the absolute last thing on Earth the Kentucky administration and fans wanted to hear. Less than two months after one of the nation's most prestigious basketball programs snatched John Calipari from the University of Memphis, it has now been revealed that Memphis is under investigation by the NCAA for major violations. Obviously, these allegations took place during Calipari's tenure at Memphis. 
Each week, ESPN's Joe Lunardi predicts the NCAA tournament field if the season ended today. While he's good at this, Lunardi only focuses on past performance, and wins and losses. Bracketology Busters looks at which teams should be expected to perform significantly better or worse than their projected seeds. 
