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<generator>Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/</generator><item><title>Ole Miss' Andy Kennedy Pleads Guilty 4 Months After Proclaiming Innocence</title><link>http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/04/20/andy-kennedy-pleads-guilty-4-months-after-proclaiming-innocence/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/04/20/andy-kennedy-pleads-guilty-4-months-after-proclaiming-innocence/</guid><comments>http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/04/20/andy-kennedy-pleads-guilty-4-months-after-proclaiming-innocence/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/ole-miss-basketball/" rel="tag">Ole Miss</a>, <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/ncaa-basketball-coaches/" rel="tag">Coaches</a></p><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/yxg1mVW3_cY&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/yxg1mVW3_cY&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Four months ago, Ole Miss coach <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/tag/AndyKennedy/">Andy Kennedy</a> was arrested (video above) after a cab driver said Kennedy punched him and taunted him with racial insults. At the time Kennedy claimed he would be exonerated. Now Kennedy has pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct.<br /><br />Kennedy's <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/basketball/ncaa/04/20/kennedy.ap/index.html">guilty plea</a> is to reduced charges (he was sentenced to just 40 hours of community service and six months' probation; he faced up to six months in jail on the original assault charge), but pleading guilty to anything is a major departure from what he claimed at the time. In his comments after the arrest, Kennedy couldn't have been any clearer in saying he had done absolutely nothing wrong.<br /><br />"I vehemently deny the charges levied against me, and am completely confident that I will be fully exonerated of all charges," <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3777703">Kennedy said in a statement</a> released shortly after the arrest. <br /><br />Kennedy still denies that he punched the cabbie or used racist insults, but <a href="http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20090420/SPORTS030103/90420018">he now says</a>, "I acknowledge using poor judgment which resulted in an adverse reflection on me, my family, our program and the university that I so proudly represent." Ole Miss assistant coach Bill Armstrong (who can be heard in the above video) also pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in connection with the case.<br /> <br /> The school has said Kennedy won't get a contract extension that he otherwise would have received, but overall Kennedy seems like he's getting off very easily here. If he had been telling the truth when he said after his arrest that he didn't do anything wrong, he wouldn't be pleading guilty now. He's lucky prosecutors are letting him plead guilty to lesser charges, and lucky that Ole Miss is letting him off with a slap on the wrist.<p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/04/20/andy-kennedy-pleads-guilty-4-months-after-proclaiming-innocence/">Ole Miss' Andy Kennedy Pleads Guilty 4 Months After Proclaiming Innocence</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com">NCAA Basketball FanHouse</a> on Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:45:00 EST .  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;">&nbsp;</p><p><a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/04/20/andy-kennedy-pleads-guilty-4-months-after-proclaiming-innocence/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/forward/1522797/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.technorati.com/cosmos/search.html?rank=&amp;fc=1&amp;url=http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/04/20/andy-kennedy-pleads-guilty-4-months-after-proclaiming-innocence/" title="Linking Blogs">Linking&nbsp;Blogs</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/04/20/andy-kennedy-pleads-guilty-4-months-after-proclaiming-innocence/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description><category>Andy Kennedy</category><category>AndyKennedy</category><dc:creator>Michael David Smith</dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:45:00 EST </pubDate></item><item><title>Cincinnati Police Release Video of Ole Miss Coach Andy Kennedy's Arrest</title><link>http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/02/cincinnati-police-release-andy-kennedy-arrest-video/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/02/cincinnati-police-release-andy-kennedy-arrest-video/</guid><comments>http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/02/cincinnati-police-release-andy-kennedy-arrest-video/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/ole-miss-basketball/" rel="tag">Ole Miss</a>, <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/sec-basketball/" rel="tag">SEC</a>, <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/ncaa-basketball-coaches/" rel="tag">Coaches</a>, <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/ncaa-basketball-video/" rel="tag">Video</a></p><img hspace="4" vspace="4" border="1" align="right" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/media/2009/01/andy-kennedy-200cbb-011609.jpg" alt="" />Cincinnati police have <a href="http://www.wlwt.com/news/18606787/detail.html">released an hour-long video</a> taken during their arrest of Ole Miss head basketball coach <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/tag/AndyKennedy/">Andy Kennedy</a> in December. Police <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/12/18/ole-miss-coach-tries-to-liven-up-the-sec-big-east-invitational-b/">arrested Kennedy for allegedly assaulting a cab driver</a> outside a downtown night club. The driver claimed the Rebels coach, who was in town to play Louisville in the Big East-SEC Invitational, directed racial slurs at him.<br /> <br /><a href="http://www.wlwt.com/video/18615503/index.html">In the video</a>, Kennedy is pulled over, handcuffed, placed in the police cruiser and taken back to the night club to be positively identified. In the video taken from the cruiser's dashboard camera, Kennedy repeatedly begs the officers to let him go because the arrest would create "an international altercation."<br /><br />Kennedy kept pleading with the police to let him go and continued to say this would turn into a national incident. He even pulled out the "I used to be the head coach" at the University of Cincinnati card. One officer responded to Kennedy's pleas by rhetorically asking, "You think we've never arrested somebody that's made national media? ... We deal with the Bengals all the time."<br /><br />The video also shows Ole Miss director of basketball operations William Armstrong yelling at the cabbie for lying to the police. Armstrong and Kennedy claimed that the cab driver dropped an N-bomb on one of their companions in the argument. The cab driver denied this to police, prompting an outburst by Armstrong that ended in his arrest for disorderly conduct.<br /><br />Kennedy's assault trial is set for April.<p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/02/cincinnati-police-release-andy-kennedy-arrest-video/">Cincinnati Police Release Video of Ole Miss Coach Andy Kennedy's Arrest</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com">NCAA Basketball FanHouse</a> on Mon, 02 Feb 2009 00:15:00 EST .  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;">&nbsp;</p><p><a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/02/cincinnati-police-release-andy-kennedy-arrest-video/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/forward/1447261/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.technorati.com/cosmos/search.html?rank=&amp;fc=1&amp;url=http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/02/cincinnati-police-release-andy-kennedy-arrest-video/" title="Linking Blogs">Linking&nbsp;Blogs</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/02/cincinnati-police-release-andy-kennedy-arrest-video/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description><category>andy kennedy</category><category>AndyKennedy</category><dc:creator>Shiloh Carder</dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 02 Feb 2009 00:15:00 EST </pubDate></item><item><title>Billy Gillispie Thinks Your Question, Sideline Reporter, Is Dumb</title><link>http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/28/billy-gillispie-thinks-your-question-sideline-reporter-is-dumb/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/28/billy-gillispie-thinks-your-question-sideline-reporter-is-dumb/</guid><comments>http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/28/billy-gillispie-thinks-your-question-sideline-reporter-is-dumb/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/kentucky-basketball/" rel="tag">Kentucky</a>, <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/ole-miss-basketball/" rel="tag">Ole Miss</a>, <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/ncaa-basketball-media-watch/" rel="tag">Media Watch</a>, <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/ncaa-basketball-video/" rel="tag">Video</a></p>I think we can all agree that <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/tag/BillyGillispie/">Billy Gillispie</a> doesn't exactly scream "<a href="http://www.usopen.com/2005/news/interviews/mediate_thu_flash.html">Rocco Mediate-style interviews</a>." Billy Clyde looks like he wants to win games, coach kids and, well, that's about it. <br /><br />Last night, with Gillispie's Wildcats up 39-37 at halftime, ESPN reporter Jeanine Edwards caught up with the UK coach. Edwards asked about Jodie Meeks, and, as you will now see, Gillispie thought <a href="http://awfulannouncing.blogspot.com/2009/01/billy-gillispie-is-not-fan-of-sideline.html">Jeanine just chose her question poorly</a>.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xrXeBAoF3sM&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xrXeBAoF3sM&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />"That's really a bad question?" Yeah, and that's actually a pretty hilarious call-out by Billy, who seemed about as annoyed with the question as we were at home. I do love the follow-up question. If nothing is working, just ask about the defense. That will always win you some sort of Emmy.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://awfulannouncing.blogspot.com/2009/01/billy-gillispie-is-not-fan-of-sideline.html"><em>h/t Awful Announcing</em></a><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/28/billy-gillispie-thinks-your-question-sideline-reporter-is-dumb/">Billy Gillispie Thinks Your Question, Sideline Reporter, Is Dumb</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com">NCAA Basketball FanHouse</a> on Wed, 28 Jan 2009 10:57:00 EST .  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;">&nbsp;</p><p><a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/28/billy-gillispie-thinks-your-question-sideline-reporter-is-dumb/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/forward/1443434/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.technorati.com/cosmos/search.html?rank=&amp;fc=1&amp;url=http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/28/billy-gillispie-thinks-your-question-sideline-reporter-is-dumb/" title="Linking Blogs">Linking&nbsp;Blogs</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/28/billy-gillispie-thinks-your-question-sideline-reporter-is-dumb/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description><category>Billy Gillispie</category><category>BillyGillispie</category><dc:creator>Shane Bacon</dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 28 Jan 2009 10:57:00 EST </pubDate></item><item><title>Coach Andy Kennedy's Wife Sues Cabbie Over Husband's Lost Sex Drive</title><link>http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/16/coach-andy-kennedys-wife-sues-cabbie-over-husbands-lost-sex-dr/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/16/coach-andy-kennedys-wife-sues-cabbie-over-husbands-lost-sex-dr/</guid><comments>http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/16/coach-andy-kennedys-wife-sues-cabbie-over-husbands-lost-sex-dr/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/ole-miss-basketball/" rel="tag">Ole Miss</a>, <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/sec-basketball/" rel="tag">SEC</a>, <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/ncaa-basketball-coaches/" rel="tag">Coaches</a></p><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" align="right" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/media/2009/01/andy-kennedy-200cbb-011609.jpg" alt="" />There has been <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28682618/">another lawsuit filed</a> after the fallout of Ole Miss head basketball coach <a href="http://backporch.fanhouse.com/tag/AndyKennedy/">Andy Kennedy's</a> <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/12/18/ole-miss-coach-tries-to-liven-up-the-sec-big-east-invitational-b/">run-in with a cab driver in Cincinnati</a> last month. Mohamed Jiddou claimed that Kennedy punched him while shouting racial slurs in front of a local bar. Kennedy denies all of this and <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/12/21/andy-kennedy-files-defamation-lawsuits/">has filed a defamation suit</a> against Jiddou and a valet who said he witnessed the assault. Kennedy is due in court today for a preliminary hearing of the assault charge.<br /><br />What got lost in the shuffle was another lawsuit filed by the Kennedy clan. Kennedy's wife, Kimber, is suing the cabbie and the valet over the claim that her husband <a href="http://www.wlwt.com/news/18491304/detail.html">hasn't been able to perform in the bedroom</a> since the incident happened.<br /><br />Kennedy was the head coach at Cincinnati in 2005-2006 after the school fired <a href="http://backporch.fanhouse.com/tag/BobHuggins/">Bob Huggins</a>. He had his Ole Miss Rebels back in the Queen City to play Louisville in the SEC/Big East Invitational.<br /><br />Needless to say, this probably delights every fan of every other SEC school. How can any college student attending a game against Ole Miss not think about screaming any number of insults down at Kennedy? He still has to travel to Auburn, Alabama, LSU, South Carolina, Arkansas and rival Mississippi State. I fully expect opposing bands to play "Viva Viagra" or the Cialis jingle during timeouts.<p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/16/coach-andy-kennedys-wife-sues-cabbie-over-husbands-lost-sex-dr/">Coach Andy Kennedy's Wife Sues Cabbie Over Husband's Lost Sex Drive</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com">NCAA Basketball FanHouse</a> on Fri, 16 Jan 2009 12:42:00 EST .  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;">&nbsp;</p><p><a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/16/coach-andy-kennedys-wife-sues-cabbie-over-husbands-lost-sex-dr/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/forward/1431917/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.technorati.com/cosmos/search.html?rank=&amp;fc=1&amp;url=http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/16/coach-andy-kennedys-wife-sues-cabbie-over-husbands-lost-sex-dr/" title="Linking Blogs">Linking&nbsp;Blogs</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/16/coach-andy-kennedys-wife-sues-cabbie-over-husbands-lost-sex-dr/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description><category>andy kennedy</category><category>AndyKennedy</category><category>bob huggins</category><category>BobHuggins</category><dc:creator>Shiloh Carder</dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 16 Jan 2009 12:42:00 EST </pubDate></item><item><title>Ole Miss's Andy Kennedy Starring in Rashomon Remake</title><link>http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/12/18/ole-misss-andy-kennedy-starring-in-rashomon-remake/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/12/18/ole-misss-andy-kennedy-starring-in-rashomon-remake/</guid><comments>http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/12/18/ole-misss-andy-kennedy-starring-in-rashomon-remake/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/ole-miss-basketball/" rel="tag">Ole Miss</a>, <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/sec-basketball/" rel="tag">SEC</a>, <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/ncaa-basketball-coaches/" rel="tag">Coaches</a>, <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/ncaa-basketball-police-blotter/" rel="tag">Police Blotter</a></p><img hspace="4" vspace="4" border="1" align="right" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/media/2008/12/rashomon.jpg" />Completely contradictory accounts. Witnesses with different perspectives on what happened. Multiple variations. No, it isn't <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashomon_%28film%29">the Kurosawa classic</a>. At the moment, it is Ole Miss head coach <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/tag/AndyKennedy/">Andy Kennedy</a>'s life.<br /><br />There was the initial report this morning from the <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/12/18/ole-miss-coach-tries-to-liven-up-the-sec-big-east-invitational-b/">police report on Andy Kennedy's arrest</a> -- that he got belligerent at a cabbie after a dispute over how many people could ride in the cab. Referring to the cabbie as "bin Laden" and other racially-charged insults, and then punching him in the face.<br /><br />Then came stories that a <a href="http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20081218/NEWS01/312180060">member of Kennedy's staff was extremely drunk</a>, after being kicked out of the bar where the Ole Miss coaching staff had been to unwind, and was also taken into custody. The intoxication was denied, and the bar says there was <a href="http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20081218/SPORTS030103/81218003/1287/SPORTS&amp;referrer=NEWSFRONTCAROUSEL">no problem with anyone from the Ole Miss coaching staff</a>.<br /><blockquote>Alex Moller, who identified himself as the general manager of the Lodge Bar, disputed the police report when reached by telephone today.<br /><br />"The reports that they were kicked out are untrue," said Moller. "They were here, but they left on good terms. As for what happened after they left the bar, I don't know, but there was no incident here."<br /></blockquote>Now Andy Kennedy and Ole Miss are getting out <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3777703">their version of events</a>, that, yes, <a href="http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=498399">there was a problem with the cabs</a> but <a href="http://www.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6271764/12376746">it started over a dispute on money owed to another cabbie</a>.<br /><br />And it was the cabbie that referred to one of the coaches -- who is black -- with a derogatory term: the "n" word.<br /> <blockquote>According to the source, after driving "maybe a tenth of a mile" the cab driver realized there were five people in the car, and he told the coaches that he could not take five passengers. So he stopped, at which point Kennedy and his assistants jumped in another cab, one with a driver willing to take five passengers. At that point, the source said, the first cab driver pulled up beside the second cab driver and started yelling at the second driver "in a foreign language," and then the second cab driver turned to the coaches and asked if they owed the first cab driver money. <br />  <br /> The coaches said they did not owe anybody anything because the first driver refused to transport them. Then, according to the source, assistant Torrey Ward, who is black, told the driver to stop talking to the other driver and to get them back to their hotel. <br />  <br /> "And then the cab driver turned around and said "Shut the f-ck up, n-gger," the source said. "That's when things got heated."  <br />  <br /> According to the source, the coaches and cab driver did exchange words, "but nobody hit the driver." The source added that Kennedy and his assistants tried to get out of the cab, but that the driver locked the doors and got on his cell phone, "and we think that's when he called the cops." Eventually, the source said, the driver unlocked the doors and let the coaches out. They then got in a third cab and traveled about a half-mile before the cops pulled the cab over and approached the car.<br /> </blockquote> In <a href="http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=498399">other reports</a>, Kennedy was actually outside of the cab, but some of the assistants weren't.<br /><blockquote> According to [attorney Richard] Katz, the driver then said he legally could not carry four passengers in his backseat and the coaches decided to vacate that cab. A second cab, driven by Jiddou, approached and agreed to take them but wound down his window and began a conversation with the first driver in a foreign language and, according to Katz, used the racial epithet. <br /><br /> "That turned the situation ugly," Katz said. "After heated discussion Andy got out of cab, but as the other coaches were trying to get out he locked the doors and took off down the street. Andy was out when that happened." <br /></blockquote>   The preliminary hearing is set for January 16. The <a href="http://www.olemisssports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=12840&amp;SPID=739&amp;ATCLID=3635319&amp;DB_OEM_ID=2600">University of Mississippi is standing behind Kennedy</a> on this.<br /><br />The truth is somewhere in all of this, but good luck sorting it out. Contradictory stories. Variations on the facts. Different witness accounts. Yeesh.<br /><br />In a case of unintentional comedy, the Ole Miss-Louisville game on ESPN features <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/tag/BobbyKnight/">Bobby Knight</a> as the color analyst. Unfortunately, Dan Shulman has not asked Bob Knight if he can relate to Kennedy being accused of losing his temper and verbally and physically assaulting someone.<p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/12/18/ole-misss-andy-kennedy-starring-in-rashomon-remake/">Ole Miss's Andy Kennedy Starring in Rashomon Remake</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com">NCAA Basketball FanHouse</a> on Thu, 18 Dec 2008 22:53:00 EST .  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;">&nbsp;</p><p><a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/12/18/ole-misss-andy-kennedy-starring-in-rashomon-remake/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/forward/1406124/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.technorati.com/cosmos/search.html?rank=&amp;fc=1&amp;url=http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/12/18/ole-misss-andy-kennedy-starring-in-rashomon-remake/" title="Linking Blogs">Linking&nbsp;Blogs</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/12/18/ole-misss-andy-kennedy-starring-in-rashomon-remake/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description><dc:creator>Chas Rich</dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 18 Dec 2008 22:53:00 EST </pubDate></item><item><title>Ole Miss Coach Tries to Liven Up the SEC/Big East Invitational by Getting Arrested for Assault</title><link>http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/12/18/ole-miss-coach-tries-to-liven-up-the-sec-big-east-invitational-b/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/12/18/ole-miss-coach-tries-to-liven-up-the-sec-big-east-invitational-b/</guid><comments>http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/12/18/ole-miss-coach-tries-to-liven-up-the-sec-big-east-invitational-b/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/ole-miss-basketball/" rel="tag">Ole Miss</a>, <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/sec-basketball/" rel="tag">SEC</a>, <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/ncaa-basketball-coaches/" rel="tag">Coaches</a>, <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/ncaa-basketball-police-blotter/" rel="tag">Police Blotter</a></p><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" align="right" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/media/2008/12/akennedy1.jpg" alt="" />Tonight at 9 pm he has to face Louisville in Cincinnati for the SEC/Big East Invitational. This game was not looking like a particularly attractive game after the injuries Ole Miss has sustained. Now, it looks like this game got a lot more interesting for reasons that have nothing to do with the actual game.<br /> <br />Ole Miss Coach <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/tag/AndyKennedy/">Andy Kennedy</a> spent a four years as an assistant at Cincinnati under <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/tag/BobHuggins/">Bob Huggins</a>, and a year as Cinci's interim head coach. Apparently he learned much from Bob Huggins, including <a href="http://www.local12.com/content/breaking_news/story/Andy-Kennedy-Arrested-For-Assault/nHYfBLrKeEqx-QU6Qd1wdw.cspx">behavior that would be considered anti-social</a>, at best.<br /><blockquote>Cincinnati Police say 40 year old Andy Kennedy punched 25 year old cab driver Jiddou Mohammed Ould in the face with a closed fist while shouting racial slurs. The assault happened in the 500 block of Walnut Street in Downtown Cincinnati at 1 a.m. The police report states that there was an unrelated witness who saw the incident.<br /></blockquote>Kennedy was charged with misdemeanor assault and has a court appearance this afternoon. There is no indication as to whether Kennedy was intoxicated or not -- though, being out at 1 am in Cinci on a Wednesday night/Thursday morning suggests he might have had a few.<br /><br />The use of racial slurs while swinging on the cabbie is going to be the bigger issue for Kennedy. Assault and perhaps being drunk is one thing. Racial epithets are something completely different for any public figure. Especially an employee at a public university.<br /><strong><br />UPDATE (12:33): </strong>A commenter left a <a href="http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckPersona&amp;U=c77145f462c74fa0ac03babe03d1a7e3&amp;plckController=PersonaBlog&amp;plckScript=personaScript&amp;plckElementId=personaDest&amp;plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&amp;plckPostId=Blog%3ac77145f462c74fa0ac03babe03d1a7e3Post%3aa98131e9-7af6-4241-8f64-3616e649910e&amp;sid=sitelife.cincinnati.com">link to a blog post</a> from <em>Cincinnati Enquirer</em> columnist, Paul Daugherty. In the comments, the Daugherty suggests that this might be one big non-story with Kennedy having several witnesses corroborating his version of events.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">UPDATE (12:42):</span> <a href="http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20081218/NEWS01/312180060">Kennedy pleads not guilty</a> to the charges, and while Andy Kennedy may have been sober, one of his party apparently was not.<br /><blockquote> Reports state [director of basketball operations William] Armstrong, 31, was drunk and thrown out of the Lodge Bar downtown early this morning.<br /><br /> After that, he and Kennedy got a cab. A report says Armstrong taunted the driver "in which his conduct was likely to cause a violent response."<br /></blockquote>Developing...<p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/12/18/ole-miss-coach-tries-to-liven-up-the-sec-big-east-invitational-b/">Ole Miss Coach Tries to Liven Up the SEC/Big East Invitational by Getting Arrested for Assault</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com">NCAA Basketball FanHouse</a> on Thu, 18 Dec 2008 11:43:00 EST .  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;">&nbsp;</p><p><a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/12/18/ole-miss-coach-tries-to-liven-up-the-sec-big-east-invitational-b/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/forward/1405474/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.technorati.com/cosmos/search.html?rank=&amp;fc=1&amp;url=http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/12/18/ole-miss-coach-tries-to-liven-up-the-sec-big-east-invitational-b/" title="Linking Blogs">Linking&nbsp;Blogs</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/12/18/ole-miss-coach-tries-to-liven-up-the-sec-big-east-invitational-b/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description><dc:creator>Chas Rich</dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 18 Dec 2008 11:43:00 EST </pubDate></item><item><title>NIT Selection: Prove You Were Snubbed</title><link>http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/03/16/nit-selection-prove-you-were-snubbed/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/03/16/nit-selection-prove-you-were-snubbed/</guid><comments>http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/03/16/nit-selection-prove-you-were-snubbed/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/florida-basketball/" rel="tag">Florida Basketball</a>, <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/ohio-state-basketball/" rel="tag">Ohio State Basketball</a>, <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/syracuse-basketball/" rel="tag">Syracuse Basketball</a>, <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/umass-basketball/" rel="tag">Umass Basketball</a>, <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/acc-basketball/" rel="tag">ACC Basketball</a>, <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/a-10-basketball/" rel="tag">A-10 Basketball</a>, <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/big-12-basketball/" rel="tag">Big 12 Basketball</a>, <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/big-east-basketball/" rel="tag">Big East Basketball</a>, <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/big-ten-basketball/" rel="tag">Big Ten Basketball</a>, <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/sec-basketball/" rel="tag">SEC Basketball</a>, <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/mid-majors-basketball/" rel="tag">Mid-Majors Basketball</a>, <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/march-madness/" rel="tag">March Madness</a>, <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/virginia-tech-basketball/" rel="tag">Virginia Tech Basketball</a>, <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/mvc-basketball/" rel="tag">MVC Basketball</a>, <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/ole-miss-basketball/" rel="tag">Ole Miss Basketball</a>, <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/arizona-state-basketball/" rel="tag">Arizona State Basketball</a></p><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" align="right" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.fanhouse.com/media/2008/03/nit.jpg"  />What? You didn't know the <a href="http://www.nit.org/">NIT</a> announced their bids tonight as well? They were. If you were a fan of a bubble team that didn't make it, now is the chance to at least make a good showing that you were the most deserving team left out of the NCAA Tournament.<br /><blockquote>#1 seeds: Arizona State, Virginia Tech, Ohio State, Syracuse<br />#2 seeds: Florida, Illinois State, Ole Miss, UMass <br />#3 seeds: Creighton, Florida State, Dayton, Nebraska<br />#4 seeds: Minnesota, Cal, SIU, VCU<br />#5 seeds: Oklahoma State, Maryland, New Mexico, UAB<br />#6 seeds: Rhode Island, Akron, Cleveland State, Charlotte<br />#7 seeds: San Diego State, Stephen F. Austin, Utah State, UC-Santa Barbara<br />#8 seeds: Alabama State, Robert Morris, Morgan State, UNC-Asheville<br /></blockquote>Not much else to say. This is as big an indictment of how weak the bubble really was when you look at this list. Only a couple of these teams have any sort of argument that they were screwed by the NCAA Tournament.<p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/03/16/nit-selection-prove-you-were-snubbed/">NIT Selection: Prove You Were Snubbed</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com">NCAA Basketball FanHouse</a> on Sun, 16 Mar 2008 21:45:00 EST .  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;">&nbsp;</p><p><a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/03/16/nit-selection-prove-you-were-snubbed/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/forward/1141571/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.technorati.com/cosmos/search.html?rank=&amp;fc=1&amp;url=http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/03/16/nit-selection-prove-you-were-snubbed/" title="Linking Blogs">Linking&nbsp;Blogs</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/03/16/nit-selection-prove-you-were-snubbed/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description><dc:creator>Charles Rich</dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 16 Mar 2008 21:45:00 EST </pubDate></item><item><title>Vanderbilt's Free...  Free-Fallin'</title><link>http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/01/31/vanderbilts-free-free-fallin/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/01/31/vanderbilts-free-free-fallin/</guid><comments>http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/01/31/vanderbilts-free-free-fallin/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/sec-basketball/" rel="tag">SEC Basketball</a>, <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/vanderbilt-basketball/" rel="tag">Vanderbilt Basketball</a>, <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/ole-miss-basketball/" rel="tag">Ole Miss Basketball</a></p><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" align="right" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.fanhouse.com/media/2007/12/kevin-stallings-vandy-overrated-240ak.jpg" alt="" /><em>"Gonna free fall out into nothin'... gonna leave this world for a while... "</em> -Tom Petty<br /><br />I seem to remember having this discussion about Vanderbilt in the preseason.  It went something like this:<br /><br />"They're so overrated it hurts.  They'll be lucky to go .500 in conference.  You can't win in the SEC with defense like that."<br /><br />At the time Vanderbilt was ranked in the Top 15 and was sporting a nifty, perfect 16-0 record and a 1-0 start to conference play.<br /><br />Since then, they've played five games and lost four of them.  The Commodores lost @ Kentucky, @ Tennessee, @ Florida and as of last night, @ Ole Miss.  Their lone win came over LSU.<br /><br />Losing four road games to two ranked opponents (the Vols and Ole Miss are both Top 25 teams) and a team on the rise (Florida, which is now ranked #19 in the AP Poll) in a "murderer's row" scheduling stretch shouldn't be enough to cause the Vandy faithful to go running for the panic button.  But losing three of those four games in blowout fashion <em>should</em>.  The 'Dores were hammered 80-60 by Tennessee, 86-64 by Florida and 74-58 by Ole Miss for a combined losing differential of 58 points in three games.<br /><br /> Not good.  That's pure free-fall mode right there.<br /> <br /> But Vandy has a chance to turn things around.  The Commodores' schedule was ridiculously front-loaded; many of their toughest road games all came together in one nasty  two-and-a-half week package.  They'll be able to ply the advantages of their funkily-arranged Memorial Gym against Auburn, then face two winnable road games (@ Georgia and @ South Carolina) before returning home to again face the teams that blew them out on the road.<br /> <br /> Vandy's now 2-4 and frankly, an 8-8 conference record seems like a long shot at this point.  Looking at their remaining schedule, I see four winnable games which could be decided in the final minute of play (the home and away with Georgia, the road game against the Gamecocks, and Auburn).  The rest look very tough for a team which just doesn't seem to have any defensive answers and has been easily taken out of their half-court offense by the teams which beat them.<br /> <br /> <strong>FanHouse predicts:</strong> 6-10 conference record, NIT.<br /><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/01/31/vanderbilts-free-free-fallin/">Vanderbilt's Free...  Free-Fallin'</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com">NCAA Basketball FanHouse</a> on Thu, 31 Jan 2008 09:58:00 EST .  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;">&nbsp;</p><p><a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/01/31/vanderbilts-free-free-fallin/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/forward/1102974/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.technorati.com/cosmos/search.html?rank=&amp;fc=1&amp;url=http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/01/31/vanderbilts-free-free-fallin/" title="Linking Blogs">Linking&nbsp;Blogs</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/01/31/vanderbilts-free-free-fallin/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description><dc:creator>Ryan Ferguson</dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 31 Jan 2008 09:58:00 EST </pubDate></item><item><title>SEC Daily W: Florida, Mississippi State the Teams to Watch</title><link>http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/01/28/sec-daily-w-florida-mississippi-state-the-teams-to-watch/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/01/28/sec-daily-w-florida-mississippi-state-the-teams-to-watch/</guid><comments>http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/01/28/sec-daily-w-florida-mississippi-state-the-teams-to-watch/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/florida-basketball/" rel="tag">Florida Basketball</a>, <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/sec-basketball/" rel="tag">SEC Basketball</a>, <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/vanderbilt-basketball/" rel="tag">Vanderbilt Basketball</a>, <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/ole-miss-basketball/" rel="tag">Ole Miss Basketball</a></p><em><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" align="right" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.fanhouse.com/media/2008/01/nick-calathes-florida-team-to-watch-180ak.jpg" />Each weekday, <a href="http://www.fanhouse.com/tag/TheDailyW/">The Daily W</a> looks at the Who, What, Where, When, or Whys of SEC basketball. Today's question:</em><br /><br />Who would have thought that, in late January, we'd have a weekend where the two most important games featured the Mississippi schools, Vanderbilt, and Florida? <br /><br />And yet, that's what we got this past weekend. <a href="http://news.aol.com/story/_a/rhodes-gordon-lead-mississippi-state-to/n20080126204109990013">State's 88-68 win over Ole Miss</a> and the <a href="http://news.aol.com/story/_a/hodge-calathes-lead-gators-to-86-64-win/n20080127163709990007">Gators blowout of Vandy</a> iced it: we've been following the wrong teams from the Magnolia State and Eastern division all along.<br /><br />It was supposed to be a rebuilding year for Florida, but if the Gators can hold off Arkansas this weekend, next week's game against Tennessee will go a long way toward deciding the SEC Eastern division. The Gators have put themselves in this position by getting phenomenal play from freshman starters Jai Lucas and Nick Calathes, but also got a career-high 19 from Walter Hodge against the Commodores (as a junior in a lineup made from freshmen and sophomores, Hodge qualifies as an "old man").<br /><br />The Gators looked good but untested in non-conference play, losing the only two games they played against teams with a pulse (Florida State and Ohio State). But they're being tested now that the SEC season has cranked up, and answering the bell in stunning fashion. Other than an increasingly inexplicable loss to Ole Miss, the Gators look lights-out in conference play, with a league-best 81.5 points/game, and tremendous production from freshmen Calathes (41 assists to only 15 turnovers in SEC games) and Lucas (11 of 18 from behind the arc in SEC play). This team is not rebuilding, they're redefining what expectations should be when a school wins consecutive championships.<br /><br />On the other side of the conference, Ryan Ferguson already <a href="http://www.fanhouse.com/2008/01/27/mississippi-state-best-in-the-sec/">tabbed Mississippi State as the best in the West</a>, and he's probably right.<br />Ole Miss' undefeated start was pretty, but consider: State and Ole Miss shared two common opponents before January (Clemson and South Alabama). The Rebels won those games by a combined six points while MSU lost both by a total of ten -- the Bulldogs weren't that far off the pace their neighbors to the north were setting. Sure, State suffered some ugly early-season losses, but they apparently learned to deal with adversity and are coming together as a team. <br /> <br /> Now the Bulldogs are not only getting scoring from starters as Ferguson pointed out, but they've also found a bench (freshman Riley Benock hit four 3s against the Rebels) and are getting defense from everybody. According to Pomeroy, State is first in both <a href="http://www.kenpom.com/factors.php?t=d&amp;s=3">effective field goal defense</a> and <a href="http://www.kenpom.com/tmleaders.php?c=BlockPct">block percentage</a>, meaning that if you get a shot off against them you're either going to miss it or have it planted back in your grill. <br /><br />Interestingly , MSU and Florida have similar upcoming schedules State goes to Arkansas and hosts Tennessee this week, while the Gators visit both in the next 10 days, so we'll see if either or both teams can keep their roll going in some tough games.<p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/01/28/sec-daily-w-florida-mississippi-state-the-teams-to-watch/">SEC Daily W: Florida, Mississippi State the Teams to Watch</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com">NCAA Basketball FanHouse</a> on Mon, 28 Jan 2008 15:21:00 EST .  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;">&nbsp;</p><p><a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/01/28/sec-daily-w-florida-mississippi-state-the-teams-to-watch/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/forward/1098087/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.technorati.com/cosmos/search.html?rank=&amp;fc=1&amp;url=http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/01/28/sec-daily-w-florida-mississippi-state-the-teams-to-watch/" title="Linking Blogs">Linking&nbsp;Blogs</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/01/28/sec-daily-w-florida-mississippi-state-the-teams-to-watch/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description><category>Mississippi State basketball</category><category>MississippiStateBasketball</category><category>The Daily W</category><category>TheDailyW</category><dc:creator>Andy Katzer</dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 28 Jan 2008 15:21:00 EST </pubDate></item><item><title>Mississippi State: Best in the SEC?</title><link>http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/01/27/mississippi-state-best-in-the-sec/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/01/27/mississippi-state-best-in-the-sec/</guid><comments>http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/01/27/mississippi-state-best-in-the-sec/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/sec-basketball/" rel="tag">SEC Basketball</a>, <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/ole-miss-basketball/" rel="tag">Ole Miss Basketball</a></p><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" align="right" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.fanhouse.com/media/2008/01/mississippi-state.jpg"  alt="" />Mississippi State might be the best team in the SEC.  They certainly have the conference's best record -- 5-0 -- and they just dominated what was popularly believed to the best team in the West Division, Ole Miss.  Final was 88-68... a blowout.<br /><br />In fact, the Bulldogs have won all but one of their conference games by at least 10 points.  Two were won by 20 or more.  Only the game against Kentucky was close, but Mississippi State prevailed 69-64.<br /><br />Rick Stansbury might be fielding his best team in many moons at Mississippi State.  Despite a slow start -- the Bulldogs lost 5 games in preseason play, including a mystifying loss to South Alabama and a heartbreaking 84-82 loss to Clemson -- MSU looks to be a very complete package at this point in the season.  Jarvis Varnado has blocked 10 or more shots in three separate games, which is otherworldly.  6' 8" F-C Charles Rhodes has been averaging 15 points and 7 rebounds per game while Jamont Gordon's 17 points and 4 assists per game have been the ice that chills the Bulldogs' drink.<br /><br />The SEC picture continues to emerge, but for now I'm calling it as such: the best team in the SEC West is Mississippi State.  In the East, it's Tennessee.  The two powerhouses meet on February 2nd in Starkville, and that will tell us a lot about just how good the Bulldogs can be.<p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/01/27/mississippi-state-best-in-the-sec/">Mississippi State: Best in the SEC?</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com">NCAA Basketball FanHouse</a> on Sun, 27 Jan 2008 11:58:00 EST .  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;">&nbsp;</p><p><a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/01/27/mississippi-state-best-in-the-sec/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/forward/1098391/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.technorati.com/cosmos/search.html?rank=&amp;fc=1&amp;url=http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/01/27/mississippi-state-best-in-the-sec/" title="Linking Blogs">Linking&nbsp;Blogs</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/01/27/mississippi-state-best-in-the-sec/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description><dc:creator>Ryan Ferguson</dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 27 Jan 2008 11:58:00 EST </pubDate></item><item><title>Freshmen Among the SEC's Brightest Lights</title><link>http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/01/15/freshmen-among-the-secs-brightest-lights/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/01/15/freshmen-among-the-secs-brightest-lights/</guid><comments>http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/01/15/freshmen-among-the-secs-brightest-lights/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/florida-basketball/" rel="tag">Florida Basketball</a>, <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/kentucky-basketball/" rel="tag">Kentucky Basketball</a>, <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/sec-basketball/" rel="tag">SEC Basketball</a>, <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/vanderbilt-basketball/" rel="tag">Vanderbilt Basketball</a>, <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/ole-miss-basketball/" rel="tag">Ole Miss Basketball</a></p><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.fanhouse.com/media/2008/01/talented-sec-freshmen.jpg" alt="" /><br /><br />SEC basketball is just hitting its stride, and a new generation of freshmen is leading the way. They are:<br /><br /><strong>Patrick Patterson (Kentucky)<br /></strong><br />Unless we see a seismic shift in the next two months, Patrick Patterson seems like an early lock for SEC Freshman of the Year honors and has a strong shot at making an All-SEC roster. Patterson is averaging 17 points and nearly 9 rebounds per game for the 'Cats. In addition to being money around the basket, he's good at the charity stripe, too (74%). Kentucky fans have a lot to like about Patterson, who plays much longer than his listed 6' 8" height.<br /><br /><strong>Nick Calathes and Jai Lucas (Florida)<br /><br /></strong>It's hard to separate these two superfrosh, so we're bunking 'em together. As a freshman starter, 6' 6" guard/forward Calathes has already won SEC Freshman of the Week honors twice and is arguably the Gators' MVP. He's putting up 15 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists per game and is shooting a sizzling 42% from the field, 38% beyond the 3-point arc. His ability to shoot is perhaps superceded by his outstanding passing.<br /><br />At only 5' 10", Jai Lucas is one of the tiniest players in our SEC frosh lineup but he plays big. At 10 points and 2 assists per game, Lucas' average doesn't carry the cachet of Calathes or Patterson. Nonetheless, he's one of the Gators' best shooters (50% FG and 47% on 3-pointers) and has blown up in his first two SEC games, scoring 19 points on the road against Alabama and 16 against the visiting Auburn Tigers. Lucas is usually the fastest player on the floor in any game the Gators play.<br /><br /><strong>A.J. Ogilvy (Vanderbilt)</strong><br /><br />Ogilvy, the Commodores' 6' 10" center, is a transplant from Sydney, Australia. He brings a somewhat unique combination of skills for a big man. Although far from 'quick', he's surprisingly agile and is superb at using his body to protect the basketball. He averages an absurd 19 points and 7 rebounds per game, although those stats are slightly skewed by Vanderbilt's cupcake-laden preseason schedule. Although among the better big men in the league, Ogilvy was clearly bested by Patrick Patterson when the Commodores played Kentucky on Jan. 12.<br /><br /><strong>Chris Warren (Ole Miss)<br /></strong><br />How good is Chris Warren? Ole Miss' talented freshman guard put up a combined 39 points in his first two SEC games. One of those two teams was Tennessee, which seems to be the class of the conference in 2008. Warren torched the Vols for 24 points and nearly led his team to an upset win in Knoxville. Possessing unbelievable speed and a strong 41% FG average, Warren is one of Andy Kennedy's most potent weapons. (Sorry, our image provider didn't have a picture available.)<p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/01/15/freshmen-among-the-secs-brightest-lights/">Freshmen Among the SEC's Brightest Lights</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com">NCAA Basketball FanHouse</a> on Tue, 15 Jan 2008 20:03:00 EST .  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;">&nbsp;</p><p><a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/01/15/freshmen-among-the-secs-brightest-lights/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/forward/1087904/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.technorati.com/cosmos/search.html?rank=&amp;fc=1&amp;url=http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/01/15/freshmen-among-the-secs-brightest-lights/" title="Linking Blogs">Linking&nbsp;Blogs</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/01/15/freshmen-among-the-secs-brightest-lights/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description><dc:creator>Ryan Ferguson</dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 15 Jan 2008 20:03:00 EST </pubDate></item><item><title>Ole Miss Proves It's Legit vs. Tennessee</title><link>http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/01/10/ole-miss-proves-its-legit-vs-tennessee/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/01/10/ole-miss-proves-its-legit-vs-tennessee/</guid><comments>http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/01/10/ole-miss-proves-its-legit-vs-tennessee/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/tennessee-basketball/" rel="tag">Tennessee Basketball</a>, <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/sec-basketball/" rel="tag">SEC Basketball</a>, <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/category/ole-miss-basketball/" rel="tag">Ole Miss Basketball</a></p><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" align="right" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.fanhouse.com/media/2008/01/andy-kennedy.jpg" alt="" />Andy Kennedy's Rebels went down to the 9th-ranked Volunteers, but not without one hell of a fight. It was a tight, high-scoring affair. Final: Vols 85, Rebs 83.<br /><br />The game was regionally telecast, so the nation at large didn't really get a chance to see Ole Miss play. If you missed out, here's what you see in Mississippi: a team that absolutely refuses to be outhustled or outworked. A team that works like a well-oiled machine. And a team with great basketball IQ. They're not the most talented team in the conference, but they make up for that with fantastic team chemistry and an obsessive drive to win.<br /><br />That was evidenced in the second half when the Rebels found themselves down 12 points with :11 remaining in the half. The Rebs dug deep, stepped up on defense and actually took a 4-point lead with two minutes and 30 seconds left in the game.<br /><br />It wasn't enough, as the Vols were able to score the game-winning basket with 4 ticks left on the clock. Still, Ole Miss had shown the conference that it was going to be a tough team to beat. Leaving with an L, though, is the <a href="http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=280092633">bottom line</a> for Kennedy and his team.<br /><blockquote>"We're way beyond moral victories," Mississippi coach Andy Kennedy said. "Our guys are crushed. I've got grown men crying in there."<br /></blockquote>It's hard to imagine any SEC West team -- with the exception of perhaps Arkansas or Mississippi State -- being able to compete with the Rebels. Their physical conditioning is outstanding; they never seem to run out of steam. Freshman Chris Warren was terrific, leading the team with 24 points. Still, this is a squad which exemplifies team ball moreso than individual talent right now. That comes down to coaching. <br /><br /> For my money, you just saw the two best teams in the SEC, hands down. I'll go so far as to say that Ole Miss could be a Sweet 16 team this year. Not bad for a team which hasn't been to the Big Dance since 2002.<p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/01/10/ole-miss-proves-its-legit-vs-tennessee/">Ole Miss Proves It's Legit vs. Tennessee</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com">NCAA Basketball FanHouse</a> on Thu, 10 Jan 2008 14:03:00 EST .  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;">&nbsp;</p><p><a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/01/10/ole-miss-proves-its-legit-vs-tennessee/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/forward/1083582/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.technorati.com/cosmos/search.html?rank=&amp;fc=1&amp;url=http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/01/10/ole-miss-proves-its-legit-vs-tennessee/" title="Linking Blogs">Linking&nbsp;Blogs</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/01/10/ole-miss-proves-its-legit-vs-tennessee/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description><category>andy kennedy</category><category>AndyKennedy</category><dc:creator>Ryan Ferguson</dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 10 Jan 2008 14:03:00 EST </pubDate></item></channel></rss>