MVN - Most Valuable Network

Ole Miss Basketball Gets Big Commit

Andy Kennedy and the Rebel basketball team picked up a huge commitment today when Murphy Holloway verbally pledged to the Rebs.  Holloway is a 6’7” small forward, who can play the four as well.  Scout.com has him ranked as the #17 SF in the nation.  Holloway, a South Carolina native, had his list down to Ole Miss, Clemson, and Maryland.  He said the style of play, coaches, and previous relationship with current commit Terrico White helped him decide Ole Miss.  Holloway will be coming into a situation where the Rebels first three big men will be gone and has a shot at immediate playing time, this was another appealing reason to choose the Rebels.

Scout.com lists Holloway’s strengths as Athleticism and Mid-Range game, while his areas for improvement are 3 point range and finishing.  Holloway is a big step up from Wesley Jones, whose vacant scholarship will be given to the South Carolina native.  With the addition of Holloway the Rebels Recruiting class appears to be the best one in quite some time:

PG – Will Bogans, 6-1, Caldwell, Idaho, 3 star
PG – Terrico White, 6-5, Memphis, TN, 3 star
SG – Brandon Wilson, 6-5, Monroe, LA, 3 star
SF/PF – Murphy Holloway, 6-7, Irmo, SC, 4 star (Scout top 70)
PF – Terrance Henry, 6’9, Monroe, LA, 4 star (19th ranked PF)

This is a very solid class that continues to make Ole Miss more athletic and longer.  I just pray Andy Kennedy sticks around to see what they can do in about two years.

Ole Miss Recruiting Rant and Update

I have gotten too caught up in basketball to give an update on the Rebels recruiting.  As everyone knows the Ogre is out and Coach Nutt is now running the show.  With this change has come a very different style in recruiting.  With Orgeron fans were constantly being updated with news on this recruit or so and so saying this about how fiery Coach O is and that they could see them playing for O.  Here’s the catch on those players though, we never got them, but fans fell in love with O getting us in the final 3 or 5 choices of the blue-chip prospects.  Now that Nutt’s recruiting fans seem to be getting upset.  We’re not going after 4 stars from California anymore, we’re not on the number one recruit in the nation, what we’re doing is targeting players we have realistic shots at getting.Here are some Coach O’s big busts when it comes to recruiting the big named guys:  Joe McKnight, Keiland Williams, Chad Jones, Robert Elliot, Stephen Garcia, Rashad Mason, and plenty of other 4/5 star recruits.  My biggest problem with Coach O was his fascination with bringing in west coast players to Mississippi.  Granted I can think of a couple of success stories in this path, Jonathan Cornell and Tony Fein, but how have the others turned out for us?  Just look at players like Brent Schaeffer, Michael Herrick, A.J. Jackson, Hayward Howard, Lamar Brumfield, Larry Dennis, and plenty of others we wasted recruiting time and visits on.  How many casual Ole Miss fans even know who those last 4 players are?  While recruiting the west coast had potential to be fruitful for O and the Rebs, it rarely yielded anything but wasted time and money, just think how much we spent flying Nielsen out to talk to these guys.I don’t want to make Coach O seem like a bad recruiter, he is anything but.  Just look at how he got Jerrell Powe to commit to Ole Miss…three times?  Sorry, uncalled for.  But fans need to realize that while Coach O made recruiting exciting he often went after players we had no shot with and usually did not qualify.So how is Nutt any different?  Well, first off Nutt said he makes a point not to go after too many player who are considered academic risks and is not a big time proponent of the junior college ranks.  Yes, we do have three JUCOS who were early qualifiers, but Nutt is only going after two other junior college guys (Jocques Crawford and Dudley Laporte).  Nutt’s philisophy is why we dropped players like Lagarette Blount, Daniel Calvin, and why Bo Tillman probably has not committed to us yet.  Fans don’t care though, they want to see stars on our commit list and our ranking go up.  While stars are nice to see right now they’ll be useless come fall if your signing players who do not qualify.  Let’s take a look at Ed O’s three recruiting classes and see how many players from the classes did not qualify.2005 – 11 players2006 – 5 players, and 2 who left the team2007 – 4 official ones, and then players like Leroy Diggs and Jeramie Griffin who were let go because O was told he was recruiting too many academic risksWhile that may not seem like much, many of the players who did not qualify were considered keystone players to the classes i.e. Jerrell Powe and A.J. Jackson.Nutt realizes it takes time to build a program and you start building from the high school ranks.  I think O realized this too but became too caught up in recruiting big named JUCO players to come in a fill the holes while he worked on the high school ranks.  Linebacker is a prime example of this.Alright, enough bashing of Coach O, I really did want the guy to succeed here and do wish him the best of luck wherever he ends up.Here are the current Ole Miss commits and after that I’ll list our Hot List.Commits:QB – Chris WilkesProspects – Nathan Stanley and Jim YoungbloodRB – Darius “Tig” BarksdaleProspects – Brandon Bolden, D’anthony Curtis, Devin ThomasFB –Prospects H.R. GreerWR – Horatio WilliamsProspects Deandre Brown and Ty HiltonTE – Gerald HarrisProspects Dudley LaPorteOL – Quinn Sanford, Kermit Tyler, Brandon Green (signed), and Josh TatumProspects – Matt Hall, Dallas ThomasDL – Josh Tillman, Emmanuel Stephens (signed)Prospects - ?DT – Willie PackerProspects – Lavaurence Askew, Bo Tillman, Justin SmithLB – Marlon Walls, Gaviin Hardin, Josh ChestangProspects – Patrick TrahanS – Brandon SandersProspects – Charles Mitchell, Khiry Battle, Hunter MillerCB – Bud Barksdale, Demareo Marr, Dominique Davenport, Derrick HermanProspects – Alonzo Lawrence, Leonard Johnson, Markel RobinsonThere’s some controversy over quite a few of these recruits now.  Hardin and Walls have started looking around, Willie Packer decommitted, Quinn Sanford has threatened to go USM, and Deandre Brown is now a LSU lean supposedly?  The staff has plenty of work to do on all the USP boys, Packer, and Brown.  However, it’s being said that Alonzo Lawrence and Patrick Trahan, two of the biggest names on the board are now OM leans.Fans need to remember that there is still a long way to go until signing day and tons can happen between today and then.  Coach Nutt knows what he is doing and he’ll get a solid group of players signed, so stop worrying so much about recruiting and buy tickets to the basketball games.

Ole Miss @ Tennessee Preview

Wednesday is finally here!  I have been trying to find multiple ways to pass the time from last Wednesday’s beat down of Alabama A&M and today’s game against the 8/9 Tennessee Volunteers.  The game is set to tip off at 7 p.m central and it will be our undefeated and 15th ranked Rebels toughest test yet, and possibly all regular season.  Let’s take a look at the Volunteers first.

The Vols are currently ranked 8th and 9th in the AP and ESPN polls and possess a (12-1) record.  The one loss came against a feisty Texas team, with arguably the best starting five in the nation, and the wins have included Gonzaga, Ohio State, Xavier, and West Virginia.  Head coach Bruce Pearl has made a point to play as many quality OOC games as possible, and as evident by the team’s trip to Seattle they will play anyone anywhere.  But the Rebels are not facing Tennessee’s schedule tonight, they’ll be going up against the Volunteers.

The Vols are a team whose offense starts and usually finished on the perimeter.  They are led by guards Jajuan Smith and Chris Lofton.  While Lofton has been somewhat of a disappointment this season you cannot count him out of any game, he’s a ticking time bomb.  J. Smith is second on the team with 14.4 points a game is shooting 35% from beyond the arc.  While Lofton leads the team with 14.5 per game he is only shooting 34% from the field and averaging 1.2 PPS.  For a player who predominantly shoots the three ball, those aren’t very gaudy numbers.

Tennessee also is getting a huge lift from two transfers this year, J.P. Prince and Tyler Smith.  Prince, a native Memphian, came to UT from Arizona and has made an immediate impact upon gaining eligibility in January.  In only 20 minutes a contest Prince is averaging 14 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists per game, that is efficiency.  The other transfer is Tyler Smith of Pulaski, TN who came back home from Iowa State.  Smith was granted eligibility this season due to his father’s health, which is the reason he came back home.  Smith provides the Vols with a versatile player who can shoot from outside or take it down low.  The most important thing these players add is length.  The Vols are a very undersized team but the 6’7 frames of Prince and T. Smith create match up problems on both ends of the floor.

The productivity doesn’t stop here though.  Rounding out their starting lineup is center; term used loosely, Wayne Chism.  While Wayne does play the 5 for TN and is the biggest player on the court for them, unless Brian Williams comes in, he does not like playing a traditional post game.  Chism stretches the floor and uses his athleticism to get by slower big men off the dribble.  He can create some problems for the Rebs on the offensive end.  Also available for Tennessee are a host of players off the bench such as Howell, Childress, Tabb, Ramar Smith (probably their best bench player), and Brian Williams.

Keys to the Game:
1.  Exploit the Vols down low.
The Rebs are going to have to go down low on offense to Curtis, Williams, Parnell, and White.  If there is one area on the floor where the Rebs can take advantage of UT it will be on the blocks and in rebounding.
2.  Eniel Polynice needs to fill the stat sheet
We do not need Eniel Polynice to score 20 for us to win, but we need him to be effective in all areas of the game, rebounding, scoring, assists, and most importantly defense.  EP will probably be matched up with J.P. Prince and will have a difficult time guarding a player with that much length and quickness.  The Rebs need him to step up his game.
3.  No freshman mistakes
The Rebel freshmen cannot commit careless turnovers during this game.  Every possession will be valuable against this Tennessee team.
4.  Quick starts
This will be the largest crown 13 of the 15 players on roster have played against, that’s how inexperienced this team is.  Ole Miss needs to get out to a quick lead and try to neutralize Thompson-Bowling Arena, easier said than done.

Coaching Strategies
1.  Let Malcolm White see a bigger role.
This will be the ideal game to let Malcolm White loose and showcase his athletic ability.  While Dwayne Curtis should dominate Chism down on the blocks, he will not be able to hang with him on the defensive side of the ball.  Kenny and Parnell may be able to, but I’m curious to see how the kid White will play in a game that should be one of the fastest paced of the year.
2.  Go Big at times.
I’d love to see the Rebs throw a line up of Warren, Polynice, White, Williams, Curtis, or something to that effect.  If the Rebs do that they are not sacrificing speed and the fast break game, but could have three post players in at once against a Tennessee team with only two true post players.
3. Don’t feel like you have to run.
Even though the Rebs pride themselves on their ability to be a run and gun team does not mean they have to tonight.  Tennessee is at their best when the game picks up speed so why play to one of their strengths even though it is one of yours too.  I hate to keep harping on this, but settle into some half-court sets and feed the ball to the post.  If you keep doing this Tennessee will start collapsing their zone (you know the Rebs will see plenty of 2-3 zone) or double-team the posting leaving Huertas or anyone else open on the wings.

Rebel Rousings Top 25

It’s been awhile since I have posted but I just read some jokers top 25 (had Dayton ranked 14th) on his site and it got me in the mood to compile my own top 25.

So right now there are 6 teams still chasing perfection, and realistically two, maybe three have legitimate shots at achieving that goal. Of course those teams are Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, and Washington State, they’re the only teams who have played a proven schedule. My bad I was thinking like “The Zou’s Top 25.” Ok, maybe that was uncalled for but Dayton at 14th and USC at 17, you have got to be kidding me. But back to the original topic, the only teams I see with a legitimate shot at an undefeated season are UNC and Memphis, with Memphis being the likely candidate.

So, now that conference play is upon us and it’s been possible to gauge a decent perspective on the talent around basketball here is my first poll of 2008.

1. North Carolina Tar Heels - They may not be the best team in the nation when it’s all said and done, but they were my pre-season number one and have not done anything to warrant me moving them down to number two. While they haven’t played the toughest OOC games they have still had their way with some quality teams. They’re a very deep team, even with the loss of Bobby Frasor, and in a weaker than usual ACC (my opinion, probably wrong) they could hold onto the top spot for a while.

2. Memphis Tigers - This is the team playing the best basketball in country right now, and against top competition. They have wins against USC, Georgetown, Arizona, OU, and Uconn. They still have two more key OOC games against Gonzaga and UT, both at home, before they put it on coast when they enter conference play in the weak C-USA.

3. Kansas Jayhawks – A team that does not have that “star” player but is an extremely deep team who has destroyed competition so far this season. They should be getting more press than they are, but they lack the Derrick Rose or Tyler Hansbrough the media could hype. They get by playing great team basketball and solid all-around games. I wouldn’t want to run into this team in the tournament.

4. UCLA Bruins – I have been very impressed by this team this season. They play some of the best defense I have seen in basketball in the past few seasons, and they were doing this with some key injuries early on in the season. They did suffer a loss to a good Texas team but I still think they are one of the elite teams in the nation.

5. Washington State Cougars – One of the six undefeated teams left, and one that I am not impressed with. They did beat Gonzaga, a GU without Heytvelt, but as everyone has seemed this is not a great GU team this season. Expect them to fall out of the top 10 after losing to USC and UCLA in the next few games.

6. Michigan State Spartans – Drew Neitzel is a freaking baller, which is all that really needs to be said about this team. But this is one of the deepest teams Izzo has had at MSU in a few years, and any team coached by Izzo with an inkling of talent is going to be tough to beat. They have victories over BYU and Texas and their lone loss came against UCLA, and it was a close game.

7. Tennessee Volunteers – Bruce Pearl is proving himself to be one of the best coaches in the NCAA, as well as one of the most hated. Opposing coaches and fans love to hate him for being loud and spirited, but this guy has one of the hottest teams in basketball right now. The Vols are 12-1, an early season loss to Texas, and just beat the Zags in Seattle and are preparing for an SEC showdown with unbeaten Ole Miss in Knoxville. If this team, led by its guards, is on from three they’re nearly unbeatable.

8. Duke Blue Devils – I’ve been really impressed by Duke this season, even though I hate to admit it. Go Heels! Anyways, Duke had a tough loss to Pitt but has also looked good in other games. That’s all and I hope they lose many more games.

9. Georgetown Hoyas – The Hoyas were nearly devastated last year when Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert were poised to jump ship and head to the pros, but a late decision by Hibbert to kept them relevant. I’m not knocked out by this team, but it’s hard to justify them being any lower. They haven’t compiled that marquee win yet, and their only game against a top 25 team saw them get dominated by Memphis.

10. Texas A&M Aggies – The Aggies will round up my top 10. They, like many teams so far, haven’t earned that solidifying win yet, but their wins have been impressive, well by wide margins. Their lone loss came to an underrated Arizona team. Turgeneon should enjoy the Gillespie wave while he still can.

11. Marquette Golden Eagles – I considered putting them in the top 10 but decided against it, they very well could be ahead of the Aggies though. The Golden Eagles have decisive wins over Wisconsin and Oklahoma State and loss a close game to the Dukies in Hawaii. Jerel McNeal is a stud.

12. Pittsburgh Panthers – This whole area (10-13) is very hard to gauge. The Panthers are another team who could be ranked higher or lower than 12. The team’s signature win is against Duke, but injuries are starting to take a toll and the team was recently embarrassed at Dayton with a big-time loss.

13. Indiana Hoosiers – The Hoosiers are led by one of the best freshmen in the NCAA in Eric Gordon, but the Hoosiers suffered a huge setback at the hands of Xavier and haven’t been all that impressive against teams like Georgia Tech. I do like the combination of White and Gordon; I think that could help them to an impressive record in conference play.

14. Texas Longhorns – I know there are some more one loss teams and undefeated teams behind Texas, but you cannot punish this team for losing to Michigan State and Wisconsin on a ridiculous last second shot by a guy off the bench. Victories over Tennessee and UCLA keep them in the top 15. One drawback to this team is a severe lack of depth. NBA fans, remember the name D.J. Augustin.

15. Vanderbilt Commodores – The ‘Dores will round out my top 15. Vandy is currently undefeated at 12-0, but only the third best team in their state (Memphis and TN being better). I think they’re also the third best team in the SEC. Narrow victories over DePaul, Wake Forest, Valpo, and Toledo have me wondering about their legitimacy. The defense is non-existent but it is hard to find a better high low combination than Foster-Oglivy.

16. Ole Miss Rebels – It may be the homer in me, but oh well. The Rebs are the sixth undefeated team in the nation and have achieved that through a well-balanced offense and timely D. Notable victories include Winthrop, Clemson, UCF, and New Mexico. The team’s success is due in large part to freshman Chris Warren and senior Dwayne Curtis. These two have led the Rebs throughout the season. The team is also seeing sophomores David Huertas and Eniel Polynice heat up at just the right time as the team is readying itself for a showdown with Tennessee in Knoxville.

17. Clemson Tigers – The Tigers have a chance to prove themselves with their upcoming game against the Tar Heels. The Tigers haven’t one in Chapel Hill in over 40 years and they will be looking to put an end to that. Clemson is also hoping to prove to the nation it’s not a fluke after their monumental collapse last season (remember this team started out 17-0 before losing 11 games and not qualifying for the NCAA.

18. Villanova Wildcats – I love watching this team play and I’m a huge fan of Steve Lavin’s offense. The Wildcats have not had a marquee victory yet, and lost to a mediocre NCST, but I still think this team will continue to play well enough to hang around the top 25.

19. Dayton Flyers – Surprise team in the top 20 but the one loss Flyers deserve it after destroying Pitt last Saturday. Roberts is for real.

20. Butler Bulldogs – A hard-nosed team who sports a one loss record, the loss coming to a team with bracket busting capabilities in Wright State. The Bulldogs could find themselves with a higher than deserved spot in the Tourney as they prepare for Horizon league play.

21. Arizona Wildcats – Despite its 3 losses this is a team to keep an eye on. Kevin O’Neal has taken over coaching duties as Lute Olsen has left the team for personal reasons and he has inherited a solid group of players. Two of the three losses come against teams in the top 3. I’m expecting this team to make its impact during Pac 10 being led by Jerryd Bayless and Chase Budinger.

22. Rhode Island Rams – I forgot there was a basketball team in Rhode Island ever since Lamar Odom left, but the Rams have legitimized themselves with wins over Syracuse and Providence

23. Wisconsin Badgers – The Badgers deserve a spot in the top 25 after their buzzer beating win over the Texas Longhorns in Austin.

24. Miami Hurricanes – I may get some heat for not including Stanford in my top 25 but I was not impressed by their victories and their loss to Siena. The Canes were one of the few undefeated teams until their recent loss against a pesky Winthrop team and have a solid win over a talented Mississippi State squad.

25. USC Trojans – Like Arizona, they have more losses than expected, but their SOS and potential in the lineup has them rounding out my top 25. I see them beating Washington State, being led by OJ Mayo of course, and making a big jump in the polls.