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Friday, August 17
Updated: August 24, 3:04 PM ET
The Word's Answer Man
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The Answer Man is back throughout the offseason. Andy Katz tackles some of the questions he receives each week.
I noticed that Cal was once again snubbed from everybody's top 25 for next year. Is this because of questions of (Julien) Sensley's eligibility? Also, what is the story behind that? Is he just lacking a qualifying score on the SATs? Also, how do you see Cal doing next year, both with and without him.
Mike Didovic
New York
Mike, Cal isn't on the top 25 list because there are too many questions right now. Will Amit Tamir be eligible? What about Sensley? The school and Sensley are appealing his ineligibility based on his academic profile. Without him, the Bears are likely a bubble team. But with him, the Bears should be a lock for the tournament, especially with Jamal Sammpson to make a run at the top three in the league.
Last season many writers took to calling Maryland "the best program to have never made the Final Four." Now that the Terps have removed that blemish, which school inherits that unwanted title?
Steve Moore
Owings Mills, Md.
In terms of tradition, I would have to go with Missouri and Alabama. Both programs have had rich runs in the NCAA Tournament. But neither program has been to the Final Four. Missouri has a better shot this season than Alabama but neither has the pressure that Gary Williams had to endure at Maryland. If you're looking for a coach, not a program, then Gene Keady at Purdue and John Chaney at Temple are two who come to mind who have put in their time but unfortunately have never been to the Final Four.
I have a question about Mo Baker out of Oklahoma State. You said a couple of days ago that he was a lock for the USA team and he didn't make the team. I'm starting to think this team is totally fixed and Mo shouldn't have wasted his time trying out. This happened a couple of years ago with another OSU player, Desmond Mason. He totally killed everyone in the tryouts and then he was cut. Somehow, the college coaches never seem to cut the players that are on their college team. I think they need to get some coaches that don't want to fix the teams and will choose them fairly. Do you think that something should be done to prevent this also? This is getting tiresome.
Randy Pogue
Stillwater, Okla.
Randy, I was shocked that Maurice Baker didn't make the team. I was told by the staff that he was likely going to be kept. I wasn't there so I can't say I saw him play better than Andre Barrett or Dan Dickau. It's too bad because Baker could have used the experience of being on the trip for the Cowboys. But don't fret, Oklahoma State should be one of the teams to beat in the Big 12.
How will Jay Wright's recruiting skills (verbals from Allan Ray and Curtis Sumpter, serious involvment with Jason Fraser) shift the balance of power in the Big East? It is nice to finally see 'Nova getting some NYC kids. How valuable will Jay's NYC contacts prove to be over the next few years? How long until Fred Hill becomes a head coach (a la Paul Hewitt)?
Michael Conway
Stafford, Pa.
Wright is tearing up the recruiting circuit, making inroads in New York and Philadelphia for Villanova. The Wildcats have always been a bubble team in the Big East, either in or out on the fence. That trend will continue for a few seasons. I don't see a huge shift of transfer of power in the Big East. Villanova looks like it's getting better athletes, but the Wildcats still have talent on campus and Wright has a chance to be a spoiler this season. As for Hill, he nearly got the Rutgers job and will likely be a head coach within the next two to three seasons. He would be a perfect fit in the MAAC if he wants to go in that direction when the next opening occurs. It's still very hard to get a Big East or Atlantic 10 job without being a head coach.
I am interested in attending the Nov. 22-24 Las Vegas Invitational to root on the Fighting Illini and the Panthers of Eastern Illinois. How do I get tickets?
Matt Miller
Hermosa Beach, Calif.
Best bet is to call Illinois or Chris Spencer out of his Worldwide Basketball office in Cincinnati. Not sure if Valley High in Las Vegas would have a read on tickets. But with only 2,000 seats, the tickets could be hard to get.
What determines whether or not a school is a mid-major? Different people seem to have different definitions. Can there be majors and mid-majors in the same conference? Obviously the schools in the Big Six conferences are majors, but what about the C-USA, A-10, Mountain West and the WAC?
Doug
Providence, R.I.
Good question. The common definition is the high-major conferences are the big six -- ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC and the Pac-10. But the schools in C-USA, Mountain West, A-10 and WAC aren't so easily packaged. Temple and Xavier are considered high-profile enough programs in the A-10 but St. Bonaventure and Fordham can't be considered high major. The same is true in the WAC, which has Boise State and Louisiana Tech or the Mountain West with Air Force. Money, facilities and television exposure are the main components for what constitutes a high major program.
How can you not mention UC Irvine when you talk abou the blueprint for a mid-major. They had a 25-5 season last year and beat two Pac-10 schools. They were also ranked as the top mid-major in the country at one point. They also had one of the longest winning streaks in the country and dethroned the Aggies of Utah State for the Big West Conference title. With the exception of a fluke loss in the conference tournament they were and could still be one of the best mid-majors out there.
Dillon
Irvine, Calif.
First of all, UC Irvine has to prove it's a consistent winner. Secondly, the thread with Hofstra and Kent State and Gonzaga is all three had new coaches and either have to keep up their high level or play or continue to match it as in the case of Gonzaga. UC Irvine still didn't get into the tournament and win a game. Irvine could be in a similar position this season but until it does it again and gets to the NCAAs it's hard to put the program in the same company.
Do you think San Diego State can really live up to its much-improved hype? Last season they started like gangbusters, even making your "Cinderella Watch," but as soon as the conference season started the Aztecs went thud. Will they avoid the "thud"?
Jim Fitzgerald
Middletown, Ohio
Jim, the reason the Aztecs shouldn't hit the ground with a thud is because of Tony Bland, the Syracuse transfer, and the arrival of JC forward Mike Mackell. Those two players should plug in the holes that hurt the Aztecs last season. They won't be a top 25 team but they've got a chance to get to the NCAA Tournament.
I just read the preseason Wooden Award candidates. I was not actually shocked but expected (as usual) not to see an Alabama player on that list. My question is why is Alabama not respected? No preseaon polls or anything has respected them. And what about players like Eriwn Dudley and Rod Grizzard? Why are they not on that list?
Zac Ritchie
Guinn, Ala.
Zac, I voted for Dudley but not Grizzard. Not sure why Dudley didn't make it other than that Alabama isn't getting the respect because the Tide didn't make the NCAA Tournament and Gerald Wallace left for the NBA. But Dudley and Grizzard have the potential to be all-Americans. Unfortunately, they won't be afforded the headstart of being on a preseason list.
What do you think of the Illinois State Redbirds this year? They won 21 games and finished in second place in the MVC last year after giving Creighton a run for it all year. They return their whole team (minus two role players), including conference MVP and all-American honorable mention Tarise Bryson, who was eighth in the nation in scoring last year and the nation's top returning scorer this year (22.3 ppg). In addition, they added a JUCO second team all-American forward in Casey Reid, as well as all-state point guard Vince Greene.
Paul Riegle
New York
Paul, thanks for the preview. You're right, Illinois State should be a contender with Creighton, Indiana State and don't forget about Southern Illinois, Southwest Missouri State and Bradley in the MVC. Illinois State could be this season's Creighton and Indiana State by pulling off a major in-season upset and then getting into the tournament and winning a game. The Redbirds are due for a breakthrough season. We'll be watching.
What do you think of the additions of East Carolina and TCU to C-USA? Looking at some of the schedules it's going to instantly add controversy because you don't play everyone. I looked at Marquette's schedule and they get the bye against South Florida and Memphis, two of the better teams in the conference.
Tyler
Kansas City
You would think Conference USA would learn from the WAC. It's too many teams. Conference USA made the move to satisfy its football desires. But the football in the conference isn't strong enough to dilute the basketball product. That's what this conference is all about. Conference USA doesn't get an automatic berth into the BCS, which should say something about the move. East Carolina is going to have a hard time adjusting from the Colonial to Conference USA. This is the wrong time to join with Louisville adding Rick Pitino and Memphis hiring John Calipari. TCU has the athletes, but the Horned Frogs are rebuilding which should make it even harder for Billy Tubbs this season. The unbalanced schedule will have an affect on the league race. It also means there won't be a true champion. The only champion will be the conference tourney champ in a four-day event.
What is the status of Duke graduate Nate James? Even though he averaged 13 points and five rebounds per game, he was not selected in the NBA Draft. Will he try to play in the National Basketball Development League?
Barry
Phoenix
Maybe you saw Nate James at the Desert Classic in Tempe. I did and he didn't stand out enough to warrant a draft pick. James was an all-everything player for Duke but doesn't do one thing outstanding. He could have a shot to play somewhere on the globe, if not in the NBDL.
I have a question that the entire Big Blue Nation is dying to have answered. How well do you think Cliff Hawkins will handle running the point for Kentucky? He has already proven he is a great defender, but what about the rest of his game?
Adam Huff
Aiken, S.C.
Hawkins has to be the answer at the point. It's one of the few questions on the Wildcats. If he can settle down and simply drive and dish for Tayshaun Prince and Keith Bogans, penetrate and dump down for Jules Camara, Marquis Estill and Marvin Stone then the Wildcats should be fine. Hawkins has to be a better on-the-ball defender and should be more mature in his decision making with the year under his belt. But we won't know until he's pressed into those situations.
I enjoyed your article about Lappas and his European trip. Quite surprised that Lappas was unaware that another A-10 team, St. Bonaventure, was also traveling to England, Belgium and France and was busy with pre-trip practices as well.
Bill Tully
Yonkers, N.Y.
Bill, you're right, Steve Lappas wasn't informed about St. Bonaventure when he said the other seven new coaches in the A-10 weren't going on this trip. I missed putting in their trip, too. So, when they'll return, we'll give an update on how the squad did and what they accomplished.
Regarding the preseason Wooden list: Why no Hollis Price? And beyond that, why the lack of respect nationally for the Sooners? Think of it this way: Kansas has two players on the list, they are always ranked in the top 10 in the preseason, and people for some reason think that Roy Williams is a great coach. OU has no player nationally respected, never is higher than about 20 in the polls in the preseason, and Kel Sampson is always listed as an "up and coming" coach, but never listed as one of the four or five best in the game. Yet, for three straight years, OU has had a better record than KU. What gives?
Matt Maloney
Lenexa, Kansas
Oklahoma got plenty of national respect the past few seasons, especially last season after losing Eduardo Najera. Sampson did an outstanding job of adjusting to more of a perimeter-oriented team. But the jury is still out on this team as to how much of an impact newcomers like Ebi Ere, Jason Detrick, Quannas White and Jabahri Brown will have for the Sooners. They all need to be major contributors for the Sooners to be back atop the Big 12. Price is deserving but didn't make my cut, yet. We'll see by mid-December.
You may not be entirely behind the ESPN.com recruiting rankings, but how can Raymond Felton be rated behind Sean Dockery and Anthony Roberson? From the accounts of AAU touneys and camps, he has consistently outplayed opposition points and also led his team, with few other high major recruits other than Major Wingate, to victories over more highly regarded teams? I realize you may be trying to instigate discussion, but this is ridiculous.
Chris John
Birmingham, Ala.
The rankings on our site are done by Recruiting USA. If you're asking for mine, then I would put Felton ahead of Dockery and Roberson. That's from seeing all three players this summer. But, in the end, rankings don't mean much. If Felton is an impact player at North Carolina then that's all that matters.
Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com. He answers questions on college basketball weekly.
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