Just a few more hoops thoughts...

Not a good start to the off season...

2theadvocate.com | News | LSU's Spencer suspended for academic issues — Baton Rouge, LA

 

Wow, it's been a crazy day today, on the heels of the Tigers' end of the year banquet last night.

First, bottomline, don't jump to conclusions about anything... Listen to CTJ straight from his mouth.

Full audiocast of both Trent's press conference and Gary Laney's update are available for free...

2theadvocate.com | LSU Sports | Audio: Johnson News Conference — Baton Rouge, LA (Trent)
2theadvocate.com | LSU Sports | Audio: Full-Court Press Podcast — Baton Rouge, LA (Laney)

Listening to both, what I'd say is that things are a little in flux with up to two players on the team, for academic reasons. With Bo, for sure, he is suspended "indefinitely" meaning that he could come back if things are corrected. But, Trent felt it appropriate to "suspend" Bo from all team activities including practices and individual work outs so that he can right the academic ship. Seemingly, there is also another player in hot water as well, but perhaps not in as much hot water. :huh:

Hence, Trent's statement that LSU's recruiting players who could come in, "in case." When asked how he was recruiting Brantley and Hamilton, Trent's statement that he was recruiting them with contingencies in mind, i.e., the spots were not "guaranteed", but they were firm offers. I think what happens is that these players are inclined to visit LSU and prior to Spring signing day (April 15th), Trent is going to check in with our academic risk players and make some "hard decisions." This may mean that Bo is not coming back, and Brantley has a spot. It may mean that someone else is gone, and Justin Hamilton has a spot. It will also come down to how badly Hamilton and Brantley want to be at LSU and how much Trent thinks that these kids will help LSU. But, clearly, Trent has a strong position that he wants kids in here that take their academics seriously, and that's not such a bad thing. :thumb:

It'll be an interesting couple of weeks, my hoops friends... opcorn:

 

Well it's no secret there's been quite a bit of tension between CTJ and Spencer this year. You have to wonder how much this figures into it.

 

If two scholarship players enrolled (in the past) at LSU and leave without graduating, does that affect LSU's APR enough to lose a scholarship?

 

Good question, and I'm not exactly sure. There was a question raised by one of the reporters at Trent's conference about APR, but it was not a very clear dialogue. Trent seemed to suggest that LSU was still right in the midst of APR risk, and that they still were in danger of losing scholarships if certain folks were to leave. However, whether an academic suspension or two would affect it was unclear. Probably worth studying a bit.

 

I have zero problem with that. I don't really care if he uses LSU like Stanford and Nevada - a stepping stone. Eventually, if enough good seasons can be strung together, LSU might become a destination - just like the football program is today.

 

To add to the hoops thread, now with the Final Four set and no SEC teams in the mix, it's time to start the coaching carousel rumors and NBA draft talk.

What's happening with Kentucky and famed Calipari's system of one and doners? Well, Kentucky press now reports that maybe 5 or 6 Kentucky players will seek NBA status this year, leaving Kentucky with 8 players gone, and Calipari reloading by recruiting more one and doners.

Basketball Cats may lose as many as 8 players, including 5 underclassmen
Kentucky Recruits: Five Wildcats To Make The Jump To The NBA > Buster Sports

I'm not sure how the APR system works, but is this not a problem for Kentucky? Or, are they immune to it all... :hihi:

 

Yeah and look what his "system" got him. A team full of really young players who had no idea how to handle real adversity when they finally encountered it. But hey, who needs experience when you've got talent, right? :dis:

Calipari may reload, but even he won't always have the entire 1st round of the NBA draft on his roster.

 

they got a bit unlucky with the draw. huggins style always beat cal when they were in the cusa. cal may be like 0-10 against huggins, not sure.

 

I don't know how much I'd chalk up that particular game to style. I don't know if I've ever seen a game where one team goes scoreless on 2-pt field goals in a half and the other very nearly goes the entire game scoreless on 3-pt attempts. Kentucky was killing WVU on the boards, too, so it's definitely not like they didn't have opportunities or open looks, just really, really bad shooting.