The College Basketball Post

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* 10:51 PM ET 12.14
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THE MOST IMPORTANT THING WE LEARNED THIS WEEK


The Pac-10 race is wide open ... and Arizona actually has a chance.
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Chase Budinger and Arizona could make noise in the Pac-10.
Liam Foley/Icon SMI

The two games I saw at Phoenix's Desert Classic on Sunday -- IUPUI's non-televised, near-upset of No. 20 Arizona State and Arizona's upset of No. 4 Gonzaga -- altered my perception of the Pac-10. The Sun Devils were supposed to be the state's best team, but when All-America candidate James Harden gets neutralized by a good zone, there's no guarantee they have enough weapons to overcome it. On Sunday it took a few clutch, late threes by Rihards Kuksiks to save a game against an IUPUI team that had already lost to Northeastern, Indiana and Western Illinois. ASU trailed 34-18 at half and won 59-58 in overtime, but was one defensive stop away from a loss that would've looked worse than Kentucky falling to VMI.

Meanwhile, Arizona, which seemed to be in shambles after the final turn of the Lute Olson saga, subsequently losing an NIT Season Tip-Off qualifier in mind-numbingly stupid fashion to UAB, dismantled the Zags, who had up until that point been the most complete team in the nation not named North Carolina. (The Pythagorean efficiency rankings actually had Gonzaga ahead of UNC.) And the the Wildcats did it by, of all things, playing a slowed-down, trap-heavy defensive game and forcing usually steady Zags point guard Jeremy Pargo into seven turnovers. Suddenly we're forced to consider Arizona as a contender in the Pac-10.

"This puts us on the map," 'Zona forward Chase Budinger said of the 69-64 win over Gonzaga. "This kind of gives us hope again, that Arizona's not a lost team, not a rebuilding team."

If the 'Cats continue to defend -- especially Budinger, whose rep has been as an atrocious defender -- they should make the NCAA tournament. On offense they can ride the Pac-10's best interior player, Jordan Hill (22 points vs. Gonzaga) and keep the floor spread with Budinger and Nic Wise's shooting (they combined to hit 6-of-9 threes on Sunday). Wise isn't Brandon Jennings at the point, but he thoroughly outplayed Pargo, which is no small feat.

UCLA is probably the league's best all-around squad, but that's not saying much; the Bruins already flopped against Michigan and lost at Texas. Unless swingman Josh Shipp becomes a go-to guy to complement point guard Darren Collison, and a few of the Bruins' freshmen step up, the gap between Ben Howland's boys and 'Zona, ASU and USC is minuscule.
SI.COM'S STARTING FIVE


(Wearing Tony Crocker long-sleeve Oklahoma outfits, which, we were recently told by an NCAA source, are against the rules ...)

1. Ben Woodside, PG, North Dakota State: He's the Maravich of the Dakotas ... or at least he tied Maravich's record for most free-throws in one game (30) en route to dropping 60 points in a 112-111, triple-overtime loss to Stephen F. Austin on Friday.

2. Stephen Curry, PG, Davidson: After scoring 27 against West Virginia in a low-percentage (9-of-27) performance on Tuesday, Curry upped the accuracy against Chattanooga on Saturday. His 11-of-22 shooting day led to 41 points, his third 40-plus game of the season.

3. Dionte Christmas, SG, Temple: He was the dagger-man in the Owls' upset of No. 8 Tennessee, hitting 7-of-14 treys for 35 points ... and inspiring all sorts of "Merry Christmas" / "Christmas came early" / "Christmas gift" pun-making.

4. A.J. Abrams, SG, Texas: While most his teammates were struggling against Texas State on Saturday, Abrams scored 30, following up his 26-point effort on Tuesday against Villanova at Madison Square Garden.

5. Jordan Hill, PF, Arizona: After an ill-advised late technical in a loss to Texas A&M two weeks ago, Hill has channeled his fury into his game instead, going for 25 points and 14 boards in a win over San Diego State on Wednesday, and 22 and 6 against Gonzaga Sunday. He has double-doubles in six of 'Zona's nine games.
MY ONE WISH FOR THIS WEEK


That senior small forward Marcus Ginyard returns and fixes the woeful North Carolina Tar Heels. They've looked so helpless thus far, jumping out to a 9-0 start with an average victory margin of 28.8 points. What their rotation desperately needs is another savvy, athletic veteran. Ginyard has been out since October, when he had surgery to repair a stress fracture in his foot, but dressed for Saturday's win over Oral Roberts and may be back in the lineup soon. Hopefully he can save top-ranked Carolina before it's too late.
THE ONE DAY YOU SHOULD CARE ABOUT


I usually list one game here, but Dec. 20's slate is too beautiful not to mention as a whole. There might not be a better day in college hoops until the first day of the NCAA tournament:

At 2 p.m.: Michigan State at Texas and Duke vs. Xavier (in East Rutherford, N.J.).

At 4 p.m.: UConn vs. Gonzaga (in Seattle) and Davidson vs. Purdue (in Indianapolis).

At 4:30 p.m.: BYU vs. Arizona State (in Glendale, Ariz.).

At 6 p.m.: Syracuse at Memphis.

Any self-respecting college hoops fan will have this afternoon cleared on his schedule.
YOUR MONDAY MOMENT OF ZEN


Gadget-armed Dallas Lauderdale informs Butler's Zach Hahn that, contrary to what he may have believed, the perimeter is NOT A SAFE PLACE. Hahn's three-point attempt finds a home in the crowd. Lauderdale slaps hands with the crowd -- and gets a standing O for his efforts.

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Michael Gilchrist was at the Memphis/G'Town game.

probably more so for Memphis but he was behind the Hoya bench.

WorldWide Wes was also in attendance.

Probably with McAdoo and Wroten they form the top 3 in 2011.

And I'd assume McAdoo chooses between Duke/UNC when it's all said and done.
 
[font=Arial, Helvetica]Blake Griffin got zero field goals in Oklahoma's win over Utah.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]That's zero, as in none.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica][/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]Which means we are barely a month into the college basketball season, and already we've seen the two favoritesfor National Player of the Year -- Griffin and Davidson's Stephen Curry -- get held to no field goals in different games. In a related note, J.J. Redickand Adam Morrison think this season's National Player of the Year race is a joke.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]Anyway, here's the Monday Look Back.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]Best game of the weekend: Two of the past eight Final Four teams in an overtime battle with JimNantz and Clark Kellogg on the call; that's not a bad way to spend a Saturday afternoon, which is why Georgetown's 79-70 win overMemphis was among the best nonleague matchups to date. It featured a dramatic tip-in by Shawn Taggart to force overtime. Though the finalmargin is a little lopsided, the reality is that this was a one-possession game with 34 seconds remaining in the extra period. Either way, Georgetown is now1-1 against teams from the state of Tennessee (beat the Tigers, lost to the Vols), Memphis has as many losses (two) as it finished with last season, and GregMonroe still can't talk to the media because of some silly rule Georgetown has in place that is more outdated than my cargo pants.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]Worst game of the weekend: Jamie Dixon is 10-0 for the sixth time in six years atPittsburgh thanks to Saturday's 91-56 victory over UMBC. Honestly, I'm still not sure what to make of the Panthersbecause they still haven't played a ranked opponent, or even a team likely to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. But one thing I do know is thatthey can beat the brains out of average/bad teams, evidence being how the average score of Pitt's games is 80-57.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]Win to brag about: I wonder if Dionte Christmas ever gets tired of his last name being Christmas?I'll have to ask him one day, but for the record I hate that his last name is Christmas, because anytime he does anything of note the slew ofChristmas-related headlines and comments is almost too much to take. A Christmas to Remember! The Christmas Spirit! A ChristmasStory! If you can think of it, it was probably written or said somewhere after the Temple star got 35 points -- Merry Christmas!-- in Saturday's 88-72 win over Tennessee. My favorite was Christmas Comes Early, but that almost sounds dirty (if notdisappointing and deflating), so let's just move on to something about the Minutemen.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]Loss to hide from: Derek Kellogg's UMass Minutemen entered Saturday's gameagainst Kansas with three times as many losses as wins, including defeats to Jacksonville State, Wisconsin-Green Bay and Toledo. Tough startfor D.K.; I was beginning to feel badly for him. And then somehow he took a team with that body of work and led it to a 61-60 victory over the Jayhawks inKansas City, which made no sense but served as a reminder that six of the top seven scorers from KU's national championship team are no longer at KU, caseany of you had forgot.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]Player who deserves improper benefits: I'm not certain how many guys could score 91 points in atwo-game stretch, but I imagine the list is probably limited to Kobe Bryant, Stephen Curry and Ben Woodside. Yes, Ben Woodside, a little-known guard forNorth Dakota State who got 60 in Friday's loss to Stephen F. Austin and 31 in Saturday's win over GeorgiaSouthern.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]That means Woodside is the first college player to score at least 60 since Arizona State's Eddie House put 61 on California on Jan. 8, 2000, and as ASU's finemedia relations contact Doug Tammaro points out, the interesting thing about House's effort was that he actually outscored 55 Division I teams on that day.As for Woodside, he alone outscored Delaware State, Florida International and Iowa State on Friday, and his 91-point weekend produced 13 more points thanSouthern California's DeMar DeRozan has scored all season, which is wild considering many projected DeRozan to be the nation's best incomingfreshman.[/font]
[table][tr][td]
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[/td] [td] [/td] [/tr][tr][td]James Harden can't hurdle the IUPUI defense in a struggle for him and the Sun Devils. (AP)[/td] [td] [/td] [/tr][/table][font=Arial, Helvetica]Player who should lose his scholarship: James Harden nearly messed around and gotArizona State beat Sunday, finishing with nine points and five turnovers before fouling out in the Sun Devils' 59-58 victory overIUPUI. The nine points were obviously a season-low for the All-American, and somewhere Eddie House is shaking his head, totallydisgusted.[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]Why I'm smarter than you think: I've argued for hours with Kansas fansabout Kansas and tried like crazy to prepare them for what was to come. So I'll take this opportunity to write what I've written before one more time:You cannot -- even if you're Kansas -- lose five starters without slipping.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]That's why I (wisely) omitted the Jayhawks from the preseason Top 25 (and one) and explained that they were more likely to limp like Florida lastseason than they were to win the Big 12 with Sherron Collins, Cole Aldrich and a bunch of new guys.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]Did I expect a loss to UMass? Um, no. But I'm not surprised that KU already has two losses, and with gamesagainst Temple (on Saturday), Arizona (Dec. 23), Tennessee (Jan. 3) and Michigan State (Jan. 10) still to come it's not crazy to think the Jayhawks mighthave five or six losses entering Big 12 play, which would put a lot of pressure on them to close strong to make the NCAA tournament and at the same time proveI am pretty freaking smart.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]Why I'm dumber than I think: Remember how I mentioned that some projected DeRozan to be thenation's best incoming freshman? Among those who projected such was me in an Oct. 27column that is starting to look dumber and dumber by the day. Not only did I have DeRozan ranked first in terms of impact freshmen, but I hadUCLA's Jrue Holiday second, Ohio State's B.J. Mullens third and Memphis' Tyreke Evans fourth. Amonth into the season, most would call Holiday solid but not great (he got 14 points and six assists in Saturday's win over DePaul), Mullens a total bust(he played just 16 minutes in Saturday's win over Butler) and Evans the person most likely to miss 15 shots in any particular game (he missed 16 inSaturday's loss to Georgetown).[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]Three things you should know before you go[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]1. North Carolina senior Tyler Hansbrough got 26 points in Saturday's 100-84win over Oral Roberts. That pushed him into 11th place on the ACC's all-time scoring list and means he's just nine points shy ofpassing Phil Ford to become UNC's all-time leading scorer.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]2. Charles Jenkins continued his stellar sophomore season Saturday, finishing with 11 points, 10rebounds and seven assists to lead Hofstra to a 68-52 victory over Saint Frances (N.Y.). The 6-foot-3 guard is now averaging20.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game, and if he leads the Pride to a victory over UMass in their next game then Hofstra will be 9-1 and match itsbest record through 10 games at the Division I level.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]3. I already goofed on Harden's effort against IUPUI, but it's worth notingthat the sophomore made two of three 3-point attempts in the win and is 18-of-25 (.720) from the beyond the arc in his past five games. In other words, Hardenis Arizona State's 6-4 guard who can get to the rim at will (against everybody except IUPUI) and obviously sink jumpers; that's whyhe's going to be a top five pick in next June's NBA Draft.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]On tap: On Monday, Syracuse will try to start 10-0 for the first time since the1999-2000 season when it hosts Cleveland State at the Carrier Dome. On Tuesday, Buzz Williams will take his Marquette GoldenEagles to Nashville, where they'll meet Tennessee in the SEC/Big East Invitational. On Wednesday, Siena will have achance to get its rough early season turned around when it visits Pittsburgh. On Thursday, Andy Kennedy will be back in Cincinnati, where heonce coached on an interim basis, when his Ole Miss Rebels battle Louisville in the SEC/Big East Challenge.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]Final thought: Mike Krzyzewski did not coach this weekend (Duke was off), but he was involved in aone-car accident before Friday's practice.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]"He's fine," Jon Jackson, Duke's associate athletic director of communications, told WRAL. "Hewas at practice."[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]So Coach K is OK; that's good news. And though I had a few reasonable jokes of my own, I'll refrain andsimply turn things over to a NorthCarolina State blog, which commented: "Police have charged the tree that Krzyzewski hit with a flagrant blocking foul and awarded Duke with two shotsand the ball."[/font]
 
Monday, December 15[table][tr][th=""]Game[/th] [th=""]Network[/th] [th=""]Coverage Notes[/th] [th=""]PPV?[/th] [th=""]Time[/th] [/tr][tr][td]Stony Brook at Connecticut[/td] [td]
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[/td] [td]
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[/td] [td]
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[/td] [td]7pm[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Anderson at Liberty[/td] [td]
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[/td] [td] [/td] [td] [/td] [td]7pm[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Cleveland St. at Syracuse[/td] [td]Time Warner-NY[/td] [td]
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[/td] [td] [/td] [td]7pm[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Charleston Southern at Cincinnati[/td] [td]
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[/td] [td] [/td] [td]
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[/td] [td]7:30pm[/td] [/tr][tr][td]UMKC at Northwestern[/td] [td]
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[/td] [td] [/td] [td] [/td] [td]8pm[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Florida A&M at Texas A&M[/td] [td]
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[/td] [td] [/td] [td] [/td] [td]8pm[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Alabama St. at Auburn[/td] [td]
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[/td] [td] [/td] [td] [/td] [td]8pm[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Chicago St. at Hawai'i[/td] [td]
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[/td] [td] [/td] [td] [/td] [td]11:59pm[/td] [/tr][/table]

I'm hearing the Dallas Mavericks game is being shown in the DFW area tonight instead of the A&M game
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[table][tr][td]ESPN/USA Today Poll[/td] [/tr][tr][td] 1. North Carolina (31) 9-0 775[/td] [/tr][tr][td] 2. Connecticut 8-0 737[/td] [/tr][tr][td] 3. Pittsburgh 10-0 713[/td] [/tr][tr][td] 4. Oklahoma 10-0 676[/td] [/tr][tr][td] 5. Texas 8-1 642[/td] [/tr][tr][td] 6. Duke 8-1 574[/td] [/tr][tr][td] 7. Gonzaga 7-1 552[/td] [/tr][tr][td] 7. Xavier 9-0 552[/td] [/tr][tr][td] 9. Louisville 6-1 467[/td] [/tr][tr][td]10. Wake Forest 9-0 466[/td] [/tr][tr][td]11. Syracuse 9-0 406[/td] [/tr][tr][td]12. UCLA 6-2 369[/td] [/tr][tr][td]13. Georgetown 7-1 358[/td] [/tr][tr][td]14. Notre Dame 7-2 345[/td] [/tr][tr][td]15. Villanova 10-1 313[/td] [/tr][tr][td]16. Ohio State 6-0 275[/td] [/tr][tr][td]17. Arizona State 8-1 272[/td] [/tr][tr][td]18. Purdue 8-2 252[/td] [/tr][tr][td]19. Tennessee 6-2 246[/td] [/tr][tr][td]20. Davidson 8-1 194[/td] [/tr][tr][td]21. Memphis 5-2 166[/td] [/tr][tr][td]22. Michigan State 6-2 147[/td] [/tr][tr][td]23. Marquette 8-1 130[/td] [/tr][tr][td]24. Baylor 8-1 119[/td] [/tr][tr][td]25. Clemson 10-0 65[/td] [/tr][tr][td]
Others Receiving Votes
Brigham Young 62, Miami (FL) 48, Michigan 31, Dayton 27, Butler 19, Arizona 15, Missouri 15, Wisconsin 14, Kansas 14, Saint Mary's 11, Illinois State 3, LSU 2, Florida 2, Maryland 1.
Dropped From Rankings
Kansas 23, Miami (FL) 25. [/td] [/tr][/table]


..
7 of the top 15 isn't bad
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So Stanley was supposed to keep up on the academic end and ends up working at a Sheet Metal factory?
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I guess he needed to do so, so he could be a "Non Scholarship Athlete" for this semester. Give me a break.

and you could see Kemba taking AJ's job from a mile away..



[h2]Robinson Returnsfor UConn
Posted on Dec 15, 2008 11:39 am[/h2]
As if UConn didn't already have a big enough front line with 7-foot-3 Hasheem Thabeet, 7-1 CharlesOkwandu and 6-7 Jeff Adrien, now the Huskies are adding another huge, athletic body up front.

Stanley Robinson, a 6-foot-9 junior forward from Birmingham, Ala., will debut tonight when No. 2 UConn (8-0) hosts Stony Brook (5-4)tonight on SNY (7 p.m.).

Robinson made his first appearance at practice Sunday and threw down a two-handed dunk off a miss by Okwandu.

"He's a great athlete," UConn coach Jim Calhoun told reporters Sunday. "He jumps. He dunks. He's not going to makeevery shot yet. Some of the stuff we've added he doesn't know yet, but he does know how to run. He does know how to block shots. He does know how torebound and he knows how to defend."

Robinson missed the first semester while working at a sheet metal factory in nearby Willimantic, Conn, and will spend this semester as a non-scholarshipstudent.

"I know what we were doing, but for a minute some of those plays slipped my mind after working with that copper and iron for five months,"Robinson said of his first practice after working at Prime Materials Recovery in Willimantic, according to the Hartford Courant. "I'm in long distanceshape, I'm not in sprint shape. Give me like two weeks. I'm exhausted right now, tired. … I'm just going to do whatever Coach Calhounasks."

Calhoun also said there could be some changes to the starting lineup, with former Rice star Kemba Walker replaced A.J.Price at the point.

"Right now, we'll probably have the samelineup," Calhoun told the New Haven Register.

There is no update on Ater Majok, the 6-foot-10 Sudanese big man who has committed to UConn and is awaiting word from the NCAAClearinghouse.
 
Player who should lose his scholarship: James Harden nearly messed around and got Arizona State beat Sunday, finishing with nine points and five turnovers before fouling out in the Sun Devils' 59-58 victory over IUPUI. The nine points were obviously a season-low for the All-American, and somewhere Eddie House is shaking his head, totally disgusted
s.t.f.u.
.
[font=Arial, Helvetica]Why I'm smarter than you think: I've argued for hours with Kansas fans about Kansas and tried like crazy to prepare them for what was to come. So I'll take this opportunity to write what I've written before one more time: You cannot -- even if you're Kansas -- lose five starters without slipping.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]That's why I (wisely) omitted the Jayhawks from the preseason Top 25 (and one) and explained that they were more likely to limp like Florida last season than they were to win the Big 12 with Sherron Collins, Cole Aldrich and a bunch of new guys.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]Did I expect a loss to UMass? Um, no. But I'm not surprised that KU already has two losses, and with games against Temple (on Saturday), Arizona (Dec. 23), Tennessee (Jan. 3) and Michigan State (Jan. 10) still to come it's not crazy to think the Jayhawks might have five or six losses entering Big 12 play, which would put a lot of pressure on them to close strong to make the NCAA tournament and at the same time prove I am pretty freaking smart.[/font]

they started 3-4 a few years ago and won the big xii. they'll be fine.
 
I don't think KU has the talent were lead to believe they have (freshmen class)

I think very highly of Aldrich, but with him he can be gone after this year if he chooses to.
 
I'm hearing the Dallas Mavericks game is being shown in the DFW area tonight instead of the A&M game
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Why wouldn't it be? Florida A&M? Really?
I don't think KU has the talent were lead to believe they have (freshmen class)

I think very highly of Aldrich, but with him he can be gone after this year if he chooses to.
They don't... And I think we'll see that as soon as they run up against Arizona, Michigan State, and Tennessee over the next month...

They're not better than Baylor. I'm not sure they're comfortably better than Texas A&M or Missouri, if at all better, either...

If Oklahoma State hadn't booted Ibrahima Thomas, I'd throw them in the group with A&M and Mizzou, too... But without him they're too thininside...
 
Allen, I'm pretty sure Odom transferred off of LI, but he didn't get too much pub while he was here. Like most kids from around here, he did most ofhis damage during AAU because LI players get no love. Plus, Harris has been getting a lot of major attention since he was a frosh so I think Odom woulda beenon the backburner regardless.
 
Originally Posted by Nowitness41Dirk

I'm hearing the Dallas Mavericks game is being shown in the DFW area tonight instead of the A&M game
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Why wouldn't it be? Florida A&M? Really?
Florida A&M > Dallas Mavericks

It's just kinda weird to me that Fox SW would pick up the game months ago and have it on their schedule, then drop it in the DFW area...
 
Originally Posted by yungmatt

I still cant believe how average Demar is looking
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He's in the wrong system. Tim Floyd can't run an offense. Was the same last year too. And it doesn't help that he's lacking somefundamentals...his handle isn't that good. His defense is suspect...Floyd sat him at the end of a couple of games. He isn't being aggressive on theoffensive end. I've expected more dunks from him, but he really isn't getting out in transition and finishing. Hopefully he can turn it around and showwhy he deserves to be a lottery pick.
 
$700 a week seems like a good deal for a college student..



[h1]Robinson picks himself up off the scrap heap[/h1]

By Dana O'Neil
ESPN.com
(Archive)

Updated: December 15, 2008

WILLIMANTIC, Conn. -- The boxes and piles of scrap sitting behind Prime Materials Incorporated are heaped as high as the building.

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Tony Spinelli/ESPN.com

After five months working in a factory, Stanley Robinson has returned to the UConn basketball team.
It is an endless sea of junk. An orderly stack of metal serves as a wall down the left side; a bundle of undetermined stuff underneath a tarp files alongthe back wall; boxes of God knows what line the right side and a pile of pretzel-twisted hard plastic forms a mountain on the ground.
At 9 a.m. on a bitter December day, the 6-foot-9 man maneuvering through the scrap, trying not to get his UConn sweatshirt caught on the razor-sharp edges,has been here for two hours. Until 3:30 p.m. he'll sort the junk into boxes, readying it for its next destination.

The scraps all used to be something. Someday soon they will be reshaped and remolded into something again.

Stanley Robinson can relate.

A year ago he was something -- or more, somebody. A starter at Connecticut, the forward came into his own as the season wound down, averaging 15.8 pointsand 8.6 rebounds in the Huskies' final five games. He seemed on the brink of something special.

Now he's just another guy on the scrap heap, another working stiff slinging plastic into boxes. A working stiff who, when the work day is over, willdrive to Gampel Pavilion, find his seat in the stands and watch UConn roll over Delaware State.

He has nine more days of work left. He knows the number exactly, has known it since the July day when he first showed up at the nondescript building,located on a hard curve heading into the town of Willimantic, to serve an unorthodox suspension meted out by Jim Calhoun.

Tonight is the night Robinson can stop counting. On Friday he officially retired his work clothes, exchanging them for his UConn uniform. When the Huskiestip off at 7:30 p.m. against Stony Brook, Robinson won't be in the stands. He'll be on the bench.

Much like the eventual fate of the scrap he's been sorting, Robinson will return, he believes, reshaped and remolded.

"I'm much different," he said. "I'm more mature now. I'm a man. This made me a man."

Robinson didn't do anything wrong. He didn't commit a crime, didn't injure or attempt to injure anyone else.
He is not academically ineligible.

So why isn't he playing? What earned him a five-month sentence of hard labor.

A desperate need, Calhoun says, to grow up.

"The only one being harmed was Stanley," Calhoun said. "I had a couple of players I asked to leave the program. I didn't want Stanley toleave. He's a really good kid with a heart of gold, but he had to get his life square. I saw signs, little things. He'd be late to study hall or lateto practice. He wasn't always going to class. He just wasn't focused."

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Tony Spinelli/ESPN.com

Despite offers to transfer, Robinson stuck with Jim Calhoun and the Huskies

So at the end of the season, Calhoun called Robinson into his office and told the sophomore he was suspended for the first semester of his junior season.Calhoun gave him a choice: He could return home to Alabama -- maybe take a few courses there -- or he could stay in Connecticut. If he remained, however, hewouldn't be part of the team, would not be enrolled at the university and should, Calhoun suggested, find himself a job.

If he did everything Calhoun asked, Robinson would be allowed to join the team in December.

It all begs for a heavy dose of cynicism. After all, A.J. Price and MarcusWilliams were accused of trying to sell stolen laptops across state lines -- a third-degree felony. Williams was suspended for four months but remained inschool; Price, who also was accused of lying to police, was banished for a year but also remained enrolled. Jerome Dyson failed a drug test but missed just nine games. Yet Robinson, a talented forwardwho could have made the No. 2 Huskies even better, was booted from the team and from school and will have to pay his way next semester because of chronictardiness?

"I know, I've heard the rumors. But none of them are true," Robinson said. "There's nothing more to it."

If there is a smoking gun, it's hidden somewhere in the backwoods off State Highway 195 in northeastern Connecticut. There is no record of an arrest oreven so much as an on-campus dustup with Robinson. Calhoun and Robinson both say he is in good academic standing (that information is not available to thepublic, a representative from the Dean of Students Office explained to ESPN.com).

This, Calhoun and Robinson insist, is more rescue mission than punishment, a case in which a combustible combination of immaturity, homesickness and socialawkwardness were beelining on a collision course to unravel what Calhoun believes is a future NBA career.

"It's not drinking or drugs; he didn't do anything wrong," Calhoun said. "He had some emotional problems, maturity issues, and I toldhim the only reason I'm doing this is because I care about you."

Calhoun admits this isn't standard procedure for him. He has run plenty of players off for transgressions big and small, and with a stockpile of talentalways available at his fingertips, doesn't need to spend time rehabilitating a kid.

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[h3]I'm much different. I'm more mature now. I'm a man. This made me a man.
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--Stanley Robinson

But Calhoun says Robinson isn't a standard player. He seems to genuinely like him, remarks with stunned pleasure how Robinson still gets him a Christmasgift, an uncool no-no among today's players (last year it was a golf tee gadget; this year Robinson is still thinking).

Calhoun charted the unusual course as his own method of tough love because he believed Robinson would embrace it and not leave for another school.

"It wouldn't work with most kids, no way," Calhoun said. "Most kids would have said, 'Screw you.' Alabama was on the phone everyday. Stanley could have left in a heartbeat, but he's unique."

Indeed, the only thing more stunning than Calhoun's patience and punishment was Robinson's willingness to take it.

Here was a kid not even 18 when he enrolled at UConn, a desperately homesick Southern-fried catfish out of sorts in codfish-cold waters. Socially skittish-- assistant director of athletic communications Kyle Muncy would have to literally chase Robinson down for postgame interviews -- at a school that engendersswarming media interest statewide, and missing his two daughters, 3-year-old Kamilah and 1-year-old Kelsi, no one would have been surprised if Robinson hadbolted for Bama or hometown UAB.

Robinson thought about it briefly, but realized three things right away: he made a commitment to Connecticut; he would become a better player with apotentially brighter basketball future by staying at UConn; and the stunner, he and his family members both thought Calhoun was dead right.

When Robinson called his mother, Rosa, and told her his choice, he remembers his mom, who spent her whole life working in a factory, said three simplewords: "So do it."

Stanley Robinson grew up with plenty of positive male role models in his life, but no father. Part of what sold Rosa and her son's extended family onUConn was Calhoun's background and old-school approach. The Connecticut coach lost his father when he was 15 and recognized immediately both what Robinsonmissed and needed.

"In the end you pick a coach, not a school," said Robinson's uncle, Jeremy Welton, who moved to nearby Vernon, Conn., just before Robinsoncame to school. He has since finished his degree in finance and works in a local bank. "He and his mom both thought it was important that they pick acoach with a good track record, someone who has been around the track a couple of times and was stern and forceful."

Robinson's forced exile has done nothing to curb the family's enthusiasm for Calhoun. If anything, Robinson is more of a Calhoun fan and cheerleadertoday than he was two years ago. As he sat in the stands watching Calhoun screech during a timeout, Robinson laughed.

Asked what the coach was doing, he smirked and said, "Cussing."

He believes there are two ways to react to Calhoun -- to turn a deaf ear and miss what he's saying or to dig beneath the wilting criticism to find thetrue intent.

It's the same in his current circumstance. Instead of thinking he's done the coach a favor by sticking around, Robinson believes Calhoun did him afavor by not quitting on him.

"Some coaches -- most coaches -- would just kick you out,'' he said. "They don't need you so they don't want to be bothered withyou. He took a second chance on me. I love that man."

Ruslan Inyatkin returned from vacation to find he had a new employee at Prime Materials.
"I was like, 'I know that guy,'" said Inyatkin, a former Husky himself. "He was one of my favorite players."

Robinson explained why he was there and his new supervisor walked him through the various jobs he'd have to master. Most days Robinson -- with his iPodscrolling through enough songs to fill the eight-hour day -- is out back, filling boxes. Like an endless pile of laundry, the sorting never ends. As soon asRobinson fills one huge box, a guy on a forklift comes by to clear it and Robinson gets another box.

In the summer it was sweat-inducing, hard work. In the winter, it's frigid.

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Tony Spinelli/ESPN.com

When not working, Robinson has cheered on his teammates from the stands. Now it's time to hit the court.

Robinson figures it's the first time he's worked since he was a kid, when he helped out at a fish market, bringing home dinner every night for hismom to cook.

"I liked that better," he said. "At least I got dinner."

By now everyone at Prime Materials knows who Robinson is and why he's there. He mixes in easily with the grown men who work there, appreciating just howhard it is to be a grown-up.

"He's a good worker," Inyatkin said. "Everything you tell him to do, he does. And if he has a problem where he's going to be late, heeither calls or texts me."

Robinson earns $700 a week that he uses to pay for his apartment, food and utilities. Robinson is living frugally, pocketing as much as he can to pay forschool once he re-enrolls.

Yes, that's right. Robinson technically is a walk-on, albeit one who averaged 10.4 points and 6.5 rebounds the last time he stepped on the court.

Calhoun said it's because he wants Robinson to fully earn his way back onto the team. That UConn also doesn't have a scholarship yet -- as it awaitsword on Aussie superstar Ater Mojak -- also might have something to do with it.

"He's already earned it," Calhoun said. "He'll get it back next year."

Before and after work, Robinson is at his other job -- staying in shape for basketball. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays he's up at 4 a.m. so he candrive 27 miles to East Hartford for a 5 a.m., prework workout with Anthony Menard, the high school coach of former UConn guard Doug Wiggins.

When he's done at Prime Materials, Robinson runs three miles, runs the stadium steps on campus or heads to Gampel to lift weights. He can't work outwith the team, so he usually arrives as his teammates are leaving.

It seems counterproductive, forcing a kid who didn't have the skills to cope and be on time when his entire day was structured for him, to try andreorchestrate his life on his own.

Yet Robinson has taken to it with apparent ease, and in the process, developed a sense of pride that wasn't there before.

"I'm not surprised," Calhoun said. "He took this to heart. I knew he would. He had a lot of self-defeating behavior before but he has areally good heart and he really wants to be here."

The first time Robinson went to a UConn game as a fan, he got lost.
"I didn't know what door to go in," he said. "I had no idea where I was going. I think I walked around the whole building."

He's found his way since, but he still doesn't enjoy the trip.

More than the long days at work or the lonely mornings working out, this is the hardest part. The Huskies are in layup lines getting ready for tip-off andRobinson, clutching a ticket in his hand, is in the stands, accepting warm wishes and good lucks from fans sitting nearby.

He appreciates the support, and jokes that maybe he should sign up for one of the shooting contests during a timeout, but he longs to be on the court.

He can't imagine how it will feel when he goes into Gampel the way he's accustomed to, sliding into the locker room, putting on his uniform and thenwaiting for Calhoun to signal his turn to go into the game.

It will all be so familiar and yet so different. Same number, same place, same routine, different person.

"I've been saving my tickets, everything,'' he said. "I want to make a scrapbook so I can remember what I went through. It's beenvery humbling, but it's going to all be worth it. I'll have a better job, a better life and I can look back and say I did this. I survived this and Icame out a different person.''

Reshaped and remolded, you'd never know Robinson could have once been cast aside as scrap.
 
From everything I've read he didn't take anything this fall, but did online courses over the past summer.

So, I guess he was just working full time all fall.
 
My favorite was Christmas Comes Early, but that almost sounds dirty (if not disappointing and deflating), so let's just move on to something about the Minutemen.
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Now that's funny...
 
So he got kicked off the team and school...and he didn't have bad grades or any problems with the law?
 
Robinson's academic standing has been in question for weeks, long before the spring semester ended, perhaps even as the Huskies' season came to a closein late March. But Robinson's problems at UConn were more than academic. They were also social, and perhaps even geographical. He never seemed to quite fitin with the Northeast environment. Many others from faraway places, including Robinson's deep South, have made the adjustment to living at UConn andthrived, but Robinson simply never seemed comfortable.


"Right now, Stanley is in the process of (determining) if he wants to be part of the program," Calhoun told The Day of New London. "It's thesame package as the other kids (Wiggins and Kelly) with a combination of academics and social, and being on time and being dedicated to the program.
 
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