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Who is the college team with the best recruits this year?
-- Travis Jette, Missoula, Mont.
While the spring signing period doesn't begin until April 15 (running until May 15),
the nod goes to Seton Hall. All of the Pirates' recruits are qualified and
should be in school next fall (that means saying no to the NBA draft). Eddie Griffin is the best of
the bunch, with Andre Barrett and Marcus Toney-El the perfect fits for Tommy
Amaker's style.
What do you think of the constant rumors of Kentucky coach Tubby Smith
taking over in Atlanta next year? People here in Lexington cannot seem to
find an answer to this question anywhere.
-- Jonathan Frank, Lexington, Ky.
First of all, Lenny Wilkens said he's not going anywhere with the Hawks.
Smith has said he's staying at Kentucky. The only way he would leave
Lexington and his son Saul is for an offer he couldn't refuse. But, you have to
remember, Kentucky's job pays closer to an NBA job than any other college
job. It would be a monetary bump, but not as much as when John Calipari left UMass
for the Nets. Right now, I would say he'll stay.
Do you think Jamal Crawford will go to the NBA, stay at Michigan
or will he transfer to another college?
-- Sarah Freedman, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Crawford's stock has soured in the minds of NBA scouts and he would be wise to return. The
consensus from the Michigan staff is that he will be back. He told them he
would and they'll honor his word for now. I don't think he'll transfer. He
has to sit out a few games to start the season to finish off his suspension. I don't think he wants to
sit out any more than he has to this season.
I am very curious as to what your thoughts are on the issue of
amateur basketball. Where do you draw the line in terms of
contributions?
-- Pete Lafferty, East Lansing, Mich.
The simple answer is players shouldn't receive money from a professional
league or agent, booster or coach prior to college. If they get help for
prep school (independent of a college) and/or get some help at home for
living expenses from a AAU coach (something that he could do for any player on the team), then that should be allowed. Policing it any other way is too unwieldy for the NCAA.
Will the hiring of John Calipari at Memphis take the Tigers to the
next level?
-- William Miller, Memphis, Tenn.
Yes. The Tigers are suddenly looked at as a team that can compete for the
top of Conference USA and in the NCAA Tournament. Calipari will be one of the
hardest-working recruiters in the nation. I'd be surprised if he doesn't
have the Tigers in the tournament in two years.
I was wondering if you think that Schea Cotton is ready to go to
the NBA after this season. He did average 16 points and made second-team all-SEC, but is he ready to go to the NBA? He has a pro body, but his jump shot hasn't developed yet to be a factor at the two-spot in the pros. If he does come back and Gerald Wallace attends, where do you see Alabama next year?
-- Jody, Tuscaloosa, Ala.
He's not returning to Alabama. Cotton has been injury-prone and never really
got better over the past three years. He never met the hype thrown at him by
Sports Illustrated when he was in middle school. Cotton will probably
declare for the draft and end up outside of the Continental U.S. or in the
CBA, IBL, ABA 2000 or some other alphabet-soup league. But don't expect him on an NBA roster.
Do you think mid-major programs should be sending their regular-season conference winners, rather than the conference tournament winner, to the NCAA Tournament? It
seems like a disservice to have a team like Lamar in the Big Dance with a
.500 record in a small conference.
-- Bill Van Veen, Newtown, Pa.
The best solution to protect the winner is to adopt what the America East is
doing. The conference plays games at a neutral site for the first two rounds and then takes the
title game to the top remaining seed. This gives the best remaining team a natural advantage to earn
its spot. The America East consistently sends its best team to the tournament, which is usually the only way that league will have a chance to win a first-round game.
Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com. His Weekly Word on college basketball runs Thursdays throughout the off season.
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