Welcome to the Friday Feedback, which is still buzzing about last night’s college slam dunk contest. For what it’s worth, Alex Ruoff fizzled … in the 3-point contest. He had an OK start and finish, but misfired at the elbows. I am upset, of course, because he deserved a better exit than what he got — Louisville, Syracuse, Dayton and last night’s last-place finish. Mostly, though, I was hoping he’d advance because I wanted — no! — needed to see his post-round celebrations. Dance routines must have been part of the selection criteria.

The dunk contest was nuts, though. Frequently those things disappoint. This did not. Raise your hands if you knew Micah Downs could do that (1:35, featuring Ruoff’s “Represent, baby!” congratulations, and 3:05). And that was just the first round. The final round actually went to a dunk-off between Charlie Coley III and champion Tony Danridge.

I know the tournament hasn’t been all that great and needed Villanova-Pitt to save it, but, man, I don’t want to see the season end at all. Really, what are you looking forward to, baseball?

Onto the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, be careful before you submit.

glibglub said:

Crystal Blue Persuasion, eh? I can just picture a sleepy-eyed Stew jamming to this decidely mellow 60’s quasi-psychedelic groove at 4:30 in the morning. (No, not really.)  

Best news of spring practice, I say. Close second, if only for potential? Try 6 a.m. practices Monday and Tuesday. What’s Oll Shondell’s revelry those days?

JP said:

Good thing he didn’t hear Communication Breakdown by Led Zeppelin.

If he’d heard Stairway to Heaven does that mean Wes Lyons will be the next Reggie Rembert?

If he’d heard Moby Dick, somebody’s spending too much time in the buffet line?

I’m wondering if I can get to Blaine and have him mess with the settings. What if the preset was adjusted to Hip-Hop Nation? Big East title, right?  

Birch said:

“Someone’s got it in for me, they’re planting stories in the press
Whoever it is I wish they’d cut it out but when they will I can only guess.”

The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind.  

Casto said:

Andrews could hit like Eric Wicks when he made contact, but he also covered like Perlo Bastien. I don’t have anything bad to say about him personally, but he wanted the big hit so often we gave up extra yards.
He’s the only player I have heard say anything pseudo-negative (and all he said was “things changed.” ) about the new coaching staff, so that speaks to the quality of the staff at least.

If nothing else, you have to give Stewart credit for consistency in his punishments and the manner in which he treats them. If Q didn’t like that, well, perhaps that was part of the problem.

Gordo said:

I didn’t even think he could hit that hard. Well, I take that back. Apparently, he could, b/c people said he could, but I personally don’t remember him having a ton of big hits over the course of his time here. Regardless, the big hit is overrated and its a moot point if your constantly out of position.

I’d say his most memorable his was during preseason practice his redshirt freshman year when he leveled Pat White in practice. How the staff prevented a brawl I’ll never know. It was remarkable, really. Andrews did have a slight intimidation factor going for him, but that doesn’t help you in the open field.

mountiefan3 said:

I do remember I couple of huge INTs.

One in the Fiesta Bowl, when he had played a really good, controlled game.

overtheSEC said:

“Adam’s greatest moment in sports was … getting the ABC Chevrolet Player Of The Game in his first college start on September 5, 2005″
I remember that game well. Ugly is the word that comes to mind. No one could hold onto the ball. It’s hard to believe they even named players of the game for that contest  

Especially the leader of an offense that didn’t score a touchdown. What a weird game: WVU’d defense had a interception return touchdown (Eric Wicks) and a safety (Ernest Hunter). Syracuse had seven points and seven first downs, was 0-for-15 on third down and did nothing with WVU’s five turnovers. The first game of the Greg Robinson Era was, sadly, pretty much the last of the Jason Colson Era. He lost three fumbles and was unceremoniously buried by the staff. 

Jeff in Akron said:

After reading Bednarik’s bio, does it seem that there are an inordinate amount of serious shoulder injuries amoung WVU football players? I’m not even sure where one would go to check that stat.

It’s out there, I’m sure.  

Eric said:  

I’m happy Clarke signed with WVU, but his quote made me cringe:

“Coach Stewart came off as a very humble, realistic guy who seemed like he was telling the truth about everything,” he said. “He made it easy for you to feel comfortable around him. He is like an uncle in your family.”

Why does that make me cringe? It sounds so nice and should make me feel warm and fuzzy. I’m just afraid the guy might be disappointed. I wonder how he’ll feel the Friday after Thanksgiving.

Couldn’t be any worse than how WVU felt the Friday after Thanksgiving last year.

Alli said:

With the motion we run, I think it’s safe to say he won’t be an every down slot receiver. I think he can be used in certain situations though (red zone plays, short yardage drags across the middle like a tight end). Still, I think he has a lot to prove. Can he be a consistent in a game setting? Has he finally learned the correct routes to run on which play? Etc…  

All good points, all good concerns about Wes Lyons and his spring fling in the slot. For a guy admittedly prone to injury, it’ll be interesting to see what happens when a right-to-left route is greeted by a left-to-right linebacker.

Karl said:

Great post, Michael. Calipari is a home run hire for Kentucky. There aren’t too many sure things in college sports, but he’s one of them. The Kentucky empire is about to rise again, no doubt.

We’ll be seeing a lot more LOI’s like the Nolan Dennis one you mention in the future. I’m all for it. When a coach promises a kid he’ll be there and splits, the player should be given some leeway to re-evaluate their future. Yes, they’re committing to a university, but they’re doing that under the expectation they know who their teacher will be for the next five years. Whether they have aspirations of playing in the NBA or coaching high school, the coach is a major factor in their education. If a school we applied to were to drop the major we were interested in, we have the luxury of going somewhere else, immediately. They do not.  

I think LOIs are going to change, and they should. It’s a dated concept now and it’s a little hypocritical for the reasons you mentioned, as well as others. The NCAA is high and mighty about graduation rates, but it’ll pressure a player to stay committed to a school, if only for a year, then allow the player to transfer after that first year. That hurts the first school’s graduation rate. As for the student, the NCAA basically costs a kid two years in that instance. Why? As for Calipari, no one I’ve talked to and e-mailed with these past few days has any doubt Calipari and UK will soar soon, and perhaps right away. The guy’s a recruiter at a school that recruits itself. That’s potent. He can coach a little, too, and no matter the level of competition in CUSA, the W-L record matters. The winning streaks matter. The fact he coached differently the past two seasons matters.

Sam Wilkinson said:

As a UMass grad, I’d like to point out that Calipari is a filthy cheat, a fact that will catch up with him at some point. You’d think a program as highly regarded as Kentucky would take that into account, but desperation is an ugly thing.  

I did not, however, talk to or exchange e-mail with Sam on this matter. There’s always an exception!

uk said:

Sam Wilkinson–jealousy is pretty ugly too.  

And there’s always a counter. 

ccteam said:

On the subject of players following coaches to their new school: I do think recruits should be let out of their commitment to the old school, but I think they should be prohibited from going with the coach to the new school. Way too much incentive for shady business there. I would suggest the recruit could choose any school but the one the coach goes to.

Whoa, hold on a second. That makes way too much sense! Honestly, though, what we’re most likely to see is either the diminishing or elimination of the early signing period (Nov. 12-19 this past year) or players putting off signing a LOI for as long as possible. The Spring signing period for next season begins April 15 and ends May. The coaching carousel will stop spinning before the deadline.

overtheSEC said:

I don’t know why I continue to be impressed/surprised, but Huggins’s networking skills are very impressive and worth an uncalculateable amount to the university. I realize that’s what credibility and 600 wins buys, but it seems like the man knows everyone…well.
It’s helped him bring a lot of our distinguished basketball alumni back closer to the program. It’s no wonder he was able to collect pledges so easily for his future practice facility. (Note: this is not a comparison/criticism/subliminal knock on a former WVU coach, but a statement of opinion about Bob Huggins by a fan who was very leery early on and now has what some may characterize as a “man-crush.” )

Sometimes I just want to go, “Hey, Coach, do you know (insert name)?” just to see if he does indeed know everyone. I believe that’s called “juice” … and I believe Huggins is Minute Maid.

Country Roads said:

Interesting list, including Kobe Bryant, Danny Fortson, and Rasheed Wallace. Also included A.J. Natstasi, who apparently played the wrong sport in college.  

Twice the Pennsylvania player of the year, A.J. set, and I believe still holds, the all-time scoring record in Pennsylvania with 3,662 career points.

Homer said:

Some great names on that list – including Bob Sura  

Dante Calabria would like to speak with you!

Economic Friction said:

Fine list I suppose…….but demonstrative of the lack of depth talent in PA HS Hoops, especially the western half of the state. Pittsburgh & nearby Buffalo may be the worst big metros in America for prep hoops talent.  

I’ve heard that before, but I’ll quibble a little with Buffalo— so, too, will Jonny Flynn and Paul Harris. The big cities in Ohio have a similar reputation. Huggins once said to us, “For a bunch of years, Ohio didn’t produce a lot of Division I talent. Then all of a sudden it took off when I left.”  

Foul Shot said:

Saw Lamar Odom (Lakers) play last night here in Charlotte. Ebanks game reminds me of Odom’s game in that Odom can bring it up and is really long and athletic – much like WVU has Ebanks breaking the press, etc.
Hopefully Pepper can provide some significant scoring in college, also.  

Interesting, if not accurate. I’ll allow it, but I hope he never compares in “mercurialness.” 

latin hillbilly said:

What’s the back story on Casey Mitchell? He sounds like a true diamond in rough, too good to be true even. And he looks like a stud on his tape. So what’s the catch? Why are we getting a 22 yr old all star who could take us to the final four and/or make the leap?

Does he really want the degree, cause I can get behind that.  

My hunch is grades, but I could be off. He could be a late-bloomer or a guy who didn’t want to go to a small school and then transfer and sit out a year. He played at a pretty high level for two years, his street cred went through the roof and now he gets to transfer without the year off. Not bad, huh? I honestly don’t know the true deal, but I can tell you he’s a hard man to get in touch with these days. When I find out, so will you. 

Mike Gansey’s Stylist said:

This guy sounds like MJ, Lebron James and Magic Johnson all rolled into one…he must STINK at defense.

Enjoy the weekend!