Category Archives: NCAA

Thon Maker: The Next Phenom of Basketball?

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by Kaleb Page

Every decade or even few years in the game of basketball, there comes along a talent that people look to in amazement and classify as the next big thing. It looks like the high school basketball class of 2015 or 2016 has what could be that once ever-so-often talent.

This talented player is named Thon Maker, a 7 ft. 210 lb. forward/center who is playing in Ontario Canada for the Athlete Institute (prep basketball team). Born in the Sudan and eventually moving to Australia and to the United States, Thon is now a sought after basketball talent with skills that are almost unmatched when paired with the physical tools he was born with.

For having a natural big man frame, Maker is not your typical big man. He runs the open floor like a guard half his size. He can rip down a rebound and within seconds be flying down the court with the ball, head up and looking to be a threat. From my experience playing with big men in basketball, their ability to dribble effectively on the break and look up the court is hard for them to do. That is why when you watch a guy like Thon, it blows you away with how fluid he moves on the court and the ability he has to pass, dribble, and shoot. He has the mid-range jump shot that is as smooth a motion you will see from a big man, and it almost reminds you of the days when Kevin Garnett would stop, face-up and take a 15-20 foot jumper. It can be seen in videos as well, that he can be effective from three-point range as well. Also defensively, his rim protecting skills place him in a special category for a young post player.

It almost seemed natural for Thon upon coming to the United States to make the jump from regular high school basketball to a prep academy. This would take him to an even higher level of basketball in order to prepare for the next step. From what can be seen so far, coaches across the country have to be salivating over what they could land in the recruiting process.

With two years of eligibility left, Thon could forgo his senior year of high school and go to college in 2015 instead of waiting for 2016. Either way he will be the number one player still in ESPN’s recruiting rankings. He has received offers from the power programs of college basketball: Arizona, Duke, Florida, Kentucky, Louisville, Kansas, etc. The choice on where he will go is still to be seen.

With that said there is room for the big man to improve, as any player in the game should do in order to maximize on the potential they have. Defensively, even though Thon is a great rim protector, he can have his troubles in the paint with big men who are bigger and can out muscle him at the point of attack. Definitely at his basketball academy they will look to boost his strength and add to his 210 lb. frame, so he can handle strong players in the paint. His finishing ability at the rim could take some polishing when it comes to receiving contact from defenders, but that will come with more practice and coaching.  Like with all great players Thon still needs some development, but with what he has shown already the potential to do something special has to be kept in mind.

Comparisons have been tossed around that he is the next Kevin Garnett, the next Kevin Durant, the next Magic Johnson or even the next Hakeem Olajuwon. While it may happen that he becomes this 7 ft. guard/forward/center combo that combines all of those great players talents; I say let the anointed ‘phenom’ of the time blossom. He is only 17 years old and needs to have time to grow and fill out his potential. It is important while we sit back in amazement at what we see in the highlights, we also look to let this naturally happen instead of forcing the issue. If we force this too much we could turn Thon Maker into a basketball player who had all this potential, but crumbled in the end because he could never live up to the impossible image we all created as to what he should be.

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SEC Bias

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By Nick Muhl

This past week the SEC became the first conference to ever place four of its teams in the top five of the College Football AP Poll. The poll, which is released each Sunday following the week’s games and is voted upon by sports writers who are members of the associated press, has been around since 1936.

#1 Mississippi State, #3 Ole Miss, #4 Alabama, and #5 Auburn are all members of the SEC Western Division. All of the teams still have to face each other, with the exception of Ole Miss and Alabama (Ole Miss beat Alabama 23-17 earlier this month). This fact may save the voters from facing controversy from the world of college football once again.

Since 2009, the SEC has placed 3 teams in the top five in the AP poll 16 times. The SEC conference has become the power conference in college football, repeatedly recruiting the best players in the nation and winning national championships. It is also well documented the bias that many fans believes exists towards the SEC compared to conferences including the Big Ten and ACC.

This week’s poll is no exception in providing further evidence of what some consider being an SEC favored bias by the media. Michigan State, Kansas State, TCU and Ohio State all with one loss moved only slightly or not at all in the rankings after earning victories over conference opponents. Meanwhile Alabama, Auburn and Georgia all with one loss on the season and playing conference opponents as well, climbed into the top five and 10 of the AP rankings.

The establishment of the new 13-person committee to select the 4 teams for the new college football playoff will eventually replace the AP rankings at season end and put a silence to much of the criticism. However, the AP poll has been an influence on the teams considered for the championship for a long time and it is hard to imagine a team outside of the AP top 5 making the playoff regardless of a committee.

What does this mean for teams like Michigan State, TCU or even Marshall? The Thundering Herd are currently 7-0, but only ranked #23 in the latest poll. The Duke Blue Devils, that’s not a basketball typo, are 6-1 and remain unranked – same goes for the Big Ten’s Minnesota Gophers. In fact only 5 of the Top 25 teams are from the Big Ten and ACC.

The existence of an SEC bias isn’t just located in the AP poll. It is also well documented that many college football fans believe ESPN and the NCAA have favoritism towards the conference. Fans on many forums make claims that the entire thing is a play just to make money.

The truth is, like in all sports, it will always come down to the play on the field. The SEC has won 8 of the last 11 championships since 2003 and someone will have to beat them before anyone can be silenced.

Rank Team Record Pts Last Week
1. Mississippi St. (43) 6-0 1480 1
2. Florida St. (14) 7-0 1433 2
3. Mississippi (3) 7-0 1404 3
4. Alabama 6-1 1235 7
5. Auburn 5-1 1231 6
6. Oregon 6-1 1142 9
7. Notre Dame 6-1 1133 5
8. Michigan St. 6-1 1066 8
9. Georgia 6-1 1055 10
10. TCU 5-1 962 12
11. Kansas St. 5-1 905 14
12. Baylor 6-1 858 4
13. Ohio St. 5-1 753 13
14. Arizona St. 5-1 643 17
15. Arizona 5-1 639 16
16. Nebraska 6-1 537 19
17. Oklahoma 5-2 461 11
18. East Carolina 5-1 445 18
19. Utah 5-1 437 20
20. USC 5-2 356 22
21. Clemson 5-2 283 24
22. West Virginia 5-2 272 NR
23. Marshall 7-0 184 25
24. LSU 6-2 177 NR
25. UCLA 5-2 118 NR

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DaVaris Daniels is #NDNoMore

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By Ellen Chlumecky

The Notre Dame athletic department athletic department made the vote to suspend three out of the five football players involved in the academic fraud investigation who will now not be playing for Notre Dame this season. The three men who are suspended are: DaVaris Daniels, Ishaq Williams and Kendall Moore. All three have made comments about what their plans will be from here.

Ishaq Williams openly stated that he would wholeheartedly like to return to the team for the following season. Kendall Moore, already a current graduate of Notre Dame, stated on Instagram how he was disappointed about the decision but has decided he will not return to Notre Dame for next season. Moore placed a long post on his Instagram expressing his gratitude towards Notre Dame and while he is upset about the decision he will move forward.  Both expressed how they were both looking forward to the new chapter of their lives and believe their integrity remains intact as they leave Notre Dame.  While DaVaris Daniels, also already a current graduate of Notre Dame, has made it known quite profoundly how much he would love to return to Notre Dame next season.

DaVaris Daniels has taken to Twitter to make his voice heard about his desire to return to Notre Dame. Daniels tweeted a few posts on Twitter expressing his gratitude towards Notre Dame and how he has no intentions to transfer schools. His father, Phillip Daniels, has also taken to Twitter to talk about the situation. He first posted how DaVaris will be suspended for this upcoming season. The next post was about the possibility of DaVaris returning in the 2015 season and how it would be a great opportunity for DaVaris.

While it is easy for all these young men to take to social media to rant or post nasty messages about the situation, none have shown any signs of this particular behavior. They have only posted positive remarks about the wonderful education they have received, the opportunities they were given and the people who have supported them through this time.

Notre Dame holds high academic and ethical standards. The way these young men are handling the situation show that while they might not believe they are in the wrong, they have yet to blame the institution for their mistake. These players were in the wrong for what they did and should be punished for their actions, they at least showed maturity in leaving the institution without blaming anyone in the process.

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Positive Spirits for Michigan State

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By Kia Tyus

An article written by Mike Griffith of Mlive.com touched on the expectations about Michigan State.

Griffith starts the article off touching on the point that Michigan State has gone from being hopeful to win a Big Ten Championship, to it being expected from the general public that they are going to win the Big Ten Championship.

I like how Griffith used facts like how the Spartans are 5-1 and ranked 8th in the nation, and how he noted major wins against Nebraska and Purdue respectfully.

Griffith also compared two of the nations top coaches: Mark Dantonio and Nick Saban.

Griffith explained how Dantonio has a calmer approach when dealing with pressure. Griffith even goes into detail about how Dantonio is more worried about his players being happy and embracing the moment, even stating “I think it’s a good problem to have.”

Saban on the other hand had more of an aggressive approach complaining about how it pisses him off that the public puts so much pressure on his players to win, but still isn’t satisfied enough if he doesn’t win by a lot. At the end of the day, Saban is more concerned about his players fighting through a hard fought game and coming out with the win. Saban just cares about his player’s happiness.

The way the editor edited each coaches approach made Dantonio seem nice and calm and Saban seemed like a loose screw. In fact, both coaches wanted the same thing, for their players to be happy. They both went about the interviews in different tones but there is no wrong to the way they answered the question.

Both coaches are passionate about the game and most importantly, both coaches care about there players.

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NCAA Investingating Jameis Winston for Sale of Autographed Memorabilia

By Matt Rogers

Another year, another investigation and suspension by the NCAA due to the distribution of current FBS football athletes’ autographed memorabilia. This year the culprits are University of Georgia Running Back, Todd Gurley, and Florida State Quarterback, Jameis Winston. One thing that both of these players have in common is they are both two of the most recognizable names in college football and they are, or were, both prominent leading candidates to win for the 2014 Heisman Memorial Trophy.

It seems that every year in recent seasons, a star player has been either investigated or suspended for an incident that most people of the general public would not consider wrongdoing. Receiving benefit for their own autographed jerseys does not seem to be something worthy of receiving a suspension that could harm the player’s stock in the upcoming draft.

Anything Jameis Winston does, especially anything that Jameis Winston does wrong, is going to be discussed countless times on all of the national news and sports channels, especially ESPN, the most viewed sports channel on television. Since the incident broke, SportsCenter has run the story on every episode of the show, at least once, sometimes multiple times per show.

It does not help Jameis Winston’s case that he has already been in the news for all of the wrong reasons since this past summer. First it was the criminal sexual assault case stemming from a December 2012 incident. Then, it was for shoplifting crab legs from a local Tallahassee grocery store. In recent weeks, it has been for publicly yelling obscenities that resulted in a game suspension from Florida State’s game against Clemson. After mentioning all of these incidents, the investigation that Florida State University is currently conducting into the sexual assault case for a possible code of conduct violation this week is also worthy of a mention because of the attention it is receiving from the national media.

Whether Jameis Winston is actually guilty of any of these crimes is meaningless at this point. The incidents have received so much attention from the media that the public consumes that Winston has been assumed guilty of all of them in the court of public opinion. This may or may not be fair, but it is what it has come to when dealing with the multiple incidents that Winston has been involved in. The media and NCAA are solely responsible for all of the praise and criticism that the most successful players, like Winston, receive from the opinions of the public.

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Is Jameis Winston Too Much of a Distraction for Florida State?

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By Kate Roth

It seems as though the media cannot get enough of Florida State star quarterback, Jameis Winston. There is always a story talking about Winston’s talent on the field or more recently his troubles off the field. The question now is not whether or not the spotlight will be on Winston, but rather will that spotlight serve as a distraction for the FSU football program.

There have been more breaking news stories about Winston in the past two months than most players have had in their entire football careers. Just in the past three days there were numerous stories surrounding Winston, involving the alleged sexual assault case and now claims of Winston signing autographs in exchange for money.

It just seems as though this young athlete cannot catch a break. Once one story starts to die down, one or two more pop right back up in the media, putting Winston under fire again.

What most people don’t realize as they read these headlines and watch these stories is that this negative attention is not only effecting Jameis, but his coaches and teammates as well.

As much as players try to turn their heads to media and ignore the stories, it is almost impossible for them to go through their daily lives without hearing all these claims being made against the star of their team. Situations like this make it easy for a team to lose focus, and no matter how hard they try they will always be distracted by the media (positive or negative) that surrounds their team.

This can be seen by watching the highlights of the Florida State versus Syracuse game this past Saturday. Even though FSU came away with a 38-20 away victory, it was clear that this was not the team’s sharpest performance, Jameis included. Passes that usually come naturally to Winston seemed to falling short and the team’s overall performance did not live up to the expectations of being the number one team in the nation, leaving the voters no choice but to move Mississippi State into the number one spot after their incredible performance against Auburn.

Now the pressure is on for number two Florida State as the fifth ranked Fighting Irish of Notre Dame come to town this Saturday. Not only is this the biggest game of the year thus far for FSU, but it will be showcased as the college football game of the week on College GameDay.

If there was ever a time that a team needed to get rid of off the field distractions this would be it. Unfortunately for FSU, it does not look like the distractions are going to end any time soon, as long as Jameis Winston remains their starting quarterback.

It will be interesting to see how the team handles all of the pressure and distraction this week as they aim to stay undefeated and regain their spot as the number one team in the nation.

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Famous Jameis: Where is this Star Heading and the Dark Cloud Circling Florida State Football

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By Kaleb Page

Nobody can deny the talent they have seen from game to game by Jameis Winston over his short time at Florida State. On the field his precision passing, passion for the game and command of the team has those at the next level drooling at what they could get. However, the star that is Jameis Winston could be on a collision course with a fate that nobody expected when he burst on the scene.

It all started on December 7th, 2012 when a female student was allegedly a victim of sexual assault by a male the morning after going to a local night club in Tallahassee, Florida. It took 34 days for the police to identify the man who did this and it was the victim who identified who it was, not police; the man identified was Jameis Winston. Prosecutors then waited another two weeks to contact Jameis about this, and then went on to do an even bigger baffling move. Without even interviewing witnesses or getting a DNA sample from Jameis, the case was closed on February 11th, 2013. But wait there is more. After letting nine months pass, on November 14th, 2013 investigators finally took interviews and a DNA sample from Winston. Ultimately leading to a ruling by the local prosecutor to not prosecute Jameis due to lack of evidence.

This whole thing from the start reeked of fishy methods and things done not in the sake of justice and truth but rather in the best interest of the school and its athletics. This event also brought into question the character of Jameis and how could he possibly do something like that or even put himself in that situation. This event is getting more press of late due to a report issued by The New York Times on October 10th, 2014. This report had shocking evidence as to how bad the university and law enforcement handled this situation. The school and law enforcement should be ashamed of how this all was handled and is still being played out. This made me think of a big question that could be added into this situation: How far will schools go to keep their star talent on the field?

Even though that event is the most serious and needs more attention, that was just the beginning of things that left people around the country wondering: What is Jameis thinking?

The same year of the alleged sexual assault (2012), Jameis and teammates had a BB gun fight in their apartment causing damages up in the area of $4,000.  Then in April of this year, Jameis went to a local grocery store and was caught stealing crab legs. He went on to make an apology and said “he forgot.” Then in the student union of Florida State he was seen on top of a table screaming an explicit phrase that got him suspended for the entire game against Clemson.

The straw that could break the camel’s back might be on its way. Recent developments are showing that the compliance department within Florida State athletics is investigating more than 950 autographed items by Winston found on the same site as Georgia’s suspended running back Todd Gurley, who had 500 items on the site. With this being a relatively new development it will be interesting if Winston will receive the same punishment as Gurley and be suspended for the rest of the season, thus possibly ending his Florida State football career.

Will the punishment happen though? From the track record of little to nothing done to discipline Jameis for his actions, my answer to that question would be no. Now Jameis may be a good person deep down and since I don’t know him maybe I should step back on my judgment. However with that said, it is hard to look at the list of bad judgment that follows him and not make a judgment of my own about the person he is. I wish Jameis for all his talent he had on the field, had just the equal amount of talent to think before he acts.

As for the big storm cloud building by the day around not only Jameis but around Florida State athletics and Tallahassee law enforcement, only time will tell the implications of their actions. It will most certainly get worse before it is all over, and for all that Florida State has built in the past years that made them into a premiere place to be, it all could come tumbling down. The investigators and prosecutor as well could see their credibility and reputation tarnished. But this all circles back to one person: Jameis Winston. Now is the time for this star to either wake up and become something better on and off the field, or continue on this path.

It is either he goes on to shine like so many of us believed when he just began, or this star will become like so many stars before it and implode on itself, turning into a black hole full of mystery. Mystery as to what could have been of Jameis Winston.

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Kentucky Hosts NBA Style Combine for Scouts

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By Nicholas Muhl

This past Friday, Kentucky Wildcats Men’s Basketball coach John Calipari hosted an NBA-style combine for his players to show off their skills prior to the start of next spring’s draft. The combine was attended by over 90 NBA scouts and general managers, and each team had at least one representative present.

This coming year, the Wildcats squad is home to six McDonald’s All-Americans and is coming off a runner-up performance in last year’s NCAA Tournament. The two-hour combine, which was televised live on ESPNU, included both individual and team drills , which are included in the NBA scouting combine each year.

The move by Calipari to host such an event is not surprising, considering a record six Kentucky players were taken in the 2014 NBA Draft. The Wildcats head coach has produced many high level NBA players including Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo, Eric Bledsoe and the list goes on. More recently, former Wildcat players Anthony Davis, Julius Randle and Nerlens Noel were all selected in the top 10 picks in recent drafts.

Unlike many of his peers, Calipari embraces the one-and-done college basketball player. With his padded resume he continues to send 18 and 19-year-old young adults into the NBA, where the average player age is around 27 years old. Calipari was quoted this past weekend acknowledging that many of his players are already considering the NBA, long before they even attend their first class on campus.

“Someone said, ‘You’ll make them think about the NBA.’ Excuse me? They all do. Even the walk-ons. It creates a base for me to build with each individual kid and what I need to do.”

This brings to light a serious issue in sports culture today. 18-21 year old young adults are still maturing as they gain new responsibilities with age. In today’s sports society, these young student-athletes are exposed to fame, fortune, massive media coverage and many other things a typical young adult does not experience at such an age.

Through social media networks like Twitter, major TV networks like ESPN, and other media outlets, student athletes who achieve even most smallest amount of success are household names by the end of the week.

It isn’t just college basketball, as this goes for football and all other major college sports. One can argue that the added attention, such as Kentucky’s combine, can only bring upon more success for the student-athlete. At the very least, they receive recognition for the great achievements and talents they posses.

However, there is an opposite side to the coin. As much as fans love their young talent and phenoms, is the media and college sports as whole bringing too much added attention to student-athletes at such an age? Young superstars like Wildcats Derrick Rose and Anthony Davis are great examples of how successful a student-athlete can be from the additional attention they received at a young age. 

Examples of Johnny Manziel and Jameis Winston, both who have been surrounded by media coverage since the start of their college careers, can be given as to why student-athletes at such a young age are exposed to too much early on in their bright careers.

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The Michigan Debate: Should Dave Brandon be Fired?

By Savannah Malnar

“Go Blue!”

Any college sports fan will recognize that as the signature cheer for the power-house that is University of Michigan. This Big 10 school is known for its strong athletics teams; so when students are suddenly rallying and calling for the athletic director Dave Brandon to be fired, it’s going to make the news.

Brandon is under fire from students and media alike. People are unhappy with the rising costs of tickets to sporting events, especially football. Along with ticket prices, the media and fans have actively been criticizing Brandon’s decision to hire and retain football coach, Brady Hoke. Hoke has been head coach for four years, and is 28-17; a record that may look good, but in reality is disappointing for the winningest college football team in history.

The most recent event that has spurred a media outburst was Hoke’s decision to put quarterback Shane Morris back in the game after sustaining a head injury that was later diagnosed as a “mild concussion.”

Ty Duffy, a senior writer for the sport media site The Big Lead, states that “The school’s response to the crisis has been a farce.” He predicts that Hoke will be fired following this season. But he also recognizes it would cause a lot of turmoil to fire Brandon simultaneously.

Besides Duffy, the media, both local and national, have remained extremely neutral on this debate. Every outlet you will look at has been strictly stating facts and not going any farther on the subject. I think this is the proper way for these media outlets to act, especially the national ones. This allows the fans to form their own opinions for or against both Brandon and Hoke.

One interesting aspect of this incident is both Hoke and Brandon’s resistance towards the media. In fact, Brandon told Detroit radio sports anchor Tom Leyden that he wasn’t publicly answering questions because he has “more important” things to do. This is extremely surprising. You would think that as an AD for a famous college, not a lot could be more important than attempting to explain yourself and your decisions.

The fans, the media, and most importantly, the students are waiting. Brandon is in the spotlight. How will he choose to portray his role as AD in a positive light, despite rising ticket costs and a failing football team?

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Two Sports, Two Wins, One Covered

By Ellen Chlumecky

The Bowling Green State University Falcons had an exciting Homecoming weekend with not only one, but two huge wins. The BGSU Football team won 36-35 while the BGSU Hockey team won 7-2. Both teams played exceptionally well through rocky starts and pushed through with a victory. However, the difference between the two is that football was aired by the media, but hockey was not.

The Bowling Green Football game was broadcasted on ESPN 3, and a myriad of the local TV stations such as ABC 13 in Toledo and local Bowling Green news channel. The Bowling Green hockey game was only broadcasted by the local Bowling Green news channel. Both were available on different local radio stations. One can listen to the football games on Eagle 99, WONW, WLQR, The Word 1220, K94, the Fox and the Bowling Green Radio Sports Organization which is available on 88.1 WBGU FM and WFAL Falcon Radio, while the hockey team is only broadcasted on 88.1 WBGU FM and WFAL Falcon Radio.

The football game and the hockey game were also written about in several different local newspapers like the Toledo Blade and the Sentinel Tribune. However, the Toledo Blade wrote four different stories about the football game in comparison to the one story about the hockey game. While the Sentinel Tribune had equal stories for each game, the top story for their sports page was from the Bowling Green football game.

The football team has a new head coach, solid and dedicated players, and a mass amount of opportunities ahead of them. The hockey team is planning on having an excellent season this year with ten new freshmen players, powerhouse forwards, and new captains in leadership roles. Unfortunately, they have really been shown no recognition for their dedication thus far. While both the football and hockey teams practice immensely hard for wins, their recognition by the media has not been equal. They are both excellent teams, so why aren’t they being shown the same amount of recognition?

Hockey has been pushed to the side in the sports media world for an exceedingly long time. With more and more top notch hockey players entering the college hockey ranks, there should be more attention placed on these hard working athletes. The Bowling Green football and hockey teams both work day in and day out to win and be the best in their respective conferences. Football players should not receive all the media recognition especially when they’re not the only ones succeeding. Bowling Green State University has so much to be proud of with so many winning sports teams and should spread the word out about all of them, not just a select few.

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