What has been the tenure of SEC M BBall Coaches during the Expansion Era?

[jbcarol]

John Clay: Before John Calipari signed a new deal with Kentucky last week, he was in "deep" negotiations with the Cleveland Cavaliers to become team president and head coach.

So this obviously means that Calipari is not going to the NBA, right?

In fact, it means very little.

At the Final Four, when asked about Rex Chapman's tweet saying it was a "done deal" that Calipari was leaving UK for the Lakers, Calipari dismissed the report out of hand. The next week, he said he had no intention of leaving Kentucky.

On May 1, Calipari tweeted: "Before it starts, I'm totally committed to helping this group of young men reach their dreams. I wouldn't and couldn't leave this group!"

And yet, according to Yahoo, a month later, he thought seriously about leaving Kentucky for the Cavaliers.

I still think there is a part of Calipari that wants to prove that he can succeed in the NBA. He loves proving people wrong, and after being fired by the Nets in his only pro coaching job, Calipari would no doubt love to show the basketball world that the Nets made a mistake.

I also think that despite all its benefits, the Kentucky coaching job is a taxing existence. And Calipari does everything at UK full-on: recruiting, media, camps, promotions. He's rarely on break. Add to that the constant merry-go-round of the one-and-dones.

It's not out of the question that down the road, he would either want a break or become restless for something else.

The guess here is that there were too many question marks with Cleveland...

Proposes that Kentucky is the safer bet ... for now.

[jbcarol]

Billy Donovan of Florida, Ben Howland - who is currently out out coaching - and John Beilein of Michigan do the best job of preparing their players for the NBA according to a blog by ESPN's Jeff Goodman. Goodman surveyed NBA executives and asked them which college coaches they felt prepared their players best for the next level.

1. Billy Donovan, Florida
2. Ben Howland
3. John Beilein, Michigan
4. Tom Izzo, Michigan State
5. Fred Hoiberg, Iowa State
6. Mike Krzyzewski, Duke
7. Bill Self, Kansas
8. Buzz Williams, Virginia Tech
9. Rick Pitino, Louisville
10. John Calipari, Kentucky

[jbcarol]

Kevin Brockway @gatorhoops  ·  21h
Billy D-coached Team USA now 2-0 in FIBA U-18 Americas tourney after 100-46 win over Mexico.

[jbcarol]

Kevin Brockway @gatorhoops  ·  18m
Billy D wins gold again, leading Team USA to a 113-79 win over Canada in title game of FIBA Americas 18-under tournament.

[jbcarol]

College basketball coaches draft: Who would you pick to lead your team?

Calipari and Donovan taken in the Top Six representing the SEC out of 24 total with some "out of the box" picks like Brad Stevens.

[jbcarol]

Bruce Pearl still has a voicemail Charles Barkley left him over 7 years ago

"Don't get me emotional about this, but the truth of the matter is he called our basketball office one day," Pearl said. "He says, 'Coach Pearl, this is Charles Barkley, you do not need to call me back. I've just been watching your teams play and I love the way you coach and I love the way your teams play.'"

[jbcarol]

Steve Walentik @Steve_Walentik  ·  18h

SEC's new basketball coaches working overtime - Columbia Daily Tribune http://m.columbiatribune.com/sports/mu_basketball/sec-s-new-basketball-coaches-working-overtime/article_2e3ca58e-6fe0-5ea7-a718-12a86a8fdd13.html ...

The to-do list is long when a coach takes over a program, as the Southeastern Conference's three new leaders — Kim Anderson at Missouri, Bruce Pearl at Auburn and Donnie Tyndall at Tennessee — have been reminded this spring.

Anderson has checked off tasks during his first two months in charge at his alma mater. Just last week, he finalized his crew of coaches with the hiring of Huntington Prep Coach Rob Fulford as MU's newest assistant.

He's also been successful restocking the Tigers' roster, convincing top recruits Jakeenan Gant and Namon Wright to honor the scholarships they signed with his predecessor, Frank Haith, and adding needed depth to the perimeter by signing Dallas-area freshman D'Angelo Allen and Hawaii transfer Keith Shamburger...

Auburn fans didn't need any convincing to be excited by Pearl...

Pearl has impressed fans by bringing in three high-profile transfers...



Tyndall — whose Southern Mississippi team eliminated Missouri from the second round of last season's National Invitation Tournament — faces a tougher challenge, at least initially, than Anderson or Pearl. For starters, Volunteers fans are less likely to be patient because they just got finished waiting three years under Cuonzo Martin before the team returned to the NCAA Tournament and went to the Sweet 16.

Tyndall's roster looks almost nothing like the one that went on that charge in March. Tennessee only has four returning players — with Josh Richardson and Armani "Ronnie" Moore the only two who saw regular playing time last season.

[jbcarol]

ESPN College BBall @ESPNCBB  ·  2h
No. 3 Tom Izzo: Final Fours are almost expected at Michigan State. That's how good Izzo has been: http://es.pn/1iXLS6Q

Kevin Brockway @gatorhoops  ·  2h
Have a feeling it will go to Calipari based on three FFs, one NC in last four years, but we'll see. Billy D 5-8 head-to-head v Cal.

[jbcarol]

Matt Jones @KySportsRadio  ·  14m
ESPN names John Calipari the second best coach in college basketball...Billy Donovan picked as #1

[jbcarol]

Seth Greenberg @SethOnHoops  ·  Jul 4
Billy the Kid and @UKCoachCalipari top out list of coaches. http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=11172042 ...
ESPN

[jbcarol]

Clay Travis @ClayTravisBGID  ·  6m

Remember Coach Cal turned down $80 million to coach the Cavs. Think he'd like a redo right now?


Johnny Manziel @JManziel2  ·  18m

YESSSSSSSS!! Couldn't be happier for my guy @KingJames and the @cavs #Cleveland

[jbcarol]

Joel-Hans Embiid        ✔ @JoelEmbiid

At least the SIXERS finished second in the pursuit of the dude.... still have better recruiting skills than kentuckys coach #EMB11D
2:23 PM - 11 Jul 2014

[jbcarol]

Ben Frederickson @Ben_Fred  ·  17h
Today's clip file blast from the past: #Vols freshman Allan Houston and his dad, UT Coach Wade Houston. 1989.

[jbcarol]

Auburn agrees to three-game deal that will bring former coach Cliff Ellis, Coastal Carolina to Auburn

The game serves as a homecoming for Ellis, who led the Tigers to three NCAA Tournaments and a Sweet 16 appearance in 1999. Auburn will honor Ellis and the 1999 team with a ceremony at the game, Pearl said.

"It's going to be strange because I'll be on a different sideline and it'll be the only time I pull against Auburn because I do want to get it back going," Ellis said Friday of the Tigers' program, which hasn't reached the NCAA Tournament since Ellis did it in 2003. "I do want that. At the same point in time, everything needs to be united. I want our players to feel good."

The idea for the game came from Pearl, who hosted dozens of former coaches and players at a basketball reunion in late June.

Ellis resigned at the end of the 2003-04 season with a 186-125 record in 10 seasons at Auburn. His best season was with the 1998-99 squad that finished 29-4 and won the SEC title with Chris Porter leading the way.

[jbcarol]

Coach Richardson will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Friday. Scroll through the white dots to learn more about his career. (Available via link)


(Ed Reinke / Associated Press)

[jbcarol]

Bruce Pearl @coachbrucepearl  ·  Jul 31

Remembering the family of former @AuburnMBB head coach Tommy Joe Eagles as yesterday marked 20 yrs since his sudden passing. #WonderfulMan


SEC Co-Coach of the Year as voted by the coaches in 1990.

[jbcarol]

Michael Bonner @MikeBBonner  ·  3h

MSU announces former coach Richard Williams will join Jim Ellis on basketball broadcasts this year. Bart Gregory will call SECN games.

[jbcarol]

Matt Jones @KySportsRadio  ·  4h
Calipari talks about whether UK will be his last job http://kentuckysportsradio.com/basketball-2/calipari-tells-the-courier-journal-he-couldnt-leave-kentucky-even-for-lebron-james/ ...

[jbcarol]

AL.com sports @aldotcomSports  ·  1h

John Calipari poses as caller to dispute radio host's assessment of his coaching | http://ow.ly/AAb3S

[jbcarol]

Kevin Brockway @gatorhoops  ·  2h
FYI, Billy Donovan needs 14 wins this season to reach 500 career wins. Should get it some time in January.

Earliest Donovan could get win number 500 would be SEC opener on Jan. 7 at South Carolina.

[jbcarol]

Jeff Goodman @GoodmanESPN  ·  18h

Texas A&M's Billy Kennedy receives two-year contract extension that goes through 2018.

[NaturalStateReb]

Total number of SEC teams to make the NCAA-T in '13/14?

Over/Under 4.5?

I'll take the under based on recent history.

[jbcarol]

Ben Roberts @NextCats  ·  10 hours ago
In other Madness news: Tubby took a tumble at Tech tonight http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/eye-on-college-basketball/24756967/video-tubby-smith-falls-off-of-motorcycle-dressed-as-shaft ...

VIDEO: Tubby Smith falls off of motorcycle dressed as Shaft

(video accessible via link)

Vaughts' Views @vaughtsviews  ·  10 hours ago
Way too old for that RT @gatorhoops: Love Tubby but what is he trying to do riding a motorcycle?

[jbcarol]

Jeff Goodman @GoodmanESPN  ·  Oct 18
Some good photos last night. Here's one of Mark Gottfried on Throwback Night -- looking like Norm Sloan.

[jbcarol]

Ben Roberts @NextCats  ·  10 hours ago
In other Madness news: Tubby took a tumble at Tech tonight http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/eye-on-college-basketball/24756967/video-tubby-smith-falls-off-of-motorcycle-dressed-as-shaft ...

VIDEO: Tubby Smith falls off of motorcycle dressed as Shaft

(video accessible via link)

Vaughts' Views @vaughtsviews  ·  10 hours ago
Way too old for that RT @gatorhoops: Love Tubby but what is he trying to do riding a motorcycle?

Jay Dean @jpdII24

Last night Tubby started out Shaft, ended up Bobby Petrino. @KySportsRadio #BBN
12:16 PM - 18 Oct 2014

[jbcarol]

Kevin Brockway @gatorhoops  ·  20 hours ago

Pearl said it would be "an honor" to be on losing end of Billy D's 500th win. Could happen. BD 14 shy of 500 and Auburn 16th game on sked.

[jbcarol]

Ross Dellenger @DellengerAdv  ·  Oct 22
Johnny Jones' 36% raise pushes his yearly salary to $1.5M. The $400,000 raise will come from #LSU athletic revenue - http://bit.ly/1tfIVlj

[jbcarol]

Bunkie Perkins @BunkiePerkins  ·  Oct 31
"I didn't think much of Andy first time I laid eyes on him; looked like a stiff breeze would blow him over" "

[jbcarol]

Obligatory hot seat note

The consensus has Alabama Coach Anthony Grant on the metaphorical hot seat this season. In his five seasons at Alabama, there has been one NCAA Tournament appearance and no NCAA Tournament victories. Alabama's 13-19 record last season was the program's worst since 1970-71 (10-16). Close (10 losses by eight points or less) didn't help much.

Kevin Stallings needs eight victories to reach 300 at Vanderbilt. Only six coaches have won 300 or more games for SEC programs: Adolph Rupp (875 for Kentucky), Billy Donovan (451 for Florida), Dale Brown (448 for LSU), Harry Robenhorst (340 for LSU), C.M. Newton (340 for Alabama and Vanderbilt) and Tubby Smith (308 for Georgia and Kentucky).

[jbcarol]

Kate Hairopoulos @khairopoulos  ·  20 hours ago

ICYMI in rest of day's hubbub, Texas A&M basketball coach Billy Kennedy's 2-yr contract extension is mostly cosmetic: http://collegesportsblog.dallasnews.com/2014/11/texas-am-basketball-coach-billy-kennedys-contract-extension-doesnt-add-much.html/ ...

Kennedy will have no buyout to pay to Texas A&M, according to the document, if he chooses to leave after the 2015-2016 is completed. If he leaves before then of his own choosing to take another job, he'd owe $500,000.

If A&M were to fire Kennedy without cause (based on win-loss record) after this season, the University would owe him about $750,000 through May 15, 2016.  If he were to be terminated after May 15, 2016, A&M has no obligation to continue paying him.

There is hope Kennedy could be turning the corner at A&M – he is 50-49 overall and the Aggies haven't reached the NCAA Tournament or NIT in Kennedy's first three seasons. But Kennedy has appeared to pull together one of the nation's top recruiting classes for next season, loaded with Dallas-area players,with early signing day Wednesday...

[jbcarol]

Brandon Marcello @bmarcello  ·  16 hours ago
. @coachbrucepearl makes long-awaited return to coaching, gets call from @CoachGusMalzahn http://ow.ly/DZROb 

Bruce Pearl's official return to the bench is a week away, but the first-year Auburn coach greased his coaching gears with an exhibition victory Friday.

Pearl had a bit of hitch in his step three days following back surgery to repair a disc in his back, but the fiery coach's first game on the sidelines in three years proved to be exciting for the coach, even if he was grinding through pain.

"The last two days you don't realize how much a creature of habit you are," Pearl said. "Some of the old routines about what it's like the day before, the night before, the day of. What it's like in the locker room. I'm not superstitious, I'm just consistent."

An announced crowd of 8,523 watched Pearl roam the sidelines, stomp his feet, yell, sweat and limp as his Tigers pulled off a 94-58 victory against West Alabama. It was a warm-up game for Pearl and his team, which lacks size and could struggle in the paint most of the season, but the long-awaited return to the bench was special for Pearl.

It had been more than three years since he coached a game following his firing at Tennessee and subsequent three-year show-cause penalty from the NCAA. He'll coach a game that matters in the season opener against Milwaukee on Nov. 14.

Before the exhibition Friday, Gus Malzahn called Pearl to wish him luck.

"I can't tell you how much it meant that Gus reached out," Pearl said. "I just can't tell 'ya because, as a coach, he knew. It didn't matter if it was an exhibition game. It didn't matter what kind of a game we were playing. He knew it was my first game back in a few years, so I can't tell you how much that meant to me."

[jbcarol]

Patrick Brown @patrickbrownTFP  ·  9 hours ago
Your first former-Tennessee-hoops-coach update of the season: Cal up 18 on Alcorn State and Auburn down 3 to Milwaukee, both at half.

After trailing by 12 in the second half, Auburn went on to win.

Cal Bears won 91-57 in Cuonzo Martin's debut.

[jbcarol]

Don DeVoe is a man with strong opinions, and he's not afraid to share.

The former Tennessee men's basketball coach (1978-89) isn't a fan of Bruce Pearl and questions Auburn's character for giving the former UT coach another chance.

"I hope Tennessee drills him," DeVoe said of Pearl's return to Knoxville this season on Jan. 31.

He believes former UT coach Cuonzo Martin leaving for Cal after last season was a win-win for Martin and Knoxville because, for whatever reason, the relationship between the two had reached the point of no return.

But ask DeVoe for his take on the NCAA's interest in first-year Tennessee coach Donnie Tyndall and his former Southern Miss program, and DeVoe offers a much more neutral response.

He thinks Vols fans should join him on the fence for now.

"It's just really important for everybody to take a step back, get a breath of fresh air and let the chips fall where they are," DeVoe told the News Sentinel on Friday. "This young man has a great opportunity, and the program has a great opportunity, because he is a proven winner. They have to give him a chance to get the program headed in the right direction. I think we just need to wait and see what really, and truly, the allegations are, then take it from there."

DeVoe retired to Annapolis, Md., but still keeps a home in Knoxville.

DeVoe will tell you the UT job is the best in the SEC. He also will tell you the idea that bending NCAA rules is a must in order to win is false. He can cite his record at UT (204-137) and the Vols' nine postseason appearances in his 11 seasons as proof.

For this reason, the subject of Pearl, who was dismissed in 2011 after lying to NCAA investigators, still fires him up.

"Not only did he (Pearl) embarrass himself and his staff, he embarrassed the university and the state," DeVoe said. "And there are a lot of people who don't understand that."

[jbcarol]

Matt Jones gave a pattern for Kentucky basketball coaches: Great - Good - Drunk -- Repeat

Coach Rupp (great), Joe B. Hall (good), Eddie ...

Rick (great), Tubby (good), Billy ...

Controversy over fans running off Calipari and following up with good and then drunk coach.

[jbcarol]

Randy Rosetta @RandyRosetta  ·  30 minutes ago
Will repeat about Tubby Smith what I said last year: He is totally at ease now compared to when I dealt with him at Kentucky.

[jbcarol]

Gary Parrish @GaryParrishCBS  ·  10 hours ago

The NCAA Tournament is a crapshoot. It's a single-elimination event of 40-minute games. Literally anything can happen in that thing. ...

... But, like Billy Donovan once said, if you keep giving yourself chances, eventually you'll bust through for one reason or another. ...

... By the way, Billy was eliminated in the opening weekend 5 straight years. Then he won a title. Then another. And now he's a Hall of Famer.

Also worth noting: A borderline Top 25 team won the national championship last season. College basketball's postseason is fun but silly.


Started as an internet conversation on Gonzaga breaking through in '14-15.

[jbcarol]

Kevin Brockway @gatorhoops  ·  8 hours ago
With 5-point win tonight [in OT over UL-Monroe], Billy D improved to 66-79 at Florida in games decided by 5 pts or less. #Gators

[jbcarol]

Randy Rosetta @RandyRosetta  ·  8 hours ago
Rendered humble & speechless, LSU legend Dale Brown is ready to join the elite  http://www.nola.com/lsu/index.ssf/2014/11/humbled_and_speechless_lsu_leg.html ...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. --The Russians were coming. And at that point and time, those words carried an awfully power meaning.

If there was anybody qualified to get a basketball team ready for a game, or perhaps much more, against the U.S.S.R. in the late 1970s, former LSU coach Dale Brown had shown over and over that he was that man.

In fact, Brown's skills as a motivator were in full bloom well before that November night in Baton Rouge in 1977 and he hasn't let up off the accelerator since then.

Not in 25 years as the most successful basketball coach in Tigers history and not in the nearly 18 years since he walked away from the job that Brown says he knows he was meant to hold.

On Sunday night, Brown joins a pantheon of legends he had no intention or inkling that he would ever be included among.

The North Dakota native and LSU legend will be part of the ninth class inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame with a notable crew that includes Tiger and NBA megastar Shaquille O'Neal. The ceremony begins at 7:30 p.m. Sunday and is scheduled to be televised by ESNPU.

No matter who you ask with connections to the 79-year-old Brown -- and once you have a connection, it never really goes away -- they have stories to tell.

New Orleans native Jordy Hultberg's favorite was about that night when the Russians were coming.

Hultberg played for LSU from 1976-80 and then stuck around as an assistant coach for three more seasons. Now a radio and TV personality in the Baton Rouge area, Hultberg says his relationship with his former coach has gotten stronger through the years.

That night in 1977, though, Hultberg was just one of a crew of young players that Brown masterfully got revved up the way perhaps only he could.

It began as a normal pre-game speech with Brown calling his team together and demanding their eyes on him. Then the gesturing and demonstrative faces began.

"He reminded us that we were playing the Russians and that were Communists and believed everybody else should be Communists," Hultberg said. "His voice started rising and he said 'If we don't win this game, it will just be another notch in their belt and they will creep closer to spreading Communism all over the world. This is not about you or playing for your team or for LSU or you're your state. Tonight you're playing for the United States of America and our way of life. This is our way of telling the Communists that you're not coming here anymore.' We were all quiet and wide-eyed and ready to play. Man, he had us all fired up."

[jbcarol]

"I don't like to see any team struggle like that," Pitino said. "I really don't. We tried everything. I played four white guys and an Egyptian."

No. 6 Louisville beat down Savannah State on Monday night.

[jbcarol]

Former UK Coach Joe B. Hall turns 86 Sunday (today).

"I'm 10 years older than Adolph (Rupp) was when he passed," he said. "That's amazing."

Hall noted how the aging process brings challenges.

"I tell you, it wears on you," he said. "Old age is not for the weak at heart."

Joe B. Hall, who turns 86 Sunday (today), scrimmaged against the Fabulous Five. (We'll pause to let that sink in.)

His preseason conditioning program, then an innovation for Kentucky, sharpened Rupp's Runts.

He recruited Dan Issel.

He coached the 1978 national championship team.

It's extremely early to make historic judgments. But who better than Hall to compare and contrast the current Kentucky team with its storied predecessors?

...

[jbcarol]

AL.com sports @aldotcomSports  ·  3 hours ago
If Bruce Pearl wins SEC title at Auburn, Cliff Ellis will 'kiss his ring' http://ow.ly/FnVdx

Cliff Ellis watched Auburn fall apart at the seams following his departure in 2004.

An 11-year absence from the NCAA Tournament followed, and it's not something the former Auburn coach believed would happen. Auburn is a tough place to win on the basketball court, Ellis said, but it's not necessarily impossible.

Ten years later, Ellis returns to Auburn as Coastal Carolina's coach. The teams will tip off Friday at 8 p.m.inside Auburn Arena, where Ellis and his 1999 team will be honored before and during the game.

It's at Coastal Carolina where Ellis rebounded and led the Chanticleers to the NCAA Tournament last season -- one more appearance than any Auburn team since Ellis was fired as the Tigers' coach in 2004.

"The last 10 years have been a slide and when you've put a lot into the program and you see all the money put into the facility -- all the money that they've paid these coaches, and we're talking millions and millions and millions of dollars -- it's been bad business," Ellis said of Auburn's postseason futility in recent years. "No matter how you cut it it's been bad business. It's time to change that and I think Bruce (Pearl) will change that."

Auburn opened Auburn Arena at a cost of $86 million in 2010. They have gone through two coaches, too, since Ellis' departure, spending $3.9 million in buyouts to Jeff Lebo and Tony Barbee. Now Pearl arrives on the Plains looking to drive the Tigers away from recent history. A repeat of past success, Pearl hopes, is on the horizon.

Will it be difficult? You bet it will, Ellis said.

"I will say this, and I hope it's Bruce, the next guy who wins the regular-season championship, I will kiss his ring because I know how hard it is, and I think people associated with the program know how hard it is," he said.

Ellis finished his Auburn career with three NCAA Tournament appearances, including a run to the Sweet 16 in and a regular-season SEC title in 1999...

[jbcarol]

AL.com sports @aldotcomSports  ·  12 hours ago
Cliff Ellis, Coastal Carolina come back to steal game from Auburn in second half http://s.al.com/CnPFRjc

Former Auburn coach Cliff Ellis, now at the helm of Coastal Carolina, returned to his old stomping grounds to a standing ovation, leaned down and kissed center court when he was announced right before tip-off.

And then Ellis stole one from Bruce Pearl and his old team.

Frustrated and trailing all night in the face of a tough Auburn defense, Coastal Carolina came roaring back with a second-half run and knocked off the Tigers 58-54 on Friday night.

"You know, right now, the last two days has been a lot, so I'm very tired, and very thankful," Ellis said. "I think it'll sink in how good this is a day or two from now."

Ellis' return came at the expense of an Auburn team that failed to finish off its second straight game and has dropped three of its last four...

[jbcarol]

Kevin Brockway @gatorhoops  ·  21 hours ago
Updated, Florida puts together full 40-minute effort in 85-47 rout of Yale - via @Gator_sports http://www.gatorsports.com/article/20141208/ARTICLES/141209663?tc=cr ...

Yale had just defeated UConn in an intrastate battle.

Kevin Brockway @gatorhoops  ·  22 hours ago
Tonight was Billy D's 490th career win, 10 shy of 500.

[jbcarol]

By comparison Bruce Pearl has 465 career wins (465-149) including his time at Southern Indiana.

[jbcarol]

Happy birthday...

To Jan van Breda Kolff. The former Vandy coach turns 63 on Tuesday. ... To Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson. He turned 55 on Friday. ... To Stan Heath. The former Arkansas coach turns 50 on Wednesday.

[jbcarol]

Adam Sparks @AdamSparks  ·  23 hours ago
Check out Q&A w/ @VandyMBB coach Kevin Stallings http://on.jconline.com/1zj38Ia  from Purdue beat writer @nbairdjc

Q: You've spent 15 years in the SEC. Did you bring any of your Big Ten influence from Keady into how you coach at Vanderbilt?

"Obviously they're both great leagues. It felt different to me from any number of different levels. I can't help myself but to bring things I learned from (Keady). It's part of who I am. I think in order to be successful in this business, you have to be who you are, and have to make modifications to what you do to make yourself better. It would be impossible for me not to coach my team without his influence because that is just intuitively and inherently part of who I am now."

Stallings played with Arkansas native Joe Barry Carroll at Purdue.

[jbcarol]

SEC Network @SECNetwork  ·  4 hours ago
You know Frank Martin as the coach of South Carolina, now meet Frank Martin the bouncer: http://es.pn/1Af7sYz 

[jbcarol]

Hugh Kellenberger @HKellenbergerCL  · 

Andy Kennedy on losing three games at home already this season: "Unacceptable."

[jbcarol]

Key for the chart: CH is national champion; RU is national runner-up; F4 is eliminated in Final Four; E8 is eliminated in regional final; S16 is eliminated in regional semifinal; R3, R2 and R1 are for eliminated in early rounds.

[jbcarol]

AL.com sports @aldotcomSports  ·  41 minutes ago
Dick Vitale pointing out Anthony Grant's hot-seat status now does the Alabama coach no favors. http://ow.ly/G78QR

Anthony Grant is on the hot seat this season, his sixth with the Crimson Tide. You know it. I know it. Everyone in the college basketball world knows it.

He landed there when AD Bill Battle decided last spring to give him another season despite a 13-19 finish that produced the most losses by an Alabama team in 45 years. It was the program's first losing season in 14 years.

So it wasn't news Tuesday night when, during the Crimson Tide's late collapse to lose the lead, the game and a golden opportunity at No. 11 Wichita State, the ESPN analyst on hand mentioned Grant's precarious job status.

It was news that the analyst was every coach's best friend, the biggest promoter of coaches in his sport, the ultimate sunshine pumper, Dick Vitale.

"Anthony Grant, he's coaching his heart out, needs a win so desperately," Vitale said. "It's no secret that he has a pressure-cooker year this year where he has to win to survive coaching down at Alabama.

"You feel bad. I hate to see anybody's job in jeopardy, but I mean, it's been no secret about Anthony's situation. In fact, a lot of people thought he was gonna be gone last year."

It was extraordinary for Vitale to make those comments at all, let alone in the middle of December.