By Franz Beard
A few thoughts to jump start your Wednesday morning:
GATORS HAVE TO AVOID THE BIG LETDOWN AGAINST GEORGIA
Having come from behind the last three games, all of them wins, the Gators (15-8, 5-5 SEC) can’t afford any sort of emotional letdown tonight when Georgia (6-17, 1-9 SEC) comes to the O-Dome (6:30 p.m., SEC Network). Georgia has a bad record and is probably a month away from Tom Crean pink-slipped, but the Bulldogs have pulled a shocker to beat Alabama this season and they came within a last second basket of knocking off No. 1 Auburn.
The Gators have had issues with emotions. They took then previously winless Texas Southern for granted back on December 6 and took a hosing, 69-54. The Gators lost to a below average Maryland team, 70-68, back on December 12. Florida’s January 24 loss to Ole Miss (70-54) was totally devoid of emotion and energy. All three of these losses could prove costly when the NCAA fills out its 68-team brackets. Texas Southern has a No. 173 NCAA Net Ranking while Maryland is No. 100 and Ole Miss is No. 104. Had the Gators won those three they would be 18-5 right now and either ranked or just outside the top 25.
What those three losses have done is take away any wiggle room the Gators might have with the NCAA selection committee. There are eight games remaining, four against teams with lower NCAA Net rankings than the Gators (No. 44) – Georgia (No. 207) twice, Texas A&M (No. 70) and Vanderbilt (No. 83). Consider those four must wins. If the Gators can win those four and then somehow score a win over Kentucky (No. 4), who they play twice, Auburn (No. 7) or Arkansas (No. 37), it would almost certainly put them in the 7-10 range for the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee.
The Gators are expected to go with the same starting lineup they used against Ole Miss: Colin Castleton, Anthony Duruji, Neils Lane, Phlandrous Fleming Jr. and Tyree Appleby. It’s unconventional in that Lane doesn’t even look to score, but he’s an outstanding defender who operates one of the points in Florida’s 2-2-1 press. Castleton came back from a three-week absence against Ole Miss with 17 points, seven rebounds, three blocked shots and a steal. Appleby had a double-double against Ole Miss, 10 points and 10 assists.
Beal out for the rest of the NBA season: Former Gator Bradley Beal will miss the remainder of the NBA season after undergoing surgery to repair ligament damage in his wrist. A three-time all-star, Beal was averaging 23.6 points and 6.6 assists per game for the Washington Wizards. He is eligible to sign a 5-year contract for $245 million next year.
SEC Basketball
Tuesday’s scores: Arkansas (19-5, 8-3 SEC) 80, No. 1 Auburn (22-2, 10-1 SEC) 76; No. 5 Kentucky (20-4, 9-2 SEC) 86, South Carolina (13-10, 4-7 SEC) 76; LSU (17-7, 5-6 SEC) 76, Texas A&M (15-9, 4-7 SEC) 68; Vanderbilt (13-10, 5-6 SEC) 70, Missouri (9-14, 3-7 SEC) 62
Wednesday’s games: Georgia (6-17, 1-9 SEC) at FLORIDA (15-8, 5-5 SEC); Alabama (14-9, 4-6 SEC) at Ole Miss (12-11, 3-7 SEC); No. 19 Tennessee (16-6, 7-3 SEC) at Mississippi State (14-8, 5-4 SEC)
KIKI SMITH SEC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
For the second time this season, guard Kiki Smith has been named SEC Player of the Week. In leading the Gators to wins over then No. 7 Tennessee and then No. 14 Georgia, Smith combined for 35 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and five steals. Against Tennessee, Smith had 25 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals. The two wins helped the Gators crack the Associated Press Top 25 poll where they are ranked 19th.
The Gators (17-6, 7-3 SEC) are on the road Thursday night when they travel to Starkville to face Mississippi State (14-7, 5-4 SEC).
NAPIER BY THE NUMBERS AT HIS PREVIOUS JOB
Here are some key stats from Billy Napier’s four seasons as the head coach at Louisiana, where he was 40-12.
2018 (7-7): The Rajin Cajuns averaged 218.71 yards per game rushing and 205.6 passing. Trey Regas (Now with the Raiders) gained 1,181 yards and Elijah Mitchell (49ers) had 977 yards and 13 touchdowns. Louisiana threw 16 TDPs in 2017, 27 in 2018.
2019 (11-3): The Rajin Cajuns averaged 37.9 points per game and trimmed 15 points off defensively (19.7) from 2018. They ran for 257.43 yards with Mitchell running for 1,147 and 16 TDs, Raymond Calais (Rams) had 886 and six TDs, and Regas had 820 and 11 TDs. Louisiana averaged 236.7 per game passing with Levi Lewis throwing for 26 TDPs with only four picks.
2020 (10-1): The Cajuns upset then No. 12 Iowa State in the season opener of the COVID year. They threw for 208.5 yards per game with Lewis throwing 19 TDPs while running for five more. Louisiana ran for 213 per game with Mitchell running for 878 and eight TDs and Regas getting 758 and 10. The defense gave up 22 points per game but picked off 16 passes and allowed only 10 TDPs.
2021 (12-1): The Cajuns threw for 218.5 yards per game with Lewis throwing 20 TDPs (only four picks) while running for five more. On the ground, the Cajuns averaged 194 yards per game with 34 rushing TDs led by Chris Smith with 856 yards and eight TDs and Montrell Johnson getting 838 and 12 TDs. The defense gave up only 18.5 points and 340.9 yards per game. Louisiana forced 23 turnovers and only turned it over eight times all year.
SEC FOOTBALL/BASKETBALL NOTES
Alabama: Former Alabama running back Santonio Beard, who once scored five touchdowns in a game against Ole Miss, was shot and killed in Lithonia, Georgia. Beard ran for 1,526 yards and 16 touchdowns in his Alabama career … Alabama shoots more 3-pointers than any Division I team in the country but the Crimson Tide is shooting only 30.5 percent, which ranks 321st out of 358 teams.
Arkansas: When the Hogs (19-5, 8-3 SEC) beat Auburn (22-2, 10-1 SEC), 80-76, in overtime Tuesday night at Bud Walton Arena it marked the first win over a No. 1 ranked team since 1984 when Arkansas upset Michael Jordan and North Carolina. The win was Arkansas’ ninth in a row and their eighth straight in SEC play after an 0-3 start.
Auburn: While Auburn’s high-powered boosters and the administration debate on his future, head football coach Bryan Harsin continues to vacation outside the country … A substantial gift by Auburn power booster Bill Neville will result in an upgraded basketball practice facility and Neville getting his name on the outside of Auburn Arena ... In their 80-76 overtime loss to Arkansas at Bud Walton Arena Tuesday night, the Tigers shot 8-32 from the 3-point line and 8-17 from the foul line.
Georgia: Kirby Smart has targeted Auburn secondary coach Zac Etheridge to replace Jahmile Addae, who left to coach the secondary at Miami.
Kentucky: Kentucky’s indoor football practice facility is shared with the track team. That is about to change as UK will build Mark Stoops a 100 percent football only indoor facility ... Shaedon Sharpe, a 5-star recruit who left high school to enroll early in January, will not play this season … Oscar Tshiebwe had 18 points and 14 rebounds in Kentucky’s 89-76 win over South Carolina. Tshiebwe is the nation’s leading rebounder.
LSU: In beating Texas A&M on the road Tuesday night, LSU (17-7, 5-6 SEC) broke a 3-game losing streak. LSU got 11 points from point guard Xavier Pinson, back in the lineup for the first time since an early January knee injury … While declaring that he would never resume his coaching career on Nick Saban’s staff at Alabama, former LSU coach Ed Orgeron said he wants to coach again either in the college ranks or NFL. Smart money is that he will be joining buddy Lane Kiffin on the staff at Ole Miss either as an assistant or in a well-paid support position.
Mississippi State: Mississippi State and Southern Miss will play home-and-home in 2030-31 with the 2030 game in Hattiesburg.
South Carolina: Jody Wright, who spent the last two seasons as an assistant with the New York Giants, is expected to be named tight ends coach … Former Gamecock DeVonte Holloman, a key player for Steve Spurrier’s 2009-10 teams, has taken a position on Shane Beamer’s support staff.
Tennessee: Forward Olivier Nkamhoua, who has started 22 games this season while averaging 8.6 points and 5.6 rebounds, will miss the rest of the season with an ankle injury.
Texas A&M: Back on January 15, the Aggies were 15-2 and off to a 4-0 start in SEC play. Since then, they’ve lost seven in a row.
Vanderbilt: To replace defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, who left to become the defensive coordinator at Michigan, HBC Clark Lea promoted Nick Howell. Howell was hired from Virginia after Bronco Mendenhall retired.
ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: If a lawsuit filed Tuesday by the National College Players Association that claims unfair labor practices against Southern Cal, UCLA, the Pac-12 Conference and the NCAA succeeds then every Division I athlete playing men’s and women’s college basketball and college football will be considered employees of their schools. As Dan Murphy of ESPN writes, “The NCAA would no longer be able to place limits on how much schools pay their athletes.” In other words, stipends would be out and contracts and salaries would be in.
This is the second major lawsuit filed with the National Labor Relations Board since the NCAA got clobbered at the United States Supreme Court in the infamous NCAA vs. Alston ruling. Although that ruling pertained to name, image and likeness, the door was opened for athletes to be declared employees. And, once they are deemed employees, they will have the right to unionize, which essentially will be the end of college sports as we know them. Sure, sports will go on, but it’s never going to be the same again. Players will have rights that they’ve never had, but don’t think for a second that they will have all the power.
Nobody seems to be talking about the fact that players as employees can be fired on the spot. A coach, who is the CEO of his sport, will be able to randomly cut players to get his roster under control. Imagine, if you will, a head coach whose roster is right at the 85-scholarship limit. He gets contacted by a productive wide receiver who wants to transfer in. Instead of saying there’s no room at the inn to the transfer wide receiver, he simply calls in an unproductive player to tell him he’s been cut from the team. There is the issue of taxation, too. If athletes are employees, then they will have to pay taxes on salaries, but perhaps on scholarships and other benefits received.
For every plus the athletes will have there will indeed be a minus. The biggest minus of all may be that college athletics might end up being an independent entity that rents the stadiums, etc.
Writing for Sports Illustrated, Ross Dellenger quotes Kansas City-based attorney Mit Winter with this very chilling statement about how colleges and universities may respond to employee-athletes replacing the student-athlete:
“I don’t know if universities and conferences and the NCAA want to participate in a system where they are collectively bargaining with the athletes. It remains to be seen,” he said in an interview in October. “There are different models that have been kicked around where athletic teams are spun off from the school and are their own standalone entities.”
If Winter is correct, get ready for the Chico’s Bail Bonds Georgia Bulldogs or the Yella Wood Auburn Tigers or the Publix Florida Gators.
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