LAS
VEGAS - If Andy Kennedy
can get one of his two young point guards to step up quickly, Ole Miss should
make the NCAA tournament this season.
Kennedy and the Rebels just found out that 6-foot-9 forward Malcolm White, who
wasn't expected to be eligible until the 2008 campaign, should be good to go
for this season.
White is long and athletic and will give Ole Miss yet another solid body up
front. Kennedy told FOXSports.com that White reminds him of former Cincinnati standout Jason Maxiell.
The Rebels just missed out on going to the Big Dance last season - Kennedy's
first with the program. They won 21 games and won the SEC West for the first
time since 2001 despite being picked to finish last. Mississippi will add White and also a pair of freshman guards who
will compete for the starting spot - Chris Warren and Trevor Gaskins.
Kennedy will also have Florida transfer David Huertas eligible after he sat out last
season.
BRAWL IN SIN CITY
There are a few things you can count on during July these days and one of them
is a brawl between AAU teams.
The one in Las
Vegas happened to include
one of the most high-profile players in the country, Arizona-bound point guard
Brandon Jennings.
The story goes something like this: The game between Jennings and his Belmont Shore team and Triple Threat out of Baltimore/D.C. was
physical. After the game, it got ugly when Jennings' mentor/guy/whatever you want to deem him came onto
the court throwing haymakers.
What followed was a scrum in which there were multiple player fights and the
coaches of the teams also got involved.
The result: The police on site used mace. Triple Threat's Keith Stevens was on
the ground and numerous college coaches had to rush out of the court area
because the police were using the mace fairly liberally.
This follows a couple of fisticuffs out at the Peach Jam last week - with both
involving the New York-based Gauchos.
USA LOSES TO HOST SERBIA IN U-19'S
After winning its first eight games, The USA Men's U19 team finally tasted
defeat - and it came to the hands of host Serbia in the championship game.
Deon Thompson (North
Carolina)
led the team with 16 points and Patrick Beverley (Arkansas) added 15 points and eight boards, but USA missed 13 free throws in the 74-69 loss that gave the
Americans the silver medal.
"This is a big accomplishment, a lot of people
didn't expect us to be here," said Syracuse-bound Jonny Flynn, who
averaged 9.6 ppg. in the USA's nine games. "If you look at the big
picture, this is second in the whole world, not just in any old tournament.
This is second in the whole world."
RANDOM NOTES
Marquette sophomore guard David Cubillan has made the
Venezuelan National team and will play against the loaded USA Team at the FIBA
Americas Championship from Aug. 22-Sept. 2 in Las Vegas. ... New Arizona assistant Kevin O'Neill was on the road - but
he wasn't donning a school T-Shirt like most college coaches. ... There were also
some incoming freshman in the crowd - including Memphis point guard Derrick Rose and Ohio State wing Eric Wallace. ... Kentucky commit DeAndre Liggins had surgery on his left
foot on Friday and is expected to miss about six weeks. The Illinois native will play at Findlay Prep out of Las Vegas this year.
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