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Report User But they lack a front-line point guard.
With Ron Steele taking the year to try and get 100 percent for his final collegiate go-around, Crimson Tide coach Mark Gottfried has had to try and be patient with freshman Rico Pickett.
"You can't speed the clock up," Gottfried said. "You'd like to, but you can't. It's a process."
Gottfried said that the process is moving along, though. Pickett has played 27 minutes per game in the last two wins and is averaging 10.5 points and 4.5 assists while making 5-of-7 shots from long range. Gottfried said that Pickett isn't alone in that he's had to adjust to the defensive aspect going from high school to college.
"He's getting there,"Gottfried said. "He's heading in the right direction."
RULES ARE RULES
"He was one minute late to shootaround," Capel said.
The story goes like this. There were about five minutes before shootaround began and Capel was shocked that Griffin wasn't in the gym. He had one of the managers call Griffin, who was apparently still sleeping.
"It was amazing how fast he got there," Capel said. "I think he was still asleep. His dorm is about two miles away, but he came sprinting down the tunnel and went through the entire shootaround without any socks on."
ODU SEASONED QUICKLY
Old Dominion coach Blaine Taylor has lost a handful of all-league players in the past two years. The Monarchs have six freshmen this season, so you'd think Taylor would go with a soft schedule to get these guys some confidence.
Not even close.
Instead, ODU went through a brutal stretch late last month in which it played North Carolina and Louisville out in Las Vegas and then hosted Georgetown. Add in a Nov. 18 game against Clemson and the Monarchs can claim to have faced three of the remaining undefeated teams in the country.
Those losses helped prepare the young kids for this past weekend's victory against Virginia Tech.
"I felt like we have good players, so why not play tough teams so we can be seasoned," Taylor said.
It's also helped that senior guard Brandon Johnson is healthy after starting the season at less than 100 percent after a broken hand. Gerald Lee, a 6-foot-9 sophomore from Finland who had a double-double against Butler in the NCAA tournament last season, has been solid up front (12.8 ppg, 6.3 rpg). Taylor regularly plays 10 players.
"We're starting to come of age now," Taylor said.
TUESDAY'S NOTABLES
- Louisville coach Rick Pitino won his 500th career game and oft-suspended sophomore big man Derrick Caracter, who was reinstated from his most recent suspension, scored 18 points and grabbed eight boards in the win over Marshall.
- Kentucky wing Jodie Meeks returned and scored 21 points, but the Wildcats couldn't get past Houston and lost their fourth straight. It's the first time the boys from Lexington have dropped four in a row since 1989-90 - Pitino's first season.
- Georgia Tech is in desperate need of quality point-guard play. Javaris Crittenton left after just one season and now Yellow Jackets coach Paul Hewitt is forced to go with a combination of senior Matt Causey and freshman Maurice "Moe" Miller. The duo combined for 9 points, 6 assists and 6 turnovers in the 71-66 home loss to Kansas.
- Southern Illinois continues to disappoint. Salukis coach Chris Lowery's club managed just 41 points in a loss at Western Michigan. Southern Illinois has lost five of its last six and is 4-5 overall.
RANDOM NOTES: Just as Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie got Meeks back, he lost standout freshman big man Patrick Patterson to an ankle injury. Patterson didn't play in the loss to Houston. ... Stanford sophomore 7-footer Brook Lopez, out the entire first semester due to academics, will make his season debut tonight at home against Santa Clara. ... Georgia Tech senior big man Ra'Sean Dickey will redshirt this season due to chronic knee problems. Dickey was ineligible the first semester (academics).