My blog flat-out sucked today. I had the best of
intentions to blog my you-know-what off, but here's what happened. I brought my
computer into the first game, put it down on the floor while watching a game
and then didn't realize I forgot it until I was in the car en route to another
gym.
So, anyway, here's some stuff after catching nine games from Day One in Vegas:
- Arizona State head coach Herb Sendek's day didn't exactly begin as
planned. He went over to Rancho High for 9 a.m. to
see Devonte Elliott, a young kid with the ICan All-Stars. The only problem:
Sendek couldn't watch Elliott because his coach, Rock Johnson, didn't dress the
talented junior forward. Sendek, one of four Pac-10 coaches in attendance who
weren't told by Johnson that Elliott was playing in the Reebok tournament
instead, walked out immediately and was visibly frustrated.
- Four of the top guards in the country went at it when Seattle's Abdul Gaddy
and Avery Bradley watched their first-half lead disappear against Kenny Boynton
and Brandon Knight of Team Breakdown (Fla.). Bradley is the best perimeter defender in the
country, but he couldn't slow down Boynton in the second half. Boynton had just
gotten off the plane and couldn't make any shots before the break, but he was
making everything in the second half. The gym was packed with head coach - Bill
Self, Billy Donovan, Lorenzo Romar, Paul Hewitt, John Thompson III, Rick
Barnes, Darrin Horn, Sean Miller, Kevin Stallings, Tim Floyd, Lute Olson, Frank
Haith and John Calipari.
- Boynton's list was Memphis, Texas, Florida, Duke, Kansas State and USC. Our gut is that the best scorer in the
class goes with the Blue Devils.
- Knight said he likes Georgia Tech, Duke, Florida, Miami, Kentucky, Wake Forest, Syracuse and Memphis.
- Georgia Tech got a commitment from Scout.com's sixth-ranked point guard in
the country, Mfon Udofia. "I
had a great player-coach relationship with Coach C.Y. [assistant Charlton
Young] and Coach Hewitt," Udofia told Evan Daniels of Scout.com.
"They are like family. I'm from Georgia -- I've been around them and I'm the hometown
kid." The Yellow Jackets have really gotten a lot done of late and Paul
Hewitt joked that it's because he was on a week-long vacation in-between the
two July recruiting periods.
- Speaking of Georgia Tech, Hewitt confirmed to FOXSports.com that senior big
man Ra'Sean Dickey will not be returning to school and instead has signed a pro
contract to play in the Ukraine. ``It was a mutual decision and was best for Ra'Sean
and his family," Hewitt said.