Calathes going pro…

Calathes to Greece

Except not to the NBA. The Greece pro leagues have offered Calathes first-round NBA Draft money to come play in Greece and he has reportedly accepted the offer.

This is an absolutely massive blow for Donovan and the Gators, as Calathes was the heart and soul of his team a year ago. Calathes led the Gators in scoring a year ago and ranked 7th in the SEC with 17.2 points per game, added 5.3 rebounds, was the best-shooting guard in the league at 48.2% overall, and was one of the best ball-handlers the league has ever seen at 6.4 assists to just 3.3 turnovers per game.

This will likely drop Florida out of the preseason Top 25, although this isn’t to say Donovan can’t rebound with as much talent as he has on the roster.

Kentucky solidifies #1 recruiting class in nation…

 

Wall to UK

Calipari has gone insane at Kentucky, pulling in what is easily the nation’s top recruiting class this year and one of the best ever for any team as the nation’s top recruit and projected top pick in next year’s NBA draft John Wall has chosen to play for the Wildcats.

The Blue faithful now have signitures or committments from the #1 player, #10, #18 and #30. Very, very nice performance thus far from Calipari on the recruiting scene.

On another note, I am currently working on last season’s efficiency ratings, scores and rankings for each and every player in the league. I’ll have numbers for every statistical category and those compared to the amount of minutes each player played. This is the single most exciting part of the offseason for myself personally, as it describes in very accurate detail exactly how much talent and potential each player has, and suggests some dark horses for breakthrough years next year. I’ll have it up as soon as I complete it!

Another talented post man rejoins the SEC…

Washington returns to Arkansas

This time in the form of Michael Washington, Arkanasas’ main inside presence. The SEC seems to be avoiding several potential trip-ups in the post-season, as now the only real threats to leave early would be Kentucky’s Jodie Meeks, Florida’s Nick Calathes, and Tennessee’s Tyler Smith.

Patterson and Varnado return to the SEC…

Patterson returns to UK

 

In case you’ve been living deep in a hole with your fingers in your ears, the SEC’s two biggest all-star big men have both announced in the past couple of weeks that they will be returning to the respective schools.

Patterson, an offensive-minded powerhouse will be returning to a Wildcat team that, with a signature from the country’s top freshman in John Wall, will likely be ranked in the top five nationally preseason.

Varnado returns to MSU as a defensive presence unlike the nation has ever seen before, and likely to break the all-time NCAA career blocks record and finish third all-time at MSU in rebounds.

Just as the league appeared down and out a few months ago, it certainly is taking shape to rock the national scene in 2009-10.

 

Varnado returns to MSU

Holcombe frees up one MSU scholarship…

Red-shirted guard Jacquiese Holcombe has decided to transfer from Mississippi State, freeing up one of two extra scholarships the Bulldogs have signed.

If Varnado does not return or if either Riek or Sidney is not cleared to play this fall, this would free up the other scholarship.

Source confirms Riek committment…

A personal source intimate with the program has confirmed Riek has committed to State, and will sign this week. I realize this is practically old news at this point, but I wanted to confirm to all of the readers that this is a done deal.

More MSU news about Riek and Varnado…

Sorry to the other fanbases of the SEC, but Mississippi State seems to be stealing all of the limelight recently…

Local newspaper, NortheastMississippi picked up on the Riek report, and has a report from Varnado’s father concerning his likeliness of returning to State.

Apparently, Riek’s decision has no bearing on Varnado’s decision and he fully expects to return to MSU unless his draft status drastically increases.

Mississippi State will be outstandingly experienced and talented if Riek/Sidney both get on campus and eligible and Varnado returns.

Update on Riek to Mississippi State…

It seems increasingly likely Riek will sign with Mississippi State, and will do so soon.

Cincinnati people are claiming that Riek signed a Letter of Intent, but Cincinnati did not file it with the NCAA due to eligibility concerns. When word was received that Riek was looking at an uphill battle to get eligible, on top of his health concerns, the program decided to release Riek and his situation to another program.

This could mean any number of things. Riek could have simply expressed that he did not want to play for Cincinnati, and UC let him go to avoid drama and bad PR, and created a story to cover themslves. Perhaps UC refused to admit Riek, and thus the program was forced to let him go. Perhaps the article is telling the truth.

What we do know is that if and when Riek is healthy and eligible to play at Mississippi State, he will be joining a very, very potent squad.

Word has it that Riek has filed paperwork with MSU, and that the school will officially announce his signing sometime this week when all of the paperwork is cleared up.

Some additional John Riek rumor de-bunking…

First of all, many Cincinnati fans appear to be in a frenzy, and some seem to be creating rumors at a wild pitch. Some have claimed, on Cincinnati’s Rivals page – Bearcat Lair – that Mississippi State’s thread on their own rival page regarding Riek is locked, claiming it is only an unfounded rumor. THIS – in fact – is an unfounded rumor. I am a member of the site – there have only been a few posts regarding Riek, and Mississippi State’s representative, Logan Lowery, has not been heard from on the topic yet. The thread is not locked, and noone is claiming it is an untrue rumor on the board.

Additionally, many Cincinnati fans appear to be confused regarding press conferences and releases. Coaches are, in fact, allowed to release comments regarding SIGNED recruits. I have worked in media relations for a very long time now, and every single school I’ve ever been in contact with has always – ALWAYS – issued a press release immediately following a recruit’s signing. Some Cincinnati fans seem to believe programs are only allowed one press release per recruiting period, and this is simply not the case. If Riek had in fact signed with Cincinnati, the Bearcats could have, at any point, issued a press release.

This is not suggesting Riek will or will not be attending Mississippi State, as it seems everyone involved is playing a massive waiting game. Just keep in mind the Fox report stated Riek had COMMITTED to MSU, not SIGNED. Thus, the Bulldogs would not have a release on their site until Riek actually signed with the school. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, and let’s all try and calm down.

John Riek controversy…

Apparently, there is a great deal of confusion surrounding John Riek’s supposed commitment to MSU. Rivals reports that Riek signed a Letter of Intention, which is binding, on April 15 of this year. However, Scout reports that Riek has not signed with anyone, and the school never published any release regarding Riek.

The most likely scenario here is that a source close to Riek believed he had the intention of signing with Cincinnati, and thus leaked it to Rivals, who went with the story. I suspect there was simply no signature or papers, or Rick Stansbury wouldn’t have been recruiting Riek knowing the potential punishments and bad PR. In addition, every school publishes a release after a commitment signs – and no doubt when one as highly regarded as Riek does – and thus all signs seem to point to a fair and clean MSU commitment.

No official word has come from either department outside of Fox Sports, although many sources confirm Riek was on campus at MSU this weekend.

I’ll keep everyone updated as this situation unfolds.

Clarification…

To clear some things up for my Cincinnati fan viewers…Riek signed with Cincinnati before attending prep school, which releases him from the letter of intent. He is still on the market, and is committed to Mississippi State.

Mississippi State adds John Riek…

Another elite prospect to MSU

Just when you thought the Bulldogs had ended their recruiting after signing an extra scholarship in highly-touted big-man Renardo Sidney, today brings word that John Riek – an elite 7′2″ former top-five prospect and #1 ranked postgraduate prospect - has committed to State. This puts MSU with two extra scholarships, possibly suggesting that outstanding junior Jarvis Varnado may have decided to stay in the NBA draft. Either way, MSU will need to shed at least one player, possibly sending three-star big-man Wendell Lewis to prep school for a year.

If Varnado returns, the Bulldogs should be a lock for the preseason Top 15 next season, if not better.

There seems to be a lot of confusion from Cincinnati fans – this is to clarify…Riek signed a Letter of Intent in 2008, but then attended prep school, which releases him from the contract. He is cleanly on the market, and seems to have committed to Mississippi State. He has been confirmed as having been on campus at MSU this past weekend.