Herb Pope injured

According to the Las Cruces Bulletin, Aggie freshman Herb Pope has suffered a broken finger in a pick up game. Go to the Bulletin site for more information.

Pope has yet to be cleared to practice by the NCAA and was the pre-season selection to be the top newcomber to the WAC.

latest on Rekalin Sims

At the risk of Parsing The WAC being mistaken for an affiliate of Court TV, here's the latest on Fresno State's Rekalin Sims and it isn't looking good:

Felony charges filed against 'Dogs basketball player
Daniel Lyght
The Fresno Bee
11/15/07

Fresno State basketball player Rekalin Sims will be arraigned on two felony charges in Fresno County Superior Court on Nov. 28, according to court documents.

Sims was charged with conspiracy to commit robbery and second-degree robbery Tuesday after being arrested early Sunday morning in connection with the robbery of a 29-year-old disabled man.

Bob Ellis, Fresno County chief assistant district attorney, said the other two men arrested with Sims -- Vicente Ramon Loera, 18, a continuation-school student, and Christopher Eiland, 27, a laborer -- are being charged with conspiracy and robbery as well...

Go here for the complete article.

If there was any possibility of mistaken identity or a sense of Sims somehow present but not being aware of what offenses took place, then it seems such would have been 'played' and been a consideration factor by now -- prior to the felony charges filed against all three of the arrestees.

What has yet to appear in print is who is actually accused of administering the beating. Plus, how did Sims have access or ownership to such an expensive vehicle, an SUV?

Each WAC school has different student conduct policies in place but, fairly or unfairly, the history of past incidents of misconduct of Fresno State student-athletes will not be a favorable factor for Sims. For what it's worth, the 'court of public opinion' is already veering strongly against Sims remaining a member of the Bulldog basketball team.

Also, in the Be-Careful-What-You-Write category, something all bloggers and other writers/reporters face in expressing opinions, here is Fresno Bee columnist Matt James from a November 3, 2007 column:

"...Rekalin Sims and Bryan Harvey are the players you'd take home to Mom; hustlers, rebounders, believers in the bounce pass and the hard practice and that the word "fundamentalist" is not just for the Republican Party..."

Uh-oh.

New names and bodies heading to the WAC

Here is what has fallen into our collection barrel so far regarding new men's basketball signings for the WAC teams.

Nevada easily runs away with the top dog trophy, landing three eventual starters, one of them a deluxe blue chipper:

Pack men's basketball team signs three
Steve Sneddon
Reno Gazette-Journal
November 15, 2007

The recruitment of Galena High star Luke Babbitt was a long, drawn out process that finally ended when the 6-foot-8, 220-pound Babbitt signed a letter of intent Wednesday to play basketball at Nevada, beginning in 2008-09.

He heads a star-studded class of Wolf Pack recruits, which includes 6-5, 175-pound shooting guard Mark McLaughlin from Inglemoor High of Kenmore, Wash., and 6-3, 180-pound point guard London "Cotton" Giles from Dallas' Kimball High. Both McLaughlin and Giles signed their letters Wednesday. Babbitt, who will play both forward spots for Nevada, and McLaughlin are four-star recruits. Giles is a two-star recruit.

The Nevada class has been ranked No. 22 in the nation by Rivals.com and No. 23 by Scout.com.

"Luke's established himself as one of the premier players in the country and he's a better person than he is a player," said Pack coach Mark Fox. "It's not often that you can say that. It's certainly a day we're extremely excited about because I think he's a winner in so many ways. He's just been a terrific kid to recruit and we're glad he's coming."

Nevada recruited him since he was a sophomore at Galena, but it was a rollercoaster process. Babbitt originally committed to Ohio State. But he withdrew that commitment and committed to Nevada on June 11.

"I remember when we had a staff meeting and of the topics was are we going to try to recruit Luke Babbitt because we knew he was going to be recruited by everybody," Fox said. "Today is a special day for our staff because we put a lot of energy in the process and I think Luke is one of those cases because he's local we've gotten to know him and his family very well. That's unique because any more with the phone call limits and contact you can't get to know everybody. With a kid in town, we were able to do that."

Babbitt, who shared the 2007 Northern 4A co-player of the year honors with Nevada freshman Armon Johnson last season, averaged 27.8 rebounds, 9.5 rebounds and 2.3 steals and led Galena to a state title.

"He'll play both forward spots, some three and four," Fox said. "He shoots it very well from three and he's a terrific block player so his versatility allows him to play all over the place.

Go here for the complete article.

AND

Needing size to replace two departing seniors upfront, Coach Marvin Menzies has landed a bulky big man:

Aggies men's basketball team signs center Gabriel
Jason Groves
Las Cruces/Sun-News
11/15/2007

LAS CRUCES - JSerra Catholic School basketball coach Tom Lewis confirmed on Wednesday that 6-foot-11 260 senior center Chris Gabriel signed a National Letter of Intent and financial Aide Agreement to play at New Mexico State University.

Gabriel joins current redshirts Hamidu Rahman, Troy Gillenwater and Robert Lumpkins in the 2008 recruiting class of first-year NMSU coach Marvin Menzies.

Gabriel signed on the first day of the early signing period, which runs through Nov. 21. The regular signing period is April 16-21, 2008.

"We took some pictures and made a nice situation for him," said Lewis, who coached the South Africa native for two seasons. "We had a ceremony on campus for him and took some photos of him signing."

Gabriel came to the U.S. two years ago and played his first year of organized basketball at the Patterson School in North Carolina. He moved to JSerra, located in San Juan Capistrano, Calif.

Gabriel visited the NMSU campus in September and verbally committed in October after taking an unofficial visit to California-State Fullerton and official visits to the University of San Diego and Santa Barbara.

Go here for the complete article.

AND

LA TECH signs a down-the-road point guard with good basketball genes:

SIGNING DAY: Tech men secure future of point guard position
T. Scott Boatright
Alexandria News Star

RUSTON — It might be a tough season for Coach Kerry Rupp's Bulldogs in 2007-08 as he works to rebuild the team, but the future is looking bright.

And it got even brighter on Wednesday as the Bulldogs looked to lock down their point guard position for multiple upcoming seasons Rupp announced Wednesday that Holton Hunsaker of North Salt Lake, Utah, has signed a national letter of intent to play basketball at Louisiana Tech.
Transfer Jamel White, who came to the Bulldogs after playing for the Nebraska Cornhuskers last season, has impressed in practices but will have to sit out the current season but is expected to take over as Tech's starting point guard next season.

But there's plenty of time before Hunsacker is asked to take over the position for the Bulldogs as the top high school product in the state of Utah will go on his Latter Day Saint church mission for two years before heading to Tech as a 21-year-old true freshman in 2010.

Hunsaker was named first team all-state as a junior and second team all-state as a sophomore after being named first team all-region as a freshman. Hunsaker has averaged around 17 points and five assists per game during his high school career and is a McDonald's All-American nominee in Utah.

Basketball comes naturally for Hunsacker, whose father Dick is head coach at Utah Valley State and has been named NCAA Men's Basketball Independent Coach of the Year for the past four seasons and the 2001 Los Angeles Times national coach of the year as the interim head coach at the University of Utah.

Go here for the complete article.

We know that Nor Cal two guard Chris Jones will be signing with Fresno State, as Florida junior college frontcourter Joey Camerson is also expected to do but there is nothing in print on either as yet. Steve Cleveland also has two high school kids from Washington state committed, both guards, in Reggie Moore and Mychal Ladd.

An action that may be significant

Utah State Coach Stew Morrill must be very unsatisfied with the play of his centers and power forwards thus far in the early season. Newcomer Gary Wilkinson has shown flashes of promise but Ohio State transfer Brayden Bell has yet to make any impact. So...

We have never witnessed let alone heard of this happening before: suiting up -- at halftime no less -- and playing someone who had been destined as a redshirt in the second half of a game.

According to Jay Hinton of the Deseret News: "...Utah State coach Stew Morrill used his second different starting lineup and Modou Niang, who wasn't in uniform when the game started, dressed at halftime and entered the game, burning his redshirt year to serve as evidence to that fact..."

and

"...Not happy with the events in the paint in the first half, Morrill added Niang, a 6-foot-9, 240-pound freshman, to the lineup mid-game and the Aggies were assessed a technical foul at the start of the second half because of it.

It was something the Aggies were willing to do, Morrill said.

"We just needed Modou. He was really not sure if he wanted to redshirt," Morrill said of his decision to add a player to the lineup mid-game for the first time in his coaching career.

"He brings some athleticism and some size to the game," Morrill added. "He is raw because he is a freshman, but he is long and he is going to change some shots. We just need him..."

Go here for the full article.

For the record, Bell played eight minutes in the Aggie opener, shooting 1-5 from the floor and grabbing five rebounds. In game two, he saw four minutes of action, shooting 1-3. The game in the article above saw Bell play three minutes, shoot 0-2 and grab two boards.

Gary Wilkinson has put up these numbers: game one - 26 minutes, 10 points, six rebounds --- game two - 31 minutes, 21 points and eight boards --- game three - 17 minutes, 12 points, three rebounds.

Fresno State basketballer in legal trouble

Maybe this is all some sort of error or mistaken identity but, if not, Fresno State's reputation will be sullied once more. I believe it is the first player for Steve Cleveland with legal issues.

Sims had been suspended for not keeping up with his class attendance and coursework but was scheduled to return to practice on Tuesday. This was posted here previously but Sims, being a transfer with but one year of eligibility remaining, was given a chance by Cleveland that most other coaches would not have bothered extending.

Again, if guilty as charged, he has let himself, his coach and his teammates down.

I don't see a possibility of him returning to the team what with his initial academic suspension and now this.

The Fresno Bee will be all over this come the morning edition.

Legal Problems For A Fresno State Basketball Player
Sontaya Rose
KSFN ABC
11/13/2007

Fresno State's long list of legal problems within the athletic department just got a little bit longer. A member of the basketball team is being accused of robbery and assault.

Rekalin Sims was taken into custody on Sunday morning along with two others who Fresno police say beat up and robbed a disabled man.Fresno police say Sims was driving on a suspended license when he and 3 others pulled up in a Cadillac Escalade to a man walking home. Within seconds the encounter turned violent...

...Police caught up with the suspects minutes later in the Wendy's drive thru. The stolen property was also recovered at that time.

Under arrest; the driver 23 year old Rekalin Sims, also facing charges of robbery and conspiracy, 27 year old Christopher Eiland and 18 year old Vicente Loera...

Go here for the full article.

The WAC is getting whacked and other notes

First to some notes before the cleaning lady mistakes them for scribbles to be disposed of properly -- in the trash:

As expected, former Nevada point Ramon Sessions has been sent to the Tulsa 66ers of the Developmental league. He needs to play and hadn't seen any court time in the young NBA season to date. There will be those who will disagree but Sessions going up against opponents in Tulsa will be much better for his progression than if he had returned for his senior season in Reno. Let's hope he keeps his head up and uses the playing time to better his skills set...

...Fresno signs a big who actually plays in the paint!!! Sure, we're being facetious but 6-8 240 Joey Cameron out of Chipola JC (Florida). Raisintown will be Cameron's fourth or fifth stop since high school so hopefully he will finally be in a place and situation that works for him...

...6-11 Shawn Taylor looks to be out of the rotation at Fresno. He's a 6-11 senior (also out of Chipola, like Cameron, and Alabama before that) who originally signed with LA TECH but ultimately landed with Steve Cleveland. Taylor hasn't been able to develop the basketball skills that match his athletic prowess. He has played four minutes this season so far and this is with Rekalin Sims still out for disciplinary reasons...

...Who is going to step forward and become THE point guard at New Meixco State? The position is for the taking. JayDee Luster is a freshman and there should be no expectations that he be able to step right in to the job. Chris Cole has a redshirt season with the system behind him and a fairly successful year at Hartford prior to that -- he would be our pick at this point to win the point guard derby but had five TOs against Duke. Let's call that an anomaly. Fred Peete is putting in major minutes at the point but would be better off as the two guard. Will anyone step up as this is a postion not generally filled by committee?...

...What is up with the WAC this season? Have any of the teams won a game they weren't supposed to so far?

Fresno State loses 89-72 to San Diego State. Hawaii falls at home to San Diego 73-72. Central Florida beats Nevada 63-60. New Mexico State loses 80-72 on the road to Ohio and then gets smacked at Duke 86-61. Mississippi State plays rude host to Louisiana Tech 75-45 and Utah State gets beat by in-state rival Weber State 78-71 in Ogden.

The WAC RPI number is taking an early beating and getting anyone other than the tourney winner into The Big Dance just may require some of the league members to both start coming out on top in some games where such is unexpected but to also be winners in the games that should go into the win column. But it's early and a turnaround is certainly possible. But otherwise, it's going to be a down year for the WAC in men's basketball.

It wasn't pretty

The Duke-New Mexico State game was over pretty quickly although we missed the first half due to thinking and reading the game was going to start at five o'clock. As we tuned in, the halftime score was 47-26 (the final score was 86-61).

The Dookies seem re-energized, both much faster and a better outside-shooting team than last year. Being undersized proved to be no problem for Coach K's squad.

But we're still a bit surprised that the Aggie center tandem of Martin Iti and Hattila Passos were negligible factors in the game.

The foremost factor in the Aggie downfall was a lack of offensive consistency. The NMSU offense play was in sputter mode, looking solid one moment but followed by a number of possessions out of sync. This often led to Blue Devil steals and breakaways.

Stalwart Justin Hawkins scored 16 and added 11 rebounds to earn a double-double for NMSU. He just may give Utah State backcourter Jaycee Carroll some competition for WAC most valuable player. Fred Peete was more off than on.

New Mexico State @ Duke tonight on ESPN2

Give credit to the departed Reggie Theus for the willingness to tackle Coach K and the Dookies in their home lair.

Do catch the game tonight at 5 p.m. on ESPN2 for some early WAC exposure.

Duke is young and not the typical powerhouse we have come to expect each and every season. The NMSU big men may just enjoy an advantage as Duke has but two 6-8 frontcourters and one 7-1 center on its roster.

WAC teams dropping early games - more news & notes

Anyone know for sure what is up with LA TECH's heralded recruit Olu Ashaolu? After scoring 12 points in the opener, his name didn't appear in the box score of the game against Mississippi State (a 75-45 loss). Coach Kerry Rupp is thin upfront and could really use Ashaolu's 6-7 height and especially his 235 pounds in the paint. Keith Smith is manning the frontcourt, along with Adrian Rogers (bothered by a hamstring injury), but both are 6-7 but lighter than Ashaolu...

...The continuing dominance of Boise State football has put men's basketball Coach Greg Graham into a delicate position. Heck, even the success of the Bronco women's basketball team is adding to the pressure.
Idaho Statesman columnist Brian Murphy has a column about just this subject:

A pivotal season begins for Graham, Bronco men
Brian Murphy
Idaho Statesman
11/09/2007

The goal for the Boise State men's basketball program is simple: A spot in the postseason.

No numbers. No slogans. No fancy mottos. The Broncos simply want to be one of 97 teams playing in the NCAA or NIT tournaments in March.

"That's the fans', the media's, everyone's benchmark: ‘Are you in the postseason?' " said coach Greg Graham, who is beginning his sixth season with BSU. "That's the key for us right now."

It might also be the key to extending Graham's tenure. The long-time Oregon assistant is in the fourth year of a five-year contract extension signed after the Broncos' 2004 trip to the NIT's third round.

Since then, Boise State is 47-47.

Absolutely average on the court. And losing the competition for attention in this decidedly pro-winner town.

Attendance last season was 4,393 ­ the first time in three seasons it cracked 4,000 ­ and down about 1,000 since 2003-04. Season ticket sales are up this year to 5,348, thanks largely to an NCAA Tournament tie-in.

Coaches rarely enter the final season of a contract. It's a recruiting liability, so they're either extended or let loose.

Go here for the remainder...

...Graham's team did beat Utah Valley at home with a couple of new names leading the way in overtime. JC transfer guard Jamar Greene and redshirt freshman wing Paul Noonan combined for 11 of the Broncos 14 overtime points as Boise eked out a 73-72 victory...

...New Mexico State's 80-72 road loss to Ohio certainly won't help in any national ranking but it's much more critical if the Aggies don't win the WAC tourney and have to depend on getting selected for an at-large bid to the Big Dance. Ohio University zoned NMSU due to being outsized and lost the rebounding battle 45-38 -- getting just 17 minutes from center Leon Williams who got into early foul trouble. Coach Marvin Menzies' squad shot just 41% from the floor, 6-28 on threes. Steady Justin Hawkins put up 19 points and nabbed seven rebounds but committed seven turnovers. Sophomore guard Jonathan Gibson shot well overall and scored 15 points but was cold from long range going 1-6 on his three-point attempts. Still no further word on the eligibility of freshmen Herb Pope and Jahmar Young...

...Hawaii lost at home on a last second free throw to San Diego thereby spoiling Bob Nash's coaching debut. Bobby Nash was his usual solid self with 22 points and nine boards. Jared Dillinger, a non factor up to this season, scored 14 points and looks to be one of the inspirational stories of the basketball season to date. Here's one article on his emergence. Starting point Matt Gibson missed the game due to a left knee injury but isn't expected to be out for long...

...Fresno State beat Portland in Raisintown 75-68 with the Bulldogs going hot and cold with their jumpshooting. It's obviously early but Steve Cleveland's team must show some power inside and not a close to complete reliance on mid and long range jumpers. Kevin Bell scored 21 points in the next game to lead the team to a win over Liberty. Dwight O'Neil, coming off a redshirt year, has played very well in the opening two games...

...Utah State fell to rival Weber State in another contest that won't help the WAC power rating.

Turnover mania dooms Aggies
Jay Hinton
Deseret Morning News
November 11, 2007

OGDEN — In the first two games of the 2007-08 season, the Utah State Aggies are averaging an abnormal 21 turnovers per game.

The Aggies got away with 19 turnovers and beat Southern Utah on Friday night, but Saturday they turned the ball over 23 times and it cost them in the 78-71 loss to Weber State, which snapped a string of six straight losses by the Wildcats to USU.

"We turned it over time and time again," USU coach Stew Morrill said.
Utah State trailed by four points with 33 seconds left, and DeUndrae Spraggins, who coughed up the ball five times, threw the ball away. Jaycee Carroll was then called for an intentional foul, and Brody Van Brocklin hit one of two foul shots to stretch the lead to five.

Though it didn't matter, the Aggies' final possession of the game ended in a turnover...

News & notes around the WAC

Coach Steve Cleveland is quoted in the Fresno Bee today that suspended forward Rekalin Sims will be back on the team next week. That certainly helps the Bulldogs as Fresno cannot afford any projected starter on its so-so frontline to be unavailable.

Two New Mexico State University players still awaiting the NCAA go-ahead to practice with the team. Both Herb Pope and Jahmar Young remain sidelined and did not accompany the team on a two-game weekend road trip. A ruling is apparently expected on Young fairly soon but Pope's status remains up in the air. The 6-9 Pope is the gem of the Aggie recruiting class, a nationally ranked prepster. It will be interesting to see if Pope starts looking towards the pros if/after he is forced to sit out this season. He's a talent but isn't ready for the NBA -- something that hasn't previously stopped a number of other kids. We don't know his birthdate but if he turns 19...

D.J. Wright, the most heralded recruit of the Kerry Rupp era to date, remains sidelined. He isn't listed on the current Louisiana Tech roster and one report has him taking the SAT test this month. A 6-7 perimeter player from Sault St. Marie, Ontario, Canada, Wright averaged 22.5 points and 12.5 rebounds in high school at Toronto Academy Prep. His absence, if it continues, will delay the Tech basketball rebound in the WAC. But Rupp has a bountiful group already sitting out this season and two or three new starters will be in the opening night lineup next season.

Fresno fans are highlighting a "soft verbal commitment" -- anyone care to define that oxymoronic description? -- from 6-8 240 Joey Camerson out of junior college power Chipola JC in Florida. In 2005, he was rated a four-star prospect and the #21-rated prep power forward in the country. But his history of committing and then de-committing is the kicker -- first he pledged to Clemson, then Auburn, only to announce for Seton Hall before he landed in the junior college ranks. Bulldog fans are really wanting a power recruit upfront -- as is Coach Cleveland -- but history obviously indicates this young man may or may not be matriculating in Fresno next season.

New Mexico State already has secured a top talent for the 2008-2009 season

What if the WAC college team you lived and died for landed a Top 75 prepster?

For most fans and their teams in the WAC, the response would probably be 'do you think I have stupid written on my forehead?'

What if your WAC team also didn't have to even expend a basketball scholarship to do so?

Again, the typical reply would more than likely be similar to that uttered upon receiving those alluring emails from foreign potentates who are willing to desposit millions in your bank account just because they trust you - 'Get lost shyster' or even something more indelicate.

Well, there is a team in the WAC that has done just this. No, not hooked up with a purported gazillionaire abroad -- but landed a select high school recruit without the expense of a basketball scholarship, at least this season.

Now we want to emphasize we know of no smoke nor any fire nor do we wish to even hint at such. That is not the purpose of this post. However, this is a curious situation and worthy of the bandwidth used in offering what is known.

New Mexico State University has Troy Gillenwater on its roster as a redshirt walk-on freshman. For those of you unfamilair with him, here's a quick Rivals mini-bio:

"A Boston native, Gillenwater has spent time on both coasts during his high school career. He established himself as a national high-major prospect with his stellar play during the spring of 2006. In the winter of 2007 Gillenwater committed to Oklahoma State, only to open his recruitment back up this summer. After playing strong basketball during the July evaluation period, Gillenwater registered a No. 69 ranking in the post-summer Rivals150. Then in mid-August, Gillenwater made a surprise commitment to New Mexico State and enrolled as a redshirt freshman after achieving a qualifying test score."

We can't speak to the New Mexico State tuition policy for out of state students but, in most states, the cost is quite expensive. Maybe Troy Gillenwater is taking minimal units at a therefore low cost. He and another redshirt walk-0n, 7-0 Hamidu Rahman out of New Jersey, are apparently attending a branch campus of NMSU -- not the big one situated in Las Cruces -- so the fees may possibly be lower.

Gillenwater apparently comes from a socio economic background that would probably qualify him for financial aid so maybe that is the source for his tuition costs and living expenses this academic year.

But it is unusual for such a heralded player to not only be redshirting but also not be on athletic scholarship -- although he will certainly be on scholarship next season.

Now there could be another source for Gillenwater's finances -- Rick Isaacs.

Again, we wish to stress we certainly have no knowledge of anything untowards. We don't know any more than what we have posted nor do we know if there is any more than what we have posted.

Here's an article we stumbled across while googling for something else, a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at a portion of the landscape in club team basketball.

With no sneaker support, LA entrepreneur foots the bill
Bob Hohler
Boston Globe
July 24, 2006

LOS ANGELES -- The cellphone rang as Rick Isaacs, an entrepreneur who says he gave up cocaine to help kids chase their basketball dreams, steered his sleek black Mercedes toward the headquarters of his multimillion-dollar business.

The caller wanted one of Isaacs's best prospects, Boston native Troy Gillenwater, to attend a college camp for elite high school players. But Isaacs, who coaches the Los Angeles-based H Squad, one of the nation's top youth travel teams, wanted none of it.

``Troy doesn't have the money," Isaacs told the caller as he weaved his six-figure roadster through traffic. ``And it's not in my budget."

Yet Isaacs's basketball budget is rich enough -- he said he spends as much as $100,000 a year out of his pocket -- that teenagers such as Gillenwater entrust their futures to him. Gillenwater, 17, who played most of the 2004-05 season for Charlestown High School, left his family in Mattapan to travel the country with Isaacs after he rejected a similar opportunity with the Nike-backed Boston Amateur Basketball Club.

In an era when a sneaker company sponsors nearly every major youth travel team, Isaacs is a different breed, a coach who underwrites some of the country's top college prospects without corporate support. He said he does it because he enjoys helping potential stars like Gillenwater -- underprivileged youths with academic challenges -- secure college scholarships and a shot at the NBA.

"This is my cocaine," he said. ``It's my high."

Along the way, Isaacs said, he has helped pay tuition for several needy players to attend Notre Dame Prep in Fitchburg, which specializes in helping borderline students meet NCAA academic eligibility standards. The NCAA permits individuals outside a player's family to pay tuition at private secondary schools as long as the individuals are not agents or connected to college or professional teams.

Isaacs, 48, said he also has provided financial support to the mother of Danny Williams, an Oklahoma State recruit from Los Angeles who suffered a serious head injury last year in a car crash. He said he has helped Davon Jefferson, a hotly recruited star of his current team, travel from Los Angeles to the Patterson School in North Carolina. And he said he has helped provide housing and clothing for Gillenwater.

Go here for the remainder of Hohler's article.

The value of exhibition games

From a coaching standpoint, the value of exhibition games is typically that of seeing your players compete against others under actual game conditions.

However, the final stats compiled from such contests usually don't contain a great deal of value, having come against physically inferior and less-skilled opponents.

Some of things coaches are really looking for are:

*** the implementation of what is taught in practices being put into effect

*** the implementation of individual drills such as proper footwork, positioning and the like being put into effect

*** determining who plays to his limits each and every moment and who's competitiveness level depends on the quality of the opponent

*** who both understands and is willing to play an assigned role and stay within those parameters

There certainly are many more but these are some of the more common ones.

Continually going up against teammates can definitely have a stale effect and other 'tests' such as exhibitions can allow demonstration of who is advancing, whose is in neutral and who is going backwards in real time.

Having written all this, two things jumped out at us from the first series of games involving WAC teams this past weekend or so.

First, Nevada's Armon Johnson seems to have a lock on the starting point position for the Wolf Pack, Sure, such is a brash and very early declaration but such a move would allow star Marcelus Kemp to remain either at the two spot or the wing -- his more natural positions. Forgetting his 22 point total against Seattle Pacific, Johnson played a team-leading 36 minutes with an eight assist to two turnover ratio in his first collegiate start. Those are numbers Mark Fox will enjoy but, of course, the key will be can Johnson keep such stats up as the level of opponents gets better. Keep an eye on this.

#2 involves center 7-0 JaVale McGee. Again, forget his point total as he faced nobody even remotely close to what he will encounter in the WAC but do notice that McGee went two-for-two from three-point range.

Now it certainly could be an aberration -- although he did go 2-3 on his three point attempts last season -- because he shot a miserable .471 from the foul line in 2006-2007, 16-34. But if McGee manages to keep this up, pairing deep shooting range with his close-to-the-basket proficiency would make him an offensive monster.

To utilize a silly -- but heck why not? -- comparison, McGee could be the ebony of Nick Fazekas' ivory contributions to the success of the Nevada the past four seasons.

I can't believe I just typed that. I think we better close it out about right now before this web site sinks even lower and the collective groans from its readers reaches an even louder crescendo.

Four WAC players make NBA rosters

Four former stars in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) have landed on the rosters of various NBA teams. None look to play that much this season and will probably 'enjoy' some court time in the Developmental League but 15-man NBA rosters allow for this.

Nevada's Nick Fazekas made it with Dallas but could see himself in lights in Tulsa while trying to develop his game and resist rustiness. Making it with such a top team is quite the achievement plus his status also indicates how big a jump it is from Division One college basketball to the NBA. A second-rounder who was the 34th pick in the draft, Fazekas has a two-year contract with the first season guaranteed at the NBA minimum $427,163. Dallas holds the option for the the 2008-09 season, at a salary of $711,517. F azekas played in each of the Mavs' preseason gamesm gaining with one start and averaging 7.3 points and 4.5 rebounds in 17-plus minutes a game.

Point guard Ramon Sessions, a former teammate of Fazekas, is currently on the inactive list with Milwaukee and, irony of ironies, he may also be headed to Tulsa to keep his sharpness. 'Sessions passes to Fazekas' may not just be an old Wolf Pack play-by-play phrase yet.

Dominic McGuire is getting a few minutes a game with Washington. He jumped out of Fresno State after playing one season there and is already being lauded as the best defender on the Wizards bench.

The other WAC player who landed on an NBA roster is Boise State's Coby Karl, who is a Los Angeles Laker. Karl was a walk-on in Boise and a NBA free agent so there is a pattern here. Here's an article on his pro debut. He is also making the NBA minimum of $427,163.

Quinton Hosley didn't make the Big Show and is now playing in Turkey. The 6-6 former Fresno Stater plays for Karsiyaka and recently scored 20 points along with 14 rebounds in leading his team to its fourth win.

This is quite an achievement for the underrated WAC. Let's see how many make the jump after the soon-to-be season.

Kemp, Fields benched today for Nevada's first contest

Coach Mark Fox won't need them but Nevada's best player, Marcelus Kemp and Brandon Fields, a sophomore who is bidding for playing time this season, have been benched for today's game against Seattle Pacific.

Darrell Moody, of the Nevada Appeal, has this information is an article today but he provides no details as to why Kemp and Fields will be held off the court.

Obviously, the question of were Kemp and Fields also at the party where three people were killed and that also resulted in Tyrone Hanson being dropped from the Wolf Pack squad due to his attendance, isn't answered but Steve Sneddon of the Reno Gazette-Journal apparently knows the reason for the benchings and provided it in his article today:

"...On Tuesday, however, during the news conference announcing the dismissal of sophomore guard Tyrone Hanson, Fox said two unnamed players would not play in the exhibition after missing class..."

Kemp is a sixth year player -- yes, you read that correctly -- and a senior who should be demonstrating leadership both on and off the court. Fields has major minutes staring him in the face, even more so with the departure of Hanson, but incuring Fox's wrath is not a path towards greater playing time.

Junior Lyndale Burleson is out for the first semester due to academics. Senior Demarshay Johnson is back this season after missing last year because of grades.

The post-Fazekas era is getting wobbly in Reno.

Steve Cleveland suspends Rekalin Sims

Fresno State Coach Steve Cleveland has suspended forward Rekalin Sims for academic reasons. Sims will miss the first few games of the new season and have his status re-evaluated after that.

Per Gary Estwick's article in the Fresno Bee:

"Senior forward Rekalin Sims, a projected starter on the Fresno State men’s basketball team, is suspended indefinitely after failing to meet the program’s academic standards, coach Steve Cleveland said Saturday afternoon.

Sims will miss Sunday's exhibition against Western Washington, as well as Tuesday’s exhibition against Fresno Pacific and the first three games of the season, Nov. 9-11 in the World Vision Classic at the Save Mart Center. His academic situation will then be re-evaluated, with his return to the Bulldogs contingent upon a renewed obligation to course work, Cleveland said..."

This is absurd selfishness on Sims' part. After high school at De La Salle in northern California, he goes prep school for two years in Maine, then spends two more seasons at Salt Lake City College and finally a wasted year at Kentucky before Cleveland took a chance on him as a one-year transfer -- something most coaches will not do.

Sims is supposed to be one of the team leaders. In fact, Estwick did a Fresno Bee article on October 14 about upperclass leadership on this season's Bulldog squad that contained this ironic quote:

"...Sims and Blair are two of Fresno State's six seniors, all capable of making an impact on this season's team. And for Cleveland, their impact starts with leadership..."

Now this may all be quickly forgotten if Sims gets back on track academically but it's not want the Fresno State coaching staff wants to deal with while trying to get the team ready. The Bulldogs' primary weakness this season is going to be rebounding and Sims' absence exacerbates that concern.

Ah, the life of a college basketball coach...