CBS’ Doyel has the guts to step back from the controversy trap

Good journalism isn’t easy.

That’s especially true when a juicy story comes along that’s sure to rile up the masses, generating lots of readers and charged opinions. Those stories force editors and reporters to make critical decisions about the validity of sources and effort required to seek comment from an opposing side.

In the emerging brouhaha about the transfer of Todd O’Brien from Saint Joseph’s to UAB, we have an awful lot of information spewing from the O’Brien side and almost nothing from the Hawks’ side.

If you missed the background, Sports Illustrated’s website ran a lengthy column by O’Brien, who outlined his journey through college basketball, which has landed him at UAB as a graduated senior with one remaining year of eligibility. However, before O’Brien can play for the Blazers, Saint Joseph’s must grant him a full release from his scholarship. And supposedly coach Phil Martelli refuses to do so. Without that release, O’Brien won’t play college hoops again.

Frankly, it’s hard to imagine a legitimate reason for not letting a guy play, especially for a team in a different conference and not on the Hawks’ schedule. But that’s not the point.

As the media outcry has sided with O’Brien — who is seeking legal recourse to force his way onto the court — only a handful of commentators have taken a measured approach to this story. So I tip my hat to CBS Sports’ Gregg Doyel, a man with plenty of strong opinions, for leaping into the fray waiving a gigantic caution flag.

While everyone is crying foul, Doyel cried, “Wait!” He rightfully observed that Saint Joseph’s is remaining mum because they are respecting student-athletes’ privacy. The bottom line is we don’t know the Saint Joseph’s side of the story, and we might not for some time. So it’s presumptuous at best and flat-out wrong at worst to side with the supposed victim in this story.

Of course, it’s far less engaging to remain on the fence when others are going all in and calling for Martelli’s ouster. That bloodlust is unhealthy and not reflective of this country’s innocent-until-PROVEN-guilty judicial system. If mob rule dictated justice, we’d have a lot of major mistakes to apologize for whenever we learned the truth — if we ever learned the truth.

A good journalist’s duty is to present clear, accurate and precise information. Commentators who espouse opinions based on incomplete information aren’t doing anyone any good. As unsexy as it may be, we all need to follow Doyel’s lead and wait and see. Let the established rules play out in the NCAA, and if the courts get involved, let the state and local laws as interpreted by the courts decide the matter.

But there’s no need to call for Martelli’s head on a platter until there’s substantiated evidence that he acted like a callous, vindictive control freak.

We go coast to coast with news from around the college basketball nation.

Kentucky had no problems getting past Samford, 82-50, even without Terrence Jones, who missed the game to recuperate from a dislocated pinky, writes the Associated Press’ Colin Fly.

California will be without one its big men this week as sophomore Richard Solomon recovers from a left foot injury, writes Diamond Leung for ESPN.com’s “College Basketball Nation” blog. The sophomore forward is one of the team’s best rebounders, averaging 6.9 rpg, and he’ll miss at least the team’s games against UNLV Dec. 23.

Miami will get back DeQuan Jones, who figured to play a bigger role for the Hurricanes this season — if for no other reason than he’s one of the bigger players on the teams. Jones missed the first month and a half of the season because the school suspended him for the season while the NCAA investigated his possible involvement in the recruiting scandal that has rocked the university. However, according to an Associated Press report, the Hurricanes have reversed that decision, and Jones could be back in the lineup as early as this week.

Some tech-savvy pranksters punked Oregon’s website Sunday night and Monday morning, writes the Washington Post’s Steve Yanda, and the hackers posted some disparaging comments about Virginia that were attributed to Oregon coach Dana Altman. The Ducks lost to the Cavaliers 67-54, and the hacker made up comments ranging from Mike Scott’s hair to the Ducks’ pregame meal. Oregon apologized to the Cavaliers for the malfeasance.

New Mexico State is bringing suspended guard Christian Kabongo back into the fold after the sophomore had been suspended for two games for making obscene gestures in a game against UTEP, writes ESPN.com’s Diamond Leung for the “College Basketball Nation” blog.

NCAA Division I programs couldn’t get enough support to overturn a rule that bans universities from hosting high school prep tournaments, according to an Associated Press report.

Houston boosters might have lost as much as 40 percent of their investments in the David Salinas Ponzi scheme affair, according to the Associated Press. Salinas committed suicide last year, a few weeks before the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit that detailed the deceptive investments and behavior that swindled a bunch of Division I programs and coaches.

UAB off to a rough start

UAB has dropped its first two home games this season. The Blazers’ first loss was to the Creighton Bluejays, 70-60. Three Blazers scored in double digits. Ovie Soko had 10, while Jordan Swing and Jekore Tyler both had 14.

The second loss came at the hands of Murray State, 62-55. Cameron Moore recorded a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Soko chipped in with nine rebounds and 10 assists. No other UAB players scored or rebounded in double digits.

One of the Blazers’ biggest problems has been 3-point shooting. Over two games, UAB is shooting 22.6 percent from behind the arc. This must change as 3-pointers account for 30 percent of the shots they take.

Turnovers have also been an issue. Against Creighton, the Blazers had 18 turnovers. They didn’t fare much better against Murray State, recording 14.

These issues must be addressed quickly. UAB still has a chance to put together a good season, but the Blazers are going to have play at a much higher level.

UAB Blazers 2011-12 Preview

UAB Blazers (22-8, 12-4)

Projected starting five:

Sr. F Camerone Moore
Jr. F Ovie Soko
So. G Preston Purifoy
So. G Quincy Taylor
Fr. G Isiah Jones

Important departures:

Jamarr Sanders: 17.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 38.5 percent from 3-point range
Aaron Johnson: 11.8 ppg, 7.7 apg

Additions:

Two-star SG K.C. Whitaker
Two-star SG Isiah Jones

% returning scoring and rebounding:

Scoring: 46.3 percent
Rebounding: 72.9 percent

Schedule highlights

Key nonconference game: at Florida, Jan. 3
Key conference stretch: vs. Memphis Jan. 7, vs. Marshall Jan. 11

Outlook:

Last season Mike Davis did what he does best: He took a depleted UAB further than anyone predicted. They were crowned C-USA’s regular-season champions and earned an invitation to the NCAA Tournament. Although ranking UAB third might seem high now, it’s never a good idea to count them out.

Prediction: Third

Next: UCF Knights

Back to Conference USA preview

Weekend Tournament Quick Hitters

We have some quick hitters from Friday and Saturday at the NIT Season Tip-Off and Philly Hoop Group Classic, respectively.

NIT Season Tip-Off

• Tyrese Rice didn’t score in the first half of Friday’s win over UAB for Boston College. But he came alive after intermission, scoring all of his 24 points after intermission. While being on the floor was the first part of that, he also got help from his teammates, and not the kind that shows up in the stat sheet. Simply put, the Eagles moved the ball better in the second frame, and that changed everything at the offensive end. “It really started on the defensive end because of the stops, and then the others because our wings consistently ran hard and got up the floor,” said head coach Al Skinner. “And then created some openings, some opportunities for him, and of course, you know, he made some shots.”
• The Eagles also got a nice effort from improving freshman Reggie Jackson. An exceptional athlete, Jackson looks like the classic athlete who doesn’t know the game yet, but his improvement is noticeable. At times in the first half, he kept the Eagles in the game, setting up their second half run.
• A questionable call late in the championship game didn’t end with the call itself. Oklahoma was given a timeout after a 50-50 ball was up in the air, at a point where it seemed no one had possession as it came down. From what Purdue head coach Matt Painter shared after the game, the explanation he heard from the official was even more questionable. “You know,” Painter began, “to me sometimes things don’t go your way, but the explanation to me is still baffling. He said to me it was an inadvertent whistle, and so the ball now went to the possession arrow, and then Oklahoma had the possession arrow, so that’s why they had it.”
• While an obvious bright spot for Purdue was the play of Nemanja Calason off the bench, a more noteworthy one was that of freshman point guard Lewis Jackson, who scored 10 points and handed out four assists in 22 minutes. He showed that he’s capable of really making this team go, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he starts before the season is over.

Philly Hoop Group Classic

• While NJIT’s losing streak gets plenty of attention, Monmouth also entered Saturday’s game without a win. They were 0-6, albeit against a very difficult schedule, so they were happy to get a win. The least difficult opponent they had played before Saturday is probably FIU, and that was a road game against a team not lacking in talent that has been hit by injuries.
• The biggest message Hartford head coach Dan Leibovitz gave his players after being thoroughly blown out by Niagara on Saturday is simple.   “They just took our aggressiveness completely away,” Leibovitz remarked after the game.   Not helping was the foul trouble of Michael Turner, their best defender and a real competitor. Turner fouled out early, then picked up a technical foul right after his fifth foul. While his presence alone wasn’t going to reverse a 40-point defeat, Leibovitz summed up his importance very succinctly: “Without Mike, our defense is out the window, plain and simple.”
• A couple of notes are in order about Niagara’s 103-63 win over Hartford. It is the largest margin of victory in the young Philly Hoop Group Classic’s history, and it also marked the first time they reached 100 points in a game in three years. The night before, they held a team below 50 points for the first time since 2002.
• While a lack of energy didn’t help, Towson clearly looked like a team trying to integrate four new starters into the lineup on offense on Saturday. The offense seemed to lack direction and the team as a whole looked lost on the court. Symbolic of the game was a play where Tony Durant moved after setting a pick, but didn’t look for a pass as the ball hit him in the back and led to an easy Penn State transition layup.  “With six new guys in the top seven or eight, at times our offense looks like it’s just chugging along, and we are,” head coach Pat Kennedy said. “It’s more of what we’ve got to correct offensively, and keep our defensive intensity up. Once we do, we’ll be in great shape.”
• Penn State’s backcourt of Talor Battle and Stanley Pringle is better than advertised. But the real key is going to be the play up front, and on Saturday the Nittany Lions got a nice effort from Andrew Jones and Jeff Brooks. Jones had eight points and 13 rebounds, while Brooks had six and five in 15 minutes off the bench.
• While it wasn’t quite the display he put on at Duke, Rhode Island guard Jimmy Baron certainly had fans buzzing with some of the shots he hit in the loss to Villanova. Whether it was a couple of deep threes, or off-balance mid-range shots as the shot clock ran down, fans who had heard about but never saw him were impressed by his 23-point effort on 8-15 shooting.
• Teams already committed for next year’s event include Delaware, St. John’s, Temple and Virginia Tech.

NIT Season Tip-Off Notes

NEW YORK – The pre-Season NIT gave us four solid teams for the Thanksgiving week event at Madison Square Garden. Oklahoma captured the championship over Purdue in an overtime contest that had March-like intensity. Taking a look back, each team did several things well yet needs other areas to be addressed.

Semifinals
Purdue 71, Boston College 64
Oklahoma 77, UAB 67

Consolation
Boston College 83, UAB 77

Final
Oklahoma 87, Purdue 82 (OT)

Boston College

What they did well: Bounce back from a tough semifinal loss. They competed well in the semifinal loss to Purdue, but with a relatively young team the disappointment of losing and getting back on track is a challenge. And they responded with a nice win over UAB in the consolation. They rebound and hit the glass hard, something that had Purdue coach Matt Painter concerned. And in Tyrese Rice they have an outstanding player who can literally change the course of a game, as he did in the consolation against UAB.

What they need: Something they showed in that consolation win over UAB. Simply. patience. Especially in running their sets. They were guilty in the second half of the Purdue game of what did what coach Al Skinner calls “over-aggressiveness on offense.” Basically, Skinner was saying the Eagles didn’t run their offense through and went one on one too early in the set. They got the message and it showed against UAB. “We talked about calming ourselves and not being in a hurry,” Skinner said. “We slowed down, saw the floor better and cut down on turnovers.”

UAB

What they did well: Use athleticism to their advantage. UAB is a not a half court, grind-it-out team with a number of wide bodies. They thrive in transition. Good ball movement and penetration are their strengths and they showed both, especially in the first half of the semifinal matchup with Oklahoma. Lawrence Kinnard, a 6-8 forward, can play inside or out. Robert Vaden is a talented swingman and Paul Delaney III can score, run the team and defend. This is a group, big men included, which can all get out and run the floor.

What they need: Toughness. Even coach Mike Davis stressed this following the consolation loss to Boston College. Against Oklahoma it was a case of being worn down by the Sooner size and too much Blake Griffin. The Eagles of BC brought another challenge in the form of Tyrese Rice. “We knew (Rice) could go off,” Davis said, “and he did.” Scoreless in seven first half minutes and with two fouls, Rice exploded the second half with 24 points to lead the Eagles. Paul Delaney III, UAB’s best backcourt defender, missed the BC game with an injury. Regardless, Davis wouldn’t use or accept this as an excuse. Part of that toughness Davis alluded to is the ability to rise and respond to the challenge of a great player like Rice. “We’ll just go back and watch film,” Davis said, “and try to get better from all this.”

Purdue

What they did well: Defend and take care of the ball. Well, for the most part. The Boilermakers play a tough man-to-man defense with sound principles and good communication. In the latter part of the Oklahoma game there were breakdowns. The Boilermakers are not susceptible to the ill-fated turnovers. They have a versatile big man in Robbie Hummel who can play on the perimeter or inside. E’twaun Moore is a good perimeter shooter who can go on a game-changing streak. They looked very sound in their win over Boston College. In the final they were doing a lot of the same until the last eight minutes and overtime.

What they need: Consistent help from another big man. Robbie Hummel is a good player but the 6-8 forward could use a hand, especially in the paint. In the semifinal JaJuan Johnson did a nice job posting up inside and working near the basket, but in the final he was a virtual non-factor. On the other hand Nemanja Calasan had a big game for the Boilers in the final. Calasan, a senior forward, had 20 points and 8 rebounds to go along with the unenviable job of defending Blake Griffin down on the blocks. Purdue needs either Johnson or Carolan, preferably both, to step up on a consistent basis.

Oklahoma

What they did well: Maintain poise. In the first half against UAB, the Sooners trailed. They regrouped in the second half and gradually wore the Blazers down in the semifinal meeting. Purdue offered a more rigorous test. Oklahoma was down nine with less than eight minutes to go. Again, they didn’t panic, and possession by possession trimmed the lead to force overtime. In the extra session they sealed the verdict to earn the championship. “They were in a rhythm,” Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel said, referring to Purdue, “and our guys just kept responding and found a way to get going.” A big part of that poise factor was Blake Griffin. The outstanding Sooner sophomore had better games per Capel but did not force anything all afternoon.

What they need: Something they received the latter stages of the Purdue contest. Balance. With marquee player and inside threat extraordinaire Blake Griffin (18 points, 21 boards) doubled down on the blocks, the Sooners didn’t force the issue. Rather they utilized the guards, notably Willie Warren (22 points), to penetrate and take advantage of the extra attention afforded Blake Griffin. In addition, Blake’s older brother Taylor, “played like a senior,” in the words of Capel. The elder Griffin’s contributions as well as good guard play is something Capel’s team will require on a regular basis.

Tournament MVP: Blake Griffin, Oklahoma

All-Tournament:
Taylor Griffin,Oklahoma
Tyrese Rice, Boston College
Lawrence Kinnard, UAB
E’Twaun Moore, Purdue