Some Valley Notes

Osiris Eldridge worked out with the Suns on Wednesday, but no word how he did...same is true for his Monday workout with the Bulls....
you'd have to think if it went well, we'd have heard something.

When Dinma Odiakosa worked out for the Grizzlies, there was a lot on how he did...
http://www.nba.com/grizzlies/video/2010/06/01/WorkoutsDay1-1334862

..although this guy basically says Dimna's chances are zip...as are Koshwal's
"Koshwal and Odiakosa looked like the workout fodder they were brought here to be"
http://blogs.commercialappeal.com/the_memphis_edge/2010/06/5-questions-about-grizzlies-draft-workout-10.html

DraftExpress.com listed the TOP 100 draft prospects from the players available...and guess what...
Neither Osiris Eldridge nor Dinma Odiakosa were among the 100.


More legal issues at SIU -- this time Justin Bocot...
The SIU press hasn't picked up on it but it's in the justice system's database...

05/28/2010 Complaint in Forcible Entry and Detainer filed. Summons issued.
05/24/2010 **Complaint filed on 05/28/2010.

Case No. 2010LM210 BOCOT, JUSTIN
Case Information
Case 2010LM210
Case Category Civil Case Type - Subtype LM -
304 Law (LM) - Forcible Entry and Detainer
Other Litigants
Role Name
Defendant/Respondent STEVENS, CHRISTOPHER
Defendant/Respondent JOHNSON, BARRY
Plaintiff/Petitioner LEWIS PARK APARTMENTS
Litigant Information
Full Name BOCOT, JUSTIN
Date of Birth Role Defendant/Respondent Physical File Location
Impounded No Initial Open Date 05/28/2010 Initial Close Date
Suppress Minutes No Reopen Date Reclose Date
None
Identification
None
Address
Street 1 800 E GRAND AVE 33F
City CARBONDALE State IL Postal Code 629010000
Country
Phone Numbers
None
Hearings
Type: 7 - Forcible detainer
Date: 06/16/2010
Time: 09:00
Judge: GRACE
Location: Rm 4

http://judici.com/courts/cases/case_information.jsp?court=IL039015J&ocl=IL039015J,2010LM210,IL039015JL2010LM210D2
http://judici.com/courts/cases/case_history.jsp?court=IL039015J&ocl=IL039015J,2010LM210,IL039015JL2010LM210D2


BTW - Bocot is under a full scholarship - so it is a bit puzzling that somehow it appears he has his own apartment off campus as well...and I think there actually is more to this story than meets the eye...

Also - BTW - when SIU's Ryan Hare had his legal issues, he was also sued by an apartment complex...
http://judici.com/courts/cases/case_information.jsp?court=IL039015J&ocl=IL039015J,2009LM447,IL039015JL2009LM447D1

..and interestingly the law regarded "Forcible Entry and Detainer" as well as
"Criminal Felony"
http://judici.com/courts/cases/case_information.jsp?court=IL039015J&ocl=IL039015J,2009CF540,IL039015JL2009CF540D1
http://judici.com/courts/cases/case_dispositions.jsp?court=IL039015J&ocl=IL039015J,2009CF540,IL039015JL2009CF540D1

...so, go figure......Hare was also served with "Forcible Entry" but also with a felony at the same time...
..as noted in regards to the assistant coach's charges (DUI for Marcus Belcher) stemming from a DUI on May 5, that if there's a criminal component to this whole issue, those details do not seem to make it into the database as quickly and took 3 weeks in Belcher's case.


Creighton lands a transfer from Gonzaga......here are the details.......
Grant Gibbs could still surprise everyone and be pretty good, but it's hard to use his numbers to make that argument...
And quite honestly - he's almost a perfect example, just like Devan Bawinkel & Stan Simpson - of a kid who thought his talent was better than it was and he aimed too high...way too high and had little chance of playing at the level Gonzaga plays, even though they're still just a good mid-major...
Gibbs was rated by some as Top 100 coming out of high school, going to Gonzaga - but you gotta wonder would he have been rated the same had he verballed out of HS to a Valley school - I believe not...most legitimate sites had him way below that and pegged as a mid-major prospect..
(but then the very same gurus pegged Anthony Booker going to SIU as the best scorer and biggest "steal" among kids going to mid-majors!)

Gibbs has been injured a lot and has already used a redshirt year......which shows that if he's willing to sit out even another year just to get out of Gonzaga, he obviously knows he's never gonna play there and wants out badly or perhaps was told he's never gonna play there, so he sees the writing on the wall......

At Gonzaga for two years, he's played 24 games, is 19-44 from the floor (43%), 6-19 from 3-pt (31.6%), only hits 47% on free throws - pretty amazingly low, and for a big guard really doesn't add many rebounds or assists either...and averages a whopping 2.2 ppg even though he did play almost 10 mpg...
his points per minutes played was least of any player who played more than 3 mpg at Gonzaga...

Creighton also issues a press release now that their coaching staff has all been hired...
http://www.gocreighton.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=1000&ATCLID=204954693

This HAS TO BE one of the LEAST racially diverse D-I coaching staffs I have seen....they're all blond white guys except Crawford...and he's in a non-recruiting position and cannot be off campus recruiting as "Dir. of Basketball Operations".
Maybe that's all they're interested in recruiting...the Korver types...like Grant Gibbs or McDermott's own son...??


Then - in regard to why someone needs to keep blogging about the injustices of the NCAA....
someone's gotta do it....just for the sake of pointing out the inequity and unfairness of the NCAA

But - honestly I think it is actually working...and my examples are the many other major media people, especially the YahooSports people who have done a fine job recently trumpeting the massive violations at the big schools that the NCAA was ignoring...literally forcing NCAA into some action....
I kinda feel like this is a grassroots movement of bloggers and a few media folks asking for justice and fairness.

Also - by calling out those who pick on minor issues --- really, really minor things and try blow them into issues, I think we have embarrassed them and shut them up...
example there -- is when was the last time some national blogger picked on BU and called them a renegade program? Well, not only has it been a couple years, but those who did try to make a point of BU's minor problems have disgraced themselves with their idiocy and silliness and have totally missed the major stories like the ones going on at KU, UK, USC, UConn, etc...in fact they've gone a few steps further and disgraced themselves completely out of even being relevant...nobody even goes to that site any more and even trying to read the guy's ongoing rants makes you nauseated.
Likewise...the local press that was so prone to blowing a jaywalking violation on Bradley's campus into a 911-type story - they've been a whole lot friendlier to BU & BU's fans knowing that most Bradley fans now get their info online and not at the PJS any more.


NCAA is supposed to announce their findings on USC today -- but it really doesn't matter! No matter what the findings are, they're gonna give USC many years to mount a response, then multiple appeals, then finally when the penalty phase arrives several years down the road, they will sob and say poor USC has suffered enough and they will announce tiny, meaningless penalties.


The frenzy to fill open scholarships this time of year leads to some interesting stories.......
..suddenly a "top" PG prospect (Class of 2011) decommits from Keno Davis and Providence and is back on the market...
in the first day since decommitting - he's heard from dozens of schools......including "a number of high major programs".

The kid is 5-11, 150 lbs, and of course Tom Crean was camped on the kid's doorstep within milliseconds of his announcement..
http://scouthoops.scout.com/a.z?s=75&p=8&c=1&nid=3819811
http://scouthoops.scout.com/2/974573.html

Tharpe was originally a Class of 2010 but moved to prep school to repeat his junior season - when he got virtually no interest nor offers while in HS.
Even after his first year at prep school - the kid still had only two offers
http://scouthoops.scout.com/2/945150.html


But now the frenzy gets even funnier...
the fans on the Indiana Hoosier board are going gaga over this kid like maybe he's the next coming of Eric Gordon!!!
I'ts always nice to get a little laugh each morning...
http://indiana.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=731&tid=143630300&mid=143630300&sid=942&style=2


Speaking of a good laugh...I also got a chuckle from this column that said maybe Northern Iowa and a few other mid-majors would team up with Kansas and the other road kill from the Big 12 and form yet a new mega-midwest conference...
yeah....right.......
http://uponfurtherreview.kansascity.com/?q=node/2221

They were postulating a HEARTLAND conference that would include Kansas, Kansas St., Memphis, and Iowa St...
but also it would include Northern Iowa, UAB, So. Miss., Butler, and Dayton!!!!
Thanks... ..someone tell me....how's Butler's football team been doing lately??
Kansas should have some toruble with them, huh???
http://bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?p=183758#post183758