Though he admitted Wednesday to still being jetlagged from his trans-Pacific travels, I’ve rarely seen John Calipari in better spirits. I think there were a few things factoring into his mood.

For one, Calipari was still on a high about the agreement with China, which received tons of coverage nationally and has been toasted as a triumph both for him personally and the University of Memphis. Also, Calipari was just happy to be back in the gym with his team and actually get two hours of real practice in Wednesday afternoon. “I felt good being out there,” he said. (To refresh: The NCAA allows coaches to spend two hours a week with their players during the offseason until the official start of practice on Oct. 12.). Though Memphis missed upwards of 80 layups during the practice and didn’t shoot particularly well overall, the effort, the enthusiasm and the level of playmaking was remarkably high given how early it is. In fact, at the end of practice, Calipari even mentioned to his players that he was impressed given that the calendar still hasn’t turned over to October yet.

My sense was that Calipari was also happy about the way recruiting has been going, given that he was out on the road Sunday, Monday and Tuesday after returning from China. He confirmed that was indeed the case. Though he can’t talk specifically about players, he said he was genuinely excited about what might develop over the next few weeks in the 2008 recruiting class, which at this point includes only Angel Garcia. It’s clear Memphis is looking to get two or perhaps three more players to round out the class.

A couple notes:
– Memphis had a couple media visitors Wednesday. John Akers from the Basketball Times is in town working on preseason stories about Memphis. Luke Cyphers from ESPN the Magazine was also there to interview Derrick Rose for a feature story.

– After Calipari’s press conference about the China trip on Wednesday, he was asked whether this five-year agreement should put an end to speculation about how long he’ll stay at Memphis. “My wife asked me, ‘What does this mean?’” Calipari said. “I said, ‘It means we’re locked in.’” I’ve only been in Memphis for a year, but I’ve been around long enough to know one thing: I wouldn’t jump to any conclusions based on that answer.

The pre-season officially kicks off on Sept. 29th when training camp opens but already the buzz is starting to pick up over the internet. For those devout fans interested in reading about your Grizzlies and what they are doing (and in one case dealing with) here are your links:

1) 3 Shades of Blue did a little investigative reporting on why Mark Price was working out with the team the other day and found out some very interesting information. The article is nearly buried already on the sight with more news but it is titled Mark Price Shoots Straight.

2) Thanks goes out to the Memphis Grizzlies message board and Grizz777 for finding an incredible YouTube clip of Mike Conley working out. You can see it on YouTube but be warned, if you are old and feeble like me you could throw out your back just imagining doing the dribbling stunts he does in the video.

3) 3 Shades of Blue via AOL Fanhouse also reported that Damon Stoudamire apparently isn’t out of the long grasp of the law yet for the 2003 altercation with aiirport police. Apparently he didn’t realize that hiding things in aluminum foil won’t fool metal detectors!
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Though there aren’t any real surprises, the bracket for the 2k Sports College Hoops Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer is finally out.

Richmond, Maine and UT-Martin are the three other teams that will play in the Memphis regional, with the Tigers getting UT-Martin first on Nov. 5. Assuming Memphis wins that game — and there’s no reason to believe it shouldn’t — the Tigers will likely face Richmond the next night with a trip to New York on the line. (One sidenote: The Richmond-Maine game tips off at the highly unusual time of 3 p.m. on a Monday afternoon.) I am a bit familiar with Richmond simply because of its head coach, Chris Mooney, who I covered when he was at Air Force. Mooney played at Princeton and is a devout disciple of the Pete Carril/Bill Carmody/Joe Scott-style Princeton lineage. Though I certainly wouldn’t expect a young Richmond team to hang with Memphis, that can be a very difficult style to play against, especially in the second game of the season when you’re still trying to get organized.

Assuming the Tigers handle Richmond, it looks like they’ll get Oklahoma for the semifinals in New York. That would be a rematch of their first-round game in last year’s EA Sports Maui Invitational. Memphis didn’t have too much trouble in that game, winning 77-65, but Oklahoma should be an improved team in its second year under Jeff Capel and with McDonald’s All-American Blake Griffin coming aboard. His older brother, Taylor Griffin, was the one player who really hurt Memphis in last year’s meeting with 16 points and 10 rebounds and returns for his junior season.

It wouldn’t surprise anybody if Memphis gets another Maui rematch in the championship game against Kentucky. Then again, it might be UConn, and who wouldn’t love to see a John Calipari-Jim Calhoun matchup in the finals? If you haven’t heard, those two guys don’t like each other very much.

THE BIG STORY

Florida receiver Percy Harvin is trying to fight through a hip pointer to be ready for Saturday’s game against Auburn.

The Gainesville Sun reported that Harvin missed part of Tuesday’s practice. Florida coach Urban Meyer said he expects Harvin to recover in time for Saturday’s game. Harvin first hurt the hip last Saturday at Ole Miss.

“We think we’re going to get him back (today),” Meyer said. “Takes about two or three days, but he’ll be a go on Saturday, for sure. He’s got it where he got hit in the hip in the game. He was out here for three-fourths of (practice) and then they took him in for treatment.”

Harvin, who has been relied on more heavily since senior Andre Caldwell went down with a sprained knee two weeks ago, leads Florida receivers in yards (336) and is tied with Riley Cooper for the lead in touchdowns (three). Harvin is coming off an 11-catch, 121-yard game against the Rebels.

“It’s a concern because he’s missing practice,” Meyer said. “He plays better when he practices. He’s killing himself trying to get back. They had him running, he wasn’t even supposed to run today but he was fighting through it. I’ve coached guys with hip pointers before. He’ll be fine. I just worry about missing practice.”

Meyer said Tuesday that Caldwell likely won’t play against Auburn. Sophomore cornerback Markihe Anderson (knee sprain) also will be out. Freshman starting guard Maurkice Pouncey (ankle) is expected back and kicker Joey Ijjas (quad muscle) should be OK for Saturday.

A look at the league: Read the rest of this entry »