I was going to keep going on my recaps but after seeing the post-season awards come in I got really irritated, really quick. The Tigers not getting any players on the first team is a pure and simple rip off. Here’s the guys I think got screwed the most in the C-USA post-season awards.

1. Martin Hankins–Martin averaged over 290 yards a game passing in the games he played. Had he played all 12 games he would have passed for over 3500 yards. But you saw all the stats I reeled off earlier this week. His performance was the difference in the Tigers finishing 7-5 instead of another year at the bottom of C-USA. The last six games of the season were not only remarkable but down right OUTSTANDING. Sorry for shouting but this is pretty damn insulting to me. For Martin not to be named as one of the top 3 QB’s in C-USA goes to show you that media members aren’t as smart as they think they are.

2. Carlos Singleton–Carlos is a game changer. His presence on the field changes defenses and embarrasses DBs. There are CB’s still thinking about the nightmare they had trying to cover all six foot eight of him. I dare any media member to name six WR’s better than Carlos in this league.

3. Duke Calhoun–He’s the one they got closest to right. Duke made 2nd team. Apparantly his 850 while splitting snaps isn’t impressive enough to impress hack beat writes in Houston and the other C-USA papers who ignore the league until the end of the year.

4. Tommy West–Yes, I said Tommy West. Coach West revitalized this team to a 7-5 record after starting 2-4. The job he and his staff did taking a program that was 4-14 over 2006 and 2007 to finish 5-1 was nothing short of amazing. These same voters voted the Tigers to finish at BEST 4th in the East as ninth overall in the league. They finished one game out of first in the league. He also did it with 4 LB’s out for the season and 7 new coaches on staff. When Tommy made turned the Tigers around in 2003 he was shunned by the C-USA media and they did it again. Can you name one team that made that much of a turnaround in this league? Please, go ahead, try. You can’t do it because it wasn’t done. I’ve heard they won the conference so that’s why he won it argument. That’s male bovine feces. Was Cal Coach of the Year the last two seasons in basketball? No. But he won the conference on the way to winning 31 of 32 conference games over a two season stretch. Did O’Leary come close to that type of accomplishment?

The media members of C-USA appartantly are as smart as the space their papers give to most of the C-USA schools. Outside of us, Southern Miss and East Carolina the newspapers in home cities of C-USA bury them on the back pages. So I guess it should be expected that they vote blindly and stupidly.

I often get asked how I come up with certain angles to write about after each game. I abide by a very simple philosophy. If I were a fan sitting in the stands watching the game and going to a nearby bar on Beale Street afterwards, what’s the first thing I’d tell somebody who didn’t see the game about what I just saw?

Last night, the thing that stood out to me above all else was the Tigers’ defense. Sure, Memphis has made tons of strides offensively in the past couple weeks. But I just don’t get the sense yet that the players have made a commitment yet to being a lockdown defensive team. When I went in the locker room to interview players and coach John Calipari, the party line seemed to be that the Tigers played good defense and Austin Peay simply made shots.

Sure, statistics can sometimes be misleading. Opponents might have nights where everything seems to go in. But still, 53.6 percent is 53.6 percent, and that’s what Austin Peay shot from the field last night. (FYI, they were shooting 57 percent with 12 minutes to go.) And that comes on the heels of Arkansas State shooting 46.9 percent against the Tigers.

So for comparison’s sake, I went back and looked at last year’s games against the “buy” teams on Memphis’ schedule:

Jackson State: 20-for-61 (32.8%)
Arkansas State: 23-for-53 (43.4%)
Manhattan: 18-for-53 (34.0%)
Austin Peay: 19-for-54 (35.2%)
Middle Tennessee: 18-for-55 (32.7%)
Lamar: 20-for-64 (31.3%)

I think it’s pretty black and white, but feel free to draw your own conclusions.

The forecast here called for rain/snow showers and the temperature fell into a brisk 22 degrees, signaling that winter has already taken hold of Toronto.
But there was a heat wave that blew in if only for a couple of hours.
And Juan Carlos Navarro provided the unusual burst of humidity.

No Grizzly is hotter than the Spanish guard, who could make his fifth start of the season tonight against the Toronto Raptors in Air Canada Centre. Good things usually happen when “La Bomba” is announced in the starting lineup.

He’s averaged 18.5 points on 54 percent shooting (25-of-46 FG), 5 rebounds and 4 assists and 35.1 minutes in four starts. Navarro’s connected on 42 percent of his 3-pointers during that stretch.
Clearly, Navarro prefers to start given he’s done so for at least a decade as a major star with FC Barcelona. Although Navarro’s had a few impressive performances off the bench, he’s averaged just 6.8 points in 10 games as a reserve. After shooting 25 percent (7 of 28) in his first five NBA regular-season games, Navarro’s shot 54 percent (43 of 80) over the past nine games.

“It’s different when you’re used to starting,” Navarro said. “You have more confidence knowing that if you miss one or two shots you can stay in the game. If you play minutes you can create more.”

Playing 30-plus minutes seems to agree with Navarro, who hasn’t been bother by the general size and strength of NBA guards. Watching Navarro makes one appreciate his skill set – a savvy shooter, who can create enough space to quickly launch 3-pointers, and a crafty ballhandler with uncanny court vision to set up teammates with nifty passes.
“When they’re stronger,” he said, “I try to be quicker and smarter.”

Proof is that Navarro’s performed well as a starter opposite proven NBA shooting guards such as Vince Carter, Michael Finley, DeShawn Stevenson and Jerry Stackhouse.

“We weren’t sure if Juan Carlos could matchup with some guys,” Griz head coach Marc Iavaroni said. “But we’ve realized that he’s a fighter. He’s not going to back down and we feel like that it could be a mismatch in our way. When we get out and run and he’s playing at the three-point line and making plays.”

Teammates are routinely impressed with Navarro’s adaptation to the speed of the NBA game.
“He’s starting to find himself, and he’s getting better in every aspect of the game,” backup point guard Kyle Lowry said. “He can shoot the ball with the best of them. He’s a confident player.”
The Griz may have to concede that Navarro isn’t as suited to do what Mike Miller did when he won the NBA’s 2005-06 Sixth Man of the Year. Navarro could challenge for the Rookie of the Year trophy, and it may take starter’s minutes to achieve that.
“He thinks like a starter,” Iavaroni said.

DARKO UPDATE: Inexplicably, the Griz are being quite coy regarding center Darko Milicic’s sprained left thumb. He’s missed the past six games, and isn’t expected to play before Saturday. One coach explained to me that keeping Milicic’s status as “day-to-day” keeps the opposition preparing for the Griz with their bruiser in mind.
Well, OK.
This much is true: The Griz are very concerned about the injury because it’s something that likely will bother Milicic all season.

DECEMBER DELIGHT: After playing eight of their first 15 games on the road, and five sets of back-to-backs, the Grizzlies are getting set for a friendlier December. They’ll play nine of 15 games at home next month, beginning Saturday when Minnesota visits to FedExForum.

Conference USA needs to look at how it conducts its post-season voting for all-league teams.

Its release earlier this week of the all-conference teams had several glaring omissions, including the absence of a player from either East Carolina or Memphis on the first team offense and defense. East Carolina and Memphis finished 6-2 in the East Division, tied for second behind division winner Central Florida.

To borrow a line from the FedEx/Paintball commercial, `How could that happen?’

Unfortunately, several who vote for the all-conference teams are not being responsible and thorough, which is a travesty for those players who are deserving. Memphis had an offensive lineman, Brandon Pearce, who earned first-team honors during the preseason, but was not on either the first or second teams.

While it had no player make first- or second-team defense, East Carolina wasn’t shut out. Kick-return specialist Chris Johnson earned first-team Special Teams recognition.

And the omission of Memphis quarterback Martin Hankins from the second-team offense seemed a mistake, too. Rice’s Chase Clements earned a spot on the second team. He had respectable numbers (3,377 yards, 29 touchdowns, 16 interceptions), but the Owls finished 3-9. Hankins basically matched Clements’ production (2,939 yards, 22 touchdowns, 12 interceptions) and did so in two fewer games, while being largely responsible for the U of M’s second-half march to a bowl game.

C-USA will attempt to correct the omissions with its second all-conference team, this one voted on by coaches. It will be released next week.

But why confuse the public with two teams. Mix the voting of willing, committed media members in league cities with the coaches’ input and announce one representative team. That would go a long way toward solving the problem and making sure deserving players aren’t overlooked.

THE BIG STORY

Two head coaches known for their high-powered offenses have emerged as potential candidates to replace Houston Nutt, who was criticized during his tenure at Arkansas for being too conservative with his playcalling.

A source familiar with the situation told the Northwest Arkansas Times on Tuesday that Oakland Raiders coach Lane Kiffin could be a good fit for the Razorbacks. The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Kiffin has wanted to coach at the college level.

Kiffin is in his first season with the Raiders, but there is talk that he might be unhappy with the situation. Oakland is 3-8 this season, and the team has had quarterback issues despite using its first overall pick last April to draft former LSU signal-caller JaMarcus Russell.

Kiffin is no stranger to Arkansas. His father, Monte Kiffin, served as a defensive coordinator on Lou Holtz’ staff from 1977-79.

In addition, Kiffin was the offensive coordinator at the University of Southern California when the Trojans routed the Hogs 70-17 in 2005 and then 50-14 in Reynolds Razorback Stadium a year ago.

Kiffin, whose job security with the Raiders has been questioned as recently as last week, signed a three-year contract with Oakland in January.

Texas Tech coach Mike Leach, known for his record-breaking, pass-friendly offense, has also been mentioned as a possible candidate to replace Nutt.

Leach, a former Kentucky assistant coach, has also been rumored to be interested in taking over at UCLA if coach Karl Dorrell is fired.

Incoming Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long, who will officially assume control when Frank Broyles retires at the end of the year, is handling the national search to find Nutt’s replacement.

But Long has remained quiet since Nutt announced Monday night that he was resigning after 10 seasons at Arkansas because the intense scrutiny from fans was taking a toll on his family.

Nutt reportedly agreed to a contract late Monday night to be Ole Miss’ new coach, and he will be introduced at a news conference today in Oxford, Miss.

Long, meanwhile, attended Nutt’s farewell news conference, but he was not made available to the media. He didn’t speak with reporters Tuesday, either.

Though his last day on the job is not until Dec. 31, Broyles said he will not have a part in looking for Arkansas’ next coach.

“I don’t think that I will be asked. I don’t think that I’ll be included in anything,” Broyles said Tuesday. “I think that’s the proper way to do it.”

Broyles declined to comment when asked if he would like to be involved in the search to find Nutt’s replacement.

Jim Lindsey, a high-profile member of Arkansas’ Board of Trustees, said Tuesday that he also won’t be involved in the coaching search. In the past, Lindsey has had a say in other Arkansas athletic issues.

“I’m going to sit back, and if I’m asked at the highest level, I’ll give my opinion,” Linsey said. “I’m not just going to talk about it (with Long).”

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