We can’t wait until the season — training camps, even — begins and we can mention something about Dwight Howard that involves his game, not Orlando. His back rehab is what really has us the most interested right now because the Lakers need all the time together they can get to build the elusive chemistry every great team needs. Read More »

I don’t know how the Billy Gillispie mutiny will be resolved in Lubbock, but as Dime wrote in Smack last night, it’s very rare — and thus troubling for the coach’s future — that players are so public with their disdain for a coach. It’s ominous a season after going 1-17 in conference play. Today, ESPN added that Texas Tech’s leading scorer has announced he doesn’t want Gillispie back – Jordan Tolbert even goes as far as saying “we do need a coach.” But at least he has backers, and big ones at that: Gillispie’s peers and former players, Bill Self and Deron Williams included, are coming out just as publicly in support, unwilling to cede the spotlight to the disenfranchised. It reminded me of the last team mutiny in basketball I’d seen — but in this case, it seemed like no one had John Kuester‘s back. Read More »

The Suns had a grand plan all this time, the team said, and this season’s offseason moves were the culmination of deals they were eyeing since 2010. The Arizona Republic offered an interesting look inside the mind of Lon Babby‘s goal for the team, which — it doesn’t seem this long ago — was in three of six Western Conference Finals (last in just 2010). Read More »

The East could be tougher than it was a season ago, with Brooklyn aiming to break into the top-four conversation, Indiana retaining its core and Miami still the reigning world champions while adding a veteran winner in Ray Allen. Rajon Rondo believes Boston belongs at the very start of that conversation. Rondo was at a sponsor’s event in Hong Kong while he makes his way to the Philippines, and said, “”We have high expectations every year… I think we got a lot better than last year.” Read More »

Lubbock, Texas, worked out well as the home for one name-brand college coach before after a disgraceful exit elsewhere. Just one season in at Texas Tech on a five-year contract, Billy Gillispie isn’t enjoying the kind of rebound Bobby Knight felt with the Red Raiders. Reports from both ESPN and CBS have said multiple team members met with the school’s athletic director to discuss their unhappiness with Gillispie, the former (short-lived) Kentucky coach, because of poor treatment. The players initially were called in to confirm how long they were practicing, but the issues go deeper than that. Read More »

Billy Gillispie should really just leave the state of Kentucky. Between a dismal season (by Kentucky standards) to getting fired to suing the school for breach of contract – it’s fair to say his time in the blue grass state has not been one of the better experiences of his life. Getting busted for a DUI just 30 miles outside of Lexington, KY last night definitely added insult to injury. Read More »

It’s official, Coach Cal‘s going to Lexington. As we wrote earlier, he could end up having a flat-out ridiculous squad when March Madness rolls around if everything works out. One more time, here’s Calipari’s ideal situation:

* Kentucky’s two recruits, Rivals’ No. 22 overall C Daniel Orton and No. 32 overall SG/SF Jon Hood don’t ditch the program now that Billy Gillispie‘s gone. Read More »

Here are some reasons to coach at the University of Kentucky right now: (1) Ashley Judd. (2) An administration with bottomless pockets. (3) Tradition. (4) The opportunity to be seen as the savior of a program with all the necessary pieces for success. So what if the fan base is never satisfied?

John Calipari has done everything he could possibly do at the University of Memphis without getting the school picked up by a high-major conference. With Tyreke Evans bound for the NBA Draft in all likeliness, Cal needs to pack his bags and head to Lexington. Read More »