• Thursday recap

    Recapping Thursday for ya......

    Ok, for the second day in a row, we have to lead off with Wisconsin's Bo Ryan vs Jarrod Uthoff battle. The day started off with Bo Ryan appearing on Mike & Mike in the morning. Ryan was trying to defend his position, and Golic and Greenberg were doing the questioning. It didn't go well for Bo....


    If embed code is still not working, link of video is here.

    The discussion fueled more social media fireworks, and Bo Ryan certainly took some shots. But while this was going on, Jarrod Uthoff was meeting with Barry Alvarez and Justin Doherty. From that meeting came a ban lifting with the exception of the Big 10. I had no doubt that they would do the right thing. Barry does not want any more bad PR, and Justin Doherty is top shelf in his field. Don't know who he is? Well, remember his name, as he should be the one to replace Barry when he decides to retire. After the meeting UW issued this statement, clarifying what happened. Apparently Uthoff appealed to have bans on four of the schools listed, and UW lifted the ban on three of them. My guess is that they were Iowa, Iowa State, Virginia and Florida, with Iowa being the one not lifted.

    Now Jarrod can go where he wants and hopefully has a solid career.

    Many in the national media, no matter which side they are on, are saying that the transfer rule should be changed. Speaking of rules that should be changed, how about this one? DePere native and former UWGB Head Coach Todd Kowalczyk is now the Head Coach at Toledo. Kowalczyk was hired after the Rockets fired Gene Cross for poor performance, both on the floor and in the classroom. Cross' team had done so poorly in the classroom, that last year the NCAA stripped Toledo of three scholarships, and has now banned them from post season play next year, despite Kowalczyk's appeal. The coach states that his team has done exceptionally well in the classroom, and that they shouldn't be punished for what went on before they got there. The NCAA disagrees. Much like the NCAA infractions rules, I think this should be amended too. Memphis vacates a Final Four and is punished, Calipari and Rose walk free... Michigan vacates a Final Four and is punished, the players and Fischer walk free. NCAA - I agree with the academic performance rule, but please - stop punishing people for the actions of others!

    Now - back to Wisconsin - I still maintain that a good part of Uthoff's decision to depart has a lot to do with the emergence of incoming freshman Sam Dekker of Sheboygan Lutheran. Dekker has vaulted to the #13 spot in Rivals'
    national rankings, and has now been named as one of the 24 players invited to tryout for Team USA's U18 National Team. Congrats to Sam!!
    Milwaukee Panthers

    PantherU's Jimmy Lemke has a video update regarding the Athletic Department's external review....


    Stay tuned.....
    Marquette Golden Eagles

    Arizona State transfer Trent Lockett has been visiting Marquette's campus since last evening, and that visit should be wrapping up as I type this. He is also strongly consideringIowa Stateand Gonzaga.

    Also on the MU front, Tony Benford may not be out of it at SMU just yet. This is about the craziest thing I have ever seen. Larry Brown is reported as the new head coach, with his staff already announced too. The "head coach in waiting" is Illinois State Head Coach Tim Jankovich. Also named to the staff are former Illinois assistant Jerrance Howard and Kentucky Dir of BB Opps Rod Strickland. The entire staff was put together by Brown, SMU, John Calipari and World Wide Wes. Great..... BUT HOLD THE PRESSES!!! Why hasn't Brown been officially hired yet? He claims they are just going over the paperwork, but I think he is trying to hold on long enough to see if he can get the Portland Trailblazers' gig. What a mess.

    NOTE: As I am typing SMU officially hires Larry Brown, and the hold up? Supposedly contracts for Jankovich, Howard and Strickland. You see, those guys are usually hired AFTER the head coach, not with him! Why did this happen? Was it really because they were waiting on contracts or now that it is reported that Portland is targeting Mitch Kupchak, did The Modfather give in?

    So, now will Tony Benford and UWM's Rob Jeter be candidates at Illinois State? Will Jeter get the North Texas job? The carousel is idling, but ready for another spin.

    Milwaukee Bucks

    The Bucks fell to the Washington Wizards last night, 121-112, and fell hard. The loss puts a true nail into their playoff coffin. They aren't out of it yet, but desperately need to win against Indiana tonight. Lose - and they're out.

    Too much to follow - I'm out!