by hatvol on November 6, 2009
This installment of the VN Interview takes us to Durham, NC. Duke Associate Head Coach Chris Collins is heading into his tenth season on the Blue Devil bench. Thanks to Matt Plizga for his invaluable help in coordinating this interview. I hope you enjoy.
VN-How critical is it for Nolan Smith to assume a significant role on the offensive end this season?
Collins-Nolan is an extremely important part of this year’s team. We have two key guys returning in Singler and Scheyer, and we will need Nolan to emerge as a consistent star player as well. We are going to need for him to be an elite guard in our league in order for us to be as successful as we would like to be. On the offensive end, Nolan will be one of our focal points. He can score in a variety of ways and is at his best when he is in attack mode. We will do a lot of different things to get him the ball in positions where he can be a dynamic scorer for us. Nolan has had a great summer and we expect him to make a big jump in his game from last year to this year.
VN-Does Kyle Singler’s versatility help alleviate some of the problems brought about by the lack of true guards on the roster?
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by hatvol on November 5, 2009
The leaves are falling from the trees and the real games are straight ahead. This week’s Trap contains an electic group of topics. Let’s get down to business.
1. Adidumb. Sometimes a story comes along that gives us an insight as to what determines the difference between the metaphorical windshields and bugs in life. The Central Florida-adidas imbroglio is a perfect example. By choosing to make a public fight out of Marcus Jordan wearing the shoes made famous by his father, adidas proved themselves to be the petty, second rate operation they are. When Eddie Sutton took over at Kentucky, he switched the Cats from Converse to Nike. One of his players, Roger Harden, happened to be the son of Converse’s college basketball rep for the region. Harden wore Converse. Nike’s response? They didn’t make it a public battle. That’s why the swoosh rules basketball. They get it. Industry leaders don’t have to go to war over what one player does. It’s easy to see how this will play out. UCF will get a sweetheart deal with Nike and adidas will continue to drift toward irrelevance. The windshields always win.
2. Amateur Hour, The Sequel. For those of us who consider NCAA bashing to be one of our favorite sports, October and November have become prime hunting season. Every time I think the boys in Indy have reached the apex of cluelessness, they climb a little higher up Mount Moron. This brings me to case of West Virginia freshman Deniz Kilicli. The ‘AA has suspended Kilicli for 20 games. His “crime?” Playing for a club team in Europe that had professionals on its roster. Kilicli didn’t receive the first dime, but that’s irrelevant to the Inspector Clouseaus of college sports. They are so wed to their literal interpretation of the outdated and nonsensical rules that govern amateurism issues that logic and reason have no place in their calculations. I would love to hear their explanation as to why Kilicli is sitting out two thirds of the regular seasons, while players who play with professionals in domestic summer leagues, like the Rocky Top, face no penalty. Actually, I wouldn’t. The only thing worse than the imbecilic decsions the NCAA makes is the halfwitted doubletalk they use in pathetic attempts to justify them.
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by Dan Wake on November 3, 2009
The work continues . . . on and off the field. A rejuvenated, hot football program on the field. The buzz school turning heads in recruiting off the field. The buzz is Tennessee football is on its way back. The way back is being lead by Masters of the Recruiting Universe.
The above chart is a tribute to the work ethic of the Vols coaching staff. While 2010 is yet to be complete (NSD is Feb. 03), one thing is clear. They will go to the ends of the recruiting universe to get who they want.
Epic Battles
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Forums
Wow, what a week for recruiting, huh? There are all sorts of rumors and commitments flying around and it would not surprise many if several of the guys we had on campus this past weekend end up as Vols on National Signing Day. One highly-regarded player did not even wait for a visit — committing to the Vols sight unseen We’ll discuss the commitments before delving into the other news of the weekend.
Frankly, the whining about the black jerseys has me scratching my head a bit. I know the Christmas shopping season is upon us, but this is football not “America’s top model”. We knew when it all started that these weren’t your parent’s Vols. If you were to Google the antithesis of Phil Fulmer, there is no doubt that Lane Kiffin would pop up in the first hundred search results.
