Duke and Ramar will leave in good standing

There has been some concern among Vol fans that in addition to hurting Tennessee on the hardwood, the departure of Ramar Smith and Duke Crews would hurt us in the NCAA’s APR, a measurement of academic progress for student athletes in each sport. This was especially a concern since academics had been mentioned as a cause for their dismissal/transfer.

According to Bruce, we shouldn’t be worried about this. The choice was his, and both players will leave UT in good academic standing:

“There’s a perception that I had to dismiss Ramar and Duke,” Pearl said. “That’s not accurate. There was nothing mandated for anything academic or anything with drug testing that mandated my not having those guys back. This was my choice. These guys are leaving us academically eligible.”

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080515/SPORTS0601/80515119

The rest of the article talks about potential changes to the APR and the way the NCAA views transfers. I happen to agree with Bruce that transfers happen for many reasons, a lot of them positive for the kids and the schools. We should be careful how we view them.

On the one-and-dones, the saga with O.J. Mayo at USC is showing us that the new rule is going to mean trouble. The potential for agent manipulation, $1,000 handshakes, and the like will be higher than ever. This has largely been seen as a good change, allowing us all to watch the Odens, Beasleys, and Roses of the world before they get to the NBA, but we are starting to see the dark side. I’d prefer two years, minimum, perhaps with an option to go pro straight out of high school reintroduced.

Duke Crews cleared for practice; brief preview for OSU

Vol fans got great news today, as Duke Crews has been medically cleared to resume activities with the Tennessee basketball team. The Vols could use his toughness and athleticism on the inside, though it is sure to take some time before he’s ready to contribute many minutes. Duke hasn’t worked out or practiced in a month. Welcome back, Duke!

I am on the road, in Knoxville, and don’t have enough time to do my usual preview. So here are a few things you’ll want to know about OSU:

• The Buckeyes are solid (27th in pythag, #82 offense, #11 defense) and will be a challenge for the Vols
• OSU is young but talented, so they’re probably playing a lot better now than they were in December
• Senior guard Jamar Butler is good: O-rating 123.5, assist rate 34th nationally
• 7-foot center Kosta Koufos is a very good freshman (O-rating 110.5, ranked in both rebounding stats as well as in block rate, and rarely turns the ball over)
• Othello Hunter is a very solid post player too and will be tough to handle in the paint
• OSU will turn the ball over (their rate is 114th in the NCAA) and doesn’t turn its opponents over (256th)
• They prefer a slow pace (198th)
• They block a lot of shots and force low eFG%
• They don’t rebound very well (144th offensive, 228th defensive)
• They pass well (58th in assists/FGM) but sort of rely on the three ball (94th)
• Average minutes-weighted height (NEW GEEK STAT!) is 78.2 inches, or 6′6″. They play tall, 11th nationally. Tennessee’s AMWH is 6′5″, so it’s not a huge difference but one that could be important.

So, with all of this digested, we are faced with a familiar problem– a great perimeter player (Butler) and a great post player (Koufos). If we can defend them as effectively as we defended Foster and Ogilvy we’ll be in good shape. Also important are turnovers and especially tempo. Ohio State will want to slow it down into a halfcourt game, but if we can turn them over for easy buckets we could compound their errors and have some nice scoring spurts. We ought to hold our own in rebounding, and need to be cognizant of Hunter and Koufos’s ability to block shots. Chism will be a key player again.

Also of note– Chris Lofton owes them one after missing the front-end of a 1-1 that could have beaten OSU in Columbus a year ago. Might he break free tomorrow against the Buckeyes? Let’s hope so. My prediction: Vols 72, Buckeyes 64

Duke Crews out indefinitely with heart condition

The News-Sentinel posted a story this afternoon saying that the sports medicine team at UT identified a heart issue with Duke Crews. All student-athletes have echocardiograms done and in Duke’s case they found a problem. The story is here.

We will all be thinking about Duke and hoping that he’ll be fine. Basketball is certainly secondary when someone tells you that your ticker is having trouble. Rest easy and get well, Duke.

On the court, expect to see more of this: