Eye On College Basketball

Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander get going on today's episode by revealing how a man who does not play tennis winds up with tennis elbow -- in both arms. You already know which of the two this happened to. Then, they get to the curious story involving famed attorney Michael Avenatti, who is facing multiple serious charges in multiple cases, but nonetheless has become the figure at the center of allegations toward Nike for allegedly paying multiple high-profile high school prospects (11:30). Family members or representatives tied to Deandre Ayton, Bol Bol, Zion Williamson and Romeo Langford have been named in a federal complaint. This also leads to a quick conversation (30:00) on when the NCAA is going to drop those expected NOAs on big programs. Then it's a fun convo on KenPom's historic rankings of every program since 1996-97 (34:30). Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, UNC and Arizona round out the top five. The guys close on the repeal of the "Rich Paul Rule," (46:00) which saw the NCAA acting faster than it usually does to make change. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On Tuesday, news leaked that the NCAA made major alterations to its rules regarding which agents could represent players in the pre-draft process. The rule modifications have been widely panned, most notably by LeBron James, who dubbed it #TheRichPaulRule, though the guys explain why that's not true at all. The podcast opens with a 25-minute conversation on this, then gets to Evan Mobley (26:45), the No. 1 prospect in 2020, finally committing to where his father and brother already are: USC. Now we wait on the No. 2 prospect, who has a family member employed at Oklahoma State, to commit. Cade Cunningham, what's the hold-up? The pod wraps with a cool story on a D-III player with NBA connections who wound up committing to Illinois this week (48:00).  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello from Colorado Springs! Parrish and Norlander have another from-the-hotel-room pod to share, this time with a recap of July's recruiting calendar, with commentary on many of the top prospects. They start with thoughts on USA Basketball, then get to stories, quotes and anecdotes on what the NCAA hath wrought with July (6:50). After a long conversation there -- including Norlander's story from UConn -- some highlights on the players to know in 2020, 2021 and 2022 (50:00) and BJ Boston's commitment to Kentucky (57:00). Oh, and some TRIVIA TIME! too.  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Straight from Norlander's hotel room, it's another face-to-face episode of the pod. Parrish and Norlander open with some unanticipated thoughts on things tangentially related to the Nike Peach Jam -- including a fun blind item about a coach -- then get into why coaches are still not satisfied with the current recruiting calendar (16:00) and what won't be done about it. From there, Norlander gets into the story of 15-year-old Emoni Bates (39:00), who is regarded by many as the most talented player in high school, regardless of age, and yet only has scholarship offers from Michigan State and Florida State. Will he ever play in college? Turns out, it's completely plausible. The guys close on NC State receiving its Notice of Allegations (58:00) earlier in the week, and discuss which school should be next and what punishment the NCAA could fairly dole out.  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On Tuesday, the NCAA's Committee on Infractions levied a three-year show-cause against former UConn coach Kevin Ollie. The university was spared any meaningful/significant penalties. Norlander and Parrish open the ep by discussing that, the fallout, Dan Hurley's contract and more. After that, the duo gets on to UConn leaving the American to join the Big East (16:45) and debate that team's standing in college basketball going forward, in addition to weighing the options for the American in the coming years. Finally, the most significant transfer decision of the offseason, potentially, happened Friday (44:30). They close the pod with that -- and some #USWNT talk.  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander go face-to-face for an in-person, late-night podcast to discuss the most interesting things to come out of Thursday night. This is going to be a memorable draft for a lot of reasons, many of them having to do with guys picked after first, second and third. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd reported a major story on Wednesday: an NCAA official told Dodd that six men's basketball programs would receive notices of allegations this summer, including two high-profile schools that would be notified by early July. The timing is surprising. So who will the schools be, and should any punishment be expected for the 2019-20 season? Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander spend the first 30 minutes of the pod discussing that, then get to their NBA mock drafts (30:00), and lay out their predictions for the careers of Zion Williamson, Ja Morant, RJ Barrett and more. They also discuss the players they have the most disagreement on in the first round, and touch on the diverging NBA paths of Darius Garland and Romeo Langford.  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On Thursday, Book Richardson was sentenced to three months in federal prison. It was a history-making decision by U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos. Matt Norlander was in the courtroom, as he has been throughout both trials, and brings perspective and details from Thursday and beyond. He and Gary Parrish spend the first 40 minutes of the podcast discussing Richardson's sentence, Arizona's next steps, the NCAA's unfolding investigation and why Richardson said he didn't believe Sean Miller paid for players. After that, the guys touch on the new NCAA rules for 2019-2020 (48:30), most notably the extended 3-point line. They wrap by hitting on the 10-15 teams with the best odds to win the 2020 national title (58:30).  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nearly 90 underclassmen opted to stay in the 2019 NBA draft pool. And nearly 90 decided to come back. Which schools benefitted most or were hurt significantly? This pod opens on that, then gets to a discussion (12:00) on the growing trend in college basketball to have more and more guys leaving early, even when they're not expected to be drafted. The guys zero in on Kansas (28:00) and R.J. Hampton's decision to bypass college and play in New Zealand. The pod wraps with a look at Parrish and Norlander's respective top fives (54:00) heading into the heart of the offseason.  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On Wednesday, Michigan officially hired alumnus Juwan Howard to coach its men's basketball program. The first 20 minutes of this podcast are dedicated to that decision, with Parrish and Norlander bringing some deeper context into why this decision was made and why it's different from the Penny Hardaway hiring at Memphis. Then the guys get to notable five-star commitments within the past week (20:00): Precious Achiuwa to Memphis; Jaden McDaniels to Washington; Trendon Watford to LSU.  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices