Ole Miss held its second major scrimmage of the spring on Saturday inside surprisingly cold Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. The Rebels' offense was dominant, except for those pesky turnovers. Ole Miss' defense gained steam as the morning progressed, providing hope for the season ahead.
Meanwhile, three hours to the east, Ole Miss' luck in one-run games ran out. The Rebels were swept at Alabama, wrapping up a week Mike Bianco and Co. would likely choose to forget --- if only that were allowed.
The NCAA tournament is down to its Final Four, the NBA playoff picture is slowly getting clearer and --- oh, yeah --- the face of intercollegiate athletics may have been changed indelibly. Thoughts on those topics and more follow, thanks to my friends at Grenada Nissan.
1. Five turnovers plagued Ole Miss' second major scrimmage of the spring Saturday, but there were many things to be excited about on the offensive side of the football. On defense, meanwhile, Ole Miss fans should find it quite encouraging that two things the Rebels couldn't do with consistency last season --- rush the passer and create turnovers --- don't appear to be issues any longer. Here are some quick thoughts from the third of four weeks of spring football:
A. Bo Wallace said his arm strength is returning, especially on short and intermediate routes. Wallace will spend a week later this year with MLB pitching guru Tom House. Ole Miss hopes House will help Wallace regain some strength and flexibility in his surgically repaired shoulder. Wallace's deep ball still floats a bit, and he feels an offseason of weightlifting will help him regain his strength and touch on long passes.
B. Jaylen Walton had Saturday off as he recovers from a slight groin injury. That gave Jordan Wilkins, Eugene Brazley and Mark Dodson a chance to shine, and they all had their moments. Wilkins' power is something the Rebels' running game has lacked in recent seasons, and Brazley is a diamond in the rough. He's raw, sure, but the Louisiana native is shifty and elusive.
C. Collins Moore has had a great spring. If he can continue progressing and give the Rebels another target in the fall, it'll be a great story.
D. D.T. Shackelford is a little "out of control" at times, defensive coordinator Dave Wommack said Saturday, but he's been solid at middle linebacker this spring. As I've said for a while, replacing Mike Marry is going to be more difficult than some fans think.
E. C.J. Hampton is a future star in the defensive backfield. I wrote it a week ago. I'll reiterate it now. He should help Ole Miss immediately.
F. Wommack continues to rave about defensive end Marquis Haynes. He did that a year ago about Anthony Alford, now a big part of the rotation at safety.
G. Channing Ward continues to make progress at tight end. Evan Engram is the starter there, and Sammie Epps will get an opportunity to be his true backup (at least in my opinion) in August. Ward, however, gives the Rebels a big, physical presence at the position, and he's shown enough athleticism this spring to potentially be a threat as a pass-catcher. That's an element Ole Miss' offense hasn't really had during the Hugh Freeze regime.
H. Ole Miss will wrap up spring drills this week with practices Monday, Wednesday and Friday and then finish things up with the Grove Bowl Saturday at noon.
2. ESPN had a great idea last week, seeding the SEC 1-14 and conducting a "tournament" of sorts to come up with a football tournament champion. Ole Miss was seeded No. 4 behind Auburn, Alabama and Georgia. In the hypothetical tournament conducted in the minds of ESPN.com's Edward Aschoff and Chris Low, the Rebels beat Arkansas and Missouri to reach the finals against South Carolina. Ole Miss beat the Gamecocks in the championship to win the "event."
I asked Aschoff about his thoughts on the Rebels.
"I like the two-deep coming back and I think the defensive line will be a lot better with (C.J.) Johnson coming back," Aschoff said. "I also think the West is totally up for grabs. Auburn's defense isn't great and none of those running backs are Tre Mason. Alabama has questions on defense and I'm not sold on those linebackers. LSU lost a ton on both sides. Ole Miss and (Mississippi) State have a chance to make a run this year. But Bo Wallace has to not be well, Bo Wallace this year. I think he's the key to all of this.
"But that bracket was just for fun anyway. I had Florida beating Alabama (in a hypothetical first-round game) just to stir things up."
Stirring Alabama fans up just for fun? What a novel idea. I think I'll try that (again) sometime.
3. We in the media were granted access to members of the 2013 signing class last week, the first we've heard from them since they arrived on campus last summer. Over the past week, we heard from Laremy Tunsil, Derrick Jones, Ryan Buchanan, DeVante Kincade, Quincy Adeboyejo, Evan Engram, Antonio Conner, Robert Nkemdiche and Laquon Treadwell. They were all composed and confident. To a man, there's a confidence that they're going to be the group that leads Ole Miss to its first SEC Championship Game. One year after arriving as the most heralded freshman class in modern Ole Miss history, those guys are emerging as leaders on the field and in the locker room.
Rivals.com ranked the Rebels' 2013 class as the No. 7 class in the nation. I think we might have underestimated them a bit. It should surprise no one if the class' top four prospects --- Nkemdiche, Tunsil, Treadwell and Conner --- are all first-round NFL draft choices, perhaps as early as two years from now. Of course, there's far more to the class than those four. Throw in Kailo Moore at cornerback, offensive linemen Austin Golson and Daronte Bouldin, Wilkins and the two quarterbacks and it's a complete class that could and probably should shape the program for the next few years.
What's most noticeable, however, is the bond that group has made with one another. Most importantly, they're holding each other accountable as the 2014 season inches closer.
"We have to step up," Treadwell said. "We're not freshmen anymore. We have to step up and make plays for the team."
"I just feel like there are people who care about the game and (are providing) leadership," Nkemdiche said. "We're all coming as one. I just feel like the freshman class, the expectations for us are growing and growing."
4. Ole Miss was swept at Alabama over the weekend, losing a pair of one-run games Friday and Saturday before Sunday's 3-1 loss.
Cue the panic, and while it's early, I won't be the one to tell fans to calm down. Instead, with a weekend at Mississippi State looming in just 12 days and LSU's trip to Oxford not far away, I'll submit that this weekend's series against Auburn just became critical.
I'll be watching to see if this Ole Miss team does what so many of its predecessors seem to do. I want to see if this team gets tight. Baseball isn't meant to be played by nervous, anxious people, and Ole Miss has fielded some super-tight teams in recent years.
It was unrealistic to think Chris Ellis would continue to dominate every week. He was due a bad game. It came Friday. Ole Miss still had a chance to win Friday. On Saturday, Christian Trent was terrific, but the Rebels couldn't capitalize on Alabama errors. On Sunday, Ole Miss had chances early to put up a crooked number. The Rebels failed, and those missed opportunities proved fatal.
If our message board is any indicator --- and I suspect it is, at least to some degree --- of the mood of the fan base, people are going to get antsy if this weekend's series against the Tigers doesn't go well. Fair or not, realistic or not, Ole Miss fans want a consistent winner in baseball. It's my opinion that Ole Miss overinvested in baseball and placed too much emphasis on a fringe sport that doesn't provide a level playing field for all SEC teams (yes, I think the scholarship differences for teams in and not in states with lotteries are a major factor), but that's a minority opinion.
Besides, it's done now. The investment has been made, and if the Rebels aren't in the hosting discussion in a few weeks, there will be heat on Bianco and, at least by proxy, Ross Bjork.
5. The National Labor Relations Board ruled earlier this week that Northwestern's football players have the right to unionize, a ruling that could potentially lead to a dramatic change in the landscape of intercollegiate athletics.
What does the ruling mean? It's complicated, though Barrett Sallee's offering for Bleacher Report late last week (I've linked it for you; it includes an excerpt from Sallee's radio interview with my friend and former co-host Taylor Zarzour on Sirius/XM Radio) explains it well. Essentially, Sallee said the answer is allowing athletes to earn money on the free market through endorsements and licensing rights. It's an opinion shared by outspoken athletes advocate/ESPN basketball analyst Jay Bilas.
Unionization results in taxation of athletes, something many likely aren't prepared to handle. It also avoids Title IX implications, which could ultimately result in the shutting down of many programs all over the country.
However, those hoping this issue just goes away, allowing college athletics (particularly football) to stay the way it is are kidding themselves. Change is imminent. There is a groundswell of public support --- and now an NLRB ruling --- in favor of athletes getting their share of the revenues they help produce on the fields and courts of competition.
6. The Final Four is set. As expected, Florida rolled through its quarter of the bracket, putting away Dayton Saturday afternoon in Memphis. Wisconsin outlasted Arizona Saturday night in a classic game in Anaheim. Connecticut held off Michigan State Sunday in Madison Square Garden to punch its ticket to Arlington and Kentucky/Michigan rounded out the field Sunday afternoon with a win in Indianapolis. My thoughts, for what they're worth:
A. Congratulations to UConn coach Kevin Ollie. The former Oklahoma City Thunder guard has rejuvenated the Huskies' program in just his second season since taking over for Jim Calhoun. The Huskies were left for dead just weeks ago, fell to a No. 7 seed in the NCAA tournament and are now headed to the Final Four thanks to the amazing play of point guard Shabazz Napier. If the storyline reminds you of another team from Storrs that made an unpredictable run in March, it should. Kemba Walker led UConn to a national title in 2011, willing the Huskies to one unlikely victory after another. This UConn team has Ollie's stamp all over it, and Ollie is known for leaving his mark. Thunder forward Kevin Durant recently told Grantland "taught him the ropes", and "changed the culture of Oklahoma City," adding, "Kevin Ollie, he was a game changer for us. I think he changed the whole culture in Oklahoma City. Just his mind set, professionalism, every single day. And we all watched that, and we all wanted to be like that. It rubbed off on Russell Westbrook, myself, Jeff Green, James Harden. And then everybody who comes through now, it's the standard that you've got to live up to as a Thunder player. And it all started with Kevin Ollie."
B. It's time to give Florida's Billy Donovan the credit he deserves. He's won with remarkable consistency at Florida, and taking this veteran-laden team with a relatively pedestrian level of talent to the Final Four might be the ultimate feather in his proverbial cap. Florida will get a chance Saturday to avenge its last loss, a December setback to Ollie, Napier and the Huskies. My money is on Florida's defense to clamp down on UConn and advance the Gators to the title game. If that happens, it will be Donovan's fourth championship game appearance at Florida. That's amazing.
C. Sunday marked the end of the road for Michigan State, but it did not mark the end of the special friendship between Spartans forward Adreian Payne and eight-year-old Lacey Holsworth. The two met a year ago in Lansing, Mich., when the team visited Sparrow Hospital. Holsworth is fighting an aggressive form of cancer, and her tenacious attitude won Payne over. Since then, Holsworth has become the Spartans' good luck charm. She made a special appearance at the Spartans' Senior Night festivities and helped cut down the nets when Michigan State won the Big Ten title. Despite not feeling so hot recently, Holsworth was in New York Sunday to see Payne (she calls him "Superman") try to help his team to the Final Four. That story, frankly, is what sports are all about. Keep fighting, Lacey.
D. A year ago, Wisconsin got bounced from the second round of the tournament by Ole Miss. The Badgers' coach, Bo Ryan, went to the Final Four anyway. Actually, Bo Ryan and his dad, Butch, watched the games at an Atlanta hotel, as Butch was too frail to attend the festivities. Butch Ryan died in August at the age of 89. Saturday, when Bo Ryan finally clinched his first trip to the Final Four as a head coach, would have been Butch's 90th birthday. This Saturday, when Wisconsin faces Kentucky, it will be the first Final Four since 1976 that Butch Ryan and his son haven't attended together. Bo Ryan will be on the Badgers' bench. One can't help but believe Butch Ryan will be sitting alongside him --- this time in spirit.
7. I could have made my thoughts on Kentucky a part of Item No. 6, but the Wildcats deserve their own thought.
Say what you will about John Calipari --- and I've said plenty --- but the coaching job he's done in the past month is nothing short of phenomenal. A month ago, Calipari was ejected from a Kentucky loss at South Carolina. Perhaps that was the turning point, for since that day in Columbia, the Wildcats have been pretty good.
Scratch that. They've been phenomenal. I watched them in the SEC tournament quarterfinals against a desperate LSU team and remarked to a colleague that the Wildcats looked to have chemistry they didn't have in Oxford weeks earlier. Two days later, following a one-point loss to Florida in the SEC tournament title game, the Gators' players said the same thing.
Two weeks later, Kentucky is two wins from a national title. Julius Randle has been fantastic. The Harrisons, Andrew and Aaron, have been just as good. Throw in the fact that Kentucky lost Willie Cauley-Stein to an injury on Friday night and it's obvious: Kentucky has grown up in front of our eyes.
The Wildcats are favored against Wisconsin. They'll be very tough to beat in Dallas, which is Randle's hometown. A Florida-Kentucky final is more than feasible. Go figure. At this point, counting out the Wildcats would be foolish. In the bigger picture, discounting Calipari's team-building skills would be even more foolhardy. The man is clearly one part basketball tactician, one part psychologist. The Wildcats should've fallen apart a month ago. Instead, they're on the cusp of something no one (outside of one loyal fan who proved his belief in the form of a neck tattoo) could have foreseen.
8. The NBA playoffs are a little more than two weeks away, and Kevin Love won't be a part of them. However, the Minnesota Timberwolves star will be the talk of the offseason. Love is a free agent after next season, and multiple teams --- Houston, the Lakers, the Knicks --- appear to be positioning themselves to make a run at the 25-year-old. The Timberwolves don't appear to be eager to deal Love, likely in fear of what the reaction would be from their fan base. However, it's becoming obvious Love plans to bolt as soon as he can, and the aforementioned handful of teams are going to have one eye on Love throughout the upcoming offseason. Here are my other thoughts from the week that was in the NBA:
A. Blake Griffin left Saturday night's win at Houston and likely won't play Monday night at Minnesota due to back spasms. It's something to watch going forward, as Griffin's health played a huge role in the Clippers' loss in seven games to Memphis last season. The West is too deep for the Clippers to emerge without a healthy, effective Griffin.
B. Durant is averaging 1.03 points per minute during the Thunder's last two games, wins over Sacramento and Utah. How? Durant is shooting 75 percent from the floor, 70 percent from the 3-point line and 100 percent from the free throw line in those games. The MVP has been incredible.
C. Indiana is just 11-7 since trading Danny Granger on Feb. 20. One of those wins was a one-point decision over Miami last week, but there some, including Granger himself, who wonder if the Pacers have messed up their chemistry. "It can have different effects that are unforeseen," Granger told NBA.com. "I think that may have had something to do with it. The fact they added two new players, it's hard to come in in the middle of the season with a new team regardless of how good you are. That's difficult to do."
D. Durant doesn't like his teammates wearing the shoes of opposing stars. He stays on backup guard Reggie Jackson all the time, though the former Boston College star continues to wear his LeBron's. "Fish (Derek Fisher) wore some Kobe's when he first got here, but I gave him a pass because him and Kobe (Bryant) are like BFFs."
E. Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens lost just 49 games during his six years as Butler's coach. He's lost that many already in his first season with the Celtics. Boston GM Danny Ainge said Stevens has had many sleepless nights dealing with the losing, but Steven said he's had no regrets. "Having that focus is helpful whether you're winning or losing," Stevens told the Boston Globe. "It kind of takes your emphasis, or overemphasis, away from the result." Stevens has a six-year deal, and he's drawn rave reviews for his work in his rookie NBA season. "That's what I love about him," Ainge said. "As hard as it is, he just keeps working harder."
F. Houston could be without Patrick Beverly for the rest of the season. The Rockets' point guard, ironically, is out with a meniscus tear. Houston is almost certainly locked into the No. 4 seed in the West and could face Portland, Golden State, Phoenix, Memphis or Dallas in the first round of the playoffs. Without Beverly, however, Houston isn't going far.
G. The New York Knicks are just 1 ½ games out of the No. 8 playoff spot. They're closing strong on Atlanta, which has lost six of its last 10 games. The Knicks have played as if they're fighting for a job since Phil Jackson was hired to oversee all basketball operations. Good thing, as it's expected Jackson is going to clean house when the Knicks' season is done.
9. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks opened the Major League Baseball season more than a week ago in Australia, but the sport's true Opening Day is Monday. As a Cubs fan, I'm waiting on Opening Day 2016, but I'm guessing MLB will force me to endure the 2014 season despite the Cubs' inevitable failures.
So, here are my picks for the 2014 season:
AL East: Tampa Bay Rays
AL Central: Cleveland Indians
AL West: Oakland Athletics
AL Wildcards: Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers
NL East: Washington Nationals
NL Central: St. Louis Cardinals
NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers
NL Wildcards: Atlanta Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates
AL MVP: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
AL Cy Young: Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners
AL Rookie of the Year: Xander Bogaerts, Boston Red Sox
NL MVP: Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals
NL Cy Young: Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals
NL Rookie of the Year: Archie Bradley, Arizona Diamondbacks
AL Champion: Tampa Bay Rays over Boston Red Sox
NL Champion: Washington Nationals over St. Louis Cardinals
World Series Champion: Washington Nationals
10. Since August, LSU football equipment managers have been applying a 3-inch long purple device stuck to each player's helmet. A team staff member removes the device, retrieves data from it from that day's practice and inputs the numbers into a steadily growing spreadsheet.
"We're looking at who's taking the brunt of the blows," Jack Marucci, LSU's director of athletic training, told the Baton Rouge Advocate.
LSU is using accelerometers to measure the force of collisions during football practice, breaking in a somewhat new technology amid the recent wave of head-related issues in the game.
Marucci has headed the eight-month experiment, a pilot program for the Maryland-based company Brain Sentry. It's on its last leg; data will be compiled after spring practice.
"The NCAA is revamping things now based on what data we're turning in," LSU equipment manager Greg Stringfellow told the Advocate.
The early results have found that linemen absorb far more blows to the head than players who play other positions.
Over 10 days of fall camp, a starting offensive lineman averaged about 80 to 100 blows of near 30 Gs, Marucci said. Defensive linemen averaged around 50 collisions of 30 Gs, and linebackers and fullbacks were next at about 20.
"My theory on the linemen is, it's like a boxer," Marucci said. "They take blows, multiple blows. Those are the ones we have to protect."
LSU began using the accelerometers a few days into fall camp in August. They were used at 44 practices through the season, and about 25 players wear them during spring drills. The sensors were not used during games. The heaviest hitting came during fall camp, Marucci said.
Marucci has shown the data to new offensive line coach Jeff Grimes. He also has shown it to coach Les Miles, a former offensive lineman. Marucci said Miles is "concerned" with the data showing the high collision impact for linemen.
LSU is using accelerometers donated to the school from Brain Sentry, a 3-year-old company specializing in helmet-mounting sensors. Marucci hopes the data LSU is accumulating will lead to the elimination of two-a-day practices. It's something several college football coaches have encouraged, namely Missouri's Gary Pinkel, whose team did not hold any two-a-days last August.
This post was edited on 3/31 8:28 AM by Neal McCready
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