Ole Miss' season ended in Jacksonville, Fla., with a loss to Xavier. A day later, news broke that the IHL had voted not to renew Ole Miss chancellor Dan Jones' contract and Mississippi State fired Rick Ray. Throw in Ole Miss taking two of three from No. 1 Florida in basketball, the NCAA tournament down to the Sweet 16, more bad injury news for Kevin Durant and more and more spring training home runs from Iowa-bound Kris Bryant and it was a busy weekend. My thoughts on those topics and more follow, thanks to Oxford-based RE/MAX agent Harry Alexander.
1. Two days after a dramatic win over Brigham Young in Dayton, Ohio, Ole Miss' basketball season came to an end with a 19-point loss to Xavier in Jacksonville, Fla. I won't go into details three days later; there's no point. In short, the Rebels ran into a better team, couldn't make shots and saw their Sweet 16 hopes die.
In retrospect, Ole Miss probably overachieved earlier in the season. Jarvis Summers was never really healthy. Teams scouted on --- and then keyed on --- Stefan Moody. LaDarius White struggled down the stretch and while the Rebels' collection of low-post players developed, their weaknesses were at times exposed.
Still, it was almost an incredible year. The Rebels lost in overtime at Kentucky, by one point on a mental lapse in the final seven seconds at home against Arkansas and then on a foul in the final second of an SEC tournament game against South Carolina. Change a couple of those and there is no trip to Dayton, leaving a fresher, more confident team to open the NCAA tournament.
Regardless, 2014-15 has to be viewed a success for Andy Kennedy and Co. The season ended in an NCAA tournament berth, the program's second in two years. A new arena waits and a nice nucleus returns.
2. On Friday, Mississippi State fired Rick Ray after just three seasons in Starkville. Ray was 37-60 overall and 13-41 in the SEC, though it should be noted he inherited a decimated roster (and this will be controversial, but screw it, it needs to be said: He was told to run a squeaky clean program). The Clarion-Ledger listed several possible replacements, from former UCLA coach Ben Howland to Louisiana Tech coach Michael White to former Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg to UAB coach Jerod Haase. What makes State's search even more intriguing is the certainty that Alabama has an opening after dismissing Anthony Grant and Florida might have one soon if NBA-centered rumors that the Orlando Magic are going to make another run at Florida's Billy Donovan are true. Both Alabama and Florida are far more attractive to a coach than Mississippi State.
3. What makes the situation in Starkville intriguing is the potential impact it could have on the recruitment of five-star Jackson, Miss., guard Malik Newman. I have reason(s) to believe Ole Miss is more than just a fringe player for Newman. I'm not prepared to say the Rebels are the favorite for the dynamic guard, but I do believe Kennedy and Co. have emerged as major players in the battle for his services.
Could a Mississippi State hire change that and get the Bulldogs back into the mix at this late hour? I suppose that's conceivable. Kentucky assistant Kenny Payne, for example, would certainly bend Newman's ear, though I expect MSU athletics director Scott Stricklin will hire an experienced head coach.
It's worth following, and before I'm accused of being conspiratorial, no, I don't believe State is making a move based on the possibility of Ole Miss signing Newman. The Bulldogs' fans may be obsessed to the point of paranoia, but Stricklin is a smart, big-picture guy.
4. On Friday, the IHL announced it would not be renewing the contract of Ole Miss chancellor Dr. Dan Jones when his term expired this summer. That set off a firestorm of hyperbolic reaction, the likes of which I'm not sure I've ever seen before --- certainly not in Mississippi.
I almost elected not to touch this subject in this space this week. After all, I really don't keep up with local or state politics at all (that's putting it mildly), don't know the names of the overwhelming majority of the people involved and don't understand the issues or process used in these matters. That's admittedly not a great trait to have, but if I'm being honest; the older I get, the more ambivalent I become.
That said, there's no denying the job Jones has done at Ole Miss. The school's endowment is at an all-time high. So is its enrollment. Enthusiasm and pride seem to be at remarkably high levels as well. Athletically, Ole Miss is thriving, certainly when put in the context of history. In the past year, Ole Miss has been to the College World Series, a New Year's Six bowl game and the NCAA tournament.
There are usually two sides to every story. I suspect that's the case here as well. It's my quasi-educated opinion that the board's decision not to renew Jones' contract had everything to do with issues with the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson and nothing really to do with the goings on in Oxford. I have a strong suspicion there's more to the story than what has been released so far, so I'm strongly inclined to withhold judgment until that happens.
As an aside, I've been disturbed by some of the comments made about the one IHL board member I know. Dr. Ford Dye is as good of a human being as I've met since moving to Oxford in March 2008. There's simply no way Dye, who loves Ole Miss as much as anyone I've met, would have voted not to renew Jones' contract without a strong sense that he was doing the right thing. You're free to disagree with that sense, but some of the personal attacks I've seen are disgusting. Further, I expect there will be a national search for Jones' replacement, and I strongly suspect the candidate pool will be incredibly impressive.
Thanks in large part to the job Jones has done as chancellor, Ole Miss will be incredibly attractive to brilliant academic minds motivated to take the school to even higher heights. I'm not one to be the voice of reason, but I would advise Ole Miss fans and alumni to keep their pitchforks in the garage until Jones' replacement is named. If the hire smacks of cronyism, by all means, grab your forks and march to the Lyceum. Until then, however, I think some of the hyperbolic reaction is premature.
Finally, I've been asked repeatedly what impact the IHL's decision will have on Ole Miss athletics. Specifically, people wonder if this will leave to Ross Bjork's departure from Oxford. I can't speak for Bjork --- I don't know him well enough to even hazard an educated guess --- but my suspicion is his future in Oxford isn't tied to Jones. I suspect if Jones' replacement is hired, and he's a younger, energetic visionary who sees the job Bjork has done and essentially says, "Carry on," Bjork will do just that. After all, Bjork isn't that far removed from turning down overtures from Missouri. It will take, at least in my opinion, a remarkably attractive situation to entice him to leave Ole Miss.
My one strong opinion as an outsider looking in (and yes, I have very much morphed into an outsider) is the system isn't a good one for Ole Miss. The University of Mississippi, in my opinion, needs its own board of regents (or whatever you'd call it) to operate independently from the IHL. There's really very little logic in having Ole Miss' fate tied in any way to Mississippi Valley State University or Alcorn State University or Mississippi State University or any other institution of higher learning in the state.
5. The NCAA tournament is down to 16 teams, and I can't help but notice that only one SEC team --- prohibitive favorite Kentucky --- is left. Everything can't be judged on the tournament alone, but one can't ignore it either. Bottom line: Right now, the ACC, Pac-12 and Big 10 are all playing better basketball than their SEC brethren.
Before the tournament, I had Kentucky, Arizona, Villanova and Gonzaga in my Final Four. Jay Wright's Wildcats have bitten the dust. The rest are alive.
Kentucky will have its hands full with a physical West Virginia team and could be severely tested in the Elite Eight against Notre Dame, assuming the Irish can knock out Wichita State. If Wisconsin beats North Carolina and Arizona eliminates Xavier, the battle between the Wildcats and Badgers could be the best pure game of the tournament. I'll go with Michigan State as my favorite to replace Villanova in the Final Four, though Oklahoma, Louisville or North Carolina State could beat the Spartans. I'd enjoy seeing Mark Gottfried, so unceremoniously canned at Alabama years ago, lead the Wolfpack to college basketball's biggest stage. Finally, if Duke can beat Utah and Gonzaga can hold off UCLA, an Elite Eight game between the Blue Devils and the Zags could be a treat for those of us who enjoy a free-flowing offensive basketball game.
6. Ole Miss took two of three from No. 1 Florida over the weekend, winning on Friday night and then splitting a weather-forced Saturday doubleheader. I didn't see a pitch, so, as always, I'll defer to Chase Parham for his analysis. I'll simply make this one observation: Ole Miss clearly has two strong starters in Christian Trent and Brady Bramlett, and I've seen Mike Bianco make strong runs with two strong starters anchoring his roster.
There doesn't appear to be much margin for error, but the panic of a few weeks ago might have been unwarranted --- or, at the very least, premature.
7. Spring football enters its third week Monday, and we in the media will have some access beginning on Tuesday. Most of the news blackout has been a mandate from Hugh Freeze to keep media --- and from all accounts, boosters, too (which shocks me, if I'm honest) --- away from practice. Last week, Freeze was kind enough to accommodate media who had to travel to Dayton for hoops by moving a scheduled media opportunity to later in the spring. Regardless, questions will be asked about the quarterback battle, health, the offensive line, etc. There will be lots of quotes, as that's really all we have to go on.
This isn't complaining, by the way. This is becoming the norm around the country. In professional sports, there are mandated media opportunities and periods of locker room access, even though players unions such as the NBAPA are fighting them. In college athletics, however, media is fast becoming the enemy. Schools are hiring in-house writers, photographers and bloggers to control message and compete with traditional and Internet media. It's just the way it is. I strongly suspect that access will continue to be reduced, almost to the point of it being non-existent.
In the end, however, athletics are in the scoreboard business. In my opinion, no amount of propaganda can gloss over losing, and the only programs that will truly be able to "get away" with eliminating access will be those that win. I don't blame coaches, by the way. If I were running a program, I'd be awfully tempted to insulate my program by shutting out any and all outsiders, media and boosters alike. I'd also know, however, that ratcheted up the pressure to win.
It's going to force sites like this one to do our jobs differently. It's something we talk about frequently. It doesn't mean we spin negatively; not at all. It just means we are going to have to provide content in different and more creative ways.
8. I was sitting in the Jacksonville airport Friday morning, eager to get home, when my Twitter timeline blew up with news of a press conference in Oklahoma City regarding Kevin Durant. Immediately, I knew the news was bad. Sure enough, last season's MVP, who has missed more than 40 games this season with foot issues, was being sidelined yet again, this time likely for the remainder of the season.
It's devastating for a Thunder team that now has a three-game lead on New Orleans for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Had Durant returned this week, as was previously planned, he would have had a month to acclimate and prepare for what would have been a classic series with Golden State. Without Durant, the Thunder --- even with Russell Westbrook recording a triple-double game after game --- have no chance to knock off the Warriors.
It's great news for Golden State, which is now the prohibitive favorite in the West. It's potentially terrible news for Oklahoma City, which now will enter the final year of Durant's contract on a negative note. It's also yet another example of the hard truth of life in the NBA (and most sports, for that matter): All of the planning in the world can't overcome bad injury luck.
As an aside, don't look now, but here come the defending champion Spurs. San Antonio is 8-2 in its last 10, including a resounding win over Atlanta Sunday. The Spurs look like the championship club of the last few years. There are four certainties in life, it seems: Death, taxes, Tom Izzo's teams playing their best in March and Gregg Popovich's teams finding their rhythm in the final month of the regular season. Don't be shocked if San Antonio works its way all the way to the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference.
9. Kris Bryant hit a home run in a B game on Friday and then two more off Seattle ace Felix Hernandez Saturday, doing nothing to "earn" the almost inevitable "demotion" coming his way in the next 10-14 days. Due to service time issues and to save another year of club control, the Chicago Cubs are almost certainly going to send Bryant to Triple-A Iowa to open the 2015 season. Even though it's the smart business decision and Bryant will miss as few as nine major league games before he's called up, there will be a firestorm of reaction.
Over the weekend, former Cubs Cy Young Award winner Rick Sutcliffe tweeted that after Bryant's second home run Saturday, Hall of Famer Billy Williams asked, "Who is he? Roy Hobbs?"
Detroit Tigers ace David Price, who happens to be a free agent in less than a year, tweeted, "I've told myself not to tweet about Kris Bryant but I can't help it. …Wow man?? His homers are my BP hitting from 2nd base…and I got POP!"
The Cubs do have a leg to stand on if they send Bryant down, albeit a weak one. According to Bleacher Nation, if he were to make the Opening Night roster, Bryant's 740 minor league career plate appearances would rank as the second fewest among hitters who were the first position player drafted between 2001 and 2012. He would join Washington's Bryce Harper as the only two players in those classes to make their major league debuts with fewer than 800 plate appearances at the minor league level. That's a list that includes Joe Mauer, B.J. Upton, Delmon Young, Justin Upton, Evan Longoria, Mike Moustakis, Pedro Alvarez and Dustin Ackley.
The most apt comparison is likely Longoria, who debuted on April 12, 2008, 13 days into the season. When Longoria arrived in Tampa, he had 881 minor league plate appearances.
Still, without the service time issue, Bryant is in Chicago's lineup on April 4 when the Cubs entertain St. Louis. I don't remotely blame Theo Epstein for the decision he's going to make; it simply makes economic sense. The fans, however, get cheated out of a great story.
10. I rarely delve into politics in this space, but I can't help myself. Asked recently how to offset the influence of big money in politics, President Barack Obama said perhaps it's time to make voting mandatory.
Does the man understand what a democracy is? I seriously wonder, and I'm not one of these people who question his citizenship or his motives or any other such nonsense. I actually think Obama is probably a good guy with a big heart who loves his family. But mandatory voting? No.
"Other countries have mandatory voting," Obama said Wednesday in Cleveland, where he spoke about the importance of middle class economics, and was asked about the issue during a town hall. "It would be transformative if everybody voted --- that would counteract money more than anything.
"The people who tend not to vote are young, they're lower income, they're skewed more heavily towards immigrant groups and minority groups. There's a reason why some folks try to keep them away from the polls."
According to CNN.com, at least 26 countries have compulsory voting. Failure to vote is punishable by a fine in countries such as Australia and Belgium; if you fail to pay your fine in Belgium, you could go to prison. The United States, on the other hand, has one of the lowest voter turnout rates among developed countries.
Less than 37 percent of eligible voters actually voted in the 2014 midterm elections, according to The Pew Charitable Trusts. That means about 144 million Americans did not exercise their right to vote.
Mandatory voting could bring its own set of problems. Haydon Manning, associate professor at Flinders University in Australia, told CNN.com that country's rules can backfire.
"Turning the vote out might not be a problem, but wooing disengaged citizens now requires banal sloganeering and crass misleading negative advertising," Manning told CNN. "To me, this can diminish the democratic experience for those who take the time to think through the issues."
Voting is a right. Voting is a privilege. If one chooses to vote, great. If he doesn't, so be it. Mandatory health care, in my opinion, was going too far. Giving the government the power to require voting, and to police those who don't, is ridiculously extreme.
This post was edited on 3/23 6:08 AM by Neal McCready
