Ole Miss (and several other programs) are on Malik Newman watch now, especially with the McDonald's All-American Game set for Wednesday in Chicago. We finally got a look at spring practice Saturday and we all checked out the quarterback (what's the word here?) "competition." Major League Baseball begins in one week when the Cardinals visit the Cubs at (what's left of) Wrigley Field, and the NCAA tournament is down to the Final Four. My thoughts on these topics and more follow here, thanks to Oxford-based RE/MAX agent Harry Alexander. Check out Harry's website for all the information you need if you're in the market for a home or condominium in Oxford. It's www.harrryalexander.com.
1. Five-star guard Malik Newman will be playing in the McDonald's All-American Game Wednesday at the United Center in Chicago. His decision could come in the Windy City. Then again, it might not come for another six weeks. No one --- seriously, no one --- seems to know.
Here's what I'm hearing on Newman from multiple sources, so take it how you'd like. You won't hurt my feelings.
Newman is down to a final six or so. Kentucky, Kansas, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, LSU and North Carolina State are technically in the race, though I find it difficult to truly believe Newman is thinking about a half dozen programs as the calendar flips to April. One source close to Newman's recruiting agrees with me. He believes Newman will ultimately decide between Ole Miss and Kentucky.
The Clarion-Ledger's Courtney Cronin, who is beyond a shadow of any doubt the media member closest to Newman, believes Kansas is a major player for Newman.
Newman himself has openly talked about LSU in recent days, though other sources believe the Tigers have fallen precipitously in recent weeks.
Finally, some --- including 247 Sports' basketball recruiting guru Jerry Meyer --- believe Mississippi State is a real player now that the Bulldogs have replaced Rick Ray with Ben Howland. I'm not dismissing Meyer. He's good. However, it's difficult for me to believe a one-and-done talent like Newman is going to spend that one year on a team not ready to win.
"Winning has always been very important to me," Newman told the (New Orleans) Times-Picayune. "Losing just doesn't sit very well with me. All I have known is winning and I don't ever want that to change."
Ole Miss' sales pitch is compelling. Join Stefan Moody in the backcourt and take all the shots you want in a lineup that would also feature junior forward Sebastian Saiz, junior center Dwight Coleby and defensive specialist Martavious Newby. All the while, stay in your home state, open a new arena and become the face of a program, likely for decades to come. No one else offers that package.
Ole Miss had hoped Newman's buddy, five-star center Diamond Stone, would commit to Wisconsin late last week. Stone, a Wisconsin native, instead chose Maryland. There's a fear in Oxford that Newman might eschew the home-state angle and go with the established program. Kentucky covets Newman, but the question for Newman is does he get moved off the point in Lexington due to the return of Tyler Ulis? Newman is 6-foot-3, a point guard in the NBA. NBA scouts will want to see him play the point in college. He'd certainly do that at Ole Miss.
The Rebels are in it, that's for sure. How much? No one really knows.
2. We in the media had access to Saturday's practice/scrimmage inside the Manning Center, our first look at the Rebels this spring. Most eyes (mine included) were on the quarterbacks. Hugh Freeze has said all spring and reiterated after Saturday's session that the three-man "competition" is very close. He said Saturday he won't name a starter for the season opener until, at the very earliest, the second week of fall camp.
As a guy who makes at least part of his living off subscription sales, I appreciate the drama, even if it's generated. The next football game I coach will be my first, but I've got two eyes. When I'm wearing my corrective lenses, they work pretty well, and I know what I saw Saturday morning.
Chad Kelly is going to be Ole Miss' quarterback unless he gets hurt or find trouble. He runs the offense, clearly has a sense for the game and he can really spin it. On several occasions Saturday, Kelly unleashed a deep ball, giving Ole Miss an element it hasn't really had during the first three seasons of the Freeze era.
I suspect Freeze is trying to do his level best to keep all three quarterbacks --- Kelly, Ryan Buchanan and DeVante Kincade --- in Oxford in the fall, and I don't blame him for that if that's the case. Maybe Saturday was just Kelly's day and maybe I have no idea what I'm talking about, but what I watched Saturday didn't look like the stuff of a close competition.
3. You're not supposed to cheer for or against teams you cover in this business, and I do a really good job of not doing it. However, it's sometimes tough not to cheer for people. C.J. Johnson is one of my all-time favorites. He's witty, accommodating to the media, a good quote and a good story all in one. The defensive end is playing middle linebacker this spring, and Saturday was my first chance to see how the experiment is going.
Again, my next day as a linebackers coach will be my first, but Johnson appeared to me to do some things well while other elements of his game were still very much a work in progress. Defensive coordinator Dave Wommack said he's still going to use Johnson off the edge this fall. That leaves Temario Strong and Christian Russell at middle linebacker. Incoming freshman Shawn Curtis, who was taking an official visit to Ole Miss over the weekend, could help as well. Freeze said DeMarquis Gates could move from outside linebacker (stinger) to the middle if nothing else works out.
Gates could become more expendable as a stinger if junior college transfer Terry Caldwell is able to help in the fall.
"You have so much more to learn at linebacker," Wommack said. "Terry's been a little bit slower, but the last couple of days, I've seen him start to take off. He's shown some real burst, but he's not doing some of the little things I want him to do yet. He's making a lot of progress."
Wommack said Ole Miss didn't know much about Caldwell until August and then didn't really evaluate him until late in the process.
"We were just fortunate to get him," Wommack said. "His dad saw us play LSU when Denzel (Nkemdiche) broke his leg. His dad said, 'Maybe Ole Miss could replace Denzel with (Caldwell).' It all worked out."
4. I wrote about Breeland Speaks' "new" body on Saturday afternoon. The defensive tackle has lost weight and appears much stronger and agile than he did as a true freshman last fall. Freeze said Ole Miss identified 12 players who needed to change eating habits. Freeze didn't name them all, but he did single out offensive lineman Jordan Sims.
"Jordan Sims is a different kid now," Freeze said. "He's lost 60 pounds and now he's become a football player. Same thing with some of those others like Herbert (Moore) and Breeland. We've put them on a really strict nutritional diet and it's really paid dividends for us."
5. Robert Conyers limped into the Manning Center at one point Sunday, his leg heavily bandaged. Laremy Tunsil is out for the spring. So is Aaron Morris, Sean Rawlings, Daronte Bouldin and Davion Johnson (I might be missing somebody; it's a long list). Jeremy Liggins was working at left tackle and he appeared to do some things well. I'm no offensive line coach, but Rod Taylor looked to be playing more consistently than he did as a freshman last fall. Ben Still and Fahn Cooper are dependable veterans at this point. True freshman Javon Patterson is still swimming, but there's no doubt his future is promising.
No area on Ole Miss' team, quarterback play included, is going to be more under the microscope in the fall. If the walking wounded return and stay healthy, there's reason for Ole Miss fans to feel optimistic. If fans could have seen Saturday, however, that makeshift offensive front served as a reminder that the margin between good and great for Ole Miss could always be crossed by an injury or two.
6. There don't appear to be any question marks, on the other hand, regarding Ole Miss' defense. Based on just one viewing, and again with the disclaimer that I'm no expert, the Rebels' defense in 2015 has a real chance to be much better than the one that earned so much acclaim in 2014.
As mentioned above, middle linebacker is an issue, and that's a big one to have. There are no other question marks. Ole Miss is dominant at defensive tackle with Robert Nkemdiche, D.J. Jones, Issac Gross, Woodrow Hamilton and others. Marquis Haynes, Fadol Brown, Channing Ward and Johnson are all experienced at defensive end.
Denzel Nkemdiche has returned to health. Gates has a chance to be a dominant player at stinger. Tony Conner, if it's actually possible, looks physically more imposing than he did a year ago. If he can prove that he can handle man-to-man coverage, he's got a chance, in my amateur opinion, to be a top-20 pick in next May's NFL draft.
C.J. Hampton is going to be a star at safety. Trae Elston and Mike Hilton are more than dependable, and the combination of Tee Sheppard and Tony Bridges gives Ole Miss length and athleticism it has never previously enjoyed at cornerback.
If the offense can produce --- and as of this moment, that's still an if --- 2015 could be special for Ole Miss.
6b. We were looking at the depth chart for Ole Miss' first game under Freeze. One player on that depth chart, wide receiver Donte Moncrief, is in the NFL. No other player on the list actually played a snap in a regular season NFL game. Two other players on that depth chart, cornerback Senquez Golson and safety Cody Prewitt, will likely be drafted in May. That's it. It was that bad. Between 1-3 players on an SEC roster were destined for the NFL. That's all. There's your perspective for the week. It was really, really, really bad.
7. The Final Four is set and, man oh man, it's a sexy field. I've got to admit, after a season of criticizing the college game, the Sweet 16 was fantastic hoops.
Wisconsin has the goods to beat Kentucky. I'm not saying the Badgers will pull it off, but their combination of inside and outside threats, combined with their mistake-free style and defensive tenacity, will test the 38-0 'Cats. The other semifinal features Coach K and Duke against Mr. March himself, Michigan State's Tom Izzo. Yes, please. I can't wait.
8. The news broke on Friday afternoon that Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant would need a bone graft surgery on his injured foot, a procedure that will keep him off the basketball floor for the next 4-6 months, a period that will obviously include all of the NBA playoffs. As a guy who follows the Thunder, I had held out hope that Durant would return in time for the playoffs, as would Serge Ibaka, Nick Collison and Andre Roberson. Then, in my little fantasy world, Russell Westbrook would continue playing MVP-caliber basketball, Enes Kanter would keep posting double-doubles and the invigorated Thunder would knock off Golden State and then just keep rolling to the NBA Finals.
Deep down, I knew it was a dream. This season, at least for the Thunder, is finished. A better question is where does this leave Durant? He's listed at 6-foot-9, but he's at least 6-11. Big men with foot problems don't always return to form. Ask Bill Walton. Or Yao Ming. On the other hand, the Nets' Brook Lopez had the bone graft procedure done after his Jones fracture injury didn't heal the first time, and he's been very effective this season.
In some ways, I think, this development is a positive for the Thunder long-term. Durant won't be healthy until training camp, meaning the offseason focus won't be entirely on Durant's impending free agency. No team is going to deal for Durant this summer without seeing his return to the floor, so the scenario in which Durant got Hardened (traded) with a year left on his deal is likely out the window now, if it was ever actually in play (I sincerely doubt it was).
There will be immense pressure on Oklahoma City to win big next year. There will be pressure on the organization this summer to surround Durant with the best roster he's ever had (something not possible when you factor in James Harden as a former sixth man who was dealt away). Oklahoma City will almost certainly extend Kanter. Westbrook and Ibaka return, as do Steven Adams, Roberson, Collison and others. There's no reason the Thunder can't be next year's Warriors, and if that's the case, it would likely be difficult for Durant to leave.
All of that centers on Durant returning to form, something that is certainly no guarantee today.
9. The Major League Baseball season begins next Sunday night at Wrigley Field with the Chicago Cubs hosting the St. Louis Cardinals. As a Cubs fan, I'm far more excited for 2016 than I am this season, but it promises to be an interesting summer, if nothing else. Here are my sure-to-go-wrong picks for the coming campaign:
American League East: Boston Red Sox
American League Central: Cleveland Indians
American League West: Los Angeles Angels
National League East: Washington Nationals
National League Central: St. Louis Cardinals
National League West: Los Angeles Dodgers
A.L. Wildcard Game: Detroit Tigers over Seattle Mariners
N.L. Wildcard Game: San Francisco Giants over Pittsburgh Pirates
A.L. Championship Series: Los Angeles Angels over Cleveland Indians
N.L. Championship Series: Washington Nationals over Los Angeles Dodgers
World Series: Washington Nationals over Los Angeles Angels
A.L. Rookie of the Year: Rusney Castillo, OF, Boston Red Sox
N.L. Rookie of the Year: Jorge Soler, OF, Chicago Cubs
A.L. Cy Young Award: David Price, Detroit Tigers
N.L. Cy Young Award: Jordan Zimmermann, Washington Nationals
A.L. MVP: Mike Trout, OF, Los Angeles Angels
N.L. MVP: Giancarlo Stanton, OF, Miami Marlins
10. Starting July 1, Mississippians will be banned from texting while driving. The new law is designed to protect and bring awareness to residents about the dangers of distracted driving.
Mississippi is the 45th state to ban texting while driving. According to the Center for Mississippi Health Policy, distracted driving is the leading cause of death for Mississippians under the age of 45.
Colonel Donnell Berry, the Director of the Mississippi Highway Patrol said a lot of accidents are due to texting while driving.
"When you travel up and down the road and you see the traffic is backing up, you see somebody texting," Berry told Mississippi Public Broadcasting. "You go out and work an accident and for no apparent reason somebody had run off the road and nine times out of ten it's due to texting or reading a text on a phone, not paying attention to what you are doing or where your surroundings are while you are driving."
Residents who are caught texting while driving, face a fine of $25 for the first year and then after that the fine goes up to $100 plus court costs.
My take: Thank goodness. I know I'm tempted to respond to texts while driving. I try to use my voice app on my iPhone, but even that's irresponsible and dangerous. My kids are often in the car, and besides my putting them at risk, I'm setting a horrific example. I've gotten better recently, but I --- and all of us --- need to stop completely. Perhaps the law will reinforce that notion.
Note: There won't be a 10 Thoughts next week, as I'll be out of town. Thoughts will return on April 12 with a post-Grove Bowl edition. Have a great week.
This post was edited on 3/29 9:00 PM by Neal McCready
This post was edited on 3/30 10:30 AM by Neal McCready
