FIVE MO' THINGS, 2/13/12
1) Nerlens Noel

This sucks.  (And before we get started, if you're one of those fans who gets excited when a guy on the other team suffers a severe injury, please leave and come back when you're ready to sit at the adult table.)  Nerlens was not only the probable number one pick in the draft, but he was one of the top five most fun players to watch in college basketball, and by all accounts, a good guy. 

The play he suffered he injury on was typical for him - a hustle play after a teammate's mistake - and now puts not only his draft status but Kentucky's season in question.

I think the Wildcats can, and will make the NCAAs.  Even without Noel, they still have five games, albeit many on the road, that they should still win. Their two toughest games are both at Rupp.  If they go 5-2, losing to Missouri and Florida, they'll lack an eye-popping win but they'll have no real awful losses. These are big ifs, by the way.  Still though, I can't imagine the committee keeping a 22-win Kentucky team that goes 11-5 in the SEC out of the dance, especially if it does win five of seven without Noel.

I don't know what it will do for his draft stock...I think it's fair to wait for a diagnosis first.....but things like his explosiveness and quickness will be questioned by nearly every NBA team.  At the same time, given his extraordinary upside, are there really that many teams that would pass on him after the first couple of picks?

2) Let's not blame the system.  The inevitable knee-jerk (no pun intended) had begun.  Pat Forde goes after the NBA's age requirement...

The greater issue is Noel's future, and the way it is put at risk by a system that forced him to play college ball for a year instead of going straight into the NBA draft.

Noel may have gotten hurt in 2013 no matter where he was playing, but at least he would be under contract and well-compensated by whatever NBA team would have drafted him in the first round last June.

Instead, he wound up playing for scholarship money at Kentucky. And while that is nothing to sneeze at, Noel's presence on campus represents restraint of trade and a bastardization of what college is supposed to be.

Yes, it's a shame that Noel suffered an injury, and yes, it would be better for him financially had the injury occurred while he was making NBA dollars.  But I still contend that the rewards for playing college basketball outweigh the potential risks.  The league wants players who are more physically and socially mature, and while it doesn't dictate that players have to go to college, playing college basketball largely helps in these areas.  The health of the game, not pro or college, but the game has been enhanced by the rule, and Noel certainly had options that included playing professionally in Europe. 

I feel for Nerlens Noel. I hope he recovers and has a long, lucrative pro career, and I understand that his injury will spark debate.  It just won't make me change my stance.

3) The UC Bearcats did what the UC Bearcats do when the walls are closing in.  They played well last night.  They normally do when it seems like the season is slipping away.  Cashmere Wright didn't play great, but he sure looked more like himself than he has since the most recent knee injury.

I liked the offense - namely in the second half - with UC taking threes within the flow of the offense and players attacking the rim.  They didn't always finish, but both Parker and Rubles were aggressive.  And Guyn and Sanders played with a rare confidence.  Mick talked about the UC players "getting lost in the game" during the postgame show, and I thought that was a good assessment.  His guys just played, and it seemed like instincts took over. 

What does it mean for Friday?  For the rest of the season?  No idea.  Villanova is a bubble team with a bunch of players who visibly loath each other (I've never seen five teammate communicate less than their starters), Georgetown's defense will present a ton of problems on Friday, and few of these Bearcat players have put together consecutive good games recently, but maybe, just maybe, it was a start.

4)  Basketball jerseys should be tank tops. I know I'm a day or two late on this, but the fact that a player like Steph Curry will have to run around wearing these is almost criminal.

5)  Scott Rolen.  Scott Rolen did what he was brought here to do.  If he wants to continue to pursue a Major League Baseball career, God bless him.  That's all I got.