College Hoops Betting News and Notes
By Steve Merril
Covers.com
ACC:
Virginia has lost two players to transfer. KT Harrell and James Johnson have decided to leave the Cavaliers after they were both relegated to the bench. Head coach Tony Bennett plays a very slow, half-court game and that style didn’t fit the players' strengths.
“I think we’re getting a better handle on what will work here and what we’re trying to get and filling holes,” Bennett said.
With the two transfers, Virginia is now down to just nine scholarship players which will force Bennett to play freshman guard Paul Jesperson, who he initially intended to redshirt this season.
BIG 10:
Illinois will have one less guard in their rotation as Crandall Head has decided to transfer. Head, more known for being the little brother of former Illini star and NBA player Luther Head, has had many off the court issues and he was recently suspended four games for violation of team rules.
“We are disappointed with Crandall’s decision not to continue his career at Illinois, but ultimately we want what is best for him,” Illinois head coach Bruce Weber said. “We have developed and maintained a close relationship with Crandall and his family through the years and will always support them. We wish Crandall all the best and hope he is successful in the next chapter of his career.”
BIG 12:
Kansas has been working hard over their semester break.
“From now until the January 17 start of second semester, we’ll have unlimited time,” head coach Bill Self said. “There are no limitations, so you don’t have to give the guys a day off. You can go as long as you want, as many times as you want, whenever you want, that kind of stuff.”
Self also told his team that if they don’t practice to his liking, then the sessions will not be too kind.
“It’ll probably be to your benefit if we do because there’s a great chance we won’t enjoy ourselves a lot after we get back after Christmas. Remember last year we had some eight hour days, and that’s when we were undefeated. I don’t know how our guys are going to react this year,” Self added.
BIG EAST:
St. John’s is having a challenging season. The Johnnies are loaded with freshman, and without having head coach Steve Lavin around as he recovers from surgery, the young team has been a handful for assistant coach Mike Dunlap.
“It’s been challenging,” Dunlap said. “For me and for our staff it’s been an arduous process. Long term this group needs to be developed, not only with the conceptual part of it, but with the attention to detail and fundamentals. We have the short term objective of playing whatever is in front of us, but the long-term objective is to continue to build a base that will be ready to play next year as well, so you have to service two things.”
PAC 12:
UCLA sure could use Matt Carlino right now. Carlino is a terrific point guard that left Los Angeles for Provo, Utah. He became eligible to play for BYU in mid-December because of transfer rules.
In the three games Carlino has played, he has averaged 16.7 points per game and 6.3 assists per game. Considering the Bruins leading scoring averages just 13.2 points per game and their leading assists guy averages just 3.8 per game, UCLA has to be sick about losing Carlino.
SEC:
Georgia will be without their leading rebounder for at least part of the season as sophomore forward Marcus Thornton is set to undergo exploratory knee surgery.
Thornton hurt his knee in a game last week and his inside presence will be missed by the Bulldogs. Thornton started nine of Georgia’s 12 games this season and he led the Bulldogs with 5.8 rebounds per game. His expected recovery time and a potential return date will be set after his surgery is complete.