Off The Burner 11.29.23

Welcome to Off the Burner – a semi-regular stream of consciousness about college hoops.

John Calipari’s renaissance is appointment television.

Kentucky looked good last night against offensive juggernaut and eighth-ranked Miami. They had 26 assists, the most they’ve ever had in a game vs. a ranked opponent in the John Calipari era. Rob Dillingham had nine of them – with no turnovers! Reed Sheppard might be my new favorite player and as much as I would love for him to stay at Kentucky all four years and become a legend, he’s probably league bound next year.

This is what John Calipari teams should look like in modern basketball. Athletes and shooters. Kentucky will always be able to get the best of both if they want, but they hadn’t made it a priority until now. We have to give credit to Calipari for adapting, whether it was on his own merits or by the acts of God that landed him with Tre Mitchell and no healthy big men to start the year. I wouldn’t be surprised if things looked wonky for a bit when the footers get back, but I think we’re passed the point of returning to the dark ages of the dribble-drive.

Kentucky is fun as hell to watch. Each of their games is appointment television going forward.

Brad Brownell is immortal.

How about Brad Brownell? This guy is 6-0 for the first time in his career. He’s started 5-0 three times! I made a bold prediction before the season started that Clemson would make the Sweet 16 and so far Brad is making me look smart.

The Tigers are old and they can shoot. PJ Hall is arguably the most underrated player in the country. At 6’10”, he’s shooting 61% from 2p, 41% from 3p and 83% from the line. He’s also one of the best rebounders and shot blockers in the country. He’s on pace to be the only player in the last 30 seasons to put up those numbers with his volume. Then you’ve got Joe Girard. When Brownell recruited him, I knew we’d see something different from Clemson this year. The grad transfer is already on pace to have the most efficient season of his career. His offensive rating and effective field goal percentage are the highest they’ve ever been. All the while, his turnover rate is the lowest it’s ever been. Girard fits perfectly next to Chase Hunter and it’s really fun to watch.

I created the Brad Brownell Award for coaches who live on the hot seat and never get fired. Brownell has officially disqualified himself from his own award – he is OFF the hot seat.

South Carolina is still undefeated!

Lamont Paris has done a great job flipping South Carolina. The Gamecocks are 6-0 for the first time since their Final Four run in 2017. People will talk about their strength of schedule, but I came away impressed with their wins over Grand Canyon and Virginia Tech. At the end of the day, you still have to win games and Paris has done just that. Meechie Johnson and BJ Mack have been terrific so far, both averaging 16ppg. Vandy transfer Myles Stute has been the perfect compliment to those two, shooting lights out from three and putting up 10ppg of his own. I don’t expect the Gamecocks to compete for an SEC title this year, but things are certainly looking up in Columbia.

Josh Schertz is a name to watch.

Indiana State head coach Josh Schertz just wins, man. The Sycamores are off to a 6-1 start after beating the brakes off a good Southern Illinois team last night. After an 11-win season in year one, Schertz led ISU to a 23-13 record last year. They finished top-100 in KenPom for the first time since 2013 and they’re sitting at 72 as of writing. Before he got to Indiana State, he won 83% of his games over 13 seasons at D2 powerhouse Lincoln Memorial. They won their conference nine (!) times. Schertz is a rising star in the business and is more proof that athletic directors should hire winners at any level.

Will Wade is coming for your high major opening.

Are you a high major school that needs a men’s basketball coach? Will Wade is a candidate for you! Wade’s McNeese team is off to a 6-2 start with big time road wins over VCU and UAB. He hasn’t even coached a game yet and his team already looks like the clear cut Southland favorites. They’ll probably finish with one or two losses in league play and win a NCAA tournament game. When that happens, the floodgates will open. Wade is the one guy you can hire today and guarantee you’ll have a competitive roster in year one. He’s one of the best talent accumulators in the sport and he’ll be back on a power conference sideline next year.

Moussa Cisse gets a waiver.

We had some late-night waiver news, with Ole Miss big man Moussa Cisse getting cleared to play this season after multiple appeals. The hilarious footnote here is that his first game will be against Memphis, one of his former schools.

I’m happy for Cisse, but this highlights a major problem in college basketball right now. It’s November 29 and teams are still fighting to get kids eligible. The NCAA needs to self-impose a deadline to make waiver decisions. Cisse (and many others) should’ve known an answer either way by opening night. He committed to Ole Miss in May. What have they been doing for six months? The fight still continues for guys like Brandon Murray and RaeQuan Battle, but it’s unfair to everyone involved that it’s taking this long.

December basketball is coming.

November is easily the second best month of the season behind March. Non-conference matchups we never get to see, upsets left and right, extremely hot takes and overreactions. What’s not to love? December basketball, though? December is arguably the toughest month of the season for teams to get through. The schedule is choppy. Finals week causes more headaches than anything basketball related. The general student population goes home, so arenas are dead. This is when we get the “they lost to who??” games because minds are elsewhere. The Christmas getaway game is the most dangerous game on the schedule and some teams will get snuck up on before the break.

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