13th&Jackson

Aren't personal injury lawyers vampires?

UGonna Doowat?

FedEx has announced a massive $25 million name, image and likeness investment in Memphis athletics that will fund $5 million in NIL contracts over each of the next five years in key sports while promoting the company. The deal is believed to be the biggest corporate NIL partnership of its type in college athletics. https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/fedex-to-fund-25-million-for-memphis-nil-in-whats-believed-to-be-largest-corporate-partnership-with-athletes/

Making a good first impression:

Veteran leadership on a very young team

This is brutal for for MN if they lose Hawkins and Payne. Hawkins had previously announced he was definitely returning.

You have to actually win something first. There are a lot of pro franchises who’ve spent a ton of money in free agency and have nothing to show for it. This is uncharted waters for CBB. I’m glad that IU seems to be finally focused on getting in the game, but there’s no such thing as a “hot stove” championship.

Right. Last thing we need is Biff Wellington on here

Yeah, Newton went public in July of last year about the severity of his injury, one month before he had another surgery and was ruled out for the year. The training staff and coaches had to know he wasn't going to play last season or if so, wouldn't be effective with so little activity. "Since the spring of 2022, Jakai Newton's body has rarely cooperated with his basketball ambitions. More specifically, an injured knee that robbed the Indiana freshman guard of all but two weeks of his senior season at Newton High School in Covington, Ga., and is threatening to derail Newton's first season with the Hoosiers." So, when can Indiana fans expect Newton to be back at full strength? That's ultimately up to the healing timetable of Newton's knee and the advice of IU's training staff and doctors, and as of now, they're opting not to take any unnecessary risks. That means while the rest of the Hoosiers have been battling on the practice floor since June, Newton has had to watch from the sidelines. He's still studying film every day and listening intently during practice, but his first taste of college competition remains elusive. "I talked to the Indiana doctors and trainers, and pretty much it's just I gotta take it slow," Newton said. "Like, the injury I got is tough. I've been out for so long, so I gotta build all my muscle back and still just take it easy.

It was the circumstances. IU had insufficient guard depth and experience in 22/23 when XJ got injured. They had even less last season when he was injured again. Filling the 13th scholarship doesn't necessarily mean it's the last guy off the bench.

Johnell Davis would have helped a lot, but MI can really only get grad transfers or freshmen/sophomores. Their limit of only transferring a maximum of 60 credits for undergrads doesn't work for older players unless they already have a degree.

He is, but May is putting together a solid transfer roster. He's added a PG from Auburn, two skilled scoring guards, a stretch 4 and a center who can handle and shoot from the perimeter. Fits how he wants to play.

I checked the stats and Empty Chair had zero turnovers last year.

He also had a really good eye for overlooked talent. He’d be good at finding transfer talent

Didn’t say next season. Also, not a fan of limiting a search to an alum. But we’re seeing that coaches don’t want to leave a good job to go to so-called blue bloods. Roy Williams wouldn’t have left Kansas for anywhere but NC.

I actually hope he does well other than against IU. I think he still has something to prove, but the potential is certainly there. May is only 47. The former IU coaching tree doesn't have many branches. If he's successful at MI, I'd hope at the right time, the IU donors would pony up for his buyout. It's always easier to get someone to leave a job to go to their alma mater.

Didn't you get the memo? We grade with a curve now.

Reminded me of painting from Airplane

Seven in the portal. Three retuning from an elite 8 team, including a senior walk-on. “Next season will be Duke head coach Jon Scheyer's first without a single player from the Mike Krzyzewski era. It's shaping up to be a make-or-break year for the Duke alum, who has succeeded in continuing Coach K's perennial recruiting dominance but has failed to reach a final four thus far. Both of his teams have gone 27-9, with an ACC tournament championship in 2023, but Duke fans are obviously looking for something more.” https://sports.yahoo.com/duke-to-return-3-players-from-last-seasons-roster-after-7th-player-enters-transfer-portal-235512749.html

A few interesting tidbits: He basically "redshirted" in HS, taking his sophomore year over when he transferred to Worcester Academy during Covid. He's a 20 year old freshman. He shoots right handed, but he was a very good left-handed pitcher in HS. Had a 3.9 GPA in HS.

But he'll only face our 3 point defense in practice

Speaking of Caitlin Clark, Greg Doyle is a tool who is getting national attention for the wrong reason. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/sports/columnist-apologizes-caitlin-clark-heart-gesture-rcna148326

I’m sure ESPN is petitioning Congress as we speak