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The Bruins could have used a worthy rival: USC-UCLa could have become this sport's next great rivalry. Instead, it simply will remain a big Pac-10 game.

Sporting News, The, Dec 27, 2004 by Mike DeCourcy

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Filling Wisconsin's point guard void has been tough for Sharif Chambliss because he still is trying to set aside the scorer's mentality he employed as a Penn State shooting guard. "1 still have to pick my spots," he says. Chambliss says he's getting more comfortable every game, and coach Bo Ryan is pleased with his leadership. During a recent five-game stretch, Chambliss scored in double figures in each game while averaging just 2.8 assists. * The most underrated achievement in college basketball is Mississippi State's unbeaten streak on the road, which reached 14 games with a victory at Xavier last Saturday. The streak includes an 8-0 run through the Southeastern Conference last season. All-American F Lawrence Roberts, who has not lost a road game in a Bulldogs uniform, attributes the success to a simple element: "it's just toughnessm," he says. "On the road, you really have to do a good job on defense because your offense might not always be there." * Memphis coach John Calipari wanted to be careful in handling volatile sophomore PF Sean Banks but ultimately had to suspend him or risk losing his team. Banks has pro potential, but he was disrespectful to teammates and coaches and disrupted the Tigers' offense with his quick shots. All that followed a summer in which Banks lost weight because of poor training habits and chose not to try out for the USA Young Men's National Team after accepting an invitation to camp. Calipari didn't want to restore Banks until he was certain he would commit to the team, but Banks wound up missing only one game before being reinstated. He'll likely have a short leash. * Kansas wants sophomore SF J.R. Giddens to be more aggressive on offense. That doesn't mean just taking more shots; coach Bill Self wants Giddens to be a better offensive rebounder and to be less dependent on long-range shooting. Self believes Giddens should average between two and three free throw attempts; through his first 40 college games, Giddens had attempted only 31 free throws. * Pepperdine opponents keep raving about the Waves' 6-9, 230-pound senior PF Glen McGowan, who is averaging 194 points and shooting 496 percent Be has delivered his best performances against Pepperdine's biggest-name opponents, with a 27.0-point average against Wisconsin, UNLV and UCLA. The Waves were 2-1 in those games and lost by only two points at UCLA. * It's possible the Nike All-American Camp will cut the number of high school players it invites to the 2005 event. Bringing in fewer players might improve the quality of play. Nike had roughly 180 players in uniform last summer.

With an overabundance of big guys, it made sense for Texas to move 6-5 P.J. Tucker from power forward to small forward. But the transition has been a challenge, particularly in the areas of running the court and defending on the perimeter. Tucker is not entirely comfortable as a long-distance shooter, but he's able to take defenders into the post or back them down below the foul line and score on short turnarounds. He was effective using those tactics in scoring 27 points in a loss at Wake Forest. Tucker's progress also was delayed as freshman PF Mike Williams battled to be declared eligible; when Williams was out, Tucker had to move inside on occasion.

The Bruins could have used a worthy rival: USC-UCLa could have become this sport's next great rivalry. Instead, it simply will remain a big Pac-10 game.

Sporting News, The, Dec 27, 2004 by Mike DeCourcy

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