SCOREBOARD
(BB: NCAA TOURNAMENT) Kentucky 81, Western Kentucky 66
The Wildcats continue to head toward the championship game. Next up: A matchup with Iowa State. A Sea Of Blue's take.
(BB: NCAA TOURNAMENT) Vanderbilt 79, Harvard 70
The Commodores knock out the Crimson and face Wisconsin on Saturday. Anchor Of Gold's take.
NEWS
Rick Stansbury retires
He might not have had a lot of choice -- especially considering that the Mississippi State athletics director wouldn't say what might have happened had Stansbury not retired -- but that's the official story out of Starkville as the winningest coach in program history stepped aside.
Whether even a charge through the NIT could have helped Stansbury survive after a 15-2 record set up an epic collapse is its own question. But with the loss in the first round of the second-tier tournament, the writing was on the wall.
Stricklin also would not give a timetable for having a new coach hired. He said the school might hire a search firm to do the "ground work," but that he will handle most of the search.
That would be a slightly different approach from South Carolina's Eric Hyman -- which might or might not matter if the programs settle on the same candidates.
In case you were wondering what Renardo Sidney meant by 'I'm out'
Renardo Sidney decided to issue a press release via Twitter, which requires some discipline over the course of 11 tweets. In any case, the tweets were actually pretty classy and honest.
Didn’t realize that but I’m very sorry it had to end this way and I’m sorry to the #bulldognation I have been selfish,lazy,not willing to
Work and that’s my fault not anybody else and I forgive all u people who said Nasty stuff to me it’s life and I have to keep pushing
Of course, what happens with Sidney is now a relative footnote for the Mississippi State program.
Ya know ...
This was probably not the right time for WKU Coach Ray Harper to say this about Kentucky.
"If they want to advance and win a national championship, they're going to have to shoot the ball better from the perimeter," Harper said.
After all, it's not like Kentucky is going to get closer to a national championship than WKU regardless of how well they shoot from the perimeter. Oh. Wait a minute ...
How much should March mean in coaching searches?
Maybe not too much, as Gamecock Man says in evaluating whether the one-and-done for Gregg Marshall's Wichita State team should knock him from being the first three names on the South Carolina short list.
Another way of putting this is to say that I simply don't think we should put too much stock in March performances by mid-major coaches. That's what got us into the Horn mess. What matters to me about Marshall is that he's a consistent coach who is known for being able to build programs.
Of course, the Gamecocks are probably not the only team that's going to try to hire Marshall.
Pat Summitt next?
The Vols women's basketball coach, who was diagnosed with dementia last year, is keeping mum about her coaching future.
Summitt responded to speculation that she wanted to return next season by saying, "I haven't suggested that."
No one can blame Summitt no matter what decision she makes. I suspect no one will.
As long as it doesn't include anachronistic references to gas stations ...
You can't really blame head baseball coach Dave Serrano for not knowing why this might hit some people the wrong way, but Tennessee coaches should really avoid this joke for 20 or so years.
"I'm calling it The Plan," Serrano joked before climbing on the team bus Thursday. "We've had four weeks to evaluate our talent on the mound and the roles that guys fit in the best and what sets this team off, and we have a plan going in.
Oh boy.