SEC Notebook
By: Chris Dortch, Columnist
Editor - Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook
Photo Credit: Mississippi State Sports Information
Alabama guard Mikhal Torrance has something to tell his
grandchildren one day. With 4:38 to play in the Crimson Tide's game
at Mississippi State last week, he drove the lane for a shot that
was turned away by the Bulldogs' Jarvis Varnado. The block was the
536th of Varnado's career, breaking the NCAA record set by
Louisiana-Monroe's Wojciech Myrda from 1998-2002.
Myrda's standard fell sooner than it figured to, thanks to a flurry
of blocks leading to the record breaker. On Feb. 20, Varnado
blocked seven shots in a win at LSU. He blocked two in the first
half against Alabama on Feb. 24, and with State about to go on the
road for a couple of games, the big man got busy. He wanted to
break the record in front of an appreciative home crowd that has
come to appreciate the blocked shot as much as a dunk or
three-pointer. Varnado turned back six Alabama shots in the second
half, the last breaking Myrda's record.
"I just got on a hot spell," Varnado said. "Shooters have a hot
streak. I was on a hot streak just blocking shots. Everything that
came in the hole, I just went and got it."
Varnado has been reluctant to speak about his accomplishments,
regarding all those rejections as just part of doing his job. He
was relieved when the record finally fell, and much more concerned
about State's drive for an NCAA Tournament bid. At 21-8 overall and
an SEC Western Division-leading 9-5, the Bulldogs are deemed to be
safely in the field by some bracket prognosticators. But they'll
have a chance to lock down their bid with a win over Tennessee in
their regular-season finale on March 6. That game is in Starkville,
where, on Senior Day, an appreciative crowd will be on hand to give
the man known as "Swat" a fitting sendoff. Tennessee could be in
trouble.
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Before the Tennessee game, the Bulldogs had to travel to Auburn,
where they helped the Tigers bid farewell not just to their senior
class, but their arena. After 42 years, Auburn is mothballing
Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum in favor of a multi-million dollar
state-of-the-art facility that will be ready in time for next
season.
Beard-Eaves was well christened-LSU's Pete Maravich, the NCAA's
all-time scoring leader, played in the first game ever in the
facility. And with Varnado, the NCAA's top shot-blocker playing in
the last game, it'll receive a fitting sendoff, too.
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Anthony Grant's first season at Alabama started on an ominous note
and is ending with the Crimson Tide struggling. Demetrius Jemison,
a certain starter at forward, snapped an Achilles tendon in the
preseason and was lost for the year. Then, six games into the
season, starting guard John Steele was forced to undergo
season-ending surgery to repair a stress fracture in his left
foot.
With Steele in the lineup, Alabama beat Baylor and Michigan in
late-November games. The Tide soldiered on without two of their key
players, but the rigors of SEC play has worn them down. They
entered a March 3 game at South Carolina having lost seven of their
previous eight games and stand at 4-10 in the West, ahead of only
sixth-place LSU (1-13).
It hasn't helped that Grant has had to mete out discipline.
Starting guard Scenario Hillman didn't play in last Saturday's
76-73 loss to Ole Miss after being suspended for what Grant
described as "basketball reasons." Worse, second-leading scorer and
top rebounder JaMychal Green was suspended for the South Carolina
trip for a violation of team rules. Sources said the suspension
involved academics.
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His team is tied for last in the SEC East and is 13-14 overall, but
Mark Fox is the league's coach of the year. Or at least, he should
receive that honor. Sure Kentucky has been ranked in the top five
most of the season and John Calipari has done a masterful job of
turning around the program's fortunes from the disastrous second
and final year of the Billy Gillispie regime. And yes, Vanderbilt's
Kevin Stallings has led the Commodores to the most league wins in
his tenure (12 and counting after a huge win at Florida on March
2). But those coaches were expected to do well. No one gave the
Bulldogs much of a chance to be representative this year, and after
they lost at home to Wofford on Nov. 17, they seemed doomed to
another 20-loss season.
Armed with abundant size-four players at least 6-8 and 240
pounds-and decent guards, Fox has turned his team into a tough out
that no one wants to face in next week's SEC Tournament. This
season the 'Dogs have beaten St. Louis, Illinois, Georgia Tech,
Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Florida. They battled in every league
game to this point, losing by 10 or more points only twice.
Fox has two legitimate stars on his hands, players who have
developed quickly under his tutelage. Guard Travis Leslie was
encouraged by Fox to add a jump shot to his high-flying repertoire
and has become one of the SEC's tougher defensive assignments. Just
ask Kentucky's Patrick Patterson about that dunk Leslie threw down
on him in Lexington (or watch it on YouTube).
Forward Trey Thompkins deserves first-team All-SEC honors,
regardless of whether he receives them. He's second in the league
in scoring (17.9 ppg), fourth in rebounding (8.1 rpg), fourth in
field-goal percentage (.504) and 10th in free-throw percentage
(.764). Thompkins is also shooting .420 from three-point range
(21-of-50).
"If he was on a team that consistently won, he'd be known as one of
the best power forwards in the nation, because that's what he is,"
Mississippi State's Stansbury said. "He can take you outside, he
can post you and he can put the ball on the floor."
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