It's the 25th (probably the 26th) of October now, and your excuses for not watching the internet for every possible speck of college ball news are starting to run out. If you are from Ohio, both your NFL team and college football team are not going anywhere, admitting that is the first step. The NBA will not be numbing any minds with its incessant droning for a long while, and any soccer worth watching is only on Saturday and Sunday. If, even with those caveats, you still missed some stories, we've got them for you.
- First, Dez Wells is a bit of a monster. That picture illustrates how a grown man dunks a basketball. If that doesn't get you excited about the new kid, nothing will. Thank college athletes with Twitter for access to stuff like that.
- One thing that sometimes gets lost in all of Xavier's athletic excellence is the commitment to high academic standards as well. Every coach and pundit pays lip service to the idea of the "student-athlete," but Xavier takes that a step farther. Xavier's graduation success rate among athletes is a staggering 95% (compared to 82% nationwide). Calculated over a six year period, the GSR is considered a measure of how well a school educates its athletes. While not one of the 13 Xavier programs achieving a 100%, men's basketball still managed a very good 93%. Well done to the entire school.
- Xavier's exceptional Game Night series is back for installment number four, The Calm. Things to note are: Kenny Frease trying to do karaokes, Dante Jackson is crazy, and we love him for it, four minute wars are huge in coaching now. If you have never experienced coming out through a tunnel of people that love you, do it. Line them at your office, church, or local park, and then run through. There aren't many better feelings in life.
- This is a relatively intelligent take on the paying athletes debate. Schools are making money off theses guys, but don't let anyone tell you the athlete doesn't come out with a great deal. That said, an added stipend to make sure that the scholarship really is full, and allowances for injuries and the occasional free meal would go a long way toward making this all work. Remember though, for every scholarship athlete whining about the school making money off him, there is a walk-on playing for nothing more than the love of the game and some nice gear.
- Lastly, a few more thoughts on the Tu Holloway suspension. Joel already covered it well, but I couldn't pass up an opportunity. 1. With scandals like OSU, UConn, and Miami (FL) happening in the public eye, suspensions like this one just make the NCAA seem even more out of touch and idiotic. 2. Tu Holloway was suspended from playing basketball for... playing basketball. That's like kicking someone out of class for working ahead in the homework. 3. Coach Mack and the rest of the Xavier staff demonstrated a great deal of integrity in self-reporting the secondary violation. Everyone involved in that decision should be commended. Even rules that make no sense and have no bearing in reality should be respected. I guess.