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| Sunday, January 30 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
It's tough to beat Florida's Billy Donovan when it comes to recruiting. But there's more to this game that putting the best talent on the floor and expecting to win.
Of course, it doesn't hurt to have a foundation of great young talent. Donovan knows that, and will go to the ends of the earth (well, New Hampshire, South Dakota and West Virginia, to name a few) to seek that talent. Some coaches prefer to look in their own backyard. Alabama's Mark Gottfried did just that in filling the Crimson Tide's roster -- Erwin Dudley, Rod Grizzard and Terrance Meade were in-state recruits, and that threesome leads the Tide in most statistical categories. Arkansas kept Joe Johnson home, LSU found a starter in Torris Bright out of Slidell, La., Chuck Eidson has helped South Carolina bounce back from a disappointing season and Tennessee convinced Ron Slay to come home after he spent time at Oak Hill Academy in Virginia. Is it the home cooking? Or is it just that the SEC might be the most balanced league top to bottom in college basketball and there isn't really a bad place to play? We'll take the main dish of competitive balance, but side orders of gumbo and hush puppies just to be sure. Statistics through Tuesday, Jan. 25.
| ALSO SEE The Weekly Word on college basketball Freshman Watch Statistical breakdown of top 20 freshmen South: Secret to Cincy's success Poll results for top 10 freshmen by conference Top 10 freshmen in the Big 12 Top 10 freshmen in the Big Ten Top 10 freshmen in Conference USA Top 10 freshmen in the Pac-10 Top 10 freshmen in the Mountain West and WAC Top 10 freshmen in the ACC Top 10 freshmen in the Atlantic 10 Top 10 freshmen in the Big East Top 10 freshmen in the rest of the country AUDIO/VIDEO Donnell Harvey seals off the defender and slams it down. avi: 636 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 |