Signing day
Well, it's in the books.
Regardless of the recruiting service you view as the best, the numbers clearly show that Georgia and Kirby Smart owned this recruiting period.
Owned it.
Since the ESPN 300 debuted in 2006, here are the teams to sign seven of the nation's top 25 players: Georgia this year. And, well, that's it.
It also made us think about the question David Paschall asked Kirby Smart on Press Row last July about recruiting. At the time, Georgia was lagging back in the recruiting standings, sitting 60th according to 247sports.com at the time. (Here's the podcast of the interview.) https://www.espnchattanooga.com/episode/press-row-podcast-711-university-of-georgia-second-year-head-coach-kirby-smart-joins-the-show-on-day-2-of-2017-sec-media-days/
Smart's smart response from SEC media days: "You judge things by signing day, and I would tell everyone to relax and breathe. We've got tough decisions to make because we've got a limited number of scholarships, and in that case we may not have the same impact because of the sheer numbers. I'm not concerned with where we are, because I'm talking to these kids every day and I'm communicating with them each day, so I feel good about it."
Any questions?
As for the other teams in and around the epicenter of the 5-at-10 universe, well, the returns were mixed.
Georgia - A+++++. Simply put there is not enough plusses to list here because as star-studded as this class is, it also addressed needs and had great balance with elite talent. From the top dual-threat QB to the top-ranked RB, OG, OLB and second-ranked CB, this may be the single best signing class in the history of signing classes judged on signing day. Here's TFP SEC ace Paschall's account.
Alabama - A. It's understandable for a lot of Johnny Tide Fans to be somewhat melancholy today. Alabama and Nick Saban have dominated the first Wednesday in February for the last decade, and while the No. 7 class in the country is nothing to sneeze at, it feels kind of blah-tastic. (And that feeling is magnified with former assistant Kirby Smart rolling things in Athens.) Still, we believe Saban landed the single best player in this class with Wednesday's signing of Patrick Surtain Jr., a monster corner who will be the next truly great Alabama defensive back. Here's Paschall's account.
Tennessee - B, and that may be overly generous. Yes, Jeremy Pruitt was in a tough spot. Yes, there was a load of work to do. Yes, blah, blah, blah. You know who else was in a tough spot, Jimbo Fisher, and he crushed Wednesday. Know who else was in a tough spot, Dan Mullen, and the rest of the new SEC coaches. Tennessee had a couple of Georgia athletes swiped by FSU, and holding on to J.J. Peterson was very important, but the limp to the finish was not what we expected to be honest. Tennessee finished No. 20, and for a while a lot of folks have been saying a top-20 class should be the goal. Doesn't really feel like mission accomplished to be honest, especially since No. 20 was only good for eighth in the SEC and fourth in the SEC East. Here's TFP ace Dancin' David Cobb's review of the day.
UTC - A. Hard not to really like this UTC class, especially the size of some of the dudes listed. According to the 247sports composite rankings the top teams in the FCS in recruiting were Princeton (No. 112 overall in large part because of the four-star QB who picked Princeton over Alabama), Yale (119 overall), Austin Peay (130 overall), North Dakota State (131) and UTC (133). Among the three-star prospects in this class is Josh Walker, a defensive tackle from the famous IMG Academy. Walker had once been committed to Arizona and had offers as big as Michigan State and Notre Dame, according to his 247sports profile. Here's Mean Gene Henley's recap from today's TFP.
Also of note here is the 247sports.com national recruiter of the year among assistant coaches. Of the top 10, Georgia had three of them, led by ell McGee, who was ranked as the top recruiter by the 247 staff. Want to know who was second? Some cat named Greg Schiano. So there's that.
NBA trade deadline
OK, before we get to this, we need to revisit something we kind of discussed a little bit Wednesday.
Last night in an amazing NBA game, LeBron James hit a buzzer-beater in overtime for a 140-138 win over Minnesota. Cleveland is still broken and would have a hard time holding a sound church league team under triple digits.
But it was an amazing shot and capped LeBron's triple double in the win.
We do not in a million years think that was a spring board moment. That team has problems. In fact, if the Cavs go on a roll and they say this was a turning point, then I'd say hogwash.
If this is a turning point, then it's because LeBron and the rest of the Cavs have been sleep-walking through the first five weeks of 2018. And in truth, it's fair to ponder whether James has somewhat intentionally been disinterested to see if the struggles and drama could get Cleveland management to deal the unprotected Nets first-round pick in the 2018 draft for help.
Will they? Doubt it. Should they? Yes and no, and that's the rub.
While all the experts from Windhorst to Woj have said there likely will not be a lot of movement today before the 3 p.m. trading deadline, the Cavs, like in most areas, remain the most intriguing partner because of that lottery pick in their back pocket.
We understand the feeling of wanting to keep the pick with the real possibility James walks after this season. It would be a young player around which to build. But, that player and the trash that is the Cavs' roster minus James is not a contender for anything more than maybe the No. 8 playoff spot in the East. Maybe. Simply put, without James, the Cavs are going to stink next year whether they add Michael Porter or Trae Young or whomever.
And if you could move that pick for a legit piece and make you a contender for one more run, we could see the logic in that too, since who knows if the Cavs will ever get back to the Finals after James leaves. (Side question: While we are here, despite all their struggles, we still would take the Cavs against the field in the East to get to the Finals.)
College hoops best
We have been a renowned basher of most things involved with college basketball's regular season.
Tonight, however, is a little different.
Even without a dog in the hunt, the Duke-UNC game is one of those rare events that brings interest from even the most casual of causal hoops fans.
There are a lot of parts to that. The crowds. The traditions. The titles. The coaches and all the famous stars.
And the back-and-forth nature of this series is staggering when you check the numbers.
In the last 100 meetings, Duke has won 50 and UNC has won 50. The aggregate score in those 100 meetings: Duke 7,767, UNC 7,765. The number of players each program has had drafted by NBA teams since Coach K started at Duke is 57.
In the AP poll era, Duke and UNC have met 80 times when each is ranked, and tonight will be 81. The next closest number of ranked meetings between two teams is 40.
In fact, on that note, this is No. 9 Duke and No. 21 UNC.
It's on the short list of the best rivalries in sports for sure.
This and that
- The Eagles parade is today. They closed schools for it, and organizers expected more than 2 million people. According to reports, there are more than 800 Port-A-Potties along the parade route, meaning there is one potty for every 2,352 people. Well, good thing no one will be drinking and need to use the facilities, right?
- Tough loss for the No. 8 Auburn Tigers last night against Texas A&M. Villanova and Purdue also stumbled at home Wednesday.
- Speaking of recruiting, here's the TFP local roundup of area signings.
- Hey, the Winter Olympics have started, and we watched some curling Thursday morning. Good times.
- Speaking of the Olympics, despite the ban of Russia for the wide-spread doping allegations and the cover-up, more than 150 Russian athletes showed up for these Games and as many as 200 may compete. But they are not Russia Olympians, rather they are Olympic Athletes from Russia, so there's that. What a crock. That's not punishing anyone at all. So the big thing here is if they win gold they will not play the Russian anthem? Maybe they should play the Hank Williams classic, "Your Cheatin' Heart."
- Well, here we are and now race is even an issue when it comes to coin tosses and the ol' Red, White and Blue. Here's the story of Shani Davis' Tweet after Erin Hamlin was picked to be the flag-bearer in the opening ceremony after a vote between the two was deadlocked and Hamlin won the coin toss. Davis' Tweet was: "I am an American and when I won the 1000m in 2010 I became the first American to 2-peat in that event. @TeamUSA dishonorably tossed a coin to decide its 2018 flag bearer. No problem. I can wait until 2022. #BlackHistoryMonth2018 #PyeongChang2018" So there/s that, and yes, Davis is black and Hamlin is white.
Today's question
We mentioned the Duke-UNC hoops rivalry. There may be better rivalries out there, but we'll ask it this way: In the notable team sports in this country is there a more clear and universally recognized rivalry as its sports No. 1 than Duke-UNC hoops?
Will Cleveland make a move today? Discuss.
As for Feb. 8, the NASDAQ debuted today in 1971.
The first full color TV broadcast happened today in 1963.
James Dean would have been 87 today. Klay Thompson is 28 today, and Julio Jones is 29.
Joe Maddon is 64 and Nick Nolte is 77. (Nick has a pretty strong catalog believe it or not. From comedies like Tropic Thunder and 48 Hours to the awesome Cape Fear and the criminally underrated North Dallas Forty as well as some others, that's a pretty strong career friends.)
Gary Coleman would have been 50. Let's go there.
Rushmore of all-time TV kids, like Arnold Jackson (Coleman's role in "Diff'rent Strokes"). Go, and remember the mailbag.