ISU freshman Kenyon Smith fails to qualify- will not play this year

[Da Coach]

One of Illinois State's incoming freshmen, point guard Kenyon Smith of Chicago Simeon High School has failed to meet the NCAA's minimum academic standards, and he has been ruled academically ineligible to play or receive a scholarship this year. There is no word yet whether he will transfer to a juco.

http://www.wjbc.com/wire2/news/16186_SmithIneligibleWEB_193019.htm

http://rivalshoops.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=2&pr_key=68384

He is apparently enrolled at ISU and is still listed on their roster on the ISU official website--

http://goredbirds.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/ilsu-m-baskbl-mtt.html

This unfortunate development leaves the Redbirds even thinner at the point guard position. The only 2 returning players they have that can play PG are Emmanuel Holloway, who had a total of 49 assists in 19 minutes per game in 35 games, and Alex Rubin, who had a total of 9 assists in 20 games. They also have incoming juco, Lloyd Phillips, who averaged 3.8 assists per game at Iowa Western College last year.

[Da Coach]

Another article-- from the Pantagraph

http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/10/01/usports/doc48e430dd60147131059964.txt

[MacabreMob]

ISU has King O and he alone will help them to a 25+ win season, an upper level MVC finish, and a post-season berth (NCAA, NIT, or CBI).

[Da Coach]

I actually think Osiris could end up playing point guard more than any of the other candidates they have.
I was not greatly impressed with Emmanuel Holloway or Alex Rubin as PG's, Lloyd Phillips was more of a scorer at juco than a passer, and walkon Landon Shipley only averaged 1.7 assists per game in his sophomore season at Austin Peay.
IMO, I think King-O would be a much better PG than any of the other candidates, but he may not want to play the PG position because it could hurt his NBA chances.

ISU's schedule is so weak that they should still get 20+ wins easily.

Here is a blog report from the Bloomington Pantagraph about the ISU team--

http://www.pantagraph.com/blogs/main/?p=3111

A check with the ISU ticket office showed 3,537 season tickets have been sold, already surpassing last year’s total of 3,230.
This year’s pace is 690 ahead of the same time last year.

Nice to see that the season ticket sales are up a little this year.

[BU Bill]

I see Coach Jankovich said, "Obviously, we have known about this situation for some time, but we were hopeful that his two appeals would be heard and be ruled in his favor". Earlier, when Jankovich was asked about the situation of over-recruiting and giving out more scholarships than were allowed, he wouldn't give a clear answer, even though he now admits he knew about this Kenyon Smith "situation for some time". So I'd like to hear from those posters who, like Kirk Wessler, labeled Jim Les as a liar and untruthful when he wouldn't say whether Daniel Ruffin would be able to play in a game last season, when Ruffin was in need of surgery. Those posters know who they are, but I'd be happy to name them if anyone wants.It seems clear to me that Jankovich is just as guilty of being untruthful here, because he knew where the extra scholarship might come from, but he didn't give a truthful answer when he was asked about it.

[it's boogie time]

Does ISU have a point guard coming in next year?

It certainly changes the offense for ISU if Osiris Eldridge is ask to play the point for any significant amount of time.

[RedbirdFan21]

IMO, I think King-O would be a much better PG than any of the other candidates, but he may not want to play the PG position because it could hurt his NBA chances.

I think it would probably help his NBA chances if he could show he can handle the point guard spot. It is tough to be a 6'3" shooting guard in the NBA- see Ben Gordon- couldn't find anyone to sign him to a long term deal- just signed a 1 year deal with the Bulls.

[Stryker]

They will use Lloyd Phillips & Emmauel Holloway at point, although they were both really a combo guards and 2-guards at juco,
and his stats show a grand total of 14 assists in the 18 MVC games he played, so it sure looks
like he isn't you prototypical pass-first point guard. And only Anthony Slack has a significantly
worse Assist to Turnover ratio...another sign he may not be what they're looking for in a PG.

Te only other player who's ever played much PG before is Alex Rubin, little used sophomore, who only
played a total of about 20 minutes in 6 MVC games, and who only made ONE basket in the entire Valley
season, and posetd a grand total of TWO assists in Valley games, and 9 assists in his entire college career.

Then I have heard some say that King O will play the point....yeah right......
is he going to sell popcorn, too??
The guy can't do everything...he can't be their leading scorer, grab 7-8 rebs, hand out assists,
and handle the ball all the time.
I'd like to see that unfold.......I have always thought the one thing he was best at was freeing
himself up off screens, moving without the ball, and putting up points in the process. Trying to
play PG might just hamper his ability to score, and it will certainly keep him further from the hoop,
drastically reduce his rebounds, and possibly even hinkder his defense as well.


And Bill...you are right on with the charges that Jank was deceptive and even a bit dishonest in
keeping these concerns about Smith's academics and eligibility hidden and even dancing his way around the facts.
Why aren't the B-N press holding him accountable and calling him a liar...as the fine press in other cities would have done....?

This stuff you just mentioned and other things I've heard just make me think that ISUred will NOT have a good MVC season. Yes they will probably go undefeated in their stupid easy non-conference season, but they will be exposed in Valley play this year, probably finish around 5 or 6. I just think they are set up as well as BU, Creighton, and Drake plus whoever is the surprise team this year(assuming there is one).

[Da Coach]

I think it would probably help his NBA chances if he could show he can handle the point guard spot. It is tough to be a 6'3" shooting guard in the NBA- see Ben Gordon- couldn't find anyone to sign him to a long term deal- just signed a 1 year deal with the Bulls.

Maybe it's true that showing his point guard skills would add something to King-O's NBA resume. But what I see is that it will take away other parts of his game that make him such an exciting and valuable player for ISU. If he plays point guard, he will be less able to get free for his spectacular dunks and putbacks, and he will be guarded much closer which may hurt his scoring numbers.
I do think he might be the best point guard left on ISU, and by him playing there the team would be better.

[MacabreMob]

..... So I'd like to hear from those posters who, like Kirk Wessler, labeled Jim Les as a liar and untruthful when he wouldn't say whether Daniel Ruffin would be able to play in a game last season, when Ruffin was in need of surgery.....

And Bill...you are right on with the charges that Jank was deceptive and even a bit dishonest in
keeping these concerns about Smith's academics and eligibility hidden and even dancing his way around the facts.
Why aren't the B-N press holding him accountable and calling him a liar...as the fine press in other cities would have done....?

"2008 will be known as the year Journalism died."

[Phantom]

Hey fellas, just throwing in my perspective on things from Redbird-land...

Dissapointing about Smith for sure, but fortunately we are so extremely guard heavy that hopefully not having him will have a minimal impact. Plus, although well regarded, we never saw him play at this level so we really don't know what we're losing. Hopefully he gets his academics in order and he'll be able to play next year, although he'll be behind in terms of experience and only have 3 years of eligibility.

As for Osiris, he COULD play the point, but I doubt he will that much. There was some rumblings last year that Jank wanted to give him some minutes there but I think that was largely due to the fact that if he ever makes it to the NBA, that's where he'd be playing and I think Jank knows it. Plus, he does have the ability to create his own shot and he's a solid passer. So while he may see some minutes there, I think it will be minimal. None of us here can say for sure who the starter will be at the PG spot, but given our piss poor non-con sched, I would assume that we'll see a ton of rotation there early on. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me to see Holloway, Phillips, Rubin and Shipley all rotating there through most of the season. Holloway got more comfortable and turned into a solid player as the season progressed last year. Rubin saw limited action but he played very hard and made alot of hustle plays that don't go on the statsheet, and I think he'll be ready to step into a bigger role this year. Phillips is pretty well regarded and hopefully he'll be ready to contribute, and Shipley comes in with DI experience which as we all know is a pretty valuable thing to have in a transfer.

We'll see how it plays out.

[Da Coach]

ISU has been hit hard by a couple injuries and this eligibility issue. What seemed like a very deep team, is now deep mainly at the 2-guard position, and quite inexperienced at the point guard and interior positions (Dinma is the only returning forward ready to play).
I hope Bobby Hill and Brandon Sampay get healthy and have good seasons (except against Bradley), because I think Jank will need them.

[Phantom]

ISU has been hit hard by a couple injuries and this eligibility issue. What seemed like a very deep team, is now deep mainly at the 2-guard position, and quite inexperienced at the point guard and interior positions (Dinma is the only returning forward ready to play).
I hope Bobby Hill and Brandon Sampay get healthy and have good seasons (except against Bradley), because I think Jank will need them.

We hope so as well, because we are thin on experience inside. Dinma had a breakout year last year, but he is going to have to step up even more this season. Sampay is out until Dec/Jan, and Blake Mishler won't be available until 2nd semester. So early on, freshmen Jeremy Robinson, Ty Modupe and Kellen Thornton are going to have to grow up very fast and produce. That's about the one good thing about our non-con though, as those guys will have plenty of opportunity to get acclimated to college ball. However, the downside is that other than working out the bugs, our non-con will not prepare us very well for the Valley.

[mportsch]

Here's how I'd break down the PG options for ISU:

• Landon Shipley - 6'0'' 170 Jr.
  The transfer from Austin Peay has two seasons under his belt - as a freshman, he played 14 minutes per game as the backup PG but struggled with turnovers, as most freshmen do. His assist rate wasn't especially high, but it wasn't bad.
  As a sophomore, his minutes increased to 22 per game, but he played less PG (with starting PG Derek Wright still on the team playing 31 mpg). He showed great improvement in his ballhandling and put up a 1.3 AST-to-TO ratio. Still, his assist rate was more like that of a steady shooting guard.
  Bottom line, I wouldn't rule out Shipley being a decent PG, but he hasn't proven it yet.
  
  
• Emmanuel Holloway - 6'2'' 190 Sr.
  Holloway's first D1 season wasn't especially good, but it wasn't awful either. His turnover rate was actually pretty low, but his assist rate was only in SG range, not PG. I think Holloway could play a decent PG this season, keeping turnovers low and hitting open threes, but he doesn't seem like somebody you could count on to get lots of assists.
  
  
• Sead Odzic - 6'3'' 192 Jr.
  Odzic really struggled in his first season at ISU. His turnovers were out of control and he couldn't hit anything (2-17 from downtown). He actually had a much better freshman season at USC, where he played SG and kept his turnovers low. I don't think ISU can rely on Odzic to play a steady PG this year.
  
  
• Alex Rubin - 6'1'' 185 So.
  Rubin played only 6 mpg as a freshman, but he actually wasn't bad in those limited minutes. His turnover rate was high, but he shot 42% from downtown. His assist rate was more in the range of a SG, so he seems an unlikely candidate to start at PG.
  
  
• Lloyd Phillips - 5'10'' 170 Jr.
  I don't know much about Philips other than his JUCO stats - 18ppg, 4apg, 43% 3pt, 80% FT. He sounds like a very good shooter that's more of a combo guard, although he did lead his team in assists and put up a 1.9 AST-to-TO ratio. I think the best you could expect here is something similar to what I said for Holloway - a steady ballhandler that can hit the open three and doesn't really set up his teammates all that well.

So, I don't see a true PG among the bunch, but I could see Holloway, Phillips, or Shipley being "do no harm" types of options - they wouldn't really dazzle anyone, but they wouldn't hurt the team too badly either. I'm not so sure Kenyon Smith would have changed this picture all that much, as you can't generally count on a freshman PG to have their turnovers under control right away (Maniscalco was an exception).

Long-term, the loss of Smith hurts the PG situation at ISU, but I don't really think it has much impact on this season's team.

[meth]

It seems a lot of people believe Tim Jankovich just wants to win 20-25 games
and move up the coaching ladder, rather than build long term success.