1. Jon Solomon: “When the NFL Draft rolls around next April, the SEC likely won’t have a quarterback taken in the first round for just the second time in the past 10 years.”

2. It’s time for Alabama fans to root for the underdogs.

Basketball Roundup:

3. Alabama 64 – North Florida 44.  21 in a row at home now for Anthony Grant’s team.

4. South Carolina 75 – Western Carolina 50. Coming off the bench, Brenton Williams gives the Gamecocks a spark.

5. Auburn 84 – McNeese State 62.  Larger margin of victory for Tigers than any win they had against a Division One opponent last season.

6. Georgia 62 – Wofford 49.  Team-high 15 points for freshman Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

7. Florida 99 – Jackson State 59.  Most lopsided season-opening win in Billy Donovan’s Florida career.

8. Tennessee 92 – UNC Greensboro 69.  Career-high 29 points for sophomore guard Trae Golden.

9. Kentucky 108 – Marist 58.  Nine-point halftime lead turns into a second-half blowout.

10. Vanderbilt 78 – Oregon 64.  18-0 run turns the game for the Commodores.

11. Arkansas 83 – South Carolina Upstate 63.  Despite 23 turnovers, The Mike Anderson era at Arkansas starts with a win.

12. Ole Miss 60 – Louisiana-Monroe 38.  Fewest points allowed by the Rebels in the Andy Kennedy era.

13. Mississippi State, 1-1 after losing to Akron this week,  faces South Alabama this afternoon.

14. LSU football game tonight – basketball game today.

Extras:

15. Should the NCAA start stripping away Joe Paterno victories?

16. The mysterious disappearance of Pennsylvania prosecutor Ray Gricar.

Defensive back Kivon Coman from Florence (Ala.) High School has committed to Mississippi State.

Coman considered scholarship offers from South Florida, Arkansas State and South Alabama before committing to Mississippi State.

The Bulldogs have 17 commitments for the class of 2012.

Yesterday, we discussed what Ole Miss is losing from its backcourt — Chris Warren (graduated), Zach Graham (graduated), and Trevor Gaskins (transferring to Louisiana Tech).  Today, Parrish Alford of The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal lets everyone in on someone the Rebels are adding at the guard spot.

Andy Kennedy — likely facing a make or break year in Oxford — is happy with what he’s seen so far from incoming freshman Jarvis Summers:


“He’s a 6-4 pure point guard, a pass-first quarterback who has maturity to his game.  He’s been here for a few weeks now, and we’ve had he opportunity to be around him.  I really like his approach for a young kid, the seriousness about him.  He carries himself the way natural leaders do.  With the void let by Chris and Zach, he’ll compete for minutes from Day One.”


Summers was a three-star prospect (according to Rivals.com) from Jackson.  His offers came from Murray State, South Alabama and Oklahoma State. 

If Summers turns out to be the diamond-in-the-rough type player that Kennedy seems to think, the kid could do a lot to help the Rebels’ sixth-year coach keep his job.

In a bit of a surprise, John Pelphrey is not the highest-paid assistant on Billy Donovan’s rebuilt Florida coaching staff.  In fact, he’ll make $55,000 less ($180,000) than Norm Roberts ($235,000) this season.

Pelphrey — who previously served on Donovan’s UF staff — has been a head coach at South Alabama and Arkansas the past nine seasons.  Roberts served as the head coach at St. John’s for the past six seasons.

So why would a man with less head coaching experience bank more coin than a man with more head coaching experience?  Probably to turn the screws on Arkansas.

Pelphrey’s buyout for being fired topped out at $1.8 million over three years.  That’s $600,000 per season.  But any salary Pelphrey makes from another coaching job must be subtracted from that total.

Only making $180,000, Pelphrey can still collect $420,000 from the Razorbacks in 2011-12… even though he’ll be coaching against them in the same conference next season.

Former five-star prospect BJ Scott will transfer from Alabama to South Alabama this offseason.  The redshirt junior-to-be will be able to play immediately for the Jaguars and is expected to start in their secondary.

The Crimson Tide got a boost this weekend when safety Mark Barron decided to return to Tuscaloosa for his senior season.

Scott played in 15 games for Alabama during his career.  His 2010 season ended with ankle surgery in November.

A postgame look in and beyond the numbers from Wednesday’s win over South Alabama
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Kentucky has lost two commitments in the last week because their scholarship offers appear to have been pulled by the Wildcats.

Texas linebacker Blake Terry told Kentucky Bleed Blue that Kentucky pulled his offer because he lacked the speed needed to play in the SEC. Terry originally committed to the Wildcats in June.

ESPN.com reported on Wednesday that defensive end E.J. May from Mobile, Ala., is no longer committed to Kentucky.

The report didn’t give a reason that May is no longer committed, but Rivals.com lists May without a scholarship offer from Kentucky. He had offers from Louisville, Southern Miss, Louisiana  Tech and South Alabama before he committed to Kentucky, according to ESPN.com.

Scholarship offers are pulled all the time in recruiting, but it rarely happens when a player is committed to that particular school. Is that what’s happened with these two former Kentucky commits?

The University of Alabama men’s basketball team continues its two-game homestand on Wednesday when it hosts South Alabama in the Jaguars’ first visit to Coleman Coliseum. Wednesday’s contest is a part of a doubleheader with the women’s team and will tipoff 30 minutes after the women’s 5 p.m. game against Alabama State. Tickets for the men’s game will be honored at the women’s contest.
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Alabama begins the fourth week of the season and the December portion of its schedule this week against South Alabama and No. 22/18 Purdue.
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MOBILE, Ala. – The LSU Tigers look to continue moving forward with their young basketball team as they play here Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. at the Mitchell Center against the University of South Alabama.
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