One of the things you learn quickly about Mike Montgomery and Trent Johnson is that they don't tend to make excuses, harp on the past or get too emotional.
They tend to be direct, to the point and rarely get hung up on what they can't control.
And that's why neither is going to mope about waiting for a critical player to test the NBA's draft process (Cal's
Ryan Anderson) or whine about losing a key recruit (
J'Mison Morgan, a one-time LSU signee who got out of his national letter of intent) or waiting for the recovery of LSU's top two players from offseason surgeries (
Tasmin Mitchell and
Garrett Temple).
If Anderson returns to Cal, the Bears legitimately could be a top-three team in the Pac-10 next season, along with UCLA and Arizona State.
The Bears will lose center
DeVon Hardin and wing
Eric Vierneisel. But if Anderson comes back, the Bears will retain a prolific scorer and a potential All-American and Pac-10 Player of the Year. They will also have a solid contributor in
Jamal Boykin, the team's top defender (back from an injury) in forward
Theo Robertson, the starting backcourt in
Patrick Christopher and
Jerome Randle, and an infusion of talent on the perimeter in incoming freshman shooting guard
D.J. Seeley. (Montgomery said Seeley had work to do to get eligible but has done well.) Montgomery also went out and nabbed point guard
Jorge Gutierrez to offset the loss of
Garrett Sim this spring, who got out of his NLI (national letter of intent) to go to Oregon once Ben Braun was out at Cal.
The Bears can be competitive in the Pac-10's top six without Anderson. With him, there's the potential to compete for an NCAA berth and a league title.
Montgomery said as of Wednesday he didn't know if Anderson was going to play in the Orlando pre-draft camp next week. He said Anderson was originally against playing but may have changed his mind. He said if Anderson were told he's in the lottery, then he would likely stay in the draft. But that doesn't appear to be the case at this point.
"Hopefully he'll come back," Montgomery said.
As soon as Orlando is over, Anderson will have until June 16 to work out for teams and make up his mind.
"He doesn't have a lot of time," Montgomery said.
Johnson doesn't have the chance to sweat out the return of his second-leading scorer. Freshman
Anthony Randolph decided to enter the draft and sign with an agent. Then Morgan asked for his release from his NLI. Johnson said he didn't fight Morgan's departure because of the Academic Performance Report (APR) that penalizes schools that lose transfers.
But all isn't lost. The Tigers still have a decent core that can be competitive next season in the SEC West. Five of the top six scorers are back, and the three early signees didn't ask out of their NLIs so they'll be on the roster, as well.
Johnson said Mitchell was cleared a week ago to participate after left ankle surgery earlier in the season. Temple had wrist surgery and Johnson said the junior will have ankle surgery next week, taking him out of action until August.
"We've got a really good nucleus," Johnson said. "All is good."
Final nuggets
• Memphis may be getting some great news for next season. Memphis coach John Calipari and assistant John Robic said that
Robert Dozier and
Antonio Anderson are slated to leave Sunday for the team's weeklong trip to China. That means they won't be going to the Orlando pre-draft camp next Tuesday. Neither coach would say for certain that either player was withdrawing from the draft, but the players won't be available to be evaluated by NBA teams over the next week, making it seem unlikely that they would stay in the draft.
The trip to China is Calipari's second in a year after cultivating a relationship with the Chinese Basketball Association. He had a coach from China on his staff throughout the season. Originally, the plan was for the Memphis team to go on the trip and use it as a foreign trip. But, since Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts declared for the draft, and senior Joey Dorsey was going to pursue his pro career, the Tigers didn't have enough bodies to play.
Calipari said the NCAA told him he could make it a Memphis trip. The team, which would include his five to seven players (depending on Dozier and Anderson), could practice and count it as a trip. Or he could make it a Conference USA trip, with other players from other schools, but not practice prior to the trip.
Memphis chose the latter option.
Calipari, Robic and Rod Strickland will represent the Memphis staff, with players Anderson, Dozier,
Willie Kemp,
Doneal Mack,
Shawn Taggart,
Jeff Robinson and
Pierre Niles. UTEP coach Tony Barbee is going on the trip and taking
Claude Britten and
Julyan Stone. Tulsa head coach Doug Wojcik is going on the trip and taking leading scorer
Ben Uzoh. He was going to bring
Jerome Jordan too, but a visa issue prevented the sophomore from going on the trip. Southern Miss' Larry Eustachy isn't going but he is sending leading scorer
Jeremy Wise and
Andre Stephens.
Robic said the team will play three games, including one against the Chinese Olympic team, minus
Yao Ming and
Yi Jianlian. The team, which will wear Nike-sponsored shoes and C-USA uniforms, leaves Sunday and will return June 2. Calipari, Strickland and Robic will stay in China for a clinic the following week.
• UCLA, among other schools, is still waiting for a decision from Morgan, who was released from his commitment to LSU last week.
• Former North Carolina Tar Heel
Alex Stepheson, who transferred to be closer to his family, is likely going to end up in the Pac-10, with member schools pursuing him, notably UCLA and Oregon State.
• Gonzaga junior guard Jeremy Pargo may be leaning toward playing in the pre-draft camp in Orlando. If that's the case, expect the Zags' staff to be there to watch him and see if their starting point guard returns next season. Pargo would love to stay in the draft but isn't a first-round lock.
• The NBA isn't giving up the list for Orlando because it's not done yet. NBA personnel said the league wouldn't release the list until Monday. Members of the pre-draft committee are being shut out as well. The problem is that there were so many early entrants, the league office is trying to get a handle on who is going to play in the event. Also, there are players who were candidates to play in Orlando who are withdrawing from the draft and returning to school, like Texas A&M's Josh Carter and UTEP's Stefon Jackson.
This happens every year as agents play this cat-and-mouse game of not committing to having their players play in Orlando. The problem with waiting it out to see who will play is the committee has a hard time making other commitments to players who want to play (i.e. a number of seniors). There are only 60-70 playing spots and 20 physical-only slots for the potential top 20 picks.
Andy Katz
