LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Kansas State coach Frank Martin is already pumping up the potential of Miami transfer Denis Clemente as an NBA player. Martin said that Clemente is as good as Jose Juan Barea, the Dallas Mavericks' backup point and a former Northeastern point guard when Martin was an assistant.
And the K-State coach didn't stop there. He said Clemente can be as good as (gulp) former Texas point guard D.J. Augustin.
"I've seen them, and Clemente is just as good," Martin said last week. "I've seen him in practice every day. He's put on 18 more pounds. He's a good, good player."
That's high praise for a 6-foot scoring point guard who was suspended twice under Miami coach Frank Haith for violating team rules, the second suspension costing Clemente five games as a sophomore in the 2006-07 season.
Haith said Clemente is a quick, big-time scorer (9.8 points a game as a sophomore for the Canes). But the question remains if the Puerto Rico native can make other players better around him when he's thinking about scoring first.
That may not matter with the way Martin wants to play next season. With Clemente and surprising freshman Jacob Pullen (the Wildcats' third-leading scorer with 9.7 points per game last season behind NBA-bound Michael Beasley and Bill Walker), the Wildcats would have a small, quick backcourt.
"Those guys are going to be fun to watch," said Martin, who anticipates using the two guards to add defensive pressure from the perimeter, too.
The Wildcats do have size with wings Dominique Sutton at 6-5, 6-10 Luis Colon and 6-8 redshirt freshman Jamar Samuels, a D.C.-area player who Martin is raving about as a strong, physical presence on the backboard. But the Wildcats will be driven by the scoring out of the backcourt, namely from Clemente.
• The new favorite team among many Pac-10 coaches is USC. Yes, though USC lost O.J. Mayo and Davon Jefferson, the two leading scorers off last season's team, the consensus is that the Trojans can contend for a top spot in the Pac-10. The Trojans will start three juniors who have logged major minutes the previous two seasons in forward Taj Gibson and guards Daniel Hackett and Dwight Lewis. Incoming freshman Demar DeRozan is expected to be a contender for freshman of the year honors in the conference. Leonard Washington, a 6-6 power forward, was ineligible last season, but now he's a year older and likely stronger. USC assistant coach Gib Arnold said a sleeper in the group could be 6-10 power forward Nikola Vucevic, who gives them immediate size help. Donte Smith, a JC point guard, will add depth behind Hackett and Angelo Johnson. And the return of skilled senior forward Keith Wilkinson and injured forwards Mamadou Diarra and Kasey Cunningham give the Trojans depth they didn't have a year ago. I saw Diarra and Cunningham play early last season and saw the potential these two could add to the team if given the minutes.
The Trojans will lack immediate star power without Mayo. But they may be more balanced and deeper if they stay free of injuries this season. UCLA and Arizona State are the chic picks early, but USC seems to be the clear third-best team among coaches in the league.
• A nonconference tournament becomes a big-time event (like Maui) by matching high-profile teams in the first round. The Old Spice Classic in Orlando has entered that status with the announcement of the matchups of the Nov. 27-30 tournament. Tennessee will play Siena in the first game on Nov. 27, hardly a walk for the Volunteers. Siena blasted Vanderbilt in the first round of the NCAAs last season and could make a name for itself with a win. That's hardly an undercard. Wichita State vs. Georgetown is more of a traditional game in these kinds of tournaments with the big-name school against a lower-profile school. But the two night games, Maryland vs. Michigan State and Oklahoma State vs. Gonzaga, are Maui-like. Potential semifinal games between MSU and Gonzaga and Georgetown and Tennessee (if Siena doesn't upset the event) are NCAA-like. That's not bad for a tournament still in its toddler phase.
• Chattanooga became the eighth team to join the Puerto Rico field for the Nov. 20-23 tournament. The field also includes Memphis, Xavier, USC, Virginia Tech, Missouri, Seton Hall and Fairfield. Fairfield will play at Memphis in a game prior to the event, but the two teams will be placed in opposite brackets.
• Illinois will play Georgia in Chicago, Illini coach Bruce Weber said. The Illini will also play at Vanderbilt and are in the South Padre Island event with Texas A&M, Kent State and Tulsa. Illinois will also play its annual game against Missouri in St. Louis.
• USC will host Georgia Tech in the beginning of a home-and-home series. USC is also starting a series with New Mexico State at home.
Andy Katz
