As I took a break from my all-night cram session (excuse any bad writing, please) for two finals that start at 8 am and 11 am, I just had to check up with any Alabama related news.  Well, I got it.  Our stud linebacker from this year and hopefully more to come was in a motorcycle wreck back in his home town of Decatur, AL.  

Apparently sophomore LB Rolando McClain slid under a moving SUV sometime last night and lived to tell about it.  He only suffered very minimal injuries and was released from the hosiptal yesterday.  God (and The Bear) must have been watching down on him because not only was he lucky to avoid serious injury, he could have easily been killed. 

I think I stopped breathing when I saw the headline and didn’t even think about it until my face and body turned purple.  As you can imagine, this is probably going to be the end of motorcycles for the UA Football Program.  At least I hope so.

Sorry I don’t have more, but the details are still unclear, and frankly, I’ve got to cram a little more. 

Normally this time of year when something happens as drastic as Ramar Smith and Duke Crews getting booted off the Tennessee men’s basketball team, you’re sent scrambling as a coach.

Late signing period has come and gone, and the team you have coming back is the team you’re stuck with, for better or worse. That’s what normally happens. It’s not every day you look out there and find a potential star junior college point guard on the “scrap heap.”

Fortunately, that’s just what the Vols — who have become a recruiting juggernaut in basketball — have done. Six-foot-one point guard Bobby Maze, a former Oklahoma freshman starter, signed with Tennessee on Wednesday during his one-day official visit. The Hutchinson (Kan.) CC point guard — who set a school record in assists last year, though dubbed a combo guard by most, chose the Vols over Kentucky and St. Johns. Also Cincinnati and USC expressed interest. According to a Govols.com article this week, “Maze averaged 20.7 points, 6.7 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game last season and led the Blue Dragons with 55 steals.”

How much does this kid look like Allen Iverson?? Wow. Hope he plays like him

In the same article, his coach — Ryan Swanson, a former Bruce Pearl assistant — had this to say about the speedy point guard:

Maze originally committed to Maryland, another team that runs an uptempo system. But the Terps pulled their offer at the last minute before later coming back and saying they had room after all.

Maze wasn’t interested the second time around.

“Bobby has heard from about 50 Division I schools,” Swanson said. “Bobby is very intelligent; he’s been through this process before, and he can read between the lines.

“Tennessee would be a great fit for him, but he’ll make up his own mind. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Bobby wants to go to Tennessee.”

Coming out of high school in New Jersey in 2006, he was Rivals.com’s No. 135-ranked player. Apparently, there were some player-coach issues at Oklahoma that stemmed from Maze being a high-maintenance player who had a me-first attitude and bouts with immaturity, though his junior-college coach seemed to refute that. Either that, or he changed drastically. We as Vols fans have to hope so.

Whatever the case, Ramar had some character issues, and with only one point guard (sorry J.P.) on the roster next year in true freshman Daniel West, UT had to pull the trigger on Maze, a supreme talent with a decent amount of baggage.

He had a great quote on today’s Volquest.com story.

“I’m a point guard that likes to run, and just looking at the players we’ve got here, as a point guard, it’s like someone handing you the keys to a Ferrari. No offense to the other schools, but if someone hands you the keys to a Ferrari or a Range Rover, I’m going to take the Ferrari.”

What it boils down to is this: The Vols play a fun brand of up-and-down basketball. Any prospect is going to consider playing for UT, and some are going to jump at the chance. Also, Pearl and the Vols have done a good job of getting guys that, for some reason or another, didn’t wind up with their original teams. Think about it: Tyler Smith came to UT from Iowa, J.P. Prince came to the Vols from Arizona after wanting to trasfer to Vanderbilt. Hopson signed with the Vols after verbally committing to Mississippi State and not signing. Now, there’s Maze, an Oklahoma transfer who committed to Maryland before having his scholly oddly pulled.

It’s definitely an odd way to get players, very unconventional. But it’s working so far. Hopefully, with the signing of Maze, it will continue.

Well, with a headline like that, at least you’ll read the first sentence. But, obviously, troublesome former LSU quarterback Ryan Perrilloux won’t be transferring to Tuscaloosa. Not even a scoundrel like Nick Saban could get away with that.

Instead, ESPN.com is reporting that Jacksonville State has contacted Les Miles and is interested in taking Perrilloux onto the team. Said Gamecocks coach Jack Crowe:

“Les was very kind to spend quite a bit of time explaining the situation to me,” Crowe told The Associated Press. “He’s very optimistic about him being a successful player and a successful student-athlete.”

Personally, I think Jacksonville, Ala., would be a good fit for Perrilloux. I mean, there aren’t many places in the world lower on the list than rural Alabama when you think of somebody waking up in a mound of expensive cocaine and guns after doing lines off a dead hooker, which, right now, seems a more likely destination for Perrilloux than the NFL.

Instead, Perrilloux would probably just spend his remaining eligibility smoking home-grown ganja and making lesser opponents look silly before somebody wastes a late-round pick on him as a wide receiver until he ends up in a federal prison. Either that, or he’ll just get into trouble again in college and fade into oblivion.

I’d like to see Perrilloux get back on track, but that seems pretty unlikely at this point. Hopefully, he’ll start making some good decisions and make something of himself. Even if those four Heismans he predicted have spiraled even farther down the drain.

** STORY UPDATE: It appears the chances of Alabama’s crime rate going up just got greater. The Huntsville Times reported this morning that Alabama A&M has been in contact with Perrilloux, and also Alabama State is interested. I guess when you have a talent like this, all the baggage goes out the airplane window.

Most people think this will be Perrilloux’s next destination

All of us here at 3SiB have been pretty slack in our posting and we want to apologize to all of our readers (Mom). It’s been pretty lean news-wise with just the periodic early commitment for next season’s recruiting class and the half-hearted attempts at mocking. But then Auburn, as always, rides to the rescue.

Today, we were tossing around ideas, and we had a discussion about some comments Tommy Tuberville had regarding this not new teleconferencing thing Saban is credited with not inventing. Namely, that Tuberville thinks it’s a great idea, won’t be doing it. So we got into a debate, me saying that not doing it was irresponsible and short-sighted, others saying Auburn has done fine the past six years and that’s enough proof of things to come. We never agreed (I’m right), but decided to offer it to you. Feel free to weigh in, but first, you have to check this out. I was searching for the quotes from Tuberville for this article, and was directed via al.com to this proud website:

www.bamahaters.com

This site is everything Tide fans love about Auburn. Ugly, obsessive, and contains fewer references to Auburn than it does Bama, including the title. If you don’t feel like counting, just look at the ads.  All for Bama products.

Not all Auburn fans are like this–there’s probably even one who knows something about Auburn–but it’s sites like this that make it easy to stereotype. It also provides me one more point of comfort: Auburn fans are so proud of only alumni supporting their program, looking down upon Alabama for having so many fans that never took a class at the University. Well, when your fans post things like this, distancing yourself from their education is a bit easier when you don’t share it. Don’t make me post a Kenny Irons interview. I’ll do it, I swear.

Ball, Kenny. Ball? Say Ball. Ba-ll.

No, I could not type that with a straight face.

Anyway, BAMA also picked up their fourth commitment for the 2009 class. QB AJ McCarron, ranked as one of the top ten QB’s in the nation, chose BAMA over Georgia, Miami, and Oklahoma. This comes as a surprise to exactly no one. I remember first seeing his highlight films a little over a year ago and thinking that BAMA had to have this kid. Then I learned that those were clips from his sophomore year. Kid has a cannon. Three of his teammates signed with Alabama this past February.

Here’s some Youtubery from his junior year…

Tennessee picked up a verbal commitment from Toney Williams on Saturday, giving the Vols their fourth commit so far for the 2009 class. Williams is a 6-foot-1, 235-pound running back (who will likely never see that spot as a Vol).

The thought is Williams will likely move to linebacker or H-back because his frame can hold a little extra weight. He chose the Vols over offers from Georgia Tech, Rutgers, Kentucky, North Carolina State and Indiana. He had interest and was going to visit Clemson, Georgia and Florida but did not yet have offers. He’d sent film to Alabama before receiving the UT offer.

This is a good, solid pickup for UT. Nothing wrong with taking a guy like this. I initially said, “Huh?” since it is thought that we lead for star RBs Jarvis Giles of Florida and David Oku of Oklahoma, but I saw this kid as a bruiser who will not play RB. His film looks pretty good despite the lack of top-tier offers. I project him as being a mid-range three-star kid and somebody who won’t play running back. You simply don’t see a lot of kids with 4.6 speed play RB in the SEC. He has LB written all over him.

He is from Milton H.S. in Alpharetta, Ga. Here’s a nice link from the AJC about him and some comments from some obviously biased people who’ve seen him play. He is a Tennessee native.

LaMarcus Coker II, anyone? That’s what this reminds me of

When I received the call that Duke Crews and Ramar Smith would not be back with the team next year sometime early Friday afternoon, I had to first make a couple of phone calls to inform some UT fans that we were back on the market for a point guard.

Then, the rest of the 40-minute drive to Huntsville I sat back and thought on the careers that weren’t. The 2006 class was really Bruce Pearl’s first, and it brought huge excitement to The Hill, especially with a pair of big men slated to come in: Four-star from Bolivar Central Wayne Chism and five-star from Hampton, Va., Duke Crews.

I remember looking at Crews’ mugshot on Rivals.com and thinking, “This guy’s mugshot looks like an actual mugshot. He looks like one of the meanest, most unsavory characters I’ve ever seen.” Though Crews reportedly didn’t run with the right crowd and looked like he’d rather stab you than block your shot, that was part of his intrigue. We were very, very excited to have a big man — though undersized — come in and be ready to play on this level. We were even more excited that he was nasty, and he would be learning from another nasty-looking dude, Major Wingate. As it turned out, he may have learned more than just basketball from the big man.

After one weed suspension, Crews was kicked off the team along with Smith yesterday, for what is thought to be more of the Sticky Smoking. It turned out you can take the boy out of Hampton, Va., but you can’t take Hampton out of the boy. A Vols fan can only hope Crews’ buddy, Brent Vinson, has a better career and a longer career than Crews. We’re doing a lot of football recruiting up there this year, and while it is a veritable hot bed of talent, you run the risk of running into character issues like Crews, the Vick brothers, Allen Iverson and Jimmy Williams. Still, it’s a price you pay for talent.

Look, I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t disappointed when I heard about Crews. Despite the marijuana suspension last year, he did have the heart ailment, which had all of the Vol Nation and a lot of the country pulling for him. He looked like it genuinely made him happy to be a member of the Vols when he returned and sparked us during a midseason stretch where UT outrebounded something like seven consecutive opponents upon his return. Though an undersized 6-foot-6, he gave Chism, Tyler Smith and Brian Williams some fresh legs and always seemed to pull five to seven rebounds in limited minutes. All that, and he wasn’t playing at 100 percent. I was very excited to see his ceiling and see if he could live up to the expectations a five-star brings.

But there was one player that really thrilled me coming out of school — late-term signee Ramar Smith from inner-city Detroit, who had all the baggage and all the stars of Crews. Except this was a guy who supposedly could play point guard. This was a guy who wasn’t a great shooter but allegedly could break anybody down off the dribble. This was the guard we needed to run the show. Like many, I ignored the high-school bouncing around. I ignored UCONN backing off of him in recruiting, and I ignored the inner-city Detroit pedigree.

You can’t pigeon-hole these kids. You can’t paint them into a corner. So, I didn’t.

Well, fool me twice. The only two players who had character issues coming out of school are now gone from the Vols. Memphis, we ain’t.

It has been uncovered that the downfall of the two was academics and smoking da ganja. Well, big surprise there, huh? It’s the same woes that have followed them from their hometowns.

Here’s the thing with Ramar. I have friends who are friends with him, and he’s a super-good kid. Apparently, he has been a great kid since he arrived at UT. But marijuana isn’t legal, guys. It probably won’t ever be, and as far as I know, he had to medical ailments that would be a good excuse. Plus, ya know, you’re a student-athlete. Gotta pass to play. It’s always been that way, unless you go to school at Auburn or Florida.

As much as it stinks about Crews, I really could care less about Ramar on the court. He failed in so many major opportunities that he’s dead to me. During last year’s NCAA tournament, Ramar played like a star against Long Beach State, scoring 22 points and showing flashes of the player he could be. Though he took a step back against Virginia, scoring just seven points and missing three free throws, he again looked the part in a battle of strong freshmen against Ohio State’s Mike Conley Jr. Though Conley abused him in the Sweet 16 game, Ramar scored 15 points to hold his own. But in the waning seconds after Chris Lofton inexplicably missed the front end of a one-and-one, Ramar — as would become his M-O — did the same, and instead of dishing the ball to an upperclassman on the final play of the game, decided to drive against Greg Oden and was blocked as Ohio State beat UT in the Sweet 16 by a bucket.

From there, Ramar never really panned out. In the SEC tournament and NCAA tourney over the past two years, Ramar was 25-for-58 from the floor, and 31-for-53 from the free-throw line. It’s impossible for me to emphasize for you how many of his 22 misses at the free-throw line were clutch, game-in-a-pinch shots. Then, this year, he was so schizo in the regular season that Pearl over-tinkered with his lineup come NCAA tournament time, playing J.P. Prince — who’d never played the position at UT — there during the postseason. Point guard play cost us a deep run into the tournament, and I’ll forever believe that. In my mind, that goes on the shoulders of senior Jordan Howell and his complete offensive wilting down the stretch, and Ramar, who never could handle the big-game pressure.

Remember when I wrote that Ramar Smith was the key to the postseason? Remember when Ramar shut down Jeremy Pargo in the Gonzaga game? Well, that Ramar Smith never really showed up again other than one little spurt during overtime of the Butler game.

I wish him the best. I wish Duke the best. But much like former Vols running back LaMarcus Coker, they’re going to go down as players with all the potential in the world, all the excitement and possibility bottled up in their bodies. And all of it either went up in a cloud of weed smoke or stayed asleep with them during all the 8 a.m. classes they skipped.

It’s simply hard for me to be sad to see them go.

Tennessee Coach, Bruce Pearl, announced today that Ramar Smith and Duke Crews have been dismissed from the team.

Here is the press release.

“I am disappointed to announce that neither Duke Crews nor Ramar Smith will be a part of the 2008-09 University of Tennessee basketball program,” Pearl said. “Both were provided every opportunity to succeed here but have not met our expectations. With both Ramar and Duke, we came to the conclusion that it was in their best interest to transfer to another institution in order to continue their academic and basketball careers.”

At this point I’m not sure anybody knows why Coach Pearl decided to dismiss the two former 5 star prospects from the team, but its safe to say they haven’t been model student athletes since arriving on campus. With that said, the only thing that matters right now is that they are no longer on the team, and its time to move on without them.

Neither Duke or Ramar were guaranteed a starting spot on the roster next season. Ramar Smith looked to be competing with J.P. Prince, who shockingly moved to the point guard position in the NCAA tournament. However, now that Ramar is no longer a factor, Prince looks like he will be the starting point guard next year, that is unless Daniel West, an incoming 3 star freshman, doesn’t take his spot. Plus, now that Pearl has two more scholarships to use, he might be looking to sign another point guard in this class. However, I think most people expect Prince to be the leader in the clubhouse, which means that Cameron Tatum and Scotty Hopson will get their chance to shine early and often, now that they don’t have to compete with Prince at the two and three spots.

The most memorable play in Ramar Smith’s career.

As for Duke Crews, he looked to be the odd man out with the emergence of Brian Williams, and the continued development of Wayne Chism. Pearl has recently said that he expects Williams to be a starter this upcoming season, and if he continues to get stronger in the weight room he could be a big part of this team’s success. Also with Duke Crews no longer on the bench, incoming freshmen Renaldo Woolridge and Phillip Jurick should get a chance to show what they can do to help this team next season.

Woolridge just got a boost in playing time. The big time prospect is not only taller than Duke Crews, he can also drive the lane and shoot from the outside.

Duke Crews and Ramar Smith obviously weren’t very dedicated to the program, and their play is evidence of that as they haven’t improved very much since they arrived on campus. Every program is going to hit a bump in the road, but I don’t think this is one that will cripple this team from reaching their goal of becoming an elite basketball program. We may struggle early on in the season because of the inexperience at multiple positions, but this team has the talent to do anything they want.

If Coach Pearl thinks our team is better off without Ramar and Duke then thats a good enough reason for me. Ramar Smith and Duke Crews have a lot of talent and its sad to see that talent go somewhere else, but as Chris Lofton proved throughout his college career, it takes more than talent to become great.

One of these things is not like the other.

In news that should surprise absolutely nobody, the NCAA has denied Ryan Mallett’s request for immediate eligibility at Arkansas.  Mallett’s argument was that he had no choice but to transfer as his style of play did not fit in with the offense that new Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez wanted to run.

Seeing as I have no idea how the NCAA actually works, I’m going to say this is exactly what happened:

NCAA Petition Clerk #1:  We’ve got a petition from Ryan Mallett who transferred from Michigan to Arkansas.  He’s claiming his style of play no longer fit with the offense there.

NCAA Petition Clerk #2:  Ryan Mallett?  That name sounds familiar…isn’t he that kid that only threw 7 TDs and 5 picks in 11 games even though he had Arrington and Manningham to throw to and Mike Hart behind him?

Clerk #1:  Yeah, that’s the kid.

Clerk #2:  And he wants to take that game to Arkansas?

Clerk #1:  That’s what he says.

Clerk #2:  Does Arkansas even have receivers?

Clerk #1:  I’m sure they do…I just can’t name any.

Clerk #2:  And who is there running back?

Clerk #1:  I see where you’re going with this…can’t we just stamp this ‘Denied’ and move on to that kid from Cincinnati?

Clerk #2:  Oh, come on.  I haven’t even gotten to the Petrino stuff yet.

LSU, for the fourth? time, has kicked the self proclaimed “Next 60-million-dollar Man” off the team. Anyone surprised? Anyone?

Some Bama notes……

Tight end/offensive tackle Charles Hoke has been placed on medical scholarship. See, Brian Cook, if you’d have just waited….

Alonzo Gee has put his name in for the NBA draft. He, like Hendrix and Steele, hasn’t signed with an agent, so he can possibly return to the Tide next season if he doesn’t like his draft status.