News Nuggets, 02.05.04
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

Cards absorb another shocker, courtesy of Memphis

MEMPHIS — Rodney Carney got a lot of clear looks at the basket, and liked what he saw. Carney shucked his protective goggles and scored 19 points, and Memphis stopped No. 6 Louisville down the stretch for a 62-58 upset Wednesday night.

The shorthanded Cardinals were held to six points in the final nine minutes and lost their second in a row, both since coach Rick Pitino returned from a two-day medical leave. They had won 16 in a row before falling to Marquette.

"For us to do what we did, it is a great win, and it's a huge win," Memphis coach John Calipari said. "They are No. 6 in the country, and we beat them. And we beat them when we were down and down most of the game."

Louisville (16-3, 6-2 Conference USA) played minus injured starters Francisco Garcia and Taquan Dean and reserve Nouha Diakite. Garcia, the team's leading scorer at 15.8 points per game, was out with an ankle injury.

"We had no bench, and we were going to basically play six guys, six and a half people," Pitino said. "We are used to playing 10 people. We are used to trying to wear out opponents. We had to totally change our mindset."

Memphis (15-4, 6-2), which trailed by nine points in the second half, won its sixth in a row. The Tigers shot only 39 percent, but had four players score in double figures.

Rich get richer on signing day

College football's recruiting race finished up exactly like the season did — with Southern California and LSU on top and everybody else chasing them. Only this time, there's no disputing Southern Cal is No. 1, according to five top recruiting services that unanimously ranked the Trojans' incoming freshman class as the nation's best.

LSU was a strong second on national signing day, landing every top player it sought in its own state while adding to its already deep wide receiver corps.

Miami made a strong rush Wednesday by unexpectedly landing three top players and Florida State made a big comeback from a year ago. But it was Southern Cal's off-the-charts class that was the buzz of the college football world.

"USC's recruiting class is the best in the 11 years I've been doing this," said recruiting analyst Bobby Burton of rivals.com. "It's the highest quality class you're ever going to see."

Gatorade and Parade national player of the year Jeff Byers of Loveland, Colo., leads coach Pete Carroll's incoming freshmen. Not only was he the most highly recruited center in years, he had 56 sacks and 14 forced fumbles on defense.

LSU capitalized on its USA Today/ESPN national championship with a recruiting class arguably just as good as last year's top-ranked class.

Oklahoma signed the nation's most-recruited player: running back Adrian Peterson, who ran for nearly 3,000 yards last season at Palestine, Texas. He was ranked as the nation's best player by rivals.com and Tom Lemming's Prep Football Report and No. 2 by SuperPrep and StudentSports.com.

Florida's Big 3 had big days Wednesday, with Florida and Florida State also wrapping up highly regarded classes. The Seminoles had a comeback year after last year's class finished well down the charts.

Other schools that did well at the finish were Maryland, Michigan State, North Carolina State and Penn State.

The Wolfpack landed two excellent defensive linemen in DeMario Pressley of Greensboro, N.C., and Willie Young of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Pressley was one of the last top 25-caliber players to make up his mind.

"You can't find good defensive linemen, everybody wants them, yet they got two of the best," recruiting analyst Max Emfinger said.

Signing day Top 10 lists

The Top 10 teams on signing day as rated by rivals.com, SuperPrep magazine, Max Emfinger, StudentSports.com and Prep Football Report — five of the country's top recruiting reports:

News Nuggets are compiled periodically from staff, ECU, Conference USA and its member schools, and from Associated Press and other reports. Copyright 2004 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Page Updated: 02/23/2007