Jeff Peterson commits to Iowa

Let's welcome point guard Jeff Peterson of Dematha High School (right outside of Washington, D.C.), who recently committed to the Iowa Hawkeyes. Here's a quick rundown of the kid:

WHAT WE KNOW: He's 6'0", and 185 pounds. That's him to the right. He comes from one of the most storied basketball schools in the country: DeMatha has won their league title 36 of the past 47 years, including the last three straight seasons. He spent three years as a backup to Virginia Tech's Nigel Munson, who averaged 11 minutes per game as a true freshman this year. He originally committed to Princeton, and also considered Richmond, Xavier, and St. Louis. He's got a 4.0 GPA and plays point guard with a similar level of intelligence.

WHAT WE DON'T KNOW: Does his lack of starting experience doom him to only one or two productive years in the Big Ten? Is he talented enough to play good offense and defense against other Big Ten point guards? Is he nearly as quick and able to penetrate as Tony Freeman (his body double) is? What does it portend for Iowa if we expect anything from the kid this year if he couldn't crack the starting lineup against someone who only got three points a game this year for the Hokies?

THINGS WE'RE MAKING UP ABOUT HIM: Learned to drive a stick shift at 11. Possesses an irrational (but not debilitating) fear of Santa Claus. Does an uncanny impersonation of Bobcat Goldthwait. Wrote an incredible 15-page analysis of determinism, and its claim that causality precludes any notion of "free will," convincing as the idea may be. He didn't do it for a grade, he was just tired of Tom Hobbes's shit!

Some recruit I've never heard of sets it all straight

Gearing up for Steve Alford's departure? Counting the years until the buyout comes? Well, you might want to stop that.

It's common knowledge that before the season, AD Gary Barta extended Alford's contract through the 2011 seaon. Yes, that's depressing, seeing as how it was last century that he showed up, but you may take solace in the fact that at this point, the contract covers the next four seasons, and that's all. So that's his current status, right? We haven't heard anything different, right? Um....

"I asked him how long he was going to be at Iowa," Jeff Peterson, a senior at DeMatha High School in Hyattsville, Md., said Sunday. "He told me that he just signed a contract for five years, and I said that sounded good to me."

Five years? "Just signed" a contract?? Jesus tittyfucking Christ. Either A) Alford's been signing secret contract extensions, or B) Alford is making shit up and confusing recruits. For some strange reason, I'm not inclined to believe option A on this one.