A.J. Ogilvy's apology for performance against Mississippi State was noble but not necessary

You should check out A.J. Ogilvy's Twitter page. In between posts about getting spray tans and watching Harry Potter movies and eating at McDonald's, he writes stuff like this, which showed up Saturday evening:

"Dear Vanderbilt players and fans, i apologize for my performance, or lack thereof today. I let you all down, i won't let you down again."

No apology needed, A.J. To your fellow players, maybe, but to me, no. Especially not after I saw Varnardo shut down DeMarcus Cousins for most of the SEC championship game.

I've always liked A.J. Sure, it's maddening how he can't catch the ball in traffic. But Vandy fans have expected him to get exponentially better each year when it's apparent that he came to school a mature, polished international player who was ready to compete on the college level, and not a raw talent like Festus.

He's not an exceptional athlete and he can't create shots against guys his own size. But he's a solid college player and Vanderbilt needs him on the floor. I'm glad he's on our team, and I don't mistake his trouble against more athletic players as a lack of interest or motivation. Sure, he eats fast food and watches movies and highlights his hair and occasionally grows a cheesy mustache. That doesn't mean he's a slacker. He can't practice catching the ball 24 hours a day.

In fact, I'm more troubled when Jeff Taylor comes up missing in the box score.

I expect A.J. to come up big on Thursday against Murray State, which has only two players taller than 6-foot-7 — Tony Easley, who's 6-9 and averages 10 points and 6 boards, and Georges Fotso, who's 6-8 but averages less than a point and a rebound per game.