Gopher Basketball
* Alando Tucker is a stud and I wish he would have joined Ray Nixon on Senior Day at the Kohl Center today; instead, we get one more year where this warrior will torment the Gophers. It seems like he’s been around forever; I distinctly recall his game at Williams Arena when he was a freshman and he ate Rick Rickert for lunch, which made me realize Rickert’s decision to leave early for the pros was not a wise one.
* Selection Sunday (hereafter referenced as S.S.) alluded to it this week, but have you noticed it’s been awhile since Michigan St. has won the Big Ten? The Spartans better hope Tommy does a two-step through March Madness again, otherwise this team goes down as a vast disappointment, a veteran, talented squad who may finish .500 in conference.
* Oh yeah, Thad Matta. . .welcome to the top of the Big Ten standings for the next several years-if you stay at Ohio State. I wouldn’t get too enamored with the idea of coaching at Bloomington-you would definitely be king in Indiana, but The Ohio State University has enough capital to make basketball as omnipotent as their college football squad, particularly if you can recruit on a consistent basis like you have with this incoming class.
* The Missouri Valley Conference has been getting a lot of pub this year for being the premier mid-major conference out there, but I’ve begun to take note of a little conference called the Colonial Athletic. They’re not as deep as the MVC, but their top three teams might be better than anyone in the MVC-akin to the Big Ten claiming top conference honors, but the premier teams in the Big East being better than the top of the Big Ten. George Mason went into Wichita State, the conference leader of the MVC, and beat the Shockers. Then, George Mason was put down by Hofstra, who share the second longest home winning streak in the nation with Duke (behind Gonzaga). Add to the mix UNC-Wilmington, and you have three teams at the top of that conference with some very gaudy records and some high quality wins. Might the Colonial get three teams into the Dance?
* I’ve stated several times that I have adopted Villanova this year as my “favorite team outside of the Gophers”, but I found myself pulling against them this past Thursday night. That is because they were facing the Cincinnati Bearcats and a win for the Bearcats would have meant a lot more for them than for Nova. It didn’t break my heart to see the Wildcats win, but damn, was that a tough loss for the grittiest team I’ve seen on the college basketball scene this year. It’s incredible what Andy Kennedy and those players have done, I sure hope a NCAA berth is in the midst for them, especially with dogs like Arizona, Kentucky, and Syracuse vying for those same spots.
* By the way, in regards to Syracuse, has such a mediocre squad logged as much prime national airtime as this year’s Orangemen? Granted, they are one of the great programs in the nation, but not this year. Yet, last Saturday they were the featured campus for College Gameday (against Louisville, for cripes sake!) and two nights later we’re back at the Carrier Dome for West Virginia. To be fair, they won both games, but still I’m very underwhelmed by this year’s version, and I keep seeing them again and again and again. . .
* With apologies to Pewter, I think destiny should bring the national championship game back to UConn vs. Nova, on a neutral site, for the rubber game. Duke and these two programs have been the only teams I’ve felt have played at the level of national champions throughout the season (I’d put Memphis in that mix too, but I haven’t seen them since circa New Year’s Day, and from the scores I’m seeing, they seem to be losing their edge in Conference USA), and I think both Big East beasts are better than Duke. Nova’s eminantly more likable than either Duke or UConn. Go Cats.
* I know, I’m going to make you all barf on this Nova lovefest, but one more reason to really, really like this team. . .on Thursday night’s broadcast, the announcers told the story of Randy Foye’s youth. His dad was killed when Randy was age 2 in a motorcycle accident, and at age 5, his mother left Randy without any warning. From there, Foye was raised by his grandmother and extended family in Newark, NJ. Foye committed to Villanova, in large part because it was very close to his grandmother and he didn’t want to go too far from her, after all she had done for him. I’m glad to see Foye’s name climbing the draft projections towards lottery status, it sounds like if anyone deserves a NBA contract, it’s this guy. (shades of Juan Dixon, I thought)
* Cripes, I don’t want to turn the Ramble into a Rick Reilly-style tearjerker, but on the heels of Foye’s story, here’s another great one on Cal’s Leon Powe. His story is in the most recent issue of Sports Illustrated, but the quick recap is he was raised by a single mother, they were often homeless, he would raise his younger siblings while his mother worked, he missed almost all of fifth grade, was placed in foster care, during his junior year of high school he lead his team to a state championship four days after his mother died of heart failure at age 41. He’s torn his ACL twice, but has still got a legitimate NBA shot and will be finishing up his bachelor’s in social welfare next spring.
Seems to be the breathing definition of a “character guy”.
* Alright, since I’m tugging at everyone’s emotions, I’ll repost something Bleed and Studwell put on the board earlier this week and has been all over the news, but gives me chills and fills my tear ducts each and every time I’ve watched. It’s a clip on the autistic kid who was the student manager, but suited up for the final game. If you haven’t seen it yet, grab the hankies.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBYPaNc57Ik
* I saw Ronald Steele of Alabama twice this week, and am beginning to understand how the Crimson Tide have weathered the loss of Chuck Davis. He’s an outstanding point guard who looks to be the only threat on the perimeter for that squad, and is leading them to the NCAA tourney. In fact, outside of Champaign, I think the two best point guards this year hail from the SEC (Steele and Florida’s Taurean Green).
* I caught the end of the BC-NC State game yesterday and did Sean Williams, BC’s center, put on a defensive display! He was flying at the Wolfpack’s three point shooters, and blocked three attempts (that I saw) in the overtime periods. I believe he finished with nine blocks, but I’ve never seen anyone blocking shots like that on the perimeter before.
* Speaking of the ACC, I was driving around yesterday morning with AM 690 on the dial, and they had Mike Greenberg who does “ACC Sunday Night Hoops” on this particular show. The smugness of those who surround themselves in that ACC world is unbelievable. They were going on and on about how if you towards the top of the ACC standings, you’re a contender for the national championship. Most year, I would concede-this year, that conference isn’t very good, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Duke was their only representative in the Sweet 16.
* Earlier this year, I was quite high on N.C. State’s prospects, but they are falling off quickly, accentuated by two home losses this week, the double-OT heartbreaker to BC and the beatdown from UNC. I should have known when Big East also-ran Seton Hall beat the hell out of them about a month ago.
* Even though Texas crushed Kansas last night, I came away impressed with the Jayhawks and concerned for the Longhorns. The Jayhawks fell apart in the second half, but they played a very crisp first half and their PF Julian Wright is a freakish type of athlete. They were playing with much more cohesion than when I saw them early in the season. As for Texas, they may have the best starting five in the nation, but they may also have the worst bench of the Top 30 or so teams in the nation. A.J. Abrams had a nice game last night and is a solid back up at the guard position, but they have nothing on the front line to augment Aldridge, Buckman, and Tucker-I saw last night why they struggled so against Duke and Tennessee when Buckman was hurt.
* I was glad to see the SEC imposing a $5000 fine on Arkansas for their fans rushing the floor after they beat Florida last Saturday. Not to sound too curmudgeonly, but fans rushing the court has gotten to ridiculous levels and a bad incident is begging to occur between some obnoxious fan and an opposing player leaving the floor in defeat. Conceivably, an incident uglier than the Pacers at Auburn Hills could easily happen in a college arena.
* If you appreciate good sports photography, grab a copy of this week’s Sports Illustrated and look at the picture in the beginning where Nate Robinson is soaring in the dunk contest. The anticipation on the faces of his contemporaries is fun to see, particularly on the faces of Iverson, Kobe Bryant, Dewayne Wade, and Gilbert Arenas.
* Finally, a moment of silence for Don Knotts. His portrayal of Barney Fife may very well be the finest comedic performance ever displayed on the television screen. I always get deflated when I flip onto an Andy Griffith rerun to discover it is in color, meaning Knotts would not be on the show. The show endures forever due in large part to his considerable contribution. And Ralph Furley brought some laughs too.