Michigan State is a Disappointment - But Should it be THAT Shocking?

There is no question that 13-9 and on the outside of the bubble is an unusual and disappointing predicament for Tom Izzo and his Spartans.  He, and they, afterall, are one of the premier templates for consistent excellence in college basketball.

But should their less than stellar play be as big of a shock as it is being received as?

Here is an alternative viewpoint to consider.  Last year Michigan State entered the NCAA tournament at a solid 24-8, but only a 5th seed.  To place it in a different context, that would have them somewhere between the 17th and 20th best team in the country.

State's road through the NCAA Tourney was equally precarious.  In the first round, they barely dodged a big upset, slipping past #12 seed New Mexico State 70-67.  In the second round, an even more daring escape, when a desperate buzzer-beating three by Korie Lucious found the bottom of the net.  The shot was intentional, but Lucious receiving the ball certainly wasn't - a freak deflection/pass landed his way and Korie, to his credit seized the spotlight.  The Spartans won 85-83 and survived and advanced.

If this shot doesn't fall...

Korie Lucious has since been permanently dismissed from the team for an unspecified third violation of team conduct.

The Sweet Sixteen got even sweeter for the Spartans when Northern Iowa stunned top team in the country Kansas, knocking the biggest obstacle in that half of the bracket to the wayside.  Sparty took advantage of their good fortune by beating the upstart Panthers 59-52.

The Elite Eight?  Well, maybe "elite" is too grand a term in this instance.  After the bottom half of the bracket fell apart as well with Ohio State and Evan Turner and Georgetown bowing out, suddenly the "best region ever" looked a lot less daunting.  Sixth seeded Tennessee advanced to meet Michigan State with a trip to Indy on the line.  Again, more heart-palpitating last second moments smiled the way of Sparty, as they advanced with 70-69 win.

Next stop, the Final Four. In a game that set big time college basketball back to the pre-shot clock era, the Spartans finally bowed out 52-50 to Butler.

Suppose for a second that either of those first round games broke the other way with a different last-second moment of good fortune?  Would Michigan State have entered this season in the Top 5?  Top 10 even?

This season is no doubt been a disappointment.  It's just that perhaps some of the disappointment should also be shared by those of us in the prognostication business as well...

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"Jimmer" is a Verb Meaning "To Score Relentlessly in Massive Quantities"

And then there was one.

Ohio State stands alone as the nation's only unbeaten team after Jimmer Fredette and the Jimmer Fredettes, er, BYU Cougars, handed San Diego State their first loss of the season 71-58.

Fredette all but solidified his First Team All-American status tonight and joined Kemba Walker and Jared Sullinger as the front runners for National POY, pouring in 43 points and absolutely dominating the Aztecs in arguably the best individual performance this season. As if his play on the floor wasn't enough, in a courtside interview after the game Fredette displayed the humility and team-first attitude that have endeared him to not just BYU fans, but fans all across the country.  It is honestly impossible not to love this guy.

Watching the tape from tonight's game, the first comparisons of recent college players that come to mind are Steph Curry and JJ Reddick.  They aren't perfect comparisons as there are subtle differences in their respective games.  Curry, when facing superiorly athletic teams tended to force shots and struggle handling the ball against constant double teams.  At times he scored at will, but in his junior year against teams like Duke and Purdue Curry clearly struggled without a reliable scoring option along side him to relieve pressure.

The main difference between Fredette and Reddick is the amount of time Fredette spends as BYU's primary ball handler.  Reddick was superior using screens and getting quality shots with accuracy and an exceptionally quick release.  Both players possess a keen ability to create their own shots by taking an aggressive dribble towards the basket and popping back to create the small window of space needed to get off a good look.  However, in general Reddick was more of a shooter running off screens constantly, a la Reggie Miller or Ray Allen, where Jimmer is more prone to taking the dribble all the way to the bucket and using his body to shield off bigger defenders and absorbing the contact.

As far as Dave Rose and his BYU teammates are concerned; Jimmer is incomparable.  San Diego State clearly had no answer for Fredette tonight as he pumped in a surprisingly NON season high 43 points on a blistering 14 of 24 shooting (that includes a perplexing missed goal-tending call as well).

If BYU and Fredette have aspirations of making it to the Final Four, they are going to face some teams with the quickness and length to make things much more difficult for Fredette.  A team like Duke with Nolan Smith or Ohio State's David Lighty, or even Texas with a stable of long, athletic wing players could pose a whole different set of challenges.

It's going to take a concerted team effort to corral the nation's best scorer.

Watching the game tonight, here is a quick Maniac scouting report of how to (attempt) to corral Jimmer:

1.  No switching on screens.  San Diego State did what is typically logical when defending a great scorer, and that is to frequently switch on ball screens.  However, Fredette was smartly able to exploit this by taking advantage of the quickness mismatch when a taller defender switched onto him.  Fredette is excellent at the "step-back" dribble to create just enough room for his lightning quick release to get a clean 3-point shot up.  Add in the fact that his range is legitimately anywhere inside 28 to 30 feet, and this creates a problem.

What needs to be done is to hedge high on ball screens; push him laterally and turn him away from the basket and allow the primary defender time to retreat back to Fredette.  No going under screens or switching or he will kill you.

2.  Face guard him AFTER he passes.  SDSU did a good job of forcing Fredette to pass many times.  However, nearly every single time he passed the ball he was able to run off a quick down screen or rub his defender free and get the ball right back as soon as he wanted.  After he passes it is imperitive to "jump" the cutter.  Basically bump him off his route like an NFL defensive back and force him to hand fight and run around frantically to get the ball back.

This is very frustrating for scorers and can get him off his rythym - as well as cause some frustration with the difficulty to even get the ball back in his hands.  He frequently begins the possession with the ball as he usually dribbles it up the court.  That makes it difficult to keep him from touching the ball, however there are ample opportunities to prevent him from getting it back - SDSU did a poor job of this tonight.

3.  Bring help to the on-ball defender "higher" on the court.  This doesn't mean "switch", rather it means turn all screens into double teams.  If I'm coaching against the Cougs, I'd gladly take my chances with someone, anyone else beating me.  If his teammates can get 35-40 points by knocking down open shots that present themselves with the constant double teaming on Fredette, so be it.

Fredette has a tendency to leave his feet to pass, which is what led to many of BYU's turnovers tonight (the only real weakness I saw in his game).  Constant double teaming 'higher' up on the court (i.e. - anywhere from 22 feet in, not just when he penetrates beneath the foul line extended) will force some turnovers and make it difficult for Fredette to create mid-range looks at the bucket.

Of course, all these things are easier said than done.  Take nothing away from Fredette's effort tonight; it was simply spectacular.  But don't be surprised if an athletic team from one of the BCS conferences makes the three above adjustments and knocks off the Cougars early than expected in the NCAA Tourney in a #7 over  #2 or a #6 / #3 'upset'.

I don't generally do scouting report columns, I know it is tough reading for you non-dork fans - but for my hardcore readers, I wanted to give you what I saw from watching tonight's game.  Any insights, opinions, etc. you gleamed from tonight's thriller are always welcome!  Post below, or send comments to chrisscheeren@yahoo.com

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Last Stand for UCF Tonight at Memphis

A funny thing happened on the way to the FedEx Forum.

Tonight was supposed to be a watershed moment for the UCF Basketball program; a night to display their new found excellence and dethrone the reigning standard bearers in their own gym.  Tonight was a night to bring their shiny national ranking and validate it in a game they expected, not hoped, they could win.

Um, yeah.  Not quite how it unfolded.

Losing four games in Conference USA is no shame this year.  This is not the "Memphis and the 13 Dwarfs" of years past.  Right now six teams in C-USA are in the Top 72 in the RPI polls.  It's a solid league from top to near bottom.

The problem for UCF?  Losing four in a row.  Including two at home. Badly and embarrassingly.  Suffice it to say that East Carolina and Rice are not two of the aforementioned six.  The performance has dropped the Knights all the way down to last place in the league with a trip to big bad Memphis no longer a coronation but instead a hopefully valiant last stand.

Do the Knights have a shot tonight against Josh Pastner's Tigers?  Sure, but not a good one.  Memphis isn't the team they were in years past, but let's face it, UCF isn't the team Knights fans wanted to believe they were either.  The Knights enter tonight as a prohibitive underdog, a disappointing, albeit more familiar role.

It's been that kind of two weeks for UCF.

The good news is it's a role the Knights play well.  They had no trouble riding the emotional crest of over-achievement.  It was the games they were supposed to win that proved troublesome.

Tonight, the swell of attention and congratulations has long faded and UCF gets its chance to once again play David to Memphis's ever-looming Goliath.  For UCF's sake, lets hope the Knights remember what it is like to fight windmills without dwelling on all that was lost in the past two weeks' stumbles.

Yes, tonight UCF once again gets their chance to attempt the impossible.  But unfortunately, no matter how the game finishes, even an impossible victory will feel a little disappointing contrasted against the possible of just a few weeks ago...

Tom Brady is a Huh??

You gotta love the blustering Jets.  Not wanting to be overshadowed by his loud-mouth coach, Antonio Cromartie decided to drop some profanity-laced blasts on the Golden Boy, Tom Brady; calling him an "asshole" among other things.

When asked to comment, Brady simply said "I've been called worse."

Rumor has it he was feeling kind of bad about the slight... then went home, looked in the mirror, shined his three Super Bowl rings, checked his bank balance and brought the wood to his internationally famous Supermodel wife.

There is NO truth to the rumor he also added, "Cromartie??  That guy's a real son of a bitch.  Actually, more like 'father of a bastard' - I'm an asshole?  That piece of s**t has more kids than Rex Ryan has foot-porn videos!  Seriously - that guys has FIVE 3-year olds - RIGHT NOW.  Five of 'em!  They asked him to name his kids on Hard Knocks and he stared at the camera like he was looking at his SATs! 

Holy s**t!  I'm an asshole?  I'm an asshole??  (laughing hysterically).  That's huh-freakin'-lairious!  Honey, can you do that a little faster?  Honey?  Thanks Gizelle.  Yeah, that feels good....  I'm an asshole... (laughing quieter now and smiling like the Cheshire Cat).

If you can READ the above article, watch this video clip... then call your Dad and thank him.

Antonio Cromartie And His Kids - watch more funny videos

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A Learning Experience, Minus the Pearls of Wisdom

Knoxville, TN:  January 11th, 2011

Tennessee entered SEC play, and the beginning of Coach Bruce Pearl's suspension with a hard-fought overtime loss to the Florida Gators.  There are certainly lessons to be learned from any tough loss, however I'm not sure the Vols learned the right ones.

Time after time in the extra period Tennessee took contested shots, over-penetrated into charges, and generally played horrendous offense; the eventual result was the 81-75 loss.  Down the stretch in both regulation and OT Tennessee had a chance to do something every good team needs to do before March; learn how to win on your own.  

It's something Coach K has done artfully for decades down in Durham.  Early in every season, at a time his team hits a rough patch and momentum begins to turn, when the crowd becomes hostile and panic starts to set in as the game begins to slip away, Coach K folds his hands... and does nothing.  Dick Vitale goes hoarse screaming to "get a TO" but Coach never bites.  Sometimes, your teams needs to learn how to win on their own.

When Tennessee was faced with the first of many coach-less challenges this season, the response was less than encouraging for Vol fans; they shrunk, groused at officials, and unraveled.

Would Pearl on the bench have made the difference?  Honestly, in a game that went to overtime and a single quality possession could have made the difference, absolutely they win that game with Coach Pearl.  And it's not going to get easier for the Vols with a really good Vandy team coming to Knoxville Saturday looking to bury the Vols early behind an 0-2 start in the hyper-competitve SEC East.

Now for my favorite play, "Did you know I'm rich?"

Should Pearl even be sitting out at all?  It's an interesting question - one for an entirely different column one of these days.  But, for argument's sake consider this precedent:  Last year the NCAA suspended Dez Bryant for the entire season for lying to the NCAA.  The kicker?  What he lied about wasn't even a major infraction.  The draconian penalty was strictly for the lie.

The other kicker?  He is a kid.  Bruce Pearl, like Bryant's former coach, is "40" and a "grown man."  Quite simply - he should, and probably did, know better.  That knowledge is essentially incumbent upon his position as a leader and prominent figure earning seven-figures at Tennessee's largest state run university..

So while the Vols players' search for an identity not yet found in their incongruous 3-0 record versus ranked opponents overlaid against their 7-6 mark against those not, Pearl must search for a way to coach without "coaching."  Meanwhile Vol fans are learning important lessons in emotional balance as they ride the roller coaster, and UT officials are trying to decipher perhaps the most nebulous lesson; "how do we rationalize not firing this coach, because damn we really don't want to."  You see some lessons are learned on the court, and some are learned off - in both arenas I'm not sure Tennessee's players are learning the right ones...

A Little Less "Cross" and not much of a "Shootout" - Bearcats Snap 3-Game Skid in Crosstown Shootout

Save for a semi-flagrant Tu Holloway elbow, this year's Crosstown Shootout between Xavier and Cincinnati was pretty tame by recent standards.  There were no fights.  No need for teams to be separated in warm-ups, during the game, or even after it.  And unlike 2007, no one was taken off the court on a stretcher.

No, tonight the only thing on a stretcher was the Xavier offense.  Full disclosure, I am a die-hard Xavier fan.  As a matter of fact until this season when my alma matter UCF suddenly and bizarrely became relevant, I rooted for the Muskies above all other and literally ached when the season ended after an inevitably heartbreaking NCAA Tourney loss.  (Greg Oden - I still hate you almost enough to chuckle at your injury-riddled NBA career...) But let's be honest...

This Xavier team is the worst they've fielded in a decade.  They made the 14-0 UC Bearcats LOOK like a legitimate 14-0 team rather than the creampuff eating NCAA bubble team they are.

It's not sour grapes, it's honest analysis.  Xavier is not an NCAA Tournament team this year, yet it is easily one of Cincinnati's two best wins this season (the other is Dayton, also at home).  Tonight Xavier turned in as poor of an offensive performance as you will see this season, shooting 39% from the floor and turning the ball over a pathetic 17 times.  In reality, they shot even worse than the numbers indicate as many of their buckets came on scrappy put backs and scramble buckets by Jamel McLean and Kenny Frease.  Eliminate the stickbacks and their shooting percentage dips down near 25%.

For the Bearcats, as sloppy as the win might have been, it was still a dominating performance.  They simply out-toughed and out-worked the Musketeers all over the floor.  It was the kind of gritty, scrapping effort not seen in the Shoemaker Center since the ouster of Bobby Huggins.  This is first team that has a shot at going to the Tourney since the aforementioned ouster as well.

Notice I said, "a shot."  At 14-0, one would think they are on pretty safe footing, but their real schedule begins Saturday.  Don't be surprised if the Bearcats lose five of their next eight as they have trips to Villanova, Syracuse, Notre Dame, St. John's, and Pitt coming up over the next three weeks.  That's brutal for any team, not just one with a slightly inflated record and glaring offensive deficiencies in the shooting and point guard play departments.

The Big East is a gauntlet, but it is one that both chews up and nurtures the weak.  While the top seven or eight teams are as good as any league in the country, the bottom provides fodder for middling teams to fatten on; DePaul, Providence, Rutgers, USF.  Here's an interesting statistic; the Bearcats could get to 20-10 (assuming a second round loss in the BEast Tourney), playing in one of the premier conferences in the country, and STILL not have beaten a single team that will be in the NCAA field.

I agree Mick, why schedule tougher?

The more realistic situation is that they jump up and pick off one or two big guys, maybe one of the lesser giants, Marquette or Louisville (neither are NCAA-locks, by the way), or earn a split with St. John's.  Assuming they suffer no more than one "bad" loss, you could be looking at 22-8 or 23-7 and a sure-fire NCAA tourney bid.  This begs the obvious question; why NOT schedule like Cincinnati if you are fourth-year floundering coach Mick Cronin??

The best litmus test of how far the once-dominant Cincinnati program has slid came in a derisive chant from the student section as UC was roaring out to a big lead midway through the second half; "OVER-RATED!  OVER-RATED!!"

Really?  Overrated?  The Muskies came into the game 8-4, and have received nary a vote in the polls the past three weeks.  Overrated?  Cincinnati was a nine-point favorite for crying out loud.  Sounds like someone has developed an inferiority complex...

Ten years ago, it was the Xavier fans who would employ such a cheer as their plucky mid-major Muskies played over their heads for one magical evening to jump up biting at big brother's heel before occasionally felling the Giant.  Today?  It's the Big East's Bearcat fans bringing their slingshots to the Shootout, hoping to knock off Mighty X in an injury-ridden down year, fresh off losing their Coach and two early entrants to the NBA draft over the past two seasons.

Overrated?  Not the Muskies, but by the time the season ends Mick Cronin's mirror might be reflecting the same message as the shine of a perfect 14-0 fades to Big East attrition.

Look, winning the Shootout is always going to be special, and it should be.  It's what great rivalries are bred of, and this game takes a backseat to very few college basketball rivalries.  For tonight, the Bearcats are once again Kings of the Queen City, and nothing about that is over-rated.  I just remember a time no so long ago when this one game wasn't what crowned them.

It's Not the "Vick", it's the Victims

"How does Commissioner Goddell feel about Michael Vick possibly becoming the MVP of the NFL??"

This question, voiced with horror, can be heard on nearly every two-bit and mainstream sports talk program across the nation.  The horror!  As if an NFL MVP was an elected official entrusted to enact public policy.

"How would you feel if your kid wanted to wear a Michael Vick jersey??  What message are we sending to our kids??"

I actually heard this discussed, at length on television today.  Even more horror! Aghast exasperation! Indignant repulsion!

Phew... now that I've expressed that reaction, perhaps now I am ready for a couch on an ESPN talk-about-sports show.  Here's how I'd explain the situation to my kids:

Son, if... and I repeat, if you grow to become a 6'3'', 220 pound man blessed with a nearly-superhuman ability to run a 40 yard dash in a sub 4.2 second time and throw a football eighty-plus yards on a rope, become the face of the NFL and play in multiple pro bowls, then inexplicably become the central figure in a multi-state illegal dog fighting ring, are investigated and incarcerated it's a long road back.  After your lengthy prison term, two years later and more than $100 million dollars lighter, rejoin the NFL amidst swarms of controversy surrounding your role as the third string QB, wait patiently for a year, then turn that opportunity into one of the most electric six week stretches of quarterback play the world has ever seen... you might, and I repeat, might, be granted some measure of conflicting public reprieve and a semi-normal life, though one tainted with revulsion and scorn by a sizable percentage of the population.

Son, are we clear?  Organizing a multi-state illegal dog fighting ring has consequences.  OK, good talk.

And you thought the birds and the bees was tough?  Fortunately you can get a nice segue by explaining boner meds to your nine year old boy who's seen the commercial roughly 42 times since kickoff. 

Look, I get it.  Michael Vick is Satan incarnate, he murdered lots of poor, innocent dogs.  It's an act almost as bizarre as it is cruel, given his station in life at the time.  Michael Vick needed more time in the film room?  Hard to find the time while masterminding an interstate criminal syndicate.

This is coming from a dog lover.  I have two whom my mother reluctantly acknowledges as her "grand puppies."  My dog completes an entry in our family March Madness pool.  Three years ago he even finished fourth.  Our long-time readers will even have seen a few columns penned ostensibly by my eldest dog, Pacer, who we refer to as our "practice kid."  The truth?  He didn't even write the articles!  I did!  I love him that stinkin' much.

Before writing this column, I  consulted him and he agrees.  The reason people hate Michael Vick isn't because he's a criminal.  It's because we really, really like dogs.

If that's your opinion, fine.  Harbor it, and harbor it long because no amount of persuasion will ever dissuade you.  At least own it.  You value dogs on a plane equal to humans. And that's fine.  Pacer appreciates it, but in the pantheon of athlete indiscretion and criminality, Michael Vick isn't even sniffing the Mount Rushmore.

Any Ravens fans out there?  Donte' Stallworth murdered a human being with his vehicle while driving drunk and high.  He served his 30 DAY prison sentence, took his one year NFL suspension and is back to work at a price tag of $900,000.

Several years back, guess who was invited to give the pre-game pep talk to the USC Football team?  Yup.  The Ohje, the Juice, or as he is more commonly called, "the Defendant" Orenthal James Simpson.  Now that's a hard one to defend.

I challenge each of our readers, find one team in the NFL with a roster completely devoid of a player convicted of domestic violence, assault, or some other crime.  I think you'll be doing some long research.

It's not just sports.  Our elevation of the morally unworthy is everywhere.  Prior to his scandal, Rod Blogovich was merely the Governor of Illinois.  It wasn't until he was impeached on corruption charges that he became a "Celebrity" worthy of hearing "You're Fired!"

My point is this.  Anyone writing a pro-Vick article is societally pressured, obligated to include some measure of personal condemnation to the piece. Feel free to introduce the element of race at your own conjecture, it is undoubtedly sewn somewhere into the sentimental fabric, but I would wager comfortably the true emotional conflict isn't so black and white, and it's not Michael Vick. It is his victims.

Root for Vick or curse him, I could honestly care less.  But let's collectively park our moral outrage for another, worthier cause that will inevitably sprout up within the next few weeks.  If you have difficulty "explaining to your kids" about Michael Vick, than I feel terrible for your children.

Fortunately, the true lesson and moral of the story is IN the story. The fact that it is still a topic of discussion teaches a lesson valuable to both the young and the old; some mistakes, while life may go on after them, never completely go away.  The rest should be easy.  Explaining right from wrong, extolling the virtue of honesty and compassion, embedding a sense of punishment for wrong action; that is the simple definition of the minimum expectations of a parent.

If you were expecting Michael Vick to do that for you, maybe children are not in your immediate best interests. Perhaps you should borrow a page from my wife's book; start first with a dog.


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The Man in the Black Hat

It is often hard to classify a regular season game in any sport as absolute MUST SEE TV, but tonight lured me in.  Interestingly, I knew exactly what was pulling me, despite my first instinct being to chastise anyone seduced for the exact same reason.  I was a little kid watching a slasher film through the cracks of his fingers,  like that unfortunate accident at the side of the road you just can't help sneaking a curious, furtive glance at; I couldn't quite resist.

I wanted to see the carnage.

I was fascinated by the potential of a frothing, foamy-mouthed, bloodlusting mob.

I wanted to see them welcome home Lebron.

Instead I got exactly what the aforementioned usually provide; a quick flutter of emotion, a little bit of a tummy-ache and a quickly forgotten glance at a fender bender.  The NBA's version of "made ya' look."

The booing, vociferous as it was, seemed to fade in unison with the game's competitiveness.  A decline from fever-pitch to sour note, from mouthfuls of venom to simply the bitter aftertaste of sour grapes; electricity to a dull flicker of boredom.

I originally wondered why on Earth so many grown humans would feel compelled to attend a sporting event solely to yell derision to a near-billionaire they once adored.  It seemed a little silly, a little petty, heck even a little insignificant to me; and I spend my time writing about this sport! 

But it wasn't insignificant to the fans.  They taunted and jeered.  They screamed with passion.  It was honest and real and deep. You could see the pain on so many Cleveland faces. 

And then it hit me;  I understood what was missing.

The fans might have been tormented.  But they were alone in their agony.

There wasn't a single ounce of malice or torment on the faces of the players.  No anger visible from the actors in the "will he/won't he throw chalk" vaudeville act.  It was just another game.  Just another bunch of guys passing through town whom they've known and interacted with most of their lives: AAU, Summer Leagues, College, International Teams, All-Star Games and commercial shoots.  Game #20 of 82.  Barely at the quarter-post mark in the seemingly infinite horse race.

The fans had their target, but in truth, there hasn't been a true villain in a long time.  In this politically correct, TMZ'd 2010 sports climate we have eliminated any willing villains through pressure of social mores. We have efficiently ostracized the bad guy by hounding our athletes for the last ten years.  We parse their every word and dissect every facial tic and inflection in voice.  We kill someone over a quick, innocuous laugh on the sideline of a football game.  We beat our athlete's into public relations perfection though the powerful motivator of public approval and in so doing we eliminated a vital part of what makes sports so great.  We vanquish our villains long before our heros ever get a chance to.

Reggie Miller said it best before the game, "Lebron should embrace wearing the black hat." 

If only that were so.  If only that were possible.  Lebron the Villian?  Loads of fun.  Lebron the brand?  A multimillion dollar corporation better served with a polite quote and a beaming smile.  Muhammad Ali?  Not today's athlete.  They've been practicing far more than their jumpshots every day since junior high.  They've been practicing to be stars.  Like Mike.  If I could be like Mike...It's a catchy ditty to sing to while the Gatorade cash machine makes our athletes rich beyond any mere mortal's expectations.

Nothing like choking the life out of the opposing fans!

Reggie Miller is a sure-fire NBA Hall of Famer.  Five years after his retirement, you can bring a smile to nearly any Hoosier's face with the mere whisper of a good Reg-gie!  Reg-gie! chant.   Reggie Miller is synonymous with 1990's playoff basketball and larger-than-life clutch shots so big they could only be matched by his equally villainous persona.  The man in the black hat.

Here are some numbers that might startle you.  And I do this with a heavy heart and trepidation of besmirching my boyhood idol.  My wife and I have two dogs, Pacer (obvious) and Larkin (Reds SS, plus a "girlie enough" name to appease my wife).  If we ever bring a third into the fold, no doubt it's "Miller" time.  Okay... enough stalling...

Five.  Three.  Thirteen.

The significance?  Five; as in the number of All-Star games in Reggie's eighteen year career.  Three?  Yes, obviously three pointers, Reggie has buried more of them than any player in NBA history.  However in this case, the three means the best All-NBA voting Reggie achieved.  Third Team All-NBA.  He did it, you guessed it, only three times.

Thirteen.  The jeopardy answer to the question, "what is the highest Reggie Miller ever finished in MVP voting?"  Thirteenth.  He earned that distinction once and another time finished sixteenth.  In his other 16 seasons he received nary a single vote share.  Not one.

Transcendentally great player?  The numbers don't support it.  Memorable, dramatic, fascinating and polarizing?  Absolutely.  Perhaps no one in NBA history played the hero and the villain so well simultaneously.  You didn't have to love him.  You didn't have to hate him.  But if you loved basketball in the 1990's you had to choose one or the other.

The man in the black hat with a Superman cape.

In today's professional sports, twenty camera cell phones would have videotaped the quick change before Superman could tear out of the phone booth.  And it's a shame, because there can't ever be a real hero without an equally real villain.

Without an antagonist, Ishmail just went fishing.  With no Voldemort, Harry Potter is just flying circles on his broom. In a world with no Darth Vader, there can be no Luke Skywalker.  In a hyper-driven bat of an eye thousands of college-aged virgins are left to idle pimple-faced and bored in their parents' basements.

It wasn't always this way.  Julius Erving once connected on an overhand hay-maker squarely to Larry Bird's mug.  Charles Barkley decked Shaquille O'Neal.  The 1997 NBA Playoffs are known as much for PJ Brown hip-tossing Charlie Ward into the third row and the subsequent brawl that eventually resulted in Jeff Van Gundy clutching Alonzo Mourning's leg like a puppy embarrassingly humping dinner company.

"Unseemly" violence.  Heated competition not only to beat, but to destroy the opponent.  Unbridled, true, raw loathing.

And we loved every minute of it.

Several years ago Carmello Anthony threw a punch, a weak one at that, and received a 15-game suspension.  Twenty five years ago Kevin McHale clotheslined Kurt Rambis in a play that would have sportstalk hosts honestly discussing whether criminal litigation should result.  McHale wasn't even thrown out of the GAME. (watch here).

I'm not promoting violence and thuggery, but when emotions run strong and pure the occasional brawl results.  The fervor of all great competition and rivalry climaxes with the epic battle between good and evil.  It's a formula that has worked for filmmakers for nearly a century.  It's a formula that has worked for authors since the days of Homer's Odyssey.  And it's the formula that helped make the NBA great in the 80's and 90's.

Tonight's Cavs v. Heat game, for all the hype and crowd hostility had none of the true elements of good versus evil drama.  Mainly because the antagonist and protagonist were the same person, a simple illusion harbored only in 15,000 fans minds.  For better or worse, the days of true rivalry require a completely different mindset.  They need a willing villain.

Sadly, I doubt we will see any athlete intentionally don the black hat anytime soon... unless of course Nike can find a way to put a Swoosh on it.

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The Biggest Winners

My wife was sitting on the couch, watching her favorite show that didn't involve random bursts of spontaneous singing, The Biggest Loser.  For those of you not familiar with the show, the basic premise is a large group of very large people are invited to a ranch where they train and eat like professional athletes in an attempt to lose weight, competition style, until one is finally crowned "The Biggest Loser."

I sat down next to her, and watched as two teams of morbidly obese people competed in a marine-style training relay race.  The winner of the contest was to receive phone calls to home.  Not a cash prize, but one infinitely more valuable to a group of people who had been separated from their homes for nearly two months.  As a sports fan, it would have been pretty easy to chuckle at 400 pound men and 250 pound women "running" thought an obstacle course.

But I didn't laugh.  It was actually pretty spell-binding.  At the end of the "race" as the exhausted victors stumbled to the edge of the water on the beach-bound victory tape, they mobbed each other with a teary eyed enthusiasm and unbridled jubilation that made me think instantly of one thing; a buzzer beater in March.

I looked over to my wife and said, "That."  She looked at me.  "That.  Is why I love sports.  THAT moment.  You don't get those moments many other places in life.  Not in the way that sports provides."  She nodded pensively.

More specifically, no other sport provides more of those raw, jubilant and heartbreaking moments than college basketball.  No other sport is so perfectly wired to deliver magical brief glimpses, slivers of snapshots when an ordinary kid can become immortal.  No other sport is built in a way that caters to the split-second that feels like hours while a ball hangs in the air; perilously dancing the fine line between jubilation and despair.  Nothing quite delivers life like college basketball.

Only in March can a tiny Iranian point guard named Ali Farokhmanesh from even tinier Northern Iowa become a household name (even if it is one largely mispronounced... oh how blissful it is to hide behind my keyboard).  Only in March do Bryce Drew and Tyus Edney transform from "cup of coffee in the NBA" guy to sports God immortal.  College basketball fans everywhere can recall the fervor and life of a Jimmy Valvano scrambling frantically for someone, anyone, to hug after their 1983 stunning last-second National Championship win.  That moment.  The raw powerful flood of joy lives on even more powerfully and long than the man himself.

I'm a happy guy by and large, no major complaints.  Hopefully you, whomever and wherever you are, can say the same.  My life's pretty good.  So let's admit together that we aren't disparaging our largely pleasant experiences as humans when we say "my life doesn't give me that very often."  The dramatic, gasp-out-loud unbridled, racing for someone to hug ebullience that can often only be safely found in the world of sports.  That's why we watch.  Not just for the excitement, not just for the diversion, but for the chance; the chance with far greater odds than holding a lotto ticket, that today, maybe, just maybe we will experience something we can truly call a memory.  That magical moment.

I played an interesting game with my mother a few months ago.  I challenged her to pick any year from 1984 forward and bet her I could name exactly WHERE I was during every Final Four.  In the blink of an eye, no matter how old I am I can always be fourteen years old, sitting in the roof of the Louisiana Superdome next to my father chattering feverishly that Michigan is out of timeouts, Michigan is OUT of TIMEOUTS long before the crowd around us has figured out what just transpired.  (Sorry Chris Webber but the law of instant jubilation and immortality must, by law, also carry the equal and opposite effect as well.)  Impressively or perhaps sadly, depending upon whether you harbor my or my wife perspective on the feat, I nailed every single year without hesitation.  When my Mom asked me how many of my college professors I could name, I couldn't quickly recall a single one.  No offense to my beloved UCF (ranked in the top 25 in football for the first time EVER today!), but the mind is an amazing device.  It anchors to what we love and only very reluctantly and under the intense pressure of age does it ever let go.  It is passion that forges in iron what otherwise is merely written on paper.  It is emotion that moves us once and never lets go.

It was then watching The Biggest Loser with my wife that I realized who the biggest winners are; those of us who through blessing, persistence or some combination of the two find something that evokes a passion and zeal inside of us.  Whether it's our job, an activity, our family or simply a hobby or diversion - something that delivers life.   For many of you reading, for many of "us", that passion surges back to the surface a little bit tonight on ESPN at 7pm.  

I sat next to my wife and watched the rest of the show with her.  As it finished, she turned to me and said "THAT'S why I love this show.  The exact same reasons."  I smiled at her and nodded, knowing we had each to grown to know the other a little deeper that day.  I gave her a kiss on the cheek as the closing credits rolled, and she looked at me and smiled.  She grabbed the remote and quickly flipped over to ESPN... after all, it is college basketball season.


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The Eric Gordon Theory and Volunteering

Take a good, not great team; think "Top 25-good." Then take away their senior co-captain. In addition, take away another three of their eight rotation players. Sounds like a certain recipe for disaster, right?

Not for the Tennessee Volunteers. A week ago it looked like Bruce Pearl would need to spend the remainder of the season explaining that "volunteer" only equated "community service" if is wasn't court ordered. Post season? Hell, who was going to post bail!

Then a funny thing happened on the way to the wayside. Tennessee didn't implode. They actually got better. Thursday night they hammered a good Charlotte team in their first test. Then they got a lot better. Like 76-68 over #1 Kansas better.

I think I can explain it too. Dean Smith famously said that for one game, the absence of a great player can actually be a positive as it makes you more unpredictable to defend. It is in the after where the problem lies. If that were true, it could explain the impressive Charlotte win. Either way, the quote never went as far as to address combing the campus for walk-ons in order to avoid a Hickory Huskers, "my team is on the floor" playing with four scenario...

Back to my explanation. I call it the Eric Gordon Theory. Our long time readers will recall several columns questioning the heart and hustle of the Hooiser's ballyhooed freshman several years back. I questioned his NBA readiness, his focus, basically his entire game. Then Kelvin Sampson's cell phone bill came due and IU dismissed the coach amidst controversy and NCAA heat. Things got worse, rumors, lots of them, began to surface regarding many of his teammates "extra-curricular" activities that were a little more serious than some underage beers. By all accounts, Gordon was a fairly reserved, polite, and non-drug using kid (all speculation - no factual evidence to substantiate my theory for my litigation-skewed readers...).

Maybe he was "pouting" and "losing focus" and "forcing shots" not because he was selfish and stat-hungry. Maybe he was just genuinely miserable. Think about it. You're 18 years old. Your coach and mentor was fired. Your teammates; your new family, engage in illegal activities you want no part of and that would jeopardize your NBA career. Ever since you were a little kid, you dreamed of playing for the crimson and cream of Indiana...

And this is what you get. You can't complain publicly because you'd be betraying your team, your school; your state. You can't; hold on, you won't quit. But you don't really want to play either. You just want this experience, this season to be over.

In Gordon's own words, excerpted from the Indy Star:

“Sometimes it felt like it wasn’t even a real basketball team because of all the turmoil that went on. I was just thinking about that the other day. It was so crazy that all that stuff threw off a good season and made it a waste, basically. It was really tough for us to be around each other all the time off the court because we were so separate.”

Of course, this my personal interpretation and you could argue me wrong... but I wouldn't budge. The Theory makes sense, and it happens more than us, the viewers, can see.

Here's how the Eric Gordon Theory applies.

Imagine you are a freshman or sophomore who loves basketball and is a decent kid. Believe it or not, there are a ton of them out there (go to a Kansas, Duke, Purdue, Gonzaga, Syracuse, etc game). Your senior leader and multiple teammates lead everyday lives where it is not just possible, but normal to get in a car with liquor, marijuana and guns with altered serial numbers. I get it; college kids drink and many even try smoking weed. It doesn't make them bad kids. The guns? Now we're getting serious. My Mom used to say nothing good ever happens after 2am. Um, make that double if you are high and packing heat. For lack of a more polite colloquialism, now we're talking some gangsta' shizzz.

Let's assume that with the four suspensions, the garbage has all been taken out. All of a sudden a cloud lifts and everything basketball; practice, road trips, hanging out with teammates, is fun again. The whole team begins playing and having fun, just like they envisioned when they signed their letters of intent. We can just play ball.

Amazingly, the results improve.

Does it make sense that a team loses four of its top eight players and improves? Not if the game was played on paper. But it isn't. It is played by real people with real lives and real ups and downs. Sometimes just wanting to be there makes all the difference.

On Sunday in Knoxville, after taking down the #1 team in the nation, there's nowhere else Bruce Pearl and his kids would rather be.

Article Research and Related Links:
http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=109372
http://www.midwestsportsfans.com/2008/12/eric-gordon-says-drugs-caused-problems-at-iu-under-kelvin-sampson
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/basketball/ncaa/01/01/tennessee.players.arrested.ap/index.html

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New Year's Conference Resolutions: Big Twelve

Here's the second of ten conference installments of some New Year's Resolutions and Prognostications. As always, your dissension is welcomed...

BIG Twelve:

The Big Twelve came into the year as our Playboy Award candidate (conference heaviest up top with a lot of airbrushing below), with Kansas and Texas clearly being a notch above everyone else and quite possibly above the rest of the country.

Having two dominant superpowers rule the roost isn't necessarily a bad thing; see Duke and UNC in the ACC. However, the question loomed, is there any depth beyond the Big Two in this year's Big 12? So far this season, it has looked like there certainly is, and there might possibly be a few Sweet 16 caliber teams lurking around.

Kansas State has to be one of the most pleasant surprises in 2009, racing out to an impressive 12-1 start with wins over Xavier, UNLV, Dayton and Washington State. Baylor has also looked better than expected and should contend for a bid.

Oklahoma State and Texas Tech have amassed some early wins as well and should contend for a bid...though we're not quite ready to label them tourney bound just yet. The only glaring dissapointment thus far has been Oklahoma. We knew there would be an adjustment perios without Blake and Taylor Griffin, but felt confident Willie Warren would be able to hold the rope (particularly with "Tiny" Gallon anchoring it...) So far? Not so good. Not good at all.

Here's a quick look at the outlook for March for each team:

The Good:
Texas looks fantastic, and we have felt solid having them at the top spot in Bracketeering from the season's outset. The 76-70 sleep-walk today against TX-Corpus Christi is understandable; their two games prior were wins over UNC and Michigan State. A letdown was inevitable. Rick Barnes has a few weeks to get them geared up for back-to-backers at Kansas State and at UConn.

Kansas is good. OK, Kansas is real good. After watching them dismantle Temple on the road toady I'm ready to concede this is probably the best team in the country. They have no holes. Sherron Collins is distributing the ball and running the team flawlessly. Xavier Henry is truly playing the "Grant Hill 1991" role on this team. Watching his poise, intelligence fused with blinding athleticism and a feathery touch on the mid range jumper... to me the comparison is accurate and uncanny. Throw in the best back-to-the-basket center in the nation in Alderich and it isn't unreasonable to think they will be unbeaten when the Feb. 8th date with Texas comes rolling around.

Win that one? Yeah...it does get intriguing...

Kansas State is not just good. They are Sweet Sixteen caliber legit. It is tough to put them in a category with the two above, but they seem like tourney locks barring a complete collapse and deserve the separation from the pack..

The Unknown:
Here is where things get a little dicey in the Big 12. Early season performance would seem to merit five to seven (high side) bids come March. The above three are locks. Here's how The Maniac sees it playing out for the remaining bids.

I like the talent and chemistry Scott Drew has working down in Baylor. In 2007 they were the conference's darlings, making an improbable return to respectability and the NCAA tourney. Last year they disappointed under heightened expectations and we were forced to wonder just where this program truly stood. An 11-1 start with wins over Xavier, South Carolina and Arizona State is a good indication the ceiling is high. They have solid guard play with Tweety Carter and LaceDarius Dunn and Udoh gives them a nice presence in the paint. I think Baylor returns to the dance, but it will be an interesting ride.

My conference sleeper is Missouri. Little was expected of the Tigers after losing DeMarre Carroll and three other starters from last year's Elite Eight squad. However, the Tigers are entering league play at 11-3 with some impressive wins under their belt: Old Dominion. Illinois by 13. Georgia by 28. Oregon by 37. Not just the wins, but the margins tell me that the Tigers frenetic style can still be effective, even with personal changes. They are a surprising threat to get back to the NCAA Tournament.

Okahoma State and Texas Tech are the toughest reads. Both have very good records that would likely get them tourney consideration with .500 conference seasons. However, I just don't think either is quite good enough to get on the other side of the bubble. Texas Tech's best win is Washington. Their only other decent win is Stanford. They've lost to Wichita State by 2 and failed their big litmus test last week losing to New Mexico by 15. More troubling is the struggles they've had with team's they are supposed to beat; Oregon State by 4, Stephen F. Austin by 2, McNeese State by one... they just don't seem ready for Big 12 rigors to me.

Ditto for Oklahoma State. Their best win is a 1-pointer over Stanford and a win over a down Utah team. They've lost to the two best teams they've faced; Rhode Island and Tulsa. Exactly the teams they'll be on the Big Board against when the committee has to decide whether to invite a fifth or sixth Big 12 team or reward one of the "have-nots." Those losses tip the scales undeniably in the opposite direction for the 'Pokes.

If a sixth team does get in, I like Texas A&M. The Aggies have slipped off the radar the past few weeks after losses at Washington and New Mexico (by 3- no shame in that loss). They do already own wins over Clemson and Minnesota, two teams that could very likely find themselves in a similar spot come March; 18-19 wins, fifth or sixth place in a power league. Those are good chips in the Ag's favor. They get Texas only once this year and get to host that game in late February. A win over the Horns could punch their dance card.

Oklahoma stays in the "unknown" category, simply because it is still too early to completely write them off. Willie Warren has struggled and it appears as though Jeff Capel is struggling with what to do with the talented Soph. They got hammered on New Year's by Gonzaga in yet another no-show against a quality opponent. They got waxed by VCU, and have losses to UTEP, Houston and San Diego - each more difficult to explain in ascending order. The 1-point win over Northern Colorado and the squeaker with Utah don't inspire much confidence either.

So why are they still above the Maniac's cut line? They still have NBA-level talent; particularly in Warren. And because other than trips to Lawrence and Austin there isn't a game they can't win on that schedule. 10-6 in the Big 12 gets you dancing. It's possible for the Sooners. But they better get it together. And Soon...

Iowa State - Of all the teams near the bottom group, this one is the most disappointing. With Craig Brackens surprising draft experts and deciding to come back to school, some optimism that the Cyclones could return to the tourney for the first time since Tim Floyd had Marcus Fizer and Jamaal Tinsley (and one of the Maniac's faves, Paul Shirley) in uniform began to arise. Three losses in a row dampened things a bid, but when the smoke clears losing to Northwestern (by 2), Northern Iowa (by 3) and at Cal aren't terrible losses. The schedule gives them an opportunity for redemption with a trip to Cameron Indoor and the Dukies...but it is just as likely a stern national showing of how NIT-at-best the 'Clones are in 2010. For the same reason as above with the Sooners, they stay above the cut-line, but they are a distant 10th in my estimation - a true long shot.


The BAD:

Colorado has always seemed a sleeping giant to me. Unfortunately no one woke them up again this year. Perhaps Chauncey Billups has a year of eligibility hiding somewhere... They showed a little fight early, hanging real tough with Gonzaga and Arizona over in Maui. Since then they have been blasted by 15 by Colorado State and by 25 at Tulsa. There is a good chance they are no better than the third or fourth best team in a basketball-light state (Northen Colorado and Denver).

Nebraska seems to pile 10 or 11 non-conference wins up every year. Just enough to keep them in that "if they win 4 of their last 5 they have a bubble shot" discussion every year. We;re not falling for it. They have two solid wins; USC and Tulsa. As a matter of fact, glancing over their resume, I get the feeling if they could just squeeze eight wins out in conference play....

Ah, forget it.

Final Score:
Texas and Kansas are #1 seeds in March. I just can't see anyone closing the gap enough to push either of them out. Kansas State feels like a Top 4 seed as well, and definitely no worse than a solid tourney team. This is the only conference in the country with two legit national champion contenders (Yes, the Big Ten and Big East could. But No one in the stratosphere of KU and UT though.)

It will be a rocky ride on the bubble all year in the middle of the pack. Like many conferences of this high caliber, parity will smack around the pack. That said, I like Baylor, Missouri and A&M to dance. Oklahoma is still a quality sleeper to watch and Oklahoma State and Texas Tech should get in if the can stay north of .500. In doing that, they'd knock off one of the other's above.

The Big 12 should factor no worse than the 4th best RPI conference overall, and most likely Texas and Kansas should push them to #2 or #3. That should be good enough for 6 bids in March, though seven isn't out of the question.

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A Crime of Passion

Imagine this: North Carolina last year, with a number 1 seed assured, decides to sit Tyler Hansbrough, Wayne Ellington, Ty Lawson, Danny Green; essentially throwing the ACC Championship.

Let's go four years back. St Joseph's, with a number one seed long-since sewn up decides to "lose on purpose" before the NCAA tourney in order to prevent an unlikely injury to Jameer Nelson or Delonte West.

Never happen you say? Of course not, not in college basketball. At least not yet.

Yesterday in Indianapolis, the Colts did precisely that. Leading 15-10 late in the third quarter over the Jets (coincidentally fighting for their playoff lives) decided to pull Peyton Manning and their starters. Never mind that Peyton has not missed a single game in his dozen plus years in the NFL. Apparently the risk of injury was more important that the integrity of the game; more important than a chance at becoming a legend; a chance to become Sports Gods immortal.

Most of you know what happened next. The second and third stringers looked hopeless, and the hope of the perfect season was quickly dashed, 29-15.

Not that the Colts apparently cared.

"Lay Down", I got 'cha Coach... can I stay in the game now??

Every year someone will take home the "ultimate" prize. This year someone will. Next year someone will. The year after that. And, yep, barring a 2012-like cataclysm, someone will again. And again. And again.

Folks, there's a reason Mercury Morris was given 3+ minutes to "rap" on Sportscenter last year. It wasn't because he won a Superbowl. It wasn't because of his hip-hop proclivity (in fact, Biz Markee said "Oh - SNAP - this guy su-ucks."). It was because in 1972 he and his Dolphins did something no other football team has ever done. The perfect season, the thing all football athletes strive for...except of course if you own, manage, or coach the Colts.

It is unlikely that Kentucky, Syracuse or the winner of Texas/Kansas can even approach such a historic feat on the court this season. No one since Indiana in 1975 has. Very, very few have even come close.

But you can bet each one of them, if the opportunity avails, will be trying like hell to be more than champions. They will strive to be what every athlete's coaches implore them passionately to be, what every athlete strives for from the first day he or she puts on his or her uniform...

Their very best.

I have to wonder today, if when the '72 Dolphins pop their traditional bottle of champagne if it; like the Colts since of history, drive and passion; will too taste a little flat.

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This One's for You Knight

Quick thinking now. Tomorrow Memphis plays at UMass at 6:30pm. What two things do these teams have in common?

"Yet he's still allowed to coach...it doesn't make sense to me."
Knight today on Coach Cal's previous school's NCAA penalties

If you said "vacated Final Four appearances" and "Coach Calipari" you'd be right. I'm probably way off base here, but I wonder if that is what precipitated the random Bobby Knight blast...

No word yet on if the winner of tomorrow's game gets to choke-slam Neil Reid.

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A-Plus

The Atlantic Ten has long resisted the mid-major label. However since the magical 2004 St.Joe's squad there has been little national relevance outside of Xavier.

It seems the A-10 is intent on changing that in 09-10. This weekend was a bit of a coming out party for the conference as the notched wins over Villanova, Boston College and Cincinnati respectivly. The wins; by Temple, Rhode Island and Xavier, are just the latest by a conference that is making a strong case for a solid sixth best league in the nation.

With the undeniable plummet of the Pac10 and some of the middling dissappontments early in the Big Ten and SEC, there could be as many as six to eight typical "big 6" bids up for grabs in March.

Here's a quick glance at some teams who could snatch them.

Temple: The 75-65 win over Villanova grabs the attention, but dig through the schedule and you'll find quality wins over Siena, Virginia Tech, and Penn State. Their losses are a 46-45 squeaker to Georgetown and a 55-48 loss to early season "big leap" candidate St. Johns. One thing is obvious, win or lose the Owls are gonna defend for 40 minutes.

Dayton: The preseason favorite to unseat Xavier began the season ranked but fell off the radar after early season losses to Villanova and Kansas St. However they have already picked up wins over GA Tech and Old Dominion and have to be regarded as a threat to win the A10, OR pick up an at-large bid.

Xavier: From this season's favorite to the perennial favorite. The Muskies struggled early adjusting to the early departures of Derrick Brown and Coach Sean Miller as well as the graduation of some of the winningest seniors in school history. Their three losses aren't killers; Marquette, Kansas St, and Baylor (the weakest of the three). The win this weekend over Cincinnati steadies tottering at large hopes. Upcoming games with Butler, Wake Forest and LSU will determine how much wiggle room the Muskies have for error in a deeper, stronger conference that the one they treaded lightly over the past three years.

Charlotte: If your only view of the 49ers is their season opening 101-59 trouncing from Duke, you are sleeping on a pretty solid ballclub. Just ask Rick Pitino after Charlotte came in and pasted his Cards by 22. The Niners are now 8-1 and gaining momentum and respect.

Rhode Island: The Maniac championed the Rams' at large merit last season, only to watch them lay an egg in their final week and limp into the NIT. This year they may not need my whinning on their behalf. With wins at Providence and Boston College they have two legit wins in their pile and a 82-80 loss at VCU won't hurt much. At 8-1 they are in good position to contend for a bid.

Richmond: The sleeper of the bunch, I wouldn't be surprised to see the spiders creep into NCAA discussions. They have wins over Old Dominion and Missouri as well as a 63-62 win over Ole Miss. Their loss against VCU, as with Rhode Island shouldn't prove too damaging.

The A-10 doesn't have the Top Ten team of years past, but they do have one of the most balanced and deep leagues in the country. Expect the six above and possibley even a few below to battle for three, possibly even four bids this March.

For a conference like the A10, it will be a Major accomplishment.

Others to watch:
Duquesne - The Dukes blew a golden opportunity losing to Pitt in double OT but can play with anyone in the conference. It's going to take 11-12 wins to get in tourney discussion but that isn't out of the realm of possibility

St Joes - Yeah, they are 3-6, but the losses are against Villanova, Purdue, Minnesota, DePaul, Cornell and Rider. OK, Rider and DePaul are bad - the other four will dance...

LaSalle, GW and UMass will give teams tough ball games on a nightly basis.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Half a Second From Infamy

I know this is a college hoops site, but surely many of our readers caught the end of the Nebraska - Texas Big 12 Championship Game last night. The final possession for Texas was inexplicable by nearly all standards; first, why on Earth was Texas so content to rely on a 45+ yard FG to save their perfect dream season? They had nearly a minute on the clock and a timeout in their pocket, yet never attempted to move the ball any closer. Earlier in the game they let senior QB Colt McCoy (the winningest QB in the HISTORY of college football) throw on third and long on his own one inch line against the best D in the country.

Yet with a minute to go? Scared to even attempt to pick up yards through the air. Puzzling.

As Colt McCoy bizarrely floated a completely useless pass downfield, ten yards out of bounds as the clock appeared to tick to zero, my brain immediately raced to rank that brain cramp on the all time sports scale. My immediate thought had to be Top Five, probably Top Three.

Then came the reprieve. Upon further review officials placed one second back on the clock. Texas's kicker drilled a 46 yarder with about six inches to spare inside the left upright. The clock, again, struck zero, permanently this time, and Texas will play for the National Championship, undefeated.

Saved by the bell. Or at least the replay official.

It got me thinking... what if some of college basketball's most famed gaffes had a similar "replay"??

Hmmm.

Say the officials went to the monitors in 1993, and correctly determined Chris Webber traveled long before the ill-fated "Timeout! Timeout!" Carolina inbounds the ball, likely hits at least one free throw and probably wins the game. The outcome is no different. For anyone except Webber that is.

Instead of being remembered for the TO that wasn't, he is instead remembered as a very good NBA player who never quite reached his full potential as a player or winner...and (allegedly) shagging a pre-hefty Tyra Banks in her Victoria Secret/SI Cover prime. Not a bad career my friends, not bad at all.

What if they go to the monitors and determine Memphis wrapped up before "The Shot" in 2008? Kansas steps to the line, hits the first, then misses the second intentionally. Joey Dorsey corrals the rebound, the horn sounds, he flings the ball several hundred joyous feet into the sky and Calipari hugs his tearful players as they dance in celebration.

The what-ifs here are limitless. For one, there is no joy in Lexington today. Travis Ford's Cats (or John Pelphrey - I say Ford) have just gotten blown off the court by the UNC Tarheels. Rebuilding? Heck, the Heels are BETTER this year with freshman phenom John Wall leading the Heels to the #1 ranking. Their dynamite frontcourt of Davis, Thompson and Wear are dunking in record numbers in transition and the Heels look to be in position to repeat as champs.

Memphis, of course is again loaded, with Xavier Henry and DeMarcus Cousins leading the charge, as the Tigers look to capture the first national title in Calipari's and the school's history.

Oh, the one in 2008? It's been vacated. But Cal didn't do anything, so it's OK.

Of course, none of that happened. It only could have, should have...but didn't. Freddie Brown will have always passed to James Worthy in 1982. Chris Webber will always have the ill-fated TO, and Colt McCoy will always be remembered as the winningest QB in college football history who led Texas to the 2009 BCS Title Game (and perhaps the title.)

You see in sports, just like life, it is the slimmest of slivers of time that affect our legacy.

But sometimes don't you wish you had Instant Replay too?

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