Here in the South we're used to people coming from other parts of the country and burning down our house. Gone With the Wind is both fiction and historical record. Columbia burned, the Valley was ravaged, 'The Beast' Butler insolently roamed the streets of New Orleans.
Now Kansas has deflated any illusions of Southern ascendancy in what is described here abouts as a big time ___ whipping.
Just like in 65' (18 that is) we cast about for explanations in the ashes. Roy Williams didn't call a time out soon enough. Kansas was bent on revenge against their ex-coach. UNC was too cocky, not cocky enough. Recovered memories of foreshadowing. "I told my brother-in-law before the game, they looked tight. Something just wasn't right."
Now they tell us.
There is another explanation.
The Kansas Jayhawks may have played the greatest 8 minutes of basketball since Naismith hung the peach basket. It wasn't about UNC, it was about the lightning of greatness captured in a jar. The perfect alignment of moment and motive force.
Here is the historical (and I mean that literally) record.
At 13:39 of the first half Deon Thompson of Carolina hits a shot to cut the lead to 15-10. Between that shot and two Ty Lawson free throws at the 4:58 mark here is what Kansas accomplished.
A 25-2 run in an NCAA semi-final game against the 36-2 number one team in the country.
Captured 16 of the 17 available rebounds, including 4 offensive boards by freshman Cole Aldrich.
Held UNC to 0-13 from the floor and 2 free throws.
Went 9-16 from the floor and 4-4 at the free throw line.
Blocked 4 shots and forced three missed layups.
Think hard about when you've ever seen this dominance between two evenly matched teams. I'm guessing you haven't. And I'd be surprised if anyone ever has.
There was a glorious brutality to those eight minutes. A physical and emotional dominance over a talented opponent. Kansas gave 7 fouls during their run. Seven fouls that said, in essence, "You want the ball you'll have to fight for it." Carolina didn't.
Those eight minutes brought a realization that games are won on the floor and not through press clippings and tradition. And that is not a bad thing.
College basketball has fallen on hard times in the midst of prosperity. The game has never been more popular, and never more poorly played. The best players come into the game and leave in "one and done". The awful three point rule has literally turned a beautiful game inside out. The star system overwhelms team work.
Not this year. It is worth noting that the demolition team Kansas put on the floor against Carolina included two seniors (Darnell Robinson and Russell Jackson) and two juniors (Mario Chalmers and Brandon Rush). UNC, which successfully recruits based on a reputation as a feeder to the NBA, countered with 4 sophomores, 3 juniors, and 1 lightly used senior.
Therein lies the difference, and maybe college basketball's salvation.
It may well be that programs will look at the blowout, no "blowup" of UNC as proof that "rent a player" programs of NBA prospects are unlikely to win matched up against teams which have developed an understanding of the game and their teammates over time.
No matter the future, the present belongs to Kansas.
Basketball is immediate. It's the youth game, the TV game, and along with the NFL the media favorite. Internationally, it is the one American sport culturally accessible to the masses and acceptable to the elites.
It just doesn't have history. Not the way baseball does. Baseball has over a hundred years of stats, a century of legends, a sense of place and time. Enough to make debates over membership in the Baseball Hall of Fame intense and passionate. To make membership in the Hall of Fame something special. The fulfillment of a life long ambition.
This week the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (yes, it's really called that) announced 15 finalists for election later this year. America yawned and went back to watching American Idol, even those among us whose TV sets have become a spike stuck into the vein of our sports addiction. I'm guessing even hard core basketball fans either didn't notice this news or didn't much care.
Why? Beyond history the NMBBHOF (sounds like somewhere you'd get your taxes done or order waffles) is all things to all people. There are four separate branches feeding into the ballot. The North American Committee, the Veterans Committee, the Women's Committee, and the International Committee.
Which makes sense in the context of the Naismith Museum's mission to educate people about the sport. But it lumps the NBA, the NCAA men's, NCAA women's, WNBA, and international game together. What you get is a Hall of Fame class like this one from 2007:
Van Chancellor, Pedro Ferrandiz, Phil Jackson, Mirko Novosel, Mendy Rudolph, the Texas Western Team, and Roy WIlliams. Six names, three of which you might have heard of. No players of note. (By way of information for younger readers, the Texas Western team changed basketball by defeating Kentucky for the NCAA championship in 1966 with an integrated roster.)
It is unlikely anyone debated the 2007 selections or even much noticed them. Roy Williams and Phil Jackson were the "names" of the class, and dominated the scant media coverage.
This year's class at least has some star power. Hakeem Olajuwon, Pat Riley, Patrick Ewing, Dennis Johnson, Don Nelson, Adrian Dantley, Chris Mullin, Don Nelson, and #### Vitale crowd the ballot.
There are ten choices (which include the big names) on the North American ballot and you need 18 votes to get in. There is a lone candidate on the women's ballot, two on the veteran's ballot, and two names on the international ballot.
That makes Cathy Rush alot more likely to enter the Hall than than Adrian Dantley. Rush won three straight national titles at Immaculate in the 70's, but only coached seven seasons. On a ballot with one name it will take seven blank ballots to keep Rush out of the Hall.
Kerr and Richie Guerin are the only names on the veteran's ballot. Kerr is a Chicago basketball legend as an announcer, and played and coached in the NBA during the late fifties and sixties. Guerin was a contemporary of Kerr. Definitely a better player, possibly a better coach. But he's been away from the spotlight and Kerr is a continuing TV presence. Kerr has been a finalist for three years running, so he'll probably make it this time.
The international committee has sent a player or coach in every year since 2001 and will probably name Togo Soares this year. He's a coaching legend in Latin America and deserves the honor.
Ewing and Olajuwon should go in this year, but haven't been finalists yet. It should be #### Vitale's year. Pat Riley might have a shot. But Adrian Dantley, a prolific scorer at Notre Dame and in the NBA might be left on the bench again. He's been a finalist for six of the last seven years, and something tells me the small core voting against him by leaving his name off isn't going to relent.
Despite the awkward process, the Hall does seem to get things right. If you look at the list of enshrinees it is difficult to argue with who is in, or more importantly identify worthy candidates left out.
A few names stood out among the missing. Charlie Scott, a great player at UNC under Dean Smith and the first great black athlete at that school. Bernard King, a scoring machine at Tennessee and the pros. Artis Gilmore and Mel Daniels, two great ABA centers. Roger Brown of the Indiana Pacers also should be there for sure.
So what should be different? There should be more research done and more finalists to choose from on the women's and international ballots. And there should be a bigger pool of voters and a different criteria for selection off the North American ballot.
None of this will do as much for the Hall as what will be done next year. Michael Jordan will have been out of the NBA for 5 years and become eligible. This will bring the ultimate star power to bear on the ceremonies and maybe put the Hall, if not on the map, at least somewhere in the arena.
The basketball hall will never have the glory of Cooperstown. But it's an interesting discussion. Plus, you can win a bunch of bar bets taking money from people who won't realize Michael Jordan IS NOT in the basketball hall of fame.
Why is anyone at Michigan concerned that Les Miles wouldn't come? Try this experiment. Hire a good offensive and defensive coordinator and someone to head up the recruiting. Then put a hat rack on the sideline wearing a Michigan cap and some official logo merchandise. Put a head set on it. I'm thinking you've got nine wins right there.
Was there a single TV analyst who thought the Jets would beat the Dolphins? It was just too easy to pick Miami, what with the law of averages on your side. The sad truth is Miami probably isn't going to win a game this season, and most pro football insiders are guessing their point spreads off.
A lot of noise over the Jason Whitlock column in which he suggested that when the killers of Sean Taylor were found they would be African-American. Consider this. Seventy percent of the killers of caucasians are white. Eighty percent of the killers of African-Americans are black. So, it isn't like Whitlock said anything illogical, but it's also the case he didn't say anything particularly profound.
Bowie Kuhn in the Hall of Fame? And Marvin Miller doesn't make it? Try this test. If Kuhn was never commissioner what would be different today? Nothing. In Miller wasn't head of the player's union, what's the difference? Everything. The Hall of Fame is well on the way to became a farce.
Jimmie Johnson won the Cup again this year. Won it last year. Might win it again next year. Could you pick him out of a lineup? Do you know anything about him? Do you know who finished third in the chase? Didn't think so. Don't believe the hype. NASCAR isn't the number two sport in America. More like 3a, somewhere between the NBA and NHL.
Oh, so you believe the NBA is number 2? Does anyone here play roto basketball? Could the NBA sustain crowds of 30,000 plus a night for an 82 game schedule? Anyone here know anything about the history of the game before Bill Russell? Or, maybe I should say Michael Jordan? Is the quality of play improving every year?
NHL players want to do away with the instigator rule and return to the days when enforcers made the instigator think twice about taking out more highly skilled players. Fighting would increase, violent career threatening collisions away from the puck would drop away to nothing. I think the players are onto something.
O.J. Mayo watch. #26 in the nation in scoring (21.0). Good. One hundred sixteen shots and only twenty-one free throw attempts in seven games. Not so good. Still USC is 6-1, losing only to Mercer in an opener where Mayo took twenty-seven shots. Wait and see, wait and see.
(Caller #1) Hello. Alam Erican residence, Beth speaking.
(Unidentified Indiana Basketball Coach) I'm sorry, I accidentally was connected with this number by mistake as part of a three way phone call and I am totally unaware of whom I am talking to. Say, you wouldn't be Rick Alam Erican's mom would you?
(Caller #1) Why, yes I am.
(Unidentified Indiana Basketball Coach) Well, this is a coincidence. This is Kelvin.....no, ah, just a fan, just a fan. Golly, your son would sure look great in an Indiana uniform. But, that's just my opinion as a fan. Who doesn't know you. Or, how I got connected with this number.
(Caller #1) You sound awfully, familiar.
(Unidentified Indiana Basketball Coach) Gotta Run! Go IU!
(Caller #2) Hello.
(Unidentified Indiana Basketball Coach) Mr. Basketball?
(Caller#2) No, this is Mr. Jones. But I'm proud to say my son is Indiana's Mr. Basketball.
(Unidentified Indiana Basketball Coach) You don't say. I'm sorry, I was trying to call the Mr. Basketball store. They sell basketballs and I'm a big fan of the game. Big fan. Have been ever since I was a kid watching those wonderful Indiana Hoosiers. Great team, great team. Fine school.
(Caller #2) Well, they're OK, but we're leaning toward USC.
(Unidentified Indiana Basketball Coach) Despite the bubonic plague outbreak?
(Caller #2) That has to be a mistake. That's spread by rats and there hasn't been an outbreak since the middle ages. You see I'm a doctor and...
(Unidentified Indiana Basketball Coach) Well, a friend called and told me about the plague at USC, but these darn phones have so much static on them when you have a three way call going. Still, I know I wouldn't want to risk my child's health. Those Southern California rats are huge. Just the other day they accidentally saddled one at the Santa Anita races and it finished third in a claiming race. No, sir, you wouldn't see my child going to a dank, rat infested...
(Caller #2) Wait a minute, three way call? Say, aren't you Kelvin Sampson? USC warned us that...
(Unidentified Indiana Basketball Coach Disguising Voice) I'm sorry, the party to whom you wish to speak is not on the line at this time. For seventy-five cents we can call back when the party is available.......(click, dial tone)..
(Caller #3) Hold on honey I'm having trouble connecting to Movie Phone. There's a wierd humming sound. I saw a van out here earlier. They must be working on the lines.
(Unidentified Indiana Basketball Coach) Welcome to Movie Phone. Please select your theatre...
(Caller #3) Rialto Six, Terre Haute.
(Unidentified Indiana Basketball Coach) And the movie you wish to see.
(Caller #3) 'The Hearbreak Kid"
(Unidentified Indiana Basketball Coach) Poor kid, must have signed with Michigan!
(Caller #3) What? Who is this?
(Unidentified Indiana Basketball Coach) The movie you have selected is "Hoosiers". "Hoosiers" A heart warming story of the love between the state of Indiana and it's basketball teams. "Hoosiers" a good movie to see if you have a 4 star or higher son who plays basketball and....
(Caller #3) Who is this?
(Unidentified Indiana Basketball Coach) The Hoosiers. Tops at the box office and soon to be #1 in the NCAA.
(Caller #3) I just want to know what time......hey Steph, look out by the pole. Isn't that the Indiana basketball coach. I saw his picture....
(Unidentified Indiana Basketball Coach) 6:45 at the Rialto. Enjoy the film. (click)
(Unidentified Indiana Basketball Coach) I know what you did last summer.
(Caller #4) I'm sorry, I'm confused...
(Unidentified Indiana Basketball Coach) Don't hand me that confused bit. You took a pair of sneakers and a throwback jersey from the Jock Shack at the mall. Estimated retail value $198.55. Unless you sign with IU by 5 PM....
(Caller #4) Sir? I'm sorry...
(Unidentified Indiana Basketball Coach) Sorry won't help you now son.
(Caller #4) Mr. Sampson?
(Unidentified Indiana Basketball Coach) Huh?
(Caller #4) Mr. Sampson, this is Bobby. I mow your yard. You must have hit the wrong button on speed dial Sir.
(Unidentified Indiana Basketball Coach) Ah....yes. It could....use...a....trim. Go Hoosiers!
(Caller #5) San Francisco PD. How can I assist you?
(Unidentified Indiana Basketball Coach) This is the Zodiac Speaking.
(Caller #5) Look, Mr. Sampson, we have been through this. Now, I don't want to go to the D.A. and get a warrant but you're not leaving us any choice.
(Unidentified Indiana Basketball Coach) I'm not this Simpson. This is the Zodiac, and my real name is in the code I sent you.
(Caller #5) I wouldn't call writing "Thad Matta is the Zodiac" in backwards letters on the menu from a Bloomington, Indiana IHOP code. Look, we can refer you to a mental health professional.
(Unidentified Indiana Basketball Coach) Crazy? Crazy like a calling card my friend. Crazy like a calling card.
The grinning Indian on the hat has to go. Keep the name, but do something about the logo. It's just embarrassing.
Speaking of embarrassing...J.D. Drew....11 HR 64 RBI and $11.4 million. Everybody knew. I knew. The snake oil salesman we know as Scott Boras knew. The RedSox didn't. Go figure. J.D. Drew has great potential. He's 31. Potentially he could be 35 in 4 years. And the whole #7, next Mickey Mantle thing. Who gives themselves that number?
Jimmy Clausen, that's who. #7 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. How many championships did he say he wanted to bring to Notre Dame? (4) How long was the limousine that brought him and 15 members of his entourage to the College Football Hall of Fame to announce his signing? (long, very long). How many touchdown passes does Clausen have? (1). Thankfully, his parents had the foresight to hold him back in the sixth grade so he'd be ready when this moment came. Otherwise, it could have been humiliating.
Arizona Diamondback humiliating. Down 0-3 to the Colorado Rockies. The whole playoff system is a mess. The wild cards fight to the finish each year and always seem to bring a momentum, enabling them to beat better teams. Why have a wild card at all? Give the team with the best record the first round off. Now, that's an incentive.
Incentives cut both ways. Nebraska fired their A.D. after the worst home loss since Eisenhower was President. Which gives coach Bill Callahan an incentive to turn things around. Or, considering the state of the program, maybe it gives him an incentive to stay the course and hop the next flight out of Lincoln.
Eisenhower was a linebacker at Army. And a good one. Can't imagine any of this year's presidential candidates as athletes. John Edwards? Wide receiver at best. Rudy Guilliani looks like an old fungo hitting coach. At least Barack Obama looks physically well. Fred Thompson looks like Bobby Cox. Or the ghost of Christmas past.
Cox's old pitching coach, Leo Mazzone, maybe the best pitching coach in baseball, was fired by the Orioles the other day. They let also let Tom Trebelhorn, one of the best bench coaches in the game go. Trebelhorn is well liked in Baltimore and wanted to stick around a few more years. His wife had a stroke awhile back, but she wanted him to stay on. But, what the hey, the O's have Dave Trembley, who lead them to the worst loss (30-3) in baseball history in his first game as manager. That's using your head, Baltimore.
Which brings us to concussions. Did you know female athletes are 67% more likely to suffer concussions than male athletes? And the effects of the concussion last longer? Or that soccer is a major source of concussions, not from heading the ball but from bumping heads with other players. Shouldn't there be some sort of form parents get to read that says that?
Kelvin Sampson lost out on a $500,000 raise because the Indiana basketball coach "unknowingly participated in nine of 10 three-way calls" to recruits. Don't you hate it when that happens.
Are we ten to twenty years away from having an NBA championship team that isn't the world champion of professional basketball? An article in the NY Times about basketball camp legend Sonny Vaccaro makes me wonder.
Vaccaro is a marketing and basketball legend, and it's hard to tell which order you put the two things in. For years he ran the ABCD basketball camps where prospects worked out and played under the watchful eyes of college coaches and shoe company reps. He's retiring and Reebok (his current employer) will fold his camp into others they are affiliated with. It's the end of an era that has changed basketball, maybe not all to the good.
The telling quote in the article is from Fran Fraschilla, ex St. John's coach and current ESPN analyst. Franschilla is just back from attending basketball camps in Italy and returned depressed at how poorly American players compared to Europeans:
“Hopefully, those people that wield power in the summer will understand
that our game at the moment is broken at the grass-roots level,”
Fraschilla said. “If we get more kids worried about improving and less
about where they rank, it will filter up the N.B.A. ranks.”
Camps can make or break players in unofficial recruiting rankings. Amateur scouting reports in low tech newsletters, distributed out of the writer's garages, have evolved into high tech and high dollar scouting operations that make or break a player aiming to play for a basketball power. Camps like Vaccaro's feed off the need of high school players to get exposure and move up in the rankings. In turn the camps are all about the individual player and their skills, mainly on the offensive end of the court.
You can make a case the Euros are learning about basketball while their high school counterparts in this country are going to camps and learning about marketing. Call it the Vaccaro paradox.
Nike and Reebok love the American system because they can create a buzz around a young player who could turn into, in the words of LeBron James, "an international icon". In James' case the hype has been more than justified. But for every King James there have been numerous Sebastian Telfair's and Kwame Brown's who never developed a complete game.
In Europe, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobelli of the Spurs grew as young players
outside of the scrutiny of recruiting rankings and camps. In order to
get on the court they had to learn the game of basketball while they
worked on their games. Today they are NBA champions. Dirk Nowitzki is MVP. If Europe is producing talent at this level, how long before the best European professional teams become legitimate challengers for the title of "world champion"?
We aren't to a point where the best European teams can take on the best NBA teams, the way the best European players have challenged America's best players. But if the progress of European basketball continues at the current rate, and if US players spend their time in camps working on their 360's and trying to become "legends" at 17 and 18, can that day be far off?
If you think the NBA will always be basketball's highest level of competition, consider that it has been taken down once already. The truth is the ABA, just before the merger, had better players than the older league and a more appealing game. The infusion of life that players like Julius Erving and George Gervin brough to the NBA kept the game moving forward into the Bird and Johnson era. That momentum is now stalled and the Euros are constantly improving.
Can history repeat itself? I think so. At some point about 10 years from now, European professional basketball may become so profitable it can afford to keep it's best players at home. An NBA Europe of sorts may be formed by then, and once the best teams from that league capture the public's imagination it's not hard to imagine a challenge being issued. If US basketball doesn't get out of the camps and back into the gyms, it may be a challenge some future NBA team loses.
Some things in sports you know, others you suspect. Not being a big basketball fan I don't know the college game has changed, but watching Florida defeat Ohio State the other night it sure felt different.
This is not a rant about And-1, the three pointer, pointless point guards, or dunk madness.
It's more like a look in the rear view mirror to see where we've been
and where we might be headed. In this case the mirror is the 1997 NCAA
championship game between Arizona and Kentucky.
Before we start, I know the arguements.
It's not scientific, it's not fair to pull one game out in isolation,
and you have to allow for the different teams involved. All true, but
maybe there's something to be learned by comparing two games ten years
apart. For one thing it may prove most of what I think I know is
two-thirds wrong (as often is the case). So here goes.
Shots: The
1997 game (won by Arizona 84-79) saw the two teams put up 130 shots, 43
behind the three point line. Florida and OSU combined for 117, 41
behind the arc. Seems about right, as the perimeter game has gotten
more important.
Three pointers: Ohio State
went 4-23 on three pointers and lost. Kentucky went 10 of 30. And lost.
One constant over the years is that if you live around the perimeter
you may die out there. It's hard to imagine a team going to a
championship game and shooting as badly as Ohio State did. It's even
harder to imagine a coach who doesn't see what's happening and adjust
the game plan accordingly.
Now this is just wierd: I
had forgotten that in 1997 Arizona shot 41 free throws and hit 34 of
them, or that Kentucky just shot 17 and missed almost as many (8) as
they made (9). History almost repeated itself, with the winning team in
2007 hitting 22 of 25 at the line, and Ohio State making only 11 of 17.
Oddly enough, the fouls were about even this year (19 for Florida, 20
OSU), where Arizona made only 16 fouls to 29 for Kentucky in 97'. Then
and now, making free throws is crucial. This game didn't show it, but
in general it seems free throw shooting is not what it used to be.
I think I'll pass (or not): Assists
are down, which seems to be a result of more emphasis on the three and
less on the open court game. There were 30 assists in 1997, only 21 in
2007. This is just an opinion, but the game feels slower now, with less
movement. People point at the players, but maybe it's just the siren
song of the three pointer this is luring coaches to the rocks.
Again-whatsamatta with Matta?
Turnovers are up. Contrary
to what I would have guessed, there were alot fewer turnovers in 2007
(22 to 34 in 1997). You might compare Ohio State to the gang who
couldn't shoot straight, but you can't accuse them of being loose with
the ball. The Buckeyes only made 7 turnovers, while the Gators had 15.
Point distribution:
Four Florida players scored in double figures, six had at least 8.
Still, half of the Gator's shots came from two players (Horford and
Brewer). Ohio State had Oden (25 pts), Conley (20), and Lewis (12), and
not much else. The trio had 2/3's of the Buckeye shots. Harris and
Butler went 3-14 from 3 point range and sealed OSU's fate.
In
2007 Arizona won with a two man offense (guards Miles Simon-30 points,
and Mike Bibby-19). Kentucky got double figures from 5 players and at
least 8 from 7. Simon and Bibby had half the Arizona shots. What does
it all mean? Despite popular misconception, the 1997 teams don't look
any more "team" oriented in point distribution than this year's teams.
If anything, you could argue that Oden, Conley, and Lewis of OSU should
have played keepaway with Harris and Butler.
Bench depth: Benches
seem to be getting shorter in college basketball. Florida's bench was
three deep for 37 minutes, OSU's 4 deep for 32. In 1997, Arizona got 65
minutes from a bench lead by Jason Terry. Kentucky got 74 minutes from
5 non-starters, including Nazr Mohammed. It may be that another reason
today's teams don't run is because they don't have the bench strength
to press the point.
What do I know now that I know what I know? It
seems the game hasn't changed that much. One team in 2007 got to the
line and cashed in, same thing in 1997. Losers fall in love with the 3
pointer and pay. Teams still get big games from big scorers. The 10 man
rotation shrunk to 8 and appears headed for 7. And the running game is
dead.
Does it make the current game better or worse? I'm
not sure. But I don't enjoy watching it as much. The rhythm of the game
has changed. It's slower, for sure. And for all the talk of Florida's
greatness I still wonder if they would have won 1 title in the 90's,
let alone 2. But that's just one opinion. Looking forward to hearing
yours.
It's a story of how a player with a 1.33 GPA whose high school transcript had 9 passing grades and 12 F's (including Phys Ed) got admitted into Georgetown (where the average SAT score is about 1400).
The player, who transferred to another Division 1 school this season, was a two time state player of the year who passed through a prep school that the NCAA no longer will accept credits from. His own high school coach openly questioned how he could have gotten into Georgetown.
Here's the fun part.
The article quotes Georgetown University President John J. DeGioia as defending the player's admission and praising the character of players brought in by Coach John Thompson Jr. In one of those breathtakingly insipid statements only an academic can make, he said “I think if you look at the whole picture, and you look at the folks
that John has brought in, I think you will find a deep resonance with
the tradition and the standards and the character of the program.”
DeGioia is probably right about the player fitting into the tradition and standards and character of the program, which is kind of the problem. John Thompson Sr. started that tradition by crying racism any time anyone questioned whether his players met the school's academic standards. In some cases he made valid points about the hypocrisy of college sports, but fawning sports writers and announcers seldom made the connection that his views on the subject meshed with his need to get the best athletes on the court at Georgetown regardless of their academic ability.
Now you could be an optimist and say Georgetown's other players all had far better academic records than this one recruit's. And you could wait in your yard to be struck by an asteroid that you just know will fall out of the sky tonight at 9:37 PM.
What Georgetown did to the player the Times article highlights is the issue and not what they did for him. Georgetown is not a campus where someone who was failing the majority of their high school classes will thrive academically. The article quotes a former football recruit with an 1170 SAT who later dropped football. He summed up the situation by saying "I can’t really see where they thought he was going to make it here.” Indeed.
So what's the point? Is Georgetown worse than the school it defeated last weekend (the University of North Carolina)? Only in terms of degree. Both recruit players who aren't viable candidates for admission, then manage to keep them afloat long enough to get degrees (or not). What this case does point out is in an ethical swamp, Georgetown appears to be one of the biggest alligators.
You won't hear announcers say that this weekend. The road to the Final Four is full of empty platitudes about what a great school Georgetown is and what fine men John Thompson Jr. and Sr. are. The Georgetown story will be made to sound like an episode of "The Waltons" before CBS gets done.
One more irony for the road. President DeGioia is a member of the Knight Commission, the watchdog group for college athletics. Wonder how that's working out for him.
And a final quote, from the outgoing student body president at Georgetown. “To be honest with you, I think as long as they win, that’s the most important thing for most people.” Now there's a student whose Georgetown education wasn't wasted on him.
Add these things to the ever growing list of things I didn't know.
1. If you declare for the NBA draft and are not selected, you can return to college ball.
2. If you do return, there is a mandatory 14 game suspension.
3. Once you do come back you can leave again and sign as a free agent with any NBA team.
Randolph Morris, Kentucky's center, did all three of those things.
1. He declared for the draft after his freshman season.
2. Morris returned to Kentucky and served a 14 game suspension.
3. After coach Tubby Smith left Kentucky for Minnesota, so did Morris, signing with the Knicks.
Morris averaged 16.1 points and 7.8 rebounds with Kentucky this season and is eligible to be activated immediately by New York.
You read this and you think to yourself, why don't more players do this? If you're in the group of prospects below the sure fire first rounders, go ahead and declare after your freshman year. Go back to school, play another year or two, then pick the best offer available.
The biggest downside is having to sign a low contract offer in order to fit the cap in-season. But if you do well there are bigger and better paydays waiting. The worst thing that can happen, and it's not a bad thing, is getting drafted when you declare. That comes with the upside of early exposure to NBA paychecks and taking away the risk of being injured or playing yourself out of the draft.
If sounds like Morris made a smart move. He didn't want to play for a new coach and probably figured his sophomore season was close to the ceiling of what his college career would be.
The NBA and NCAA have put their heads together to keep players from going to the pros directly from high school, costing some players millions of dollars. It's nice to see the tables turned, especially after Morris had to serve a 14 game suspension because he wanted to find out if he would be drafted.
Let that one sink in. Morris didn't become a professional because he wasn't drafted. Yet the NCAA punished him. Not for academic issues, not for conduct issues, not for any ethical breach. Simply for having the temerity to consider leaving a non-paying job for one that would make him and his family financially secure.
There is no defensible reason for the NCAA's 14 game suspension penalty for declaring, any more than you can define why 18 year olds can't declare for the draft and 19 year olds can. So here's to Randolph Morris. May his escape point out the hole that exists in the fence the NCAA puts around it's unpaid employees. Escape is not only possible, but profitable.
O.J. Mayo is cursed. By the power invested in Sports Illustrated, and in the name of the great mother church Nike, it's been decided. The next big thing is here. And headed for USC.
There are two schools of thought about Mayo. You have the people who believe everything they read and are ready for him to LeBronize the NBA after a championship turn at Southern Cal. Then we have the "haters".
A hater is one of two things. In his own estimation he's a critical thinker who shares wisdom the rest of the world is not enlightened enough to see. The Mayo worshipers see the hater as a heretic who has spoken out against the new faith. There is a middle position, as rare as a bipartisan politician, consisting of two or three people living in some remote area without cable TV who are content to allow the seasons to change and Mayo to make it big. Or not.
You might ask yourself how it was decided that Mayo will dominate at USC and be an NBA star the year after? It's a very careful process of consideration involving summer camps, bird dogs, college scouts, shoe companies, and guys with big microphones and short memories. In short, the village sleezeiots.
Remember J.R. Reid? He was going to dominate college basketball and then move to conquer the NBA. He ended up in Leon. The one in Spain. DaJaun Wagner? He was going to burn up the league. Now he's the only man in American who doesn't have an entry in Wikipedia. Think you can spot a sure fire NBA star in high school? Got two words for you. Kwame Brown.
O.J. Mayo may turn out to be everything he's hyped to be and more. But shooting the lights out in West Virginia as a 19 year old senior going on 20 playing against the occasional 16 or 17 year old opponent is a far cry from taking Larry Hughes to the hole one on one. And the state prep playoffs aren't exactly March Madness.
One more thing to consider. Mayo is listed as 6'5", which happens to be the minimum height for a shooting guard. That's not tall for the NBA and it's just possible Mayo could be a "tweener" who doesn't have the ball skills for point or the size for the off guard position. Doesn't mean he can't make the NBA, just that the "automatics" are few and far between.
Another battle for Mayo will be the pressure of being O.J. Mayo. I wouldn't want it. He got some bad calls in a game, may or may not have pushed a ref, and became a thug to some people. Riding around with some friends who had marijuana in the car he got arrested and labeled a doper. Threw the ball off the glass to set up a dunk in his last game and threw the ball into the stands. That got him called "out of control". O.J. Mayo, meet the microscope. Microscope, Mr. Mayo.
The pressure, the money, the followers could define O.J. or he could get mentally tough and profit from the experience. It's just too soon to tell. If I had to bet, I'd guess Mayo will end up with a game alot like that of Jerry Stackhouse. A "have gun will travel" rep as a scorer, ten good years in the league, and maybe a ring if he's lucky.
But the best you can hope for O.J. Mayo is that he gets to be O.J. Mayo. That he doesn't dominate his first year at USC. That he sticks around for year 2 or year 3. And that he learns the skills he'll need in the NBA. Who knows, with a break here or there maybe he'll be something. The "next big thing" is a tough crown to wear. Right now nobody, including O.J. Mayo, knows if it will fit.
Fans are convinced sports would be better if only someone listened to their ideas. Take the designated hitter. Please. If Major League Baseball would only ask me, I'd tell them what a ridiculous idea the DH is and we'd be done with it. But, noooooo......
Then there is March Madness. It is madness. Geographical madness. Pittsburgh and Villanova are in the West, USC and Texas are in the East. Aside from being an affront to Rand McNally the seedings take additional class time from players, make it harder for fans to follow their teams in person on the road to the Final 4, and take away the excitement of sectional rivalry.
So why does the NCAA come up with such tortured pairings? You can never go wrong guessing television and money as the answer to any question involving college sports. The NCAA basketball tournament is big business and it's the business of CBS to keep the top seeds in the tournament as long as possible. It makes better TV.
If the two best teams happened to be in the same region it would, so the theory holds, take some drama out of the tournament since one would have to fall in the regional finals. If the top team is really strong it might also create a yawner of a final, which could mean lower ratings. Lower ratings mean unhappy networks, which the NCAA can't abide.
But do the fears match reality? Let's look at how the field would shake out if common sense and geography got thrown into the equation (first the reseed, then their actual placement):
EAST: 1. Georgetown (2), 2. Pittsburgh (3), 3. Maryland (4), 4. Virginia (4), 5. Virginia Tech (5), 6. Boston College (7), 7. Villanova (9), 8. George Washington (11), 9. VCU (11), 10. Winthrop (11), 11. Old Dominian (12), 12. Albany (13), 13. Holy Cross (13), 14. Penn (13), 15. Central Connecticut (16), 16. Niagara (16).
Not a strong field, but if you look at the distribution based on actual seed it's not a bad one either.
SOUTH: 1. North Carolina (1), 2. Florida (1), 3. Memphis (2), 4. Texas A&M (3), 5. Tennessee (5), 6. Vanderbilt (6), 7. Louisville (8), 8. Duke (6), 9. Kentucky (8), 10. Georgia Tech (10), 11. Arkansas (12), 12. Davidson (13), 13. Belmont (15), 14. Texas A&M Corpus Christi (15), 15. Eastern Kentucky (15), 16. Jackson State (16).
UNC and Florida get at each other early. So what? Duke gets a more realistic ranking. A stronger field than the East, but guess what? The South had better basketball. True regional brackets would build some heat around representing not just a school, but an area.
You get a great game, (probably) in the Midwest finals. A really tough field but, again, you get to see regional powers playing natural rivals.
WEST: 1. UCLA (2), 2. Washington State (3), 3. Oregon (3), 4. Texas (4), 5. USC (5), 6. Nevada (7), 7. UNLV (7), 8. BYU (8), 9. Arizona (10), 10. Gonzaga (10), 11. Texas Tech (10), 12. Stanford (11), 13. Long Beach (12), 14. New Mexico State (13), 15. Weber State (15), 16. North Texas (15).
Is it weaker than the Midwest? Some. But the presence of Texas and USC in their proper region adds strength to the field and the bottom eight looks about right.
What would you get out of all this? A field not much different than what we have. Georgetown probably gets an unfair bounce from the weaker East field. Florida takes out UNC earlier than the Tarheels planed to go home, and beats Georgetown to advance.
Out West Kansas probably comes out of the Midwest to face UCLA and go to the finals for a very attractive matchup with the Gators. All's well than ends well.
I think it's a good idea, but you aren't going to hear it championed by anyone who could make a difference. It's a shame, because regionalized tournament seedings are old idea whose time to come back is here.
Queen Elizabeth is coming to America for the next Kentucky Derby. A longtime patron of steeple chase racing in England, the Queen should feel right at home at Churchill Downs.
These visits are good for us and good for the royals. It gives us a chance to reevaluate whether the whole democracy thing was really worth the bother. And it gives Her Royal Highness an opportunity to spend some time away from Prince Charles (the lite beer version of Al Gore) down through the goose stepping, party loving, grandsons.
So why stop at Churchill Downs? We've got something happening in sports for the Queen during every drab gray, fog bound, spirit sucking season in the sceptred isle.
First off, I'm thinking a trip to Wrigley after the Derby would be good. From a security standpoint, and just on principle, the Queen shouldn't be stuck in some seat behind home plate. People will be getting up for beer and squeezing by her, vendors will be throwing peanuts across where she's sitting, and she'll probably hear some pretty bad language. So I 'm thinking the Queen could rent one of those rooftop suites across the street. Maybe the one with the big Budweiser logo on it.
There are other sports crying out for the royal presence. It's a shame she missed the NBA All-Star weekend in Las Vegas. Her homies could have chilled with Jay Z and Eva Longoria. She would have felt right at home, after all Prince was there. The Queen might have picked up a cool nickname, like Liz Diddy. And if her security guards happened to run into Pacman Jones and went authentically Medievil on him, well what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.
It's a shame Duke doesn't have any home games left. She might have enjoyed the Cameron Crazies. Then again, I have a problem imagining her screaming at opposing players that they have committed certain intimate personal activities with farm animals. Better to send her to the Final Four. She could sit with the Carolina fans in the end zone seats and wave wiggle sticks. I'm given to understand that the Queen is a big fan of the mid-major schools, what with England having been downgraded to mid-major status about 1957.
Hockey? Not so sure. They have a cup named after Lord Stanley of Preston. Stan's family, including his wife and daughter, played the sport back in the 1880's and perhaps the Queen could be persuaded to lace up and skate around the ring with the Cup above her head after the final buzzer. I am concerned, though, that she might find out how much the hardware is worth and carry it back to England. Then we'll have to send them Forsberg and draft picks to get it back.
We're out of football season, but we should save her some seats at the Arkansas home opener. Standing on her feet and yelling "Woo, pig, sooie." would get the royal blood stirring. Thus inspired, she might do us the favour of putting those uppity French and German chaps in their place. Hearing "The South's Gonna Do It Again" by the Charlie Daniels Band on the CD player in her RV before the game (she who must be obeyed is also she who must tailgate) should put her in the proper frame of mind.
Let's not kid ourselves. Queen Elizabeth is a shrewd sportswoman. You think the Beckham thing happened by accident? No way. I see the fine hand of royalty in this. The British trade balance suddenly tilts their way and we're left with an over the hill soccer player with bad knees and a wife who bears a striking resemblance to a wire haired terrier. The Queen is probably laughing out her tiarra at that one.
In the interest of healing the rift caused by the unpleasantness in the late 17's, I suggest we extend an open hand and four tickets to the Queen to any sporting event she might choose. This could be the dawn of a new age of Anglo-American cooperation. And we might get her to take Beckham back with her.
To be a sports fan is to engage in sel####eceit. Sports is a big funnel of teams with a small opening at the end through which champions appear. Yet every team has fans, every one of whom constructs scenarios in their head that Houdini-like pull their team through the small end of the tube. Here are some of my favorites:
LA Lakers: If I'm following this one correctly a supporting cast that includes Bill Walton's son, a point guard named Smush, a nineteen year old center, and Lamar Odom will pair up with Kobe Bryant (who will become a team player and inspirational leader) to win the NBA title. Walk this one down the street to Hollywood and see if anyone there will buy the screen play.
Baltimore Orioles: Until this season when you discussed baseball with an Oriole fan they would stare at you like Charlie Babbitt in "Rainman" and ask you repeatedly if you knew that the old B&O Warehouse in right field is the longest building on the east coast (1,016 foot long by 51 foot wide). Then the O's go out and get a pitching coach last season (Leo Mazzone), a bullpen, and semi-comptent power hitter this year (relievers Danys Baez, Chad Bradford, Jamie Walker, and outfielder Aubrey Huff) and suddenly some Baltimore fans believe the team could challenge in the AL East. The other day Walker was struck in the head by a line drive and was quoted as saying "It knocked some sense into me." The start of baseball seasons will do that for the Oriole faithful.
Dallas Cowboys: Tony Romo will lead Dallas to the Super Bowl in his second season as a starter. Terrell Owens will turn off the receiver that beams him messages from the planet Goofy and become the difference maker on offense. A 33 year old defensive end relocated to linebacker (Greg Ellis) will return from achillies tendon surgery to fill the Shawne Merriman role in Wade Phillip's 3-4 defense. Yes, and maybe Roger Staubach will join a motorcycle gang and be arrested for processing crystal meth in his basement.
Duke Basketball: Adolph Rupp was coaching at Kentucky the last time a team with as many white starters as Duke won a national championship. You got your role players, you got your Coach K, you got a bunch of kids sleeping outside Cameron waiting for tickets. That's about it.
Alabama Football: "OK, we paid Nick Saban $32 million to become the next new Bear Bryant and return the national championship to Alabama. Once the best high school players see that we spent $32 million on Nick Saban they will be lining up to come and live and work in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, which is Mecca for ultra hip urban athletes. Six wins in 2006? No problem. Obviously the problem last season was Coach Shula, and the ghost of Bear Bryant made us can him. Did I mention we paid Nick Saban $32 million to win the national championship? You'll have to excuse me. I've got to get the field ready. The Great Pumpkin is coming soon."
Atlanta Falcons (2012 season): This is the year. Falcon fans sense a new excitement about the team as 81 year old Marv Levy becomes the 9th head coach in the Michael Vick era. Levy said, 'I think the key is finding a way to exploit Michael's unique combination of running and passing skills. It's just a matter of finding the right offensive scheme.'. Vick, reached for comment as he supervised owner Arthur Blank (who was detailing Vick's Mercedes), extended his middle finger on both hands, declining further comment.
New York Knicks: "Isiah Thomas is the man to turn this thing around. Larry Brown couldn't communicate with Stephon Marbury, but Thomas was a great player and great players relate to great players. Remember Willis Reed and Dave Debusschere? That's the kind of toughness I'm starting to see in Eddie Curry and Channing Frye. Top of the world, Jerry. Top of the world!"
Pittsburgh Pirates: There is hope. IF Al Gore is correct and IF the 630,000 square miles of icecaps around Greenland were to fall into the ocean and raise the sea level by as much as 20 feet by 2100, and not the 17 inches or so the most recent UN Governmental Panel on Climate Change report estimates, and IF all of New York, Florida, and some suburbs of Atlanta are washed out to sea, it is possible (but not probable) we may in this century see a season where the Pirates finish as high as 4th in their division.
It's like Robert Burns said. "If man's reach did not exceed his grasp then what's a Heaven for?" Fans of the teams listed above should call their team's front offices now for World Series, Super Bowl, NBA finals, NCS Bowl Championship, and Final Four tickets. This COULD be the year.
Some people have second lives. In the case of Jonathan Mark Redick, that second life was lived much of last year on internet blogs. Everyone was talking about J J Redick and now nobody is. It's the fastest drop from the front pages since Milli Vanilli.
The debate over Orlando making Redick the 11th pick in the 2006 draft was intense. Depending on what blog you read, Redick was either the greatest pure shooter o####eneration and a can't miss pro or a slow, one dimensional, beneficiary of the Coach K's system. These arguements were made with an intensity normally reserved for discussions of the Bush presidency or the relative merits of American Idol contestants.
Then they stopped.
Plug in J J Redick's name on Google and it draws few recent hits. The missing persons report on Redick reads something like this:
Number 11 pick in the 2006 NBA draft by the Orlando Magic...arrested in June for making a U-turn to avoid a DUI checkpoint...unable to play in NBA summer leagues because of back and foot injuries...played some pickup ball in September...made an appearance in one exhibition game and did not score....did not play in the opening night win against Chicago.
Dwight Howard (27 points and 11 rebounds against the Bulls) is the star in Orlando. Redick's job is to come in and hit some outside shots to open space on the court. So far, that role is being played by Keith Bogans. Bogans career at Kentucky was not the headline grabber Redick's was at Duke, and Orlando is his 4th NBA stop in 3 years. But Bogans was on the court for 16 minutes the other night and Redick wasn't.
So briefly was Travis Diener, a smaller (6'1") version of Redick who played 23 games for Orlando last season after quietly leaving Marquette's hallowed halls. His game is alot like that of the Duke icon, who says he expects to be an NBA role player. A player who can hit the three pointer, but has to be spotted because of defensive liabilities.
So what does it all mean? One conclusion you can draw is that your college credentials count for little in the pros. Look over any NBA roster and you'll see guys you never heard of in college who are getting significant minutes and production. A number of college all-Americans languish on NBA benches like old guys in the park feeding the birds.
You can't say the Redick critics, and they were legion, have been vindicated. Until his injuries clear up and he plays enough in practice to start to get his game back, Redick will remain an unanswered question. The early evidence screams "dud", but then again Mark Price (the NBA player Redick most reminds you of) averaged only 6 points a game in his rookie season with Cleveland before settling in to a consistent 15 ppg groove. The bottom line is that this season will likely be a write off and we won't be able to either praise or bury the young Ceasar until the 07' season.
But where have all the Redick haters gone? Why did they villify Reddick for four years in college, yet take no delight in highlighting his early NBA failings? It's an indication, and an interesting one, that NCAA basketball is bigger than the NBA. Duke is an easier team to hate than the Miami Heat, Dallas Mavericks, or Phoenix Suns. To many basketball fans, NBA players are hired guns playing an impure derivation of the real game.
Duke versus UNC is a war of good and evil to college fans. Redick was a central character in this intense drama. His game, his attitudes, his actions, even his whiteness became intensely important to people who make "March Madness", well, madness. Now Redick is another role player at the end of another corporate team bench in the giant sneaker ad that is the NBA. There is room for LeBron, Kobe, and Dwayne in this world, but not Jonathan Mark Redick. J J will have time to go to the concession stands for popcorn in the NBA this season. This bench is long, the pigeons plentiful.
Writing a daily blog about sports is easier than it sounds. Sports writes itself. Naked football coaches at the drive through lane, teams beating up other teams, pine tar and dirt, the futility of the US in international sports. The beat goes on. But not today. Today I got nothing.
The Phillies want to sign Soriano. We'll run that big news flash right under, "65% of children want pony for Christmas." Pat Gillick has about the same chance of getting Soriano as those kids getting a horse. Where do we go with the headline? "Bleak winter in Philadelphia?" It's Philadelphia. It's bleak in July. The birds try to sing in the spring and they boo them until they fly south in April. What other kind of winter do you get in Philadelphia? When the USS Olympia breaks free from Penn's Landing, runs down the Minnesota Vikings party boat in the Delaware River, and Rush Limbaugh is firing a deck gun at Donovan McNabb as it sails past the Eagles practice field, then you got a story. But Soriano in November? I got nothing.
Bob Knight threw his best player off the team today. I'm thinking, I can work with this. Surely Knight physically assaulted him for missing a layup in practice, invented a whole new profane dialect, screamed so loud herds of Texas sheep are now sterile. But noooooooooo.....Knight put Jarrius Jackson off the squad for not living up to the Red Raiders academic policies. You think Knight could have at least hurled a text book at the guy. But, no, he exhibited genuine concern about him and said Jackson could return if he put his focus back on academics. Bob Knight starring as Mary Poppins. I got nothing.
As the 45 minutes I set aside each day for writing this blog ticked away, I become desparate. I'm searching websites for golf news. Golf. The home of the whitest white people in the world. The big story today in golf? Quigley is set to make his big debut. What's a Quigley? Isn't he down under, or something? I got nothing.
There's a big controversy in NASCAR. Robby Gordon threw a piece of padding onto the track to cause a caution. A caution. Not a tire squeeling, 32 car fender ####ing, metal shredding, smoke billowing, oval shaped disaster. A caution flag. Now, if JEFF Gordon had caused the accident by throwing a liquor bottle out the window at Dale Earnhardt Jr., that would be a story. But a piece of FOAM. I got nothing.
The Miami Heat got blown out by the Chicago Bulls after getting their championship rings. Paris Hilton getting a ring from DWayne Wade. A story. Shaq looking old, tired, and slow? He IS old, tired, and slow. Where's the news? O'Neal can't hit free throws, Custer was a little rash. Where is the fresh angle? I got nothing.
I did have hope. I read that George Steinbrenner was hospitalized after becoming ill while watching his grandaughter in a college play. I expected Steinbrenner to issue a statement calling the play a "sad failure", saying it "absolutely is not acceptable to me or the great and loyal fans of the theatre." Then he would fire his grandaughter and replace her with Don Mattingly in a wig and high heels. Unfortunately, the auditorium was hot, he fainted and that was about it. I got nothing.
I'll leave it at this. No more blog entries today unless John Kerry starts making jokes about the Patriots, or George Bush and Hailburton start fixing horse races (you can just see Cheney, "Shut up, kid, we can do this. I've seen the intelligence. It will work. It WILL work.") But for now? I got nothing.
