A few thoughts and observations as I watch the Celtics march, workmanlike, toward their 56th win of the season, the best for the franchise since 1991.
- North Carolina is quite simply the best college basketball team in the country. Hopefully they have enough room in the trophy case at the Dean Smith Center for the 2008 National Championship trophy, because that's where it's headed. The Tar Heels have it all: size, speed, outside shooting, rebounding. They can push the ball up the floor or sink three-pointers, depending on what the defense gives them.
No disprespect intended to Memphis, UCLA, Kansas or any other team still alive, but but based on last weekend's action, it's hard to imagine anyone beating UNC until next winter.
- How can you not be excited for the Davidson College Widcats? After coming back from a 17-point deficit in their opening round game against Gonzaga to win going away, 82-76, they made it to the Sweet Sixteen with another big comeback victory over Georgetown, 74-70. And "Cat" is a perfect description for the dynamic and lightning-quick Stephen Curry, the Sporting News second-team All-American who has scored 70 points in Davidson's first two tournament wins, 55 of them in the second half of those games.
Prior to last weekend, Davidson College's last NCAA Tournament win was way back in 1969, and their improbable run continues Friday night against Wisconsin in a game that's looking a lot less like a three seed against a ten seed and a lot more like an upset special.
- Who slips on a fast-food wrapper? Did you see the story about Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall, who supposedly did exactly that, putting his arm through an entertainment center in an attempt to brace himself, and suffering an injury requiring stitches? Not exactly a smooth move, and a situation that makes you wonder if maybe there's not more to the story than what is being told here. Hmmm.
- Big surprise: Chad Johnson is skipping the Cincinnati Bengals offseason workout. Is there anyone in the world who expected Johnson to be there? He has made it perfectly clear for months how unhappy he is in Cincinnati and if there's one thing Johnson is not, it's subtle.
For their part, the Bengals organization is downplaying the absence, pointing out that the workouts are voluntary and that T.J. Houshmandzadeh isn't there either. The Bengals continue to insist they won't be trading Johnson. We haven't heard the end of this story, unfortunately.
-It's finally Opening Day! Whether you're a fan of the Red Sox or A's, or can't stand either team, if you love baseball, this is the day you've waited for all winter. There's plenty of other action to keep a sports fan's interest over the long winter months, but for a baseball fan this is the day you marked on your calendar months ago. It's about time!
There's a lot to consider as you feverishly fill out your brackets in preparation for the kickoff of March Madness Thursday. Who plays the best defense? What team can crash the glass and pull down the offensive rebounds, creating the best second chance opportunities? Who will keep their composure best under pressure and who is going to wilt like three week old roses?
Everyone has their own favorite theories about what teams are most worthy of winning a National Championship in men's basketball this year. The field is certainly wide open, as neither team that played in the championship game last season is even present in the tournament this year. Both Ohio State and Florida, the two-time defending champs, have been banished to NIT-Land, the NCAA version of being sent to Siberia in the Cold War era USSR.
But there's only one team in this year's field of 65 that is perfect, and that's the team that would win it in a perfect world. I know, I know, Memphis came closest to going undefeated this season, but even the top-seeded Tigers lost one game.
No, I'm not talking about success or failure on the court, I'm referring to the reason these kids are supposed to be going to school in the first place, and that's to get an education. According to a study conducted by the University of Central Florida's Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport, only one school in this year's field of 65 achieved a 100% success rate in graduating its' basketball players - Western Kentucky.
The study, which examined four freshman classes for the periods beginning in 1997-98 and running through 2000-01, showed Western Kentucky at 100%, followed by Butler (92%), Notre Dame, Purdue and Davidson (all at 91%), and Xavier (90%).
The thing that jumps out at you when you look at these numbers and the schools that posted them - the elephant in the the room if you will - is that none of them are top-seeds. In fact, the highest-seeded team out of the schools graduating the most players is Xavier, at #3 in the West.
Out of the four top seeds, only North Carolina has anything approaching a decent graduation rate; theirs was 86%. Kansas fails at 45%, and UCLA and Memphis are equally abysmal, graduating only 40% of their players over the period of the study. The University of Memphis, whose motto is "Dreamers. Thinkers. Doers," apparently doesn't apply that to their basketball program, in whose honor they should perhaps add, "Failures."
Some schools dispute the numbers in the study, and according to an Associated Press story, UCLA claims to have achieved a better success rate recently and that a better indicator of their progress in graduating players is the NCAA's new Academic Progress Rate. The fourth year of data using those numbers will be available this spring, and the head of the study says the numbers will be updated then.
In the meantime, though, the tournament favorites might be Memphis, UNC, UCLA and Kansas, but MY favorites will be the teams with a better handle on their priorities: Western Kentucky, Notre Dame, Purdue and Davidson.
Hey everyone, I know it must seem like I've dropped off the face of the earth, but it's nothing like that.
I've been busy writing - two full-length novels so far, plus over a dozen short stories - and working hard to try to get an agent. If you are curious and have a few minutes, check out my website, www.allanleve rone.com.
If you're a literary agent or if you know one, by all means contact me! In the meantime, I'll be here when I can - love this forum - and as always, thank you for checking out my blog, especially considering how many great ones you could be reading instead....
