Outside of a terrible first day, the NCAAs have really been fun. I love the NCAA tournament because it’s probably the only “playoff” where you can fully enjoy the event even though your team (in my case, my alma mater St. John’s University) isn’t involved. Actually I think in some ways its better if your team is not in the tournament unless it’s (1) it’s a true contender ( Kansas, North Carolina, Florida, Georgetown) to win it all or (2) a smaller/mid-major school gaining respect (VCU, Winthrop, Southern Illinois). When you are a fan of a big school who loses in the first (*cough* Duke) or second round (*cough* Texas) it just ruins the rest of the tournament for you.
Anyway some quick thoughts, observations about the tournament so far:
Kansas is really, really good. I caught two Kansas games earlier in the year, and while I thought they were very athletic and good defensively, but most big name schools have those attributes. But Kansas is more than just a bunch of good athletes. They can shoot from deep, control the boards, push the ball on the break or play half court. I think they are the favorite right now.
I like Tyler Hansborough, a lot. Whenever I see this guy, I always think “this guy has to be overrated” just because the announcers talk about him so much. Then I watch him play. The guy is everywhere. He gets out on the break. He crashes the boards, converts “and ones”, blocks shots. I don’t know how he will be as a pro (short arms and a little undersized to play power forward) but maybe that doesn’t matter. As a college sophomore he has to be considered one of the top 10-15 players in the country.
Oregon’s uniforms are ridiculously bright. I think the same thing whenever I see them play football, but wow, are those unis blinding. It’s like watching five highlight markers playing.
I want Durant and Oden to stay in school. I will admit that this is strictly for selfish reasons. If I was a parent of either I would tell them to jump to the NBA. But for a casual (and I think for die hard fans too) college basketball fan like me, it’s kind of cool to have two stud players to follow for one year to the next and see them develop. Plus I’m a Knicks fan and they have no shot at getting either this year.
Georgtown reminds me of the Spurs. They aren’t flashy at all, and at times they can seem boring but they play with robot-like efficiency.
30 year old life long sports fan of the Knicks, Giants and Mets and since some of my best friends are Jets fans I root that they will end their years of inflicting heartbreak on their fans. I've worked in various roles for the NFL, NBA and AFL (gotta love Arena Football) which has given me a slightly jaded opinion of sports media.
Currently I look forward to watching Reggie Bush, Isiah Thomas getting fired and the Mets making a run at the World Series this fall. I'm absolutely tired of talking about Barry Bonds, T.O.,
Some of my favorite writers include: Paul Zimmerman, Len Pasquarli, William Rhoden, Peter Gammons, Bill Simmons, Peter King, Scoop Jackson, Marty Noble and a host of others that I'm forgetting.
