Archive for the ‘NCAA Basketball’ Category

Death of a Dream

Friday, April 10th, 2009

Nick Adenhart - MLB PLayerlen-biasI borrow my title today from a 1986 Sports Illustrated cover featuring the untimely and tragic death of another 22 year old rising sports superstar.

Yesterday, just after midnight Pacific Time, Nick Adenhart’s brief and promising major league career came to an abrupt end in a similar and tragic fashion.  When I learned of Adenhart’s death, I could only reflect on a similar event from the summer between my junior and senior year in high school.  I remembered the SI cover and the emptiness I felt when I learned of the death of the University of Maryland and recent draft selection of the Boston Celtics, Len Bias.

Len Bias was the 1980’s version of LeBron James with his 210 pounds of bulk muscle strapped to his 6’-8” athletic frame.  He was the next Michael Jordan and could have possibly been even better than Jordan had he not met his fate that June night in College Park, Maryland.  I remember watching Bias dominate the ACC as we was voted to back to back ACC Player of the Year awards while leading the over achieving Terrapins to three consecutive NCAA tournament appearances.  Bias was a beast in the paint where his mere physical stature was greater and more effective than Jordan’s.

Could you imagine what Bias could have done along side Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parrish in the Boston Garden?  Mix in Danny Ainge, Dennis Johnson and coach K.C. Jones, the aging NBA champions would never have laid dormant for 22 more years waiting to raise another championship banner over the parquet floor.

While these type tragedies play out everyday in the sporting world and in regular life, it does remind us of life’s fragileness and the hopefully makes us fully appreciate the good fortune in life when it comes along.

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Carolina Crush

Tuesday, April 7th, 2009

NCAA Basketball Championship 2009Wow!  That’s all I can say about the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship game last night.  Never a Tarheels fan, I must bow to North Carolina after they blew away Michigan State 89-72 to culminate a superb tournament run.  From Tyler’s leg to Ty’s toe, UNC shook off adversity over the entire basketball season to end up where many put them at the beginning of the year, Number 1.

This game was over almost before it started.  A 24 fan, I thought I could flip between channels to watch the show and keep an eye on the game.  It reminded me of the 1998 Thanksgiving game between Minnesota and Dallas where Randy Moss embarrassed the Cowboys.  My friend’s wife said we needed to turn the game off while eating (I never went back there for Thanksgiving again!) and when we turned it back on 20 minutes later, bam, it was 21-0 Vikings… In this one it was 21-7 then 36-13 and later, 55-34 at halftime.  Football scores for a UNC basketball clinic.

I was hoping to write about another Michigan State upset, but kudos to Tom Izzo, who continues to show that good basketball is about fundamentals, great defense and team play.  No let my superstar go one on one with your superstar.  No clear out one side and let the boys play.  Izzo actually coaches his players, calls plays and sets up a half court game.  His teams remind us what basketball is supposed to be and his players played hard all year long.

In the end, that is what North Carolina did as well.  They had made a pact to all come back and win a National Championship and with aggressive defense (Ty Lawson had 8 steals among the 14 turnovers committed by the Spartans) and balanced offense (Hansbrough – 18, Ellington- 19 and Lawson 21 points), they did what they set out to do.  Congratulations Tar Heel Nation, the color of today is Carolina Blue.

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Obituary: University of Kentucky Basketball

Monday, March 30th, 2009

NCAA Basketball Coach John CalipariEpitaph:  Once great….Out lived Its Prime.

What do Adolph Rupp, Bear Bryant and Woody Hayes have in common?

Answer: They are all dead.

When will the alumni and fan base of these storied college sports programs start living in the present and not in the past?  It seems these fan bases feel like they are entitled to greatness just on name alone and that style and class are no longer relevant.  It is not only the winning that counts, its winning with style and class that separates greatness from average.

Last Friday, the University of Kentucky dismissed head basketball coach Billy Gillispie after only two seasons at the helm in Lexington.  This is only two years removed from Tubby Smith abruptly leaving the once storied program for greener pastures at the University of Minnesota.  Tubby was probably confused by the real color of grass, bluegrass of Kentucky or true green grass.  Maybe they call it “bluegrass” because it is a depressing place to coach basketball.  I am not sure if Gillispie was the right man for the job but he was not UK’s first choice, as the list of candidates who turned down the potential offer was longer than a lap at Church Hill Downs.  Gillispie and Smith were both jettisoned by the classless Wildcat faithful with Smith being able to broker a new gig before he met his fate and with Gillispie left wondering whether he will collect on the $6MM he is owed in his buyout.  Both are great coaches with proven tack records and will be better off away from the Commonwealth.  This sounds a lot like the Oakland Raiders and Lane Kiffin.  Kentucky basketball now equals Oakland Raiders football.

Kentucky basketball rose to national prominence in the 40’s and 50’s and again in the 90’s when they were the only basketball school in the football dominated SEC conference.  This is no longer the case with Florida winning back to back National Championships and Tennessee having an emerging national power under Bruce Pearl.  John Calipari or not, Rupp Arena has lost its lore.  A job is only as good as the people you work for, which mean in this case, the head coaching gig at the University of Kentucky is no longer a great job.

Rest in Peace Big Blue.  You get what you deserve.

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Let’s Dance

Friday, March 20th, 2009

March Madness is in full swing and day one was no disappointment as we saw a 12 seed upset a 5 seed, saw 3 seed hansbrough3Villanova have to rally in the 2nd half to overcome a 14 point deficit and saw strong performances by two number 1 seeds in UNC and UConn.  What a way to start the Big Dance.

Today, as the rest of the tournament, will no doubt provide just as much excitement and only solidify why the Big Dance is the second most watched sporting event in America behind the Super Bowl.  As I watched the games last night, I thought back to my first memories of the tournament which date back to 1982.

My first tournament experience was the 1982 Final Four featuring Hall of Fame players Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, James Worthy, Clyde Drexler and Hakeen Olajuwon.  Both Jordon and Ewing were freshmen that year but played significant roles in leading the Hoyas and Tar Heels to the national title game.  That final four was the catalyst for me becoming an ardent college basketball, Georgetown Hoya, John Thompson, Patrick Ewing and Big East fan.  Over the next six years, I was addicted to the sport as college basketball was really the only televised sporting event I watched on a regular basis with Big Monday on ESPN being a weekly ritual.  What great memories.

Share your first memories of the tournament with us.

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March Madness

Tuesday, March 10th, 2009

ncaa-blog

So we are entering into one of the best Sports periods of the year, March Madness and the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship.  And like every year, there will be the running discussion on the Top Seeds, first four out, last four in, etc., etc, etc.  When are we going to get more serious about this tournament and let the best 64 teams in the land duke it out for bragging rights?  Or do we seriously think that Cornell or Sienna are going to win the whole thing?  This is the real world folks, Cinderella never wins!  Oh sure, she might knock off a few big boys along the way, but sooner or later, she falls.  Yes, I remember George Mason a couple of years ago and Davidson last year, but guess what, they would have been in the Top 64 team field anyway.  Yes I remember Richmond knocking out Syracuse many years ago ruining my bracket with one of the few 15 seed over 2 seed surprises.  Do you really think that Radford is going to do the same thing this year?  Why leave Georgetown, Notre Dame or South Carolina by the roadside because they had to play a brutal conference schedule, only to pick up VCU or Chattanooga who played weaker competition.  Let’s get back to Darwinism, go with Natural Selection, pick the best 64 teams in the land and let the chips fall where they may.  No, I’m not heartless, I like to watch the first round upsets (like Vermont taking out Syracuse a couple of years ago… boy Syracuse loses some whoppers!) just like anyone else, but again, the Tournament is to show the best team in the land. Let the best teams decide it…

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