October 2008 - Posts
Tyler Hansbrough is out indefinitely with a stress reaction condition in his right shin.
Hear that? That whoosh? It’s the collective breath of North Carolina fans being taken away.
CONTINUED >>
College hoops coaches finally got their wish. The three-point line grew a foot to 20 feet, 9 inches.
The new line will supposedly open up offenses. Defenses will have to stretch to guard the perimeter, allowing those big men room to work in the lane.
At least, that’s the conventional thinking.
CONTINUED >>
Maybe I’m biased, but the best sports blogs out there are usually about college hoops.
Two of my favorites – and two of the best, period – are Rush the Court and Yahoo! Sports’ The Dagger. Both blogs excel at finding aspects of news stories others might overlook and turning them into insightful, excellent reading.
CONTINUED >>
The reason behind Lute Olson’s sudden retirement became clear on Tuesday when Olson’s doctor revealed the coach suffered a stroke during 2008. As a result, Olson was advised to retire.
So there’s the reason. And it’s a mighty good one. Olson, who recently announced his engagement, just turned 74. He’d like to spend more time with his grandkids, kids and fiancée.
Still, unless the stroke was last week, the timing remains curious. Where was Olson’s support staff?
CONTINUED >>
The economic downturn threw a big wrench into T. Boone Pickens’s grand scheme to revamp Oklahoma State’s athletic faculties. For about 72 hours.
Pickens, like any good, devoted sports booster, promptly gave more dough when he found out his original $165 million donation was running short on money. Another $63 million.
CONTINUED >>
The weekend links, starting with picks to win in the Big East, ACC and Big Ten.
Big East media members tabbed UConn as the league favorite, followed by Louisville, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame. The Huskies received nine first-place votes, while the Cards and Panthers nabbed three. Seems like one of those years when the conference places multiple teams in the Final Four.
North Carolina was the unanimous pick to win the ACC, followed by Duke, Wake Forest and Miami.
Big Ten writers think Purdue’s the team to beat, with Michigan State right on its heels. It's tough to overlook the Boilermakers, who return all five starters. SI.com’s Luke Winn thinks they’re a darkhorse Final Four team.
CONTINUED >>
Lute Olson capped a bizarre year with a bizarre finish to his career.
If the various reports about the Arizona basketball coach retiring are true, then it’s a melancholy, ultimately unsatisfying end to a Hall of Fame career. Olson, 74, will go down as one of college hoops’ greatest coaches, but I wonder how long the events of the last year will stick with him.
With any luck, it won’t be long. Olson deserves better.
CONTINUED >>
The average male life expectancy is 75 years. By then, Ken Mink’s college basketball days will barely be over.
Mink, 73, is one of the newest players on Roane State (Tenn.), a junior college about 35 miles west of Knoxville. The 6-foot, 190-pound Mink is listed as a senior on Roane’s roster. No kidding.
The records aren't clear, but he's likely the oldest person to ever play college hoops.
CONTINUED >>
Random question: Is it strange to have a new award honoring college basketball coaches their character and coaching ability and not have John Wooden as one of the recipients?
Sorry, make that a redundant question. It is strange.
CONTINUED >>
Some Monday links to open your work week. Remember, only three weeks until tip-off!
Interesting tidbit from Duke’s annual Blue-White Scrimmage. The Devils used a three-guard lineup (sometimes four-guard) last season to take advantage of their three-point shooting and myriad ball-handlers. Among all those guards, Greg Paulus usually ran the show.
This year, maybe not.
CONTINUED >>
Good news for nervous Kansas fans this season: Since the NCAA tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, the defending champion has missed the Big Dance just three times.
Bad news for Kansas fans: One of those times was last season.
The Jayhawks must replace about 80 percent of their scoring from their championship roster, including all five starters. The pressure to win remains the same, but it’ll fall on the shoulders of junior guard Sherron Collins, sophomore center Cole Aldrich and seven newcomers to this year’s squad.
It’s a tall order, to be sure, but not an unfamiliar one to other defending champs.
CONTINUED >>
Think being a coach’s right hand man is a thankless job? Not if you can recruit.
A great story by Rivals.com’s Bob McClellan details the deal of Kansas State assistant Dalonte Hill, who was the main man behind Michael Beasley’s Wildcats 1-year stint.
Put it this way: Hill doesn’t have to worry about the stock market collapse.
CONTINUED >>
There are really only two sure things when it comes to preseason All-Americans this season.
Tyler Hansbrough and Stephen Curry. One’s a three-time All-American who’s trying to lead North Carolina to back-to-back Final Fours and its fifth NCAA title. Curry is the Davidson sharpshooter who led the Wildcats to within a whisker of the 2008 Final Four.
Everything else is up for grabs. And there are plenty of great players to choose.
CONTINUED >>
Spin isn’t just for presidential campaigns. Anywhere basketball recruits are found, there’s some spin to go with ‘em.
Both Kansas and Kentucky nabbed a five-star prospect over the weekend. But the timing of each commitment depends on your source.
CONTINUED >>
The 2008-09 college basketball season is here. Well, almost.
Kentucky, Illinois, West Virginia and a handful of others jumped on an NCAA rule that allows schools two hours of team workouts per week (since mid-September) to host their Midnight Madness festivities a week before the season’s official start date of Oct. 17.
And more importantly, those schools get a head start on impressing coveted prospects.
CONTINUED >>
It feels like I’m a student again, sitting down to write a “How I spent my summer” essay.
The last 26 weeks of ranking the greatest college basketball programs was a fun, enriching and, at times, difficult experience that was one of the best ways to spend the summer doldrums of college hoops.
It certainly beats reading the endless glut of campaign stories…
CONTINUED >>
The greatest college basketball program has it all.
Kentucky has the titles, tradition, consistent success, iconic coaches and the passionate fan base to make it No. 1 on the list of greatest programs.
CONTINUED >>
How long until Tom Crean doesn’t regret taking the Indiana job? Two years? Three? Four?
There’s going to be time when Crean has the Hoosiers winning. It may not be soon, but it’ll come. But when it finally arrives, just how exhausted is he going to be?
Because Crean sounds like a coach who’s desperately hoping the worst has passed.
CONTINUED >>
Lute Olson’s had a busy year by anyone’s standards, let alone a guy who just turned 74 less than two weeks ago.
Olson took last season off as Arizona’s basketball coach for personal reasons, finalized a divorce and came back this summer to find his star recruit bolt for Europe and two others change their minds. Last month, the NCAA announced it will investigate a possible recruiting violation.
None of that slowed down Olson, though. During a benefit dinner Wednesday hosted by ex-Wildcats star Steve Kerr, Olson announced his engagement to Kelly Pugnea, a Tucson resident. The two haven’t set a wedding date.
CONTINUED >>
What price for a piece of history?
Specifically, what price for George Mason’s 2006 Final Four berth, one of the most memorable NCAA tournament runs ever seen? (Unless you’re a UConn fan. Then it’s just painful.)
The bidding starts at $255. Or $561, depending on your taste.
CONTINUED >>
