April 2009 - Posts
Thanks, NCAA. The card is in the mail. But don’t expect one from NBA hopefuls. Or college hoops fans.
The NCAA’s Board of Directors approved a new rule that requires early entrants to the NBA draft who wish to stay in school to withdraw by May 8, cutting into their decision time by more than a month. (The change takes effect this fall.) Anyone who wants to jump to the pros better make up their minds.
Too bad it doesn't help the prospects.
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When the Connecticut women's basketball team visited the White House and President Obama Monday, it was the typical news story -- President honors NCAA champs, etc, etc -- but with a nice spin.
He played the Huskies in a game of pig.
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The deadline was Sunday. Now the real guessing game begins: Who’s going to keep their name in the NBA draft and who’s going to withdraw by June 15?
More than 50 underclassmen submitted their names, but probably half of that number will return to college for the 2009-10 season. Guys like Texas A&M’s Donald Sloan, Villanova’s Scottie Reynolds and Notre Dame’s Luke Harangody will surely return after they hear what aspects of their games need work.
Others, like UConn’s Hasheem Thabeet or Memphis’s Tyreke Evans, are gone. They’re lottery picks.
But there’s a handful of players who could go either way. They’re guys who could be lottery picks (Jeff Teague), could last until the later part of the first round (Damion James) or could get taken in the second round (Derrick Brown). Or they could return to school to boost their draft stock and make a deep run in the NCAA tourney. It’s fluid, depending on their workouts during the next six weeks.
Here’s a closer look at those guys.
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Coach K the author made the rounds this week.
What? You didn’t know Mike Krzyzewski could write?
The Duke coach has written or co-written more than a half dozen books on coaching schemes, season recaps and Duke in general. His last two (The Gold Standard: Building a Wolrd-Class Team and Beyond Basketball: Coach K’s Keywords for Success) go beyond the court.
Thus, the appearance on the Colbert Report Tuesday night.
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The NBA draft did a number on Big East teams this week.
Underclassmen stars like UConn’s Hasheem Thabeet, Syracuse’s Jonny Flynn and Louisville’s Earl Clark all signed (or, in the case of Thabeet, is expected to sign) with agents, ending their college eligibility. Another, Notre Dame’s Luke Harangody, declared for the draft, but probably won’t sign with an agent.
Georgetown was one of the few schools that did get some good news: The Hoyas’ rising star, freshman Greg Monroe, announced he’ll return to school.
Monroe, a 6-11 center, took a page out of Blake Griffin’s book. Instead of declaring after his freshman year to likely be a Top 10 pick, he could boost his stock with a monster sophomore season and be the No. 1 overall selection in 2010.
And if any team could use a Blake Griffin-type season in 2009-10, it’s the Hoyas.
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Isiah Thomas has lofty goals. And “lofty” is being kind.
Thomas, the former college hoops- and NBA star-turned failed coach/executive with the New York Knicks, is Florida International’s new coach. He’s either unafraid of losing games (been there, done that) or a supremely confident in his abilities, because it’ll take a small miracle to win there.
“I like rolling up my sleeves. I like taking some from the bottom and building it to the top. There’s a lot of risk in that and there is also a lot of reward in that. But that’s how I grew up. I want to take FIU to the next level and I know it’s going to take a lot of hard work, but I’m willing to pay the price to do that,” he said Wednesday.
Indeed. Thomas’ salary for the first year will be donated to the school’s athletic department. Give Thomas credit – he knows how to set the stage.
But it’s not the ideal place for someone who has no previous college coaching experience to start from scratch.
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It must be exhausting to be an NCAA compliance officer. Ensuring your school follows every rule and regulation is a never-ending task.
It’s a gig where you’re usually the party pooper and tell people they can’t do something.
And make no mistake, there’s a lot to cover. Give the rule book a read sometime. Catch up on your text messaging protocol or what kinds of greetings are appropriate between coaches and players.
But this new Facebook spin is over the top, even for the NCAA.
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Thinking about the NBA draft? Take some advice from Mr. T: Stay in school.
Just ask North Carolina, Kansas or Florida. There’s never been a better time to come back and win a title.
“We came back to accomplish something,” UNC senior Danny Green said after beating Michigan State on Sunday. “We had to make some sacrifices. We had to give up a lot of individual things to make this work. I think we did a great job the whole season of being selfless and sharing the ball with each other and sacrificing.”
The Tar Heels’ quartet of Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Green were just the latest group of players to put their professional careers on hold and have it result in NCAA glory. If college coaches are smart, they’re gathering their players and telling them that they too could win it all.
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Want to make yourself crazy? Try making a Top 25 for next season before all the dust’s settled with early entries to the NBA draft, late-signing recruits and any coaching changes.
It’s not a complaint, just the way it is. When the NCAA tournament title game ends, people start speculating about next year. Yet there are many, many variables before next year starts.
That said, here’s an early look at the 2009-10 season.
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Quick tip for any major program seeking to hire a coach in the next few years: Pursue whomever Xavier picks to replace Sean Miller.
Seriously. It’ll save you a lot of time and effort, provided your sales pitch is good enough.
Xavier, along with Gonzaga, is the mid-major no BCS school wants to play. And the coaches are a big reason why.
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Michigan State and North Carolina will play for the NCAA men's championship on Monday night -- duh. But there's another honor at stake when the two schools take the floor: team of the decade.
The first one’s official. You’ve probably seen the trophy.
But the second carries bragging rights that aren’t associated with just one tournament. It’s excellence over an extended period of time, using different sets of players and sometimes different coaches.
Much like Duke and Kentucky can make arguments about which team had a better '90s, the Spartans and Tar Heels will do the same after Monday.
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On paper, North Carolina should run Michigan State out of the building during Monday’s national title game.
The Heels have more NBA-caliber players, a more experienced team and the game’s most potent offense.
Yet a big, big part of me thinks the Spartans are going to win Monday. Not sure who I’m picking just yet, but I do know that in working up these player matchups for the title game, I found myself unable to choose between Ty Lawson and Kalin Lucas and which roster has the superior bench.
Plus, there’s the whole home crowd thing. Ford Field’s a cavernous space, but of the 72,000 fans expected to be in attendance, the majority will be wearing green. That’s no small thing.
But I could be wrong. After all, the Heels already ran away from the Spartans once this season … but check out the player matchups and cast your vote. I’ll be back with more tomorrow on the title game.
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Only a rube would doubt Michigan State’s place among college basketball’s elite programs. Recently, it has to rank among the top 7. Maybe better.
The Spartans may not have the name recognition to casual fans as Duke or North Carolina, but anyone who’s filled out a bracket in the last 10 years knows you ignore Tom Izzo’s team at your own risk.
Since 1999, Michigan State’s been to five Final Fours, more than any other school. Among active coaches, only Mike Krzyzewski (.763) and Billy Donovan (.759) have higher NCAA tournament winning percentage than Izzo (.750).
Throw in the 2000 NCAA title and five regular-season Big Ten titles, and Sparty has the résumé to match any team around.
Yet every year, Michigan State and the rest of the Big Ten are ripped for their slow-it-down, bruising, aesthetic-less style of play. But why is that? Doesn’t its record speak for itself?
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The next few days will ultimately determine Tyler Hansbrough’s college basketball legacy.
Accolades aren’t the issue for the North Carolina senior. Few players can match being national and ACC player of the year, a consensus first-team All-American three times (and second-team as a freshman) and the career scoring leader at UNC and in the ACC.
Hansbrough’s been the face of college basketball for nearly three years, as the best player on one of the sport’s most storied programs. He’s led the Heels in scoring and rebounding for four years, the only player to ever do so. UNC’s won nearly 85 percent of its games – 122-22 in the last four years – a mark only a few players in NCAA history can surpass.
He’ll surely go down as one of the best players of his era, perhaps even of the last decade. But without an NCAA tournament title, will Hansbrough’s legacy be remembered as really good, but not elite?
Does Hansbrough need a trophy to be considered an all-time great?
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