Simon Says Hoops

Some Interesting Links.

2006-05-16T22:42:00.000-04:00

There's some interesting news and happenings over the past couple of days. Here's a few:

Mike DeCourcy grades the year's most visible coaching changes. Decourcy, one of the nation's best college basketball writers, was particularly harsh on new Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel. But it's hard to argue after Capel was unable to keep any of the three recruits Kelvin Sampson had signed. Speaking of Sampson, he's noticeably absent from Decourcy's list. For me, that's the worst hire of the year if only for Sampson's NCAA failures that he left at OU and the possibility of sanctions following him.

Herb Sendek scored a transfer in former Duke center and McDonald's All-American Eric Boateng.

Jim Larranaga got a 90 percent raise at George Mason. Not bad.

Gregg Doyel chimes in on programs on the decline for 2006-07. It's hard to argue with any of these really and it seems that next year will add to the changing face of college basketball. Could be a top-heavy season with Florida, UCLA, North Carolina, and Kansas all seemingly loaded.

More soon.

Terrapin Blues.

2006-05-11T21:19:00.000-04:00

Maryland was on top of the world when they won the 2002 NCAA title. Now, over the past two seasons, the Terps have missed out on back-to-back NCAA tournaments after a string of 11 straight appearances.

So has Gary Williams suddenly become a bad coach? No.

Has the Terps recruiting been worse? I could argue that it really hasn't. Travis Garrison, Nik Caner-Medley, DJ Strawberry, Chris McCray, Mike Jones, and James Gist were all sought-after recruits.

It really has almost everything to do with the stability of his staff. When the Terps were good (shoot they were really good) they had a great staff -- Jimmy Patsos, Dave Dickerson and Billy Hahn. All were totally dedicated to Williams (and Maryland's) success. And they have each gone on to be head coaches (with varying degrees of success).

Over the past few years Williams's staff has been fluid to put it nicely. Dickerson left to go to Tulane. Mike Lonergan left after one year to be a head coach at Maine. And now Rob Moxley, who spent one season with Williams, is headed back to his old job at UNC-Charlotte. Maybe Gary should stop turning around and hitting his assistants in the leg all the time?

Remember, there was this choice comment from Chris McCray's mom after he became academically ineligible (even though blaming someone else for his lack of effort is not an excuse):

"They make sure he goes to practice; they should have made sure his grades and things were straight for him to be eligible," she said. "I'm not only going to fault Chris; I'm going to fault everyone up there. I knew when [former assistant] Dave Dickerson was there, if anything like this would have happened, they would have called me and let me know."

No doubt, Williams will get the Terps turned around. But until he stabilizes his staff, he'll be doing it on his own. As easy as it would be, Terps fans can't blame everything on John Gilchrist.

Back to the Future.

2006-05-07T20:36:00.000-04:00

"You know for sure what you have in me
because I am somebody who believes."

Those are the magic words for NC State fans and why they believe in Sidney Lowe, named the 18th men's basketball coach in school history on Saturday. As the Wolfpack coaching search raged into its second month, NC State's fans and its tradition took a beating among the national press.

It seemed that coaches around the country were taking a pass on the job. And it seemd that the fans who believed that greatness was still possible for a program that has won two national championships were being humbled for those expectations. But, in Lowe, State fans have found a coach they'll believe in because he believes.

Thought he wasn't specific in quantifying those expectations during his press conference on Saturday, somwhere buried within Lowe's statement that "We are going to continue to grow this thing and get it to where it should be" it's there. Lowe believes that NC State can win. And not just win 20 games, or make it to the NCAA Tournament, or have a chance to compete, Lowe believes that NC State can win championships.

Why shouldn't he? Lowe's already won a championship at NC State and he experienced playing for, perhaps, one of the greatest dreamers in sports history, Jim Valvano. Though Valvano had a tainted ending to a storybook career at NC State, his legacy of passion and belief was never questioned.

After all, it was Valvano who said:

"How do you go from where you are to where you want to be? I think you have to have an enthusiasm for life. You have to have a dream, a goal and you have to be willing to work for it."

So now comes the hard part -- the work. Lowe will have his cut out for him. History has not been friendly to coaches jumping from the NBA to college basketball. Especially those without any college coaching experience. But Lowe and NC State are far from doomed to past indicators.

Truth is, Herb Sendek has left the NC State program in much better shape than he inherited. The program has left its troubles nearly two decades behind it. NC State's current roster has players of tremendous character. At the same time the past two years have likely been the program's most talented teams in those same two decades. A solid foundation has been built.

Lowe has a tremendous opportunity. New life will flow into the program. As he indicated, fun will be back. And while there have been measurable amounts of success the past several years, fun has been few and far between. Judging from the smiles from the podium, fans and, most importantly, players, excitement will be abundant.

Lowe obviously realizes that assembling a key staff will be crucial. By keeping former Sendek assistant Larry Harris and convincing former Wolfpack great Monte Towe to step away as the head coach at the University of New Orleans and join his staff, Lowe's had success already. He also quickly realized that keeping sophomore center Cedric Simmons on the roster (and not bolting early to the NBA) could help propel his team to victories a lot quicker. And winning begets interest and attention which begets recruiting success which, in turn, leads to more winning. If Simmons does bolt, the road to "get it where it should be" may be longer.

Despite having nearly 30,000 students, NC State has always maintained a down-home, family feel. While any coach who delivered an ACC or, even better, NCAA title would have been revered, NC State fans would love to keep the success within the Wolfpack family. And, though Lowe wasn't AD Lee Fowler's first choice, it could be why he turns out to be the best one.

Sweet Silence.

2006-04-26T22:21:00.000-04:00

I've been quiet. Very quiet. My silence has been deafening. At the same time it's also given me a break. I've watched hockey, listened to music and returned to my normal off-season life. But don't get me wrong ... I'm full of opinions.

So, what have I missed in not posting since April 13? Apparently, not much. The NC State coaching search is exactly where it was at that time -- without a new hire and with the media and public speculating on possibilities. The only difference is that now there appears to be a lot of indifference. I've stayed quiet namely because I had no more inside scoop than some of the other blogs, fan sites, media sites, and others have offered. Plus, I'm no good at reporting. I'd rather offer my commentary.

I'll be back. As soon as the coaching carousel ends (and it's appearing that NC State's job is among the last stops) I'll offer my perspective. Then, I'm going into full summer mode and will start previewing the 2006-07 season. I figure by that time we ought to have a better idea of who's staying and who's going.

Back to hibernation ...

Lighten Up Already.

2006-04-13T22:40:00.000-04:00

I've sat down to write about the NC State coaching search two or three times. But I can't. I'm worn down by the speculation, bickering about whether NC State can be a national player and compete with Duke and Carolina again (or not), thoughts of Rick Barnes and/or John Calipari using NC State to get fat checks from their respective schools, and all the rumors.

So, instead, I point you to this story from Fox Sports which reminds me that things could be worse. Dragons could be invading campus. And while the thought of LSU's John Brady as Wolfpack coach is bad ... fire-breathing dragons on Hillsborough St is worse.

Oklahoma Hires Capel.

2006-04-13T21:36:00.000-04:00

No sooner had I said that the news out of Oklahoma was relatively quiet than AD Joe Castiglione picked Jeff Capel as their head coach. I'll admit I was surprised. After all, even in light of the pending NCAA sanctions facing Oklahoma and Kelvin Sampson's unexpected bolt to Indiana, it's a program that has done well. Sampson led OU to 11 trips to the NCAA Tournament in his 12 seasons. The Sooners lose some good players from an under-achieving team but also add one of the better recruiting classes in the nation.

I expected that the Sooners may go after a big name (maybe they did and kept it quiet) or at least someone from the midwest (namely Wichita State's Mark Turgeon).

Shoot, it even surprised Capel:

"I know that this announcement in the college basketball world is shocking. But I know and I have all the confidence that it is the right decision. I know it's the right decision for me."

But the longer I've thought about this, the more it all makes perfect sense. Capel's going to be a great coach. He will relate extremely well with his players (and the players he recruits). As a recently (and successful) player, Capel has the ego to set the bar high and isn't afraid to say it. That'll make him popular with the OU fans.

Here's some of his comments from the press conference:

“I came here because of President (David) Boren and Joe and the relationships I felt I could have with them,” Capel said Tuesday. “But also secondly, and it’s not that far behind, I really feel this is a place ... where you can win the whole thing, and I’m not just talking about Big 12 Championships.”

“Some of you students here right now, there might be a class that you’re taking, that you just think, ‘Why is this important? I’m never going to use this in life.’ But the bottom line is having pride in everything you do, pride in your performance. And I talked to our guys about that a little earlier today. I told them, ‘We represent the University of Oklahoma. The University of Oklahoma represents excellence. Everything we do, we’re going to be excellent. In the classroom, in the community and on the court.

“That’s what our athletic department represents is excellence."

“My philosophy is simple: we’re going to work hard, we’re going to play hard, we’re going to run, and we’re going to defend,” Capel said. “We’re going to be a team that is hopefully very disciplined, that shares the basketball, that is one of the best communicating teams in the country, a team that loves each other, a team that trusts each other and a team that becomes a family.”

Oh yeah, and the guy can coach too. He's been successful at VCU, leading the Rams to a 79-41 record in four seasons. It included a trip to the NCAA Tournament where they nearly beat a highly-seeded Wake Forest in the first round. Don't disregard the pedigree of growing up in a basketball family either.

Here's a good look at the process that Castiglione went through in selecting Capel. Their search was surprisingly quiet (especially in light of the number of articles written by national media about the NC State search over the past few days). It makes me wonder what role these search firms play in assisting AD's in keeping a lid on things. Then again, perhaps it's just a difference in culture. After all, it's spring football season in Norman.

My Least Favorite Season.

2006-04-13T21:16:00.000-04:00

College basketball (and football for that matter) has turned into a series of seasons. Of course, there's the regular season. There's the postseason. The recruiting season (which now runs most of the year but heats up in the summer and early fall). And the coaching carousel season.

If you've noticed, I've been relatively quiet since the regular and postseason ended. I've grown to really, really dislike the recruiting and coaching carousel seasons. Part of the reason I started this blog was because I really enjoy watching basketball. And I think I have something to say. The other two seasons -- recruiting and coaching changes -- are really about speculation, hope, and rumor. They can also be about good reporting and really, really bad reporting.

So pardon me if my postings are more sporadic.

Weekend Update.

2006-04-08T22:11:00.000-04:00

The NC State coaching search has heated up. Despite reports earlier in the week, it appears that Rick Barnes has now worked out a raise from Texas and will stay with the Longhorns. Of course, it's not over until it's over. But the Wolfpack has apparently turned its sights on John Calipari. Really, it's all speculation at this point. Athletic Director Lee Fowler has done a great job of keeping the media (and the public) guessing. If you want to run a coaching search right that's what you have to do.

Meanwhile, the national media continues to question Herb Sendek's departure for Arizona State. Gregg Doyel's column surely got NC State fans in a frenzy. But while Wolfpack fans are busy calling Doyel an idiot (and less cordial things), I thought the most interesting thing was Doyel's criticism of the local media coverage of Sendek (particularly the News & Observer). Especially when you consider that Doyel was once a part of the local media covering the ACC for the Charlotte Observer. Whether you were for keeping Sendek in Raleigh or not I think it's troubling that the media now takes its cues and sources from the internet and fan message boards and really panders to the public. The line between reporting and editorializing is seriously blurred. And as great as I think the N&O's ACC Now blog is ... it only complicates the relationship.

Some interesting articles of note from around the nation:

Coaching carousel affects recruits.
Gators super-sophs (Noah, Horford, Brewer) coming back.
UConn's Josh Boone to test the NBA waters.
Sad story death of 28-year-old Army women's coach Maggie Dixon (sister of Pitt coach Jamie Dixon. Here's a personal account from Andy Katz.
Mike Davis feels good about being at UAB. UAB's paying $1 million? Wow. Rick Bozich points out there's probably some doubters.
Watch out Big East. Bobby Gonzalez is taking over at Seton Hall. Gonzalez is a proven recruiter who's already been successful as a head coach at Manhattan.
Ed Conroy is the new coach at The Citadel. Conroy was once on Les Robinson's staff at NC State.

Sure is strangely quiet in the Oklahoma head coaching search. Of course it is spring football season.

NC State Better Get A Coach Sooner.

2006-04-05T21:42:00.000-04:00

There are plenty of rumors flying around about Herb Sendek's replacement. Pick a name, it's likely been discussed. Instead of hashing through rumors here's an alternate approach. Oklahoma is also in the midst of a coaching search. Some would argue that that's actually a better job than being the ocach at NC State.

So, instead of Wolfpack rumor-recycling let's take a look at who Oklahoma is considering.

Here's the Daily Oklahoman's take on coaching hoops at a football school. The sidebar here is really interesting. It ranks the top 25 college basketball programs. NC State is ranked 25th noticeably behind Utah, Purdue and Stanford.
And whlie there are some common names among wishlists -- John Calipari and Jay Wright -- Frank Haith's (of Miami) name has also come up at Oklahoma. Seems he'd be a pretty inexpensive hire based on his current salary at Miami. I just can't NC State going after Frank Haith. I mean if you were going to go after another ACC coach why not Paul Hewitt (as Oklahoma says) or even Skip Prosser? They've both proven much more than Haith. The Sooners are also interested in Hewitt but apparently it's not mutual.

And while we're doing coach talk, George Mason's Jim Larranage is talking to Seton Hall.

Linked Up.

2006-04-05T20:59:00.000-04:00

So this is officially the offseason, right? Doesn't seem like it. There's plenty of news.

Gregg Doyel gives you his Top 25 for next season. While UNC, UCLA, Florida, Ohio State and Kansas have been popular choices for the top 5, I hadn't thought of Georgia Tech being in the top 15 or Virginia Tech in the top 25. He's got six ACC teams making the NCAA Tournament and NC State, Wake Forest, Miami and Maryland aren't among them.

Andy Katz gives you his top 10 too. 1-10. 11-25. And Joe Lunardi's already projecting next year's bracket.

Eric Boateng is leaving Duke. If Josh McRoberts were to go pro and Brian Zoubek gets really interested in Kelvin Sampson, then it would re-define rebuilding at Duke.

Former Hoosier coach Mike Davis interviewed for the UAB job. He's interested in both the NC State and Oklahoma jobs too but likely won't get an look for either.

If you missed it, there's now two of John Thompson's sons who are head coaches, Johnny and Ronny. Ronny got the Ball State job.

Kentucky's Rajon Rondo is going pro.

Pat Forde of ESPN.com is becoming one of my favorite college basketball writers. Here's a great take on Billy the Kid.

Gators Get Their Shining Moment.

2006-04-03T23:52:00.000-04:00

Congrats to Florida. The Gators dominated the game taking it right to the hyped UCLA defense. And Florida has just one senior on their roster, Adrian Moss. Let the back-to-back talk begin.

More tomorrow.

Sampson Hits The Recruiting Trail.

2006-04-03T22:50:00.000-04:00

Kelvin Sampson is hitting the recruiting trail at Indiana. And it seems anyone's a target. Duke recruit Brian Zoubek, a 7-2 center, is re-considering his commitment following Sampson's hiring. Of course, there's that issue of getting out of his letter-of-intent.

Here's a nice profile of Sampson by CNNSI's Seth Davis.

Sendek Arrives in Tempe.

2006-04-03T22:20:00.000-04:00

Herb Sendek was introduced as the head coach at Arizona State today. Seems the folks in Tempe are excited. Some pretty interesting quotes, including this one from Florida head coach Billy Donovan:

"I hope the people at Arizona State realize what just happened," said Billy Donovan, whose Florida Gators meet UCLA tonight for the national title. "When you talk about the complete and total package of a coach, he's it."

Here's the official release as well as audio of the press conference. What would you expect from Sendek? Despite the negativity that surrounded his choice to head to Arizona State, Sendek was classy and humble.

"I'd like to begin by thanking so many wonderful people at North Carolina State. I was very blessed to have a remarkable chancellor, Dr. Jim Oblinger, a terrific athletics director, Lee Fowler, our chairman of the board, Wendell Murphy, as well as a great faculty and staff to work together with and a wonderful fan base who put us year in and year out among the leaders in the country in attendance.

"Perhaps most significantly though, the opportunities that I continue to be blessed with are because of the wonderful young men who came to NC state to play for us. It is with a real sense of gratitude that I sit here today because of so many of those people and their efforts to help us along the way."

Back in Raleigh, rumors are heating up about the possibilities. There's so little to go on (and so much speculation) that I'll just point you in different directions.

Rick Barnes says he's not interested (again).

ACC Now plays AD.

ESPN's Andy Katz.

850 the Buzz gives its take.

Official Statements.

Final Bore.

2006-04-01T22:43:00.000-05:00

After a great NCAA Tournament the Final Four has been quite the the disappointment. With 7:30 left in the UCLA-LSU game, I'm stopping the fight. TKO. UCLA will meet Florida on Magic Monday. Billy Packer and Jim Nantz didn't wait this long. They called it with nearly 18 minutes left in the second half.

Surprisingly, both games were decided on the perimeter rather than by dominating frontcourts. Florida was 12-of-25 from three-point range in their 15-point win over George Mason. Lee Humphrey hit six three's for the game.

UCLA got a little offense to go with its defense. But it was still about the defense. With six minutes left now, LSU is shooting 29.3 percent from the field and has just 34 points.

Should be a good final. And definitely more interesting than LSU-Florida would've been. The amazing thing is that Florida, LSU and UCLA are all so young (though Glen Davis and Tyrus Thomas are likely to go pro). While this year was seemingly top-heavy in the regular season with UConn, Villanova, Duke and Memphis, next year there are going to be 10-15 teams capable of being ranked No. 1 in the nation at different points in the season. Off the top of my head, these teams are going to be really good (in no particular order):

Memphis
Kansas
LSU
UCLA
Florida
North Carolina
Georgetown
Ohio State
Arizona
Texas

... and probably some others I'm forgetting.

Update: Sendek To Arizona State.

2006-04-01T17:30:00.000-05:00

Update:
With George Mason trailing by 11 with a little more than 4 minutes left in the first national semifinal, several NC State sites are reporting that Sendek has accepted the position with the Sun Devils.
PackPride.com
StateFans Nation

Arizona State finished last season with a losing record of 11-17. The Sun Devils have made three NCAA tournament appearances since 1980. Well-documented, Sendek has led NC State to five straight NCAA Tournament appearances. ASU loses just two seniors from last year's team, Allen Morrill (4.6 ppg) and Tyrone Jackson (4.3 ppg). Their leading scorer was 6-2 junior Kevin Kruger, who averaged 15.0 ppg.

Speculation is already swirling around possible replacements. Among those hoped for by Wolfpack fans:
Rick Barnes
Nate McMillian
John Calipari
Tom Crean

It will be interesting to see how attractive the NC State job is to prospective coaches. Calipari, Mark Few and a few other coaches shot down chances to go to Indiana, leading many to question how great that job is. I hope the job is as attractive as the Wolfpack fans that couldn't (or wouldn't) accept Sendek think it is.

Through all the Sendek speculation I've remained relatively quiet. A large group of NC State fans had tired of Sendek, driven by his low-key personality and inability to get NC State atop the ACC standings or win a championship. For Sendek, gaining acceptance and approval was going to remain a constant struggle. Sendek has done a great job in taking NC State from the ACC league cellar to a program that has now gone to five-straight NCAA Tournaments. Whoever takes over the reigns is walking into a much better situation than Sendek faced 10 years ago.

More later.

>>

Wolfpack fans anxious for a coaching change may get their wish. Multiple sources say that Herb Sendek has an offer from Arizona State and is making up his mind.

ASU meets with Sendek (Arizona Republic).
Fox Sports Coaching Rumors.
Gregg Doyel's Dribbles.
PackPride.com.
ASUDevils.com.

Final Four Finally Here.

2006-04-01T17:02:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the delay in posting a Final Four preview. I took a vacation from the blog then my best-laid plans for a preview were bested by a water heater bursting. But that's probably more than you wanted to know.

While excited about the Final Four, a little luster seems lost without any of the top seeds left. Everyone loves a Cinderella but another UConn-Villanova match-up or Duke-Memphis would have been pretty exciting too. This Final Four's got plenty of storylines. The young LSU Tigers who are playing for a state still reeling from Hurricane Katrina. Then, there's the young Florida Gators. People had annointed Billy Donovan the next "great" coach, then called him overrated, and now they're on the bandwagon again. UCLA looks to their past for a bit of inspiration. And, of course, America's team, George Mason.

So what do I think will happen?

Honestly, I have no real idea. I think I'm leaning towards an all-SEC final. But that seems a little too predictable for a tournament that's been anything but. And I'd be crazy to pick against George Mason, right? It would seem that their run would have to end at some time but why?

As usual, Ken Pomeroy has a great statistical breakdown of both games. Logic tells me that that Florida's big men (Joakim Noah and Al Horford) will give the Patriots some trouble on both offense and defense. It's easy to say that the Gators have more overall talent. George Mason has to hit some three's which isn't easy to do in both a dome and the Final Four environment. But this game's a toss-up because of the incredible run that George Mason has put together.

The other side, I think, is a little clearer. UCLA plays great defense but not so great offense (as evidenced throughout the tournament). LSU has played great defense as well but has a chance to do well offensively, even against the stingy Bruins. I think that Big Baby and Tyrus Thomas are just too tough inside for UCLA to handle.

Sharpening His Ax.

2006-03-28T22:21:00.000-05:00

Gregg Doyel likes to stir it up over at CBS Sportsline. Some would call it investigative reporting. As long as the facts are supported and the investigating is being done, I'd agree. It gets a little tricky (and the line wavers a bit) in blogs that are run by trusted media sources where the leash is a little longer and opinion trickles in with the facts. By the way, message boards should not be considered sources.

Anyway, Doyel's had it in for some folks over the past year (or longer). Namely, Bob Huggins (can't argue there), Oklahoma's recruiting scandal, and this beauty about D1 scheduling he broke on the opening day of the NCAA Tournament.

Doyel's already onto Huggins at K-State. And offers his thoughts on IU hiring Kelvin Sampson.

Gregg's a smart-ass. I like reading him sometimes. And don't other times. You have to take him with a grain of salt. But you don't want him on your bad side either. If you're reading Gregg, I hope I'm not on your bad side. Don't dig deeper into this blog. I'm sure you'll find something controversial. Don't look here. Nothing happening. Nothing happening.

IU Pulls A Fast One.

2006-03-28T21:45:00.000-05:00

Indiana shocked pretty much everyone today, hiring Oklahoma's Kelvin Sampson as their new ocach. Sampson is a surprise for a lot of different reasons and the feedback has been mixed for sure. After all, most fans expected IU to keep it in the Hoosier family and hire Steve Alford, Randy Wittman, or even Isiah Thomas. Even Mike Davis told everyone that the fans would only accept "one of their own."

Apparently, that wasn't even really considered. Offers to Gonzaga's Mark Few and Memphis' John Calipari were both rebuffed. And, as Pat Forde points out, the "family" guys weren't so great:

Greenspan turned his back on the Indiana "family," which is not necessarily a bad thing. If the "family" didn't produce a good enough candidate -- and, with apologies to Steve Alford and Randy Wittman, it didn't -- then going outside Bob Knight's sphere of influence was both brave and prudent.

The easy hire would have been a quick coronation of Alford, but his work at Iowa did not merit it. Greenspan could have turned to Wittman, but he'd never recruited a player or spent a minute as a college coach. He could have offered the job to Isiah Thomas, but only the Knicks are crazy enough to want him in charge.

Obviously a good coach, Sampson took Oklahoma to the NCAA Tournament in 11 of 12 years. They averaged 25 win a year over the past seven seasons. OU went to the Final Four in 2002 and, ironically enough, lost to IU and Mike Davis. Sampson also headed the NABC and is heavily involved in USA Basketball, so he's got the respect of his peers.

But Sampson's got some serious baggage of late. Oklahoma admitted rules violations and Sampson's salary was frozen. There's even some talk of sanctions following him to IU.
Also, Sampson regularly recruited junior college players at OU. That's not a regular occurrence in the Big 10. And the Sooners had a questionable academic record.

The bottom line ... sometimes even jobs that appear to be as high-profile as IU aren't what they're made out to be by fans and supporters. Once again, here's Pat Forde:

Indiana isn't as attractive as it wants, believes or expects itself to be. That's why you end up with Kelvin Sampson -- certainly not a choice that spurs rejoicing today from Gary to Vevay.

A couple of weeks ago, I talked to one coach who, in theory, should jump at the chance to go to Bloomington. To my surprise, he said he never even picked up the phone when the headhunter called on IU's behalf.

"That's not a great job right now," the coach said.

Something tells me that this story isn't done yet. Stay tuned.

Patriot Act.

2006-03-26T19:46:00.000-05:00

Anybody think Florida State or Cincinnati deserves to be in the NCAA Tournament more than George Mason now? The Patriots run to the Final Four -- a run that took them through heavyweights UConn, North Carolina and Michigan State -- has certainly been amazing. Cinderella doesn't even seem to describe this unbelievable run by George Mason. The Patriots are just the second double-digit seed to make the Final Four, matching LSU's run, also as an 11th seed, in 1986. They're the first non-major conference team in the Final Four since Penn and Indiana State both got there in 1979.

Coupled with Florida's win over Villanova, they'll be no No. 1 seeds in the Final Four for the first time since 1980. While 'Nova waited for it's four-guard attack to heat up, the Gators dominated inside. Joakim Noah and Al Horford teamed for 33 points and 29 rebounds. And, once again, defense won out. The Gators held Villanova to 18-of-73 (24.7 percent) from the field and 4-for-24 (16.7 percent) from three-point range.

After all the talk of the Big East (and the Big 10) this season here we are in the Final Four with two SEC teams, a Pac-10 squad and Patriots from the Colonial.

Hate To Say I Told You So.

2006-03-26T19:42:00.000-05:00

But I did. Of course, I only told you last night. And I had a 50-50 chance in both games. I did tell you before the tournament started that UConn wouldn't win it all. Instant karma got 'em.

Let's Get Defensive.

2006-03-25T21:25:00.000-05:00

So half the Final Four is set -- LSU and UCLA. And the key to success this tournament? Defense, obviously. Remember the old adage defense wins championships? You forgot it in a frenzy of thoughts about JJ Redick, Adam Morrison, Brandon Roy, any of UConn's top seven players and West Virginia's three-pointers.

In its tournament wins, LSU is holding opponents to 34.1 percent shooting and 28.6 percent from beyond the three-point line. Their opponents have averaged 58.6 ppg. UCLA has held its NCAA opponents to 37.7 percent from the field and 19.2 percent from three-point range. Bruins' opponents have averaged 54.8 ppg.

In case you're looking for clues for tomorrow (organized by FG% defense):

Florida's held its opponents to 36.5 percent from the field and 34.4 percent from three-point range.
George Mason's held its opponents to 36.7 percent from the field and 28.8 percent from the field.
Villanova's held its opponents to 41.9 percent from the field and 26.4 percent from three-point range.
UConn's held its opponents to 44.8 percent from the field and 30.5 percent from three-point range.

Could it really be UCLA, LSU, Florida and George Mason in the Final Four?

LSU's Magic Ticket.

2006-03-25T21:08:00.000-05:00

You tell the 340-pound man that he shouldn't be wearing a yellow feather boa. I dare you.

If I'd only listened to my own advice. You see, I've been saying that UConn would not win the national championship (and, man, I've come pretty close so far) because they don't have karma on their side. And based on that same theory no school should be on karma's good side as much as LSU. All of Baton Rouge was a key place in helping those affected by Hurricane Katrina and in the recovery and re-building efforts. And talk about a home-town team. Five LSU players are from Baton Rouge, including stars Glen Davis and Tyrus Thomas.

LSU is back in the Final Four for the first time since 1986.

Dear BC. Again.

2006-03-24T21:53:00.000-05:00

Nevermind. I take it back. Going to Craig Smith for the go-ahead basket in overtime was the right idea. But doing it with 12 seconds left? What were you thinking? Get him the ball on the block with five seconds left and he makes the same play. Villanova's guards were surely going to have time to break you down off the dribble in that amount of time. And even after they failed the first time you bit on the underneath out-of-bounds play. Man.

And you blew a 16-point first half lead. Man.

In all seriousness, what a terrific game. As Villanova coach Jay Wright said after the game it was like a "Big East game. Both teams couldn't score." The Wildcats won despite shooting 35 percent from the field. Randy Foye was awesome with 29 points.

BC, you did the ACC proud. Seriously. Your toughness and physical play are needed additions to the conference.

Hoop Tunes.

2006-03-24T20:58:00.000-05:00

What're you listening to? Leave a comment.

If you've really checked out this blog and my non-basketball blog you've probably noticed that I'm a big music person. In fact, if there's something I like as much as basketball, it's music. I'm eclectic. My iPod's got everything from Sam Cooke to Wilco to Jurassic 5. And for the more obscure of taste, my latest favorites are indie bands Tapes 'n Tapes and Band of Horses. Of course, you can see what's in rotation on my iPod in the sidebar.

Anyway, that said, it did my heart good to see Sports Illustrated's Luke Winn talking about Hoop Tunes on his blog. Luke, I've got to get that new Loose Fur record and one of those Tivoli portable stereos.

Still Linked.

2006-03-24T20:15:00.000-05:00

The irony was everywhere. JJ Redick and Adam Morrison, linked all year as the nation's two best players, two best hopes, and great white hopes, likely ended their college careers within hours of each other.

Any shots at either guy would be cheap ones. They both had unbelievable years.