SMU hired Larry Brown to bring its basketball program back from the brink of complete disaster. They’ve also now set up a situation where the program can be kept consistent even after Brown leaves. Because Larry Brown is so old, it is wise to make sure that he has someone bringing up the rear to make sure that the program doesn’t take a dramatic drop when Brown leaves or retires.
College
I was listening to the radio on an afternoon drive show, and, they were attempting to keep everyone informed about the press conference for a kid who was about to sign with a local team. You could tell that they had been waiting for a while, and, the kid had not made his decision. At the 56 minute mark, they started talking about how many hats the kid had taken off and whether or not it would be a two-hour special (like how they drag out the finale of American Idol.) Well, that’s the cost of watching celebrity happen.
The Baylor women’s basketball team just completed a magical season. I know that the ladies play the title game a day after the men and it doesn’t always get the coverage that it deserves. And, no, I’m not going to patronize you and say that if you want to see the game played the right way you should watch the ladies. They just play it differently. However, I don’t care what stage you’re on, when a team goes 40-0 and wins a national title in such dominating fashion, that’s news.
I said for many years that Roy Williams could not coach a winner. Then, he had so much talent that it didn’t matter. Then he had that much talent again. Consequently, he’s won two national titles. Now John Calipari has made the list. I thought he couldn’t coach a winner, but now I see that he can coach a winner when he has more talent than every other team combined. So, from now, this will be known as the Williams-Calipari corollary.
Even though I was dead wrong about the national semifinals altogether. Dang!
Although, since I have been living on one principal for this entire tournament, and that is that John Calipari cannot win championships, I have to try this. Given that, I’m not going to back off my position because I haven’t actually been proven wrong yet. I’ve been close, but I haven’t actually been shown that I am wrong. So, how are the Wildcats going to lose this one if I am, in fact, correct?
It’s here. The game of the century between Louisville and Kentucky is upon us. If you feel the earth move under your feet (Carole King) at any point during the rest of today, you’ll know that that earthquake is centered somewhere around New Orleans. We’ve already had fans of these teams punching each other in a dialysis clinic, people downplaying the game, and Rick Pitino acting like he doesn’t give a crap even though he clearly cares because he’s the guy that won a title at Kentucky and is now the guy who is trying to win a national title for their most bitter rival. (Remember, a fan of one of these teams punched a fan for the opposing team in a dialysis clinic. Not exactly a civil war, if you know what I mean.)
Three of UNC’s major talents are leaving for the NBA draft. You have Henson, Barnes, and Marshall all leaving the program for the pros. For Barnes, it’s a chance to get away from what has been a very disappointing couple of years at UNC. If you look at Henson, he is ready to go to the NBA, but he’s not really the kind of guy who, I think, will be a major impact player in the pros, but I don’t know that there is much left for him to do. If they couldn’t win a title this year, I don’t blame these guys for leaving.
This age old argument that the best college team would beat the worst pro team is getting a little bit annoying. Let’s be real for a moment. There is no way in the world that any college team is going to beat their professional counterpart when pride is on the line. I’m sure there are some nice kids on the Kentucky team, but, the Wizards have grown men on the squad. Guys with kids. Guys with wives and families and responsibilities. Do we really think for a second that a grown man is going to let some 19 year old kid get in his way when pride is on the line?
Ok, I have to break down and do it. The Apocalypse is here. Kentucky and Louisville will play in one national semi while Kansas and Ohio State will play in another. Now, who would I pick?
This year, I think I need to go with Kentucky. This team seems like one that is primed to fail in the national title game. That’s it. It’s that simple. They are so good that I think they will be losing to the winner of the other game.
I’ve heard this one thrown about a bit. This team is the most talented team since…whomever. Listen, they may be unsurpassingly talented, but that doesn’t mean they are going to win a national title. So, it’s never going to be about how good they are. If we played basketball that way:
1. Duke wouldn’t have won the 1991 title.
2. Villanova would have gotten crushed by Georgetown.
3. Butler would have never made it out of the first round.
4. NC State had no chance with Jimmy V.
