With another entertaining March Madness in the books, let’s take a look back at the best college hoops players of the last 30 seasons.
To be eligible, you must have spent at least two seasons in Div I, beginning with the 1986-87 season. NCAA tournament success is factored, but is not a necessity.
1. Danny Manning, Kansas 1984 – 1988
If you were creating a forward in a lab, this is your guy. (more…)
Four unique teams are in Dallas on college basketball’s biggest stage. Florida arrives unbeaten in four months driven by a core of seniors and a deep bench. UConn rides in on the strength of a dominant guard and stone-cold execution down the stretch. Wisconsin has paid their dues after plenty of failed tourneys, make teams play their game, and are led by a hard-nosed coach; and Kentucky storms in with teenagers playing at a level as high as their pre-season expectations.
Let’s take a close look at each team and explore what got them to within two wins of a National Championship. (more…)
We’ve gotten 68 down to four, so lets take a look back at some of the things that stood out the last two weeks.
The play-in games (I refuse to refer to it as the “first round”) continue to be a potential springboard for an unlikely tournament run.
For the fourth straight year since its inception, a (non – 16 seed) team has buoyed a win in Dayton into an upset a few days later. In 2011, VCU famously stormed their way to the Final Four as an 11 seed after dispatching Southern Cal in a play-in game; South Florida beat 5 seed Temple before being knocked off by Ohio in 2012; last year, La Salle beat Kansas St and Ole Miss before losing to Wichita St in the Sweet 16. This year, Tennessee scraped by Iowa in OT in Dayton and then took care of UMass and Mercer. Only a dodgy officiating decision kept them from the Elite Eight. NC St easily could have made it two teams from Dayton advancing even further; the Wolfpack couldn’t close out St Louis, despite being up 11 with a little over three minutes to play.
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It is never too early to start thinking about the BIG DANCE, and with conference schedules right around the corner, let’s take an early look at how many ACC teams have a chance to dance this year. (more…)
THE SPORTS CULT will be live blogging the NBA Draft tonight beginning at 7:30 EST.
Join us here…as we tear apart ugly suits, dumb draft picks, & the Commissioner, among other things.
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1. New Orleans Hornets – Anthony Davis: PF, 19, 6-10, 220, Kentucky
Davis will be the first pick, but he won’t be a player to build a franchise around.
Top end NBA Comparison: Marcus Camby
2. Cleveland Cavaliers (predicted trade with Charlotte Bobcats ) – Bradley Beal: SG, 18, 6-4, 201, Florida
Beal caught fire at the end of his freshman year, and the Cavs are in love with him. He won’t be the best wing player taken in this draft in the long run.
Top end NBA Comparison: (young) Ray Allen (more…)
Baseball’s new Wild Card format got me thinking – if I could change one thing in each major sport, what would it be?
MLB – Problem: I am sick of 162 games not meaning anything and Wild Card teams winning the World Series. The regular season used to mean something; the new one-game playoff helps even the field a bit, but it’s not enough in my mind. (more…)
With the initial two rounds of the NCAA Tournament (I refuse to comply with the NCAA calling the 5th through 36th game the “second round”) behind us, here are some of my thoughts : (more…)
You’re likely at work on Friday. That sucks.
I’m going to be at the Styles Inn watching all 16 games of Day 2 of the NCAA Tournament.
Beginning at 1:30, I will also be providing game updates, unsolicited opinions, & bias observations. Join me here so we can get sick with it.
UPDATE: That was fun. Thanks to everyone that checked in and contributed. Let’s do it again next year.
CBS and Turner Sports will continue to cover The Big Dance this year, and they have rounded up the usual suspects to call the games.
In honor of the legendary Gus Johnson, who tragically parted ways with CBS, here are my top five play-by-play and color guys for the upcoming tourney. (more…)
In a few hours, the NFL free agency frenzy begins. And with it, five days of sports euphoria.
Am I being too dramatic? (more…)
Tomorrow afternoon, CBS will continue its yearly tradition of announcing the teams that will play in the NCAA basketball tournament.
Anxious fans of the 10 or so bubble teams will be nervously watching, ready to exhale with relief…or smash the remote.
The show does a pretty good job of building the drama. They only show a few matchups at a time, and they take plenty of commercial breaks. If you’re a fan of a bubble team, (more…)
What do Danica Patrick and UConn coach Gino Auriemma have in common? I would say three things:
1) They are all over SportsCenter
2) I had to google them to find out how they spell their names.
3) No real sports fan gives a crap about either of them.
Last year, the 4-letter network’s coverage was over the top comparing UConn’s winning streak to UCLA men’s record.
Hey ESPN – they play with a different size ball. IT’S NOT THE SAME GAME. (more…)
Exactly when and why did basketball analysts, commentators, journalists, and talk show hosts begin using the silly phrase “score the basketball”? And how do we get them to stop?
Can a short sports phrase be any more redundant? “…he has the ability to score.” That’s the same as “…he has the ability to score the basketball.”
It sounds DUMB. (more…)
It’s getting to be that time of year — the NCAA Tournament is right around the corner; thus, I am going to look back at one of the teams that helped make March MAD.
The 1987-88 Kansas Jayhawks were led by their coach, soon to be vagabond Larry Brown, and Mr. Everything Danny Manning. They started the year in the preseason top ten, but quickly dropped in the polls with two losses in the Maui Invitational. They grinded through the rest of their non-conference games, and entered conference play at 10-3.
When the Big 8 schedule began in late January, the Jayhawks hit rock bottom. (more…)
Fed Ex delivery driver Ed Weiland, carries packages in downtown Bend, Ore. Weiland also writes for a blog and predicted that Jeremy Lin would be a good NBA player
Although a couple of us weren’t that surprised that Linsanity is running wild, NBA scouts and GMs are likely kicking themselves for overlooking him.
However, before the 2010 draft, there was one fellow that had him pegged as a potential NBA starter. (more…)
With the first of two Duke/North Carolina match-ups a day away, I would like to take a look back at the last 30 years of this fabled rivalry.
These are my five most memorable games:
5) Feb 3, 2000 – Chapel Hill – Duke 90 UNC 86 (OT) (more…)
A couple of times a week you can see a certain basketball team trot out a rotation that looks like this:
PG – 6’4″
SG – 6’7″ 205 lbs
SF – 6′ 8″ 215 (6’11″ wing span)
PF – 6’11″ (7’5″ wing span)
C – 7’0″ 250 lbs
First big off the bench – 6’9″
Back up swing man – 6’6″ 220
If you were looking to your nearest NBA city, you would come up empty. (more…)
St. Patrick's Michael Gilchrist in 2007
New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Balt/D.C. have long been considered the regions of the country with the most high school basketball talent. NBA rosters are littered with players from these areas.
It’s time to talk about northern New Jersey in the same light. 15 NBA players prepped in North Jersey, highlighted by big names Andrew Bynum; Al Harrington; Loul Deng; Joakim Noah; J.R. Smith (as soon as he gets back from China); and exciting rookie Kyrie Irving.
In contrast, the NYC area is only represented by 8 players. (more…)
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