Renardo Sidney

It’s nice to see teams use their heads every once and awhile. Renardo Sidney is a 6’10 hihg school senior forward from LA who recently had his scholarship offer from USC revoked after UCLA did the same. I read about him a few months ago in The New York Times Play Magazine and the singular thing that stuck out about him was that at age 18, he sucks his thumb and carries a woobie with him. Here’s the quote:

“I’ve been sucking my thumb since I was a kid,” he says. “Sometimes, I do it
just to do it. Like, when I’m mad.” He also travels with a lucky blanket. His
father — Renardo the elder — is seated across the table. He chuckles. “It’s a
sheet,” he clarifies.

I'm glad we cleared that up. Evidently he’s, quite literally, a Baby Huey type. He’s one of those kids who has a tremendous amount of baby fat on him to the extent that his face is almost completely round. Scouting reports and hyperbolic articles say that he has natural ability on the court, but reading deeper, the kid seemed to have a gigantic attitude problem and he’s not helped out by what seems to be an overly meddling dad who only enables his bad-attitude kid.

I had my biases against him and then I saw him play in the McDonald’s All-America game and my biases were cemented. I hated this kid’s game. He managed to look lazy in an all-star game, when everyone plays lazily. I didn’t understand why college coach would want him on their team, and now it appears that at least two, UCLA’s Ben Howland and USC’s Tim Floyd, do not. Their decisions make perfect sense to me. I can’t imagine how frustrating it would be to have a 6’10 270 kid on your team who will very likely frustrate you every minute of the day he’s on the court because he has the size and natural ability to be good but plays like a lazy, fat, spoiled, entitled, washed-up YMCA guy

DraftExpress.com had some interesting insight on the kid the other day calling him “Antoine Walker in the later stages of his career.” Not exactly a ringing endorsement. There is no player in the history of the NBA whose game I disliked more than Walker. His insistence of launching 3s to the complete detriment of his team was nauseating. His shimmy shake thing he did was worse. I hated his game in the early stages of his career, but he got much worse over time. The point is Sidney is like that now. At 19. No NBA team should touch him. He’s not worth the roster spot. He will not change his stripes, and if he does, it won’t be for five years or so, in other words, too far down the line for any GM or coach who lobbied to get him to reap the rewards because they will be fired by then. Teams should run away and not look back.

I don’t like hating on kids, but I love hoops, and this guy’s game is utterly detestable. I thought that having LeBron James being the gold standard in basketball these days that the trend would be kids would try and emulate his unselfish, all-around game. Maybe that is happening to some extent, but until some sycophantic members of the media stop deifying dudes like Sidney the LeBronization of the game is not complete.

Jeremy Tyler

I love this Jeremy Tyler story that I first read here and then subsequently here, here, and here.

From a “what the hell?” standpoint, I love that Olden Polynice was a volunteer coach on Tyler’s high school team. O.P. was on some spectacularly mediocre Sonics teams in the late 80s and I’ll never forget him. I remember going to a game when I was 15, looking at the program, and thinking that there was something wrong with his face, and then feeling sorry for him. Not that how he looks had anything to do with his ability to play hoops, but it’s the singular thing that I remember about him. He was never a horrible player and was certainly better than the cavalcade of Rich King-like stiffs the Sonics subjected us to over the years.

On a national level, I’m guessing that O.P. was best known for one of two things:

1. His arrest for impersonating a police officer
2. Getting traded on draft day from Chicago to Seattle for Scottie Pippen

Number two is especially galling on a personal level. I would have liked a core of Gary Payton, Scottie Pippen, and Shawn Kemp a great deal. Um, that probably would have been a decent defensive squad. Of course, Pippen may never have blossomed into Pippen if not for Jordan, but it’s very likely that he would have thrived alongside The Glove and the Reign Man… sigh… anyway, it looks like O.P. was the key ingredient (aside from Jordan) in the Bulls Dynasty.

Getting back to O.P.’s influence on Tyler, I really enjoyed this part of the article:

"Still, Polynice disagrees with Tyler’s decision to go to Europe. He said Tyler was being 'pimped;' he would not elaborate."

So O.P. just called Tyler a whore, which is a very nice thing to say about someone. Also, O.P. was never known for his work ethic, so it’s always funny to me when a guy like that gets to have any influence whatsoever on young people. For instance, when O.P was finishing his third tour of duty with the Sonics in the lockout shortened ’98-’99 season (otherwise known as the “Vin Baker Fattening Project”) and shooting an ungodly 30% from the free throw line he was routinely seen practicing half court shots at practice instead of working on parts of his game that might help the team.

O.P. comedy aside, it’s a very interesting story. Brandon Jennings’s story was and is fascinating because he was bypassing Arizona (who really could have used him this year) to play for cash in Italy. I loved that he was doing it because it sounded like he wasn’t going to qualify to play college ball and he wanted to stay sharp, learn some skills, and get paid. I mean, why not? I loved the Josh Childress story as well because he was being held hostage by the NBA restricted free agent rules and decided to exercise his options, as a free man in society, to do what he pleased, and get paid more for doing it. Good for him.

Now here comes young Jeremy Tyler and his decision to go to Europe and bypass his senior year in high school along the way. Every time I hear about a kid who leaves high school early (like the football players to enroll for the spring semester at Universities to take part in spring practices), I can’t help but think, “why would you want to leave high school early? I had fun in high school, especially my senior year.” Then I snap back to reality and realize that their lives and my life as a high schooler are slightly different. They’re going to be playing big time sports in college or the pros and I was going to run track in the spring and miss going to the state meet because I wasn’t good enough. I guess that’s different.

From what I understand, Tyler is going to leave school, but take online courses or be homeschooled, so he’ll still get his high school diploma. So what’s the big deal? Doesn’t this happen all of the time but we just don’t know about it or don’t care? Don’t child actors do this all of the time? The SI article pointed to entertainers who leave school early and finish elsewhere. The ESPN article talked about tennis and golf players who do this with regularity. I don’t get what the big deal is. Why the hand-wringing? Why the concern?

ESPN’s Doug Gottlieb, arguing that Tyler’s decision to go abroad said the following:

"If it is acceptable for Tyler to leave high school after his junior year to play professionally, when does it not become OK to leave? Tyler is setting a dangerous precedent by making this move. What about a sophomore or a freshman making a similar decision? Why even have high school at all?"

A few things here:

1. I’m not sure who needs to “accept” that Tyler could leave high school. It’s of no one’s concern but his and maybe his parents. It’s not a question of it being acceptable or “OK” for him to do this. He, or anyone else, can do this whenever the hell he feels like it.
2. This “dangerous” precedent-setting decision that Tyler is making is, again, of no one’s concern but his. Does he have some sort of obligation to anyone else but himself? Is he supposed to “think of the children”? If he wants to do this, then he should do this. If it affects someone else’s decision down the line, is that really on him? And if it does, does it matter?
3. Gottlieb asks, “Why even have high school at all?” I have the same question myself and am planning on writing about this at a later date. If these guys want to pursue their dreams of playing basketball and who also don’t care about school (I’m making assumptions here, but by and large if a guy leaves after one year in college or, previously, skipped college altogether, then they aren’t very interested in school… I’m just sayin’) then why should they go to school?

Aside from the obvious ethnocentric (scared of the European sports system) and racist stuff at work here (again, no worries about tennis/golf academies, entertainers, or foreign athletes who do this same thing) there is another element that doesn’t get mentioned and that’s the nationwide high school graduation rates for African Americans hovers around the mid 50% range every year. From what we know, Tyler is going to graduate from high school. What about the millions of kids who do not graduate from high school and who are not immensely talented basketball players? Where is the outcry about the education of these kids? Kids drop out of school at alarming rates and those that do earn far less than their cohorts that do earn their diplomas. Tyler is leaving high school, but plans on graduating, and is getting a head start on a potentially lucrative career.

People lament that kids are lazy and don’t take advantage of the opportunities that are provided to them. We get upset when someone doesn’t maximize his potential and make use of his talents. Well, Tyler’s talent is in basketball. He’s making a professional decision to do what he thinks is best for him.

Is it sketchy that Sonny Vaccaro is involved? Sure. But how is this any less seedy than college programs hiring a big-time recruit’s AAU coach or someone affiliated with that player with the hope that doing so will land them that recruit.

I mean, please. Stop with the goddamn hypocrisy already. Whether we agree or disagree with his decision is of no consequence. The teeth gnashing is insincere.

NBA Playoffs

As much as I love the NBA playoffs, we can all agree that they stretch the games out too long. I mean, each team has only played four games and it’s been like two weeks. It’s no wonder the playoffs take two months to finish. I fully understand why the system is the way it is, the NBA and the TV corporations are attempting to maximize their dollars. I get that, but do we really need a best of seven series for every series? I loved the best of five format that we had in the first round (with the notable exception of the ’94 playoffs when the Sonics had the look of a championship-caliber team and lost to the goddamn Nuggets).

I doubt very seriously that they’ll revert to a five-game series in the first round, despite how much people would actually like it. People would love an NFL Playoffs vibe even more because any team can beat any other team if they’re both good on any night. The NCAA Tournament captures this as well, and that’s what makes it so special. The beauty of the postseason generally is the win-or-go-home mentality. It’s so much fun to watch these games because the finality ratchets up the intensity.

Contrast that with the win-four-times-or-go-home mentality of the NBA playoffs. Not quite as exciting is it? Of course elimination games are fun and game sevens are incredible to watch, but we just have to wait so damn long to get there. I suppose they’re worth the wait though. Also, the best team usually will prevail in a seven-game series, which is somewhat satisfying. It’s pretty uncommon for an inferior team to beat a clearly superior team in a seven-game series. It’s just too hard to hide weaknesses and unless certain players on an inferior team are just treeing for an entire series, that team is typically going to lose. There are exceptions, of course, but the better team usually prevails, not that it matters in the least, unless you have rooting interest, in which case then it definitely matters.

While I’m complaining about the length of these playoffs, I’ve definitely been interested. Since I work for a living and have a wife who would threaten, and probably follow through with, murder if I watched every single game that’s on TV, I have to pick and choose which games to watch, and even then, it’s hard. Plus, it’s nice outside now and it makes it very difficult to justify sitting inside when it’s 70 degrees and sunny. That’s what happens when you live in the Seattle area, I spend at least half of my time bitching about the weather, so when it’s finally tolerable to be outside, I must go outside, games be damned. But that’s what DVR is for, if I’m willing to stay up until 3:00 a.m. to pound out all of the games.

Back to the subject, there are only two of these series that I’ve dubbed appointment TV. Chicago v. Boston and Houston v. Portland.

Chicago and Boston
I’m heavily intrigued by the Bulls and Derrick Rose and their mighty rise from freaking nowhere, so I’m enthralled by that series. I’m somewhat invested in the Blazers solely because of Brandon Roy, and tangentially interested in the Rockets because of Aaron Brooks; Seattle ballplayers, both of them. I guess, for the same reason, I should care about Atlanta (Marvin Williams), Detroit (Rodney Stuckey), and Dallas (Jason Terry), but I don’t, at least not as much because those other three series just aren’t as interesting. Houston and Portland, beyond the Seattle connection, is a very interesting matchup because Houston hasn’t gotten out of the first round in forever and Portland is making its first trip back in forever. Both teams are talented and could do some damage to LA. The series has produced some very close games, but sadly, it looks like Houston is going to take this, and that’s a damn shame considering how good Portland has looked at times. That said, if not for Ron Artest attempting to shoot his team out of the playoffs, Houston would have beaten Portland by at least 10 the other night, instead of winning a close one down the stretch.

Chicago and Boston, on the other hand, has been an otherworldly series. Taking a step back, it looked like Chicago was headed this way a few years ago when they made the playoffs and looked good. They had a young, talented team that was hungry and making noise. But then they got greedy, trade rumors were swirling, they started to hate their coach (more), and eventually fell on their face. Then they ass backward into Rose and everything changed.

Rose, simply put, is amazing. I fawn over him. He will be legitimately discussed as the best player in the league within five years, easily. I doubt that he (or anyone else) will ever dethrone LeBron while he’s in his prime (that would be NOW until about 9 or 10 years from now), but Kobe Bryant (who is probably too old for this discussion) Rose, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade, Dwight Howard, Kevin Durant, Brandon Roy, Deron Williams, and maybe Carmelo Anthony will be contenders for ‘Bron’s crown. Of course, Ricky Rubio, John Wall, and some other young bucks may storm the castle too. We just don’t know if they’ll get hit by the cauldron of oil or make it through the gate yet.

Orlando and Philly
The other games don’t interest me as much. Orlando and Philly has some intrigue, but I don’t care about either team. I like Orlando a little bit because Rashard Lewis plays for them and he was always a decent guy here in Seattle. Dwight Howard is fun to watch because he’s looks so strangely huge amongst huge people. Plus, he’s abundantly talented, but ultimately flawed because he really can’t be counted on yet. I’d love to see him put it all together and become a 35 point scorer. He could easily do that if he shot 75% from the free throw line, but somehow I doubt he’ll ever approach that mark. Philly is kind of interesting, but ultimately how can I even dedicate any time to a team that has killed itself with that horrible Elton Brand signing? They’re doomed for years and it was their own damn fault. Why bail out the Clippers like that? I do like Thaddeus Young, though. The kid seems like a very solid player and I will forever like Andre Igudola for the singular reason that he nearly decapitated himself in a dunk contest. So I like some individuals on those teams, but neither one has a legit shot at winning the title or even pushing a team very much (no, Orlando has no shot) so I’m uninterested ultimately.

San Antonio and Dallas
San Antonio and Dallas couldn’t bore me more. There is no chance I’ll watch any part of that series. I’m dog tired of San Antonio and have been for years, I’d really prefer it if both of these teams would just exit out of the playoffs after this series is over, sort of like an instant double elimination, but without having to lose twice… wait, that doesn’t make any sense. Maybe it’s a single elimination spread over two teams simultaneously. Whatever. I just don’t want to see either one advance, despite Jason Terry’s excellence.

Atlanta and Miami
Atlanta and Miami presents two young teams who may be on their way to better things, but probably not. I haven’t seen anything but the highlights of this series and I doubt they’ll make it into the regular rotation. I am interested to see how Michael Beasely plays, since I haven’t seen one minute of him this year, but I suspect I’ll be underwhelemed. Is it just me, or do people get way, way, way to proud of big guys? How could he ever have been considered by any team over Derrick Rose? He had a rep for being a lazy, immature dude prior to the draft, but he could score and rebound. Rose had a rep for being emotionally invested in the outcomes of games, being massively unselfish, and possessing unspeakable talent and played maybe the most important position on the team, depending on the offense a team runs. This isn’t revisionist history. He’s always been the better player. Whatever, I’m just saying that teams and the media over-emphasize “big” guys. A point I’ll get to in a separate post.

I guess I was talking about the Atlanta/Miami series. I’m somewhat interested in this Hawks team because they seem to be properly constructed with some really good young players and they finally have a point guard who can do some things for them in Nougat All-Star Mike Bibby. I just can’t get into them. Hopefully they’ll advance and I’ll get to check them out in the next round.

Denver and New Orleans
Before I say anything here, I’ve got to start with the following number: 58. It’s amazing that a team with Chris Paul, David West, James Posey, and Tyson Chandler would lose by fifty eight points. Those guys are legitimately good players who are extremely prideful, it’s striking to me that they’d roll over like that. At home. To a Denver team that is good, but certainly not whip-your-ass-on-an-historic level good. I’ve read that there are issues (to put it mildly) with Byron Scott as a coach. Yahoo!’s Adrian Wojnarowski, wrote about it today. ESPN’s Bill Simmons has written about it earlier this year after watching Scott and Paul’s interaction (if it can be called that) live at a Clippers game. I don’t understand how, as a coach at the highest level of sport, Byron Scott could be unprepared and pay little attention to detail. Is it that difficult to do? Do you not have various scouts and assistant coaches informing you of things or do you simply choose not to listen? The whole thing confuses me. Why not be prepared even if you don’t manically control every part of the game (like Larry Brown or Avery Johnson), at least have an answer for things if whatever gameplan that you’ve cooked up isn’t working. How the hell is a player supposed to respect a coach who doesn’t put in the time to help his team perform to the best of its ability, especially when the players are busting their asses? If Byron Scott is truly the way that he’s portrayed, then how in the hell is he still the coach of a team like New Orleans with the best point guard in the game? I’m glad I’m not a New Orleans fan (although, as I’ve stated in the past I will gladly, if not gleefully, accept their team as the new Sonics).

As for the series itself, aside from the last game, it didn’t really look like New Orleans had a shot. Denver has been playing too well and Chauncey Billups has been rubbing New Orleans players’ faces in their own feces, and then swatting them with a rolled up magazine all series. He’s been unstoppable. He was great in Detroit, but he’s been incredible for Denver. He’s been hitting his shots, which had been a missing ingredient in his game in the post-championship years in Detroit. Plus, there is the whole hometown thing going for him. I love seeing guys get a chance to play where they grew up, there’s just something cool about that.

Another thing that Denver has working for it is their cumulative ink. I defy you to find me a team who sports more tats than these Nuggets. It’s not just the amount of tats they have, but the shocking amount of surface area that these tats cover. J.R. Smith is literally wearing long sleeves, Kenyon Martin has been tagged by a “writer” from the Bronx, and the Birdman looks like an entire grade school pelted him with Easter eggs and Fun Dip.

Speaking of the Birdman, just because you were once down-and-out as a drug-addled idiot does not mean you must continue to look the part. He’s the latter day Rodman, right down to the hustle and annoyance factors. How soon until he dons a wedding gown to marry himself? Although, he’s so militantly ugly that I doubt he has the stomach to even masturbate, let alone be his own bride.

Los Angeles and Utah
I’m beginning to wonder if anyone, even Cleveland, is going to beat this Lakers team. They are pissing on Utah, and while Utah is an eight seed, they’re not a garden-variety eight seed. They have talented players with great size, a good coach, and a great home court advantage. But this Lakers team is frightening. It’s insane that they can legitimately roll out a lineup like this:

• Center: Bynum: 7’0
• Power Forward: Gasol: 7’0
• Small Forward: Ariza: 6’7
• Shooting Guard: Bryant: 6’7
• Point Guard: Odom: 6’10

That’s preposterous. Not only is this lineup huge, but it's highly skilled. Odom is more than capable of bringing the ball up and setting up the offense just as Ariza and Kobe are capable of guarding smaller players. This eliminates the Lakers’s weakness at the PG spot and pretty much guarantees that they’ll get nearly every rebound. If the Lakers lose more than twice the rest of the way in the Western Conference I’ll be surprised.

I don’t have much to say about Utah except that I don’t understand why you’d live there unless you love skiing and are Mormon. Why else would you bother? But I will say this, they’ve made a great uniform switch over the years. Their present gear is pretty awesome. Good job there, guys.

Detroit and Cleveland
Everytime I watch LeBron play I feel like Anton Ego, the restaurant critic in “Ratatouille,” when he takes his first bite of the dish of the same name at the end of the movie.

LeBron is so mesmerizing it makes me weep and transports me to a time where basketball is pure and beautiful to watch. He’s the most gifted and perfect basketball creation. I am amazed that this team has been able to do so much when it trots out a starting five with a center who is not a post presence, a power forward who is absolutely no threat offensively (to the point where, if left completely alone at 15 feet will frantically look around for someone to pass to), LeBron, an undersized, streaky, and sort of diseased-looking guy with a neck-tat, and Mo Williams. That’s not an imposing team. Not even close and they won 67 games. In order for us, the basketball watching world, to fully experience the Holy LeBron Experience, he needs to have more awesome guys around him. I don’t know if he’ll leave Cleveland (I hope he doesn’t, because I’m sentimental and I know a guy from Cleveland), but I do hope that they continue to bring in guys that can play.

I didn’t catch much, if any, of this series, but Detroit simply had no chance. It will be interesting to see what they do next year now that they have money to spend after shedding ‘Sheed and Iverson. By the way, what the hell is going to happen to Iverson next year? Obviously someone will sign him, but who? No team with a young nucleus is going to sign him because he won’t be worth it and will stifle the growth of any young player. Look, I love A.I. and it’s fun watching him play, but he’s not and never has been the best example. He could probably work in a place like Houston because sometimes that squad gets bogged down and has trouble scoring, something A.I. has never had a problem with. I can’t see him co-existing with McGrady, but isn’t McGrady all but finished?

Anyway, as much as I’d like to see the NBA playoffs changed, I’ll still watch what’s on and the games will get a lot more interesting once the pretenders get weeded out.

Pulling for the [Blue] Devil

I love that Greg Paulus is going back to football simply because football is my favorite sport and if anyone can play it, then I believe that they should. I always get disappointed when a player decides to forego an uncertain football career, rife with injury dangers and a short professional shelf life, and decide to focus on a safer career with a much longer lifespan, such as baseball; to deny me the joy of watching them on the gridiron is just plain selfish.

Matt Tuiasosopo did it by spurning the chance to be a QB Messiah for the UW Football program in ’04 and entering the MLB draft. Before him, Grady Sizemore shunned UW and got drafted by the Cleveland Indians and is enjoying a really nice career in the majors replete with panty-tossing female fans. I guess he made the right choice… for him. But not for me. I would have preferred seeing him Lawyer-Milloying people up at safety.

So anyway, good for Greg. He tried his hand at playing PG for Duke, which I can’t blame him for doing, although he must have known that the chances for playing success beyond Duke as a PG is infinitesimal, maybe he just wanted a free Duke education? Or he thought he could buck the trend, but being smart, I’m sure he knew that was folly. Duke PGs do not go on to bigger and better things on the court. Whether it’s talent, or lack thereof, that holds them back (Steve Wojciechowski, Will Avery) or karmic vehicle interference (Bobby Hurley, Jay Williams), Duke PGs flame out on the court after they leave campus. Paulus, bucked that trend, he actually flamed out while at Durham, as a senior. As such, having his basketball career shuttered, he now turns to football, which is where he was once breathlessly tabbed as the best QB in his class.

No one knows if he can still be a good QB in college or beyond, and it’s probably been a very long time since anyone has stuck their helmet in the middle of his back, but I’m guessing that the guy can still toss the rock around. He’s a bright guy and college football, especially Rich Rodriguez’s offense, is not the least bit complex.

Amazingly, I find myself pulling for the guy, hoping that he makes it at Michigan (or wherever he ends up), and getting a crack at the NFL. Good talent is hard to find and if the guy had “it” once, it’s possible that he finds it again.

NBA Draft, MBA, HORSE, Crabtree

NBA Draft
I love the “this guy looks like that guy” game and the “this player is most like this player” game. I do it constantly. And while I do it for fun, I’m told that scouts do it because it’s a good way to completely evaluate a player because it sort of puts a fake ceiling on the guy’s potential. With Blake Griffin telling the sports world what it already knew by declaring for the draft yesterday, it seems like a good idea to share who I think Blake Griffin is after watching him play in the tournament. He looks and plays exactly like Kenyon Martin, except that Martin was a far better defender, especially shot blocking (3.5 blocks per game). At 6’9 230, Martin is lighter than Griffin who is 6’10 250, but for all practical purposes they have the same offensive game because they both have (or had in Martin’s case) great aggression, explosion, and suddenness around the rim. Both are very solidly built, athletic guys, and both are bad-to-terrible from the free-throw line.

Griffin is lagging way, way, way behind in the ink and jackass category, but with time, he can make up some ground. Even with the injuries that Martin suffered in his NBA career (not to mention breaking his damn leg in the Conference USA tournament), Griffin would have to be pleased with this comparison. Martin went No. 1 overall and has made well north of $100M in his career. I’m guessing that Griffin would take that.

DeJuan Blair is another guy ripe for an NBA comparison. When watching games and reading through various profiles, I’ve heard him being compared to Robert “Tractor” Traylor, which is completely unfair and actually off base. Blair is 6’7 265. Traylor was 6’8 and 300+. Traylor was, and probably still is, fat. He also didn’t hustle at all possessing an extremely lazy all-around game. It’s a mystery why he was drafted so high, going to Dallas at No. 6(!) overall in ’98 at then immediately traded to Milwaukee for Pat Garrity and the Diggler. Blair is not fat he’s just huge. He also plays tough and his teammates seem to love him.

The guy whose game Blair’s most closely resembles, from a widebody and below-the-rim perspective is Corliss Williamson. They both are big 6’7 power forwards. Williamson weighed anywhere from 245-260, putting him in the same girthy category as Blair. They both were and are tough guys who don’t seem to take any mess. Now, Williamson was drafted higher (13th in ’95) than Blair will be, but Blair’s game is so similar to Williamson’s and he may even be a better player defensively because of his long wingspan. While Elton Brand is the absolute ceiling for Blair, but a more realistic career is Williamson’s, which ain’t bad.

A very random guy that we saw too little of this tournament is Florida State’s Toney Douglas. We only saw him play against that team with no regard for decency in basketball (Wisconsin) but in that brief period, he looked great. At 6’1 195, he reminds me of a better, stronger, more explosive Mike Conley Jr. (6’1 185). Douglas is actually older than Conley because Conley left after his freshman season while Conley is a senior, but that shouldn’t lessen his NBA prospects. The biggest issue with Douglas, now that I’ve actually looked at his stats is that he didn’t create many buckets for others (only 2.9 assists/game) and turned the ball over at nearly the same rate (2.5 turnovers/game). I have no idea if that’s because of his team’s inability to score of if he hogs the ball. He scored 21.5 and shot 38% from three and 81% from the line so he’s clearly able to get his own points, but if the Wisconsin game is any indication, he’s got a pretty decent-looking game and looked to be in complete control the entire time with an abundance of (well-deserved) confidence. He probably won’t be drafted in the first round, but it won’t be because he doesn’t deserve it (just as Mike Conley Jr. didn’t deserve to go No. 4 overall), but I can see him making a team and doing some good things in the NBA. Anyway, just watching him for the short period that I saw him, I’m convinced that he’s better than Luke Ridnour ever was or will ever be, not that that means much.

MBA
Here’s an extremely random and out-of-date take that I buried in my notes awhile back regarding Matthew Bryan-Amaning, who, by all indications, looks to be a guy I may castigate until he leaves UW.

I pulled this quote from Bob Condotta’s blog, the excellent beat guy for UW Football and Basketball. He spoke to Matthew Bryan-Amaning and asked him about his production during the Pac-10 schedule:

"It was just that when the Pac-10 season started, everyone started to fill in their roles, Jon and Isaiah (Thomas) and Quincy (Pondexter) were the main offensive guys on this team and I felt that maybe if one of those guys wasn't having a good scoring night I needed to step up,'' he said. "But what they needed from me and Darnell (Gant) was defense and rebounding, really.''

That’s a fair point about why he didn’t score much, he only averaged 5.4 points during the Pac-10 schedule. I get that. He wasn’t called upon to score and that’s totally cool. However, if he wasn’t asked to score and wasn’t shooting much, how does that explain shooting a ridiculously low 38.9 percent from the field as a post player? That’s atrocious. We all know that he consistently missed easy 2-footers, so I shouldn’t be surprised that he missed 61 percent of his shots, but it’s still remarkable. Does he not look when he shoots? He seems allergic to the backboard and is in love with the back of the iron. He turns what should be a high percentage shot (being 6’9 and in deep position in the low post) into a low percentage shot because it seems abundantly clear that he has no idea how to shoot a jump hook with any reliable degree of accuracy. I’m going out on a limb here by saying that someone is going to beat him out for playing time next season. A successful team cannot have its post player killing them on the offensive end. Maybe he’s left handed and hasn’t realized it. I want him to be good and UW needs him to be good, and maybe he’ll turn it around because he’ll be the unquestioned big guy for them. As we’ve seen time after time, players’ games mature as they get older. Brockman looked absolutely terrible as a freshman and while he didn’t progress all that much as an offensive player, he never had those types of physical skills. MBA has them and hopefully he’ll use them.

HORSE
I watched the HORSE (presented by GEICO) competition during NBA All-Star Weekend. I love the concept and it makes sense for the NBA to stage the event outside because most people play HORSE outside, at the playground or in the hoop at someone’s house. Sadly, the event was boring and I was disappointed. The idea is cool, but there is an unavoidable flaw to HORSE that makes it kind of a crappy spectator sport. If no one is hitting shots, it’s unbelievably boring. The players don’t think it’s boring because if they keep missing, they’re hoping the other guy is missing too so that he can get himself back in the game. To make HORSE a successful spectator sport, the players themselves absolutely must be engaged and entertaining.

No one outside of NBA scouts has seen Memphis play all year (not even the good people of Memphis), so OJ Mayo was a bit of a mystery in terms of his NBA talent. I’m not talking about his NBA game, necessarily; I mean his talent to be extraordinarily cocky and entertaining at the same time. He definitely had some flashes of smack talk, I heard him say something like “it’s an easy shot Kev… no problem…” just before Kevin Durant was going to shoot. That’s the kind of stuff everyone does playing HORSE. It’s a reverse psychology thing to make people let down their guard a bit and miss an easy shot. It’s a head game and it’s accepted and encouraged—especially by me. I didn’t see any of that out of Durant or Joe Johnson. This event was missing a cutup, a person who is a non-stop jabbermouth who could back up anything he was saying. The guy that they were missing was Gilbert Arenas. He’s a motormouth of the highest order and he’s funny. He’s also been known to annoy the hell out of his teammates. I recall a story when he was a rookie where he had to bring donuts to practice, but before anyone could take one, he licked every single one. It’s a childish and stupid thing to do, but that type of attitude (annoying, but funny) is perfect for HORSE because it would throw people off their game or at least cause them to concentrate more. It really is a shame that Agent Zero was hurt this year, he’d have been perfect. Maybe next year.

Also, Gary Payton would have been an incredible contestant for this event. He had a really gross-looking “jumper” that he’d toss up with his head slightly cocked back and would have talked the entire time. Plus, GP is great with his left hand since he writes with his left hand, but shoots with his right hand. He would have melted people down with his ability and mouth, it’s too bad this wasn’t around when he was playing. Maybe they should have an NBA legends HORSE game?

Michael Crabtree
His injury to his foot notwithstanding, it seems so weird that several news outlets and football writers are lamenting the fact that Crabtree is not 6’3, but instead 6’1+ as if that’s a huge difference. Correct me if I’m wrong, but is he not bigger than nearly every DB he’ll go against next year in the NFL? Since when is being over 6’1 a detriment to a WR? Does it hurt Anquan Boldin? Just because he’s not as big as Larry Fitzgerald, a guy people want to compare Crabtree to because our minds are so limited we can only follow what’s directly in front of us. E.g. Fitzgerald was all the rage, deservedly so, in the playoffs, doesn’t mean he won’t be amazing in the NFL. So, consequently, every receiver is compared to him and anyone not fitting his exact parameters is therefore negatively impacted. It’s ridiculous. It’s lazy. And it’s all too common.

Title Game

Wayne Ellington and Danny Green are very silky three-point shooters, so much so that I’d like to take both of their jumpers on a date and just see what happens. But neither are great three-point shooters off the bounce. They are best when they spot up and knock ‘em down. They are extremely confident, and should be, but they get into trouble when their feet aren’t set and they shoot threes anyway. Against Nova, Green made a bunch in a row, but then had sort of a transition look at the basket, took a dribble and shot up a leaner from beyond the arc. Of course it didn’t drop because he was out of rhythm and shot it awkwardly, but he was so confident that it would fall (because nearly everything else was) that he pulled anyway.

If Michigan State can force him into those kinds of shots, that would be a huge positive for them. However, he is so effective off the dribble when going toward the hoop, and he neglected that part of his game entirely on Saturday. Michigan State should guard him tighter, and if they do, he can’t force shots. If he does, Carolina is going to be in trouble. One thing that Green can do and Ellington can also do, but to a lesser extent, is shoot from farther out. It’s easy to see that Green’s range extends to NBA line and beyond because he shoots so effortlessly, kind of like how Kevin Durant jacks. If Michigan State sags, he should pull. A shot from farther out is better than a contested shot for him. But he should attack the rim from the angle and utilize the glass if they body him up; he’s very good at that.

Lawson was nice again against Nova’s tough backcourt, but Izzo’s teams always play tough perimeter D. I’d be surprised if they didn’t slow him down and force the ball out of his hands. I doubt he’ll get any free looks at the hoop either from downtown. He’s been able to utilize screens, because defenders have gone under them, and hit his jumpers. I’ve got to think that Michigan State is going stay on him and go over the screens and have help in the lanes. We’ll see though.

Hansbrough showed that he gets after rebounds, but also that he has some of the most disgusting-looking post moves I’ve ever seen. That “hook” shot thing he tosses up from the middle of his torso should be sent to next Thursday by any self-respecting post defender. I can only assume that he’s able to get these off because he barrels into people and leans away, but a guy with any length at all will kill that. That said he gets to the line and makes people pay for fouling him, which is huge for a “big” man like him. As I’ve said before, he’s got a great-looking 15-18 foot jumper and that will save him a spot in the NBA, but we’re not talking about the NBA, we’re talking about tonight’s game. He’ll get his and be a factor, but he won’t be the reason that Carolina wins or loses. It’s in the hands of Ellington, Green, and Lawson. The 1, 2 and 3s make this team go.

Michigan State has been playing really well and their ferocity and determination on the boards against UConn was impressive, especially given UConn’s frontcourt. They simply got after it more and it’s very hard not to appreciate that. Their guards have been playing wonderfully and shooting really well. I would not be surprised if they took this game because they have the berries to withstand Carolina’s tidal-wave like offense. I love watching Carolina play because they are fearless and play fast, and oftentimes, smart basketball, but I’ll probably be pulling for the Spartans simply because they’re the underdog and they seem to have a little bit of magic about them. No, not the one in the stands, but he’s there too.

All that said, here’s my predicted final: Carolina 88 Michigan State 83 (Lawson MOP).

A few asides from the Saturday games:

Reggie Redding


looks like

Damon Dash

Tyler Hansbrough


looks like

J.D. McCoy from “Friday Night Lights.”



Dante Cunningham


looks like

Eddie George, right down to the swollen muscles and skeltorish face

Final Four

Michigan State will play well in this game, they’ll be gutty, they’ll play great defense, Suton will hit shots, and UConn will win this game by 10 points. Michigan State was on fire against Louisville from downtown and I just don’t see that happening again in this game. They will be forced to shoot and UConn is not a stupid team, like Louisville is. They’ll be patient, they’ll be tough, and they will win. Jeff Adrien is playing horrendously on the offensive end for UConn, but he’s a tough defender and he gets garbage points. As long has he doesn’t shoot his nasty corkscrew-looking jumper, he’ll be fine. Stanely Robinson is playing really well on both ends and I see no reason why he won’t keep it up. I’m in love with Kemba Walker’s game and Michigan State will try and neutralize him, but he’s just too good, even if he is a freshman. Hasheem Thabeet will block many and alter more. I just don’t see any way how Michigan State wins.

I’m all over Villanova’s jock. If they play like they did against Pitt, they’ll have a great chance to win this game, but for some reason, I don’t see it happening. They have a tendency to shoot ill-advised shots from time to time and since they play such good defense, they can afford to do that most nights. But this UNC team has shown itself to be so wildly efficient offensively (on drives and on jumpers) and Nova isn’t going to be able to jack up shots and not pay the price. Danny Green has been killing it (his smooth jumpers off of the glass make me weep). Wayne Ellington has a sweet J and it’s been working for him. Ty Lawson is going to be MOP of the Final Four. He’s killing it and everyone like Arnold in “Running Man.” They really don’t even need Hansbrough, but there he is. I’m predicting a 17 and 8 night for him, while taking like 9 shots from the field. Not great, but very solid. Sadly, I see UNC running away with this game by 15. I want to be wrong about this, but UNC is way too strong.

Great Eight - Saturday

I picked Pitt to win the tournament and I’m not ashamed that I did so. That team has stones and it’s a damn shame that the Villanova – Pitt game was not the final because no remaining game is going to top that one. Pitt is not a pretty team, but they are tough and hit big shots. That pretty much describes LeVance (I’m going uppercase V) Fields. He’s actually pretty gross-looking out there. He’s not fast and takes some pretty crappy shots, but hits them and makes great passes. He simply does not look the part, but plays the part. I love the guy. DeJuan Blair is a Brahma Bull. That and1 he got in the first half was awesome. The Nova defender tried to knock him off course by fouling him hard when Blair was in the air, but he ended exploding on impact while Blair’s body continued on course. He’s a nice player who simply abuses college defenders. We’ll see how it translates to the NBA but why can’t he be a better Jason Maxiel? His ceiling is Elton Brand because of his long arms. I’d rather pick at 25 and take him than be at 3 and pick Hasheem Thabeet… or a guy like James Harden (I dislike his game). Old man Sam Young is a great player too, damn shame they lost the game.

While I really like Pitt’s squad, I equally love Nova. Neither of those teams deserved to lose, but as Snoop Pearson (and Clint Eastwood) says, “deserve ain’t got nothing to do with it.” Nova plays such great defense with active hands and positioning. The most entertaining matchup has got to be Nova – Louisville, let’s hope that happens. I guess UConn – UNC would be nice also, but those two schools get enough strokes as it is.

Aside from the way that Nova and Pitt played, the game revealed two other things:

1. Nova’s uniforms are cool. Their colors are the same as the coolest basketball unis on the planet, which belong to Argentina.

2. Pitt’s Tyrell Biggs looks exactly like Michael Olowokandi.

I’m saddened by Missouri’s exit from the Big Dance, those cats are enjoyable to watch. They force teams to run with them and make them to all kinds of stupid stuff that they wouldn’t normally do, plus they are fearless. Unfortunately they just couldn’t stop Kemba Walker (who is going to be superb) and Stanley Robinson (who was everything for UConn on Saturday). As good as UConn is, I am unimpressed by AJ Price, that guy makes some dumbass plays. They seem to be in much better hands when Walker is running the show. Also, Jeff Adrien looks like the second coming of Charles Oakley. His game is very similar and he, like Oakley, probably could put his hand on the ground and rush the passer as a D-End. He didn’t do too much in this game though.

One thing to think about as we await the UNC – Oklahoma game:

how in the world does Tony Crocker play in a long sleeve shirt?

I’d pass out from heat exhaustion in 5 minutes wearing that thing.

Sweet Sixteen

One of the first things that I noticed about the Sweet Sixteen regional games was the stadiums and the massive swaths of empty seats. I’m guessing that they have these games in huge football stadiums because they don’t want to run out of tickets, but the end result is an embarrassing scene whereby it seems as though no one cares about the games. It’s weird. Just hold the games in basketball arenas and if they’re sold out, so what. There is no need (and apparently, no demand) have 75,000 people at a basketball game because about 7/8ths of the people won’t have a very good sightline to the action anyway.

To the games themselves …

I haven’t seen much of UConn this year and I almost feel bad for Hasheem Thabeet. Almost. The guy is going to be a lottery pick and never have to sit at a desk and do real work, ever, so I can’t feel too bad for him. What I mean by this is that during the game, his teammates don’t look to him much and I can tell that he gets frustrated. But, on the other hand, he’s not very skilled offensively and still does really stupid stuff like bring the ball low or dribble it in the post when there is no need to do so. But all young big guys do this, so it’s not just him. I think commentators pick apart his game because he is so huge and has some ability, he’ll be fine. But he is very limited athletically because he has a bit of a Calvin Booth thing going on where it looks like he’s running with George Clooney in “O Brother, Where Art Thou” in shackles. Also, if you just saw Thabeet from the waist up, you’d think he’d be a relatively slender, spy dude, but then from the waist down he looks very heavy, kind of like a weeble-wobble. That’ll probably help anchor him in the post, but makes it very hard to run (and watch him run…) I was going to bash him, but he’s actually good and can get a ton better.

Um, Dick Enberg, maybe it’s time to step aside and let another play-by-play guy get a shot. Time to hang up the mic. I’ll give him this though, he’s resilient. He keeps coming back even when networks force him to do those sappy, crappy puff pieces. I’d take those as a hint to get out of the game, but he still brings it. It’s not like he’s lost his fastball, he’s throwing with the other arm now.

Here are two more applicants for the Anti-Baby Face Team:

1. Xavier's B.J. Raymond
2. Pitt's Sam Young (who rivals previously mentioned Dallas Lauderdale as the overall No. 1 seed)

That Pitt – Xavier game was fantastic, even if it was more of battle of offensive attrition than actually stellar defense. I was still riveted. Levance Fields is Khalid El-Amin reincarnated. Both of those dudes are so portly, but successful (in college, anyway). Also, shouldn’t the “v” in Levance be capitalized? I’d switch that up if I was him. I humbly submit that “LeVance” looks cooler than “Levance.” One great scene that occurred at the 1:20 mark remaining in the game was a loose ball that traveled from Pitt’s side of the court to Xavier’s side. Derrick Brown (no. 5) hustled and ran the ball down, but stepped out. The ref called it and Brown started stomping his feet and bitching to the ref and Dante Jackson (no. 25) sprinted over to Brown and screamed at the top of his lungs “SHUT THE F**K UP!” right in Brown’s face and the camera caught it. Great moment. I’m a little saddened that Raftery didn’t say anything about that, perhaps he didn’t see it. Something like, “Jackson’s giving some life lessons to Brown right now.”

I love, absolutely love, what Villanova did to Duke. Nova looked so damn superior in every single aspect of the game. They were bigger, stronger, faster, better shooters, played tough defense. It was awesome. Nova looks like a very strong title contender right now. The cool thing about the teams remaining in the tournament is that four of the eight teams remaining play crazy fast, pressure basketball. Here are the regular season averages of the eight teams:

1. UNC – 90.5
2. Missouri –81.6
3. Oklahoma – 79.2
4. UConn – 78.4
5. Pitt – 77.5
6. Nova – 77.0
7. Louisville – 74.9
8. Michigan State – 72.0

Two of these teams, Louisville (103) and Missouri (102), hung a Franklin on Arizona and Memphis. I guess I’m saying that I’m looking forward to a possible Louisville – Missouri game. Someone, please make this happen.

Speaking of the Arizona – Louisville game, just sitting in my TV room watching this game I felt intimidated by Louisville’s athleticism and cockiness. I could just feel them making fun of me. I felt the same way about Memphis’s team last year. Louisville just seems to come after teams wave after wave. It’s a trademark of Pitino teams, but this squad seems like it’s really put together perfectly to pull it off. Arizona has great athletes and everyone knew that their depth could be an issue, but it was pretty shocking to see them get so roundly dismantled. Michigan State has steady players who are tough, so this game is going to be very interesting.

That Gonzaga – UNC game was terrible. Gonzaga played no semblance of a defense and UNC shot the hell out of the ball. Ty Lawson looked absolutely perfect out there. He could be an outstanding RB if he wanted to be one by the way. He’s strong and has fantastic balance and speed. I didn’t know that his jumper was so milky either, of course, when no one guards you it makes it a lot easier, but still. Hansbrough played a solid game and hit open jumpers. He’s got a shot in the NBA, much more so than I gave him credit for. He looks to be just as relentless as Jon Brockman, although he’s not as thick as him. They both have the same short arm, not explosive issues, but Hansbrough is an exponentially better shooter than Brockman which makes him less of a liability offensively. I could see him being a role player on a good team, like third or fourth big man, which is not too shabby. Bouldin and Heytveldt, two guys who absolutely needed to have good if not great games for Gonzaga to win, were non-factors in the game, which is very disappointing. It didn’t seem like UNC’s defense caused them to be ineffective, they just had off nights, both of them. Too bad.

It sounds like Austin Daye may put his name in the draft and not hire an agent. Smart move, but I'd be surprised if he left. The feedback that he's going to get isn't going to be very positive, but he can improve upon things (and his draft position) if he stays. He simply needs to get bigger and stronger (and stop bitching so much). Bouldin would be an absolute fool if he left, which I doubt he'll do.

Pulling for Purdue

Fans experience an interesting phenomenon in postseason settings when the team that they follow is eliminated from contention. These fans fall into two groups:

1. Fans who align with the team that eliminated their team, and
2. Fans who align with the team that opposes the team that eliminated their team.

I’m ignoring a third group of fans who don’t care one way or the other because their Swiss-like neutral perspective is boring; much like I ignorantly perceive Switzerland to be having never been there myself. I just know that it’s expensive and that they’ve got banks, I know this because I’ve watched Matt Damon’s Bourne movies.

As a sports fan in the Seattle area, I have experienced this tug of allegiance numerous times in recent history because my teams fail to advance (or even enter) in the postseason.

Most recently, this allegiance question focuses on Purdue.

Here are two some possible thoughts fans may be having and the reasons that they feel the way that they do:

1. I’m rooting for the team that beat my team to validate that while my team lost, at least it lost to a good team.
   
   Clearly this fan is adopting a loser’s mentality, but it is pervasive and has some merit. Many people feel this way. It also makes some sense because while it’s a loser’s mentality, there’s a reason for that that: Because the team this fan roots for LOST.
   
2. I’m rooting for the team that beat my team to play well because I don’t want my team to look bad for losing to a team that gets its ass handed to it in the next round.
   
   This fan roots this way because he doesn’t want his team (that already lost, mind you) to look bad. This thinking is somewhat convoluted because the team already looks bad because it did lose, but to lose to a team that looks bad makes his team look much worse. It’s like losing twice and constantly makes this fan think “Why couldn’t they play like that when they faced us!?” or worse, “We’re so bad we lost to garbage team.” Neither alternative is good.

Both scenarios are face-saving justifications, but I tend to go with number 2 because it seems like the fan is still primarily focused on his team and is slightly more negative at its core, which sums me up nicely.

Another phenomenon that creeps up occasionally by some twist of fate is focused not on the team that beat the fan’s team, but is more outwardly focused on the opponent of that team. In this case: the hated (and evidently cheating) UConn Huskies.

UConn has dramatically ended tourney runs by UW twice in the last decade. One was Rip Hamilton’s buzzer beater that makes me want rip up the carpet in my TV room, find anyone with any ties to UConn, roll them up in the carpet, and kick the carpet down a hill into oncoming traffic anytime I see it. (By the way, thanks, a lot CBS for constantly replaying that goddamn commercial, it’s not funny. Why didn’t Patrick Femerling tip the ball high into the air? Why are you doing this to me?)

Thinking of UConn also reminds me of Mike Jensen’s brainlocked foul on Marcus Williams… it’s killing me just thinking about it. By the way, I was born in Connecticut and own a UConn sweatshirt that my dad brought back from a visit he took back east. I guess this means that I'm should roll myself up in the carpet... I really should burn that thing and flush the ashes down the toilet, although I’m sure it would clog my pipes and cause the sewer to back up; such is the power that the Eastern Huskies wield over me.

So, instead of just rooting for Purdue to save face, I’m rooting against UConn for historical, pain-inducing reasons. That’s double rooting interest coming from my house, which should be more than enough to topple Calhoun and his merry bunch of thieves and hooligans (that’s unfair, but I don’t care right now). Go Boilers.

The Purdue/UConn scenario also applied to the Super Bowl last year because of the visceral hate that Seahawks fans have for the Pittsburgh Steelers as a result of that horrible game in Detroit in 2005. As I’ve written in the past, I, like many others, was pulling for Arizona in that game. My hate for Pittsburgh was mighty and my desire for an NFC West team to win was much less mighty, but it was there.

A similar rooting-interest corollary arises when a fan’s team is eliminated, or didn’t make the tournament/playoffs at all. It’s interesting to see how people feel when this happens. I enjoy watching games where I’ve got a rooting interest, that’s obvious. I don’t gamble, so that’s out, I’m talking about pure, emotional interest. There are times when I watch a game and I really don’t care who wins, but it’s impossible for me to not lean one way or another, oftentimes for no good reason. For instance, when I was watching Florida State play Wisconsin I couldn’t care less who won, but I did pick Wisconsin in my bracket, so you’d think I’d be pulling for them. But I hate their style of play so much that I was definitely pulling for Florida State. There are times when I root for the underdog because it’s fun to do that, but there are times when I root for the favorite because it almost disgraces the game if the favorite loses to such a gross team like Wisconsin.

Yet another reason for rooting for a team is proximity. I’m rooting for Gonzaga for the simple fact that they are from Washington. If this same cast of characters and the same coach were based out of Texas, or worse, Oregon, then I’m certain I wouldn’t give them a second thought. I wouldn’t care about a guy like Micah Downs who looks like he definitely would be Eminem’s best friend in “Eight Mile.” But since he’s from Washington, I pull for him. I definitely would hate Matt Bouldin for the simple, adolescent, preposterous reason that he has longer-than-normal, messy hair. I’m petty that way sometimes. But I like the guy because he plays in Washington (and is a very good player). Austin Daye would receive the heat of my fury for being a waste of size and skills, but he plays for a team in Washington (wait, that one doesn’t work because I kill him now despite who he plays for—scratch that one). I’m even pulling for Arizona because they play in the Pac10. But I’m also pulling for Louisville because Terrance Williams is from Seattle—worlds colliding in that one. Since I have Louisville in the title game, I suppose that’s the trump card.

I don’t know what will happen if both Purdue and UConn fail to advance to the Final Four, but I’m sure I’ll figure something else out. Maybe I’ll figure out a way to root against Missouri because they fired Quinn Snyder who is from Washington…

Second Round Thoughts

My friend, Josh, bought two tickets off of eBay on Friday night for the Saturday games in Portland, OR. He’s a UW fan and he and his dad wanted to see them trounce Purdue and step into the Sweet Sixteen. Evidently, Purdue JuJuan Johnson had other plans and now UW is heading home. He did get his money’s worth though because he saw two of the best possible games the NCAA Tournament can feature and were literally decided in the final seconds.

Some thoughts on the two games:

UW v. Purdue
Evidently Purdue plays good defense. I didn’t see them play all year, but when I read descriptions of the squad, they sounded a lot like Washington State. This was not a lazy team. They pressure the ball relentlessly, and may not get a lot of steals, but they limit penetration and contest shots. They are an incredibly active team that chases down rebounds. While some rebounds they got were purely serendipitous, even round balls bounce funny sometimes, they put themselves in position to grab loose balls and UW could not secure easy boards after misses. It was sickening to watch UW get stop after stop, then misjudge the ball, and watch it land in a Purdue player’s hands for an easy layup or jumper. For a team like UW that rebounds the hell out of the ball, this was disheartening, and this is where the game was lost. If Purdue doesn’t get those second chances, the game is not close, but they did, and UW lost.

There were several other things contributing to the loss, however, such as the inability to know when to take good shots (Pondexter’s turnaround at the end of the game when all of his success came from driving to the hoop) or to take any shots at all (Dentmon continued his bizarre passivity by shooting only 8 times this game and pump-faking and passing approximately 30 times). They were unable to stop JuJuan Johnson from being awesome, they guy made some very tough shots and grabbed key rebounds to keep possessions alive. I admired his game, he was huge. Elston Turner not taking open threes. He took, and made, one, but then passed on another. Instead of taking that wide-open shot, he pumped and dribbled in for a baseline floater. I’m not a fan of gunners, but he’s the best shooter they have and it’s actually more selfish of him to not take that three because it hurts the team. It’s a minor thing, but as it turns out a pile of minor things equals going home instead of going to the Sweet Sixteen. He’s young, though, as are many key contributors on this team, so their future looks bright—although I do have concerns as I’ll describe below.

Now some good things… Brockman played a nearly perfect game for him. He did not force things offensively. He bullied anyone and everyone. He took and made layins. I love the way he played and I shudder a bit when I think of the team next year without him. As much as I’ve urinated on his offensive (scoring) game, his ability to go balls-to-the wall is something that will be hard, probably impossible, to replicate. I’m not the least bit convinced that MBA will be able to do this. He’s not tough enough (but who is?) right now and doesn’t seem to have that same drive (but who does?). I guess he’s talented, but he does not seem comfortable or in control of his body yet. The only hope is that Tyreese Breshers will be a similar type of player.

Isaiah Thomas was fantastic. He played with the type of fire and urgency that the team needed. He was fearless the way he kept penetrating and either scoring, getting fouled, or dishing to Brockman. I loved the way he played, even if he did miss some free throws. I’m shocked that his final layin attempt failed, it was the right play, but it just didn’t drop.

Great season by UW, but it’s a damn shame that they’re going home.

Gonzaga v. Western Kentucky
My friend Joel is a huge Gonzaga fan so when I called him during the game to tell him how much I loved Matt Bouldin’s game, here’s what he said: “I have a mancrush on him, he’s my favorite player in college basketball.” I can see why. I’ve watched him intently these last two games and a few things are clear:

1. he’s a big, strong, guy
2. he’s got tremendous court vision
3. he’s aggressive when the game calls for him to be aggressive
4. he has a good-looking jumper
5. he’s not quick or fast, but he's savvy
6. he’s decent on defense, but somewhat disinterested (looks like he sags off of his guys a bit too much when the ball is on the other side of the court)
7. he is definitely an NBA player.

Joel and I talked about the possibility of him playing point guard in the NBA and it seems like a real possibility to me. At 6’5 225 he’s a much bigger, much better version of Steve Blake, who happens to be starting for the playoff-bound Blazers and playing over 30 minutes a game.

We also talked about Austin Daye, of course, and Joel compared his game to Dirk Nowitski, which is probably accurate from a skillset perspective, but a more apt comparison and a guy whose game he really emulates is Mehmet Okur. Now, Okur has about 70 lbs on Daye, but they play the same. Okur is perimeter-oriented, 6’11, and slow footed. This is Austin Daye. The comment that he's a "guard" are ridiculous. He's way, way, way too slow to guard any decent 2 or even a 3.

The game itself was one of the best I’ve ever seen. These two teams shot the damn lights out. Both teams shot over 50% from the field and over 42% from beyond the arc. Amazing. The game was extremely close throughout and neither team could gain a significant advantage.

Orlando Mendez-Valdez and A.J. Slaughter were in such a zone they were communicating with animals, existing and extinct. They were supernatural and would not let their team down. They could have beaten any team yesterday, Gonzaga was just able to hang on and make a great play at the end.

When Gonzaga plays UNC they need, absolutely need, to get the ball to Heytvelt so that he can take Tyler Hansbrough's virginity; this matchup, friends, is a mismatch in size and talent. Heytveldt is such a superior player and it’s the smart move to get the ball to him.

Here are a few random thoughts about Wisconsin. That is a gross team. As much as I can figure, it seems like their “offense” is this: pass the ball around the court. Pump fake. Pass some more. Take a crappy three with five seconds on the shot clock. They shoot 36% from three, so I guess it’s not such a terrible way to play, but I’d rather rub a cheese grater on my face than sit through another game with those guys in it again. Keep them off of my screen, CBS.

Thoughts on Round One (UW and Gonzaga, only)

UW
Pondexter looked great offensively yesterday, but I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t point out that he fell asleep on defense and let his man (No.5, Osby) grab an offensive rebound and flush it with two hands. Pondexter had no idea where he was and helped someone else block out their man. I can’t kill him for that because he had a great game, but the little stuff like that can haunt teams in close games. He’s got to be aware and I’m sure his coaches let him know it. I'm a hard guy to please when it comes to teams I root for, it's something they have to live with. Seeing as how they have no idea who I am, and coulnd't possibly care less by the way, they're getting along just fine despite my constant haranguing.

I’m bummed for Dentmon. It’s obvious that the guy wants to be a leader and go out with a bang, but putting up only six shots is lunacy. He passed up many what I would consider “good” shots by pump-faking and passing or pump-faking and making a less-than-aggressive effort to drive into the lane. It’s possible that he just didn’t trust his jumper last night and if that’s the case, then he should be commended for not taking shots. Confidence is a huge part of shooting and if he wasn’t feeling it and his jumper felt forced, then good for him for lying off. Hopefully he’ll be ready to go on Saturday.

Brockman hit the deck after that rebound like he was thrown out of a 10-story building. He landed completely on his side. It’s amazing to me that he didn’t stay on the ground, although why would I be amazed at this point? He doesn’t feel pain like a regular human does. Nevertheless, I’d advise him to try not to emulate John Malcovich at the end of “In the Line of Fire” again. Great, aggressive game by him though. It’s exactly what I like to see out of him—easy buckets around the rim, good, physical defense, leadership (I distinctly remember him talking to Overton and telling him to settle down) and maniacally obsessive pursuit of the ball for rebounds.

Overton is a straight-up menace. It would be so painful to try and bring the ball up the floor against him. Weak guards will get tormented. He’s like GP used to be from a yappy, aggressive, and quickness perspective. My friend Chris pointed out that Overton beat MSU’s guards to the spot every single time and he got called for fouls only when he reached (which he doesn’t need to do). He’s impressive. I’m amazed that none of MSU’s players threw a haymaker his way, although it could be argued that the hit he took on that screen qualified. Through his own aggression and quickness he nearly got himself killed. People get jacked up on screens all of the time, but most people don’t run, with their head turned, the equivalent of a 4.3 40 straight into a 6’9 245 lb guy. Despite nearly ending his own life, on the very next play he takes the ball coast-to-coast and lays it in. He’s a tough S.O.B. As an aside, that pseudo-alley oop dunk was both impressive and pathetic at the same time if that makes sense.

One last guy I’ll mention is Darnell Gant. If he develops a reliable 12-15 footer he’s going to be great for this team. He’s not called upon to score, that’s obvious, but he’s left open so often that he needs to get that part of his game going. He will never be called on to put the ball on the floor and create like Pondexter does, but people will double off of him and he has a chance to diversify this team and increase his playing time. His defense is great and he’s learning how to play hard just by being on the same court as Brockman. He’s got a chance to be a real difference maker and I’m excited about his future. It’s pretty amazing that he’s only a freshman.

Gonzaga
I’ve been killing Austin Daye every chance I get because I think that he’s a pansy, but he looked very good last night, especially defensively. It’s nearly impossible to get a shot off against him on the perimeter and it’s is truly impossible to get a good look at the hoop if he’s playing up on his guy. For as thin as he is, he’s has no quickness or speed at all, so he definitely needs to add about 30 lbs to take advantage of his size. If his game was all about using his size and quickness then it would make sense for him to remain around 190 or 200, but he isn’t that kind of player. Last night, while he looked good out there, he got shoved around. If he fills out he can be a force. I don’t know what it would take for him to get a little nasty (probably nothing because he’s probably a really nice kid who just doesn’t have it in him to be a killer) but if he added some bulk and aggression he would be a nice player.

I love Heytvelt, 'shrooms aside, that guy is a player. He has that nasty streak that Daye lacks, and perhaps Daye just needs time to grow up a little. He’s only a sophomore. Heytveldt has a bit of a strange looking jumper where his whole body is completely erect, but it’s effective. I like how strong he is and his desire to finish strong around the rim. He looked great last night and if he keeps playing like that, I was wrong to have the Zags lose to UNC. They’ll beat that team if they play like they did in the second half.

Bouldin looked good last night too. He’s got a great feel for the game and his size causes problems for opposing guards. I like his game.

I don’t like Pargo’s game very much but his leaner dunk was shocking. I know he has ups, but that was an out-of-nowhere flush. I could tell that he was going to try because he had that kind of bounce when he got near the rim, but I did not expect him to finish like that. Filthy.

Final Bracket

Final Bracket. I switched UNC and Oklahoma.

Hated Guys, Adam Morrison, and Ken Griffey Jr.

As I went through the bracket the other day and I got to Duke and North Carolina, it made me think of how much players on their teams are hated. This topic has generated tons of stories in the print, online, radio, and television media. I saw this from The Big Lead (it was linked off of the Dan Patrick Show) this morning and, while interesting, it’s the same type of thing that I’ve seen anywhere else.

What's missing is why the media “wonders” why certain guys were considered the most hated college basketball players in their time. As if it’s a big mystery why people couldn’t stand Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley, JJ Redick, Adam Morrison, Jon Scheyer, and Tyler Hansbrough, to name a few. Notice anything similar about them? The Duke thing notwithstanding, they’re all white guys who played significant roles on their teams. (Yes, I realized Hasheem Thabeet is black, hard to miss a 7’3 guy, but he’s not a universally hated guy on the level of the other names above, no one is publishing his cell phone number and calling him).White guys are easy targets for student fans attending games because most of those kids are white. Scan the student section of any school and you’re not going to find a lot of non-white faces. Maybe some Asian kids will be sprinkled in, but you sure won’t see a huge faction of black kids jumping in unison with their faces painted yelling “OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” So it makes perfect sense why those guys are targeted. It’s a lot easier for these kids to target opposing players who look like them because they are familiar and there is no downside to it. If they razz Scheyer on the court and call him names, make posters, post his cell phone number and the like, then they’re spirited college kids and create a great college atmosphere. If they treated a guy like Terrance Williams from Louisville the same way, then there’s a pretty good chance that they’d be considered racist. Not that college kids are above being racist, but in a public setting like, say a college basketball game on national TV, they would probably refrain, that and they’re probably scared of him in a way that they’re not scared of guys like Jon Scheyer.

Add the fact that each of those guys, except Morrison, were around for four years and you can see why a fan base would grow to hate them.

Also, I remain baffled as to why draft experts were saying that Morrison was going to be a marketing wonder for whichever franchise drafted him. I didn’t understand it then and I don’t understand it now. What exactly, besides his whiteness, is appealing about Morrison? He’s a poster child for athletes suffering from type I diabetes. He is to be commended for being able to function at the highest of levels with this disease. I’ll give him that. But outside of his ability to excel despite having a debilitating disease, it’s my understanding that he’s a real jackass, perhaps he’s mellowed because he’s been humbled and exposed as a pretty substandard NBA player, but when he was in college his aloofness and overall “I’m superior” attitude was well known.

He could play, but he was a jerk. So aside from his preposterous mustache, shaggy hair, anti-establishment, Che Guevera clichéd persona, and whiteness made him such a guarantee to be a marketing machine? If a player is good, makes himself available to fans through the media, and is cool to fans in appearances and charity work he will be a god in whatever town he’s in. There is no question. Many people in US cities are highly provincial and are very protective and sensitive about where they live. If a player shows even the slightest interest or pride in the city that he plays for, he will have fans eating out of his hand. It’s such a simple concept, but many players don’t get it or simply don’t care. Seattle is no different. Ray Allen immediately made an impression with the people of Seattle by taking out an ad in the local newspapers introducing himself to the city and its fans. It was such an easy thing to do and even if he didn’t mean anything that he said, he still had them.

Some guys transcend that though just because they are so damn good it doesn’t matter if they’re jerks. Ken Griffey Jr. is one of those guys. I know nothing about him on a personal level, but I do know how he sounds when he speaks about Seattle. People here love him because of what he meant to the Mariners in the late 80s and all of the 90s. He was widely considered the best player in baseball and he was ours. It was like dating the hottest girl in school and doing anything and everything for her and forgetting about all of those times when she went out on the town and danced with random dudes and didn’t even bother calling you and then not apologizing for her behavior. You forgive all of that because she is so hot and you don’t want to mess that up. Griffey would be extremely cold to the local media; which, by extension, meant that he was extremely cold toward the fans. When he re-signed here in Seattle recently people desperately wanted him to make very overt statements about how much he loves it in Seattle and he owes it to himself and to the fans to return here and retire as a Mariner, all that b.s. He kind of did that, but not as overtly many people wanted him to. Also, when a local sports radio guy, Mike Gastineau, asked him if he feels like Seattle needs some good news because of the Sonics leaving and the terrible season the Seahawks had, and that he could provide that, Griffey distanced himself from the situation dismissively by saying (I’m paraphrasing here), “Hey, I live in Florida, I don’t really follow it.” That was weak, but Griffey doesn’t care. He doesn’t care about the people in Seattle one bit. He cares about the closure this move could mean for him and his career, but he doesn’t care what anydude in Seattle thinks of him, really. He just wants them to cheer for him and praise his every step. I loved Griffey back in the day, because he was a great baseball player, but those days are long gone. I see no need to date him any longer.

Initial March Madness Thoughts - Part II

For Initial March Madness Thoughts - Part I, click here.

On to the East, South, and final predictions.

EAST

(1) Pittsburgh v. (16) East Tennessee State: Pitt is an extremely tough team that plays great defense and pushes people around. I like their team’s long-term prospects.

Pick: Pitt

(8) Oklahoma State v. (9) Tennessee: This game was one of three where I had a lot of trouble deciding what to do. I breezed through the bracket, picking confidently (and surely errantly), but I had to come back to this game. The trouble is that I don’t like this Tennessee team at all. But then I don’t trust this Oklahoma State team either after watching UW eviscerate them earlier this season. Additionally, I have nothing against headbands, but the way that the Tennessee guys wear them… the look like girls. There’s nothing wrong with girls or women’s basketball or whatever, but there is something wrong with looking like a female when you’re a male and not a transvestite. I can’t get past that look. I am fully aware that these headbands are monumentally meaningless and that my comments are bordering on misogyny, but I just hate that look. It doesn’t take much for me to latch onto irrational, inconsequential beliefs, and these headbands have done it. This is coming from a guy who enjoys SEC football and Tennessee football specifically.

Pick: Tennessee (grudgingly)

(5) Florida State v. (12) Wisconsin: As documented, I dislike Big 10 basketball. However, I can appreciate what the style can do to teams that aren’t talented enough to overcome Big 10 discipline. A team like Washington State plays Big 10 basketball and I can appreciate that, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. Florida State seems like a team to me that will not be able to stay focused against an extraordinarily patient Wisconsin team.

Pick: Wisconsin

(4) Xavier v. (13) Portland State: I like what Ken Bone has done with this Portland State team and I like that they’ll be sort of close-to-home in Boise. They beat Gonzaga at Gonzaga after the Connecticut game. They nearly won at UW. They’re a nice team, but Xavier is better and is more experienced having advanced to the Great 8 last year. I don’t see PSU pulling this off.

Pick: Xavier

(6) UCLA v. (11) VCU: It’s really too bad for UCLA that Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love aren’t there anymore. This team would be positioned to do some great things if they were. Jrue Holiday isn’t providing the lift that I’m sure UCLA thought that he would provide. They just aren’t that good of a team offensively. Defensively they’re still nice, but I just don’t like their chances, and this looks to be a bad matchup against VCU. Also, I hate their uniforms. I’m a huge proponent of blue, especially powder/baby blue in unis, but for some reason I cannot buy in to UCLA’s gear. Football or basketball. I’m not sure what it is, but it could be the font. I just hate them. I loved Eric Maynor two years ago when he dismantled Duke and I can see him doing the same thing here. I like the guy and I don’t see anyone stopping him for UCLA, again, if Westbrook was still there, it would be a different story.

Pick: VCU

(3) Villanova v. (14) American: Nova is a real nice team. I love the way that these guys play. They’ve got boatloads of experience and are playing well. I like their long-term chances also. The only thing I know about American is that a kid from Issaquah goes there and scores a bit for them. They don’t stand a chance.

Pick: Villanova

(7) Texas v. (10) Minnesota: This was the second of three games that I couldn’t figure out what to think initially. Texas has lost two great players (Durant and Augustin) in two years and it’s got to be tough to recover from that. Minnesota is another Big 10 school that I can’t really get behind but was tempted to advance because of their defensive abilities, but I don’t think that they can score and Texas will be able to a little bit more.

Pick: Texas (in a close, and gross, game)

(2) Duke v. (15) Binghamton: I hate Duke more than I hate Big 10 basketball. It’s the constant fellating of Duke’s program and of Coach K that gets me the most. Yes. I understand that they are a great program. Yes. I understand that they play hard and he gets the most out of the guys he has (as evidenced by the utter lack of success that Duke players have had in the NBA). But I need it to stop and the only way that it stops is if they lose. I’m being shortsighted here, I realize, because if it’s not Duke, then it’ll just be some other team that gets jocked. I get that. But right now it’s Duke and I want it to end.

Here’s something that I find funny and so amazingly dated. Do you remember what a big deal it was when Elton Brand was thinking about declaring early for the NBA Draft? Coach K, to that point, had never had a player leave early. Never. That was about 10 years ago, but seems like 20. It’s hard to believe. But then 10 years ago middle-schoolers weren’t sending each other naked pictures of themselves on their cell phones either.

As for Duke’s team, I don’t like their style of play because they’re too in love with the jumper. Now I love a syrupy J as much as anyone, but teams that rely on the perimeter shot a little too often are destined for trouble because the shot isn’t always going to fall.

I read a story on Binghamton a few weeks ago in the “New York Times” about the troubles that the program is having with the hoop team. It’s amazing how much just 15 guys can have on the psyche of a school that has 11,515 undergraduate students. The hoop team makes up .001% of the student population and the administration and faculty act like someone strapped a used diaper to their faces. I enjoy the myth of the student athlete as much as the next guy, but don’t tell me that these guys are ruining the academic integrity of your institution. It’s embarrassing. The only reason that anyone even knows about these guys is because internal folks complain about it. So who’s hurting the institution more? The complainers, who draw attention to the “problem” or the .001% who no one knows?

Pick: Duke


SOUTH

(1) North Carolina v. (16) Radford: I’d be pretty nervous about the Ty Lawson injury, but it won’t matter at all in this game. I do not like their long-term prospects, with or without Lawson.

Pick: North Carolina

(8) LSU v. (9) Butler: It’s weird that Trent Johnson is at LSU because I can’t think of two more different cultures than Stanford and LSU, not that the basketball coaches have anything remotely to do with academics or anything else within the university. I was surprised that Butler got upended in its conference tournament, but not surprised that they are back in the dance with a pretty favorable seed and draw.

Pick: Butler

(5) Illinois v. (12) Western Kentucky: Courtney Lee is gone, but this team is still tough and I don’t like this Illinois team. This is a perfect candidate for a 12-5 “upset” (of course, I’ve chosen three of the 12 seeds to advance, but whatever).

Pick: Western Kentucky

(4) Gonzaga v. (13) Akron: I don’t know what to do with this Gonzaga team. They have very strong guard play from Pargo and Bouldin. I like Heytveldt a lot. Gray can shoot as well as anyone in the country. Downs is tantalizingly talented and versatile. Daye has so much ability, but is rotten-peach soft. This team really should be in Detroit in April, but I don’t know if they’ll be able to do it. The only thing I know about Akron is that their coach used to be LeBron’s High School coach, unless he’s got another No. 23 hoop wizard, the Zips aren’t going to advance.

Pick: Gonzaga

(6) Arizona State v. (11) Temple: I’m unnaturally high on Arizona State. I love Jeff Pendergraph, even if he is a little stiff-looking. He reminds me of Elden Campbell (although not as tall) a little bit the way he holds his head. It looks like he has to turn his whole body to the side if he wants to look left or right. James Harden is a filthy scorer who will be a good NBA player, but he’s not at all what a good player looks like. That Taliban/Leprechaun-level beard he’s got going is sick and his eyes and teeth look like they’ve been spayed with movie-popcorn butter. But he’s an nice player, despite the shaky appearance. Glasser is a damn good shooter and, as evidenced by the game against UW in the Pac 10 Tournament, won’t back down when pushed. I know nothing about Temple except that I’m a little frightened of one of the cooler names in the tournament: Dionte Christmas.

Pick: Arizona State

(3) Syracuse v. (14) Stephen F. Austin: Syracuse is a very good team that probably feels like it’s been screwed with its pants on by the selection committee for the last two years by being left out of the tournament. Because of that, it makes sense that this team is hungry to make its mark. Because they’ve played so many minutes in the tournament makes me a bit nervous, but they’re young guys and should be able to get up for the games. They are also bolstered by what I consider to be the second coolest name in the tournament: 1950s rock n’ roll sensation Jonny Flynn.

As for SFA, I remember they had a 6’5 230 plus, wide receiver in the NFL who played in the 90s. I can’t remember his name, but I remember him. He might have played for San Diego. I’ll track him down and update you later. I’m sure you’re dying to know.

Pick: Syracuse

(7) Clemson v. (10) Michigan: This is the third of three games that I couldn’t pick right away because I’ve come to learn never to trust Clemson, but I don’t believe in Michigan. I like neither of these teams. However, Clemson beat the living hell out of Duke and I’ve got to respect that.

Pick: Clemson

(2) Oklahoma v. (15) Morgan State: If Blake Griffin is truly healthy, then this team should go pretty far, but as I describe below, I probably artificially inflate teams like Oklahoma.

Pick: Oklahoma

Overall Predictions:

Sweet Sixteen

1. (1) Louisville
2. (12) Arizona
3. (6) West Virginia
4. (2) Michigan State
5. (1) Connecticut
6. (4) Washington
7. (3) Missouri
8. (2) Memphis
9. (1) Pittsburgh
10. (4) Xavier
11. (3) Villanova
12. (2) Duke
13. (1) North Carolina
14. (4) Gonzaga
15. (6) Arizona State
16. (2) Oklahoma

Great Eight

1. (1) Louisville
2. (2) Michigan State
3. (1) Connecticut
4. (2) Memphis
5. (1) Pittsburgh
6. (3) Villanova
7. (1) North Carolina
8. (2) Oklahoma

Final Four

1. (1) Louisville
2. (2) Memphis
3. (1) Pittsburgh
4. (2) Oklahoma

Championship Game

Pittsburgh over Memphis

I’m not the least bit confident that this is what’s going to happen and I'm not happy with my choices. I hate when this happens. It’s not like I’m going to wager much on this thing, but I’d still like to feel a little better about things. I could say that this year is just a crapshoot and it’s impossible to pick because the teams are so evenly matched. I could say that and maybe that would be true. But the reason I don’t feel comfortable or confident is because I haven’t seen enough of these teams play. I don’t like putting Memphis in the Championship Game or even the Final Four, but I don’t trust Louisville at all. I can easily see Michigan State coming out of that region. Hell, UW could come out of their region, but they could also lose in the first or second round. I feel like I’m trying to put together some IKEA furniture here where I can line something up and think it’s right, then force it into place and split the whole damn thing in half.

Earlier this year I thought for sure that Gonzaga was a Final Four team. They really looked like they had all of the pieces, but then I saw the Portland State game and saw what Memphis did to them, (both games at home! Although the Memphis game wasn’t on campus, but still, it was in Spokane), and I just don’t trust them.

I run into trouble with the tournament and predicting other sporting events as well because my familiarity with a team is my curse. If I know a team and don’t see many flaws, I’ll pick them to advance or have great seasons. I did this with the 2008 Seahawks. If I know a team and like them, but have reservations, I’ll handicap them more severely. I’m currently doing this to UW and Gonzaga in this tournament. Granted, I have both of these teams going to the Sweet Sixteen, but they’re both probably capable of more than that.

An alternate version to this happens when I am not that familiar with a team, or dangerously “sort of” familiar with a team. I have Oklahoma going to the Final Four. I know next to nothing about them except that Blake Griffin looks like he is a strong candidate to be a Nougat All Star as soon as next year. At the same time, I completely dismiss high-seeded teams that I’m unfamiliar with, such as Illinois and Florida State.

The bottom line is that I have no idea what I’m talking about, but I like to talk it through anyway.