I'm back!!! After an 8-month hiatus, it's time to get back into this, especially with so much going on in the world of sports since we last convened here (more Tressel, anyone??). Anyways, time to focus my thoughts on this past college basketball season, starting with the most recent developments and working a bit backwards. Please let me know your thoughts.... hope to continue to get more posts rolled out soon.
Without further ado, let's get going.....
1) What the heck is Matt Painter thinking? Rumor has it the Purdue coach is considering leaving the Boilers for Missouri. Is an extra half-a-million dollars worth a conference about to become extinct; a program that sits second-rate to Purdue (which, by the way, is where Painter attended); a lethargic fan base; and significantly harder recruiting grounds? Mizzou sits in between KC and St Louis; if he thought recruiting against the likes of Ohio State, IU, and Notre Dame was hard, wait until he tries going into KC and pulling someone from the backyard of Kansas (ain't going to happen!). I'm convinced this has to be nothing more than a leverage ploy for more money, but if so, this is the most transparent and ridiculous attempt I can remember. Here's a guy who is obviously a quality coach, who can recruit well, and has built Purdue into a consistent top-15 team over the past 5 years (not to mention again that this is his alma mater). I hope for Purdue's sake this doesn't happen, but a strange story. Interestingly enough, I was talking to my buddy Phil tonight and we both agreed that if Painter does leave, it's too bad for Counzo Martin. He has revived the Missouri State program and is a rising star, and another guy who would love to coach at Purdue..... except for the fact that he just accepted the Tennessee job three days ago to be Bruce Pearl's replacement.
2) Speaking of which, anyone surprised that Bruce Pearl was fired? If so, you should come out from under the rock which you live. It's bad enough that he lied to NCAA investigators, but the truly appalling part was Pearl calling the recruit and his family and asking them to also lie on his behalf. Good luck getting another high-profile job; he is essentially untouchable at this point (just ask Jim O'Brien and Kelvin Sampson).
3) I'm happy for the teams who made the Final Four, but I imagine CBS isn't too pleased. While the four teams there all deserved it, I'm going to guess this is going to be one of the lowest-rated Final Four's in quite a few years. The UCONN/Kentucky game is certainly intriguing (and both bring national cache to the game), but VCU/Butler? Great stories, but blah....
4) Kansas looked completely disinterested the first half against VCU, which is amazing considering a trip to the Final Four was on the line. Bill Self unfairly takes too much criticism (think of how consistently good KU has been over the past 8-10 years; quite amazing!), but he needs to figure out these mid-majors, who they have no business losing to.
5) I feel robbed I'm not getting to watch Ohio State play Kansas in the championship game. In a season full of parity, these two clearly played more consistent good basketball than anyone else. But such is life during the NCAA tournament, where one bad game ends the season. However, Sullinger against the Morris twins and both teams pure athleticism would have been quite the clash.
6) Which segues me into my experience watching the OSU game: is anything more sudden-ending then when your team loses in the tournament? While not the best played, OSU/Kentucky engaged in a highly entertaining game that ended when Brandon Knight hit the game-winner with 5 seconds left. Just like that, ballgame and season over in seconds; took my breath away...
7) Still havan't made up my mind on Jimmer Fredette, BYU's soon to be player-of-the-year. Very creative, unbelievable range....but yet horrible, reckless shot-taker and plays absolutely zero defense. In a clutch situation, I would take Kemba Walker any day over Fredette; not just because I believe he would make the shot, but because I think he would make the better decision.
8) Walker has hands-down been the best basketball player since mid-February. This has been the greatest run of games I have seen since Gerry McNamara from Syracuse saved the Orange's season in 2005-2006 by winning 4 games in 4 days in the Big East tournament.
9) Hate to say it, but Tim Hardaway Jr looks like the real deal at Michigan; great length and athleticism, and lots of time to put muscle on that frame.
10) My 2011-2012 Big Ten breakout players: the aforementioned Hardaway, Purdue's Terone Johnson (the guy just looks the part, and played well in limited minutes); Ohio State's Deshaun Thomas (who will shoot the ball until you notice him); and Michigan State's Keith Appling (should step out of Kalin Lucas' shadow).
11) I feel bad for Indiana-bound Cody Zeller, the Hoosiers' first big-time recruit since Eric Gordon. Too many expectations on him to save IU basketball, who is still a long way from being competitive consistently in the Big Ten.
12) I can't remember two teams who fell harder to start a season than Michigan State and Kansas State, who enetered the season ranked #2 and #3 in the country. K-State doesn't surprise me all that much with the marginal talent they had (I think Jacob Pullen is the most overrated player in the country), but I was stunned to see Tom Izzo's team disintegrate the way they did. Kicking two players off the team didn't help, but they suffered for two reasons: 1) Kalin Lucas did not look fully recovered from his achilles tear until the last month of the season; and 2) they missed Raymar Morgan's toughness and defense on the inside. Didn't think I would come to see the day when a Tom Izzo team would get pushed around by the majority of their schedule.
That's all I have for now..... enjoy the first week of baseball, which is a great time of year (hope literally springs eternal, even for the Indians)!
