NCAA Basketball Tournament

NBA-NCAA Pact Is Madness

Greg Couch — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 23:05:00 EST

Filed under: Big 12

So Blake Griffin is ready to make the jump now. The whole thing is nicely wrapped up with a bow for David Stern and Myles Brand, who should be high-fiving, lighting up victory cigars.

The Naismith Award winner, the nation's best college basketball player, is more mature for having stayed at Oklahoma for his sophomore year. He probably worked some education in somewhere, too. So yes, this worked out perfectly for him to jump to the NBA now.

And isn't that, after all, why Stern, the NBA commissioner, put in the rule requiring kids to go to college for a year before turning pro? For the good of the kid?

That's what he says, anyway.

But you might have noticed that Stern and Brand, head of the NCAA, are the biggest winners of all in this. The NBA now gets a ready-marketed and promoted star, rather than some punk high school kid who will sit on a bench for a couple years. Griffin got big pub in the Big 12 tournament and the most thrilling event in sports, the NCAA tournament.

And the NCAA? Well, it got a star for the tournament, which produced killer TV ratings this year, up five percent from last year, according to CBS. A few years ago, college basketball briefly lost importance as the perception was that good players didn't go to college. So Griffin makes the jump now, and Stern and Brand can pitch that as a major success story for their plan.

But the truth is, this is a dirty deal between the NCAA and NBA. And not for 10 seconds should you believe they are in this to help fine young men to mature. They are gaining too much from it, and that's not coincidental. When an 18-year-old decides to start his career, it should not be in the power of the NBA to require him to go to college. It's the best thing for nearly every player, I'm sure. But college doesn't fit everyone. And some players might need the money immediately for themselves and their families.

If that money is available now, maybe it's best for them to take it now.

It might not be there tomorrow.

It doesn't all work out this neatly, or as neatly as it did for North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough, last year's player of the year, who stuck around for all four years of college.

"Coming back, sounds like I made a pretty good decision,"' Hansbrough said Monday night, wearing the net around his neck after Carolina's 89-72 victory over Michigan State in the title game. "Nothing beats this feeling right here."

And on Tuesday, this is what Griffin said: "It's tough to walk away from something like this. But at the same time, it's a big opportunity and I felt like I was ready for it this year."

Griffin made the decision he felt was best for him. Hansbrough did what was right for him. So should every other player.

It's just galling to see Stern get away with something like this, much less be praised for it.

He's a sharp businessman, the best commissioner in pro sports. His interest is, and should be, in making his league strong and rich. But the problem with letting high school kids make the jump was not that they were hurting their lives, or getting into a professional setting before having the maturity for it.

If that were the case, then Stern wouldn't have so happily gone along with the promotion of LeBron James when he made the jump out of high school.

The problem was that NBA teams couldn't control themselves, couldn't fight off signing a player who wasn't ready.

NCAA Tournament Action

GREENSBORO, NC - MARCH 21: Wayne Ellington #22 of the North Carolina Tar Heels drives against Garrett Temple #14 of the Louisiana State University Tigers during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Greensboro Coliseum on March 21, 2009 in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Wayne Ellington;Garrett Temple

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PORTLAND, OR - MARCH 21: A Washington Huskies cheerleader performs during a break in the action against the Purdue Boilermakers during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Rose Garden on March 21, 2009 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)

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KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 21: Manny Harris #3 of the Michigan Wolverines jumps to the basket for a lay up against Taylor Griffin #32 of the Oklahoma Sooners in the first half during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center on March 21, 2009 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Manny Harris

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KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 21: Zack Novan #0 and Zack Gibson #32 of the Michigan Wolverines vie for the loose ball with Blake Griffin #23 of the Oklahoma Sooners in the first half during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center on March 21, 2009 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Zack Gibson;Zack Novak;Blake Griffin

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KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 21: Willie Warren #13 of the Oklahoma Sooners makes contact as he goes to the basket with Zack Gibson #32 of the Michigan Wolverines in the first hafl during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center on March 21, 2009 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Willie Warren

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KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 21: Taylor Griffin #32 of the Oklahoma Sooners goes up for the short jump shot against DeShawn Sims #34 of the Michigan Wolverines in the first half during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center on March 21, 2009 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Taylor Griffin;DeShawn Sims

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PORTLAND, OR - MARCH 21: JaJuan Johnson #25 of the Purdue Boilermakers goes up for a shot over Jon Brockman #40 of the Washington Huskies in the second half during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Rose Garden on March 21, 2009 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** JaJuan Johnson;Jon Brockman

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KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 21: Taylor Griffin #23 of the Oklahoma Sooners and Zack Novak #0 of the Michigan Wolverines vie for position to the loose ball in the first half during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center on March 21, 2009 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Zack Novak;Taylor Griffin

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KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 21: Head Coach Jeff Capel of the Michigan Wolverines yells from the sideline during their game against the Oklahoma Sooners in the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center on March 21, 2009 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Jeff Capel

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PORTLAND, OR - MARCH 21: Lewis Jackson #23 of the Purdue Boilermakers goes up for a layup as Quincy Pondexter #20 of the Washington Huskies looks on during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Rose Garden on March 21, 2009 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Lewis Jackson;Quincy Pondexter

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What if he turned out to be the next Kobe?

If the issue was that players weren't ready, then the only thing NBA teams had to do was not draft them. Simple. Instead, NBA teams were sticking themselves with high-priced players who couldn't play for a few years.

So Stern decided to let them grow up on someone else's dime, while being promoted and pre-packaged. Either that, or he was concerned for the well-being of our youth.

You decide.

But why not just let the NBA's Development League bring players along?

Have you seen the NCAA tournament's ratings?

The NBA's greatest day was celebrated Monday, when Magic Johnson and Larry Bird met for a press conference and talked about the anniversary of their college national championship game 30 years ago. When they went to the NBA, it was the start of the league's mega popularity.

You can't have a game like that if kids go straight from high school to the NBA.

Meanwhile, the NCAA shouldn't go along so easily with this, allowing tax dollars to go players who don't want to be in college in the first place. But hey, the NCAA tournament keeps making more and more money, with a title-game record attendance of 72,922 Monday night.

The ratings keep going up, and the NBA and NCAA are the big winners.

And it's not done in the interest of the right people.

We go along with it, getting a great tournament, and also great success stories such as Hansbrough's and Griffin's.

That doesn't make it right.

NBA-NCAA Pact Is Madness originally appeared on NCAA Basketball Tournament on Tue, 07 Apr 2009 23:05:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Blake Griffin Will Enter the NBA Draft

Will Brinson — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 16:20:00 EST

Filed under: Big 12

Blake Griffin has been picking up hardware for the past few weeks (the Naismith, AP and CBS Awards spring immediately to mind) and, considering that he announced his decision Tuesday to enter the NBA Draft, it's safe to say he's going to be getting a pretty substantial pay raise as well.

Griffin called choice a "tough decision," but the reality is grounded closer in what Oklahoma Jeff Capel meant when he called the decision a "no brainer."

The Oklahoma big man is a virtual lock for the No. 1 overall selection in the upcoming draft -- although there are some folks that currently disagree with that theory -- and stands to make millions and millions of dollars, regardless of who ends up winning the lottery.

And it's not like this decision was ever going to be shocking; nearly everyone knew heading into this year that Griffin had always planned to be a "one and done," primarily because there is simply too much money available to him at the pro level to consider coming back to school for another year.

Blake Griffin Will Enter the NBA Draft originally appeared on NCAA Basketball Tournament on Tue, 07 Apr 2009 16:20:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No Surprise, Blake Griffin Wins Naismith

Chas Rich — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 22:35:00 EST

Filed under: Big 12

Shocking, right? Blake Griffin has been the dominant player in college basketball this year and he's won just about every individual award given. Now he can add the Naismith Award to the list.

Really, it never was any question. No player in college has been better this season than Griffin, the likely No. 1 pick in this year's NBA draft. Even when he lost, he was spectacular. In the Sooners' final game of the season against North Carolina in the Elite Eight, Griffin scored 23 points and pulled down 16 rebounds, thoroughly outplaying Tyler Hansbrough in a matchup of player of the year winners.

No Surprise, Blake Griffin Wins Naismith originally appeared on NCAA Basketball Tournament on Mon, 06 Apr 2009 22:35:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Courtney Paris Backs Ridiculous Promise

Ray Holloman — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 01:00:00 EST

Filed under: Big 12

Oklahoma's Courtney Paris will put her money where her promise is.

One month, and one season-ending Final Four loss to Louisville after saying she'd pay back the full cost of her scholarship if the Sooners failed to win a national title, Paris affirmed that a guarantee is a guarantee.

"I do make good on the guarantee," Paris said. "Not today, though. Obviously, I don't have $64,000 waiting, but I do make good on it."

And in the name of Joe Willie Namath, this couldn't be any more ridiculous.

Paris' heart was certainly in the right place when she said made the original guarantee in March after the Sooners locked up the regular season Big 12 title. But short of your occasional SEC football recruit, this isn't a pay-for-play enterprise. And even if it was, Paris more than paid the school back with this year's Final Four berth. In four seasons, she's put so many entries in the NCAA and Big 12 record books they may as well put her face on the cover. In the loss to Louisville, she scored 16 points and pulled down 16 rebounds, her NCAA record 128th double-double, 112 of which were consecutive.

And her guarantee probably did more to market the University of Oklahoma women's basketball team than anything in the history of women's basketball. Thanks to her guarantee, everyone knows who Paris is and that the Sooners are a pretty good team. Go ahead, name another Sooner women's player before Paris. We'll make a sandwich while waiting.

But the idea that paying for her scholarship was in some way taking accountability for losing is nonsense. Basketball is a team game. Joe Willie needed plenty of help in Super Bowl III. He didn't throw a single touchdown while his defense picked off the Colts four times. Put Courtney on UConn, who is currently running amok through the field, and she lives up to the promise.

The only thing Paris had to be accountable for was that she represented the university well every night, and I'm sure we'd all agree that she did.

And unless Isiah Thomas becomes a GM again and decides to draft her in the NBA, she won't be paying it back anytime soon by playing basketball. According to the WNBA collective bargaining agreement, Paris will make $44,064 in base salary next year if she's a top-four selection and a little more than $49,000 by her third year. The current maximum for WNBA contracts is just under $100,000. Even if she doubles her salary by playing in Europe in the offseason, finding a way to clear $64,000 and pay it back to the Sooners anytime in the near future is a financial feat that could land her a job with Warren Buffett.

Maybe a league sponsor will decide it's worth the publicity to drop a relative pittance even in this economy toward repaying her scholarship, or perhaps there's family money heading to the cause as her father is former NFL lineman Bubba Paris. But neither is much of a lesson in accountability.

And that's ignoring the simple fact that Oklahoma has already said it won't accept her money.

So in the end, it's a nice gesture turned just as empty as her lone trip to the Final Four. And maybe even worse, Paris will be remembered for the promise of her scholarship and not the reality of her talent.

Bad Sports Guarantees

Oklahoma's Courtney Paris promised to give back her scholarship money -- about $64,000 -- if she and the Sooners didn't bring home the national championship. Well, the Sooners lost to Louisville in the women's Final Four. Paris says she will "make good" on her guarantee. Check out some other sports guarantees that backfired.

Mark Humphrey, AP

In a 2003 playoff game, Matt Hasselbeck and the Seahawks won the coin toss before overtime. The QB declared to the refs and a national TV audience, "We want the ball, and we're gonna score!" Hasselbeck would throw the game-losing interception on the ensuing offensive drive.

David Stluka, Getty Images

Wyoming coach Joe Glenn guaranteed victory over Utah before the game in 2007. The Utes would make him eat his words, trouncing the Cowboys 50-0, even pulling an onside kick when they were already up 40-0. Glenn was not amused and let Utah coach Kyle Whittingham know it with a one-fingered gesture (you know the one).

Jae C. Hong, AP

Tracy McGrady has made several promises that he couldn't deliver. In the 2002 playoffs, he guaranteed a victory over the Hornets that would extend the series to five games. Instead the Hornets won 102-85 in Game 4. T-Mac did score 35 points. The following year, McGrady fired up the Pistons, who were down 3-1 in the series, when he said how great it would be to "finally be in the second round." The Magic would lose the series in seven games.

Tony Ranze, AFP / Getty Images

Patrick Ewing made guarantee after guarantee after guarantee. We rarely, if ever, delivered. The Knicks center promised victory in many a playoff series, only to be eliminated. The nadir: Ewing guaranteed a win in Game 6 of the 2000 Eastern Conference Finals in 2000. The Knicks lost to the Pacers, 93-80. That was Ewing's last game with the Knicks.

Stan Honda, AFP / Getty Images

Former Falcons cornerback Ray Buchanan predicted that the Falcons would beat the Broncos in Super Bowl XXXIII. He also called Broncos tight end Shannon Sharpe a "horse" before the game. The Broncos had the last laugh, winning 34-19.

Andy Lyons, Getty Images

The Hall of Fame jockey probably wishes he could take this back. After winning the 1997 Kentucky Derby and the Preakness with Silver Charm, Stevens guaranteed victory at the Belmont Stakes and the prestigious Triple Crown. Silver Charm finished second, edged out by Touch Gold on the final stretch. No horse has won the Triple Crown since Affirmed in 1978.

Jon Levy, AFP / Getty Images

The Lions quarterback declared that the team would win 10 games in 2007. "I'll keep to myself what I think we actually will win. But it's more than 10 games," Kitna said at the time. Perhaps we should have followed his own advice and kept his thoughts to himself. The Lions would finish 7-9 that season.

Duane Burleson, AP

What's up with Lions players and their big mouths? In 2006, wide receiver Roy Williams, now with the Cowboys, declared the Lions would beat the Bears in Week 2. The Lions lost 34-7. Williams said afterward that the Lions would win the following week. They lost that game, too.

Gregory Shamus, Getty Images

Sometimes, it's better to not place high expectations on a team. Thrashers general manager Don Waddell didn't get that memo. Midway through the 2005 season, the GM guaranteed his team would make the playoffs. "We'll be in the playoffs. If you want to write: 'Guarantee,' I have no problem with that," he said. Guess what? The Thrashers missed the playoffs.

John Bazemore, AP

Courtney Paris Backs Ridiculous Promise originally appeared on NCAA Basketball Tournament on Mon, 06 Apr 2009 01:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Griffin, Self Take Home Hardware

Matt Snyder — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 19:44:00 EST

Filed under: Big 12, Tourney Coaches

During halftime of the thrilling Michigan State vs. Connecticut national semifinal, Chevrolet and CBS presented their awards for player of the year and coach of the year. To no one's surprise, Blake Griffin of Oklahoma took the honors from the player side, while Kansas' Bill Self won the coaching award.

Griffin, only a sophomore, was a monster for the Sooners this season. He averaged 22.7 points and 14.7 rebounds a game while shooting an unreal 65 percent from the field. He took the Sooners to the Elite Eight before losing to a much deeper North Carolina team.

Self won the national championship last season at Kansas, but he lost his entire starting lineup afterward. He still managed to improve the 2008-2009 version over the course of the season, garnering a three seed and taking the 27-8 Jayhawks to the Sweet 16.

Of note, Griffin appeared almost catatonic (either that or indifferent) though I guess that doesn't stray much from his on-court demeanor. He's a good guy, so I doubt he didn't care about the award. Then again, this wasn't a surprise, so maybe he's been more looking forward to accepting the Naismith and Wooden awards?

Another interesting note, both award winners came from the same conference. Congratulations Big 12, Oklahoma, Kansas, Griffin and Self. A very deserving duo.

NCAA Tournament Action

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Griffin, Self Take Home Hardware originally appeared on NCAA Basketball Tournament on Sat, 04 Apr 2009 19:44:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Capel Extending His Stay at Oklahoma

Chas Rich — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 11:34:00 EST

Filed under: Big 12, Pac-10

Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel has been with the school for three years. For the third straight year, Capel will get a raise and extension after another successful season and plenty of interest from other programs -- again. Looks like Arizona fans can cross one more name off the list.

Capel disclosed that he has agreed to another raise and extension while in Detroit for the Final Four. He did not give any details on the money or length. The only reason why he decided to make it known was to stop the reports that he had considered the Virginia job, then Georgia and finally that he had been in negotiations with Arizona. This despite no program actually contacting Oklahoma for permission to speak with Capel.

Capel said the first time he was aware his name had been linked to Arizona was when he saw it in a report on a "crawl" across the bottom of a television show. Capel said he was reading his daughter a book when he saw it, and his wife looked at him wondering what was going on.

It also was important for Oklahoma and Capel to quell the rumors as the next wave of recruiting starts shortly after the NCAA Tournament ends. To say nothing of making sure there is not any panic in the incoming recruiting class.

Capel is bringing in two McDonald's All-Americans in Tommy Mason-Griffin and Keith "Tiny" Gallon. While the Sooners will obviously be losing Blake Griffin, this year, most of the young talent will still be there and Oklahoma appears poised to have another good year in the Big 12.

Capel Extending His Stay at Oklahoma originally appeared on NCAA Basketball Tournament on Fri, 03 Apr 2009 11:34:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Penn State Earns Coveted 35th Best At-Large Team With NIT Championship

Chas Rich — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 22:08:00 EST

Filed under: Big 12, Big Ten

It is no CBI or CIT title, but Penn State can claim an NIT Championship to top off the Nittany Lions' best season since the Jerry Dunn coached team went to the Sweet 16 in 2001. For the second straight year, the Big Ten can claim their conference won the NIT. Penn State knocked off Baylor, 69-63.

The Nittany Lions opened things up in the second half and withstood a far-too-late surge from the Bears, while both teams had to overcome sub-par performances from their star guards.
Baylor's Curtis Jerrellswent for 14 points, but it took 5-of-16 shooting to get there. Penn State's Talor Battle managed only 12 points on 3-of-11 shooting. Battle, however, put in 10 of his points in the second half.

The Lions were one of the last teams left out of the NCAA tournament, paying the price for a non-conference schedule that included teams like New Jersey Institute of Technology while going 0-2 against Atlantic-10 opponents. Their resulting non-conference strength of schedule was ranked 313th out of 343 teams.

Coach Ed DeChellis may have needed the guaranteed wins to keep his job, but by scheduling so weakly he cost his players a chance at the Big Dance.

Penn State's team featured three key seniors in Jamelle Cornley, Stanley Pringle and Dan Morrissey. The three were in the top-five on the team in scoring. Not to mention the leading rebounder (Cornley) and second in assists (Pringle).

That makes it more difficult for Penn State to try and build off of this season and the success they did have. Losing two starters and a key bench player from this squad, makes it harder to build from winning the NIT. It comes off as more like peaking with this group for at least another year.

Penn State Earns Coveted 35th Best At-Large Team With NIT Championship originally appeared on NCAA Basketball Tournament on Thu, 02 Apr 2009 22:08:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Calipari and Kentucky Pause the Coaching Carousel

Chas Rich — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:44:00 EST

Filed under: A-10, Big 12, C-USA, Pac-10, SEC, Tourney Coaches

Everyone keeps tuned to sports sites and ESPNews for the latest plumes of smoke from Memphis and/or Lexington regarding John Calipari and whether he stays at Memphis or goes to Kentucky. The flip side is that the move has paralyzed nearly every other coaching search as programs and coaches in-demand wait to see what happens.

Oh, sure some little things have happened. Viginia Commonwealth has apparently hired Shaka Smart to be their next head coach. As with the last hire of VCU's former coach, Shaka Smart is a Florida assistant.

Everything else, though, appears to be on hold, if only for a moment.

Georgia may be offering up to $2 million per year to Mizzou head coach Mike Anderson. A number that trumps the reported $1.3 million bump in salary that Mizzou put forth. Or Georgia could be going after Oklahoma head coach Jeff Capel, who reportedly makes around $1 million per year in Norman. Either way, both will be getting big raises even if they stay.

Yet Anderson and Capel are wise to wait since Memphis or even Kentucky might come calling. Even if the Wildcats do not, the money reportedly involved to get ($35 million for 8 years) or keep Calipari will surely push the pricetag up for other coaches.

Xavier head coach Sean Miller may have rejected overtures from Virginia out-of-hand, but what if a program like Memphis comes calling with over $2 million per year? Coaches in comfortable positions like Pitt's Jamie Dixon and Villanova's Jay Wright, will find themselves having to at least listen and consider the possibility of a new job if the money gets much higher. What had seemed like a realtively quiet year in the coaching carousel could turn into one of the most tumultuous.

Then there is Arizona, a program with allure, but not nearly the money. Their athletic director Jim Livengood, spoke before of winning the press conference with the hire. That means paying big money, and the big money has only increased in the months since that quote.

At the moment, there is lots of watching and waiting. When Calipari makes his decision, expect the coaching carousel to spin rapidly.

Calipari and Kentucky Pause the Coaching Carousel originally appeared on NCAA Basketball Tournament on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:44:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ty Lawson's Stock Tips Up

Tom Ziller — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 04:00:00 EST

Filed under: ACC, Big 12, Big East, Midwest Region, South Region

During the NCAA Tournament, we NBA heads watch (almost) every game, judging the pro prospects of particular players. Inspired by our daily Doing Lines feature, Drooling Lines offers a daily summary of what the box scores tell us.

This song has been sung frequently, but in case you missed prior renditions ...

Ty Lawson -- ... no one has helped his NBA stock more this season than Ty Lawson. The tournament has been the same exact tune, with Sunday's killer Elite Eight performance the latest verse.

Lawson led the Tar Heels in every sense of the word. No, really. This isn't just mushy mumbo about leadership -- he nearly led Carolina in every major category. The diminutive point guard had a team-high 19 points on 6-of-13 shooting, a team-high five assists, a team-high three steals, tied for a team-high one block, and lagged behind team-leading rebounder Tyler Hansbrough by one rebound (with five). UNC won by 12, and you can basically credit Lawson completely. His teammates played well, but without him, they would not have played nearly as well.

Blake Griffin -- Speaking of playing well ...

Griffin completely torched Hansbrough: 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting and 16 rebounds (six of which came on the offensive glass). Griffin didn't get his usual passing game going, but when you're shooting 70-plus percent for the tournament, you don't need to rely on cutters or shooters. As always, Griffin can and will handle his business. He's the No. 1 draft pick with a bullet, provided news that Ricky Rubio is a direct descendant of Christ or John Lennon doesn't come out between now and June.

Willie Warren -- A less-flattering sendoff for W.W., who scored 18 but shot only 2-of-9 from deep. If Warren's going to be a two-guard in the league, his translated shooting percentages need to improve. It seems more likely he'll become a point guard; in fairness to Warren, he rarely got the opportunity at OU to play lead guard, considering the presence of senior (and Griffin consigliere) Austin Johnson. (Johnson was dreadful across Lawson, by the way.) Jeff Capel has been in the rumor mill, and you wonder if that forces W.W. to keep an open mind about bolting. And remember, Eric Gordon's stock wasn't exactly at its peak this time last year, you know ...

Earl Clark -- Good Earl Clark has been there for most of the Dance. Unfortunately, we saw something closer to Bad Earl Clark most of Sunday. Clark did heat up late in the second half, finishing with 19 points on 17 field goal attempts. But Louisville already trailed substantially by that point, and a few tough shots (the only kind with Earl, sometimes) didn't fall. 19/5/2/1 for Clark.

Terrence Williams -- Clark was mediocre, Williams was straight-up BAD. Five whole points for Williams when Louisville needed him to create desperately. His first basket came on an ill alley-oop to open the second half. Having watched enough Louisville this season (thanks ESPN-Big East partnership!*), I figured this would be the point in which Williams exploded, leading his team to overcome the stingy Spartan resistance. It wasn't so. Michigan State kept resisting. Williams couldn't slide in for putbacks or spring free for deep threes. On defense, the usually stout Williams was handcuffed by Rick Pitino's reliance on a 2-3 zone that failed miserably in the second half. Bad sendoff for Williams, and (if I know NBA scouts) a performance that could cost him five or so slots, fair or not.

* No seriously, thank you. Well worth a dozen Notre Dame games this year to see so much Louisville, Pitt, Syracuse, Villanova and (even) Georgetown.

NCAA Tournament Action

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Ty Lawson's Stock Tips Up originally appeared on NCAA Basketball Tournament on Mon, 30 Mar 2009 04:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Heels Stomp Sooners

Chas Rich — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 19:38:00 EST

Filed under: ACC, Big 12, South Region

North Carolina could not stop Blake Griffin. But Griffin couldn't stop North Carolina.

The Tar Heels really did not contain Oklahoma's player of the year, despite a flurry of double teams. But they didn't have to, since the rest of the Sooner squad was never a factor. The game was effectively Blake Griffin versus North Carolina. As great a player as Griffin is, he could not beat all of North Carolina.

No. 1 UNC 72, No. 2 Oklahoma 60: Recap | Box Score | Bracket | Scores

North Carolina, meanwhile, got solid performances from Ty Lawson, Danny Green and Deon Thompson. Not to mention acceptable efforts from Wayne Ellington, Tyler Hansbrough and Ed Davis.

For an idea of how one-dimensional the Sooners' offense was, consider this: late in the second half, Griffin had 21 points and his teammates had only 19. Do not be fooled by Willie Warren finishing with 18 points. He scored 14 in the final six minutes when the game was out of hand. The Sooners were 0-for-16 from behind the arc until Warren connected a couple times near the end.

The inability of Oklahoma's guards to convert from the perimeter simplified things for UNC. They were already doubling Griffin anytime he sniffed the ball. Without the threat the long-range shot, the Tar Heels had complete control.

Now Oklahoma faces an uncertain rebuilding year with Griffin headed for the No. 1 spot in the NBA draft. Their coach, Jeff Capel, likely to be pursued by Virginia, Georgia and perhaps even Kentucky and Arizona.

North Carolina, on the other hand, heads to Detroit as healthy as they have been in over a month.

Heels Stomp Sooners originally appeared on NCAA Basketball Tournament on Sun, 29 Mar 2009 19:38:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Heel of a Sooners Coach

Kevin B. Blackistone — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: ACC, Big 12, South Region

MEMPHIS -- Of all the things a little boy growing up in North Carolina coveted in his bedroom, none was more precious than one of the Tar Heels posters on his wall, the one with Michael Jordan shooting a jump shot against North Carolina State.

"It was picture perfect form, his legs were spread out, and it had, 'The Tradition Continues,' " the now grown-up little boy cooed Saturday afternoon. "I just thought that was incredible."

Who's the little boy who was all grown up on Saturday? He's the coach who will try to knock off North Carolina on Sunday, Jeff Capel.

It is funny how things come full circle, especially Jeff Capel's basketball life. Born and reared in North Carolina. Fanatical as a child about the Tar Heels. Mesmerized by Mike Krzyzewski to the point of playing at Duke. Now about to meet his once beloved, then despised, Tar Heels for the right to get to his first Final Four as a coach. And he's just 34.

We could excuse him if the speed of this spin makes him dizzy. But he is not in such need. He appeared calm on the eve of the impending storm, the biggest game in his young coaching career.

"I grew up a Carolina fan," Capel admitted sitting at a dais in the bowels of FedEx Forum sporting a crimson-trimmed, cream-colored Sooners polo shirt. "I always told my mom and dad when I was younger, that when I grow up, I'm going to Carolina.

"Carolina was the first ACC [Atlantic Coast Conference] school to start recruiting me, and it was the summer going into my 10th grade year. When I was in 10th grade, I was actually in Chapel Hill. I went to quite a few games. When I was younger, my father was a high school coach. I used to always go with my dad to Coach [Dean] Smith's clinic.

"My father would take me up to Carmichael [Auditorium] and watch a lot of games. I was there when Kenny Smith broke his wrist against LSU.

"I thought that was where I was going to go," Capel continued to testify, "until I met Coach K."

The longtime Tar Heels fan didn't admit to getting brainwashed in Durham, N.C., where Coach K weaves his magic, or at least used to. Capel's alma mater, which got dropped by Villanova on Thursday, was last in the Final Four half a decade ago. Capel ultimately was wooed by with whom he would play, he said.

"I wanted to play with Grant Hill," he said. "But then also, as a freshman, I thought it [Duke] was more of an opportunity for me to play early. Duke would be losing Thomas Hill and Bobby Hurley, while North Carolina would be returning [Derrick] Phelps and Donald Williams. I thought it was more of an opportunity for me to go in as a freshman and earn playing time. So that ... was maybe the deciding factor towards the end."

This is a man who has been making mature rather than emotional decisions his entire life. That was how he wound up leaving his comfort zone of the southern East Coast for Norman, Okla.

Capel didn't say he regretted the decision to sport a different blue in college. But the Tar Heels did beat him with the Blue Devils all but one meeting in his four seasons, and it didn't come until the first of two meetings in his senior season. Capel's most memorable moment against the team he grew up rooting for: In a 1995 game at Duke, he hit a running 40-footer at the buzzer to send the game into overtime, where Duke lost.

The Tar Heels during Capel's years at Duke were stocked, at one time or another, by Jerry Stackhouse, Rasheed Wallace, Vince Carter, Antawn Jamison and/or Jeff McInnis. Or sort of like what Capel will lead the Sooners against Sunday afternoon.

He'll have Blake Griffin, the prohibitive player of the year, and a lot of hope in the rest of his starters who, save freshman guard Willie Warren, are little more than role players.

Capel said his college coach left him a message Friday night congratulating him on coaching into the Elite Eight. Capel said he caught up with Coach K later but they didn't talk strategy about playing North Carolina, which is just as well since North Carolina beat Duke both times this season.

Not that Capel needs any advice as the son of a coach who played for Coach K and now is in his seventh season as a head coach and has never suffered a losing campaign.

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"The thing we have to do is, as best we can, control tempo," Capel said. "We can't play at their pace. No one in college basketball can play at the pace that North Carolina plays."

Capel knows not only from having grown up a North Carolinaophile. His younger brother did what he wanted to and played for the Tar Heels. Jason started on the Tar Heels' 2000 Final Four team and will be seated over his older brother's shoulder on Sunday just as he was Friday night.

"My brother's going to have on a ... red OU shirt, and he'll be cheering for us," Capel assured, "which he should. I know a lot of Carolina people may not like that, but he was my brother before he was a Tar Heel."

If Jeff Capel could drop North Carolina for the rest of his life, the least his little brother can do is suspend his allegiance for an afternoon.

A Heel of a Sooners Coach originally appeared on NCAA Basketball Tournament on Sun, 29 Mar 2009 10:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No Cinderella, but Missouri Was the Star

Ray Holloman — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 01:00:00 EST

Filed under: Big 12, West Region

The year 2009 will be remembered as one without a Cinderella. The year college basketball's biggest brothers took a baseball bat to her glass slipper and turned it into a bucket of shards.

And, by any trick of math, they would be right. There was no plucky mid-major from a town your map has never heard of and no Cinderella with a seed as big as your shoe size.

But there was a darling. And it was Missouri, the star of this tournament.

Sure, the Tigers will spend the Final Four on couches instead of benches, but there is no shame in losing to UConn, led by Hasheem Thabeet a 7-foot-3 redwood of a center that gets picked ahead of Goliath in pickup games. There's nothing embarrassing about playing second fiddle to freshman Kemba Walker's virtuoso performance or losing to Jim Calhoun's portfolio of talent.

There is no shame, and with the frantic way the Tigers played defense, the way they clawed to the very end, the way they kept coming and coming like they were trying to take a beachhead somewhere behind the Connecticut bench, there was a certain sort of honor.

"They went out the same way they came in to this season," said third-year coach Mike Anderson. "They came in fighting, scratching and clawing, and if you are going to go out, that's the way you want to go out -- fighting, scratching and clawing, giving yourself a chance."

And maybe that's what made Missouri so appealing. They played like a Cinderella. From Marcus Denmon's made-for-YouTube 70-foot heave at halftime against Memphis to J.T. Tiller sweating pure effort as the most tenacious player on a team full of bulldogs, Missouri just felt like a Cinderella, no matter how familiar those fashion-deaf mustard yellow uniforms may be.

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They were led by juniors and seniors, a rarity since college basketball turned into a weight station on the way to the NBA, and they played for their coach as much as their program. In his third year, Anderson started the season under as much pressure as his defenses would dole out later in the year. He had to suspend senior Leo Lyons again, then welcome him back, and manage a roster that as deep as an NFL starting unit.

"We came from nothing," senior Matt Lawrence said. "I'm pretty sure no one expected us to get here except for the guys in our locker room. I have never been a part of a team that was more cohesive than this one. When you got guys doing whatever it takes to win, you are going to get this far."

And they proved they can get this far cleanly, matching the school's best ever tournament performance without the scandals of Quin Snyder's era tarnishing the plaque before it's ever cast.

Of course, the tournament will end with another team's shining moment, but this will always be Missouri's breakout year. Connecticut, North Carolina, Louisville and Michigan State will continue to win titles so long as brackets are printed. Villanova's run will never top its 1985 title and Oklahoma has more Final Fours this decade than the Tigers do in school history.

So this will be the year of Missouri, the year the frenetic Tigers squashed the cocky Calipari and made Connecticut run a whole marathon of sprints to get the Final Four.

No, they didn't get to that "magical place" Anderson talked about in his post-game press conference. But they got somewhere. Which is more than you could usually say for Missouri.

Even Anderson could sense his team's arrival in the days leading up to the Sweet 16 victory over Memphis.

"We're in the hunt for something," coach Anderson said prophetically. "But I don't know what."

Now the what seems clear. Missouri found its identity.

And we found the Tigers.

The darlings of the 2009 tournament.

No Cinderella, but Missouri Was the Star originally appeared on NCAA Basketball Tournament on Sun, 29 Mar 2009 01:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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UConn Leaves Nets, Small Goals, Behind

Lisa Olson — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 00:15:00 EST

Filed under: Big 12, Big East, West Region

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- They steered clear of the net. A ladder rested underneath the basket, waiting for someone to climb it. The twine dangled, waiting for someone to snip it. Instead, the University of Connecticut players and coaches purposely walked on by, as if the traditional removal of the net and wearing it around the neck might jinx the journey.

"It was a team decision because we've got bigger goals," UConn guard A.J. Price was saying after the Huskies beat Missouri, 82-75, in Saturday's Elite Eight West Regional Final and advanced to the Final Four. "We can cut down a net in Detroit."

No doubt, scaling a ladder and lifting scissors would have required some effort, and every drop of energy had been squeezed out of the Huskies across 40 frantic, manic minutes by Mizzou. The Tigers are a team born to run, press, drive, pester and frustrate, and that's just in warmups. If a few more of their shots had dropped, if Connecticut hadn't been so hot at the line and if freshman guard Kemba Walker hadn't decided this was a fine stage to remind the country what ballers from the Bronx can do, Mizzou's delightful romp through the NCAA tourney might not yet be over.

"I thought I could get them to that magical place, and we just came up probably a couple of buckets (short), a stop here, a stop there," said Missouri coach Mike Anderson. "Maybe we just ran out of time, a couple minutes."

The Huskies were simply a little too much of everything -- too long, too composed, too Big East tough, too overwhelming on the boards, too stingy with the second shots. And too determined to carry their coach to perhaps his last Final Four and prove how tightly they've bonded despite (and maybe because of) a recruiting scandal that has nothing to do with the current cast of players.

The post-game celebration was subdued, and not just because Mizzou had stripped the Huskies of strength to do much of anything. One by one they went out of their way to find coach Jim Calhoun on the University of Phoenix floor, to hug him and thank him. Sweat mixed with tears, and it was difficult to tell where sobs ended and laughter began.

"I can't lie to you, after the game I actually -- I kind of did cry," admitted Walker, the smallest guy on the court who'd had the biggest of games, going 7-of-9 from the floor and 9-of-10 from the free throw line for a game-high 23 points. "I know tears came out of my eyes because I never thought I would get this far."

By the time Calhoun made it to the interview room, he had wiped away any trace of emotion except for a smile. A couple of his players swear he was close to breaking down in the locker room after praising his team for its grit, for refusing to allow Mizzou to run them off the floor. A spot in the Final Four next weekend assures Calhoun will face more public grueling over allegations of recruiting violations, but it's a tradeoff he accepts. Both of UConn's national title runs gained steam through regionals in Phoenix in 1999 and 2004. Calhoun joked about buying a house in the Valley of the Sun, made cracks about how playing in the desert sure beat playing at the Meadowlands. He was jovial and charming and clearly relieved to be talking rebounds and stops instead of NCAA rules and regulations.

"I'm as happy as I possibly can be about the basketball situation. I mean, I feel like busting out just because I think they are really special," Calhoun said. "Here we are going to the Final Four and, once again, I'm just elated."

The manner in which his team handled Mizzou's press and forced the game into half-court ball warmed Calhoun's heart. But it was Walker, the freshman, who stole the show, after Mizzou's double teams slowed 7-3 UConn center Hasheem Thabeet and forced the Huskies to kick the ball outside.

Thabeet, limited by a couple fouls and four hands in his face throughout the first half, went down with a thud early in the second following a loose ball scramble. He landed hard on his right hand, an injury he later called "very painful," but said he doubted it would prevent him from playing in Detroit.

Trailing from the start, Missouri charged back ferociously, and went up 50-49 on Keith Ramsey's layup off a feed from J.T. Tiller, capping a 9-0 run. "We could sense they were on their heels," said Tiller. "We are used to that, you know what I mean?"

But the Huskies had promised they'd never admit to being tired, wouldn't be caught tugging on their shorts for breathers like Memphis had two nights earlier against Missouri. "It really was 40 minutes of hell but we weren't going to show any weakness," said UConn guard Craig Austrie. They didn't have any, not with Walker, 6-1 in lifts, grabbing rebounds, scrambling for loose balls, acing his foul shots. He was everywhere, dribbling around Tigers and driving in for a layup to put UConn ahead, 63-59. Seconds later there was Walker on the other end, snagging a defensive rebound and feeding it to Thabeet, a play that propelled Calhoun out of his seat like a rocket. But it was Walker's off-balance bank shot with the shot clock nearing :00 that broke Mizzou, turning another Tiger comeback into a six-point deficit with less than two minutes in the season.

"Time was running down. The ball was in my hands and Jeff (Adrien) was there about to set a screen," Walker said, sounding like a play-by-play announcer at Madison Square Garden. "I told him to get out of the way. I kind of just took over. The guy actually played me kind of well. I was turning and turning and I had to get it up.

"I just threw it up, God help me, and it went in."

Price had 18 points and was named most outstanding player of the West Regional, but what he'll remember is Walker, growing up in front of 18,000 fans. "He played like a man among boys. There were times he dominated the game," Price said. "He was breaking the press and dribbling through two or three guys and still had enough in him to do down and finish the play."

The flow was supposed to go through Thabeet, the monster junior center headed for the NBA. But Missouri did a fine job taming the Beast, as Thabeet is known, limiting the Big East co-player of the year to 13 rebounds and only five points. "We had eight blocks and I don't even have one," Thabeet said as he leaned against his locker and held a bloody napkin to his injured hand. He let loose a deep chuckle and dropped one of his cutting one-liners. "They said they want to run on us. I guess we're running now all the way to Detroit."

His story will be told and told again this week, and oh my, what a story it is. Thabeet journeyed into the stands once the final buzzer sounded Saturday, heading straight for the Tanzanian flag, which was flying just below a sign that read, "Jim Calhoun is underpaid." Thabeet fell into the arms of his mother Rukia, here from Dar Es Salaam. She shares her son's dry wit, joking that he might still grow some if he'd eat more of her food.

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Later, I ask him what he used to dream when he was 12, before he played basketball, before he knew of life outside Tanzania. "I used to say, one day I'll be an architect like my dad, but then my dad passed away and I was the oldest son, so I thought, OK, I'm going to have to provide," Thabeet said. Before he reached 16, he worked as a bouncer, a model and a backup singer/rapper, and in between he sprouted to six feet, six inches. An internet search led him to UConn and a coach he calls The Teacher.

"I used to think he picked on me," Thabeet said of Calhoun. "Sometimes I would say, `Why me?' He knew I was capable of doing great things."

The flow found Thabeet on the last shot of the West Regional Final, with Missouri hanging onto its dream, for more time. Zaire Taylor went straight at Thabeet, who faked a block. It was an odd look, considering, but it caused Taylor to miss the layup. Thabeet pulled down the rebound, his Huskies destined for Detroit. Thabeet never let go of the ball through the ceremony, through his trip into the stands, through the team's deliberate avoidance of nets waiting to be cut down.

Hours later, the ball rested behind Thabeet in his locker. The blood on his finger had dried into a dark red stain. Calhoun wandered over, for another hug.

"I'll keep that until I get old," Thabeet said, gesturing toward the ball, a memento worth carrying home.

UConn Leaves Nets, Small Goals, Behind originally appeared on NCAA Basketball Tournament on Sun, 29 Mar 2009 00:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Missouri Proves UConn is Favorite

Dan Graziano — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Big 12, Big East, West Region

This is a thank-you note.

On behalf of basketball fans everywhere, thank you, Missouri, for a brilliant run and a tough, impressive effort against Connecticut in the regional final. You gave us a great game to watch, and you really made the Huskies earn their way into the Final Four. And everybody should have to earn their way into the Final Four.

The way this thing started, it looked like a rout. UConn raced to that huge early lead, and you figured, "Oh well. Mismatch."

But then a funny thing happened. Missouri didn't go away.

No. 1 Connecticut 82, No. 3 Missouri 75: Recap | Box Score
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They didn't roll over. They came back with a ferocity that caught the favored Huskies off guard and made them tighten up their own game. Connecticut played a better all-around game as a result of the "aha" moment they had in the middle of the first half when they realized the Tigers were bent on making every aspect of their on-court lives miserable until the last whistle blew.

In the end, Connecticut was just too much. They have too many good players, too many places they can turn when Plan A doesn't work. Hasheem Thabeet is rattled, maybe a bit off his game? Stanley Robinson blocks the shots. Jerome Dyson is on the bench in a suit? Kemba Walker plays the game of his life.

Walker is a symbol of what's so incredible about this UConn team. He's a quick little freshman with a whole pile of game. Early in the year, he was the first guard off the bench -- the shot-of-energy guy they'd bring in to spell Dyson or A.J. Price for a few minutes. Then, when Dyson got hurt, Walker moved into a starting role -- a role with which he struggled at the beginning. But today, there was nobody more comfortable or composed on that court than Walker was, and he was the difference in the game. Composure is paramount when you play a team like Missouri -- a team whose game is rooted in the concept of annoying every single play you run and making sure no pass, no shot, no dribble is easy.

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There's no shame in this loss for Missouri. Saying UConn was the better team is no slight against the Tigers. There's a reasonable chance that the second-best team in the country, whoever that is, doesn't have enough in terms of talent and depth of personnel to match up with Connecticut, Dyson or no Dyson. One of the preview breakdowns I read on this game listed UConn with a heavy matchup in "coaching," but having watched this game it's hard to agree. UConn's coach is a great coach -- an unconscionably arrogant bully and possibly a cheater, but a great, successful coach. But this Missouri team...you don't play the way they play unless your coach knows what he's doing. Big-time hat-tip to Mike Anderson, a man we expect to see here again.

Connecticut just made sure the Big East would grab at least half of the spots in this year's Final Four. As of right now, there's no reason not to consider them the favorite to be the Final One.

Missouri Proves UConn is Favorite originally appeared on NCAA Basketball Tournament on Sat, 28 Mar 2009 19:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Clock Ticking on Missouri's Inspired Stay

Lisa Olson — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Big 12, Big East, West Region

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Marcus Denmon already had his one shining moment, that freeze-frame picture to keep for a lifetime, long after the highlights of this NCAA tournament fade.

The Missouri freshman snagged an inbounds pass Thursday night, sidestepped to avoid a hand waving in his face, and let history fly. From three-quarters out, with the halftime buzzer about to blare, Denmon's fling dropped flawlessly through the twine to put his team up by 13, and from that second on Mizzou knew it had been touched by something special, something only a handful of teams get to experience as March rushes to a close.

But how long will the magic last? Until Hasheem Thabeet rises from deep in the paint and crushes a Missouri shot attempt like an SUV smashing into a bug? Until the University of Connecticut smartly refuses to go where Memphis went and refrains from getting lured into Missouri's crazed, wicked-paced tempo?

Practical intuition says Mizzou's blessed run expires at the hands of UConn in Saturday's West Regional Elite Eight game, the winner earning a trip to the Final Four in Detroit. Lightning rarely strikes twice, and though Denmon's incredible basket launched a striking chain of events against Memphis -- Mizzou's eye-widening 102 points against one of the nation's stingiest defenses, John Calipari's inability to coach his team out of such a deep hole -- UConn is a whole other nightmare.

The top-seeded Huskies haven't many flaws. They are battle-tested survivors of the Big East, a conference that chews and spits out plenty of good teams, and seem to have grown stronger despite a recruiting scandal that continues to produce new, more worrisome allegations every day. It's highly unlikely the Huskies will be spotted leaning over and clutching the hems of their shorts, begging for whistle breaks to slow Missouri's press and fast-breaks and re-branded version of "40 Minutes in Hell."

Memphis never caught its breath against Mizzou, losing 102-91, in Thursday's semifinal, and on Friday the Missouri players, looking as if they'd race to the top of South Mountain if it would make coach Mike Anderson happy, talked in tag-team staccato about the challenge that lay before them, and how they planned to attack it.

It, of course, is the Beast, the 7-3 Thabeet who blocks and scores and snags rebounds and generally makes opponents regret entering his airspace. The Tigers mentioned they've ridden big men before, monsters like Blake Griffin and Cole Aldrich in the Big 12. Ideally, Missouri's maniacal press could keep the ball from flowing to Thabeet on one end of the court, while guards Zaire Taylor and J.T. Tiller dare to drive through the lane at the other end. But "ideally" hardly ever works as planned.

"Personally, I love challenges," Taylor said with a laugh. "Seven foot, I think that makes the lane a little more enticing. But I don't know. He is 7-3. Blocks shots. He is one of the Players of the Year from the Big East for a reason. It will be fun. I think it makes it that much more fun personally."

Tiller smiled bright and admitted, "It is just the layups that might be a little tougher. It means Zaire is going to attack like we normally do but it might be a lot of driving and kicking to get our other teammates open for us tomorrow."

Calipari, Memphis coach, spent so much time pushing the idea that his team had been robbed of a top seed, he seemed to have been caught off guard at Missouri's depth and speed. "We kind of got punched in the mouth right from the beginning of the game," Calipari said.

Jim Calhoun, UConn coach, has had a few diversions of his own over the past week, but promises the Huskies are acutely aware of the pace the Tigers set from the first tip-off. Missouri, said Calhoun, "advertise it as the 40 fastest minutes in basketball, and I'm a believer. Usually I don't like slogans, but that one is true and we really are facing an opponent that we are going to have to walk a very delicate balance with. Memphis wanted to run with them purely for 40 minutes and that is not Connecticut's desire to run 40 minutes with Missouri."

The Huskies' largest hurdle might be in ignoring the urge to prove they can run with the best. An athlete's ego can't always be corralled. But Craig Austrie and A.J. Price, heart and soul of UConn, promise to heed Calhoun's advice and stifle the urge to compete with Missouri in full-court sprints.

"We love playing fast, but we saw what happened to Memphis. They really fell into the trap of playing too fast. With A.J. and myself, we have the ability to kind of control the game and see what's going on out there, play with poise. So we feel like we are going to have to do that tomorrow," Austrie said.

"You definitely don't want to get caught up with that type of game with this team. We like to play fast, but we don't want to play as fast as I think they want to play. That's kind of a different situation for us because we usually want to play faster than most teams. But this team wants to go up and down all game long," Price said. "For us to do that I don't think would be smart."

It was exhausting just listening to the two teams talk about going full-throttle for 40 minutes. And of course, the conversation had to take a detour down the dark side of college sports, as Calhoun was asked to explain what he meant when he told two reporters after the Huskies' semifinal win over Purdue Thursday night that "someone could've made a mistake" during the recruitment of former Huskies guard Nate Miles. The burgeoning scandal has clearly hit Calhoun hard, and could lead this proud, honorable man to retire once the Huskies' romp through the tournament finally ends. Calhoun, his words dripping with sadness, told a story about traveling with Dean Smith a few years ago. "I asked him very simply, 'Coach, why did you get out?' He said, 'I got out at 67 years of age.' I will turn 67 in May, by the way," Calhoun said. Smith told Calhoun he never stopped loving being a coach; it was the stuff on the periphery of the game that led to his retirement.

Calhoun's torment comes in the form of allegations, first reported by Yahoo! Sports, of recruiting wrongdoings. The claims are broad -- add to the list reports of former UConn student manager turned sports agent Josh Nochimson paying several thousand dollars for Miles to have surgery -- but Calhoun, for the moment, has narrowed his role to perhaps not diligently reading the NCAA rule book.

"My quote was, 'in a 508-page manual, a mistake could have been made.' Do I know if any has been made? No, I'm not making judgment one way or the other. I said there could have been a mistake made," Calhoun said. "I have done this for 37 years. I truly believe that everything I have tried to do I have done with a good, clean conscious and if we made a mistake, we'll find out about it. If we didn't, we will also find out about that."

Anderson, coach down the hall, had to navigate a sticky situation of his own last season after a group of Missouri players were arrested following a fight in a local nightclub. Anderson suspended the "Athena Five," got criticized by some for being too soft on discipline and ripped by others for coming down too hard. The Tigers fell out of Big 12 contention but Anderson never stopped repeating to his players the line he first uttered three years ago, when he traded a fine program he built at the University of Alabama at Birmingham for a chance to do the same at Mizzou.

"When he first got there," recalled senior forward Leo Lyons, "we had a meeting in the locker room and the first thing he said was, 'we are playing for a national championship.' Everybody probably didn't believe it at that point, but all the hard work we put in, we slowly but surely became winners."

Missouri got its shining moment, and proved "40 fastest minutes in basketball" is more than just a slogan. Floating over or through the Beast from the Big East could be where the magic trail ends.

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Clock Ticking on Missouri's Inspired Stay originally appeared on NCAA Basketball Tournament on Sat, 28 Mar 2009 10:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Heavyweight Rumble

Kevin B. Blackistone — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 01:20:00 EST

Filed under: ACC, Big 12, FanHouse Exclusive, South Region

MEMPHIS - The last time I came to Memphis for a heavyweight title bout it turned out to be the dud most everyone figured it would be. It was 2002 and Lennox Lewis battered and befuddled Mike Tyson for eight rounds in The Pyramid before Tyson toppled over and could not get up.

This time, Sunday afternoon in FedEx Forum, I expect to see a more competitive match: 6-foot-10, 255-pound Blake Griffin v. 6-9, 250-pound Tyler Hansbrough.

If there was one thing the men's NCAA tournament selection committee did right to spice up this March Madness, it was putting this season's undisputed player of the year, Oklahoma's Griffin, on a collision course with last season's disputed player of the year, North Carolina's Hansbrough, to get to the Final Four. Friday night made that possibility a reality, after Griffin and his Sooners crushed the Syracuse Orange and Hansbrough and his Tar Heels raced by Gonzaga.

(I interrupt this column for those in Tar Heels blue fuming at the word "disputed" to describe Hansbrough's accomplishment last season, when he swept the many player of the year awards. I must remind them that Kansas State's Michael Beasley averaged more points, rebounds, assists and blocked shots than Hansbrough and had more double-doubles. Hansbrough averaged more steals and shot a little better and played on a much better team. As Jay Bilas, one of Hansbrough's biggest fans, said last year: "Michael Beasley is the best player in the country and an unstoppable man among men. But, Tyler Hansbrough is my choice as national player of the year." That was a common illogical explanation.)

Sunday afternoon will not, of course, settle anything that seems unsettled from a season ago. Beasley is hooping for dollars after being forced to labor for NCAA basketball for one season. He'll have to wait for Hansbrough to join him next season in the NBA to settle any score the rest of us would prefer him to have with Hansbrough, or prefer Hansbrough to have with him.

Griffin is just the next best thing, maybe better.

Griffin has more double-doubles than Beasley put up. He averages more rebounds and makes almost 65 percent of his shots because he plays around and above the rim so much.

Unfortunately, Griffin sounded Friday night as if he is the product of a household that taught humility. He refused to engage in the me-against-him tenor of what we'd like to think of as a titanic tussle with Psycho T, as Hansbrough is known.

"It's another team," Griffin said of his next game after dropping 30 and 14 on Syracuse. "I'm not going to get into a personal battle with Tyler Hansbrough. I have no beef with him.

"They're a good team. This game...it's not going to be me against him. It's going to be Oklahoma versus North Carolina, and that's how we plan to attack them."

Hansbrough, sadly, took the same tact.

"For me...I just have to play my part within this team, not, like I said, not try to force anything, let the game come to me," Hansbrough said following his 24 and 10 outing against Gonzaga "I'm not looking at it [Sunday] as a matchup between me and Griffin or something like that. I'm looking at it as North Carolina is playing Oklahoma."

So, it is up to the rest of us to blow their impending match up out of proportion and call it the biggest meeting of big men in the NCAA tournament since the 1984 Final Four. That was when Georgetown's Patrick Ewing took on and slayed Kentucky's two-headed dragon of Sam Bowie and Melvin Turpin before knocking out Houston's Hakeem Olajuwon. There was no trash talking then, either, except for the ferocity with which Ewing played.

Griffin isn't at the disadvantage Beasley was at last year in comparison to Hansbrough. His Sooners are a lot better than Beasley's Wildcats were and better commanded by Jeff Capel. If Oklahoma plays Sunday as it did Friday, with Tony Crocker leading its three-guard offensive attack to 9-for-21 shooting from beyond the 3-point stripe, Oklahoma will be as good a team as North Carolina usually puts on the floor. The Sooners don't generally get that kind of production from their three guards, though, particularly Crocker, who had a career game scoring 28.

Hansbrough's Tar Heels, however, are better than they were a season ago. They are more experienced and deeper and point guard Ty Lawson, if healthy, is even more explosive, all of which has helped depress Hansbrough's numbers a little. Other guys around him are doing more.

It isn't fair, of course, to heap so much expectation on two young men or to draw from whatever they do a grand conclusion. This really won't be Memphis's Tyson-Lewis II. Basketball is a team sport.

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But both these guys are the centers of their teams, literally and figuratively, and both will soon be carrying much of the same hardware - Wooden, Naismith, etc. They play the game a little bit differently; Griffin's game is defined by power and Hansbrough's game is defined by energy. If Griffin's game inspires oohs and ahhs, Hansbrough's brings forth attaboys.

Chances are, this will be one of those games where the player with best numbers loses the game and the one who walks away a winner winds up with the accolades.

Kevin B. Blackistone is a panelist on ESPN's Around the Horn, the Shirley Povich Chair in Sports Journalism at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, and a frequent sports opinionist on other outlets. A former award-winning sports columnist for The Dallas Morning News, he currently lives in Silver Spring, Md.

A Heavyweight Rumble originally appeared on NCAA Basketball Tournament on Sat, 28 Mar 2009 01:20:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Michigan State a Gritty Contender

Dan Graziano — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 00:25:00 EST

Filed under: Big 12, Big Ten, Midwest Region

No, it was most certainly not pretty. Until the second half of the final minute, Michigan State never looked like it had this won. It had trouble all night finding somebody other than Goran Suton to give them any consistent scoring, and in the first half Kansas beat the Spartans at their own game -- pushing them around on the boards.

But while Kansas proved to be a more worthy defending champion than anybody imagined it'd be, Michigan State has more.

No. 2 Michigan St 67, No. 3 Kansas 62: AP Recap | Box Score | Bracket | Scores
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The Spartans have seniors. And they have this grit and toughness. They have Tom Izzo as their coach. And while yes, you can always say this about any team that gets this far, the Spartans are a real threat to win three more games and cut down those nets next weekend in Detroit.

This team has all kinds of personalities, and seemingly as many problems. Right now one of those problems is the disappearance of Raymar Morgan -- such a factor early in the season, Morgan is so deep in the doghouse now that they went ahead and basically played this game without him. Suton, Travis Walton and dazzling sophomore Kalin Lucas took over in the second half and muscled and willed their way into the Elite Eight.

But they make up for their problems with senior grit, tight discipline and a killer foundation.

NCAA Tournament Action

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I first heard the quote attributed to Pitt coach Jamie Dixon, and it may or may not be his originally. It goes, "You can shoot too much and you can pass too much, but you can't rebound too much." Dixon's team lives by this credo, and so do Izzo's Spartans. Friday night, Kansas' Cole Aldrich dominated the glass in the first half and was just as tough in the second. But Suton wouldn't be denied. He toughened up. He played smart with second-half foul trouble. He did what he needed to to do tilt the second-half rebounding edge his team's way, and his teammates did just enough to pull out the best game of the night.

Louisville is up next, and the game should be a hideous one, with easy buckets an endangered species. If MSU's guards don't get rattled by the press and can get the game into the half-court, I like the Spartans to make it to Detroit. And call me crazy, but I don't think this Michigan State team gets rattled very easily.

Michigan State a Gritty Contender originally appeared on NCAA Basketball Tournament on Sat, 28 Mar 2009 00:25:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Blake Griffin Hits Head on Backboard During Dunk. No, Seriously

Kevin B. Blackistone — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 22:05:00 EST

Filed under: Big 12, Tourney Video, South Region, Shining Moments

MEMPHIS - For those who doubted Blake Griffin was really head and shoulders above the rest of college basketball this year, among the last of his 30 points for the Sooners' Friday night victory over Syracuse came on a baseline dunk - after he hit his head on the side of the backboard. (I know. It used to happen to you every now and then too.)

"That was the first time that happened," Griffin said afterward. "It kind of took me by surprise."

(Video proof after the jump.)

I saw "Big Country" Reeves break a backboard in a Final Four warm up for Oklahoma State.

I saw Mateen Cleeves and Eduardo Najera head butt each other at full speed in a tournament game. (Najera was knocked woozy for the longest time.) I saw the Arkansas mascot blow out his knee in a pre-game routine before a Final Four game.

Griffin's head knock was a first. He should try to replicate it next February in the NBA All-Star Weekend Slam Dunk contest.

Kevin B. Blackistone is a panelist on ESPN's Around the Horn, the Shirley Povich Chair in Sports Journalism at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, and a frequent sports opinionist on other outlets. A former award-winning sports columnist for The Dallas Morning News, he currently lives in Silver Spring, Md.

Blake Griffin Hits Head on Backboard During Dunk. No, Seriously originally appeared on NCAA Basketball Tournament on Fri, 27 Mar 2009 22:05:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oklahoma Ruins Big East Party

Dan Graziano — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 21:31:00 EST

Filed under: Big 12, Big East, South Region

There was not going to be an answer for Blake Griffin. Rick Jackson and Arinze Onuaku did everything they could. Jackson in particular player a very tough first half, but Griffin was just too much, as he has been for everybody all year, and Jim Boeheim doubtless knew he would be before the game ever began.

Thing is, Syracuse could have survived an unstoppable Griffin if it had been able to do something else exceptionally well. Something they'd done all year. Something that takes place far away from the spot on the court where Griffin spends most of his time. Yeah, that's right. We're talking about 3-point shooting.

No. 2 Oklahoma 84, No. 3 Syracuse 71: AP Recap | Box Score | Bracket | Scores
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Eric Devendorf and Andy Rautins could not find their shot in the first half. The Orange missed their first 10 three-pointers, and by the time they started knocking them down in the second half, it was just too late. And to make matters worse, Tony Crocker and Oklahoma were hitting their threes -- beating the Orange at the Sooners' game as well as their own.

So the Big East will not have the whole Final Four. Either Oklahoma, North Carolina or Gonzaga will come out of the South and hold down a non-Big East spot next weekend in Detroit. Syracuse's 2008-09 season will always be justifiably remembered for the performance it put on in the Big East tournament. Jonny Flynn is as tough and dynamic a player as there is in the country. But the Orange have come up short.

So, whither Griffin and Oklahoma?

Well, first, we all have to be rooting for North Carolina tonight, right? Can there be anybody outside of Washington State who doesn't want to see Griffin against Tyler Hansbrough with a Final Four berth on the line? But regardless of who wins the nightcap in Memphis, it'd be foolish not to think Oklahoma has a shot.

Griffin is a monster. The way he plays, honestly, is stunning. You see play after play on which he appears done -- on which almost any other player would be done, lose the ball, get the shot blocked, dribble off his foot...something. But on play after play, Griffin keeps going. He outlasts the play, and gets the bucket. He outlasts the chaos, and gets the rebound. He is huge and strong and quick and smart, and probably, as much as anybody can be, unstoppable.

And if any non-Griffin Sooner is having the kind of game Crocker had tonight to complement Griffin, the Sooners might turn out to be unstoppable too. And that's the key. If Oklahoma wins three more games, the comparison is going to be to Danny Manning in 1988. But I'll wager that can't happen unless he gets some kind of help from somebody else on the floor.

Whoever plays Oklahoma the rest of the way will know there's only so much they can do about Griffin. They'll just have to make sure they shut down his teammates, or else he's going to take them apart.

Oklahoma Ruins Big East Party originally appeared on NCAA Basketball Tournament on Fri, 27 Mar 2009 21:31:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sweet 16 Live Blogging

Chas Rich — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 21:00:00 EST

Filed under: ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-10, WCC, Tourney Rumors, Midwest Region, West Region, South Region, East Region

Last night's action had one tight game, a blowout that tightened near the end, a walloping, and a game that never became a blowout though the outcome was never in doubt.

Tonight, Louisville takes on that, uh, Cinderella team from the desert in Arizona. Syracuse and Oklahoma should be a lot of fun in the early games. Later tonight Kansas and Michigan State looks like it should be gem. Also North Carolina gets Gonzaga, the original West Coast Cinderella that has not been that for some time.

Stop on by around 6:30 PM ET to talk about the action from yesterday and the games tonight. Plus, there is always the coaching carousel and what happens next at Kentucky.

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href=&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;quot;http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;task=viewaltcast&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;altcast_code=1f236a6df2&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;quot; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Round 3 Reaction and Action&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

Sweet 16 Live Blogging originally appeared on NCAA Basketball Tournament on Fri, 27 Mar 2009 21:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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