Around the World of the College Hardwood

Considering it's Halloween and considering my first subject in this article, I thought a proper Halloween motif was needed.  Thus my favorite clip from  "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown." If you are one of the few, the proud, ie the dedicated readers of this site, you know that I am not the biggest fan of Kentucky Coach John Calipari.   Thanks to a line from Jayson Williams' book, I have dubbed Calipari "The Antichrist".  And without fail, it seems every college basketball presason, The AntiChrist is the center of controversy.   Last season it was JohnWall and his eligibility.  This season, it's Enes Kanter and his eligibility.

So leave it to The Antichrist to add fuel to the controversy.  In last Friday's Lexington Herald-Leader, an article noted the following;

"According to a transcript posted on Calipari's Web site Wednesday night, the UK coach said of the Kanter case, "I love what the NCAA did with Dee Bost. Dee Bost decided to put his name in the NBA Draft; stayed in the Draft — meaning he was then a professional and could not come back and be an amateur. Yet, they looked at it and said, wait a minute, common sense says, we're going to let him play, sit him out some games and let him play."

If you want to read the transcript, click here to read it on The Antichrist's own web site. Don't worry, you don't have to do any online signup in blood or have to "click here to accept giving your first born to us".  The transcript comes from an interview that the Antichrist did with Jimmy Dykes on ESPN's Big Blue Madness coverage.

Well apparently Rick Stansbury, the head coach of Mississippi State, was watching the ESPN coverage from Hades and was none too happy about the comparison.  At SEC Media Day, Stansbury commented on this comparison by saying about Bost - "He's not a pro...For any kind of comparison to be made, I don't think Dee is a good one to make it on."   Furthermore, Stansbury had the courage to say what many others, including myself have thought, about Kanter and Kentucky in general;.

"Everybody across the landscape of college basketball understands what that situation was," Stansbury said. "Everybody is probably waiting to see (if) Kentucky gets something, is it because, with Kentucky, something's maybe different than another school."

Wow!  Stansbury even went up to Calipari to talk about this at SEC Media day.  Well Stansbury's right, Bost did not EVER play in a professional league, as did Kanter.  Bost's only mistake was not realizing when the deadline was to pull his name from the NBA draft (and the deadline had been just moved starting this past season - still Bost should have had a clue).   That would be like comparing Katy Perry to Meryl Streep as an actress because Katy happened to have appeared on Saturday Night Live.  That doesn't suddenly make Perry "an actress", though the above spoof on her "left on the cutting room floor" duo with Elmo from Sesame Street was pretty funny.



In other college basketball news, it looks like conference plundering is in full swing, thus a little John Cleese pirate humor is in order.  After Utah and BYU stated their intentions to leave the Mountain West after the 2010-11 season (Utah for the PAC-10 and BYU going independent in football and going to the WCC in Basketball), the MWC had to act to keep their conference strong.  They had already added WAC's Boise State to the fold for the 2011-12 season.   Then the MWC struck at the heart of the WAC again by adding Nevada and Fresno State for the 2012-2013 season.

The Mountain West has a history of causing the WAC grief.  The Mountain West was formed in 1999 when eight teams left the one time sixteen member WAC.   NCAA basketball fans can thank the MWC for creating the dilemma of 31 automatic berth teams to go along with 34 at large teams.  Thus the creation of the Play In Game, otherwise known as the P.I.G., what was and still probably is the most unfair game in NCAA championship sports.

Right now the WAC would be down to six teams for the 2012-13 season, which would mean by rules, they would lose their automatic qualifier bid to the NCAA Tournament.  But don't cry for the WAC just yet.  The WAC is already looking to fill those voids.  Among the schools the WAC are looking at are Montana, Texas State, Texas San Antonio, Denver and Seattle.  Seattle is currently a DI  independent in basketball and Denver is only DI in basketball.   Montana and Denver seem like perfect fits.  The Grizzlies, currently members of the Big Sky, are looking to move into DI football.  The  Pioneers are by far the furthest western point of the Sun Belt conference and really don't fit into the conference's southeastern profile.



With the next topic, I thought it was appropo to have a YouTube link to the very recently deceased Paul the Octopus.   As you may know, Paul was very accurate in predicting World Cup games.  And, it's that time of year when prognostications for the NCAA Tournament actually begin.  Yes, in October.  Blogging the Bracket is already on board with their predictions for the Power Six conferences, as well as "The Other 25 Conferences".   First, I have to kind of laugh that there is this split.  ESPN is guilty of it too with their Bubble Watch.   But it's funny how Blogging the Bracket says "The Other 25" as if they are well, not worthy of mention in the first story.

Well, here at the College Hardwood, we do have separation as well, but we try not to make the non Power Six conferences feel like lepers.   Here's how it is broken down into three groups on this site,

1. The Power Six  - ACC, Big Ten, Big East, Big 12, PAC 10, and SEC 
2. The Wannabees - Atlantic 10, Conference USA and the Mountain West
3. The  Mid Majors - America East, Atlantic Sun,  Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Ivy, MAAC, MAC,  MEAC, Missouri Valley, NEC, Ohio Valley, Patriot,  Southern, Southland,  Summit, Sun Belt,  SWAC, West Coast and WAC.

The Power Six and The Mid Majors are pretty obvious.  The Power Six are the large multiple tournament bid basketball/BCS football conferences.  The Mid Majors are the historically one tournament bid basketball conferences.  Where I differ with some people is "The Wannabees", which I talked about in an article this past January.  Those are the conferences that either are multiple bowl bid football conferences - Conference USA and Mountain West, or have been historically a multiple tournament bid basketball conference - The Atlantic 10.  

To break it down even further, if you are one of the few the proud, the readers of this site, you know that I believe the Atlantic 10 has never been a mid major conference.  This is due to the conferences significant NCAA Tournament history and either the basketball program or overall athletic program funding or revenue of several of the schools - Xavier, Dayton, Temple, St Joseph's and UMass for example.  Plus the A10 has shown a recent history of looking down at the term "Mid Major".  So, if you don't want to be a mid major and you're not a power six conference, you're a "wannabe".

Anyway, back to the point of tournament bid projections.   You will not see NCAA Tournament Bid projections in late October or November on this site (Hell, you won't see them here till February 2011). It's just way too early for conjecture.  Plus an octopus predicting world cup games is far more accurate than a basketball prognosticator in October. Finally, I think Blogging the Bracket missed one of the best "Other 25 Conference" teams in the country (go to the suggested link below in the next paragraph to see who I am talking about)

The only thing you will see is either my thoughts on two NCAA Tourmament teams from last season being possible Sweet Sixteen teams or the soon to be seen preseason Baker's Dozen Poll, the thirteen tastiest/best Mid Major teams in the country (and that's a poll the College Hardwood runs during the entire season).

Forget about NCAA Tournament projections in the Fall.  Just be happy that in about ten days or so, the NCAA basketball season starts.  Isn't that all that really matters?

Hofstra Fanfest Results in a Pleasant Surprise

Saturday was Hofstra's Fanfest which featured team scrimmages for both the women's and men's basketball teams.   There were inflatables for the kids to play with, free food from Outback Steakhouse, season ticket holders could pick up their tickets and of course there was basketball.

Only a couple hundred fans were in attendance to see new Hofstra Men's Coach Mo Cassara mingle with the crowd or watch, in an even nicer touch, Hofstra Women's Coach Krista Kilburn-Steveskey introduced her entire team to the crowd.  But I think those in attendance had a good time.

Tieff and I got there during the women's vs men's drill challenges after spending a late afternoon at Cozymel's for strawberry margaritas and mexican food.  Had we realized that there would be Outback catering the event, we wouldn't have eaten at Cozy's.  But the Outback catering was not the only surprise on the day.  The other big surprise was about to take place.

The women's team took the court for two eight minute periods.   After eight minutes we were surprised.  After sixteen minutes, we were damn impressed.  The Hofstra Pride Women's team has a lot of  talent.  They are led by All Preseason First Team CAA Shante Evans who was second team All CAA as a freshman last season.  That's right, she's only a sophomore.  She averaged 13 points and 9.5 rebounds per game.

But here's the scary thought.  Though you could tell Evans is extremely talented, she was the fourth best player on the court on Saturday.  The best player on the court was junior point guard Candice Bellocchio, who is fluid and cat quick.  She averaged nearly 8 points and 5 assists per game in her sophomore season.   Bellocchio is extremely quick driving the paint, fearless and has a great touch on her passes to her teammates.

But for every point guard that can drive the lane, there has to be a deadly shooter the guard can kick out to for the open three.   The Pride Women's team seems to have that guard in junior Nicole Capurso.  Capurso averaged nearly ten points per game, led the team in threes with 58 and was eighth in the CAA in three point field goals per game with 1.7.   She buried several threes during the scrimmage and appears poised to improve on her statistics this year.

But the surprise for the women's team might be fellow junior Marie Malone, a 6 foot 2 forward who transferred from West Virginia two years ago.  She only averaged 4.5 points and 4.2 rebounds per game last season.  But she looked very solid, showed good post moves and showed a nice touch on her baskets, which she had several.

Coach Kilburn-Stevesky has done a very nice job going into her fifth season as head coach of the Pride.  Her first season, 2006-07, she led the Pride to their best Division I record ever, 26-8, a win over #17 Michigan State and taking Hofstra to the quarterfinals of the WNIT beating Seton Hall and South Carolina.   After struggling in her next season with a 5-25 team, her team has improved the past two seasons.

In 2008-09 the Pride improved to 16-14, then 20-14 last season, which included a first round win over Penn State in the WNIT.   Her overall record at Hofstra is 67-61 and the Pride, which only has two seniors on the team, are picked to finish fourth in a very competitive CAA.  Last season, James Madison made the Women's NCAA Tournament, while Delaware, VCU, Old Dominion and Hofstra all made the WNIT.

After the women's scrimmage completed, it was on to the men's scrimmage.  I can honestly say, that with few exceptions, it was hard to say how talented this men's team is.  But I had the same feeling last season during last year's Blue and White men's scrimmage and that team won 19 games.

I did say there were exceptions though.  First, Charles Jenkins is, well Charles Jenkins. The reigning CAA Player of the Year plays just as hard in a scrimmage as he does in a CAA Tournament game.  Jenkins though was trying his best to get others involved.  Greg Washington's outside jumper was in midseason form.   But while the senior veterans Jenkins and Washington look ready to go, there are others that Hofstra needs to count on.

Every time Brad Kelleher drained a three, I wanted to rip my hair out due to the NCAA's completely unfair rulings on his eligibility.   Kelleher has simply a beautiful shooting stroke and everyone will unfortunately have to wait eight games to see it.  Mike Moore showed some flashes of his scoring ability.  JUCO Dwan McMillan seems decent enough to be the starting point guard at least until Kelleher is eligible.

And of all the freshmen, curiously enough redshirt Paul Bilbo showed the most work ethic and aggressiveness (and he looks much trimmer than last season).  None of the other four freshmen really stood out and yes, senior guard/forward Nate Lester was there, but did not play due to his torn quad muscle.   Apparently in about a month or so, they will know whether Lester can play this year or not.  If Lester can play, he would give them much needed depth.

But one player stood out the most in the men's scrimmage.  And if you were at the Hofstra Men's Season Ticket Holder reception a few weeks ago, this should not have come as a surprise.  At the reception, Coach Cassara singled out sophomore forward David Imes as someone who really impressed him during the initial practices.

Well guess who was the best player for the men's team during the scrimmage?  Yup, Imes.  He showed an outside jumper, improved mobility and definitely a new aggressive streak to his game.  Now Imes showed in limited time last year that he's a hard worker.   He seems to have improved his all around game to match that hard work.  A starting lineup of Jenkins, Moore, McMillan, Washington and Imes could be pretty good.  Depth is a serious question though.

Yes it was only two scrimmages, but to Tieff and I, there was a lot to be impressed about, especially the women's team.  Their first game is Friday, November 12 at home versus nationally ranked Virginia.  Tieff and I know what we are doing that Friday night.  Why don't you join us at the Mack Arena for some quality women's basketball?   Then join us Saturday for the first men's game of the season as Hofstra is home vs. Farmingdale.  Hey, it will be a weekend full of Pride.

Live Updates Today via Twitter from the Blue and White Scrimmage

I will be tweeting today from the Hofstra Blue and White Scrimmage.  Follow me for today only @gmoore21566.  After today, I will only be tweeting College Hardwood news at @collegehardwood.  Now go plan some road trips!

Plan Your Road Trips - Part I

Over the past several years of watching college basketball, nothing gives me greater pleasure than taking a road trip to see a game.  The memories you get out of a six hour drive to Richmond, spending a weekend in Charleston, South Carolina, or to witness history in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tourney in Raleigh are simply priceless.

It always helps to have a partner in crime, and I have two of them, my friends Tieff and Mal, who share my Hofstra season tickets.  Tieff has been with me on just about every road trip I have done, sans one.  That's when I traveled up to Worcester, Mass in November 2007 to see Hofstra play Holy Cross in a required return matchup of the previous season's Bracketbuster game.  Otherwise, Tieff and I have never missed a Waffle House that was in our path.

Mal has gone on a few CAA Tournament road trips with us in 2006 and 2007.  But the Golfman, as we call Mal, was instrumental in perhaps one of our greatest road trips, the trip to Raleigh, North Carolina in March, 2008 to see Davidson and specifically Stephen Curry, put on perhaps the greatest show ever seen in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.  You couldn't ask for better college basketball, more perfect weather (got a round of golf in on the off day),  and great company.

But it's not just the long trip to Kansas to see Hofstra play in basketball mecca, or to Richmond, Charleston or Raleigh that are special. It's even the small trips to Fairfield for a televised ESPN Bracketbuster game and you stop along the way for a pizza at the famous Frank Pepe's.  Or getting very early to a  Bracketbusters game at Iona and going across the street and stopping at the Beechmont Tavern for a burger and a beer while viewing all the Gael memorabilia in the restaurant.

If you have ever got anything out of this blog, it's the idea of seeing a college basketball game LIVE!  It's not just the two hours of constant action, reveling in the great loud student sections when a college gym is sold out due to the home team hosting their first ever Division I postseason game.  But it's also the trip revolving around the game that's often equally as fun.

So as a public service, I am going to give you the first in a series of recommendations for road trips which includes actual game dates.

1) Puerto Rico Tipoff - San Juan, Puerto Rico - November 18-21 - I had seriously considered going but it would have meant leaving on my younger son's third birthday on November 17.  Now for the rest of you who don't have a child's birthday around that time, here's a great way to go see some quality college basketball.   Twelve games in three days with a break after the second day to go to the beach and enjoy the warm Puerto Rican sun.   And talk about quality basketball - North Carolina, West Virginia, Minnesota, Vanderbilt, Nebraska, Western Kentucky, Davidson and Hofstra are the eight teams here.   Three NCAA tournament teams from last season.   What else could you want?

2) Charleston Classic - Charleston, South Carolina - November 18-21 - Now Tieff and I did this trip two years ago when the Charleston Classic first started.  We had such great fun "doin the Charleston".  The Carolina First Arena is right smack in the middle of the College of Charleston campus, perfectly placed in with all the brick buildings the school has.   The College of Charleston was the host team for the first Charleston Classic Tournament, but strangely, they haven't played in last season's or this season's tournament (last season they chose Hawaii for the Diamond Head Classic Tournament instead, not bad mind you).

This season, Georgetown, NC State and defending SoCon champ Wofford are the big three teams.  But you also have George Mason, Charlotte, East Carolina, Coastal Carolina and South Carolina Upstate, so the tournament has a definitive southern flavor to it.  And of course, you have the City of Charleston, with it all it's terrific classic southern architecture, great food and a terrific night life.  It's one of my favorite cities.

Recommendations - stay in town for the tournament (don't do what we did) and as for food selections, well Hyman's Seafood is the place to go.  And if you can plan it out, there's still plenty of golf in Myrtle Beach in November and you can get a hotel real cheap off season on the water (trust me it's still warm there in November).

3) MSG Holiday Festival - Madison Square Garden, NYC - December 20, 21  - This is a two day tournament that Tieff and I have gone to many times over the years.  Thanks to last year's Holiday Festival, we got to know how good a team the Big Red of Cornell was before their NCAA Tournament run.

Two teams from last year's Holiday Festival return, host St John's and Davidson.  Those two teams square off in a first round game while Northwestern plays St. Francis in the other game.  The first game features Steve Lavin in his first Holiday Festival as St John's coach vs. Davidson's Bob McKillop, one of my favorite all time coaches.   St John's is on an upswing, predicted to finish sixth in the competitive Big East.  Northwestern is coming off a 20 win season with a NIT appearance and returns their leading scorer, John Shurna.

The Holiday Festival is a perfect time to be in NYC.  Of course, I would highly suggest going to see the tree in Rockefeller Center.  As for dinner, you really can't go wrong picking a good place to eat in one of the great restaurant capitals in the world.  But since you are near midtown, I highly recommend Tony DiNapoli's.  Just make sure to book a reservation ahead of time.  Then when you are there, order the sangria and Tony's Chicken (order a family style portion!).  The cheesecake is also really good.  Trust me on this one.

4) Hofstra vs. Iona - New Rochelle - December 29 - OK, this is a local NY metro area trip I highly recommend.  Why?  First, I am giving you the scoop on what I think is a team that is going to do really well this season and is flying under the radar, the Iona Gaels. They have a new coach in Tim Cluess, whose C.W. Post teams played a fantastic uptempo style.  Combine this with a team that is returning seven players who averaged more than 12 minutes a game, including leading scorer Scott Machado.   Throw in two talented freshman in Sean Armand and Javon James, both of whom Jared Grasso first recruited for Fordham when he was interim coach (Grasso is now Cluess' top assistant at Iona).

The Gaels' opponent, the Pride, have the returning CAA Player of the Year, Charles Jenkins, who is simply a force of nature and a true treat to watch live.  It will be interesting to see how seven new players (five freshmen, a transfer in Mike Moore and Brad Kelleher free from NCAA suspension land) mesh together with Jenkins with a brand new coaching staff.  New coach Mo Cassara promises various types of offensive tempo depending upon the opponent.  So it could be very well a track meet on that Wednesday night in late December.

As I suggested earlier in this article, get to the Iona campus early on the 29th.  Park in the parking garage, then take the walk off campus across North Street to the Beechmont Tavern.  Have a burger and a beer and look over all the photos of past Iona athletes.   Disregard the Dolphins logo, as cool as it may look.  Then head to the Hynes Center and take in what promises to be a fun game.

5) St Josephs vs. Drexel - Philadelphia  December 1 -  Having been to the cozy gym known as the DAC, the place should be rocking that night with this inter Philly rivalry.  The DAC seats about 2300 of your closest friends and when full, is a truly classic college basketball experience.   Expect it to be full since it's still in semester and bragging rights are at stake.

Now of course, you are in Philly, so there's plenty of good cheesesteak to be found. You have Geno's , Pat's and Campo's among others.  Now if you are not in the mood for cheesesteak and you prefer Italian, I have one recommendation for you. Maggiano's.in Little Italy on Filbert Street.   Had a great Italian dinner after a classic Drexel- Hofstra game in 2006 that had an ending you couldn't believe unless you were there in person.

So there are my first five recommendations for road trips.  Part II will be in the next week or two.  Now go check your calendar, find a buddy to go with, get your wife's permission (good luck on that), go online and get some tickets, and make a plane reservation if necessary.  Trust me, even the planning for these trips is enjoyable.

CAA Media Day - Fun for the Crowd

Tuesday was Basketball Media Day for the CAA.   They announced the preseason polls for both the women and men's basketball leagues, as well as predicted their preseason players of the year, the preseason all CAA first teams for men and women, and most importantly, the CAA announced the TV schedules for both men and women.

The men's TV schedule is particularly impressive.  Yes, there are the 26 games on the various World Wide Leader (ESPN) channels plus a few other games on Fox College Sports.   But every other game is on some CAA team's internet site, whether it's Monarch TV, Mason All Access, GoHofstra.com or Hawkvision, just to name a few.   And if your CAA team is playing a non conference game on the road, chances are you can watch them on Buffalobulls.com (when Towson plays at Buffalo) or Bobcat TV-ohiobobcats.com (when Delaware travels to Ohio U.) or Orange All Access (suathletics.com) when William and Mary travel to the Cuse.



You can say that there are a lot of bad things or wacky things about the Internet (click here for the link of the Rent is Too Damn High Party web site).  However the ability to be able to watch your team playing on the road from your computer at home (or wherever) is a beautiful thing.  Yes, you will mostly like have to probably pay to view online your favorite CAA team play on the road,  and you may even get a team's live feed site that isn't very good (memo to the folks at GoZips.com - It's called "Play by Play").  But you can tell your friends how hardcore of a fan you really are!

As for those twenty six games on ESPN and three games on FCS, many of them feature defending CAA champ and NCAA 2010 Tournament First Round winner ODU.  Between the WWL and FCS, the Monarchs will have eight nationally televised games.  But Old Dominion is not the only CAA team in the national spotlight.  George Mason has seven games and VCU has six games respectively on the WWL family of networks.

Of course CAA Media Day is not just about TV schedules.  It's about the preseason poll or hearing the coaches speak.   With my real full time job, I didn't have chance to listen to the live feed from CAASports.com, but thankfully some folks wrote their usual good takes about the day.  Brian Mull gives you his usual good nuggets of information.  And of course, Mr. CAA himself, Mike Litos has some great quotes from the coaches.  The really insightful ones I thought came from Hofstra coach Mo Cassara.  I'll let you read the article and judge for yourself.

As for the preseason poll, no shock that ODU is picked to repeat. With four starters returning from a team that won the regular season and postseason titles, then knocked off Notre Dame in the first round of the tourney, I have the Monarchs as the favorite for the CAA too.   And not surprised by the usual suspects of Mason and VCU as the next two in the poll.  Then comes James Madison, and that's no surprise really, given the ton of talent on that team.  Meshing it together, well that remains to be seen.

And despite losing two starters to transfer, you can certainly see Hofstra being picked fifth simply due to the fact that the reigning CAA Player of the Year and Preseason Player of the Year, Charles Jenkins is back for another season of havoc.  However, there appears to be a major dropoff on the rest of the league due to teams losing players to bad conduct (Drexel with Jamie Harris), significant graduation (see William and Mary and Northeastern) or injury (Delaware with Brian Johnson still hurt).

As for the CAA Preseason First Team, no surprise that Jenkins leads it.  The others listed are Denzel Bowles (defiinitely by far, the biggest threat to Jenkins for winning CAA Player of the Year), VCU's Joey Rodriguez,  Northeastern's Chaisson Allen and Mason's Cam Long.  The Preseason Second Team has ODU's Kent Bazemore and Ben Finney, James Madison's Julius Wells, William and Mary's Quinn McDowell and Delaware's Jawan Carter.

But I am going to give you a little sneak peek of my CAA Season Preview article and tell you five players you need to know about that are not on either the preseason first team or second team.

• James Madison's Devon Moore.  Moore is returning from injury and will be the key to how successful the Dukes are this season.  I think he is much more first team material than Cam Long.
• Hofstra's Mike Moore.  Transfer from Fordham who Mo Cassara notes as having an "uncanny ability to score in different ways".  If he lives up to his billing, Hofstra could have a deadly one-two punch they have been missing since the Stokes-Agudio days. 
• Old Dominion's Frank Hassell.  When you are the second leading scorer from last season's team, you shoot 54 percent from the field and the leading scorer graduates, Blaine Taylor will be looking for you to score more. 
• VCU's Brandon Burgess.  Burgess is capable of lighting it up.  In his first two seasons, Burgess has shot  48 percent from the field.  Shaka Smart needs a new scoring option with Larry Sanders gone, so look for Burgess to blossom.
• George Mason's Ryan Pearson.  Look at the end of last season.  When Cam Long was basically a cast member on the TV show "Lost", Pearson was the Patriots' go to guy in the CAA Tournament.  With Gerald Lee and Sanders gone,  Pearson might be the best post player in the CAA.

What really happens this upcoming season, well for the most part, it's anybody's guess.  No one predicted last season that William and Mary would finish third in the conference and knock off teams like Maryland, Wake Forest and Richmond.  Nobody had any idea how good Denzel Bowles would be or that Larry Sanders would be taken with the 15th pick in the first round of the NBA draft.    

There are a few things for certain though this upcoming season.  First, the basketball in the CAA will again be good, especially with three veteran teams at the top of the league.  Second, without fail, recent history has shown that one of the four top regular season teams in the CAA will win the CAA Tournament.   And finally, once again, I will be having my share of Aunt Sarah's pancakes while in town for the CAA Tournament in Richmond in March.  As much as many things change, some things stay the same.

The Loss of a Great Fan

If you are a Yankee fan or like me, someone who loves baseball and has gone to their fair share of Yankee games over the years, chances are you ran into the man above, "Freddy Sez".  Fred Schuman was a long long time Yankee fan who would bring a sign, his trademark frying pan and his banging spoon to the game.  He would be regularly banging out a "Let's Go Yankees" chant, or let his fellow fans bang the pan for him.  He was at every Yankee game that I  can remember going to over the past 15 years.  My brother and I are convinced that the retired Bronx upholstery shop owner was a millionaire who was able to afford to be at every Yankee game for the last 20 years.

Sadly, Freddy Schuman passed away Sunday afternoon after a heart attack at the age of 85.  Schuman was such a revered Yankee icon that at tonight's Yankee game, they had a moment of silence for Freddy Sez.  Schuman has one of his trademark frying pans at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY as well as the Yogi Berra Museum in Montclair, NJ.

So what does Freddy Sez' passing have to do with college basketball?  Well, as this NY Daily News article notes, a lot. Freddy was a "die hard booster" of Fordham and Manhattan men's college basketball.  And sure enough, Tieff and I saw Freddy three times at Fordham and Manhattan games the past couple of years.  The most recent time was when we went to see Hofstra travel to Draddy Gymnasium to watch the Pride take on the Jaspers in 2008. And there was Freddy with his trademark pan, spoon and a sign rooting the Jaspers on. I told Tieff of my brother's and my philosophy of Freddy being a millionaire, and Tieff agreed.  I even took a picture of Freddy and his trademark pan at the game.  Alas, I can't find the picture of him.

Freddy will be sorely missed by many people.  He added a unique and fun element to Yankee and college basketball games. More importantly, he was a dedicated fan to two great sports.   Somewhere in heaven, Freddy is banging away at his pans, encouraging his teams on from above.

From Around the World of the College Hardwood

Lots of things are going on in the College Hardwood.  Some are well known.  Some, not so.  So let's start in the "Under the Radar" category (thus the love for "Radar Love"!), last week James Madison found out that junior transfer Anthony Hitchens will be eligible this season to play for the Dukes.  Hitchens, who was a member of the all MAC freshman team with the Zips, had the fourth best assistant to turnover ratio in the MAC last season at 1.84, averaging 8.5 points and 3 assists per game.  Hitchens was granted a waiver to play this season by the NCAA.

With the addition of Hitchens, this may mean that coach Matt Brady will move Devon Moore to the two guard position.  This would give the Dukes a formidable lineup of Hitchens, Moore, Andrey Semenov, Julius Wells and the one man double-double wrecking crew, Denzel Bowles.  Moore and Semenov were out for most of last season due to injury.   If Moore and Semenov stay healthy, the Dukes should contend for the CAA title.   The addition of Hitchens moves Madison up to third on my preseason poll for the CAA.

Also last week, In the "I Don't Think That's Quite Enough Punishment for the NCAA's Liking" category, the University of Connecticut admitted that the men's basketball program committed "Major" violations and put the team on a two year probation.  The men's basketball team will lose one scholarship for each of the next two seasons.  However, the University did not find enough evidence to find that Coach Jim Calhoun had "failed to promote an atmosphere for compliance".

Now let's take a look at UConn's "punishment".  First, losing one scholarship each season, meaning 12 scholarships instead of 13, really means that Jim Calhoun can't get that third backup point guard (who is probably better off being the starter at say Northeastern anyhow).   That doesn't seem like much like a punishment to me.  It's like telling a bank robber, "Ok, I caught you robbing the bank, but I am going to give you one month jail time."

Second, when the school acknowledges that the team's coaching staff exchanged 1,400 calls and 1,100 text messages during an over three year period with agent/business manager Josh Nochimson, who was a former team manager for UConn, folks that's not an atmosphere of  compliance by Coach Calhoun.  Think about that.  That's like three calls and 2 texts a day.  Hell I am lucky if I call my wife once a day (and she doesn't text).

Finally, Nochimson is certainly not a boy scout.  He is being sued by former UConn and current Detroit Piston star Richard "Rip" Hamilton of stealing $1 million during Nochimson's tenure as Hamilton's business manager. Nochimson was "representing" former UConn player Nate Miles who was expelled from UConn after being arresting for violating a restraining order for abusing a female student.  Nochimson has been accused of providing lodging, transportation and meals to Miles.   Since Nochimson was a former employee and an alumnus of UConn, he is considered "a representative of the institution's athletic interests" and thus would be in violation of NCAA rules for doing so.

So one scholarship each season and two years probation?  After the Josh Luchs' revelations, similar to what's going on with Enes Kanter, the NCAA is not going to look very kindly to this and I think they will impose harsher sanctions.

Now, mind you I haven't thought this all the way through, but  if I were responsible for imposing the sanctions, here's what I would do.   I would make it at least three scholarships for the next three seasons, one for each year of 300 plus calls and 200 plus texts.


But I wouldn't stop there.  For the next three seasons (starting this season would be too difficult), UConn can not play a home non conference game and can not be paid for taking a road game.  What would that mean?  Well for example, if it started this season, instead of playing Vermont or New Hampshire at Gampel or even Tennessee at the XL center in Hartford, the Huskies would have to travel to Vermont, New Hampshire and play Tennessee in Knoxville.  It's less money for the school and also makes season ticket holders very upset. Perhaps they will be "Howling Huskies."

There has to be a serious enough punishment and denying ticket holders the right to see several games, thus upsetting the school's fan base might be a good start.  Like I said, I haven't thought this through, but I think it would at least be interesting, especially for Vermont and New Hampshire fans who get to see a quality home game.

As for Calhoun and company, they are meeting with the NCAA today in Indianapolis to see if the school imposed punishment is enough.  Wouldn't you like to be a fly on the wall for that meeting?

Finally, give St John's coach Steve Lavin some props.  He has already signed three top 100 prospects for the 2011-12 season.  And yesterday, Lavin got St John's to hire his former mentor, former Purdue coach Gene Keady as an advisor.  Keady is a terrific coach who led Purdue to 22 postseason appearances in 25 years.  Pretty damn impressive.  Keady will advise Lavin on practices and staff meetings.

It's a great move by Lavin to get an experienced X's and O's coach involved.  With at least five new NYC metro area coaches - Lavin at St John's, Tim Cluess at Iona, Mo Cassara at Hofstra, Dan Hurley at Wagner and Tom Pecora now at Fordham, all of whom seemingly have talented current teams or teams with talented future recruits coming in.  Perhaps city basketball is back on the rise and thus why I am in a New York State of Mind.

Questions and Answers

While cursing myself and my netbook for not saving my "Plan Your Road Trips" article (memo to self - "Mr IT guy, make sure you have set your Word 2007 automatic backup for 2 minutes"), I decided to start my regular run of articles with "Questions and Answers".  I will have the "Plan Your Road Trips" article this weekend.



The questions are entirely mine, but I like to think many people might be thinking the same questions.    As for the answers, their mine too, but are they right?  As Asia would sing "Only Time Will Tell". Hey, any excuse to get a great 80's song via Youtube into the mix.  And yes, I went with an Asia with Greg Lake 83 Tour version.

Question - Is Butler on the verge of being "The New Gonzaga"?

Answer - Folks, they already are.

I submit to you the following, Butler's record for the past nine years as evidence.

2001-02 - 24-6 - NIT Second Round
2002-03 - 27-6 - NCAA Sweet 16 (defeated #21 Miss State and #13 Louisville, lost to Oklahoma)
2003-04 -16-14 - No Postseason
2004-05 - 13-15 - No Postseason
2005-06 - 20-12 - NIT Second Round
2006-07 - 29-7 - NCAA Sweet 16 (defeated ODU and #22 Maryland, lost to Florida)
2007-08 - 30-4 - NCAA Second Round (defeated South Alabama, lost to #6 Tennessee in a ridiculous seeding arrangement )
2008-09 - 26-6 NCAA First Round (lost to #20 LSU)
2009-10 - 33-5 NCAA Finals (defeated #25 UTEP, Murray State, #8 Syracuse,#7 Kansas State and #4 Michigan State lost to #1 Duke in final)

Overall Record Last Nine Years- 218-75 (74.4% Winning Percentage).  Five NCAA tournaments, one NIT.  One Second Round appearance, Two Sweet 16 appearances and one NCAA Finals appearance. A postseason record of 11-6 during that span (10-5 in NCAA Tournament games).  Overall Butler has made ten NCAA appearances with an overall record of 13-10.

Now, take a look at the other Bulldog mid-major darling, Gonzaga, during that same time.

2001-02 - 28-3 - NCAA first round (lost to Wyoming)
2002-03 - 24-9 - NCAA Second Round (defeated Cincinnati, lost to #2 Arizona).
2003-04 - 28-3 - NCAA Second Round (defeated Valpo, lost to Nevada)
2004-05 - 26-5 - NCAA Second Round (defeated Winthrop, lost to Texas Tech)
2005-06 - 29-4 - NCAA Sweet 16 (defeated Xavier and Indiana, lost to UCLA)
2006-07 - 23-11 - NCAA First Round (lost to Indiana)
2007-08 - 25-8 - NCAA First Round (lost to #23 Davidson - I was there for that game).
2008-09 - 28-6 - NCAA Sweet 16 (defeated Akron and Western Kentucky, lost to eventual national champion North Carolina)
2009-10 - 27-7 - NCAA Second  Round (defeated Florida State, lost to #8 Syracuse)

Overall Record Last Nine Years - 238-56 (81% winning percentage).  Nine straight NCAA appearances. Four NCAA second round appearances, Two Sweet 16 Appearances.  A NCAA postseason record of 8-9 during that time.  Overall, Gonzaga has made 13 NCAA appearances with a 15-13 record.

Though Gonzaga has a better overall record and made four more NCAA appearances than Butler during that same nine year period, the Hinkle Fieldhouse Bulldogs actually have the better NCAA postseason record during that time. Also if you look at the last four seasons, Butler's overall record of 118-22 compares quite favorably with Gonzaga's record of 103-32.

If that's not enough proof that Butler has reached the Gonzaga stratosphere, take a look at the ESPN Bracketbusters list of teams.   Notice a glaring omission from that list.  Yup, Butler.  Butler was the major attraction the last two Bracketbusters, winning a home game vs. Siena last season, and winning on the road vs Stephen Curry and Davidson in 2009.  In fact Butler had been in the past four Bracketbusters.

Finally, I submit to you the piece de resistance to my argument that Butler is on par with Gonzaga.  December 4th, Izod Center, Meadowlands.  The rematch vs. Duke on ESPN.   Then, there's another nationally televised game on December 18 at home vs. Stanford (and yes, there is the annual matchup vs. Xavier, this year a road game on December 9).  Finally, Butler heads to the Diamond Head Classic, where they get Utah in the first round, and potentially matchups with Florida State, Baylor or San Diego State, all NCAA tournament teams from last season.

Despite the loss of Gordon Hayward, the Bulldogs still have Shelvin Mack, Matt Howard and Ronald Nored back, plus a talented highly recruited freshman in Khyle Marshall, so they are still a very talented team.  And with a highly touted 2011 class coming in next year, plus the great coaching of Brad Stevens, the Bulldogs should be good for years to come.  But Butler will no longer sneak up on anyone thanks to their incredible run that was one Gordon Hayward bank shot away from winning it all.   The spotlight is firmly square on these Hoosiers, along with a tough schedule this season, to live up to the standard the other Bulldogs from Gonzaga have set for a longer period of time.

Question - Excluding Butler and Gonzaga, (and since we at the College Hardwood don't include A-10 teams as mid-majors), what other mid major teams that made the NCAA tournament last season are most likely to give us an Sweet 16 encore this season?

Answer - Old Dominion and Murray State


The Monarchs won at Georgetown, then won the very competitive CAA regular season and the CAA Tournament, coming from behind to knock off VCU in overtime in the semifinals, then ending the NCAA posteason hopes of William and Mary in the final.   Then as icing on the cake, ODU came out and knocked off Notre Dame in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, before losing to Elite Eight member Baylor in the second round.

Four of the five starters from that team return - guards Kent Bazemore and Darius James, guard/forward Ben Finney and forward Frank Hassell.  They did lose their best player, All CAA First Team, Gerald Lee.  But super sixth man, Keyon Carter now joins the starting lineup.   The Monarchs always have a deep team, with usually eight players averaging about 10 minutes or more per game.

Plus they have one of the best in game tacticians in Blaine Taylor, perhaps one of the most underrated coaches in the NCAA.   Under Taylor, the Monarchs have made the NCAA Tournament three times in the past six seasons.  The Monarchs have won 20 or more games in five of the past six seasons, with an overall record of 148-60 (71 percent winning percentage).  If Hassell can step up and fill the scoring void of Lee (Hassell did shoot 54 percent from the field last season), then the Monarchs have a legitimate chance of not only making the NCAA Tournament, but doing serious damage in it.  The home games vs. Richmond and Dayton, plus a road game at Missouri will be good indicators of how good this team is.

Meanwhile, Murray State last season nearly ran the table in the Ohio Valley with a 17-1 record.  They followed that up by winning the OVC Tournament.   Despite a 30-4 record, the No Clue At All gave the Racers a #13 seed which they took out on #4 seed Vandy, beating the Commodores on a Danero Thomas buzzer beater.   Then Murray State gave Butler its toughest test of the tournament, outside of the loss to Duke (sorry Cuse, K- State and Michigan State fans, it's true - Murray State played them better than your teams).   The Bulldogs had to rally late to knock off the Racers 54-52.

And here's the scary thought for the Racers' opponents.  Ten players averaged ten minutes or more per game for Murray State last season.  EIGHT of those ten players are returning, including their three top scorers - B.J. Jenkins, Isaiah Canaan, and Ivan Aska, each of whom scored over ten points per game.  But it's not just balanced offense.  The Racers led the OVC last season in scoring defense, field goal percentage defense, three-point percentage defense and blocked shots.

The Racers and college basketball fans are going to find out very quickly how legit they are.  A road game vs. Mississippi followed later with three games in the 76 Classic. In the first round of the 76 Classic, the Racers face Stanford, followed by potential games vs. UNLV, Oklahoma State, Virginia Tech or Tulsa.  Just one thing to note - Another mid major team cut their teeth in the 76 Classic last season before making a major NCAA Tournament run.  That team was the Butler Bulldogs.  Coincidence?  Well, I am just saying...

By the way, both Old Dominion and Murray State are again in the Bracketbusters game.  Both know you can never have enough exposure for that wonderful NCAA Tournament Committee.

Question - How does the Kanter Situation Play Out?

Answer - There is a good chance Kanter never sees the light of day with Kentucky and declares for the NBA Draft in 2011.


If you don't know by now, Kentucky and The Antichrist, John Calipari, recruited Enes Kanter, the #3 rated center prospect in the country who is originally from Turkey but played prep school basketball in California. He originally committed to Washington, then reopened his recruitment in February 2010 and two months later he signed a national letter of intent with the Ashley Judds.   Now if only Kanter had just played prep basketball in California.

Based on several news articles, we know with certainty that Kanter played in nine games for the Turkish team Fenerbahce Ulker in the 2008-09 season, four in Euroleague play, and five in the Turkish league.  In fact, my guess is that this was the reason why he had to leave two other prep schools - Findlay Prep in Nevada and Mountain State in West Virginia, because the other prep schools in the league refused to play them if Kanter was on those teams.

Now by current NCAA rules, if you play for a professional league, though you weren't paid, you have to sit 2 games for every one game you played (see the Brad Kelleher saga for details).  That means Kanter would sit 18 games, or a good part of his freshman season.

But if it were just that, then Kanter would be able to eventually play with Kentucky.  But whenever the Antichrist is involved, you know it's more than just that.  The general manager of Fenerbahce Ulker, Nedim Karakas, said the club had given banking and housing records to the N.C.A.A.that show Kanter "received more than $100,000 in cash and benefits over three years from the professional team."  But if that was not enough, Kanter has been "advised" by Max Ergel, who was described by a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article as "the agent" for former Milwaukee Bucks forward Ersan Ilyasova.

Of course the Antichrist has been defending his signing of Kanter.  He is quoted as saying the following in a Sporting News article;

“You can’t have a contract before 18. You can’t be professional — you’re not allowed to be unless they’re violating FIBA rules,” Calipari said. “We know that, as in any other club, he received apparel. But there was no money, from what we’re seeing, what the kid is saying and the family, and what Nike is saying.  There’s a lot of misinformation out there. You’ve got people talking about it that don’t know, just heard a rumor.”

I guess the Antichrist considers Karakas a rumormonger.  But it sure seems like the club's banking records are not just for "apparel".   Also, if several prep school teams won't play teams that had Kanter on them, chances are those schools knew something fishy about Kanter's background.  And those prep school coaches do their homework on foreign kids.

The reason I think that Kanter won't see the light of day with Kentucky is that the last thing the NCAA needs is bad press about them ruling lightly on this situation.  Especially after the news came out about Josh Luchs' story on how he paid several college players a significant amount of money over several years.  In light of this, the NCAA has to crack down on anything suspicious and someone is going to pay the price for that.  Thus I think the NCAA will declare Kanter ineligible and he declares for the NBA draft in 2011.   Anything less and the NCAA will be hammered on this.

And in sort of fitting end to this last story, the Antichrist stated on Tuesday that he figures his team will lose a lot of games early in the season.   Needless to say that, outside of the Kentucky Blue fan base, no one will be shedding a tear for that.  Especially John Chaney.   However, Ashley, if you need a shoulder to cry on, I am sure plenty of guys, including Pat Forde are available.  Me?  Hey, my wife reads this column.

It's All About Hofstra

Hofstra University is celebrating it's 75th anniversary this weekend.  Since Hofstra is the home base of the College Hardwood, why not have an article entirely made up of Hofstra basketball as our first post of the fall?!

It was a rough few off season months with the hiring/then firing of Tim Welsh due to his DWI arrest. Then the transfers of Hofstra's two best freshmen (more on that in a second).  And unfortunately, the news does not get any better for Hofstra basketball fans.  The NCAA has ruled that Hofstra guard Brad Kelleher is now ineligible for the first eight games of this season, after he was ruled ineligible for the entire 2009-10 season.   Mike Litos has written an absolutely terrific article about the Kelleher incident.

Litos goes into detail why Kelleher was declared ineligible for both last season (signing a professional "agreement" or "contract" based on the NCAA's definition of a contract) and the first eight games of this season (having played four games in the Australian professional league, thus 2 games ineligible for each game played). 

Now what's amazing is what the NCAA considered as the "contract" that Kelleher signed.  The Australian NBL considers it "an application", it even states it on the form as an application.  Litos goes further stating the general manager of the NBL, Chuck Harmison, testified to the NCAA that it is strictly a registration form and the actual contract a player would sign is a forty page form.

If that's not a bad enough indictment of how moronic the NCAA is, consider this.  Litos states that Hofstra requested that two of Kelleher's eight suspended games should include their two exhibition games vs. Dowling and Farmingdale.  The NCAA disallowed this, even thought they allowed Kentucky's John Wall's suspension to include an exhibition game vs. Campbellsville.  If you remember, Wall took money from an agent. Kelleher never took any money from the NBL.  And if you read Litos' article in detail, it discusses the inconsistent penalties that other school's players got for similar infractions.

There are reasons why I have stated so many times on this site that the NCAA stands for the "No Clue At All", and you have just seen two more of them.  First, the NCAA doesn't even know the difference between an application and a contract.  Second and more importantly, the NCAA is incredibly inconsistent in its penalties.  The NCAA's punishment of Wall allowed for exhibition games to be included, while Kelleher's did not.   Something has to be done with the NCAA review process, because right now it's not fair.  Period.

So now new coach Mo Cassara will have one less player for the first eight games and it may be two.   Senior guard Nathaniel Lester seriously hurt his thigh over the summer and it's questionable whether Lester will be able to play this season, let alone start the season.  That might mean only five returning players for Hofstra - CAA Player of the Year senior Charles Jenkins, sophomore guard Yves Jules, sophomore walk-on Matt Grogan, sophomore forward David Imes and senior forward Greg Washington.

Hofstra brings in seven new players - Kelleher (after his eight game suspension), junior transfer guard/forward Mike Moore (formerly of Fordham), JUCO transfer guard Dwan McMillan, redshirt freshman forward Paul Bilbo and three freshman - guard Shemiye McLendon, forward Roland Brown and forward Stephen Nwaukoni.

The reason that there are seven new players instead of five is that two of Hofstra's All CAA Freshmen, guard Chaz Williams and forward Halil Kanacevic transferred after former coach Tom Pecora left for Fordham.  Williams transferred to UMass and Kanacevic transferred to St Joseph's.   Credit has to be given to Pecora, because often players transfer to lesser programs.  In Williams and Kanacevic's cases, both transferred up a level to the Atlantic 10.  Since both have to sit out a year, it remains to be seen if these transfers were the right things to do.

As for Pecora, Dana O' Neill wrote an interesting article about Pecora's move to Fordham.  O'Neill talks about how Pecora gave up a "cruise-control" job for Fordham.  The article goes over familiar territory - Pecora desperately wanted Hofstra to leave the CAA for the Atlantic-10.  But for the forseeable future, that was not going to happen.  So the lure of coaching an A10 team (plus a $600,000 a year salary for the next five years) brought Pecora to Fordham.

What is interesting about this article is that Pecora said the following about Hofstra

"I could have stayed there and won 20 games, but I don’t think I’m built to sit around. So what the heck? Let’s roll the dice a little bit and have some fun with this thing."

Sit around at Hofstra?  Now, I give Pecora a lot of credit for bringing in very good players like Loren Stokes, Antoine Agudio and Charles Jenkins.  But if you asked Hofstra fans if Hofstra was "sailing along" as O'Neill puts it, well you would get serious disagreement from them and certainly me.  Yes, Pecora's teams won 20 games four times and reached the NIT three seasons in a row (and yes, one of those NIT's, 2006, should have been a NCAA Berth).

But in the nine years Pecora was coach of Hofstra, the Pride only made the CAA Tourmanent semifinals three times (including Pecora's first season) and made the CAA Finals once (2006).  The Pride had not made it past the CAA quarterfinals since 2006.   His last Hofstra team won 19 games last season and should be credited for finishing 10-8 in conference  after starting 2-7 in CAA play.  However, only TWO of those nineteen wins came against teams above .500 and his conference record vs. the top six teams in the CAA was a horrid 2-8.  The year before, Hofstra's record against teams above .500 in the CAA was only slightly better at 4-8.

So if you ask Hofstra fans, the team was on anything but "cruise control" since the 2006-07 season.   And Pecora's handling of a lead late in the game, otherwise called by me as "Pulling a Hofstra" is well known among Hofstra fans.  The term "cruise control" certainly would not apply in those late game situations.

Well the Rams' fans can now get to sweat and squirm at those late game situations (should I call it now "Pulling a Fordham"?).   As for Hofstra, Mo Cassara now runs the ship.  From what I have heard from several people, he is a very nice down to earth guy.  What I also like is he is getting Hofstra out in the community.  Hofstra will hold a basketball clinic at the Town of Hempstead Family Festival by the Sea this weekend, September 25 and 26 in Point Lookout.  Finally there will be a Season Holder Ticket Reception on September 30 at the David Mack Hall.  Yours truly has RSVP'd and I will fill you in on some details after the reception.

And Cassara doesn't waste any time trying to improve Hofstra.  Already for the 2011-12 season, Cassara has brought in transfer point guard Steve Mejia from Rhode Island (who had a nearly 3 to 1 assist to turnover ratio).  Cassara has received a verbal commitment also from 6 foot 6 forward Jordan Allen of Bay Shore who chose the Pride over George Mason.

He will have a tough test for himself this season.  Seven new players, Lester potentially out for a significant period of time and the first game of the season is North Carolina at the Puerto Rico Shootout (with the second game either vs. the winner or loser of Minnesota - Western Kentucky).  After that it's a relatively easy non conference schedule with the most difficult game being a road game at Iona, my preseason pick to win the MAAC this season.  The first conference game is a home game against Towson.

As for the rest of conference, two home and home games with old America East foes Drexel, Delaware and Northeastern (along with the second road game vs. Towson).  Plus two home and home games each with Mason, UNCW and the Mary (yes Tieff's name for William and Mary is back).  The rest of the games in conference are home games with ODU and James Madison and road games vs. Georgia State and VCU (that game at Spiegel Center never turns out well for the Pride).

So on this 75th Birthday weekend for Hofstra, there is a lot of uncertainty with the basketball program. Well at least we can finally put to rest "Pulling a Hofstra" (at least I hope). And yes, the Pride would have been a prohibitive favorite for the CAA had Williams and Kanacevic stayed.  But who says they can't win without them?   There is still the great Charles Jenkins,  a talented transfer in Mike Moore (when you put up nearly 30 on Xavier, that's pretty good), a lot of freshman to develop, and a coach hungry to prove himself.  Is it too much to ask for a NCAA Tournament berth as a belated 75th birthday present?

That's why they play the games on the College Hardwood.  Happy 75th Hofstra!

"First Four"? Guess It Beats "First Forty Eight"

On Monday, the NCAA announced the format of the now 68 team tournament.  Four first round games will be played.  Two games will be played by the lowest seeds, the lowest four "automatic qualifiers", and two games will be played by the last four at large teams.  The two winners of the lowest automatic qualifier games will be the #16 seeds in their respective region, similar to the play in game for the past several seasons.  Meanwhile, the two winners of the at large games will be either a number 12, 11, or possibly even a 10 seed depending on how the regions are seeded with automatic qualifiers.  However, both those teams will have the same seeding.  The NCAA has already come up with the marketing name  for these four play-in games - "First Four".

The games will be played either on Tuesday or Wednesday, with Dayton the likely destination for this year's game.   The NCAA did say they would look at other sites in the future.

I guess you could say the NCAA went for middle ground on this.  Though the idea had been floated about, mainly by Andy Katz, the most likely scenarios had either been the last eight automatic qualifiers playing the "First Four" play-in games.  Or the other most likely scenario was the last eight at large seeds playing for the lowest at large seed in each region, the scenario I preferred.
 
The reaction from the college basketball writing community was decidedly as mixed as the First Four format.

• Jay "Hit or Miss" Bilas stated on his blog - "If it is to be 68 teams (which makes no sense out of the gate), it will be inequitable on some level unless the last eight automatic qualifiers play for the right to play the four No. 1 seeds."  Another miss for Bilas.  He really hates mid major teams, doesn't he.
• Pat Forde had a decidedly different and I believe correct take - "But here’s what I would have liked more: The last eight at-large teams playing for four spots. That would produce either a reasonably interesting quadrupleheader, or a pair of reasonably interesting doubleheaders. And it would have removed the small-conference champions completely from playing in the Stepchild Round."  X gets the square, Pat.
• Andy Glockner had an interesting take on the decision - "By choosing a model that involves a pair of play-in games between the final four at-large teams in addition to two others involving the four worst auto-bid winners, the NCAA chose the solution that causes the least amount of change. The net impact on the main 64-team bracket is almost nil. After the "First Four" is over, we'll have one additional at-large team making it at the expense of one auto qualifier."  
• Gary Parrish will not be making any new friends in the SWAC or Big South with his comment - "... the First Four will include the final four at-large teams, which isn't exactly what I wanted, but I'm willing to compromise. I wanted the final eight at-large teams to battle it out in Dayton for the right to enter the conventional 64-team bracket because I would like to be interested in what are unofficially play-in games. That just hasn't been the case in the past because I couldn't care less about watching the SWAC champion and Big South champion play for the right to be murdered by the ACC champion."  As Richard Belzer would say "Ouch, babe." 
• Kyle Whelliston wasn't happy with the decision (Kyle wanted the four automatic qualifier PIGs due to win shares - ie money for the winning conference team and their conference) and had two classic quotes via his Mid Majority Twitter account -
1. 1) "Can YOU think of a simple thing needlessly complicated by design-by-committee? (BCS doesn't count!)"
2. 2) " The "First Four" is a "compromise"? The committee could definitely have tried harder to please everybody, e.g. by giving out free puppies."  Well I do like puppies, Kyle.
• Joe Lunardi was the happiest with the hybrid model - "...the hybrid model of "First Four" games involving automatic qualifiers vs. automatic qualifiers and at-large selections vs. at-large selections is a fair way to recognize the importance of conference champions while at the same time adding overdue sizzle to the former opening-round games."

Finally, if you didn't see my support for Mr. Forde's comments, look at the end of my article here for what I would have wanted.  Also, as for the marketing name, First Four?  Sounds like a undercooked variation of the Frozen Four in NCAA Hockey. Ugh.

By the way, in a poll this week by SportsNation, 55 percent of the people wanted the final eight at large teams to play the four play in games, aka the First Four.  So much for giving the people what they want.

Thus, outside of Joe Lunardi, no one got what they really wanted.  So for the NCAA, affectionately known here as the No Clue At All, this next Youtube clip is for you all (especially for Dan Guerrero and Greg Shaheen).


The bright side to all this - at least it's not "The First Forty Eight", which is what it would have been had the NCAA expanded to 96 teams.  At least everyone universally agrees that would have been a horrible idea.  Ricky Nelson could have sung to that Garden Party.

Wooden, The Big 12 Survives and One Last Comment On Play In Games

It's good to finally be able to write an article again as things have finally calmed down.  First, I would be remiss without making some kind of comment about the passing of John Wooden.  I have a friend who is a big fan of Wooden and who has read several of his books.  My friend always talked about how Wooden truly believed and talked about preparation.  Wooden's belief was that if his teams were prepared, no matter what the other team did, his teams would be successful.  Obviously, his UCLA teams were very successful, winning 10 national championships and posting an .808 winning percentage (in conference play, the Bruins had an .825 winning percentage).

As I read many articles online that discussed Wooden's passing or his coaching history, one NY Times article in particular highlighted Wooden's belief in preparation.  Some of Wooden's players asked him one day if they could miss practice to stage an antiwar protest.

“He asked us if this reflected our convictions,” one player, Steve Patterson, told Sports Illustrated in 1989, “and we told him it did. He told us he had his convictions, too, and if we missed practice it would be the end of our careers at U.C.L.A.” 

That quote reinforces Wooden's belief in preparation.  The NY Times article also talked about Wooden's three main ideals around his coaching philosophy - his teams had to be in the best possible condition, they had to have "quickness" in that his players, no matter what position had to be quicker than their opponent, and finally, his team "...better play together as a team or you sit."

One last thing on Wooden.  I was reading a Newsday article on the Sunday after he passed and one of his quotes became my signature line on my e-mail messages at work.

"If you're not making mistakes, then you're not doing anything.  I'm positive that a doer makes mistakes."

Words to live by.

Last week looked like armageddon in the college conference world.  Colorado accepted an invitation to join the PAC-10.  Nebraska joined the Big 10.  Boise State then joined the Mountain West.  And to top all that, the PAC-10 was in serious negotiation to bring Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State into the fold.   In fact, last Saturday, it looked like a done deal.  It apparently signaled the demise of the Big 12, with the Mountain West poised to sweep up the remnants of the Big 12  such as Kansas and Missouri. It also looked like it would set off a chain reaction that would affect other conferences in the country.

Then, an eleven hour reprieve occurred on Monday.  Apparently a group of "influential people" banded together and helped broker a deal that would keep Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State in the Big 12,  The deal would enable Texas to get $20-25 million annually from a new league TV deal and allow them to create their own TV network.   Oklahoma and Oklahoma State would also get more revenue from the new TV deal as well.

So what does this all mean now that Texas and company are staying put in the Big 12, or whatever it's called now (They can't use the Big Ten, it's already taken)?   Well, let's look under Winners and Losers.


Winners 

Big 12 or whatever it will be called -  Hey, whatever you call it, the conference still exists and you could say it's now stronger than ever.   A larger TV deal and a streamlined conference for both football and basketball.   Now in the Big 12, each team will play each other twice in the basketball season and each other once in football season. They may lose the football conference title game since they are only ten teams now, but that makes the regular season matter more.


Dan Beebe - Only a few days ago, it looked like the Big 12 Commissioner was going to be presiding over the demise of his conference, which would have no doubt put his name in infamy.  Now Beebe stands tall, having fended off the PAC-10's advances on the core of their teams and made more money for the conference schools in general.  Nice.

NCAA - A few days ago, when it looked like there would be major conference realignment throughout the land, there was the talk of the BCS super conferences joining together and how they might form their own league, change the landscape of college sports and force out the NCAA.   Well, mind you this is speculation, but I really honestly think the NCAA got involved in saving the Big 12.   With the Big 12 remaining intact, the landscape of college sports remains basically same (sans the aforementioned three schools moving and likely now Utah as well).  No Super PAC-16 and the Big Ten remains twelve teams for now.   Sure there is still the possibility of the Big Ten going after some Big East teams, but it looks less likely now.

Losers 

PAC-10 and Larry Scott - Only a few days ago, the PAC-10 was on the verge of becoming a major superconference.  PAC-10 Commissioner Scott promised the PAC-10 schools significant revenue when the Texas- Oklahoma schools contingent came aboard.   Well all that is left is Colorado and now likely Utah.  Instead of the PAC-16, we have the PAC-12.  Not quite the significant revenue boost the PAC-10 was looking for. 

Colorado - The Buffaloes were figuring that their move would be the starting point for the core of the Big 12 to follow to the PAC-10.  Oops.  Now the Buffaloes are the eleventh team in the apparently soon to be PAC-12.  Don't see how this move helps them, except if they think they can get more conference wins in basketball.

Mountain West - The MWC added Boise State and looked poised to grab Kansas and Missouri with the seemingly certain demise of the Big 12.   If the Big 12 demise had occurred, the Mountain West was the likely choice to replace the Big 12 in the BCS.  Hello huge payday!  Now, the Mountain West continues to be on the outside looking in as far as the BCS.  And to make matters worse, there is a good chance the Pac-10 will even out their league as they have invited Utah to join their conference.

Finally, my friend Grant sent me this interesting and often very hilarious interview billionaire T Boone Pickens did about the Big 12.  I have no doubt he was one of the "influential people" responsible for saving the Big 12.

Here at the College Hardwood, we try to move on in life and in basketball.  We try to talk about subjects at most a couple of times, then move on and refer back to them only when the basketball news of the day warrants us to do so.   So hopefully for the final time, I am going to comment about the expansion to 68 teams and the new four play-in games, only because recent news warrants me to do so.

A few weeks ago, Jay Bilas wrote an article on ESPN called "Play-in teams Will Be Stigmatized?  Please."  It was based on a comment by Northeast Conference (NEC) Commisioner Noreen Morris who said the following about the play in game.

"I think if you find yourself in that game every year, it becomes a bit of a stigma and it can be used in negative recruiting and just an overall branding problem for our conference.

Morris went on further to say "you don't want the same conferences in those opening rounds every year."

Well Bilas, to put it bluntly, went off on Morris' statements.

"First, a team doesn't "find itself" in the play-in game. It earns its way there by its record, its play and its standing in the game. You don't "find yourself" in the play-in game, just as you don't "find yourself" in the Final Four.

Second, and most importantly, how can one use the term "stigmatize" with regard to the earned honor of playing for the national championship? Stigmatize is defined as "to set some mark of infamy or disgrace upon." So playing for the national championship as one of the lower-seeded teams is stigmatizing, or a mark of infamy or disgrace?

By that logic, expansion is a mark of dishonor on the teams that are at the end of the line. Perhaps we should contract the field and take it back to 32 teams. After all, we wouldn't want to brand anyone as a disgrace."

Now I find Jay Bilas to be a very good in game analyst.  But I often find his commentary on his blog to be hit or miss.  This is a big time miss.   First, I grant you that NEC Commissioner Morris should not have used the word "stigma."   Not the correct word I would have chosen.  The word I would have chosen is "unfair".

First, if you are one of the few, the proud, my regular readers, you know how I have talked a couple of times about the original play-in game to be the most unfair game in the NCAA Tournament.  The most recent article was this past March. Two teams that have received "automatic bids", meaning they EARNED their right to make the NCAA tournament, have to "play-in" to the Round of 64.

So now with expansion to 68 teams, there will be now four play-in games.  And there are only two scenarios for this.  1) The lowest eight automatic bid conferences will be in the play-in games or 2) the last eight at large teams will be in the play in games.

If it is scenario #1, then Commissioner Morris has a legitimate beef stating that you will see the "same conferences in those opening rounds every year".  And here is her proof.  Below is the list of conferences and the number of times their teams have played in the ten play-in games.

SWAC 5, MEAC 4, Big South 3, MAAC 2, NEC 2, Ohio Valley 1, Patriot League 1, Southland 1, Summit 1

The SWAC and MEAC have combined for NINE of the twenty teams that have played in the play-in game.    And notice, there are only nine conferences that have played in the play in game.  So, based on STATISTICS, Commissioner Morris is right, if you have make the four play in games with the eight lowest seeded automatic bid qualifiers, you will likely see the same conferences in the play in game every year.

Here's what Bilas had to say further about Morris' comment.

This silliness is really just confirmation of something we already knew. The "play-in" game is not and never has been a part of the "real NCAA tournament." Otherwise, why would anyone attach the word "stigma" to it?

Here is an idea: If you want to avoid the "play-in" games, play well, win your games and get seeded in the top 60. Every conference has the same opportunity to win, so win -- especially when you have the chance against quality nonconfernce opponents -- and you won't have to worry about it.

And if you find yourself in one of the four "play-in" games, then be pleased that a team ranked outside of the top 60 in the nation gets a chance to compete for the national title.

Bilas has never been fond of small mid major conferences. He has in the past actually stated several times that the automatic bid qualifier should be removed and that the NCAA Tournament should be the best 64 teams.

The fact of the matter is that ever should happen, you will have very few mid major teams in the NCAA Tournament and the NCAA Tournament will look like the NIT on steroids, meaning that you will have lots of mediocre power conference teams with .500 and sub .500 conference records in the tournament.

What Bilas doesn't understand is that the beauty of the NCAA Tournament is that small and mid major conferences get to play on the same large stage together in a single elimination tournament.  But obviously it's not just the tournament that small conference teams play power conference teams.  Obviously teams like Duke, Kansas, and UConn for example offer small conference teams large sums of money to play regular season non conference games on the big conference teams' home sites.   If Bilas has his way, why bother with those games?  Why would it matter for a small conference team to play Kansas other than to make money?

Let's face it, the MEAC, SWAC, Big South, NEC etc are small colleges and universities who simply don't have the budget/endowment to compete with the Dukes, UConns, and UCLAs of the world.  But the NCAA saw it fit that those conferences are DIVISION I conferences thus they can compete on the same level as the power conference teams.

If Bilas had his way, then the great upsets of the past, #15 Coppin State over #2 South Carolina, #15 Hampton over Iowa State, or #14 Weber State over North Carolina never happen.   And that's what makes the NCAA Tournament so much better than the BCS or the College Bowl games.  You don't get upsets of that magnitude occurring in a BCS game or the College Bowl system.

As for Bilas' comment of " If you want to avoid the "play-in" games, play well, win your games and get seeded in the top 60", I want to give you a case in point of a team that did everything it could this past season but still got put in the play in game.

Arkansas Pine Bluff finished second in the SWAC with a very solid 14-4 conference record.  In non conference they went out a play a brutal non conference road schedule with losses to Oklahoma State, Georgia Tech, Missouri, UTEP and Kansas State - all NCAA Tournament Teams (also lost at NIT participant Arizona State).  In fact their non conference schedule was ranked the eighth toughest non conference schedule in the country this past season.  They won their conference tournament and "automatically" qualified for the NCAA Tournament.  They EARNED their way into the NCAA Tournament.Yet, because they play in the lowly SWAC conference, they get to play in the qualifier, which they won over Winthrop. 

But if Bilas had it his way, the Golden Lions wouldn't see the light of day in the NCAA Tournament and a team like Virginia Tech that had a non conference strength of schedule ranking of 307 and couldn't even make it out of the ACC tournament quarterfinals would make the tournament.  Tell me that's earning a spot in the tournament.  Tell me that the Hokies were one of the 64 best teams in the country.

If we want the truly best 64 teams in the tournament like Bilas wants, well first, make the play in games the last eight at large teams in the tournament, which are often power conference teams that either played .500 in conference during the season ( examples over the past few years - Minnesota, Arizona. Maryland) or stumbled their way into the NCAA Tournament by losing in their conference quarterfinals (see Wake Forest).   Make them EARN their way into the tournament.   And the even better second step, require that teams eligible for at large berths to the NCAA tournament MUST have an above .500 record in conference.  No more rewarding regular season mediocrity.

Bilas finished his article with "The truth is, there are not enough quality teams that can compete favorably for a national championship right now, so there was certainly no urgency to expand the field for competitive reasons."   Bilas is misguided.  It's not the small conferences that wanted tournament expansion.  It's the power conferences that wanted expansion.  

If you want expansion to 68 teams that's fine with me (sure beats 96).  But if you want to be in that round of 64, make the at large teams earn their way in.  Don't do at the expense of teams that "automatically qualified" to be in the tournament like Arkansas Pine Bluff and other low conference automatic qualifiers.  They did "earn" their way in.