Thursday, October 26, 2006

Hey, Isn't It Time to Start Talking College Hoops?

For the most part, there are few sports that we here at I Dislike Your Favorite Team agree upon. Some of us are passionate about the MLB, while others of us think that baseball was at its peak in the radio era. Some of us love the Premiership of England, and some of us can't seem to even type "soccer" without following it up with some derogatory term for homosexuals. We are rather heavy on Minnesotans, native or transplanted, so hockey is a secret burning passion. If Garwood B. Jones wasn't such a slacker, there would be posts a plenty describing exactly why the Wild are successful, despite their rather crappy name, and boring coach. I personally find the NBA frightfully boring up until the playoffs. I think I actually enjoyed the Timberwolves more when they were horrible, horrible, horrible. Back when Kevin Harlan and Kevin McHale were the radio guys, and Andres Guibert was the Center of the Future. So we'll leave NBA previews to Deadspin, and we'll leave Timberwolves and Wizards news to I Heart KG (I knew I wasn't the only transplanted DC sports fan living in The Very Nice Thanks White North (see, that's a play on Great White North of Canada? Get it? Pretty clever, yeah?)

Because I love, and I know barnyard, and miwacar, and Garwood, and Mr. Norwood, et al love College Basketball.

So why not kick it off with a Q&A with Seth Davis from CBS and SI, one of the few commentators we like (Clark Kellogg, too). So we'll take Seth's column from 10/13/06, available here, and just take his 20 self-chosen questions, and answer them in shorter form. See, Seth likes to "analyze" things and "know what he is talking about". We prefer knee-jerk reactions.

#20: Alabama: Can anyone turn this Tide into a three-point machine?
Nope. Alabama will once again start the season on fire, and will crash out of the NCAA Tournie early.

#19: Arizona: Can the Wildcats find the chemistry to match their talent?
Yes--they are crazy deep, and have the benefit of playing in a weak conference. They will have much more time to find their form than a young ACC team would. Zona's got Elite 8 stank all over them.

#18: Boston College: Are the Eagles ready to take wing?
I tend to doubt it. The ACC isn't a place where you just change your style and do well.

#17: Connecticut: Is there any magic in these young beans?
Huh? Umm--let's assume young magic beans take more than one year to mature.

#16: Duke: Is McRoberts ready to get McNasty?
No. The Handjobbery of Duke and McRoberts continues, but I think it is safe to say that if Duke has another great year, it won't be McRoberts, it will be the recruits that Coach Unspellablename brought it. Incredibly young team--this may be a year for us all to remember and love--a (relatively) bad year for Duke.

#15: Florida: Just how heavy is that crown?
Pretty heavy. They won't repeat. But Elite 8 is as locked down as it could be, for a team this talented.

#14: Georgetown: Will the littles be as good as the bigs?
Yes. Green plays smaller than his size, in terms of quicks and shots. Great team. Watch out.

#13: Kansas: Is it possible to have too much talent?
Here I thought that the last 20 years of Jayhawk basketball made that question rather easily answerable. Yes, it is. Also, it is possible to overrate Jayhawk talent on a perennial basis.

#12: Kentucky: How bad will things get for Tubby Smith?
Pretty bad, but Tubby can coach. Kentucky will probably cost some team a #1 seed.

#11: LSU: Will the return of point guard Tack Minor be subtraction by addition?
Hard to say--but I imagine Minor can grasp the whole "pass it to the big fat guys in the paint" concept of LSU ball.

#10: Michigan State: Who are these guys?
Don't you dare doubt Tom Izzo. Michigan State by the end of every year has one of the most athletic backcourts in the country. That's been true for like a decade.

#9: North Carolina: Can the Tar Heels win a national championship with a freshman point guard?
The real question should be, Can the Tar Heels win a national championship with Roy Williams running the show? Either way, the answer is "Nope."

#8: Ohio State: How good is Greg Oden?
Nowhere near good enough to step in and carry this team to anything meaningful.

#7: Pittsburgh: Who will emerge as the committee of one?
Krauser was far too lauded--he lost as many games as he won for Pitt. Whoever their point guard is, they'll be fine.

#6: Syracuse: Is losing Gerry McNamara addition by subtraction?
Hell yes. That's the nice thing about the NCAA--gritty white guys only get 4-6 years to be gritty white guys. In the MLB, we have to put up with David Eckstein forever.

#5 Tennessee: Will the Volunteers understand that defense is mandatory?
Nice, Seth. Put it on the players. The Volunteers will get defense when defense is coached. Same coaches as last year? No, they won't understand that defense is mandatory.

#4: Texas: Who will Kevin Durant play like -- Carmelo or LeBron?
I imagine Texas will be happy with either.

#3: UCLA: Can the Bruins rediscover their defensive mojo?
probably not. playing in the Pac-10 tends to make good teams not challenge their shortcomings.

#2: Washington: How slow can these Huskies go?
we won't be talking about the Huskies in February, so why talk about them now?

#1: Wisconsin: When Bo Ryan turns to his bench, will he like what he sees?
According to IDYFT contributer Barnyard, yes he will. Barnyard likes the talent deep into the bench. So, there you go.

7 comments:

thejim said...

Pitt's point guard this year is Soph. Lavance "The General" Fields. He has all the upside of Carl Krauser, minus the turnovers, wild shots, and ridiculous posturing.

Badcock said...

I won't rain diarrhea on your parade everybody, and college hoops is joyous ... but it's October. It's football season.
All other sports should be discussed in a sidebar.

Never one to just have my opinions stand for scientific fact, let me quote an actual scientist:

"American professional football reaches the highest ideal of a strong mind in a strong body. I have proved it using this carbon filament and 99% perspiration, which is an excellent conductor."
-- Thomas Alva Edison New Jersey

Badcock said...

Just to prove my point, and keep this line of argument going even though the column is buried at the bottom of IDYFT now ... Michael Vick.

Phil may deride the way I keep going back to the well on this one -- football is a team sport -- but the sportsjacks don't get it.

This is what some knob named Clark Judge wrote on cbs sportsline: " I never thought we'd be having this discussion because, frankly, Vick's gun is about as accurate as Dick Cheney's."

While that's really clever topical humor (I'm surprised he didn't use Clinton's dress-shooting as his simile), it is exactly the sort of crap that pisses me off. Has this boner ever seen Vick throw the ball?

Now I'm as rabidly racist as anyone else, but this shit stanks. Vick throws a laser on a rope. I know, because I watch him play.

What's the difference between a sportsjack and a computer?
With a computer, you only have to punch the information in once.

Boo-ya!

Anonymous said...

I'd rather talk Vick's game than college hoop's anyday.

I think Vick's dilema isn't just his talentless WR's and poorly built O-line, but his coaching staff is of the same mind as the sportsjacks.

Badcock said...

Phil you made a reference to an interview with Vick before the game, and relating it to play-calling. Where is that interview?
I'm as curious as a rattlesnake in a spaghetti factory.

Anonymous said...

It was an interview with Chris Carter on HBO's Inside The NFL. I think that's the name of the show.

Big Blue Monkey said...

This is a college basketball post. Take your sweaty love of Edison (feh--everyone knows that Tesla kicked his ass) and Vick and talk about it in your Vick post!)