From the venerable and honorable Chricket Go Queek Queek basketball blog.

Random Basketball Thoughts and a preview of the NCAA Tournament

Photo courtesy Chricket Go Queek Queek.


ACC Tourney thoughts:

Honestly, NC State was two plays away from winning their first ACC title in two decades. The UNC-NCSU game was a fantastic one from most all standpoints. I didn’t feel cheated like in Sendek’s first year, I was proud to watch an underdog fight with a purpose and see the best team in the conference finally face a real challenge (Brendan Wright actually sweats! I saw it!). Moreover, the entire tournament was fantastic game after fantastic game (excluding UNC games before today). All of this taken into account, the first five minutes of the Big Ten and Big 12 tourneys exuded more crowd energy than I saw in the last four ACC games combined.

I don’t know if it was Tampa, DisnEySPN’s noise-cancellation, or the fact that a couple of the higher seeds were displaced early, but I was cheering louder in my den than all the non-allegiance fans could muster in the stadium. This was the ultimate underdog story—especially if you followed these two teams or the ACC at all this year. So much was at stake—a #1 seed, a tourney birth, two schools who hadn’t won this title in too long—and you could almost HEAR fans checking their watches and wondering if they could get back to their hotel to squeeze in a tee time before their flight out at 8. I don’t get it. I also don’t know how to fix it. I just found this strange. I mean, I know it’s not Harvard-Yale for the upper middle class (UNC-Duke), but this was a big (and CLOSE) game in front of a listless crowd. I hate that

One more thing: I hope I never have to use or hear the phrase “played well enough to get into the NIT" ever again. I have the feeling I will next year, though. Who knows? I'm pretty despondent about the whole thing, so this is basically a cop-out portion of the article. NC State has nothing to be ashamed of, and I know that. Such is life. I stand by my former idea: Tyler Hansbrough eats corn a lot and has no idea who his father is. He loves the taste of diaper-dandy Brendan Wright. LOVES that shit. Bitter.

NCAA Tourney thoughts:

This is my favorite sporting event.

My final four, you ask?:
Georgetown, Kansas, Florida, and Ohio State. Playing it safe this year after last years debacle where I was 3/4 off the mark. I got Georgetown winning it all. I love that modified Princeton Offense with this group. They run a perfect curl, know their cuts/timing and can pound you inside if they need to. As someone who watched Herb Sendek coach this offense, I can tell John Thompson III knows it's flaws and isn't stubborn enough to let his kids play from behind in it all day.

I'm pumped OUT about watching this thing, people. Let's fucking ROLL. Here are my surprises:

12 beats 5: Arkansas over USC and Illinois over VA Tech
It's between the ACC and the PAC-10 for the detritus league that fucks up in the first two rounds with early exists. I'm voting for the Pac-10. I've half-written a couple of articles on how I think this is actually a weak conference, but I realized it's just gut feelings. I've been wrong before, to be sure, but I just don't feel all that confident in their mid-tier teams.

However, the ACC didn't show me much with all the upsets and uninspired play by some of the "powerhouses." Losing close games to Miami and NC State (HA!) doesn't say much for the power of the conference.

11 beats 6: Winthrop over Notre Dame AND George Washington over Vanderbilt
The latter is definitely a hunch, but the former is legit. I think Winthrop will beat Notre Dame by double digits and coasts over Miami (OH). They are not my sleeper for the sweet sixteen however. I got more thicks up my sleeves, friends. Never you worry.

Sweet sixteen sleeper: Creighton over Nevada/Memphis.
I got nothing but love for 22 game winning streaks, but they end. They really do end. And this one might end earlier than a 2 seed would suggest.

HUGE upset bid that actually happens: Miami (OH) over Oregon.
See above Pac-10 hunch, and I already gave this one away.

3 HUGE upset bids that come uncomfortably close to happening: Maryland escapes Davidson AND Wisconsin narrowly escapes Texas A&M C.C AND Pitt survives Wright State.
I watched the latter upset hound play and they were one of those determined teams like Vermont the last few years. I was addicted to them, and I honestly believe they will challenge Wisconsin. Davidson is a pesky team. I was hoping (aloud to some friends actually) that they would get Duke and throttle them. They may have to settle for a near miss against Maryland, though. I just don't think Pitt is all that fantastic. I do think they will beat Duke in the second round.

Not so shocking shockers: Texas over UNC in the sweet sixteen. No Duke in the sweet sixteen.
Fuck you, Richard Vitale. Fuck you very much. The door to your retirement is wide fucking open, old man. I'll even hold it open and hand you your AARP card on the way out. There are other teams in this league. Approximately 300 of them. [Also, I have Villanova(9), Michigan State (9) and Georgia Tech (10) pulling mild upsets then losing in the second round. I actually think Michigan State can make a run at UNC but they can't beat them.]
The same mistake I always make: Southern Illinois in the sweet sixteen.
I can;t pull against them. Love the players. Love the style. Love that they are called SO ILL. I even bought a shirt. Hell yeah. SO ILL, SON. THAT'S WHASSUP.

NIT Champion: NC State.
Wishful thinking. Florida State and Syracuse are surely ready to play, ahem.

Your NCAA Champion: Georgetown.
I know I covered this, but I think they have something-- that old school swagger that I feared as a kid is still lurking around. Hearing Ewing and Thompson in the same vicinity still strikes that same fear. I don't know why. It just does.

My Full Bracket: HERE. I don't know if that will work, but if it doesn't, what do you care? That's what I got. Feel free to run your thoughts at me and call me an idiot in our always lacking comments department.

Outside the Aviary: "Tyler Hansbrough is a Corn-Eating Bastard"

Note: the real title of this post follows with the borrowing song lyrics and it is Outside The Aviary: "Lookin' for a Leader..." C'mon, though. Hansbrough is a goofy bastard. On with the post.

On Saturday, I watched something I didn’t think could happen for another 2 years. Sidney Lowe defeated the vaunted North Carolina Tar Heels. Roy Williams, though stockpiled with double the amount of weapons had no answer for a team tired of being considered a third wheel. North Carolina sports has room for two teams in its conservative heart—three once the Panthers find a capable quarterback.

NC State’s tenure as a force in college basketball ran out as Les Robinson depleted their stature with terrible shooters and awkward looking big men. He was the answer to scandalous times—NC State’s version of Bush as a family man. Robinson was likable and State knew they wouldn’t have to worry about point shaving, academic failures or recruiting violations for awhile. They had teams with heart you loved to root for, but you knew they had no chance. It was like watching John Cryer in Pretty in Pink. EVERYTHING had to go perfectly for them to win. I remember hearing about them losing to Florida Atlantic (giving the Owls their first Division I victory in basketball). I remember Jeremy Hyatt, CC Harrison, and the flattest three point shot in history—Mr. Ishua Benjamin. They were all great guys—Harrison actually ended up being a pretty fantastic guard—but they were guided by a man who was unable to win.

Then State saw the arrival of Herb Sendek. Sendek was the manifestation of Robinson’s teams in one man. He was Ducky. He was the man behind Hodge, Melvin, Evtimov and a separate cavalcade of “not quite prime time” big men that all left early for some reason or another (not being used to their potential). However the failures of Sendek’s career are measured by alumni and rabid fans, he was more successful than anyone could have hoped. There’s the danger though—he gave State fans hope. That proved to be his undoing. Since State’s third wheel mentality is fueled by those who know the history of Wolfpack coaches—the big three being the forefront in Everett Case (the father of the ACC), Norm Sloan, and Jimmy Valvano. Sendek’s real failure was making NC State visible. They were never going to transcend the slow offense and inability to win on tobacco road. Sendek won but wasn’t a winner. His body language proved it. He constantly looked like a kid with full sleeve tattoos and a leather jacket was escorting his daughter through his country club—he wanted things to go well, but he had no power to actually make it happen. The constant red faced, tie-loosening routine had no panache (it doesn’t pay to say “we get no respect” in sports unless your players take that into their own hands).

The difference between Sidney Lowe’s approach—in his young collegiate coaching career—and the two men before him is not just that he beat Carolina. It’s not his immediate ties to State or recruiting class hype. It’s not even the amount of confidence he’s instilling into players that were not his own picks. It’s the absolutism of his attitude. It won’t be enough to beat Carolina in Raleigh. It won’t be enough to finish in the NIT with a team picked to finish dead last in the ACC. It will only be enough WHEN NC State is as respected as their counterpart. It’s a mix of pride, stubbornness and swagger. He’s never yelling at referees or screaming at his players. He’s watching them fail and letting them learn. He’s got a young squad with potential to be very good in the coming years. Wins like today are going to go a long way toward proving that—no to the basketball world, but the players themselves.

Instead of going after calls, he’s making adjustments. Instead of benching Grant and company after mistakes, he’s teaching men how to get out of situations. Instead of playing to be ahead, he’s showing kids how to win despite being behind. All of this came to fruition yesterday during two critical time periods—just before halftime when Carolina stormed back to tie the game, and in the second half after a thunderous dunk by Tyler Hansbrough. The lead was cut to one possession or tied a few times, actually, and every time I looked over to the side Sidney Lowe used his “Slow Down and run the offense” face. Engin Atsur responded brilliantly (the MVP of yesterday’s win), as did the big men and Courtney Fells (who is beginning to remind me of a more freakishly athletic Rodney Monroe during his hot streaks). This is not a tournament bound team, by any means. However, the fact that they won two straight against ranked opponents with their leader back from injury shows me they want to be. They believe they can be. That is more than I expected from a first time coach and a slew of kids playing against the “will” of North Carolina.

As the students rushed the court yesterday, I was reminded of when I was growing up. I knew UNC-NC State was going to be vehement and bloody. I knew, as well, that Dean Smith was patrolling the sidelines and that the best athletes went to UNC and Duke. While that is still true, I wonder if it will remain that way for long. Of the times Duke and UNC have owned the ACC (most of the time), the balance of the league will shift with recruits that want to beat the best to be the best. Maryland was a classic case of this. Walt Williams was a beast with little support, but he started a trickle down effect that ended up with Maryland winning a national championship in 2002. The classic two guard set-up with a dominant big man (Steve Blake, Juan Dixon and Lonny Baxter) was essential. Can’t the same be said for Paul Hewitt’s Final Four club (Jarrett Jack, BJ Elder and Chris Bosh—preceded by Travis Best)? If Wake Forest had won their triple overtime game with West Virginia in 2004’s NCAA Tourney, we could be talking about another final four club (Chris Paul, Justin Gray and Erik Williams—preceded by Tim Duncan). If State can match a true point guard (God bless Atsur for taking this challenge) with Fells’ ice cold jumper, then McCauley and Brandon Costner can run the game from the low block as well as the guards from the top of the key. In a best case scenario, the Wolfpack can be a threat sooner rather than later. Wishful thinking, I know, but if Sendek and Hodge brought them into prominence, is it possible that Lowe and (insert recruit here) take them to the next level?

Yesterday was a prototypical next-level win. Even the announcers knew State didn’t win despite themselves; they won because they played the perfect game against a team as young as they were. They played a patient, ball control offense (turnovers be damned) and a stifling interior defense (Hansbrough’s 24 points be damned). What State discovered against Carolina was that the best defense is a mixture of intimidation (State out rebounded UNC in the double digit range—would this have happened had Hansbrough not been pushed around and fouled early?) and rebounding. The best defense is to have the ball. Sloppy at it seemed it was a decisive win for a school that has not been viewed seriously in quite a while. While we have to wait to see what Sidney Lowe does with his own players before judgment, I’m more excited to see a coach patrolling the sidelines since the late 80’s. He gives State the intimidation they have sorely missed. That might be enough for me right there. For the first time in over a decade, the sidelines are even. The rivalries are getting there too.