[Posted Wednesday a.m.]
College Basketball Quiz: Name the eight in the rotation for the 2004-05 North Carolina title team that defeated Illinois in the final, 75-70. [Hint: 3 have a last name beginning with ‘M’.] Answer below.
Florida Gulf Coast
“I’ve known 15 seeds. Fifteen seeds have been my friends. You, Florida Gulf Coast, are no 15 seed.
“After its final game of the season, when seniors shed tears and teammates shared hugs, it would be easy to dismiss San Diego State’s 81-71 loss as an opportunity botched. It wasn’t.
“Yes, there have been disappointments this year, and yes, the season has felt like a collection of underachievements – but what happened Sunday wasn’t the Aztecs dropping the ball so much as it was FGCU slathering a pound of butter on it.
“Ten minutes into the game, it was clear that the Eagles were just as good as SDSU. Thirty minutes into it, it was clear that they were better. This wasn’t the biggest underdog story in Philly since Rocky went the distance with Apollo – this was a case of a good basketball team doing great things at the Aztecs’ expense.”
SDSU coach Steve Fisher said, “They are a good team. They play with a swagger and they have earned the right to do that.”
As an Aztec fan, I’m still amazed how the game went from 54-52 FGC to 71-52 in the blink of an eye.
One analyst I’ve come to like is Reggie Miller and it was he who said during the Florida Gulf Coast-Georgetown game that the Eagles “passed the eye test.” In their dismantling of both Georgetown and San Diego State I think we would all agree…yes, FGC passes with flying colors. They can beat anyone and no one will be surprised if they defeat Florida on Friday.
But until they went on their roll, including in the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament that got them into the NCAAs, they were 19-10.
Now, granted, the Eagles, in their first four games of the season, lost to VCU, 80-57 (game No. 1) and Duke, 88-67. But in Game 2 they also defeated Miami, 63-51.
It was early, though, not even Nov. 20, and FGC would lose on Nov. 24 to St. John’s, 79-68, and Iowa State on Dec. 4, 83-72. Also in December, they lost to Maine, 84-78, though that game was up there so I give them a little break.
The next five losses, however, were in the Atlantic Sun…
Mercer, 77-70 OT
East Tennessee State, 85-75
Lipscomb, 87-78 OT
Lipscomb, 84-74
Stetson, 80-71…at which point FGC was 19-10, 13-5 in conference with Mercer having finished first at 14-4.
I mean East Tenn. State finished 10-22 on the season. Lipscomb was 12-18, 7-11 in conference.
“At the time, it did not strike Lipscomb Coach Scott Sanderson as particularly noteworthy. About an hour before his team faced Florida Gulf Coast on Jan. 17, Sanderson glanced across the gym and saw that the Eagles had formed a layup line, or at least some futuristic version of one.
“ ‘The thing is, they were all dunking,’ he said. ‘Every single one of them, even the players who couldn’t really dunk. They were having a great time.’”
“Neither Sanderson nor his players had any way of knowing how ridiculously impressive the win would look two months later….
“ ‘I think it’s hard not to root for them,’ Maine’s Ted Woodward said in a telephone interview.
“Like Sanderson, Woodward coached his team to a win over Florida Gulf Coast this season. It turned out to be a banner moment for Maine (11-19), which was otherwise not particularly adept at winning basketball games.”
And with Lipscomb’s two wins, Sanderson admits, “I can tell you that it will come up in conversations with recruits. We probably benefit more than anyone from all this.”
Sanderson was curious and went back to the box scores of his team’s two victories. FGC shot a combined 13 of 51 from 3-point range.
Stetson, in its win, shot 54% from the field and drained 11 3-pointers. But in the Atlantic Sun tournament they lost by 14 to the Eagles.
FGC had to win the conference tournament on Mercer’s home court, which some say was more impressive than defeating Georgetown and San Diego State on neutral courts. [Mercer defeated Tennessee in the NIT before succumbing to BYU in Provo, Monday night.]
Meanwhile…imagine what FGC’s run will do for admissions. When George Mason had its Cinderella run in the tourney, applications soared after. [George Mason, by the way, is heading to the A-10.] I just saw that FGC has a beach in the middle of campus. That might entice a few out of staters in particular.
As for Coach Andy Enfield, the millionaire with the million dollar wife, Enfield says of Amanda:
Grounded as in she walked the runway for Chanel and Jean Paul Gaultier, and has been on the cover of Elle, Vogue and Maxim.
Give Florida Gulf Coast athletic director Ken Kavanagh credit for picking Enfield off the Florida State bench when Enfield was on Leonard Hamilton’s staff there. Enfield makes $157,000 and Kavanagh hopes to double that.
Would Enfield look elsewhere, though? If he gets the salary bump, I’m guessing he stays another year. One thing seems certain. He just may have his pick of transfers, which has helped the likes of VCU and San Diego State.
–In other hoops news, Minnesota fired Tubby Smith after six seasons (124-81). He did bring the program back to respectability after an academic cheating scandal. But Smith was just 46-62 in Big Ten play and never finished higher than sixth. At least he beat UCLA in the first round of the tourney last week.
This year was typical. The Gophers started off 15-1 and rose as high as No. 8, but then they lost 7 of 10 in the Big Ten and only sneaked into the NCAAs because of a late-season win at home against No. 1 Indiana.
Minnesota’s AD, Norman Teague, came to Minnesota from VCU so it’s always been thought he would bring Shaka Smart along at some point but now Smart can aim far higher, though it doesn’t seem like he is itching to leave just yet.
–Pitt signed Coach Jamie Dixon to a 10-year extension, supposedly in response to feelers from USC.
There’s no reason not to like Dixon, but I don’t see why Pitt had to kind of panic and add 10 years rather than, say, five. [Though I don’t know the contract details; buyouts, his ability to leave, etc.]
—Steve Alford received a 10-year extension at New Mexico, but that one makes more sense. Alford loves it there, plus his son, the top high school player in the state, is about to play for him.
–Oops, just saw Shaka Smart is being considered for the USC job. Maybe he does bolt this year.
But then I just read VCU is feverishly trying to restructure his contract, not as much in giving Smart more money, but in figuring out what is needed to get VCU to the top…things such as recruiting budgets. Smart, just 35, still says he is happy at the school.
—Bobby Hurley was named the head coach at the University of Buffalo. Hurley was an assistant with his brother Dan at Rhode Island. Bobby got into coaching three years ago when he joined Dan’s staff at Wagner. In his three seasons on the bench, Bobby has already earned a reputation as a terrific recruiter, which will come in handy at Buffalo….just sayin’.
–On Thursday, Wake Forest announced Jeff Bzdelik would return as coach for a fourth season. He is 34-60 overall and 11-42 in the ACC. Strong. Very strong. AD Ron Wellman said “He still has multiple years on his contract,” plus Bzdelik has “put our program in a position to go forward in a very positive manner,” citing the play of the seven freshmen.
Well, I’ve said my piece on my alma mater. I do think there is potential there. I’ll start to care again next November.
–Will Creighton All-American Doug McDermott return? His game was exposed in the tourney, especially by Duke. He is a very nice college player. But pre-season there was talk he was a lottery pick. Today? Who would you rather have? McDermott or Jamaal Franklin in terms of upside?
The thing is, next year you have Kentucky with its spectacular recruiting class coming in, all of whom already sound like one-and-doners, so maybe McDermott should go now. It’s not a deep draft. He’s still a first-rounder.
Then again, as I muse haphazardly, it would be kind of cool to play in the new Big East for a season. The competition wouldn’t hurt his development, you’d think.
[Johnny Mac, by the way, who has a good eye for these things, thinks McDermott will make for a good accountant.]
–Speaking of Kentucky’s upcoming freshmen class, it’s already being called the Death Star – “an NBA-ready recruiting class like none ever assembled. It contains a record six McDonald’s All-Americans, including the best players at four of the five positions.” [Dennis K. Berman / Wall Street Journal]
“There is an expression for someone whose shiny exterior hides a lack of substance; all hat, no cattle. The NCAA tournament has unmasked the Mountain West Conference as just that breed. Ranked the nation’s best basketball conference according to its Ratings Percentage Index, the Mountain West sent a record five teams to the tournament…and went 2-5. That record includes losses to four teams seeded 12th or worse.
“The Mountain West’s five tournament teams were all ranked in the RPI’s top 44, a measure that heavily weighs opponents’ strength of schedule and which the NCAA uses to help select and seed teams. But the RPI can be gamed: Four of the Mountain West’s five tournament teams played non-Division-I opponents, which don’t count in the RPI and thus don’t hurt the rankings.”
–Finally, Phil W. passed along a recent piece from the Roanoke Times by Doug Doughty on Virginia’s coaching tree, specifically 29 years after UVA’s run to the Final Four, the coaching staff for that 1984 squad has had quite a run of its own.
With the selection of Miami’s Jim Larranaga as ACC coach of the year this season, it marked the eighth time a member of the UVA staff has received that honor.
Seth Greenberg, who was at Virginia that lone year, ’84, said, “And, if we’d been able to beat Clemson on Senior Night, maybe it would have been nine,” referring to his 2008 Virginia Tech squad.
The 1984 staff had head coach Terry Holland, and assistants Greenberg, Larranaga, Dave Odom, Jeff Jones and Tom Perrin, the only one not to become a Division I head coach.
Holland had already been named ACC coach of the year in 1982 and ’83. Odom was coach of the year three times at Wake Forest and Greenberg twice at Virginia Tech.
Jones, 29 when he was named to succeed Holland in the spring of 1990, won 105 games in his first five seasons, taking the Cavaliers to the 1994 ACC title game and to the 1995 Midwest Regional final.
But he was never coach of the year, losing out to Odom in 1995.
The thing about 1984, though, was this was the year after Ralph Sampson departed and the Cavaliers only went 6-8 in the ACC but got a bid and rode it all the way to the Final Four. [Wake had a great season, losing to Houston in the Elite Eight after upsetting DePaul.]
“It was during the 1984 NCAA tournament run, Holland said, that the Cavaliers started to utilize the talents of Bob Rotella, a UVA professor who has become one of the nation’s premier sports psychologists and one of Larranaga’s close confidants.
“ ‘Every night, Bob had us lie on the floor and visualize how we wanted the games to unfold,’ Holland said. ‘He gave these breathing techniques and it was all very relaxing, so relaxing that I kept falling asleep.’”
The UVA athletic department overall was no slouch back then. George Welsh became the winningest football coach in school history, athletic director Dick Schultz became the executive director of both the NCAA and U.S. Olympic Committee, and soccer coach Bruce Arena coached in both the Olympics and World Cup.
And some guy named Geno Auriemma was assistant to women’s basketball coach Debbie Ryan, who ended up in the Hall of Fame.
Dave Odom says of Auriemma, “I told him, ‘C’mon, man, what are you doing coaching girls?’ I guess he who laughs first, laughs last. He reminds me of that every time I see him.’”
So with a win on Monday in the rain-delayed Arnold Palmer Invitational, Tiger Woods regained the No. 1 ranking in the world. It was his third PGA Tour title of the season, and sixth in a year (in 20 starts), going back to last year’s event at Bay Hill. And for the record it was his eighth win at Arnie’s place, matching Sam Snead for most wins in a single event; Snead having accomplished his feat in the Greater Greensboro Open.
Overall it was also Tiger’s 77th Tour title, trailing only Snead’s 82, plus Tiger’s wins have come in 284 professional starts.
Tiger is now 42-2 when holding the outright lead after 54 holes on Tour, and is 52-4 when having at least a share of the lead.
Thomas Boswell / Washington Post
“What we have all regained is a resumption of the greatest career-long saga in contemporary sports: Woods’ pursuit of Jack Nicklaus’ 18 major titles. That record went from unassailable to almost-sure-to-be-broken after Tiger got his 14th major at just 32. Now the probability of a 19th major may be teetering perfectly balanced on many knife points.
“How many years will Woods’ injuries, and surgeries on top of old surgeries, especially to his left knee, allow him to play at his current level?
“Will the new Woods, who has replaced everyone from his inner circle, who choked up while apologizing for his infidelities, who fell to 52nd in the world and who has collapsed when in contention in recent majors, have to go through the same wall as a far younger player trying for major No. 1?
“Finally, does Woods believe, deep down, that he deserves golf’s greatest distinction? Guilt could trip him, even guilt toward the game he damaged more than that fire hydrant outside his home in 2009. But it’s just as likely that he feels pride in facing so many crises and emerging as his own re-formed man.
“Many champions have said that a prerequisite to winning majors is the state of your golf; but the rest of the battle is the state of your psyche. Where is Tiger’s? A publicly acknowledged relationship with someone as accomplished and respected as (Lindsey) Vonn, who’s also divorced, may hint that Woods is not sabotaging himself….
“ ‘I’m really excited about the rest of the year,’ Woods said this week.
“He means far more than that. His 40 months in a self-inflicted, mid-life re-examination have left Woods a more complex, flawed and vulnerable man, but a no less fascinating protagonist. Now, the golf world can’t wait for the rest of his year – no, his whole career – to resume once more.”
–It’s amazing that Vernon Wells received a five-year, $100 million+ contract before the 2010 season, and the past two seasons he’s averaged .222 with 36 home runs combined.
And now Wells is a Yankee, with the Angels paying the bulk of the $42 million Wells is owed for 2013 and 2014.
Hey, he’s going to be playing in a little bandbox….who knows.
—Virgil “Fire” Trucks died. He was 95. Pitching for five major league teams in his career, most of that time with Detroit, Trucks compiled a solid 177-135 record (114-96 with the Tigers) with a 3.39 ERA.
“In1952, Trucks had one of the oddest statistical seasons in baseball history. Not only was the Tigers’ record dreadful – the team was 50-104 – but Trucks’ was as well. The woeful offense scored two runs or fewer in 15 of his starts, and he went 5-19. But remarkably, two of the five wins were no-hitters. The first, on May 15, was against the Washington Senators; the second, on Aug. 25, was against the mighty Yankees at Yankee Stadium. No one since then has pitched a complete-game no-hitter against the Yankees in New York.
“Trucks became just the third pitcher to throw two no-hitters in a season, following Johnny Vander Meer of the Cincinnati Reds in 1938 (who did it in consecutive starts) and Allie Reynolds of the Yankees in 1951. Only two others have accomplished the feat since then: Nolan Ryan of the California Angels in 1973 and Roy Halladay of the Phillies in 2010, his second coming in a playoff game.
“Trucks’ feat, however, perhaps holds the record for anomalies. The score of both his no-hitters was 1-0, and the first was won with a home run by Vic Wertz with two out in the bottom of the ninth. The second no-hitter was secured after the official scorer, John Drebinger of the New York Times, first ruled that a ball hit by the Yankees’ Phil Rizzuto in the third inning was an error by Tigers shortstop Johnny Pesky.
“Drebinger’s colleagues in the press box argued with him, and he changed his mind, calling it an infield single. But still uncertain later in the game, Drebinger called Pesky in the Tigers’ dugouot, and he acknowledged that he had been unable to grip the ball cleanly. Before the seventh inning, the call was changed back to an error, and the no-hitter was restored.”
On July 22, Trucks had a one-hitter against the Senators, winning 1-0.
For the record, I just looked this up on baseballreference.com…the time of the game in his first no-hitter was 1:32. [1:46 for the one-hitter, 2:03 for the other no-hitter.]
And consider this…Trucks enlisted in the Navy, missing the entire 1944 season and all but the last week of the 1945 regular season. He then started one game, going 5 1/3, and several days later pitched a complete-game victory over the Cubs in the World Series. That may be far more remarkable than his two no-hitters.
Weber also had this great anecdote. Trucks finished his career with the Yankees and according to an account in the New York Times, “late in a game that year, Manager Casey Stengel decided to change pitchers and told the pitching coach, Jim Turner, to call the bullpen for a young right-hander named Johnny Kucks. In the bullpen, however, the message was misunderstood and the bullpen catcher sent in Trucks, much to Stengel’s surprise and Turner’s displeasure. Turner got back on the phone and was still screaming at the bullpen catcher when Trucks tapped him on the shoulder. He had thrown one pitch, induced a double play and returned to the dugout.
–Defensive end Elvis Dumervil, a three-time Pro Bowl selection whose contract was screwed up by Denver and his agent, has ended up with Baltimore, a needed move by the Ravens after they lost a bunch of starters to free agency and the salary cap, along with the retirement of Ray Lewis.
—Appalachian State and Georgia Southern are moving from the FCS to FBS (Div. I-AA to Div. I-A), joining the Sun Belt Conference in 2015 and thus giving it 10 football members – Arkansas State, Georgia State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, South Alabama, Texas State, Troy, and Western Kentucky.
North Texas, Florida Atlantic and Middle Tennessee previously announced they were leaving for Conference USA.
There is the possibility New Mexico State and Idaho later join the Sun Belt Conference as football-only members.
But as Phil W. correctly says, when it comes to Appalachian, this is a dumb move. No rivalries and bowl games that no one cares about. They’ll be in the wasteland, like East Carolina.
–The United States gained a critical 0-0 draw against Mexico in another World Cup qualifying match at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, while being outshot 17-1. The Americans are now 1-1-1 in qualifying and in solid position to reach the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. The U.S. is third, with the top three in the North American, Central American and Caribbean region moving on.
[The U.S. is also now 0-13-2 in 15 World Cup qualifying matches in Mexico, making the draw all the more impressive.]
–Not for nothing, but after an historic 21-0-3 start, the Chicago Blackhawks are 4-4-0 and just five points ahead of Anaheim in the Western Conference of the NHL.
–At least for the month of April, the Boston Red Sox, no longer an automatic sellout, will try to fill seats by reducing the cost of a 12-ounce beer from $7.50-$8.00 to $5.00!
–Last time I cited the Journal article on animal intelligence, including chimpanzees, and on Tuesday, Pamela Sampson of the AP had a depressing piece on animal trafficking, especially in great apes.
This is astounding. “More than 22,000 great apes are estimated to have been traded illegally over a seven-year period ending in 2011. That’s about 3,000 a year; more than half are chimpanzees, (according to a just-released) U.N. report.”
Once again, Man proves what a dirtball he can be. We really, really suck.
So why all the trafficking? For “disreputable zoos, amusement parks and traveling circuses.” At least that’s part of it. Others are held hostage privately.
“Sophisticated smugglers transport them on private cargo planes using small airstrips in the African bush. Their destination is usually the Middle East and Asia.
“In countries like Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Lebanon, great apes are purchased to display as show pieces in private gardens and menageries.”
China is the main destination for gorillas and chimps.
“Thailand and Cambodia have recorded cases of orangutans being used for entertainment in ‘clumsy boxing matches,’ the report said.”
“Conditions are usually brutal. In February 2005, customs officials at the Nairobi airport seized a large crate that had arrived from Egypt. The crate held six chimpanzees and four monkeys, stuffed into tiny compartments. The crate had been refused at the airport in Cairo, a well-known trafficking hub for shipment to the Middle East, and returned to Kenya. One chimp died of hunger and thirst.”
Pope Francis in his first homily said we must protect nature. I pray those involved in animal trafficking and poaching are blown away.
“On Thursday, the Alpharetta resident’s wife discovered the bleeding, broken body of Charro, one of two goats living in a quarter-acre enclosure behind their home. The attackers had jumped a 5-foot fence. By the time Lynda Clement found its body, white fur splashed with red, Charro was dead….
“ ‘I’ve lived in Alpharetta for more than 20 years,’ Clement said Friday. ‘I’ve never seen one – wouldn’t know what they look like if I saw one.’
“Coyotes like it that way. The animals are primarily nocturnal, quiet and fast. They’ll eat just about anything – rodents, birds, frogs and, increasingly, pets. The Clements’ goat had been partially eaten.”
—Justin Timberlake’s comeback album, “The 20/20 Experience,” sold 968,000 copies its first week; the 19th album in Nielsen Soundscan’s 22-year history that has sold more than 900,000 units in its debut. RCA Records had projected 500-600,000.
Now we are big Timberlake fans around here; not necessarily because of his music (which I really don’t listen to) but just because he’s cool, successful and a big fan of golf. And he was masterful in his month-long promotion leading up to the release of “20/20.”
–So I wrote about the new country station in New York City, Nash FM, 94.7, last Bar Chat, and in Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal, Josh Dawsey has a story on the station’s rapid rise.
“Country singer Jason Aldean needed only seven minutes to sell out almost 20,000 seats for his debut at Madison Square Garden earlier this month.
“So when he took the stage, he gave a nod to the local fans who poured into the venue to hear odes about a large green tractor, ‘flyover states’ far from Manhattan and shenanigans on desolate dirt roads.
“ ‘Apparently there’s misconception in Nashville there’s not a lot of country music fans in New York City,’ he told a roaring crowd. ‘I’m going to go back and let them know that’s bulls—.’”
Yup, your editor was all over this when the station first hit the airwaves, including 2/4/13…ten days into the station’s intro… “These guys must be raking in the ratings.”
And this is funny. When Eric Clapton plays at the Garden next month, three of his guests will be country stars Brad Paisley, Keith Urban and Vince Gill.
Top 3 songs for the week 3/26/83: #1 “Billie Jean” (Michael Jackson….heard of him…) #2 “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me” (Culture Club….one of the most depressing songs of all time…creepy sound….gave me nightmares….let alone Boy George…save us, Ronnie!) #3 “Hungry Like The Wolf” (Duran Duran….just never a fan…)…and…#4 “You Are” (Lionel Richie) #5 “Back On The Chain Gang” (Pretenders…being on a chain gang was preferable to listening to music back then…) #6 “We’ve Got Tonight” (Kenny Rogers and Sheena Easton…she was hot…he still had his old face…) #7 “Mr. Roboto” (Styx…whatever…) #8 “Separate Ways” (Journey) #9 “One On One” (Daryl Hall & John Oates…one of the few good acts in those days…) #10 “Twilight Zone” (Golden Earring)
College Basketball Quiz Answer: Rotation for North Carolina’s 2004-05 champions…
Sean May, Raymond Felton, Rashad McCants, Jawad Williams, Marvin Williams, David Noel, Jackie Manuel, Melvin Scott
Ah yes, this season Wake Forest was never worse than No. 7 in the AP poll until the final week (we were No. 1 two weeks early in the year), when Chris Paul pulled his crap at season’s end. Yes, sports fans…there was a basketball program at Wake at one point.
Next Bar Chat, Monday…your official baseball predictions!
