Buckin' On Up!

By Mark Buckets (Not Buck-eyes)

As my colleague has stated in a previous post, this blog is all about basketball, so we usually just talk about - guess what - basketball. Rarely do we delve into the world of college football.

But while studying online game film and scouring morning editions of newspapers across the nation, an HBO program documenting the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry that was beaming on my television caught my eye. So I turned off the projector and turned my attention to the tube.

As a Duke fan, I know a few things about integral rivalries.

However, there is nothing - I'll say it again - NOTHING like the Michigan-Ohio State game.

From Bo's arrival to Woody's upheaval, there isn't a rivalry in sports that matches the punch-by-punch storylines that "The Big Game" offers.

For a Duke supporter, this might come across as sacrilege. But not even the Duke - North Carolina rivalry in basketball can compare to Michigan - Ohio State football rivalry. I know, you may be thinking, "who forms an opinion on a rivalry based off of an HBO documentary?"

I am from the midwest, so I didn't need a documentary to educate me as to the importance of this game. Michigan - Ohio State is as big as it gets. Sure, a few folks in the state of Alabama might object to that, but there's a general understanding that this is must-see live theater. And even with the litany of intriguing storylineson the field, there are equally as many off of it.

This long-standing rivalry isn't simply all about the game.

It even extends to what past graduates have done in and out of the classroom.

Names of past graduates are eye-popping. From Mike Wallace of 60 minutes (U of M class of '39), to writer R.L. Stine (OSU class of '69), these two schools alumni bases boast some of America's most influential public figures (and I didn't even get around to mentioning Michigan alum and football great Gerald Ford, who - even some Ohio State fans will know - was the 38th president of the United States).

So, as you tune into ABC at high noon on Saturday (or as they call it now, ESPN on ABC), remember that this contest is more than just a game. It sounds cliche, but this rivalry lives up to that moniker.

And after all that build up, you're probably expecting a prediction.

Well, we usually don't make predictions around here, but ...

Bucks win 31-24

Third NCAA Post Season Tournament In the Works

By Trashtalk Superstar


There's an old saying: "two's company, but three's a crowd." The people at the Gazelle Group must not know that colloquialism because they've started the new College Basketball Invitational post season tournament - which, as the third NCAA post season tournament, will compete with the NCAA Tournament and the NIT.

In fairness, a third tournament probably isn't a bad idea. Every year several deserving teams are left out of both the NCAA Tournament and the NIT. And, no doubt, college coaches and players won't object to the creation of another tournament because it will open opportunities for more teams to extend their seasons.

The main hurdle that the College Basketball Invitational will face is likely to be low fan interest. The NIT is a good - and well established - tournament, but it only generates minimal interest. What's worse, major conference teams that get left out of the NCAA Tournament are sometimes slightly less than motivated - and often don't exactly bring their "A-games"- when they step on to courts bearing the NIT logo. A fledgling tournament will face all those obstacles and then some. Add to that the fact that many of its contestants are likely to be good, but relatively unheralded, mid major teams. A late March match up between, let's say, Charlotte and Northern Iowa may make for good basketball, but it not exactly going to beat Dancing With the Stars in the Nielsen ratings.

Personally, I like the idea of a third tournament. But I'm a basketball person, maybe even a "lifer." And bear in mind: I've always kind of liked Arena Football, I liked the idea of the XFL (until I actually saw some of the games), and - when I was a child and just beginning to follow sports - I kind of followed the USFL in its final season or two ... plus, I've actually gone to NIT games ... and CBA games.

Hard core basketball people - like the proprietors of this blog - and hard core gamblers may have some interest in the new tournament. And fans/alums of teams that participate in the tournament may be interested as well. But that's likely to be all the interest the CBI will get.

Good luck to the Gazelle Group and the College Basketball Invitational.

Aloha means hello-Mark Buckets is back

By Mark Buckets

The college basketball season began in earnest tonight as a slew of classics and foundation-based games tipped off. We'll get to the rest in a moment. As a devout follower and worshiper of Duke University basketball, I was pleased to receive communion tonight in the form of live competition for the Devils(no pun intended). And no, North Carolina Central's foray into the deep end of college basketball's highest division does not qualify. Tonight, it was time for the New Mexico State Nomads - I mean Aggies - to have a stab at the home standing Blue Devils. Yes, I'll admit, Duke's 52-game home non-conference winning steak that dates back a decade doesn't include a whole lot of blue-blooded programs. Regardless, tonight - with Duke hosting an undermanned Aggie team (without blue chip recruit Herb Pope, who would have been extremely useful for NMSU tonight) - the games began.

Over on ESPN 360 (which is unavailable to people using Comcast in the Chicagoland area without a fee) Syracuse was trying to tame the Siena Saints. Winning the game wasn't a problem for the home standing Orange. Rather, performing with panache and flash was of paramount importance tonight...it was a night to round up the faithful at the Carrier Dome, with an exciting new brand of Boeheim Basketball. Johnny Flynn, whose 28-point opening performance trumped even that of the debut of one Carmelo Anthony, led the way. Although the cancer that is Eric Devendorf remains fully malignant at this time, Coach Boeheim and staff seem to be soothing the Devendorf ailment. A good night, indeed, for all of those involved at the country's number one broadcast journalism school (No need to mention alumnus Dick Stockton's putrid performances on FOX NFL Sundays this year).

And how about Marquette? Talk about a team that is stumbling out of the blocks. Sure, their record remains unblemished at this early point in the season, but things haven't been all roses in Milwaukee. When you're being outrebounded by the likes of Utah Valley State and IUPUI, things can't be running smoothly. Maybe Tom Crean needs to strap his players up with football pads and put a lid on the net a la mentor Tom Izzo of Michigan State. But although toughness may be instilled through the personality of a coach, but height certainly isn't.

Speaking of teams that are vertically challenged, exhibit B, the Duke Blue Devils. Talk in the preseason centered around what kind of production (or lack thereof) that post men Lance Thomas and Brian Zoubek would contribute this year. After two games, the results are mixed. Both are extremely energetic players who leave it all on the court, and still, both are powder puffs around the goal.

Let's set the scene:
Zoubek gets a weakside rebound, has a chance to take it up strong against another fairy tale of a center, Martin Iti (he really needs to lay off the Edy's Ice Cream, but I digress). Instead of squeezing the air out of the ball and taking it up strong, Zoubek proceeds to - to put it bluntly - get his shit packed. This is supposed to be a player that was coming into the year with a renewed toughness and grit, not the blocking dummy he was last year. To be fair to the kid, he is only a true sophomore.

More disconcerting for Duke fans, however, is the tentativeness that Lance Thomas has shown around the basket. Let me make this abundantly clear: Both Thomas and Zoubek are schooled in the way of K on defense, and play it to a "T" (no, not like Psyco T, but you get my point). But what worries me most about Thomas and Zoubek is that this isn't a fundamental or strategic error. It's that both players lack that killer instinct, and it may ultimately lead to Duke's demise down the road.

That's all for now, but be sure to check back periodically for more updates. As the season swings into full gear next week, posts will be coming fast and furious.

Sight Seen: Ohio State Fans in the Dumps

By Trashtalk Superstar

Although this blog is about basketball, and we rarely deviate from that format, sometimes other sports (or sports related) items demand our attention. #1 Ohio State's "humiliating" gridiron upset by supposedly "lowly" Illinois didn't elicit commentary from Drive and Dish's editorial staff. But something I encountered the day after OSU's loss did.

Falling into the "you can't make this stuff up" category, the above picture is of an Ohio State hat that I found after somebody threw it away at a Chicago area health club last night - one day after #1 OSU fell (at home, no less) to unranked and unheralded Illinois. Maybe you had to be there, but when I saw the discarded red hat with the gray "O" staring at me, I couldn't help but laugh. Since it was late and I was the only person in the gym, there was nobody there with whom I could share the moment. So I took pictures and posted them here.

Unfortunately, when I found the hat, it wasn't positioned quite as perfectly as it is in the pictures. So - admittedly - I had to do some digging in the garbage to better position the hat for the sake of photographic artistry. And, while today's round of tetanus shots and vaccinations were no picnic, I got some good shots of the discarded OSU hat that I now share with the world. It'll all be worth it if even one starving child is able to forget that he's too hungry to sleep tonight ... because he got a chuckle, or two, from the Ohio State fans' collective disgust.

EDIT: (4:50pm, 11/13/07)

When I referred to OSU's "humiliating" loss to "lowly" Illinois, I used quotation marks around "humiliating" and "lowly" to imply -- subtly -- that I disagreed with the conventional wisdom (i.e. national media coverage) about this Illinois team. I probably should have been more clear.

For the record, I thought that the Illini were underrated and under appreciated going into Saturday's game. And considering the fact that Illinois gave then #1 Ohio State all it could handle the week before they were to play Michigan last year, I thought that this year's talented but young Illinois team had a decent chance of pulling the upset in Columbus. Illinois is an exciting, legitimately good football team (although they're somewhat inconsistent-- due to their overall youth). But they don't get much respect from the national media.

And after listening to ESPN and Sporting News radio for about three hours Saturday night as I drove back to Chicago from Indianapolis, I had a fairly clear picture of how many in the national media (and an awful lot of college football fans--particularly those South of the Mason Dixon line) viewed the Illinois win: the Big Ten sucks and a fraudulent Ohio State team got "exposed" and "embarrassed" by hapless Illi-freakin'-nois and their equally hapless coach, the "Zooker" (how could Ohio State lose to the "Zooker," for God's sake?).

Hence my tongue-in-cheek reference to OSU being "humiliated" by "lowly" Illinois.

To be fair, Mark May and Lou Holtz (lisp and all) did give the Illini some love on ESPN. But the guys on ESPN radio (Freddie Coleman excluded) sure didn't do the same.

So, although my use of "lowly" to describe the Illini was intended as sarcasm, my use of "unheralded" is spot on. Illinois is unheralded because they don't get much respect nationally ... yet.

Kentucky Falls to Gardner Freakin' Webb

By Trashtalk Superstar

Welcome to Kentucky, Billy Gillispie. Your predecessor, Tubby Smith, was chased out of town after a successful ten year run which included two Final Fours and a national championship. But it wasn't good enough for the crazed UK fans. They expected so much more from their beloved Wildcats. Which is why you now hold one of the most prestigious positions in sports ... head coach of men's basketball at the University of Kentucky.

And the Kentucky faithful treated your arrival as if it were a the fulfillment of prophecy ... a savior would come to lead his people to their rightful glory. You were Billy G. as Messiah or Mahdi. Kentucky fans spoke of you as if you could walk on water and turn water into wine (and hell, everybody knows how much you love to drink). Yes Billy, you were supposed to lead Kentucky to the promised land. Because to the devoted followers of UK basketball, you were the freakin' man.

That is, until tonight, when Kentucky was blown out by uber cupcake Gardner Webb.

Two games into your tenure and Kentucky has already suffered a loss as humiliating as Michigan's football defeat to Appalachian State in this year's season opener. Gardner Webb should write you a check because, by losing to them tonight, you will have given them more media exposure than they've probably ever had. Everyone who watches Sports Center or reads the sports section of their daily newspaper will now have heard of tiny Gardner Webb (enrollment: 4,000). And many of those same people will laugh at Kentucky's expense.

You'll be on the hot seat before you know what hit you.

At least Kentucky fans have a good football team to cheer for this year, even if it is the first good Kentucky football team that most fans have seen in their lifetimes. Hell, if you don't get things going quickly, Billy Boy, Kentucky might get a reputation as a "football school."

Then Ashley Judd will be forced to start going to football games. The TV close ups of her won't be as good as they are at basketball games, but exposure is exposure. And it's not like she's just there to watch the games and root for her team.

You better get everything straightened out soon, Billy. If you don't, Wildcat nation might even start longing for the good ol' days of the Tubby era.

Welcome to Kentucky, Billy G. Welcome indeed.

North Carolina Investigates Itself For Possible Recruiting Infraction ... Surprise! ... Clears Self of Wrong Doing

By Trashtalk Superstar


The University of North Carolina conducted an internal investigation over potential violations of NCAA basketball recruiting guidelines. UNC determined that no NCAA rules had been intentionally violated and that the basketball program is, therefore, totally clean.

Whew!

What if North Carolina had decided that they were guilty? Would they have imposed sanctions upon themselves?

The act of conducting an internal investigation is a total charade. In the last two years, the Ohio State and Kansas basketball programs have conducted similar internal investigations. Like UNC, they also determined that while some violations may technically have occurred (unintentionally, of course), they all resulted from big misunderstandings. Honestly.

Not surprisingly, in the previous two cases, the NCAA determined that the self reporting was sufficient and that no NCAA sanctions were necessary. North Carolina will get the same response.

Look, the recruiting violation that UNC committed was minor and probably was actually unintentional. And for the record, the NCAA is a shockingly inefficient bureaucracy whose rules and bylaws are often vague at best. It's unbelievably easy to unintentionally violate some ridiculous NCAA bylaw. Anyone who has ever played or coached a college sport at an NCAA institution can attest to this.

North Carolina violated a ticky tacky NCAA rule. They almost certainly were unaware that they were committing a recruiting infraction. After all, the recruit merely talked to two former UNC basketball players at a UNC football game. That could have even occurred without anyone in the basketball program knowing about it. Logically, what's to stop a recruit from recognizing a former player and initiating a conversation with that former player? And accordingly, would a former player have to refuse to acknowledge a stranger who attempts to initiate a conversation with him? Even if he's unaware that the person attempting to initiate the conversation is a basketball recruit?

Many of the NCAA's bylaws are preposterous. North Carolina (which is generally regarded as a clean program) violated one such bylaw. But the rules are the rules. And North Carolina should be treated like any other basketball program which has committed a recruiting violation.

Unfortunately, the NCAA's method for distributing sanctions/punishment may be even more mysterious and questionable than any of the inane bylaws in their dauntingly volumnous rulebook. Marquee programs like Kansas, Ohio State and North Carolina are almost almost never held accountable for their infractions of NCAA bylaws. But programs of lesser stature usually get the book thrown at them. Kentucky basketball has long been notorious for not playing by the rules. At various times in their history, they haven't even pretended to follow the rules. Take for instance the fact that during one practice session, legendary Kentucky coach Adolf Rupp erupted at one of his players: "For what we're paying you, you damned well better play better than that." That was in the 1940's. Yet the NCAA left Kentucky alone until 1989 - when the FBI busted the Kentucky basketball program and coach Eddie Sutton for mailing thousands of dollars in cash to recruits. Only after the FBI became involved did the NCAA decide it was time to look into possible recruiting violations at Kentucky.

North Carolina's recruiting infraction was minor. They really don't deserve anything more than a slap on the wrist. Not that Tar Heels fans have anything to worry about: a slap on the wrist is the most that UNC will receive (truth be told, they probably won't even get slapped on the wrist - they're North Carolina after all). But the NCAA has dished out heavy penalties to other schools for committing similar minor violations. Our readers who are Illinois fans know this all too well.

For the purpose of clarity, it isn't Drive and Dish's intent to slam North Carolina. What we're slamming is the uneven treatment of member institutions by the NCAA.

Majerus Wants Out of Atlantic 10

By Trashtalk Superstar


In April, Rick Majerus was named the men's basketball coach at Saint Louis University. Now Majerus wants SLU to leave the Atlantic 10 conference.

And he's taking his case to the media. Majerus hasn't even coached a game at his new institution and he's already stirring controversy.

Drive and Dish has always respected and admired Majerus for his coaching ability. The guy is very good at what he does. But he's a loose cannon. You never know what he's going to say or do next. That - along with questions about his weight, health and lifestyle - is probably why he never landed a top tier coaching job. Yes, Majerus took the University of Utah to the Final Four, but it was with a once in a generation type Utah team. Utah was never going to be in danger of becoming an elite college basketball program. Word had it that Majerus always coveted a Big Ten coaching position. He was/is certainly good enough to coach in the Big Ten. But Big Ten institutions never seemed to be very interested in Majerus.

So now, after being USC's head coach for a few days (before abruptly resigning), Majerus is coaching the Saint Louis Billikens. And he's not thrilled about SLU's membership in the Atlantic 10.

Key lines:

"Majerus made it clear he isn't overjoyed by SLU being in the A-10; he doesn't like the 14-team configuration or the geography. SLU, unlike East-based conference members, can't take a bus to any conference road game.

'The thing I don't like about these large leagues is that there's an innate unfairness to it,' he said. 'Secondly, the demographics of it, particularly for St. Louis, are very perplexing, to say the least.'"

St. Louis is, indeed, in a strange position. Former members of the now defunct Metro and Great Midwest conferences, the Billikens were a charter member of Conference USA. They stayed in Conference USA until its recent split-up (remember- Louisville, Cincinnati, DePaul, Marquette and South Florida left C-USA for the Big East). Instead of maintaining their affiliation with the de-fanged Conference USA, St. Louis headed for the Atlantic 10. In doing so, the Billikens went from a high major conference to a glorified mid major conference.

St. Louis had struggled to make its mark (save for Charlie Spoonhour's 1998 team that featured Larry Hughes) in Conference USA. Moving to the A-10 appeared to make some sense because, while the A-10 is an outstanding basketball league, the level of competition is a step down from what the Billikens faced in Conference USA during its heyday.

Thus, it appeared that St. Louis was joining a good league in which it could finally make some headway. And the fact that the A-10 had several non football playing Catholic Universities as members probably didn't hurt either. So even though there would be no traditional or regional rivalries for St. Louis in the A-10, it looked like a good fit for the Billikens because they would be able to establish new rivalries with similar urban Catholic institutions.

But the fact is that the Atlantic 10 is primarily an Eastern seaboard league. That wouldn't be bad for St. Louis if they were merely looking to increase their national exposure, but it's a tough fit for them when it comes to travel considerations. And while it's true that Conference USA had member institutions spread throughout the country, they still had a core of schools that were in relative close proximity to St. Louis. Memphis, Cincinnati, Louisville, Chicago and even Milwaukee were easy for the Billikens to travel to. However, in the Atlantic 10, the only schools near St. Louis are Dayton and Xavier (Cincinnati, OH). All the other member institutions are on the East Coast. And that's enough to make a season's worth of travel very taxing for the Billikens.

But the impetus for this post isn't to consider the merits of St. Louis' affiliation with the Atlantic 10 conference. This post is about Rick Majerus' behavior vis a vis his comments in the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

Rick Majerus was a good hire for St. Louis because he's a proven coach who has a high profile nationally. St. Louis wants to win and it wants to get some exposure. Rick Majerus won't ever shy away from a camera. But Majerus needs to be more careful when voicing his opinions. Rick Majerus might not be wrong to question SLU's conference affiliation, but he shouldn't do it publicly. Those conversations are best left behind closed athletic department and administrative doors. If Majerus wants to leave the Atlantic 10, he should talk to his Athletic Director and to the President of the university. But by taking his case to a St. Louis Post Dispatch sports writer, Rick Majerus makes his university, his athletic department and -ultimately- himself look bad.

Miami Trades Walker to Minnesota For Ricky Davis

By Trashtalk Superstar


Just a year and a half removed from their 2006 NBA championship, the rapidly declining Miami Heat were looking to shake things up. Tonight, Miami traded fat, slow small forward Antoine Walker to Minnesota for team chemistry-killing knucklehead small forward Ricky Davis.

Miami also sent center Michael Doleac, seldom used forward Wayne Simien and a first round draft pick to Minnesota.

In addition to Davis, Miami will receive forward Mark Blount from Minnesota.

It comes as no surprise that Pat Riley would attempt to rid Miami of the dead weight that is Antoine Walker. Walker used to be a mobile and skilled small forward with a power forward's body. Now he's a slow fat guy who doesn't do much except chuck up threes. Antoine Walker has essentially become a three point specialist who is, strangely, not all that great at shooting three pointers. He's also a defensive liability - and Pat Riley stresses defense. Add to that the fact that Walker's attitude leaves much to be desired.

Getting rid of Antoine Walker makes all the sense in the world for Miami. They're ridding themselves of a player whom they consider a lazy, self centered headache. But by replacing him with Ricky Davis, Miami could just be trading one headache for another.

Ricky Davis is a ball hogging, attention fiending coach killer. And he loves to chuck up ill advised shots as much as Antione Walker does. True, Davis' replacing Walker gives Miami a vast upgrade in athleticism. But Ricky Davis' attitude is probably worse than Antoine Walker's.

On the surface, it seems like Miami just swapped their trash for Minnesota's trash. But Mark Blount is a quality player who will - undoubtedly - bolster Miami's already strong rotation of big men (remember, although they're still great players, Shaq and Alonzo Mourning are aging quickly - it makes sense to go out and get them some help).

As for Minnesota, it looks like they're trying to free up salary cap space by acquiring Doleac and Simien, whose contracts are set to expire at the end of this season.

For the post Kevin Garnett Minnesota Timberwolves, this trade appears to make sense. It's going to be pretty tough for Minnesota to rebuild. At least now they'll have an extra first round draft pick, salary cap space and will no longer have to put up with Ricky Davis. Unfortunately for Minnesota, they'll have to put up with Antoine Walker.

O.J. Mayo's Fist Breaks Teammate's Jaw...But It Was an "Accident"

By Trashtalk Superstar


"All World" superstar USC Freshman point guard O.J. Mayo "accidentally" fractured a teammate's jaw in a pick up game last week. Coach Tim Floyd insists that it was an accident - even though he didn't actually witness the incident (coaches aren't allowed any involvement with "pre season" pick up games).

Since Floyd is known as such a stand up guy, there's absolutely no reason to doubt anything that he says.

And since O.J. Mayo is such a great kid, it's unimaginable that he'd punch a teammate.

Tim Floyd's team is probably like one big happy family and O.J. Mayo's arrival has, likely, done nothing but bring that family closer together. After all, he's just such a great kid, dontchaknow!

Riiight.

And those e-mails you get from guys in Nigeria who've just "come into" millions of dollars and are willing to share their windfall with you - if you'll just give them your bank account routing number - are totally legit.

And you really will get rich quick if you sign up for one of those "get rich quick in real estate" seminars.

Tim Floyd might as well try to sell people swampland in Florida. He's about as honest as the typical con artist.

Note the key lines in the story:

..."yeah he punched him," a player said. "They changed the story for the media."

Tim Floyd's attempt to spin this incident is pathetic and absurd.

O.J. Mayo's reputation preceded his arrival at USC. Tim Floyd knew exactly what he was getting when Mayo signed his letter of intent.

The label "thug" is often inappropriately applied to young black athletes who affect a hip hop influenced style. Too many guys are called thugs just because they rock braids and a headband, or because they have tattoos, or because they pop their jerseys, etc.

But O.J. Mayo is a punk and a thug. Not because of his style, but because of his actions. We've mentioned this before (scroll down - it's midway through the post). He's as talented a basketball player as there is in college basketball (when he actually tries), but he's a selfish player - and probably a selfish person - who has caused trouble every where he's been (and he's been around: he went to like five or six different high schools).

O.J. Mayo = trouble.

Period.

Mayo will only be in college for one season. And he'll probably put up some huge numbers and get lots of media love. But he'll ultimately cost USC some important games because of his selfish play and because of the internal dissension that he'll - no doubt - cause on his team. Then USC will flame out in the NCAA Tournament even though Mayo will probably drop thirty on some low seeded directional school.

In June, O.J. Mayo will be a top five pick in the NBA draft. He'll go on to be a cancer on his team, which will be built around him. Eventually, he'll be traded to another team. He'll be a cancer there too. And he'll get into trouble along the way.

He'll get coaches fired. Then he'll be traded again. And again. And again. Just like Isiah Rider, Stephon Marbury, Stephen Jackson, Steve Francis, etc.

At some point, Tim Floyd may end up being O.J. Mayo's coach in the NBA. Floyd gets into trouble (or, more accurately, gets college basketball programs into trouble) and bounces from team to team too. He usually stays in a coaching job for a maximum of three to four years. When his shady practices landed his Iowa State program on NCAA-imposed probation, he just picked up and left for the greener pastures of the NBA (thanks to his schmoozing skills: remember, it was Floyd's "close friendship" with then-Chicago Bulls General Manager Jerry Krause - Floyd allegedly befriended the practically friendless Krause in order to lobby for the Bulls' coaching position - that led the Bulls to run Phil Jackson off [which hastened the retirement of Michael Jordan and the breakup of a 6 time NBA Championship dynasty] so that they could hire Floyd, who at the time was a controversial and only relatively successful college head coach). When he bombed out with the Chicago Bulls, he picked up with the New Orleans Hornets (thanks to more alleged schmoozing). When he bombed out in New Orleans, he bounced to USC.

Ultimately, the controversial and oft-travelled O.J. Mayo may be a perfect fit for the controversial and oft-travelled Tim Floyd's upstart, renegade USC program.

In other words, these two asshats deserve each other.

By the way, is it me, or does it seem like trouble just finds current and former USC athletes named O.J.?

Pictures From Midnight Madness

By Trashtalk Superstar

Sports Illustrated has pictures from several schools' Midnight Madness exhibitions. As much as Midnight Madness has become a big deal on campuses across America, there's still nobody who does it better than Kentucky.

Edit:

Someone should have prevented Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan from embarrassing himself by doing the superman dance on camera. Once the white people start doing a dance, it's officially over.


Updated (10/19/07):

Bo Ryan is a great basketball coach. Wisconsin never gets the big time recruits and their style of play isn't exactly ballet on the hardwood, but Bo Ryan's teams consistently win. Drive and Dish's editorial staff has nothing but respect for Bo Ryan's coaching abilities. But Bo looks like a damn fool in that video.

Bo Ryan is a coach's coach. He spent much of his long career in total obscurity. First he was a high school coach. Then he went on to coach small college basketball at Wisconsin/Platteville, where his teams won several NCAA Division III national championships. He's paid his dues like few in his profession have. With his career accomplishments, and with the level of success he's brought to Wisconsin basketball, Bo Ryan commands respect.

That's why Bo Ryan should never have done that Soulja Boy superman dance. First, the song is terrible and represents everything that's wrong with the current state of commercial hip hop (and on a broader level, with the current state of the music industry in general). That song and its corresponding dance are the hot thing right now, but weren't hot six months ago and won't be hot six months from now. Hell, it probably won't even be hot two months from now because - as we noted above - once the white folks catch on to something, its days are numbered.

Bo Ryan is a man of stature who holds a position of authority. He's experienced. He's distinguished. He's the don of Wisconsin basketball. He should act the part. But he sure as hell shouldn't try to act young and cool. He's neither. And by attempting to latch on to the latest hot dance moves, Bo Ryan looks insecure, needy and desperate for approval.

Bo Ryan's best play is to project his authority. That's what big time college coaches do. After all, as far as all things UW basketball go, Bo Ryan is the man. Players and students should have to earn his approval. Not the other way around.

Midnight Madness Tonight

Midnight Madness is the official start of the college basketball season. The NCAA permits practice to begin on the second Saturday of October each year. Thus, teams hold their first official practice session at exactly 12:00am on Saturday. The session is open to the public, and at basketball crazed universities, usually attracts an energetic crowd. On college campuses across the nation, this phenomenon has come to be known as "Midnight Madness."

Due to the celebratory nature of the open practice, it is is, largely, ceremonial in nature. Very little that actually resembles quality basketball practice takes place at these events. Thus, Midnight Madness typically resembles a glorified pep rally - although a pep rally replete with dunk competitions and a quasi scrimmage - more than it does an actual basketball practice.

Despite the pomp and circumstance, Midnight Madness gives the hard core college basketball fan get his/her first glimpse of the new season's edition of his/her favorite team. While the fans may not be able to gain many insights into how their their teams will actually perform during the season, Midnight Madness is great for building an atmosphere of crazed excitement amongst said fans.

Midnight Madness is tonight.

From Chapel Hill to Bloomington, from Lexington to Tuscon, wild eyed college students and college basketball fans will pile into arenas on campuses across America in order to catch that first glimpse of the teams they love. The truth is: although Midnight Madness can probably be described as "much ado about nothing," it's a lot of fun for the fans.

College basketball season is officially on.

Midnight Madness is Approaching

Drive and Dish is a blog about basketball, but as we note in our header, we devote most of our attention to college basketball. That's why things have been pretty slow on this blog for the last several months. We did quite a bit on the NBA playoffs and Finals, but it's been "slim pickins" since the Finals. That's because there hasn't been much basketball to write about since the Finals concluded (actually, the Finals didn't really provide much to write about, now that I think about it).

Well, that's about to change. College basketball officially begins in less than two weeks. Next Friday, Midnight Madness will go down on college campuses across America.

If you, or your friends will be attending Midnight Madness at one of this nation's fine institutions of higher education, drop us a line at basketball.bloggers@gmail.com.
We'll post pictures if you e-mail them to us (if they're of high enough quality to publish).

Former NBA Coach/GM Versace Running for Congress

It had been rumored - since mid summer - that former NBA coach/broadcaster/General Manager Dick Versace was interested in running for the Congressional seat that will soon be vacated by Rep. Ray LaHood. In July, the venerable LaHood (R-IL), announced his plans to retire from his position as Representative for the 18th Congressional District (central Illinois). LaHood will serve out his current term.

Well, the rumors were true. Dick Versace has announced that he will, indeed, run for Congress, as a Democrat, in the 18th District. The flamboyant Versace was the head basketball coach at Bradley University before moving on to coach the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons in the NBA. Vercace later served as the General Manager for the Vancouver/Memphis Grizzlies.

This should be fun to watch. I like Versace, but I'm not sure how he'll be viewed by the voters of the 18th District. When he was coaching at Bradley (in Peoria, IL), folks around Peoria often criticized Versace for being too "slick," and too much of a Chicago guy.

Despite his employment in downstate Peoria, Versace maintained his primary residence in Chicago. He did have a home in Peoria, but he spent most of his free time - and most of the off season - living it up in the big city. Downstate Illinois folks didn't exactly cotton to that.

Dick Versace is a fun, big city guy, with a double-sized personality. He was masterful at selling his basketball program - both in the recruitment of players and in his dealings/relations with the media. A career in politics seems like a good fit for Versace, because the guy's a natural at selling himself. However, it remains to bee seen if downstate voters will buy his act.

The Illinois Falling Illini

Just two and a half years removed from appearing in the Final Four and playing North Carolina for the National Championship, the University of Illinois' men's basketball program is in free fall. Never before have I seen a major program drop off the map so quickly (without being sanctioned by the NCAA). Mike DeCourcey writes about the Illini's falling fortunes in the Sporting News.

Houston Rockets' Rafer Alston Slashes Man's Throat in Night Club

Houston Rockets guard, Rafer "Skip To My Lou" Alston has been charged with slashing a man's throat in a New York City night club. Earlier this month, Alston was charged with assault in Houston. It's nice to see that Skip To My Lou is "keepin' it real." I know that a lot of people questioned whether the former New York (Rucker Park) street ball legend "sold out" by going to "the League." Well, Rafer Alston may have had to swallow his pride and play by a coach's rules (in order to earn his NBA paychecks, which net him millions), but he sure as hell ain't playin' by society's rules. Play on playa!

Rafer Alston has always been known for his dazzling ball handling skills and for his ability to beat his defender off the dribble. Apparently, he now wants to be known as a slasher too.



Update:

I was discussing Rafer Alston's alleged throat slashing attack with some friends last night (none of them were aware of Skip to My Lou's arrest), when I realized that Alston played his college basketball for Jerry Tarkanian, at Fresno State. Avondre Jones and Kenny Brunner were Alston's Fresno State teammates in 1998, when Jones and Brunner were charged with robbing and assaulting a man with a a samurai sword. Jones was later convicted for the robbery and samurai sword assault.

I doubt that Rafer Alston made it to class very often, but, apparently, he at least learned something at Fresno State ... fencing.

Wake Forest Names Gaudio

Wake Forest has named Dino Gaudio its new men's head basketball coach. Gaudio succeeds the late Skip Prosser, who died of a heart attack last month.

Wake Forest made a wise decision by promoting Gaudio, who had been an assistant on Prosser's staff and will continue with the system that Prosser had implemented. Skip Prosser's sudden and tragic death left Wake Forest basketball in a state of turmoil. Wake Forest basketball will be best served by maintaining the program that Prosser had built, rather than start over with a new coaching staff and a new system.

Stricken by tragedy and facing an uncertain future, the continuity that Dino Gaudio brings is exactly what Wake Forest basketball needs.

Wake Forest's Prosser Dies

Wake Forest men's head basketball coach Skip Prosser died of today at the age of 56. Prosser, apparently, suffered a heart attack after jogging.

Antoine Walker Robbed at Gunpoint In His Home

Miami Heat forward Antoine Walker was held at gunpoint, bound and robbed in his Chicago (River North) home, Monday night.

More here.

Skills Before Thrills

One of the frequent criticisms of the current state of American organized basketball is that today's players aren't as fundamentally sound as players of previous generations were. It is often asserted that European, Asian and South American players have surpassed their North American counterparts in critical areas of skill development. That, in turn, is cited as a major reason why NBA teams are, increasingly, looking overseas for talent.

The stereotypical American high school and college player is athletic and can do flashy things with the ball, but is often deficient in the basics. That's not the kind of player that coaches and general managers prefer.

The culprit for the American decline in basketball skills is alleged to be the high school AAU and summer circuit. There, shady street agents and hustler/"coaches" entice young players to play for their teams by emphasizing flashy, fun, individual oriented basketball and by advising players not to worry about things as "boring" and "old school" as fundamentals.

Whether or not those are fair criticisms, the summer camps have taken notice, and changes are being made.

Manistream Media Discovers "World Wide Wes"

As Drive and Dish has noted several times, William "World Wide Wes" Wesley is, arguably, the most powerful man in the game of basketball. He exerts tremendous amounts of influence on every level of organized basketball, from the highest reaches of the NBA down to high school and the AAU circuit. World Wide Wes is tight with NBA executives, NBA GM's, NBA coaches, NBA players, sports agents, college basketball coaches, college basketball players, high school players, AAU coaches, entertainment executives, rappers, corporate CEO's, politicians, former Presidents of the United States, etc.

He was on the floor at last Thursday's NBA draft, congratulating lottery picks, Greg Oden, Kevin Durant, Al Horford, etc.

But nobody knows exactly what he does. Despite his undeniable power, he remains a mysterious, shadowy figure.

Alex French investigates Mr. Wesley in the current edition of GQ.


Edit:

Although Mr. Wesley appears to be shady, it isn't really Drive and Dish's intent to hate on him. Look, basketball is a ruthless, shady business. There are all kinds of questionable characters on the periphery of the game (not that there arent plenty of shady characters who are front and center in the game too).

And I should state that although I've never had any contact with the mysterious Mr. Wesley, we do share some mutual acquaintances. However, I've never actually discussed "World Wide Wes" with any of those individuals.

That said, I'm not at all surprised that a guy like World Wide Wes exists. I'm just curious as to what exactly it is that he does, and how it is that he wields so much clout (it looks -- at least from afar -- like he's the NBA's "fixer"). But don't confuse that with hatin' ... I could use a hook up like this guy.