North Carolina No Longer #1: This Week's AP Top 25

After Saturday's shocking home loss to unranked Maryland, North Carolina dropped to #5 in this week's AP Top 25. Unbeaten Memphis is the new #1 team in America, while similarly unbeaten Kansas is ranked #2. The OTHER college basketball team from Knoxville, Bruce Pearl's Men's Tennessee Volunteers, are ranked #3. Duke and North Carolina round out this week's top 5.

With Memphis ranked #1 and Tennessee ranked #3, the Volunteer State has become the new capitol of college basketball (take that North Carolina and Indiana). Too bad Vol's spring football, football recruiting and the Lady Vols basketball team trump men's college basketball in popularity.

And it's great to see that "class" guys (who run such pristine programs) like Bruce Pearl and John Calipari are sitting atop the college basketball landscape. What's more, with Indiana at #7, it's possible that the Hoosiers could move into the top 5 by next week. Then Calipari, Pearl and Kelvin Sampson, paragons of virtue that they are, would be atop the polls and would, thereby, represent the pinnacle of their profession.

How great would that be for the image of college basketball!?!

This week's AP Top 25:
1. Memphis
2. Kansas
3. Tennessee
4. Duke
5. North Carolina
6. Washington State
7. Indiana
8. UCLA
9. Georgetown
10. Michigan State
11. Wisconsin
12. Texas
13. Pittsburgh
14. Vanderbilt
15. Butler
16. Dayton
17. Mississippi
18. Texas A&M
19. Villanova
20. Stanford
21. Marquette
22. Drake
23. Xavier
24. Arizona State
25. Baylor

The Weekend of the Upset

The weekend of January 19 & 20 will likely go down as having been 2008's weekend of the upset in college basketball.

Yesterday, #1 ranked and previously undefeated North Carolina was stunned at home by the enigmatic Maryland Terrapins, 82-80. More here. And here.

On the West coast, Tim Floyd and O.J. Mayo's USC Trojans upset #4 UCLA, 72-63.

Out in the Big 12, Michael Beasley and Kansas State stomped #10 Texas A&M 75-54. Earlier in the week, A&M had also been upset by Texas Tech, as Tech coach Bob Knight netted his 900th career win.

In the Big East, Cincinnati surprised #15 Pitt, 62-59.

And the upsets didn't end on Saturday. Today, Connecticut knocked off #13 Marquette 89-73, in Storrs, CT.

Although most sports fans' eyes were on the NFL, as the NFC and AFC Championship games were played today, the weekend's real action was in college basketball.

Over the last two days, college basketball teams from coast to coast elevated their games and pulled off huge upsets, both at home and on the road.

Drive and Dish would just like to say: Now that's what we're talkin' about!

Drive and Dish: On the Road in West Lafayette

By Trashtalk Superstar

Today, ESPN's Gameday was in Gainesville, FL, for the Florida / Kentucky game. Not to be outdone, Drive and Dish braved the frigid Arctic air and sub zero temperatures that are currently gripping the Midwest, in order to be in West Lafayette, IN, for the big Purdue / Illinois game. The above picture was taken at today's game by Mark Buckets, from high atop the stands of Mackey Arena, on the lovely campus of Purdue University.

Purdue dispatched with the Falling Illini, 74-67. They're now 13-5, and 4-1 in the Big Ten. Illinois fell to 9-10, and 1-5 in conference.

Drive and Dish is bullish on Purdue. We recognize the Boilermakers as one of the top up-and-coming teams in the country. They may be young, but they're on their way back to being a stalwart in the Big Ten. Purdue's two year stay at the bottom of the league is quickly proving to have been nothing more than a "bump in the road." And while Matt Painter's Boilermakers aren't completely "there" yet, they're starting to look like a Purdue team again, if you will.

However, on the other side of the coin sits Illinois. Never before have I seen a program fall so far, so fast.

In 2005, the Illini fell five points short of getting past North Carolina and capturing their first National Championship. But in 2006, they failed to get past the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Last year, the Illini (who were lucky just to get into the Tournament) blew a 14 point lead with two minutes left to play and found a way to lose to Virginia Tech in the first round of the Tournament.

This year, Illinois will need a miracle just to finish above .500 and become eligible for an N.I.T. bid. Worse yet, the Illini's futility can't be written off as the result of injuries, unforeseen circumstances, or youthful "growing pains." They're a fully healthy, veteran team, led by pre-season All Big Ten Center, Shaun Pruitt, Junior Point Guard Chester Frazier and 5th year Senior Forward Brian Randle.

But in contrast to Purdue's up-and-coming young Boilers, the only thing remotely "up-and-coming" about the Illini are the collective contents of the stomachs of Illinois fans who've loyally endured game after torturous game of the 2007/'08 season.

It's already been a long winter down in Champaign. But it's just going to keep on getting longer with every Illini game.

Something tells me that Illinois fans are already counting down the days to the start of Spring football.

UNC Asheville's 7'7" Kenny George Turning Heads

UNC Asheville center Kenny George is the taller than any other player in college basketball or the NBA (including Yao Ming). George is 7 foot 7 and 360 pounds. He has size 26 shoes. And he can dunk without leaving the ground.

I'm not sure if he can actually run or move laterally, but he's starting to become a valuable player for UNC Asheville, which is enjoying it's best season in over 20 years.

Today's Asheville Citizen-Times has a profile of George.

And if UNC Asheville continues to win, Kenny George may get the chance to play on a national stage in the NCAA Tournament.

Knight Gets 900th Win

By Trashtalk Superstar

Last night, Bob Knight put another notch on his belt. He earned his 900th career coaching win as his Texas Tech Red Raiders defeated #10 Texas A&M 68-53. Knight already had surpassed Dean Smith to become the coach with the most career wins in Division I college basketball.

Now he's moving into uncharted territory.

But, true to form, Knight didn't let the celebratory mood surrounding his latest career milestone keep him from being pissed off about something. Upon receiving a post-game standing ovation, Knight addressed the Red Raiders fans:

"You folks being here, seats being full for a change, really made a difference tonight."

It's good to see that Coach Knight hasn't let all of his career achievements take away his edge.

Bob Knight is still the same old Bob Knight.

Congratulations to Coach Knight, I guess.


Edit (1/18/08):

Don't get me wrong -- I'm not criticizing Bob Knight. He's a great basketball coach, and his innovative motion offense and tough man to man defense revolutionized college basketball. The modern era of college basketball owes an enormous debt to Bob Knight. His Indiana teams of the 1970's and 80's changed the way the game is played. He basically pioneered the modern era of college hoops.

And I agree with his criticism of Texas Tech's fan support. Although I grew up in Chicago's Southern suburbs, I'm the product of an old school Texas family. I've got ancestors who were around in the days of Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin -- including a Colonel who got absolutely owned by General Santa Anna at the Alamo. Believe me, I know Texas and the intricacies of Texan culture like nobodies business. And the fact is, nobody gives a rat's ass about college basketball (or any basketball, for that matter) in Texas. Basketball simply isn't part of the cultural landscape in the Lone Star State.

I'll give you an example: four years ago, I was in Austin at the time of the Texas/Oklahoma basketball game. Both teams were ranked in the AP top 15 at the time. Texas had been in the Final Four the previous year. Oklahoma had been in the Final Four the year before that. The game was going to be nationally televised. It was the very definition of a BIG game. Yet, the UT athletic department had to advertise the game all over Austin radio and TV (even on the day of the game) just to try to draw a decent crowd.

The advertisements pointed to the importance of the game and to the fact that it was going to be nationally televised. And they actually had to say something to the effect of: "Sure, it's not football, but it's still a BIG game, and it's still Oklahoma. Come on out and show your support for UT athletics. We NEED your support. It won't look good to have empty seats on national television. Great seats are still available!"

And the ads were still running hours before tip off.

Texas has been a top tier program for years. But they don't have the kind of fan support that other elite basketball programs have. And, out in Lubbock, Bob Knight has made Texas Tech into a solid program: he's brought a winning tradition, numerous NCAA Tournament appearances and a decent amount of national attention to a university that wasn't on the college basketball map (hell, since Tech is in Lubbock, TX -- A.K.A. the middle of nowhere -- it's barely even on a Rand McNally road map) prior to his arrival.

Yet there are usually more empty seats at Tech's home games than at a typical Joe Biden Presidential campaign speech -- and that's a lot of empty seats!

So I can't really blame Bob Knight for making that comment. Although it probably wasn't the right time or the right place to make his feelings known, Coach Knight was just speaking the truth.

The Road to...Jake's Roadhouse?

By Mark Buckets

As the college hoops season heats up - and the temperature in the great Midwest cools down - Drive and Dish will be taking it's act to game sites right up until the Final Four in San Antonio. The first stop on D&D's Winter Tour will be this Saturday, in West Lafayette, Indiana. Saturday's game will see a surging Purdue face a crumbling crew of Chiefs. With the help of an Apple Computer, my partner - the one and only Trashtalk Superstar - and I will provide a little taste of local flavor and fan reaction that make college basketball so entrenching. No, we won't be setting up camp in the campus armory - or be surrounded by adoring hoop heads for that matter - but we will do our best to capture a college basketball Saturday at Purdue and other locals.

Place: Mackey Arena
Campus: Purdue University
Opponent: Illinois
Tip Time: 2ET

And remember, this is a nationally televised game on ESPN. The student body should be out in force to remind Bruce Weber of what could have been.


Edit (1/17/08):

Trashtalk Superstar adds:

I think Illinois' road loss to Eric Gordon and Indiana did a pretty good job of reminding Bruce Weber of "what could have been" (Gordon had originally committed to play for Illinois). Although Mark Buckets is probably referring to the fact that, after almost twenty years as Purdue's top assistant, Bruce Weber could have been Gene Keady's successor at Purdue (had he not taken the Illinois job in 2003).

Nevertheless, it's my firm belief that it's possible to win a national championship at Illinois. And while Purdue is always a solid basketball school, I'm not sure that they'll ever win a national championship. As great as Gene Keady was, he never took a Purdue team to the Final Four. He got to a couple of Elite Eight's, but no Final Four.

Purdue is a program that will always be competitive in the Big Ten. But Illinois can be a national power. From 2000 to 2007, Illinois trailed only Duke as the program with the most wins in Division I college basketball. Over that period of time, the Illini went to an Elite Eight and to a Final Four.

And they fell five points shy of winning a national championship in 2005.

Illinois may be down now, but the program has the ability to compete at the highest level (at least in theory). But I'm just not sure that the same can be said of Purdue.

Kentucky and Iowa Pull Shocking Upsets

Saturday, Kentucky upset Vanderbilt, who was previously undefeated and ranked #13 by the AP, 79-73 in double Over Time. It was UK's first big win of the Billy Gillispie era.

Vanderbilt is an interesting team. Last year's team made it to the Sweet Sixteen, and would have been in the Elite Eight, if not for a missed traveling call on Georgetown's Jeff Green that produced Georgetown's game winning basket. And although they lost some key players from last year's team, they've managed to be one of this season's runaway successes. But despite this season's impressive record, they've turned in some very underwhelming performances. And they've escaped with squeaker wins over some less-than-stellar opponents (see: Bradley, DePaul).

Vanderbilt didn't look terribly athletic or strong against Kentucky. And even though the Wildcats are ecstatic that they pulled off their first big win, Vanderbilt just never quite looked like a legitimate top tier team in that game.

Michigan State Falls to Iowa

Although it didn't get the attention that Kentucky's nationally televised win over Vanderbilt did, #6 Michigan State's 43-36 loss at Iowa was the biggest upset of the day. Iowa may be the worst team in the Big Ten (Drive and Dish has previously noted the Hawkeyes' profound Godawfulness). Yet they managed to slow the game down and "ugly" the whole thing up, which got Michigan State to play down to their level.

I'm glad that I didn't see that game. It would have been brutal to watch, as most of Iowa's games are. But I feel bad for Michigan State. They're a legitimate top 10 team, and there's no way that they should have lost to Iowa -- let alone only score 36 points in the entire game.

Tom Izzo is probably running his team into the ground right now. Each one of his players will probably drop five to seven pounds of water weight before their next game (thanks to all the running they will have done).

Look, Iowa is a tough place for visiting teams to play. With the exception of the Iowa Presidential Caucuses (which only come along once every four years), there really isn't much going on in Iowa. That's why Iowa Hawkeyes' football, wrestling and basketball are so important to the locals. As such, far too many Iowans derive their sense of self worth from the success of Hawkeye athletics. So, for Iowans, it's win at all costs -- which is why visiting teams often find that their hotel rooms have no warm running water, have no functioning air conditioning or heat, have mysterious power outages, have an unusually high number of fire alarms in the middle of the night, etc.

What's worse, when the visiting teams arrive in the visitor's locker room, they often find that -- in addition to being painted pink, from ceiling to floor (including lockers, benches, toilets, urinals, sinks, fire extinguishers . . . literally everything in the room) -- the visitor's locker room lacks running water. Which really sucks because, since their hotel rooms frequently lack warm water, teams often bypass using the showers and the toilets in their hotels, and wait until they get to the locker room to take care of those necessities.

But that stuff is par for the course in Iowa City. Ask the 2005 Illinois Fighting Illini. They went to Iowa City undefeated and ranked #1 in the nation. But, after they found it difficult to get restful sleep in their hotel rooms, and couldn't find warm water in either their hotel rooms or in the locker room, the Illini played their ugliest game of the season. Illinois was lucky to sneak out of that place with a win that year. They almost didn't.

By the way, I wouldn't necessarily trust the food in Iowa City either. I think that if I were coaching a team that had to play at Iowa, I'd pack enough sack lunches to take care of each of my team's meals.

Iowa is just that way.

In fact, many Iowans actually pride themselves on that kind of stuff. I know some of those kinds of Iowa fans.

But that's still no excuse for Michigan State's horrible loss in Iowa City.

Saint Louis Only Manages 20 Points Against George Washington

Tonight, the Saint Louis Billikens lost at George Washington 49-20. SLU's 20 point outing sets a new record for fewest points scored in a modern era (since the introduction of the shot clock) Division I basketball game.

Rick Majerus has already had a bumpy ride in his inaugural campaign as the Billikens' coach. In October, Majerus told a St. Louis newspaper that he wanted out of the Atlantic 10 Conference. Then the father of Billikens' guard Tommie Lidell III publicly criticized Majerus on an Internet message board (Billikens.com). At the time, several players weren't taking to Majerus' newly installed system, or to his coaching style. Lidell's father indicated that a player mutiny could occur. This came on the heels of a 40 point Billikens' loss to Kent State.

And now, in the first week of conference play, Majerus' Saint Louis Billikens set a new record for fewest points scored in a game.

Drive and Dish had reservations about Saint Louis' decision to hire Majerus. We thought that although he was an outstanding coach, he had the potential to self destruct and turn the already faltering Billiken basketball program into an all out train wreck.

It looks like the train wreck is underway.


Edit: More here.

Duke's Zoubek Out Indefinitely With Broken Foot

Duke Center Brian Zoubek has broken his foot, and is out indefinitely. That's bad news for Duke because, even though many Duke fans think that Zoubek is a big stiff, Zoubek is the only legitimate big man Duke has. Lance Thomas doesn't play strong and Kyle Singler is tall, but isn't really at home in the paint.

Sunday night, Duke had a tougher time dispensing with Cornell than they should have. A big reason for that was because Duke struggled with Cornell's seven foot Freshman Center. That kid was skinny and raw (not to mention poorly conditioned), but Duke couldn't keep him off the block or off the boards. His presence was enough to keep Cornell hanging in that game (which is all the more startling, considering that Cornell's Point Guard seemingly did everything in his power to hand an easy win to Duke).

Good luck with Tyler Hansbrough and North Carolina.

UNC Gets Tough Overtime Win at Clemson

Tonight, #1 rated North Carolina came from behind to pull out a 90-88 overtime road win at Clemson. Clemson gave UNC everything they had but the undermanned Heels managed to get it done in dramatic fashion, with a Wayne Ellington three pointer sealing the game in the final second of overtime.

These kinds of games are almost essential in separating wheat from the chaff, in terms of building Final Four/Championship contending teams. Make no mistake, Clemson came out jacked through the roof at the prospect of knocking off the #1 team in the nation on national television. And Clemson's arena can be extremely hostile to visiting teams. The Tar Heels passed the test with flying colors -- consider it a stepping stone to the Final Four. North Carolina will be a better team for having gutted out this win.

North Carolina deserves their #1 ranking. They're the real deal.

Southern Illinois Continues to Falter

Tonight, Southern Illinois lost at Drake 61-51.
While it's true that this year's much improved Drake team is arguably the best team in the Missouri Valley Conference, Southern Illinois is in an absolute tailspin.

Drive and Dish readers are, most likely, aware of SIU's struggles this season. We chronicled them: here and here.

SIU was ranked as high as #19 in the AP poll early in the season. They were everybody's pre season pick to win the Valley (although Drive and Dish was concerned that their backcourt wouldn't be able to recover from the graduation of stalwart guards Tony Young and Jamaal Tatum). But the Salukis have fallen apart since Thanksgiving. One wonders if and when Southern will start to turn things around.

ESPN's Kyle Whelliston talks about how Southern Illinois is trying to reestablish a culture of winning..


By the Way:

If Drake keeps winning important games in the Valley, Drive and Dish is going to have to start talking about them. Drake has been bad for two decades. But this year all they do is win. And nobody saw it coming. The Drake Bulldogs might be one of the best stories in college hoops.

Eddie Sutton: Back in the Saddle

In college basketball, when a school has to make an in-season coaching change, is it is the standard operating procedure to replace the outgoing coach by elevating an assistant (from the existing coaching staff) to the status of "interim coach." Kevin O'Neal is the Interim Coach at Arizona because he was the top assistant when Lute Olson had to leave to tend to "personal matters." Last year, Assistant Coach Jim Molinari became the Interim Coach at Minnesota after Dan Monson was sent packing. When Indiana fired Bob Knight, Mike Davis was installed as Interim Coach and promptly guided the Hoosiers to the 2002 Final Four -- which led to Davis being rewarded with a multi year contract and a promotion to Head Coach.

I could continue to list examples of assistants who have taken over as Interim coaches, but I'd be here all day -- and Drive and Dish readers would quit reading this post.

My point is: if a coach has to be replaced when the season is in progress, the appropriate course of action is for the school to elevate an assistant coach to interim coach. This maintains continuity because, aside from the departed Head Coach, the rest of the coaching staff remains in place. They, in turn, continue to run the same system (offense, defense, plays, etc.) that the team had prior to the Coach's departure. Furthermore, it allows the school to conduct an in-depth coaching search after the season. The new coach is then able to hire his own staff and implement his system before the start of the next school year.

But that's not what the University of San Francisco did when their coach left. On Wednesday, San Francisco announced that Coach Jessie Evans would be taking "a leave of absence." Remarkably, they announced that Evans would be replaced by disgraced former Oklahoma State Coach Eddie Sutton -- who had no prior connection to USF and is coming out of retirement to take the position.

In light of this development, Drive and Dish held and emergency editorial staff meeting to discuss Sutton's hiring at San Francisco. This was no minor feat, since so many of our staff were on vacation for the holidays. But despite our many logistical headaches, we managed to convene and agree on the following conclusion:

San Francisco's hiring of Eddie Sutton is total horse shit.

If Eddie Sutton had really wanted to get back into coaching, he should have gone about his job search in a more traditional manner. Sutton should have waited until the conclusion of the college basketball season (when coaching vacancies open up) to contact schools in need of a new men's basketball coach.

But Sutton isn't actually serious about getting back into to coaching. Stuck at 798 career wins, he's only serious about getting into the 800 win club. He even admitted as much when he was announced as USF's coach on Wednesday!

Coach Sutton was forced out at Oklahoma State after the 2006 season following an in-season leave of absence that the university imposed upon him when he was charged with DUI in conjunction with an auto accident. For the purpose of damage control, Oklahoma State forced forced old "Fast Eddie" (who had struggled for years with his raging alcoholism) to seek treatment at a rehab facility. OSU then named Sean Sutton to be his dad's replacement, even though Eddie Sutton never backed off from his stated intention to return as the Cowboys' coach.

Oklahoma State knew exactly what they were getting when they hired Eddie Sutton. Long before he arrived in Stillwater, Coach Sutton had a well-documented checkered history. While the head coach at Kentucky, Coach Sutton famously ran a renegade program that landed UK on NCAA probation. Obviously, the Oklahoma State administration was well aware that Sutton was no angel when they decided to hire him in 1990. They knew that he was something of a reclamation project. After all, Sutton was only one year removed from a highly-publicized scandal that caused the NCAA to impose severe sanctions on Kentucky's basketball program in 1989 (Kentucky had traditionally escaped the eye of the NCAA infractions police, despite well-known rumors of shadiness that stretched as far back as the 1940's). But Oklahoma State also knew that Eddie Sutton had taken Creighton, Arkansas and Kentucky to the NCAA Tournament -- his Arkansas team got as far as the 1978 Final Four.

A generation earlier, Oklahoma State -- then known as Oklahoma A&M -- had been a basketball power under the stewardship of legendary coach Henry Iba. But the post-Iba era (i.e., the modern era) had not been kind to Oklahoma State basketball: the program had fallen so far from its previous elite status that, at the time of Sutton's hiring, the Cowboys had only played in the post season three times since 1957. Oklahoma State's rationale for hiring Sutton isn't terribly difficult to understand: Sutton is an Oklahoma State/A&M alum who played for Coach Iba in the 1950's, and more importantly, he has a long track record as a winning coach in college basketball. Oklahoma State hired a proven winner who provided a direct link to the program's glory days. However, OSU also knew that hiring Eddie Sutton would be a gamble . . . but it was a gamble that they were happy to make.

And Eddie Sutton didn't disappoint.

Coach Sutton turned an Oklahoma State program that had been moribund for three decades into a consistent winner. He took the Cowboys to Final Fours in 1995 and 2004. But OSU's on-court success came with a trade-off: Eddie Sutton had significant baggage, and he didn't exactly change his ways while in Stillwater. During his tenure at Oklahoma State, Eddie Sutton's teams were stocked with so many players who had been processed by the criminal justice system that OSU earned the nickname "Second Chance U."

Sometimes, given the extensive off-court problems that so many of its basketball players had encountered, it seemed as though OSU could be better described as "Third and Fourth Chance U." Whatever the case, the second chances finally ran out for the old coach who had offered so many second and third chances to so many troubled players over the years. When Sutton's 2006 car accident led to his being charged with DUI, there was no way for Oklahoma State to retain a sliver of respectability without disassociating itself from Eddie Sutton.

And it looked like the end of the road for Coach Sutton's career when his legendary drinking problems led to him being more or less pushed out at OSU. With his reputation as a cantankerous, unscrupulous, cheating old man with a drinking problem, no reputable institution of higher education was going to hire Eddie Sutton to lead their basketball program. Sutton understood this. So when San Francisco -- which, once upon a time, was a basketball power (Bill Russell played there during the Eisenhower administration) -- decided to let Sutton come on board to get his 800th win, old "Fast Eddie" jumped at the opportunity.

Which is really sad.

Eddie Sutton is an old, drunk, serial rule-breaker who is selfishly taking over a team that he's had no previous contact with (one wonders if he even knows anything about this year's team), and which he has no intention of coaching beyond 2008. What's worse, he's doing it 1/3 of the way through the season. That's just not fair to the current USF players. They should be given the opportunity to play for an interim coach, who the university should elevate from the remaining coaching staff. The interim coach would then continue to run the current system for the remainder of the season.

Drive and Dish wonders what could have prompted USF to make such a preposterous mid season hire. We wonder if they were just trying to make headlines. Whatever their motive was, the hiring of Eddie Sutton makes the University of San Francisco appear desperate for attention. San Francisco used to be a big time basketball school. It looks like they long to be relevant again.

But if that's the case, the joke's on USF. In college basketball, a school becomes relevant when it's basketball program wins on a consistent basis. Staging a cheap publicity stunt will not put a college basketball program on the fast track to relevance. Worse yet, by making headlines with their ridiculous decision to let Eddie Sutton sit in for his 800th win, the University of San Francisco has essentially made itself even more irrelevant than it already was.

Merry Christmas From Drive and Dish

Drive and Dish would like to wish all of our readers a Merry Christmas.

May there be peace and good will on Earth, and may all of your hoop dreams come true.

Christmas Eve: Scouting Report on Santa

It's Christmas Eve and Drive and Dish is getting ready for Santa's annual visit. Unfortunately, I have a strong feeling that I'll be getting a lump of coal in my stocking again this year. That's what I got last year. It looks like it's becoming a trend.

Oh well, whatever.

Santa still gets it done for millions, if not billions, of other people throughout the world. So Drive and Dish is giving him some love. But this wouldn't be a Drive and Dish post if we didn't break down Santa's game. So here's Drive and Dish's scouting report on the "jolly old elf:"

Background

Santa began his career during the third century A.D. as the Bishop of Myra, which was a Greek colony in the Roman province of Lycia, Asia Minor (modern day Turkey). At the time, he was known as Saint Nicholas. So Santa started out, in essence, as a Greek guy named Nick. But just as Lew Alcindor transformed into Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, in the late 1800's Saint Nicholas transformed into Santa Claus -- we'll get to that in a minute.

It's believed that Nicholas was a participant in the first Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. It was at the Council of Nicaea that Nicholas is said to have slapped Arius across the face. The Council later termed Arius a heretic and banished him from the church. But that didn't stop them from disciplining Saint Nicholas for assaulting Arius. Saint Nicholas was booted from the Council and defrocked from the priesthood. But the night after they kicked Nicholas out of the Council and the priesthood, the other Bishops all had the same dream: in their dream, Christ and the Virgin Mary appeared with Nicholas, who was wearing his Bishop's vestments. The Bishops' mutual dream caused them to reconsider their harsh punishment of Saint Nicholas. So they quickly reinstated Nicholas to the priesthood and to the Council of Nicea.

Saint Nicholas was also well known for his heroic acts. As a young man, he saved a sailor from drowning. For this reason, Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors. Furthermore, Nicholas was famous for coming to the defense of the falsely accused. He saved many men from being wrongly put to death. There's also a legend that Nicholas resurrected three children who had been slaughtered and made into meat pies by a butcher. Although this legend seems ridiculously far fetched, it served as the inspiration for the British story Sweeney Todd (which is now a hit Hollywood film).

But without question, Saint Nicholas is best known for anonymously giving gifts in the middle of the night -- a trait that he's continued and expanded tremendously in his current Santa incarnation.

Saint Nicholas is believed to have begun his gift giving career when he helped a poor man who had three daughters, but who couldn't afford a dowries for them (which would have prevented the girls from getting married, and may have forced them into a life of prostitution). On three consecutive nights, Nicholas anonymously threw three purses filled with gold into the man's home. Legend has it that on the third night, the man waited up to thank whomever was throwing the purses. So Nicholas climbed the roof and threw the purse down the chimney. The purse landed in one of the daughter's stockings, which she had washed and hung over the fireplace in order to dry.

Saint Nicholas' transformation into Santa Claus took place over many centuries and on three continents. In Europe, people began celebrating the feast of Saint Nicholas on December 6th. German children began to put boots outside their homes, in hopes that St. Nicholas would fill them with gifts.

Over time, in his German appearances, Saint Nicholas began to be accompanied by a helper: the blackened, demonic Knecht Ruprecht. Nicholas rewarded the good children by giving them gifts, but Knecht Ruprecht beat, and sometimes consumed, the children who had been naughty.

In many parts of Germany, the Krampuses -- evil, drunken, sex-crazed troll like creatures who carried chains -- would come out and terrorize villages before Saint Nicholas' arrival. But the Krampuses would always flee when Saint Nicholas and Necht Ruprecht showed up.

In Austria, Belgium and Switzerland, Necht Ruprecht didn't beat or eat naughty children, but he did stuff them into a big sack, which he would later dump in the river in order to drown the naughty kids. is Holland, Saint Nicholas was called "Sinter Klaas," and he was traditionally accompanied by mischievous African helpers who dressed in Moorish garb. These guys were called "Zwarte Pieten," or "Black Petes." More recently, the Dutch have discontinued the tradition of the mischievous black guys because of the obvious negative racial overtones.

Saint Nicholas didn't actually transform into Santa Claus until after the wild success of Clement Clark Moore's 1822 poem, "Twas the Night Before Christmas (also called 'A Visit From Saint Nicholas')." Moore's Santa was a purely American phenomenon. "Old Saint Nick" became a "jolly old elf" with a belly that jiggled "like a bowl full of jelly." Santa's status as a rotund old man in a red suit (rather than in the red vestments of a bishop -- as Saint Nicholas had worn) was further cemented by Thomas Nast's wildly popular illustrations in Harper's magazine (1860's- 80's).

Today, Santa Claus is bigger than ever. He's become a global icon. He is the face of Christmas.


Strengths, Weaknesses

1). Santa has been around since the third century. Therefore, he's getting old. Amazingly, however, age hasn't appeared to slow him at all -- in fact, Santa has gotten bigger and better over the course of time. From his beginnings as the Bishop of Myra, to his canonization and subsequent career as Saint Nicholas, to his modern incarnation as Santa Claus, Santa has evolved and adapted his game to fit the times and his surroundings. In that regard, Santa reminds us of Michael Jordan.

Jordan continued to evolve throughout his career. He began his NBA as a skinny 21 year old electric, high flying, ball hogging scoring machine. It was widely believed -- in NBA circles -- that Jordan would never be a part of a championship team. He was seen as being a flashy, "me first" show off. But he wasn't seen as being a team player. And he certainly wasn't seen as a winner. But Jordan changed his game, and he went on to win championships. Upon returning from his first retirement, and with 25 lbs of added muscle on his frame, Jordan worked the turn around jump shot into his game. Jordan became the most dominant player in the game -- winning three more championships -- when he was in his mid thirties.

So, Santa's age is a concern. But he's shown no signs of slowing down, and he's continued to expand his game year after year . . . just like Michael Jordan did.

2). Santa's many incarnations (Bishop, Saint, pagan fighter, Council of Nicea participant, life saver, gift giver, "jolly old elf," world wide icon of commercialism) make him an unusually versatile talent. Sometimes it seems like there's almost nothing this guy can't do. And character isn't an issue, because there's absolutely no question that Santa is a total class guy . . . he's a Saint for God's sake!

But Saint Nicholas did assault of Arias at the Council of Nicea. And even though that was an isolated incident and it happened a long time ago (about 1800 years have passed), one can't overlook the fact that Saint Nicholas had a long association/partnership with Knecht Ruprecht, who was a demonic child abuser, child drowner and occasional cannibal. Plus, in the Netherlands, Sinter Klaas runs with a posse of trouble makers (Zwarte Pieten).


So, although Santa is a good guy, he's got some old friends who are, basically, thugs. Thus, Santa has some guys in his entourage who could cause him problems down the line. So Santa is in the same boat as a lot of NBA players. He's a good guy, but his boys can be trouble. The good news is that Sinter Klaas has cut basically cut ties with the Zwarte Pieten in Holland. Hopefully, Santa's association with Knecht Ruprecht and the Krampuses will be a thing of the past too.

3). Santa has put on a significant amount of weight over the years. Santa's still unstoppable when he puts his mind to it (which, fortunately, is every year). But one has to wonder if the excess weight will eventually catch up with him. Santa's weight, when combined with his advancing age and all the mileage that he's racked up carrying that heavy sack around, cold cause him some serious problems. He could probably prolong his career by shedding some pounds, but, unfortunately, he just keeps getting fatter every year. In that sense, Santa reminds us of Shaquille O'Neal.

Just like Santa, there's nobody else who can do what Shaq does. O'Neal is absolutely unstoppable -- when he wants to be. But he's been around forever, and he keeps getting heavier as the years go on.

4). When he was Saint Nicholas, he did everything for himself. He was a one man team. But now Santa has a great team around him. His elves do most of the tough work. And the reindeer have taken much of the load off of Santa's back. Santa can rest his bag in the sleigh as he travels, only having to lug the heavy sack around once the sleigh lands on a rooftop, and he goes down the chimney.

In this regard, Santa once again reminds us of Michael Jordan. Jordan was a one man team, until the arrival of Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant. Once the Bulls became a great team, they started to win championships. As great as he was, Jordan couldn't do that by himself.

Santa's recent success has been facilitated, at least in part, by the great team of elves and reindeer that he's assembled. And fortunately, the team from the North Pole shows no sign of slowing down.

Pittsburgh Edges Duke

Last night, #11 Pittsburgh beat #6 Duke in overtime at Madison Square Garden.

Duke struggled with quick Pitt guard Levance Fields and with Pitt's bulky front line. Excluding DeMarcus Nelson and Gerald Henderson, Duke doesn't exactly have the most athletic team. And their big men are tall, but slight.

This may sound trite, but Duke really needs to get stronger and more athletic. Basketball keeps becoming a more physical game. Duke has no shortage of talent, but they're falling behind in terms of the overall physicality of their team.

Purdue Loses to Wofford

Last night, Purdue lost at home to tiny Wofford College 69-66. Despite the fact that the Boilermakers are a young team, Drive and Dish expected them to make it to the NCAA Tournament this year. And although last week's upset of Louisville will look good on Purdue's resume, Wofford will stand out as a really bad loss.

Purdue should still be competitive in the Big 10, but c'mon. There's no excuse for losing at home to freakin' Wofford!

Knicks Fans Protest Isiah Outside Madison Square Garden

Today, Knicks fans staged a protest rally outside Madison Square Garden to demand that the Knicks fire Coach/General Manager Isiah Thomas.* Most of the protesters carried signs. Someone brought a giant pink slip. The national media had it blanketed. It was a top headline on ESPN.com. And it was big news on ESPN radio. It was an AP headline. Shepherd Smith reported it breathlessly on the Fox News Channel.

But at Drive and Dish, we have one question: WHO CARES?

There's no question that Isiah Thomas has failed with the Knicks. And, as such, it's not surprising that Knicks fans want to run him out of town. Frankly, I couldn't believe that Knicks fans tolerated Isiah as long as they did. Isiah was initially popular in New York. And while I thought the coterie of Stephon Marbury, Steve Francis, Jamaal Crawford, Jalen Rose and Eddy Curry was a train wreck waiting to happen, most Knicks fans were ecstatic about the amount of supposed "star power" that Isiah was assembling. In fact, if you listened to Knicks fans and the national media (which are often one and the same), the Knicks were a dynasty-in-the-making.

But now, after years of ineptitude, Knicks fans have finally had enough. OK. But it certainly took them long enough to figure out that Isiah isn't the best guy to run that franchise: Just as he wasn't the right guy to run the NBA franchises in Toronto and Indiana. And he wasn't the right guy to run the Continental Basketball Association (which went bankrupt while under his stewardship).

But this shouldn't be national news. The Knicks are a bad team. Bad teams' fans often campaign for the team to fire the coach ... and the General Manager. That's extremely common in the world of professional sports. It's also common in college sports (ask Kentucky fans -- they ran Tubby Smith out of town last year, now they want to run Billy Gillispie [Smith's replacement] out of town). Hell, it's not even uncommon for high school fans and parents to try to get the coach canned.

The only reason this is such a big news story is because it's happening in New York, and because the team at the center of the controversy is the Knicks. Believe me, fans of under performing teams want to get rid of their teams' coaches in every corner of the globe. When the Green Bay Packers don't win the Super Bowl, their fans want the coach fired. That happens almost every year. Similarly, nearly every July, Cubs fans start to clamor for the manager's scalp. And just this summer, the coach of Pakistan's national cricket team was killed after a Paki loss.

But it's New York. It's the Knicks. So it's big news.

Whatever.

* - Click on the box titled "Discussion Board" under the photo of the protesting Knicks fans in the linked NY Post article, then scroll down and read the comment by "Costa in Greektown" -- I know Costa and I agree with his comment 100%.


By the Way:

This protest comes on the heels of the Knicks ejecting a fan from his seat for carrying a "Fire Isiah" sign at the Knicks game the other night. Apparently, Knicks fans are really, really mad at Isiah now.

What took them so long?

Southern Illinois Continues to Spiral Downward

Just days ago, Drive and Dish noted Southern Illinois' recent struggles on the hardwood. Last night Southern Illinois, fresh off of an embarrassing loss to Saint Louis, fell to Western Michigan 57-41. On Sunday, Drive & Dish discussed the Salukis' dearth of scoring. Against Western Michigan, SIU only managed 41 points. That's pathetic for any team, let alone for a team that was ranked #18 in the AP Top 25 a few weeks ago and was widely expected to win the Missouri Valley Conference.

As we stated on Sunday, this Southern Illinois team isn't as good as recent SIU teams have been. SIU lost it's two best guards (and their leading scorer and "go to guy") to graduation. But they still have three very good starters (PG Bryan Mullins, F Randal Falker and F Matt Shaw) from last year's Sweet Sixteen team. Some fall off was to be expected, but the Salukis shouldn't be this bad.

What's worse, Southern Illinois needed to beat Western Michigan in order to start turning their season around before conference play begins. Now SIU appears to be falling into the abyss.

O.J. Mayo: By the Numbers

Although it's still relatively early in the college basketball season, USC freshman point guard O.J. Mayo has been the beneficiary of a massive amount of media hype. His arrival in Southern California was heralded with dizzying pomp and circumstance. Because of Mayo's star power, USC -- a school with little basketball tradition -- has been a fixture on national television this season.

But the jury is still out on whether or not Mayo is good for USC basketball. In high school, Mayo had a reputation for being a punk and a selfish basketball player. He had several off the court transgressions and had jumped from high school to high school. Yet he was also widely considered to be the best player in the class of 2007 (even though he was already 20 years old).

USC knew what they were getting into when they signed Mayo. And the electronic and print media (who have pushed O.J. Mayo down college basketball fans' throats) had to understand that anointing Mayo as college basketball's new golden boy was a risky proposition. But, despite having broken a teammate's jaw during a practice altercation and twice being held out of the starting lineup for disciplinary reasons, Mayo was impressive in his first few college outings. He may have thrown up a gazillion shots, but his talent was undeniable.

However, nearly six weeks into the college season (and with the conference season rapidly approaching), O.J. Mayo's faults are starting to become apparent:

Mayo ranks sixth in shots attempted for all Division I basketball players.

And with 36 turnovers through 8 games, Mayo had the second worst assist to turnover ratio in college basketball.

Thus, according to nbadraft.net (which is, admittedly, not the most reputable of sources), O.J. Mayo's draft stock is dropping:

"people were expecting LeBron, and he just isn't that caliber of talent .... his point guard skills and shot selection have been suspect at best through the first nine games of his college career.

Two straight four point losses in which May shot 6-20 and 6-21 have taken the Trojans out of the Top 25.

Mayo needs to limit the bad shots and look to pass the ball .. Mayo is already 20 years old leading some to question his upside. He doesn't show much ability to elevate his teammates' play, and his early season run in with Daniel Hackett (broken jaw) added to the speculation that the troublemaker reputation he'd built in high school was still true."

Drive and Dish offered it's opinion of O.J. Mayo at the start of the season. And after having seen Mayo through his first 9 games, we stand by that opinion.

Gilbert Arenas Rips Players for Turning Down Big $$$

For those who didn't know, Washington Wizards star 2 guard Gilbert Arenas has a blog. And he posts all the time. So much so that Arenas has become known as the NBA's first superstar blogger.

Last week, Arenas caused controversy by ripping Luol Deng, Andre Igoudala, Emeka Okafor, Anderson Varejao and several other young NBA players who have recently turned down large, multi year contracts (scroll down to the subject header: "Let's Talk Contracts").

Arenas argued that the young players had erred by turning down such big, guaranteed contracts. Read the whole thing. "Agent Zero," as Arenas is known, sheds light on many players' attitudes toward contracts, and the often ill-informed thought processes that many young NBA players employ with regard to their finances.

This week, Arenas revisited the subject. His recent comments -- which detail a debate he had with his father about last week's blog post -- are spot on. Arenas argues that $12 million per year is too much for secondary players such as Igoudala and Varejao to turn down. He thinks that these players let their egos get in the way of making sound decisions about their finances.

Drive and Dish concurs with Gilbert Arenas. NBA players often spout the cliche: "the NBA is a business." But they often don't seem to understand the nature of that business, or their respective place in that business.

Well, the NBA is a business. But it's show business. And, just as in the music and film industries, entertainers (and professional basketball players) have to take advantage of any "breaks" that come their way. Those "breaks" may not come around again.