Monday, April 7, 2008

Final Four randomness



I was going to do some sort of recap of the game and the Final Four but you can find that in your locals. Plus, I assume all of you watched all the games, so no need to tell it again. Instead, you’ll find some random thoughts on what I saw. Let’s Play!

First off, remember who said their favorite player was Mario Chalmers? Oh yeah, that’s me and he’s such an effing stud. That shot to put Kansas in overtime is what makes this tourney so great. However...

It wasn’t that great of a March Madness. Before the final game, I believe I read that 42 out of the 60 games were won by 10 points or more. It wasn’t a classic tourney in that sense. If it wasn’t for Q's man crush Stephen Curry and Davidson, it would have been worse. And this didn’t get better in the first Final Four games on Saturday. Memphis and Kansas won easily. Yes, UNC pulled back to four points, but Kansas put down the throttle after that. Speaking of those Tar Heels...

I couldn’t be happier that nutjob Hansbrough and UNC got pounded by Kansas, ending their run. It was fantastic. As a bone fide Duke fan, seeing those guys fall was a great sight. I was waiting for Psycho T to pull an Adam Morrison and start crying in the middle of the floor. Hansbrough said before the Final Four that he’s not leaving until he has a ring. I don’t buy it. I see him going. His stock is at it’s highest and you take the money. That’s the correct play. Even if he won’t do anything in the league, get paid son. I could see someone like Ellington possibly leaving also. You’ll see a much different UNC team next year.


Josh Shipp...you suck!

Derrick Rose...you don’t! More on him later...

I don’t know if I should feel sorry for UCLA head coach Ben Howland or be jealous of the guy. At one end, he’s been to the Final Four three years in a row and he couldn’t pull one title down. Not one! That has to be frustrating, especially with all that UCLA history. 18 Final Four appearances---11 titles. The pressure is always there with that job and he walked away with zilch in three years. Not good times. But, on the other end, he’s in sunny California, he has a really good job and he HAS been to the Final Four the last three years. Other coaches dream about going to one. He’s in a very odd position, but one that I would like to have.

Joey Dorsey is one bad ass Mo-Fo. He’s a guy that you wouldn’t want to piss off at the bar or anywhere for that matter. Minnesota corn fed Cole Aldrich found that out firsthand when Dorsey gave him a little chest bump last night. Give Aldrich credit though, he stood his ground. I think Dorsey is a tough guy but Dogg thinks he wears a pink thong.

I don’t know if I trust John Calipari. Seems like the guy that shakes your hand with a smile on his face only to steal your wallet as he walks by. I trust him like I trust Steve Buscemi’s character in Con Air. Calipari seems that shady.

Billy Packer needs to go away. I still like Jim Nantz and those Jim Nantz narrated Masters commercials give me wood. Seriously. A tradition like no other...

Winner-Winner-Chicken Dinner. Congrats to the Kansas Jayhawks. An awesome game and an awesome comeback.

Hey Calipari? You still think free throws aren't that important?

Derrick Rose is the deal. He had a very good year but got on everybody’s map in this tourney. He went up against good players like Neitzel, Augustin, Collison and abused them all. He was too quick, too big and too good for those players. He was held in check in the first half of the title game, but he could have still been sick from eating too many gummy bears (a true story). He almost carried them to victory but came up one free throw short. Either way, he’s the man and I want him throwing oops to Big Gay Al and company next year.


Will Bill Self take the money that OK State is offering now? Word is that some billionaire alum wants to offer him 10 years, 40 million dollars with a 6 million dollar signing bonus! What!?!?! If that’s true, Billy Boy might be gone. I think it would be stupid. You have one of the top five jobs in the country and I don’t think Self is that great of a coach to do it anywhere. The name Kansas gives him a lot of creditability in recruiting. I would ride this job out as long as you can, even if you just won the NCAA Championship.

UNC head coach Roy Williams sitting at the title game with a Kansas sticker on his chest was a little weird. He did spend 15 years there, but you’ve moved on, so act like it.

"One Shining Moment" is still the best thing in sports. The ball is tipped...

The way I see it, I don’t see one of these teams back here next year. With guys graduating and guys leaving early, I don’t see one of these teams making it to the Final Four next year. Hansbrough, Love, Rush and Rose are all gone in my mind. Plus, you might see others besides those four. Ellington? Westbrook? Chalmers? Douglas-Roberts? Anyways, I think these teams lose too much to make it back. If you had a gun to my head, I’d say UNC has the best shot coming back because of their strong recruiting class. Anyways, I still don’t see it, which leads to me this...

My Final Four next year is:

Duke- Should be returning everyone except Nelson (senior) and getting five-star recruit Elliot Williams. Plus, they are four schools still in the running for the 5th ranked player in the country--- a 7-footer. They could use him! They’ll need to learn from getting bounced early, but I think they get there next year. All of you tools probably disagree with me, but they only lost 6 games last year and those top teams this year are going to lose a lot, when Duke won’t. I’m just saying.

Louisville- Even with Padgett graduating, this team should be in the top 5 all year next year. Scorers 2-6 will be coming back and they are getting two five-star recruits that are ranked in the top 15 on rivals.com. 7th ranked Samardo Sameuls (6’9, 230) and 15th ranked Terrence Jennings (6’10, 225). With an Elite Eight appearance this year and Pitno running the show, I like their chances out of any of these teams I’m mentioning.

Texas- I’m banking on DJ Augustin coming back, which I think he does. Their lone senior averaged 1.1 pts a game this year, so they won’t be hurt in that category. Augustin, Abrams, James, Atchley and Mason should all be back. I like taking the Elite Eight teams in the year prior to make the Final Four the next. See 2008 Kansas, Memphis & UNC. Texas fits that bill.

Florida- My wildcard. They have everyone coming back that won 24 games last year with the NIT. They have a top five recruiting class coming in that is anchored by two five-star recruits and Billy Donovan knows how to coach. Enough said. I was thinking about the Gophers here. Kidding, but my roommate Dogg seriously thinks it. Not joking.

Until next year...

Fuzz

6 comments:

Dogg said...

I don't know why you and all these analysts are complaining about the tournaments excitement this year. Who cares if teams won by 10+ points? That means we are watching good basketball teams beat who they should be beating. The tournament is the most exciting sporting event every year hands down and think having four #1 seeds in the Final Four was great. The top 4 teams for most of the year battled it out and the best "team" prevailed. I will also take big time credit for hyping Mario Chalmers because I've been telling my fellow bloggers this since day one.

U of M will make a push in the Big Ten next year and I think will make some serious noise in the tourney.

Q said...

I'm with you 100% on this Dogg. We had two 12's and two 13's win this year (with both 12's winning two games). We also had a cult hero (Curry) taking down multiple "giants", buzzer beaters, four #1 seeds in the Final Four, and a national championship that not only featured it's own last second shot, but also the first one to go into overtime in 11 years. What more do you want?

Dogg said...

I thought it was a great tournament and the best teams in the country beat the teams they were supposed to beat which made for a sensational Final Four!

Anonymous said...

I am with you as well Dogg. The way they seed the teams you should have the number 1 seeds advance. I do not know what type of tourny they want to have. Upsets are great but make for blow outs in the later rounds.

Also Memphis is the best team in the country. I know they did not get the ring but they still are the best.

Fuzz I think the readers of Tk on Toast know that no matter what you will have Duke in the final four. UNC will be at it once again and you know that. Duke has to worry about winning in the ACC first.

Can't wait to see psycho T back next year. I do not see UNC dropping to many to the NBA. But we will have to see.

Finn-to-win

Anonymous said...

How do you guys feel about Roy Williams wearing that KU sticker?

I did not think it was a big deal at all. But a lot of people on the radio thought it was a major problem. Also can't we let the players and coaches that win a National title enjoy the win for at least a day before the media asks them if they are going to coach another team or leave for the NBA. Let the kids be kids for at least a day.

Just thought this was big topic. I thought the experts at TK on Toast might want to add their 2 cents.

Finn-to-win

Dogg said...

Good point Finner. I didn't think much of Roy wearing that sticker being that he bled KU for 15 years and gave a lot to that program. Why can't he want his ex-team to win a title? He of course knew that it would get a rise out of some of the media but obviously didn't think it was that big of a deal either.

Let the kids be kids thing is legit but it's also the media's job to get into their grills immediately. If they don't their jobs are lost as well.