The Lon Ranger

He's been a Wildcat (and remains one at heart).  He's been a Gator, a Fightin' Illini, a Runnin' Rebel and now, he's a Sooner.  On Monday, Lon Kruger was formally introduced as the head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team.

Whether or not he was Oklahoma's first option doesn't really matter.  What matters is that Oklahoma has a proven coach who's been known to revive or turn programs around.  No other coach has ever taken Kansas State to 4 straight NCAA tournament appearances.  Frank Martin, the current coach at K-State, might just do it; but he's rumoured to be headed to Miami.

Lon Kruger also helped put Florida basketball on the map when he led the program to a 1994 Final Four appearance.  Florida might have the athletes, but since we're being honest, they really didn't have much of a basketball history prior to that.  Not only is Florida a football school, but the state of Florida is all about football.  Don't believe me?  3 NFL teams compared to 2 NBA teams?  10 national titles in college football as compared to 2 in college basketball?  3 Super Bowls compared to 1 NBA title?  More players in the the NFL Hall of Fame as opposed to the NBA Hall of Fame?  I think you get my point.

Why Kruger's hire is being considered as a good move nationwide, is that he's won just about everywhere he's been; feel free to discount his time with the Atlanta Hawks.  It's very hard to win in the pro ranks, and there aren't that many college coaches who've had any success there.  Other than that, he's a proven winner.

While basketball takes a backseat to football, Oklahoma actually has a decent basketball history.  26 NCAA tournament bids that include 4 Final Four appearances and 2 national title game appearances.  The Sooners at one time held the nation's longest streak for appearances in post-season play (25 seasons); a streak that ended in 2006-07 season, Jeff Capel's first season.  Also, it's been more than 40 years since the school endured back-to-back losing seasons.  With that much history, you can see why Kruger had to re-think the offer before eventually taking the job.

Nobody is asking Kruger to beat Kansas every year; even though winning the conference title would be wonderful.  He's not being asked to get the school to the Final Four every year, or win the national championship every other year.  All he has been tasked with is to make the school relevant again.  Get the program back on the map.  Win games, get the fans back in the seats.  Above all else, keep the program out of the NCAA's radar.

A Kansas native, born in Silver Lake, Kruger starred for the Kansas State Wildcats in the early 1970's.  He was named Big 8 player of the year in both 1973 & '74.  He played in an era when the Wildcats were actually winning more than the Jayhawks.  Based on his time as a player and coach in Manhattan, KS, Kruger is no stranger to these parts of town.

Which brings me to my next point, recruiting.  There was a time when the best high school basketball players in the state played college ball in-state (Wayman Tisdale, Stacey King).  Since then, we've seen some good players, McDonald's All-American players, head north to Lawrence, KS (J.R. Giddens, Xavier Henry) or far east to Durham, NC (Shelden Williams).  Blake Griffin was just one of those "once in a lifetime" moments, where the player opted to stay home rather than take his talents elsewhere.

The good thing about having being in the NBA, albeit a short stint, is that Kruger knows what it takes to compete at that level, both physically and mentally.  He's not that bad of a recruiter either.  So it may not be long before some big names start heading toward Norman.

While searching for a new coach, Oklahoma made it clear that their intention is to "win now!!"  Hiring Lon Kruger is definitely a huge step forward toward achieving that goal.

Serving notice: Has Butler outgrown the glass slipper?

Up until last year, Butler’s best performance in the NCAA tournament was a pair of Sweet 16 appearances in 2003 and 2007.  Then came last year when as a 5^th seed, the Bulldogs captured the hearts of a nation by making it all the way to the Championship game, only to fall short.

For the second year in a row, Butler will be back in the Final Four.  Their road wasn’t any easier this season.  They were an 8^th seed and squeaked past Old Dominion, then Pittsburgh in their first two games.  They took care of Wisconsin, and showed some mental toughness; overcoming a pair of 10 point deficits against Florida in the regional finals.  Different year, but the hustle is still the same.

The 2000 North Carolina team and the 1985 Villanova championship team were both 8^th seeds.  Other than that, 8-seeds don’t usually get that far.  Okay, so occasionally, they might knock off a 1-seed; but the Sweet 16 is, more often that not, where the fairy tale ends.  They’re not always a lock to make the regional final, let alone the Final Four.  Yet somehow, Butler found a way to do it.

In the 1990’s, Gonzaga was the darling everyone rooted for.  They eventually outgrew the glass slipper and have almost always not made it to the second weekend of play.  Nowadays, they are EXPECTED to make the tournament; regardless of whether or not they dominate the West Coast Conference (which they often do).  Are we going to expect the same with Butler?

Stevens' profile is only getting better by the day.

The Bulldogs have seen Gonzaga, matched and even exceeded the bar set by those Bulldogs.  Last year was seemed like that “once in a lifetime” deal, but they’re not quite done yet.  With the exception of Gordon Hayward and Willie Veasly, the core from last year’s team (Matt Howard, Shelvin Mack and Ronald Nored) are still holding it down.  Brad Stevens is also making a name for himself as one of the better young coaches in America.  It won’t be long before his name is on every athletic director’s shortlist.

Butler may or may not be able to maintain this kind of performance in seasons to come.  What we do know is that they won’t be taking anyone by surprise.



The Will and the way.

After the first weekend of March Madness, I have to say that the player who has impressed me the most is Arizona's Derrick Williams.

Williams' block helped Arizona survive the 1st round

In a 4 day span where upsets were the order of the day, no player was more clutch for his team than Williams.  In a closely contested game against Memphis, he came up with the game saving block at the buzzer, preventing a potential first round upset.

As if that wasn't enough, he still had some magic saved as his late 3-point play helped the Wildcats get past Texas in the second round.  Arizona now moves on play Duke in Anaheim, CA - Pac 10 country - and you can expect Wildcat fans to pack the stands.

Williams, the reigning Player of the Year in the Pac 10, along with Solomon Hill, Lamont Jones and company, led Arizona to it's first regular season conference title since 2005.  They might have won the conference tournament too, but Isaiah Thomas and Washington had other ideas. 

The last time Arizona was seen in the NCAA tournament, the were on the receiving end of a 39 point drubbing by Louisville in the Sweet 16.  This is of course a much different team now.  I wouldn't be surprised if Arizona pulls an upset over Duke (Kyrie Irving or not) this week.  They have the size, speed and shoot very well from the perimeter.  The key of course, will be to keep the game close, otherwise Duke might as well run away with it.

That being said, I would love to see just how many more game winning plays Williams can pull out of his sleeves.

Big East or Big Missed?

At the start of March Madness, the Big East received a record 11 bids to the tournament; the most of any conference.  This enhanced its reputation as the best conference in collegiate basketball.

However after the first weekend of tournament play, only two teams remain; Connecticut (who went 9-9 in conference play during the regular season) and Marquette (who also had a similar record in the regular season).  They were both seeded 3rd and 11th respectively.

Among those missing in action are Pitt, the regular season champ, who got served by Butler in a strange series of events during the closing moments of the game.  I didn't watch a minute of the game, but I saw highlights of the last moments and it told me all I needed to know.  Also out are Notre Dame, who finished second in the regular season and also have the current Big East Player of the Year (Ben Hansbrough).  Louisville, one of the better defensive teams in the country got hit in the first round by Morehead State (since they are both Kentucky schools, and we all know that basketball is religion in that state, I'll let this one slide).

Hansbrough and the Irish ran into a staunch Seminoles' D

When you field that many teams in a tournament, you know that they were going to run into each other at some point.  Cincinnati was bounced by UConn, while Syracuse was sent packing by Marquette.  Somewhere, Dwayne Wade, Travis Diener and Steve Novak are smiling uncontrollably.  For those who remember, Wade along with Diener and Novak led Marquette (a member of Conference USA at the time) to the Final Four back in 2003.  They held off Pittsburgh (a 2-seed) before destroying top-seeded Kentucky in the Midwest regional finals (ruining my bracket); only to suffer a mauling at the hands of Kansas in the Final Four.

Following the weekend's events, there have been disses flying, dubbing the conference "The Big Least" and "overrated".  I'm not going to get into all of that.  In previous articles, I have hailed the Big East as the best conference, so don't expect me to change my tone and start bashing on them.  I do know that it's a brutal slate of games and come tournament time, these teams are all worn out and just ripe for an upset.

Since 1999 when UConn took the title, only 5 teams have made it to the Final Four; Syracuse (2003), UConn (2004, 2009), Georgetown (2007), Villanova (2009) and West Virginia (2010).  And like I said earlier, Marquette was a Conference-USA member when they made the Final Four in 2003, and so was Louisville (2005).  In 2009, when the conference fielded 8 teams, there was speculation that all of them could meet up in the regional finals; yet Villanova and Pittsburgh was the only conference matchup in that tournament.

Having said all that, would it be fair to label the conference as overrated, or do the teams save their best performances for that trip to the Madison Square Garden in early March?  Well, as long as they keep underperforming in the NCAA tournaments, the topic will always be up for debate.

Should Kemba Walker be considered for Player Of The Year?

I know that the Naismith Award has yet to be handed out, and I'm sure everyone out there has their own personal favourite.  I don't know exactly how highly regarded UConn's Kemba Walker has been this season; what with all the talk about BYU's Jimmer Fredette, Ohio State's Jared Sullinger and even Duke's Nolan Smith or Kyle Singler (really??).  So where exactly does Kemba Walker fit in?


Was Gary McGhee (far right) trying to get a better view?

UConn went 9-9 during the regular season in the Big East, and their chances of improving their seeding for the NCAA tournament relied on how they would perform in the tourney.  Now we all know that the Big East is arguably the best conference in college basketball.  Just look at the final regular season standings.  A team can win the regular season this year and get blown off the map in the next one.  Same thing happens in the conference tournament.  The conference is just brutal.

To lift the crown, they would have to win five games in five days.  I really didn't think it could be done, and I'm guessing I'm not alone either.  With Walker carrying this young team on his back, UConn defied the odds and took home a record tying 7th Big East title.  After easily dispatching DePaul and Georgetown, Walker delivered in close wins against Pittsburgh (1 seed), Syracuse (4 seed) and Louisville (a 3 seed that swept the Huskies in the regular season).  Along with the MVP award, Walker also set a record for points scored and minutes played.

Don't mess with The Jimmer!!

No disrespect to Jimmer Fredette or Nolan Smith, but I doubt that they could have led their teams through that gauntlet in the Big East.  Jimmer deserves all the plaudits that he has earned, and I won't knock him should he end up winning the Naismith Award. 

He leads the nation in scoring and helped BYU to a share of the regular season title.  BYU were on course for a probable #1 seed, but a couple losses down the line, most notably in the conference title game to San Diego State, saw those plans disappear.

What remains to be seen though, is how far the Cougars will advance in the tournament without the suspended Brandon Davies (who was 3rd on the team in scoring and 1st in rebounds).  With Davies on the squad, there was some rumble of a possible Final Four appearance.  Without him, I don't see BYU advancing past the Sweet 16 (but that's just my opinion, so don't dwell on it).  Jimmer Fredette might as well be Adam Morrison 2.o.


Can Smith and Duke repeat last year's performance?

When Nolan Smith arrived at Duke, he took a back seat to Greg Paulus who was running the point.  However when Paulus struggled, Smith was plugged into the starting lineup and his star has yet to wane since then.  In addition to being named Player of The Year in the ACC, Smith helped Duke to a 3rd straight conference tournament crown (where he was also named MVP). 

Smith has played big when his team needed it the most.  During a home game against North Carolina in February, he scored 22 second half points (he had 34 total points), helping Duke overcome a 16 point deficit en route to a 79-73 win.  Not only is he good jump shooter, but his ability to cut to the hoop for a layup, or draw defenders and pass to an open player (and we all know how Duke loves to cash in on those open looks from beyond the arc) makes him a really tough matchup.  It's safe to say that he's the best guard to have played for Duke since Jason Williams.  Yes, even better than Reddick!!

Without Jimmer Fredette, BYU could still put out a decent team.  Whether or not they make the tournament is up for debate.  Without Smith, Duke might have still made the tournament because they have one thing that a lot of people wish their schools had; Coach K.  Without Walker, UConn is NIT bound.  Feel free to disagree with me, but that's just the truth.

A measure of revenge.

Last weekend when Nebraska held on to upset Texas 70-67, not only did they ruin the Longhorns chance at reclaiming the #1 ranking, but it also brought another thought to my mind; REVENGE!!! 

Husker fans couldn't bear another loss to Texas

After all that Nebraska has been in the least year (plus a few months give or take), they were finally able to come up with a win against Texas.  Maybe I'm the only who saw it, but I'm sure Husker fans were kind of feeling it too. 

Let's face it, Nebraska isn't exactly known for their basketball prowess; they're a football school.  So to deal a defeat to Texas (and a darn good Texas team too) on the hardwood wasn't really expected by anyone outside of Lincoln, NE.  Nebraska fans, please don't take it personal if nobody thought that you'd win.  For what it's worth, Nebraska has played well down the stretch, and that form really counts for something.

(R-L) Hunter Lawrence nails the game winning fg in the 2009 Big 12
title game, while Garrett Gilbert led Texas to an upset win in Lincoln.

One can only wonder what Kinnie is thinking

Nebraska fans can still remember the 1 second that was added back to the clock at the end of the 2009 Big 12 Title Game; enabling Texas to kick the game winning field goal and advance to the National Championship game.  Then to rub salt onto the wounds, Texas (who were on a 2 game losing streak) beat #5 Nebraska in Lincoln.  What's crazy is that Texas (who are 9-1 against Nebraska in the Big 12 era) only won one more game after that; against Florida Atlantic (from the vaunted Sun Belt Conference).

As if that wasn't enough, there was that game against A&M in College Station, where all the calls just seemed to go against Nebraska.  Big Red couldn't even get any love in the last ever Big 12 Title game; fans preferring the other Big Red (more like crimson, but you get the point).  

Nebraska wanted to leave the Big 12 with a bang!!  Win the last ever title game, then stick it to Texas and Dan Beebe a.k.a the Commish.  That didn't happen.  Their reward for losing?  A second consecutive trip to the Holiday Bowl to play against Washington; a team that Nebraska had torn to shreds earlier in the season.  They couldn't even get Boise State in there??  It didn't matter because when Nebraska lost, they all of a sudden became the punchline to any and every joke.  They just could not catch a break.

So when Nebraska beat Texas in the most unlikeliest of venues, I'm guessing all this stuff must have been running through the minds of the Husker faithful as they stormed the court.  I just got this feeling, that they weren't just celebrating an upset of a highly ranked opponent; it was a lot more than that.  It was for the 1 additional second that cost them a conference championship.  It was making up for failing to exact revenge in their next meeting.  It was for the mistreatment they felt they've received, getting kicked to the curb because Texas wields the power.

This was just more than your ordinary upset; it was a measure of revenge.

So, who really wants to be #1??

Nolan Smith and Duke; back at 1?

Duke's 79-57 win over Georgia Tech saw them regain the #1 spot, and also end an "upset" type of weekend.

#4 ranked Pittsburgh  fell 60-59 to St. John's, who entered the rankings for the first time in what has almost been eternity.  Seriously, can anyone remember the last time St. John's made some noise on the basketball scene?  Besides winning the 2003 post-season NIT, I can't recall anything else.

#7 Notre Dame fell 72-58 to West Virginia, while #16 ranked Louisville beat #12 Connecticut;  another testament to just how brutal the Big East can be.  You can make an argument that it is possibly the best conference in America, even though they haven't produced a national champion since 2004.

Texas was literally held back by Nebraska

Kansas had retaken the top stop, only to get upset by Kansas State a few hours later.  That left the door open for Texas, who looked really good after putting the hurt on Oklahoma State last Wednesday.  The only thing standing between the Longhorns was a trip to Lincoln, NE.  Nebraska managed to hold off them off for 70-67 win.  The fans rushed the court to celebrate the upset win, but I'm thinking that there's probably more to the story.  I'll save that for a later discussion.

E'Twaun Moore and Purdue halted Ohio State.

Following Texas' loss to Nebraska, Ohio State had a great chance to go back to #1, but E'Twaun Moore (38 points) and Purdue had other ideas.  The Boilermakers handed Ohio State the second loss in as many days.

Since nobody wants to be #1, I guess Duke didn't mind skipping up four spots from their previous #5 position.  They started at the top anyway, so I guess they might as well take the reigns.

It's not even March and the madness is already under way.