Paulus: Luckiest Kid Ever
Greg Paulus had a pretty solid career at Duke. He was the starting poing guard for three years and led a top 10 team in the nation every single year. He was also able to get a four year degree while doing so. While this is enough good fortune for almost anyone, it doesn’t stop there. Today, Paulus announced that he’ll be enrolling at Syracuse University for graduate school AND playing football this coming fall. Read more
USC Continues To Find Trouble
Now, it is the basketball program. Now, it is Tim Floyed who is going to be investigated. We all saw this coming right? I mean there were rumors about O.J. Mayo before he even arived in Southern Cal. It is sad that we have to go through this time and time again. The fact is that we have no idea what college players are getting these days. But, you better be extra careful when you are recruiting guys that could go directly to the NBA, guys like O.J. Mayo. Read more
Coaching College Better Than Pros
Around this time every year (after the college season and during the NBA Playoffs), a few college coaches examine the possibility of making the jump to the professional level. Historically, college coaches don’t exactly translate well to the pro game and eventually regret their decision; usually they revert back to the college level. If you take the money out of the equation, why would a college coach want to leave a program he completely controls? There is no doubt in my mind that coaching college basketball is much better than coaching in the pros. Here’s why: Read more
Greg Paulus Should Answer To Rumors
There have been a bunch of rumors the last few days about the future of Duke PG Greg Paulus. One of those even has him going to Michigan to play football. Obviously, us fans don’t know the whole story, but it seems like that is one of the things propelling this story into the mainstream. This story, to me, came out of left field, but then again I’m not a Duke fan. In any case, there are a couple of issues I have with how this is being handled.
First, Paulus seriously went to Michigan to see the Wolverines practice? He is a Duke student, and just led the team into the tournament. Why is this okay that he is considering transfering to the Big Ten school? Also, and this is a serious question, what are the rules here? Could he actually play for Michigan next year? Is there no rules on when you can transfer and then be able to play. I understand it is two different sports so that may make a difference, but it seems awfully quick for him to be eligible.
Second, NFL teams are contacting this kid. He was a good quarterback in high school. After that he went to Duke to play basketball.
Paulus, 22, started three seasons for Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski but came off the bench this season. Coming out of high school, he was recruited by numerous big-time football programs, and schools such as Notre Dame would have allowed him to play both sports.
Paulus, however, has not played football since graduating high school, when he threw for 11,763 yards and 152 touchdowns in 45 career games and led CBA to a 42-3 record in four seasons.
So, don’t these teams have any nervous feelings about a guy who hasn’t played football since high school? There are solid players in college who were probably just as good in high school but aren’t being contacted by NFL scouts. But we see Paulus getting seeked out by these people.
It seems to me that Paulus will have a decision to make soon. That decision will have drastic implications for both his future as an athlete, and as a Duke Blue Devil. It would be quite interesting to see if he bolts for Michigan or the NFL how the Duke faithful would react. Until we know more, however, it will be tough to understand exactly what is going on Greg’s head.
Sources: Paulus may play football at Michigan [Fox Sports]
Paulus may be looking into playing football at Michigan [Syracuse.com]
Smart Move For Isiah Thomas To Go To FIU
Welcome Isiah Thomas to Florida. FIU and Thomas will start their relationship, and it gets me to thinking how manymore chances will the guy have to coach? The ESPN article says it will be his second chance to revive his career. Well, he totally screwed up the Pacers. Next he went on to New York and made them a complete joke. It is not surprising that he has now gone to a lesser known college basketball program.
As a player, Thomas was amazing. It seeems like it would be tough for him to gain ultimate respect after the two debacles that have taken place in the NBA. From his perspective though, this is a great decision. Florida International was 13-20 last year, which was good for eighth in the Sun Belt Conference. There is no great pressure of continuing to build a strong program, or building a winner in a media-centric region. If Thomas goes in there and FIU finishes seventh and eighth the next two years, well, he will have gone into a weak program and come out of a weak program. But, if Thomas is able to take this team to the tournament in a few years, well, he will have been the savior of the school’s athletic program.
Time will tell if both parties made the right decision. The fact is that Isiah cannot hurt his reputation anymore than it already has been. Or can he?
Keys to an MSU win
Tonight, the Michigan State Spartans will take a court in front of a sea of fans, most of which will be screaming for them to knock off a heavily favored UNC team.
MSU’s run to the Championship has been somewhat surprising to most. On one hand, they are a two seed so it shouldn’t be that big of a shock. On the other hand, they came from a Big Ten Conference that was criticized all season for its poor offense hence many analysts thought they would lose before the Elite 8. When you couple the fact that supposed experts think you’re an overrated two seed and you would get a chance to play “at home” in the Final Four, motivation must come pretty easily. Well, Tom Izzo has converted that motivation into a fantastic run thus far, knocking off the defending champs and two 1-seeds to get to the promise land. Standing in their way now is a run-and-gun team who has already destroyed them once this year, in the same building! Can MSU win? Here’s how they just might be able to pull off yet another upset:
Keys to an MSU victory:
1. Don’t try to run. I think it was Kalin Lucas who said their strategy against UConn was to run and beat them down the floor. That’s fine, but that strategy will not work tonight. Instead, play Big Ten stlye basketball utilizing deliberate offensive sets and trying to get into the paint against a weak defensive team in UNC.
2. A continuation of the first point…while pounding the ball inside, hope to get Hansbrough in foul trouble. As much as Ty Lawson makes that team go, Hansbrough’s will and determination embodies what they team strives for. If he’s on the bench in foul trouble, Lawson will try too much, and MSU could create some much needed turnovers.
3. Slow the transition game. UNC will get plenty of points in transition, but the goal should be to limit their layups and dunks. If they run out and happen to hit a few threes, that’s fine; they won’t make them the whole game. If MSU can prevent Lawson and Green from fast break layups and dunks, that will go a long way toward stopping the North Carolina offense. Once they’re forced into a half court game, they are an ordinary team. We’ve seen that this season by their losses to a couple sub-par opponents.
For MSU to win this game, Magic himself might have to suit up to provide the extra determination and skill to score enough points to keep pace with UNC. However, as MSU has show so far in this tournament, they can slow a game down and speed one up when they so choose. It’ll be interesting to see if they can slow it down tonight against the best team in the country. I always say it’s easier to slow a game down than speed one up…but that’s usually because my team isn’t playing against North Carolina.
Too Many NCAA Brackets Is Not Fun
This was the first year in a long time where I hardly paid attention to my brackets that I picked. Usually, I have, like most of you, each of my brackets opened up in my internet browser and anlayzing every game’s impact on me. So what was the deal this year? I think I figured it out.
Every year March comes around and I say the exact same thing: “I am only doing one or two brackets this year.” Well, in the years and years that I have done brackets that has never worked out. Inevitably, there are people who ask me to be in their pool and I’m too nice to say no. This year was the first year that it actually affected my interest in the tournament. The games were great, and I still followed it extremely closely, but the passion wasn’t there for the games. It got old quick when the answer to the question, “who did you pick?” was often answered by me as “I don’t know, I have so many brackets.”
Well, that’s it. Next year, I am limiting myself to two brackets. I don’t care who asks me to do what. The tournament loses interest when I’ve picked every team over the course of my eight brackets. It’s not like I do well in any of these brackets because I varied my picks! I’m better off just creating one bracket and submitting it to each pool that I do. Does anyone else feel my pain? Do you have way too many brackets that you can’t even keep track of who you picked? In the end, I am excited for next year’s tournament already. It will be an opportunity to be asked that same question, and, this time, I’ll be able to answer with an actual team.
Billy Gillispie is out
As Kentucky’s season came to an end the other day after losing in the NIT, a lot of questions and rumors began swirling about Coach Billy Gillispie’s future. Actually, the rumors have been circling all season long. Now that the season is over, UK must make a tough decision on whether to keep a struggling, hard-nose coach in town even though success has evaded him thus far. That decision is in as Gillispie is out as the Kentucky head coach.
To me, Gillispie was never the right man for the job. He likes to coach a physical and defensive style of basketball, a style that thouroughbread ballers like the ones that go to Kentucky aren’t used to playing. Those guys want to go for steals on defense so they can get out and run in the fast break and create for themselves. Most of the guys who choose Kentucky want to focus on offense, like UNC, so they can just blow teams out in the first half of games. They would rather play games in the 80 and 90 point range. Kentucky averaged about 74 points per game this year, which could have been much higher in a depleated SEC. I see this as the biggest detriment to the Gillispie era at UK as their offense was sub-par for most of the year.
Now, Gillispie is left without a job. However, he won’t be left unemployed for long. A team like Virginia could jump on him like white on rice since they need some sort of savior. Gillispie could dominate that program and turn it into a defensive powerhouse in the ACC. A team like that needs to win games with team defense considering they won’t be recruiting an future NBA stars anytime soon. All in all, the coach who undoubtebly failed during his tenure at Kentucky will still go on to have a great career as a head coach. Afterall, being UK’s top dog is the most daunting and stressful head coaching job in the country, including the NBA. I’m not sure Tom Crean or Billy Donovan would have had much success either as they both coach with the same mentality. Perhaps we’ll get a chance to find out when rumors begin about who will take the throne next season at the nation’s most prestigious basketball school.
NCAA Tournament: Predictions
Here’s a recap of my thoughts from today:
First Round Upset Alert:
UCLA, Clemson, FSU, Illinois, and everyone but the one and two seeds in the West.
Overall Sleepers:
West Virginia, Texas, Gonzaga, and Wisconsin all have sneaky Elite 8 potential.
Elite 8 Predictions:
Louisville and West Virginia break out of the Midwest.
UConn and Memphis come from the upset-stricken West.
Pitt rolls and Villanova shoots its way out of the East.
UNC sneaks out of the South to face Oklahoma in a battle of the POY contenders.
Final 4 Predictions:
Kind of simple here, but I can’t look like a fool and pick some random teams. I like Louisville over Memphis and Pittsburgh over Oklahoma to set up the Championship matchup I predicted before the season even started. This all Big East matchup would be a great battle. Louisville’s full court trap and deadly three point shooters along with all-around NBA prospects Earl Clark and Terrance Williams would take on Pitt’s solid half court defense anchored by DeJuan Blair and consistent offensive attack spearheaded by veterans Levance Fields and Sam Young. Consistency becomes the key word as Pitt never backs down on either of the floor and would eventually wear down an athletic Louisville team. Regardless of the victor, that would be a sensational game all NCAA fans could enjoy. With two Hall of Fame coaches, at least five NBA prospects, and a Big East rivalry flavor, these two number one seeds would compete with the dramatics of last year’s championship.
