Kyle Macy -- NCAA College Basketball
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MORE QUESTIONS, SOME ANSWERED

February
5, 2009


Connecticut's Hasheem Thabeet is a game changer.Not surprisingly I have received a lot of questions in the past week. Most of them have revolved around my involvement with the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. I will get to those questions later. First let’s talk about the Atlantic 10, the Big 12, the Big East and more.

It seems to me that some people are still selling Hasheem Thabeet short. Why is that?

- Gene, New Haven CT


I think the people that follow the game closely recognize just how good he is and the impact he has on a game. He is one those players that you spend a lot of time looking at when putting together your game plan. In order to drive to the basket you have to design action to take him from the tin. Even then his recovery time is pretty amazing.

The casual fan will see him as a player with limited offensive ability. Right now he doesn’t have a great feel for the offensive game. He is still learning the game, but he is a very bright young man and he really has a good sense of things beyond the game. He is very in tune politically with what is going on his country of Tanzania. He has expressed a desire to one day make a difference in Africa, through financial support and increased awareness. He’s a special kid.


How many bids will the Atlantic 10 Conference get?

- Robo, Phildelphia PA


It’s still very early. We have an entire month of basketball, during which an awful lot can happen. Xavier is the best team in the league. Head coach Sean Miller has done a nice job. Dayton actually has a slightly better record and has a win over Marquette to its credit. Four of their next six are on the road and one of their two home games will be against Xavier so we will learn a lot of the Flyers in the next few weeks.

Despite what many of the experts believe, I do think the Atlantic 10 is undervalued as a conference. It may not have dominating teams at the top, but what lacks in power it more than makes up for in depth. Teams like St. Joseph’s, Duquesne, La Salle, St. Bonaventure, Temple, Rhode Island are capable of beating anyone in the league on a given night. UMass, which is currently in the middle of the pack in the A-10 went into Kansas and beat the Jayhawks.


Is Marquette for real or will UConn, Pitt or Louisville eventually win the Big East?

- Mike, Stormville NY


The answer to the first part is yes. The answer to the second part is perhaps. Marquette’s 7-0 start has gotten the attention of many. We knew coming into the season that the Big East was going to be the best league in college basketball, getting as many as nine or ten teams into postseason. While it was expected that Marquette would be among those teams, few would have expected them to be at the top.

Head coach Buzz Williams has done a nice job, taking over for the departed Tom Crean. The senior trio of Dominic James, Wes Matthews and Jerel McNeal, who have all played outstanding basketball, has keyed their success. They are a six-game stretch that includes games against Georgetown, at DePaul, at South Florida, at Villanova, St. John’s and Seton Hall. While there no easy games in the Big East, it will be important for Marquette to play well during that stretch, because their final five games will be challenging. The Golden Eagles will host Connecticut and Syracuse and will play road games at Georgetown, Louisville and Pittsburgh.


I keep hearing that the Big 12 is down this season. Is the league just not that good?

- Darrell, Tulsa OK


The popular thought heading into the season was that Texas would be the class of the league and Kansas would be closer to the middle of the pack then the top of the heap. Head coach Bill Self had a lot of voids to fill, after virtually all of the key components from last year’s NCAA championship team departed. As expected the Jayhawks were good, but not great though non-conference action, but it seems to have served them well as they have opened Big 12 play with five straight wins. I think we will find out a lot about KU in the next two weeks. They are coming off a big win on the road at Baylor, which is the beginning of a four-game stretch that will include road games at Missouri and Kansas State.

Missouri head coach Mike Anderson has done a really nice job. The Tigers get quality minutes from a lot of people. Missouri has surprised some people with their strong start in league play, but Oklahoma has also been a surprise. Nobody is be shocked that they are the team to beat in the Big 12, but the way in which they have dispatched opponents has been a little eye-opening.

Texas, is coming off a home loss to Missouri, has struggle to find a rhythm this season. One of the CollegeInsider.com guys put it best when he noted that Texas would be a Final Four team had D.J. Augustine not opted for the NBA. Good point. A point guard is the one thing the Horns are lacking.

Baylor has had some tough losses, but I think they have time to right the ship and I think Kansas State will stick be a factor throughout.


Are the Irish done? Is Notre Dame on a path to the NIT?

- Matt, Columbia SC


There is no question that they are struggling. The Big East is one conference that it is almost impossible to survive sustained losing streak. That 10-2 start seems like a lifetime ago. At one point the Irish were 3-1 and looking pretty good in the conference. During the six-game slide teams are putting up a lot of points on the Irish. In three losses they have surrendered 90-plus and Louisville scored 87. Notre Dame is an offensive team, but it’s tough to outscore teams when they are scoring in the high 80s and 90s. Unfortunately the schedule will not get easier with home game against UCLA and Louisville followed by three out of four on the road, at West Virginia, Providence and Connecticut. This year, .500 in the Big East will probably get you into the NCAA Tournament. Notre Dame to then finish 6-2 in their final eight. That is workable.


Can we end any debate as to who the best player in college basketball. Do you agree that Blake Griffin is the National Player of the Year?

- Mike, Norman OK

You won’t get an argument from me. One of the CollegeInsider.com guys told me in November, before I had a chance to see him play this season, that he was the clearcut National Player of the Year. I haven’t seen anything that would make me want to argue that point.


POSTSEASON TOURNAMENT

I have received a lot of emails from friends, colleagues and fans about the inaugural CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. This is something that has been in the works since April of 2008. From the beginning I thought this was a very good idea. Every year there are a number of teams deserving of postseason that instead get nothing. Having coached for nine seasons at Morehead State I know first hand how difficult it can be to have a successful season go unrewarded.

The reality is that there were simply not enough spots in postseason available. The NCAA and NIT selection committees have the very challenging task of selecting teams and it is inevitable that there will be some left on the outside looking in. The thought is that the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament will be able to accommodate those teams. We have an outstanding group of former coaches on the selection committee and I am looking forward to working them through the process of selecting 16 deserving teams.

As has been pointed out, we will not begin extending invitations to the CIT until after the NIT has selected its’ field.

 

 
 
 

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