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.
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.
