Your Mom Goes To College

Few things can match the pageantry that is college basketball. The teams. The fans. The coaches. The atmosphere. The emotion. It all makes me warm and fuzzy inside, like a cup of hot cocoa every day of the week.

College hoops gives you the unadulterated athleticism of tomorrow’s NBA stars, without the whining, the boring isolation in half court sets and the horrendous shooting. It gives you the tradition of college football without the ambiguity of the players. At the risk of channeling my inner-Vitale, “You gotta love college hoops, baby!” Year after year, the questions abound and this season is no different. Will Florida become the first team to repeat since Duke in ’91 and ’92? Who are this year’s All-Americans? How will high profile coaches Kelvin Sampson and Bob Huggins do at their new locales? Will Billy Packer say anything that resembles a rational thought? They’ll all be answered over the next five months. Here’s a preview of what’s to come:

(Rankings and player selections are not based on any official poll. They’re based on my own knowledge and love of a game that I’ve been following since I was 6 years old. So there.)

Top 10

1. Florida
Last year’s out-of-nowhere National Champs return all five starters. Joakim Noah, Al Harford, and Corey Brewer make up the most athletic frontcourt in the country. Lee Humphrey can shoot the ball with anyone and Taurean Greene is a steady, underrated point guard. They won’t wow you with their offensive ability, but no team hustles more and gets easy buckets off of sheer effort. Defensively, Horford and Noah put back more shots than a lonely sorority girl. They’ll be near the top all year.


2. North Carolina
The rich get richer. Coming off last season’s surprising 23-8, Coach Roy Williams only went out and inked six Top 75 recruits, including the McDonald’s All-America troika of Tywon Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Brandan Wright. The discussion of their frontcourt begins and ends with Tyler Hansbrough, my pick for National Player of the Year. Their squad is 13 deep, and each one of those 13 could start for more than half the teams in the country. Their talent is there and it’s undeniable. Ten of their top players are freshmen or sophomores, so they will be good for a long time. Chemistry issues and stretches where defense is an afterthought will cause them to lose a few games, but they’re the smart pick to cut down the nets in April. Feel free to fill out your brackets with pen.


3. Kansas
Bill Self’s talented squad take a little hit with forward CJ Giles being dismissed from the team and with center Sasha Kahn out for about a month with a knee injury. But the Jayhawks boast the best backcourt in the nation, with a rotation of Brandon Rush, Russell Robinson, Mario Chalmers, USC transfer Rodrick Stewart and freshman Sherron Collins. Forward Julian Wright is the most athletic player in the country and punishes the rim in transition. Like North Carolina, the talent is there, but I need to see a Bill Self-coached team get out of the first round of the tournament before they are considered a title contender.


4. LSU
Despite losing the toughness and clutch shooting of senior point guard Darryl Mitchell and the shot blocking of lottery pick Tyrus Thomas, the Tigers will be poised to get back to the Final Four, thanks to the return of All-American candidate Glen “Big Baby” Davis. Davis is one of the most enjoyable players to watch in the nation. At 6-8, 290 lbs., he’s nearly impossible to stop on the block. Forwards Tasmin Mitchell and Magnum Rolle and guards Garrett Temple and Tack Minor will carry the rest of the load for John Brady’s now tournament-tested squad.


5. UCLA
Duke University boasts the Cameron Crazies. The folks at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion might just be known this year as the “Cameroon Crazies” thanks to the play of sophomore forwards Alfred Aboya and Luc Mbah a Moute, both natives of the African nation. Mbah a Moute is a crafty scorer and rebounder, who always seems to be around the ball. Junior guard Aaron Afflalo is one of the best shooters in the country and will vie for Pac 10 Player of the Year honors. And let’s not forget coach Ben Howland, who brought a lockdown defense and toughness to Westwood, giving the team something it desperately needed.


6. Arizona
They dropped their first game on Sunday to an upstart Virginia squad opening its new arena, but it will be another great year in Tucson for Lute Olsen. Starting guards Mustafa Shakur and Marcus Williams both returned to school after testing the NBA Draft waters. They join sharpshooter Jawan McClellan and freshman Nic Wise to boast one of the deepest backcourts in the nation. Freshman Chase Budinger (the McDonald’s All-American Game MVP as well as the National High School Volleyball Player of the Year) is a stud. He’ll undoubtedly be compared to Adam Morrison, but he’s much more athletic and his game is actually much more similar to a Lebron James or Tracy McGrady (Yes, he’s that athletic.)


7. Pittsburgh
This season will be an emotional one for head coach Jamie Dixon, after his sister Maggie (head coach at Army) died tragically just weeks after the season ended. Coaching with a heavy heart may prove difficult. Dixon, however, will return four starters to a team that won 25 games a year ago. Center Aaron Gray eschewed millions in NBA riches to come back to school. He’ll be counted on to provide defense, rebounding and leadership to this squad. Like most recent Panther teams, scoring may prove to be difficult, but the defense and toughness will be there, and that means good things come March.


8. Ohio State
A second trio of highly-touted freshmen will take up residence in Columbus. Guards Mike Conley and Daquean Cook join consensus 2007 lottery pick Greg Oden (pictured) on a Buckeyes squad that won the Big Ten a year ago. Je’Kel Foster and Terrance Dials are gone, but sharpshooter Jamar Butler returns. Oden, the seven-foot phenom, is out indefinitely as he recently got pins removed his wrist following off-season surgery. But make no mistake, when he gets back on the court, Ohio State will be one of the top teams in the country. He is the most dominant post player in the entire world, who doesn’t wear Jerry West on his chest.

9. Wisconsin
Every year there is a team that is never spectacular, but always good, and flies under the radar for three months only to make a deep tourney run in March. In a lot of years, that team has been Wisconsin. Guess what? They’ll be that team again this year. Senior forward Alando Tucker is the frontrunner for Big Ten Player of the Year. He’s a solid defender with explosive scoring ability and a high basketball IQ. Coach Bo Ryan loves to dictate tempo, and though the Badgers aren’t going to run you off of the floor, their execution in half court sets is just as exhausting for opponents. Junior center Brian Butch continues to improve and could make a run at All-Conference honors. Don’t sleep on the Badgers. I’m serious. Don’t do it.


10. Alabama
It’s said that a team can only go as far as its point guard takes it. If that’s true, Alabama should jump on the shoulders of Ronald Steele and ride deep into March. Steele averaged 14 points and 4 assists last season and will look to improve on those numbers this year as he takes on more of a scoring role. Big men Jamareo Davison and Richard Hendrix provide an inside presence for the Tide.



All-American Team
Ronald Steele, Alabama
Alando Tucker, Wisconsin
Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina
Jaokim Noah, Florida
Glen Davis, LSU

Second Team
Aaron Afflalo, UCLA
Josh McRoberts, Duke
Jared Dudley, Boston College
Brandon Rush, Kansas
Nick Fazekas, Nevada


Sleeper picks
Georgia Tech – The Yellow Jackets add stud freshmen Thaddeus Young and Javaris Crittenton to a young, deep, athletic team that competed in every game last season.

Louisville – Rick Pitino is finally starting to leave his imprint on the Cardinals. They have a good inside/outside balance and have a good mix of experienced seniors and talented underclassmen.

Texas A&M – If you don’t know who Acie Law IV is now, wait two months when he’s pouring in 20 a night for Billy Gillespie’s upstart Aggies.

Marquette – See above. Sophomore point guard Dominic James is one of the best players you’ve never heard of. He leads coach Tom Crean’s attack.

Nevada – The Wolfpack return all five starters to last season’s NCAA Tournament team, including two-time WAC Player of the Year Nick Fazekas, who averaged 21 PPG last season.


Player of the Year
Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina

Coach of the Year
Paul Hewitt, Georgia Tech

Final Four
North Carolina (National Champs)
Florida
Arizona
Wisconsin

Nashty As He Wanna Be

I covered a preseason NBA game recently between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Phoenix Suns. As a reporter, I was working. As a fan, I was entertained. As a student of the game, I was in awe. It’s all thanks to a soccer-loving Canadian, who is no taller than me. (Well, maybe he’s got me by an inch.) He showed me the way. He got me to believe.

By now, the entire world knows about Steve Nash. How could it not? Only nine guys in the history of the league have ever won back-to-back MVP Awards, and that laundry list reads like a debate on the greatest player ever to pick up a round ball: Russell, Chamberlain, Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Bird, Jordan.

But that’s what Nash has done. In a league now dominated by 7-footers who can stroke like shooting guards, 6-8 power forwards with more handle than a suitcase factory, and jet quick point guards who are unguardable, he has been named the Association’s most valuable player twice.

There has been rampant criticism with both of Nash’s wins. He took home his first trophy after the 2004-2005 season, edging out Miami’s Shaquille O’Neal. Many speculated that the reason Nash won was because he is a white guy succeeding in a sport dominated by black guys. (Note: Some may call the PC police and insist that I refer to black people as African-Americans. It’s almost 2007. If you can’t handle people being characterized as black or white, there’s really no hope for you.) Whether this is true or not, I can’t comment on. Nash took a team that missed the playoffs and led them to a league-best 62 wins. White, black, blue, green or purple, that fact alone warrants consideration.

His win last year sparked even more debate. Two seasons ago, he and O’Neal were the only viable candidates. Last year, Nash was selected over Lebron James, Dirk Nowitzki, Kobe Bryant and Chauncey Billups. Arguments were easily made for each one of those players, yet Nash won by a sizeable margin.

I admit, I didn’t think Nash deserved to take home the MVP last season. Phoenix was an established team and the contributions of newcomer Raja Bell and Tim Thomas, and the emergence of Boris Diaw had as much to do with their success as the play of their esteemed floor general.

But flash forward to two weeks ago, when as I sat courtside witnessing a meaningless exhibition game. I discovered something that I had taken for granted. Steve Nash is maybe the most fundamentally sound basketball player that I have ever seen. You see, when you are that close to professional athletes, you get a real sense of how big these guys are. Seeing Nash, who at 6-0 is often the smallest player on the court, dart in and out of the defense, working to create high percentage opportunities for his teammates, you appreciate how good he actually is. He is in complete control of his body at all times and there is no wasted movement. There is purpose in every dribble, every fake, every drive, every pass, every hesitation. It’s remarkable to witness when seen up close.

He’s deceptively quick, and if there’s a spot he wants to get to, he’ll beat you there nine times out of 10. Eyes always up, he anticipates where both teammates and defenders are going to be, and reacting accordingly.

Let’s face it, Steve Nash isn’t the best player in the league. According to some, he might not even be in the top 10. But if you are a fan of the game, you can’t not appreciate what he brings every night. The ebb and flow of the game is in the palm of his hand. When the Suns need to run, they run. When they need to slow it down, he’s a wizard with the pick and roll. He’s the NBA’s ultimate puppet master, pulling the strings of his counterparts with ease.

In this era of fast break alley oops, shots swatted into the fifth row and mid-40s shooting percentages, take a moment to watch the art that Steve Nash can create with a basketball in his hand. It’s not sexy. It’s not gangsta. But once you see it (and you’ll know what it is), all your doubts will be quelled, your criticism will melt away, and you’ll know. You’ll believe.