Four to know
Hey, we like to share some hoops stuff on Tuesdays. Especially since March Madness officially starts when the calendar flips on Thursday.
Yee-Haw. Good times.
Before we get there, here's Weeds doing what Weeds does best - college hoops. This ties into the tournament in ways we can only wonder.
How will the committee judge the teams mentioned in the FBI reports and now the Yahoo stories? Will it come into play for any of them? None of them? What about Arizona, and with the high-ceiling talent the Wildcats have regardless who is coaching/sweating on the sideline, could the selection committee run the risk of having a team march to the Final Four only to have Yahoo learn that every player on Arizona or whatever team was paid at least five figures to sign?
Good times. Nothing like the purity and "for love of the game" aspect that is the NCAA's baseline for the student-athlete experience. Here's betting the NCAA's "all of us turn pro in something" commercials that flood the market during the tournament are being reworked as we speak.
As for four things to know, let's go in this direction: Games this week that have a lot in the balance.
Tennessee at Mississippi State, tonight. OK, the Vols are in. No ifs ands or buts. Right now, Joe Lunardi has UT as a 3 seed. Win out - which could mean an SEC title if Auburn's slide continues - and make a run to the final day of the SEC tournament, and a 2 is easily within grasp. Think of the party UT fans could have as a 2 seed in Nashville? Mississippi State is one of Lunardi's first four out, and a win against an RPI heavy like UT would look great on the penultimate day of February.
Nebraska's Big Ten tournament opener. The Cornhuskers got a double bye as a top-four seed in the Big Ten dance and have 22 wins. Still they are on Lunardi's first-four-out list and a loss to whichever lower seed they seed would likely make Nebraska a slam dunk No. 1 seed in the NIT.
UNC-Duke on Saturday. Yes, neither team is anywhere close to the bubble. In fact, Lunardi has each as a 2 seed. And maybe that's the ceiling for each considering the number of losses - they each play a loaded schedule - and the resumes of the projected 1s. (For what it's worth, Lunardi's projected 1s right now are Nova, Virginia, Xaiver and Kansas.) But positioning for Duke and UNC is pretty large. Being the No. 1 No. 2 has big benefits for the Heels and Devils. First, not all the 1-seeds are created equally. Second, the South Regional is in Atlanta, which is a much more desirable locale than Boston, L.A. or Omaha.
Missouri's next three games. OK, the Tigers have a lofty ceiling if Michael Porter Jr. returns and they can get into the tournament. Those two ifs are bigger this morning than they were last week since a) There has been little word on Porter other than "Wait and see," and in truth you have to ask yourself if the risk of two weeks of playing and reinsuring your back and losing millions of NBA dollars is worth it for the kid, and b) three straight losses - two of them to LSU and Ole Miss and a beatdown in Lexington - have put a good team in peril.The good news for Missouri: It's 8-8 in the deepest league in the country and it has 9 top-100 RPI wins this year. The bad news: After those three straight losses, the Tigers are 6-6 in their last 12. Tonight at 11-18 Vandy is a must-win, then comes Arkansas at home and SEC tournament action in front of a pro-Mizzou crowd in St. Louis.
Hoop seams
OK, there has been a ton of hand-wringing about all the corruption.
Oh my.
First, before we move forward, raise your hand if you are surprised these blue chips are getting paid. Exactly.
As for what it means for college basketball, well, everyone is going to offer up theories to overhaul the sport. Heck, Condoleezza Rice's job as the head of the college basketball committee on change and goodness and all the wholesome things in life like Pink Fluffy Unicorns dancing on rainbows seems even more difficult today, if that's possible. And before we get started, these folks saying that allowing the players to have agents, like they do in college baseball and hockey are simply missing the point.
First, these kids already have agents, so legalizing it will flood the market rather than regulate, for the most part. This is not solving the problem, this is kicking it down to the high school associations, and if you think the NCAA is ill-equipped to deal with this, then let the TSSAA or the GHSA try to solve. Never mind the fact that this will now start the process even earlier, and we'll be seeing agents openly recruiting at middle school games. That system is different, and it may make it easier for the NCAA, but it's not a better system and certainly not one with the kids in mind.
There will be discussion of paying the players. And that discussion can only go forward if there is a Title IX overhaul and a real conversation about paying the athletes in revenue-generating sports and non-revenue-generating sports. More so than ever before, after all of this, I have a more open mind about paying the football and basketball players at the revenue-generating schools.
Gang, the argument that there is not enough money to pay the basketball players at Arizona, when the program can pay Sean Miller more than $10 million to fire him WITH cause, simply no longer holds up to scrutiny.
Truthfully, we would prefer the old-school approach in which bag-men handed kids sacks of cash and we all winked and nodded when a five-star flipped at the 11th hour to your school and bemoaned when someone else paid more. But that golden toothpaste has left the tube and landed in Federal court.
There will be talks of disbanding the NCAA and rewriting a confusing and dated record book that clearly states how many text messages can be sent and when they can be sent but allows loopholes big enough for an 18-wheeler for Syracuse and Cheatin' Jimmy Boeheim so many others to wiggle through.
Hopefully, the first attempt before paying the players and blowing up the NCAA (which is our second option, frankly) Rice and the powers that be will implement a new draft structure and punt the one-and-done.
The first-year-player draft that Major League Baseball uses should be adopted today. Like for the upcoming draft. That means high school seniors are eligible, and if they do not like where they were drafted than can still go to college.
If that college is a junior college, then they are eligible for the draft the next year. They could play in an independent league here or abroad and also be eligible. But if you enroll in a four-year school, you are not eligible for the draft until after your third year of college.
C'mon, Condi. Make it happen.
Combine primer
Stoked, friends. STO-ked.
We love the draft. You know this.
The combine - aka the underwear Olympics starts today - and we are locked and loaded.
We love the way folks overvalue a RB's 40 time. Remember Emmitt Smith ran a high 4.6; Dri Archer (who) ran in the 4.2s
We love the way that the big lineman chugging a full 40 makes for entertaining TV. (This may sound crazy, but with limited football viewing in front of us right now and with the NFL Network showing all angles of the combine here's a fun game with a couple of buddies. Guess the 40 time. Two-plus guys rotating who goes first. Whomever is the most off on their guess without going over has to drink. If you get it exactly to the second decimal point you buddy has to finish his beer. Enjoy and you're welcome.)
As for the folks participating here are the divided days, courtesy of the NFL Network:
Group 1 (Kickers, special teamers and OL part 1), Group 2 (OL part 2) and Group 3 (RBs) arrive today in Indy. Today will be medical testings, interviews and registrations. This does not make for intriguing TV. It will be more of the same with some bench press stuff, measurements and the tests through Thursday. Most of the on-the-field traditional stuff of the underwear Olympics starts for these groups on Friday.
Group 4 (QB and WRs, part I), Group 5 (QBs and WRs, part II) and Group 6 (TEs) arrive Wednesday, following the same schedule before getting on the field Saturday for drills. Side note: In a class with this many quarterback story lines, if you think the scheduling of the QB drills being during the day on a weekend was an accident, well, you are wrong.
Groups 7 and 8 (DLs split into two) and Group 9 (LBs) arrive Thursday and get on the field Sunday. The DBs, Groups 10 and 11 because of large numbers, arrive Friday and will close the drills next Monday.
This and that
- While we are speaking of the combine, we will discuss some of the guys with the most to gain on Wednesday. Deal? Deal.
- We will also reload a mock draft as the combine starts Wednesday. But here's one mock draft from CBSsports.com that has one of the craziest twists we've seen in a while. The premise here is the Browns send picks 1, 4, 33 and 35 to the Colts for Andrew Luck. Oh my. It's not every day an in-your-prime, bona fide top-tier NFL starting QB - and Luck was all of the before the shoulder injury - gets dealt. But think what the Colts could add in terms of young talent considering they already have picks 3 and 36. That's six of the top 36 picks in the same draft. That would be, most likely, Sam Darold, Bradley Chubb and Saquon Barkley in the first four and a ton of line help in the early part of round two.
- Saw the decline "Rocket Jr. signed with Wyoming" and I thought, wow, that's a long way to go for Roger Clemens' kid. Gang, when I say "Rocket" do you think of Clemens or Raghib Ismail?
- Here's the story Stewwie referenced on Monday with former UTC coach Will Wade coming under the NCAA microscope. Of course the NCAA now must feel like Barney Fife trying to direct rush hour traffic on the Ridge Cut in his boxers.
- Side note: Anthony Davis is playing basketball like an absolute Dude right now. Complete and total Dude-ness with 53-18-5 last night. He now joins Bob McAdoo and Wilt on the list of NBA players with more than 50 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks in a game. Want more? He fouled out three Phoenix bigs trying to guard him. Man, too bad Boogie got hurt, because watching the West frontrunners and 3-point chuckers from Golden State and Houston have to deal with AD and Cousins would be a fun contrast of styles.
- NFL suing Jerry Jones for millions. Just passing it along.
- There are few people out there writing more thoughtful stuff about the NFL than Bill Bardwell. Dude is aces, and makes a ton of good points here on why the Blake Bortles deal is iffy at best.
Today's questions
True or false, the NCAA selection committee should leave Arizona out of the bracket.
True or false, the Browns should trade picks 1, 4, 33, and 35 for Andrew Luck.
True or false, if you all the NBA players were put into a redraft pool for the next 10 years, Anthony Davis should be the No. 1 overall pick.
And feel free to leave a True or False or three if so desired.
As for today, well, Tiger Woods made his PGA debut at age 16 in 1992.
Mardi Gras had its first New Orleans party on this day in 1827.
Elizabeth Taylor would have been 86 today. Gang, back in the day, total smokeshow.
Spock - Leonard Nimoy - died on this day in 2015.
Rushmore of TV aliens. Go.