Off The Boards
By Jack Scheuer
April 1, 2015 Edition
The NCAA tournament has been terrific,as usual, with several of the one-and-doners having very prominent roles, although that might not be too popular with the academic community. I am among the many that would like to see at least one more year added before a player can sign a pro contract. I also wonder how many of this year’s rentals attend class once the new champion has been decided. The all-powerful NCAA might want to put their investigation committee on that one. Since the tournament continues to be so popular, with ratings and revenues sky high, I doubt there will be a change in the rules. It just seems to me that the college basketball world would be much better served if one-and-done was replaced with stay-and-play.
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Another suggestion that will no doubt be ignored, would be to cut back on the amount of timeouts allowed, which accounts for the bombardment of commercials we’ve been subjected to throughout the tournament. Charles Barkley stops being funny after the 10th time, and by now I know what a Buick looks like. Chances of having less commercials? Zero, as in Coke.
Enough complaining, because fortunately, the games themselves have been outstanding.
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Trivia Time: Since this is the last “Boards” for the season, I’ll make it a double. Who are the all-time leading scorers at Duke and Kentucky? Answers at the end of the column.
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Hard not to feel bad for seniors like T.J. McConnell, Gary Bell Jr., Kevin Pankos, Pat Connaughton and Jerian Grant, who tried so hard to get their teams to the Final Four .All five had outstanding careers.
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This and That: As if Drexel hasn’t had enough bad luck, now its best player, Damion Lee, has decided to play his final season elsewhere. He’s a Baltimore native, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up at Maryland….Look for Domantas Sabonis to be Arizona’s next All American. Only 19, he’s 6-10, 230, with loads of talent, and he certainly has the genes. Son of Arvydas, he wears dad’s # 11….Two guys who have really come on in the tournament are Sam Dekker and Justise Winslow. Dekker seems to have grown 2 inches since last year….I think Wisconsin is the only team with a chance against Kentucky, and that’s a slim one. Let’s face it, no matter what you think of John Calipari, the man can coach.
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Answers to Trivia Time: J.J. Redick, and Dan Issel……….. Enjoy the Final Four, and have a good summer.
Hi Jack,
Big fan here in Wisconsin. Today’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Stephen A. Smith on ESPN yesterday suggested John Calipari blew it the last two minutes of the Wisconsin game. According to the MJS at a timeout under 2 minutes he exclaimed “What We Do Now?” to his coaches. It was part of a Bo Ryan support story about Bo’s great preparation. Question: With 8-9 McDonald’s All Americans does Calipari need to prepare to the extent of teams with a fraction of that talent? I’m guessing it doesn’t take much coaching to go deep in the NCAA tournament with such overwhelming talent. Lastly, why did Calipari NOT go inside to Karl Anthony-Towns (81% foul shooter) in the last 2 minutes vs. the Badgers? Best Regards from Wisconsin, Scott