Month: March 2017

Off The Boards

By Jack Scheuer

March 15, 2017 Edition

Tournament Edition

Here we are again , the most exciting time of the year, and though it may be hard to believe, this season’s NCAA tournament is shaping up as one of the most interesting ever, mainly because there are so many teams who could come away with the big prize.  The number one seeds naturally get the most attention, as well they should, but  teams like Duke, Louisville, Arizona  and Kentucky also have to be considered among the favorites.  In addition to those eight schools, there is  an inordinate amount  of “teams you wouldn’t want to play ” in the field.  And of course, there is also a strong possibility of a surprise team who will knock out at least one of the big boys.  It is probably  the deepest field in the history of the event.

Since the rest of the world has an opinion on the subject, Off the Boards feels obligated to put forth the following guesses, and I do mean guesses:

In the Final Four, I would have UCLA meeting Oregon, and Arizona playing Duke.   And in the final game of the season  I’m picking UCLA to battle Duke, with the Bruins becoming the National Champions.  My reasons are that UCLA has talent, the best freshman in the country in Lonzo Ball, and the best 6th man in Aaron Holiday, who would be a starter anywhere else. They also have size,  depth and are well-coached by Steve Alford.

And finally, if you are among those who like to make a wager or two, disregard all of the above.

 

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Some very interesting first round match-ups are on the docket.  Princeton – Notre Dame being one, and Northwestern another.  Can the Ivy Leaguers stay with the more talented Irish?  How about Northwestern in the tournament for the first time ever.  How far will they go?  And Wichita State, who everybody thought should have had a higher seed, will they prove the selectors wrong?  It’s all part of the drama we all have come to enjoy.

 

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Trivia Time: What player holds the record for most points in a NCAA tournament game? Answer at the end of the column.

 

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The St. Mary’s College Gaels have 7 players from Australia on the team.  Included among the mates is 6-11 center Jock Landale, who averages 17 points and over 9 rebounds per game.

 

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It is a possibility that if things go right Duke and North Carolina will meet for the fourth time this year in the national final.  And wouldn’t that be cool?

 

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So now it’s time to get ready for the best three weeks in sports. What we will most likely see are buzzer-beaters, upsets, overtimes, All-Americans and unlikely heroes.

In other words: Non-stop Good Hoops

 

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This will be the final edition of Off The Boards for the season.  Hope you enjoyed this year and we look forward to the 2017-18 season.

 

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The Trivia answer is; During the 1970 tournament, Notre Dame great Austin Carr poured in 61 points against Ohio.

 

Off The Boards

By Jack Scheuer

March 8, 2017 Edition

Trying to decide who is the National Player of the Year is a very tough proposition.  In fact, just to narrow it down to the top five choices is really difficult, but we’ll give it a try.

Villanova’s Josh Hart, who will be  voted the Big East’s top player, is certainly a well-qualified candidate.  Solid at both ends, he is the best player on the # 2 team in the country.

The same thing could be said about Frank Mason III of Kansas, who may have a little bit of an edge because his Jayhawks are currently ranked as the nation’s # 1 team.

Another strong candidate is Caleb Swanigan, the 6-9 sophomore from Big 10 champion Purdue, a double-double machine, who most people consider to be the best big man in college basketball.

Nigel Williams-Goss, Gonzaga’s 6-3 point guard, averages 16.7 a game for the Zags, who have lost just one game all season.  He leads the team in assists, and makes 90% of his free throws.

Finally, Lonzo Ball, the UCLA freshman, who averages 15 ppg, and is the nation’s assists leader.  He is also the main reason that the Bruins, who were 15-17 last season, are currently 28-3.

Arguments could certainly be made for others, such as Oregon’s Dillon Brooks and Carolina’s Justin Jackson, but  I’ll stick with the above five.

 

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How’s this for great free throw shooting: Oklahoma State’s 5-11 senior guard Phil Forte is 79 for 83 at the line. That’s 95.2 %.  Also among the leaders, is St. Joe’s Prep product Steve Vasturia. The Notre Damer is at 91%.

 

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Trivia Time : Who are the only three brothers to have played in the NBA? Answer at the end of the column.

 

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Lots of Coach of the Year candidates, but a surprise entry should be Northwestern’s Chris Collins. Doug’s son has his team primed to make the NCAA’s for the first time in the school’s history.  Even though they lost to Purdue before a rare packed-house home game, the Wildcats look like they deserve to be in the tournament.

 

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This and That: Highly-regarded freshman 6-3 Frank Jackson appears to finally be healthy, which means that Duke will be a factor in the Big Dance…. Still can’t figure out why Ersan Ilyasova didn’t fit in with The Process.  Maybe the Sixers had a problem  dealing with a healthy big guy?….Among the  underrated in college hoops is North Carolina’s point guard Joel Berry II, who can really play….How quickly they forget department: Good guy Kevin Ollie is on the hot seat at UConn….With its defeat by Wake Forest yesterday, Boston College has now lost 15 straight against ACC opponents…. Upcoming in league tournament games: Tonight, Saint Joe’s plays UMass; Tomorrow, Temple faces East Carolina, La Salle meets Davidson, and Villanova plays the winner of Georgetown-St. John’s;  On Saturday, at the Palestra, it’s Penn-Princeton….And whatever happened to Mo’ne Davis?

 

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Answer to Trivia Time: The Barry boys, Jon, Brent and Drew all played in the NBA.