an outside view

The college basketball season has sadly come to an end. Before we turn our attention to the games of summer, here are my final thoughts on the season in no particular order of importance.

-Sometimes I am impressed with my own lack of intellect. Two years ago I said Pat Summitt would never win another national title. She’s gone back-to-back. Maybe I should predict Bruce Pearl will never take the Vols to the Final Four. If I do, Vol fans can make their reservations for Detroit, host of next year’s finals.

-Everyone, including this writer, expected Indiana to come calling and make a serious run at hiring Bruce Pearl away from Rocky Top. Is he still being blackballed in the Big Ten or do the Hoosiers expect a coach to be able to take a team beyond the Sweet 16?

-University of Memphis fans were hoping an NCAA championship would bring national respect to the basketball program, the school, and the city. It didn’t happen and today Memphis is still a dirty city with problems that no basketball team can solve. The Tigers are still viewed as a good team in a second rate conference that finished second.

-Speaking of Memphis, I wonder if anyone will sign Coach Cal up for Coaching 101. If the course will cover what you do when you have a 3-point lead with less than 10 seconds left in the game, it may be worth his while to take the course.

-Kudos to Kansas Coach Bill Self. Following Roy Williams as coach of the Jayhawks was bad enough. But a couple of early exits from the tourney had the monkey squarely on his back. Now, he did what even Roy Williams couldn’t do. He brought a national title back to Lawrence, Kansas. Say good-bye to that old monkey.

-Is it possible that Chris Lofton and JaJuan Smith could leave and the Vols will actually be better next season? The answer is a definite yes.  With a Top 10 recruiting class on the way and redshirt freshman Cameron Tatum ready to go, the Vols will be longer and leaner and even deeper. That’s bead news for the rest of the SEC.

-Next season, the 3-point line in college basketball will be moved back to 20’9” inches.  It will definitely impact the game. The big question is can Wayne Chism bank them in from a foot further out? Time will tell. 

-Did anyone hear anything out of Don Imus after the Lady Vols took care of Stanford? I guess he has decided against interjecting his own brand of racism into the world of sports.

-We now hear that UT students will have to pay for tickets to football games. If the University follows suit for basketball, they can eliminate the student section. They don’t come when it’s free. Bruce Pearl has worked tirelessly to build interest in his program and despite putting a winning team on the court with an entertaining style of play student seats still go empty. It’s more than a little embarrassing for Pearl who has to try to convince prospects to come to UT where students couldn’t’ care less instead of going to Duke and playing in front of the Cameron Crazies.

-Now that all of the games have been played, I think I can safely say the best basketball was played in the Big 12. Oh sure, the ACC had North Carolina but the league wasn’t very deep this year. The Big East had depth but not the dominant teams. The Big 12 had both.  Kansas carried the Big 12 banner well and don’t forget Texas. The Longhorns hammered the Vols back in November but had to play second fiddle to the Jayhawks in league play.

-I was beginning to think that LSU had botched its search for a new coach when Travis Ford withdrew from consideration but they ended up with a good one who will add more punch to the SEC West. 

-How will John Pelphrey do at Arkansas now that the lion’s share of players he inherited are gone? He was blessed to have seven seniors on this team and the Hogs fared well. But now Pelphrey has to do it on his own.  He has a solid Top 15 recruiting class on the way but the league will be much tougher next season. Look for the Hogs to make a run at the NIT. 

-And the worse thing about college basketball being done? Roundball fans now have only the NBA.  Yawn!