NCAA Championship

[tornado]

odd how there's so little interest and nobody talking much on the boards about this...
as we see most of the top teams "buying" their talent....

But at last it's over -- some very talented players on those two teams and UK prevails.


But a few things of interest...

-first - this morning's local newspaper headline was this...
"Eighth "oneders" of the world"
....it takes a while but maybe you can decipher it...it has to be one of the silliest headlines I have ever seen

-then commentator Gary Williams said that he thought Kentucky would beat an NBA team -

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/blog/ken-berger/18116424/kentucky-could-beat-wizards-absurd-van-gundy-says

-on the radio broadcast - they repeatedly referred to their colleague Bill Walton as "THE best college basketball player to ever play the game"...
which made me laugh when I thought about Lew Alcindor, Bill Russell, Pete Maravich, Larry Bird, Oscar Robertson, and a few others that I would put ahead of Walton -
who had 5, 6 and 7 other NBA players on his squad to help his team win.
As a senior there were seven other NBA players on UCLA with him and three others were 1st rounders.

-the National Anthem was the single most horrible rendition I have ever heard

[tornado]

gunfire, violence, fires, dozens of arrests - in Lexington, KY

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/story/2012-04-03/arrests-again-follow-kentucky-victory/53960920/1?csp=34sports&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+UsatodaycomCollegeMensBasketball-TopStories+%28Sports+-+College+Men%27s+Basketball+-+Top+Stories%29

[Da Coach]

Here is an article lauding Kentucky's Anthony Davis that I thought was slightly presumptuous-
Anthony Davis ready to claim a spot next to NBA??™s all-time best centers

http://sportingnews.com/nba/story/2012-04-03/anthony-davis-nba-draft-2012-john-calipari-kentucky-wildcats-bill-russell

Really? He's pretty good, but I don't think we can place him "next to NBA's all-time best centers" just yet.

[tornado]

that article is probably written by the guy who said John Riek was going to jump right to the NBA and dominate..

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/the_bonus/12/05/john.riek/

[patrick_o'brian]

This year's Final Four was very entertaining. 3 great ball games, great officiating, exciting finishes, and great locale. One thing that I gathered from this that pertains to a certain coach getting dismissed from a certain state school is if you watched the first game, Louisville-Kentucky, is the raw talent of Wayne Blackshear of Louisville and Andrew Davis of Kentucky. Two of many talented Chicago kids that Bruce Weber missed out on that ultimately cost him his job. You only look at those two players and see what talent really is in this state and it is mesmerizing. I can see Wayne Blackshear turning into an absolute superstar. He came on late due to an injury but give this kid sometime and he's gonna be great!

[mrcoachdude]

Here is an article lauding Kentucky's Anthony Davis that I thought was slightly presumptuous-
Anthony Davis ready to claim a spot next to NBA??™s all-time best centers

http://sportingnews.com/nba/story/2012-04-03/anthony-davis-nba-draft-2012-john-calipari-kentucky-wildcats-bill-russell

Really? He's pretty good, but I don't think we can place him "next to NBA's all-time best centers" just yet.

Especially since he will be a forward.....

[sousaman2089]

He'll probably play center, unless he goes somewhere with an established center (Sacramento, Detroit). People keep saying he's not tall enough to play center. If Dwight Howard at 6'11'' can be the most dominant center in the game, if Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins can guard any center when they're both 6'10'', I think Anthony Davis will do just fine. His defensive prowess is something that can't be taught or replicated.

[bert notorius]

I didn't even fill out a bracket.

[TheAsianSensation]

Davis fits more as a 4 to me, IMO. He's versatile enough defensively that you don't want to trap him in the paint, despite his ability to block shots. He's a guy you throw out to defend LeBron, Durant, Dirk, and other 4s. At least that's how I would use him (although putting him at 5 and helping on the weak side is also appetizing)

[SFP]

He is a 4 in the NBA right now until he puts his time in the weight room. Dwight Howard would own him in the paint right now.

[sousaman2089]

Dwight Howard NOW would definitely own Davis, but Dwight Howard is a good person to compare Davis to. Dwight Howard came into the league offensively raw, 6'10'' and picked by many prognosticators to play the four, and even the NBA listed as a forward and not a center on draft day. It took three season for Dwight to fill out physically and get to the level he's at now. I expect Davis to do about the same thing.

[tornado]

When Dwight Howard was in high school he was actually a pretty skinny guy - not too unlike Anthony Davis

[jasonpeoria911]

Yah the Fray's version of the Anthem was bad but I think tonight's version by that mexican guy at the Marlins/Cardinals game was the absolute worst i've heard.

Looked up an attendance stat last night, the Men's Championship had 71,000 attendance, the women's championship only had 20,000 LOL.

Jason

odd how there's so little interest and nobody talking much on the boards about this...

-the National Anthem was the single most horrible rendition I have ever heard

[sousaman2089]

I know a regional semi-final in the women's tournament had around 2,600 in attendance.

[Rusty 54]

When I see Anthony Davis and think about NBA comparisons, I think of he could turn into Chris Bosh with better shot blocking ability. He can shoot and dribble well for his size. I don't see him putting on weight like Howard, but who knows.