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College Basketball 2007-8 (part two)

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    College Basketball 2007-8 (part two)

    I always hate the long wait between the round of 32 and the Sweet 16 games.

    But we start again tonight. UCLA hoping to avoid being the first number 1 seed to lose to a 12, and to play a good game and quiet some of the complaints about the Bruins coming from the media.

    #2
    College Basketball 2007-8 (part two)

    Davidson have become "America's Favorite Team", haven't they?

    Go Bruins.

    Comment


      #3
      College Basketball 2007-8 (part two)

      Yes, they have. Hard to think of them as Cinderellas when they have the tournament's best player (so far).

      On the old thread, some fun was had at USC offering Lil Romeo a scholarship. I just found this today, but the WSJ a few weeks ago ran a verrrry in-ter-est-ing article on how that went down, and how USC's top recruit fits into that. You also get a sense of Tim Floyd's recruiting magic--let someone else tell you they're going to be playing for you:

      Romeo Miller is a 5-foot-10 point guard with a bad knee. He has never played a full season of high-school basketball. This season, he averaged 8.6 points a game for Beverly Hills High School, which finished last in its league.

      But next fall, the 18-year-old will suit up for the University of Southern California, a program in the tough Pac-10 conference. And he will receive a full basketball scholarship valued at $44,400 a year.

      The scholarship, which is the talk of college recruiters, is a perfect L.A. story, intermingling money, show business and basketball. Besides being an average point guard, Mr. Miller is an actor and singer known as Lil' Romeo, and the son of a wealthy music mogul. Some question whether the Millers took advantage of their resources -- and their relationship with Demar DeRozan of Compton, Calif., one of the top high-school basketball players in America -- to win the scholarship over more talented and less privileged athletes.

      Bob Gibbons, who oversees the scouting service All-Star Sports, says he was "shocked" when he heard about USC's offer. "It's very rare to give a scholarship to someone who may never play."
      ...
      The Millers first met Mr. DeRozan when he joined their club team as an eighth-grader. A highflying, muscular prodigy, Mr. DeRozan started dunking when he was 12. At Compton High School, he led the basketball team to consecutive league titles, averaging 29.2 points per game and making 80% of his two-point shots this past season. The 6-foot-6 All-American forward is rated as the No. 5 prospect in the country on Scout.com.

      Mr. DeRozan has traveled with the Millers to tournaments around the country over the years. He has eaten holiday meals and slept over often at their house in Bel-Air. "A couple times I had to get him and it was like, 'Boy, you got to come home,'" says Frank DeRozan, Demar's father.

      Mr. Floyd has closely monitored Mr. DeRozan. A former NBA head coach in Chicago and New Orleans, Mr. Floyd was hired by USC in 2005 to energize a struggling program in time for the 2006 debut of the Galen Center, a $147 million, 10,250-seat on-campus arena. Since he was hired, the team has landed several talented players -- notably O.J. Mayo, the freshman guard who was the country's top high-school recruit last year.

      After years of minuscule attendance, the team has averaged about 8,200 fans a game over the last two seasons. Last year, USC won a school-record 25 games and advanced to the "Sweet 16" of the NCAA Tournament. Mike Garrett, USC's athletic director, says the team now turns a profit.

      Mr. Floyd was introduced to Percy Miller years ago in Louisiana. Last April, Mr. Floyd says, Percy Miller called while driving both players from a tournament in Fayetteville, Ark. Percy Miller said "Demar and Romeo are ready to make their decision, and would you like to have them both on scholarship?" remembers Mr. Floyd. "I said absolutely."
      There's more good stuff--like Romeo fudging who was recruiting him (no one, but that's not what he says). It's worth following the link just to read the comparison chart they came up with.

      Comment


        #4
        College Basketball 2007-8 (part two)

        They should have given him the Reggie Bush Memorial Scholarship . . .

        I may hate USC even more than you do.

        Comment


          #5
          College Basketball 2007-8 (part two)

          Please, please. There's enough for everyone to hate USC without saying who does more.

          But seriously, I think the article leaves it unsaid, but clearly implied--it's quite easy to see a quid pro quo there, no?

          Comment


            #6
            College Basketball 2007-8 (part two)

            Of course, it was a classic package deal.

            What makes it especially galling is that Lil' Romeo's dad could pay for a USC "education" with his pin money.

            Comment


              #7
              College Basketball 2007-8 (part two)

              Re: Stephen Curry
              The World needs another Reggie Miller. The World hasn't been the same since Reggie Miller left. I miss Reggie Miller. I want another Reggie Miller. Hopefully this is the Reggie Miller that can win titles.

              Re: Lil Romeo
              If they want to give a scholarship to a kid whose knee "wobble-wobbles" in an effort to pack the house full of teenage girls who will get a picture with the kid that they grew up listening to on Disney Radio and watching on the Disney channel - hell it's their money and reputation.

              Not that Master P would ever stoop to implying that basketball prowess would mean addition street credibility for his records. Obviously his stint with the Charlotte Hornets was due to his incredible defense and shotmaking abilities.

              Comment


                #8
                College Basketball 2007-8 (part two)

                Glad to see you made it, jv.

                Curry needs to make Spike Lee cry before we start calling him the new Reggie Miller.

                And yes, it's USC's money, but the they were going to spend that money on someone anyway. Div I basketball scholarships are a scarce commodity, and the fact that they gave one to that guy necessarily means that someone more deserving didn't get the chance to spend four years with the Spoiled Children.

                Comment


                  #9
                  College Basketball 2007-8 (part two)

                  ursus arctos wrote:
                  And yes, it's USC's money, but the they were going to spend that money on someone anyway. Div I basketball scholarships are a scarce commodity, and the fact that they gave one to that guy necessarily means that someone more deserving didn't get the chance to spend four years with the Spoiled Children.
                  I'm happy to let USC make themselves look more like assclowns. But man, that deal stinks to high heaven. Seeing how close DeRozan is with Romeo and Master P, I don't think it takes too much cynicism to wonder if DeRozan is getting anything else out of the friendship besides a buddy on the basketball team. But Mike Garrett (USC AD) doesn't seem to care about raising suspicions.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    College Basketball 2007-8 (part two)

                    Sorry, yeah, I thought you knew about that Inca. That's why I brought it up on the old board.

                    Just curious: all other things being equal, do you all tend to root for or against your league's other teams in the tourney? For instance, my dad makes it a point to root for ACC teams, even UNC and Duke. I know *a lot* of people who do this too, although they frequently make exceptions for one or two bitter rivals.

                    Personally, I don't get it. I want nothing but failure for all other ACC teams.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      College Basketball 2007-8 (part two)

                      I can't bring myself to actively root for USC or Stanford, but I root for any other Pac-10 team in the tourney, and I prefer to see SC or Stanford win than lose, just so the conference looks good. When USC and Arizona both lost, people like Bob Knight and others on ESPN said stuff like "we heard all year how good the Pac-10 is, and I think this shows it's overrated" (and left unsaid but pretty clear is "this is why we don't pay attention to the Pac-10") USC flat choked and got in foul trouble early, while Arizona shouldn't have been in it to begin with.

                      I also root for any other local schools in it.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        College Basketball 2007-8 (part two)

                        I'm rather similar to Inca in this respect. Cal first, then UCLA, then the Washington and Oregon schools. Stanford and USC to lose ALWAYS (even when playing each other), and I'm so old that I don't really consider the Arizona schools as counting.

                        As far as the Ivies go, Princeton used to annoy me in the pre-shot clock era, but even that passed. In hockey, our bete noire was always Cornell. Crew was different, but that was largely because I competed against all of them and couldn't help wanting them all to lose.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          College Basketball 2007-8 (part two)

                          Another OT. I have to wonder what the modern day record is for most OTs in a tournament. This one must be approaching it.

                          Sorry to see WVU go down, but I'd feel much worse if Pittsnoggle was still playing.

                          If making Spike Lee cry is the only qualification to be a Reggie Miller, then how to you explain the Isaiah era ?

                          This Tennessee-Lousiville is shaping up as The Shit. Crazy Hot Pressing B-Ball. Awesome play on that saving the ball from out of bounds by Tennessee.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            College Basketball 2007-8 (part two)

                            I can't believe what shit I'm seeing with UCLA.

                            (of course they got it back to up by 12 now)

                            Basically, UCLA played as perfect a first half as could be expected. Then they got in foul trouble with their guards--Collison fouled out. Then WKU got hot with the 3s, and put on a full court press, and forced turnovers (UCLA with 1 in the 1st, currently with 12 in the 2nd).

                            Comment


                              #15
                              College Basketball 2007-8 (part two)

                              15 seconds left, and it looks like we're going to get away with this one. A huge doff of the cap to Western Kentucky, and now their coach has emptied the bench to put everyone in the game. Good one.

                              Comment


                                #16
                                College Basketball 2007-8 (part two)

                                JV, making Spike cry is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition to Millerdom.

                                UCLA will need to play for more than 20 minutes against Xavier. UNC are looking very difficult to beat.

                                Comment


                                  #17
                                  College Basketball 2007-8 (part two)

                                  Western Kentucky is one of those teams that is like hard candy that gets stuck in your teeth. Like I said, they took out the 92 Seton Hall team that had their best class ever - basically the Seniors that got recruited after their 89 title game run. Scrappy to the nth degree.

                                  Louisville absolutely disemboweled Tennessee. Just took a samurai sword to their intestines and slopped them all over the floor. Tennessee looked great for 5 minutes, then got stomped like a stinkbug. As good as NC is looking, Louisville may take them out. They have the D, the effective rebounding/put-back big man, the 3-point shooting, the quick guard play, and obviously the coaching.

                                  I don't know, I'm really feeling this tournament. It's been a blast for me so far.

                                  Comment


                                    #18
                                    College Basketball 2007-8 (part two)

                                    I would love it, love it, if Louisville beat NC. I've been a big Pitino fan back since his days at UK, and I still like him, and I don't really dislike Louisville all that much even though I like UK.

                                    UCLA was bailed out yet again by Kevin Love. I don't think I've seen a freshman with his poise and sense of calm. The team went from up by 21 to only 4, and he led them back.

                                    Since the refs were obviously not shy about using the whistle against UCLA last night, the ESPN guys will have to revert back to the usual "UCLA is a vulnerable team" line. They seem to win every game that they should lose. You could say that's being vulnerable, but after a team does that more than twice (and they've done it about 6 or 7 times now this season), maybe you'd start to think that instead of being vulnerable, they're actually a very strong team that finds a way to win.

                                    3 Elite Eights in a row for UCLA. That's a first since the John Wooden era. Ben Howland is my hero. No, wait--Lorenzo Mata-Real is my hero:



                                    I never get tired of that picture.

                                    Comment


                                      #19
                                      College Basketball 2007-8 (part two)

                                      This is turning into a historically bad night of games.

                                      Comment


                                        #20
                                        College Basketball 2007-8 (part two)

                                        Man, I'm pretty disappointed in Michigan State. I think Memphis knew a lot of people were doubting them because of their conference, and wanted to make a statement against a big conference opponent.

                                        But it can't be that bad if Davidson won. Even if they don't make it to the Final Four, Curry's my pick for MOP.

                                        Comment


                                          #21
                                          College Basketball 2007-8 (part two)

                                          It stunk, but watching Curry was exhilirating. That bit when he did the little dinkiest dink to fake the Wisconsin defender, looked around to see if anyone was coming (since the first defender was now in the second row of fans,) and hit the 3 - followed by that spinning reverse layup, followed by that NBA 3, was awesome. I hope that bitch can beat Kansas.

                                          So Memphis was ripe for the pickin ? Shit, their ripe for the pickin all right - as in pickin them as champs.

                                          Comment


                                            #22
                                            College Basketball 2007-8 (part two)

                                            I would also make a joke about it being a bad year for Virginia Tech and good shooters, but I don't think I'd be able to look in the mirror if I did.

                                            Comment


                                              #23
                                              College Basketball 2007-8 (part two)

                                              I wonder if this could be the year where all four No.1 seeds can make it to the Final Four. I didn't give Kansas much respect, but every single coach that's been on Pardon the Interruption have picked Kansas to win it all if their team didn't. When all the coaches pick you, that's a good sign.

                                              Comment


                                                #24
                                                College Basketball 2007-8 (part two)

                                                Well, one #1 seed looks safe--UCLA is playing their best game in at least a month.

                                                Comment


                                                  #25
                                                  College Basketball 2007-8 (part two)

                                                  Good game. I must admit I got a little sad seeing the Xavier seniors crying after the game. That's the bitch with knockout tournaments...if you're good enough to get in, there's a 98% chance that your season - and career - are going to end in a crushing defeat.

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