Category: NCAA Basketball

We can dream

From the Los Angeles Times, Does Arizona Have the Past on Its Side?:

As Arizona looks nervously ahead to selection Sunday after losing to Washington in the Pac-10 tournament Friday, some are noting that Lute Olson’s only national championship team was a youthful group that bumped through the conference season with an 11-7 record and lost four of its last nine regular-season games.

So did this one.

The similiarities don’t end there. Read more.

Good way to look at it

Via Morning Briefing in the Los Angeles Times:

Stanford’s Matt Lottich found a silver lining in the Cardinal’s loss to Washington on Saturday at Seattle, where pandemonium broke out after the game.

“To see a team so happy when they beat you, you must be pretty good,” Lottich said.

Dr. J’s hair apparent

Scott Ostler in the San Francisco Chronicle on Stanford’s Josh Childress: Childress’ Afro, reminiscent of Julius Erving’s, is a classic.

It is a marvel of structural engineering, a symbol of individual expression, a campus landmark, a relic, and a magnet for women.

Behold Josh Childress’ Afro.

For young Stanford fans, the only thing cooler than a Josh Childress autograph is a touch of the ‘fro.

“Can I feel your Afro?” asks one of three 8-year-old boys who have spotted Childress in a nearly empty Maples Pavilion an hour after a recent game.

Six wide eyes lock on the junior forward’s ‘do as he tilts it slightly toward them.

“That’s fluffy!”

“AWE-some!”

Take a look.

‘Cats basketball

The Wildcats men’s basketball team is at McArthur Court in Eugene tonight to play the Ducks for second place in the Pac 10. (Oregon is tied with Cal a half game behind Arizona; Washington is another half game back.)

The ‘Cats have great athletes this year but don’t always succeed as a team. They’ve lost games to USC and Washington that they should have won.

To this observer the key seems to be Salim Stoudamire. When he’s hot, they’re nearly unbeatable. Last week he averaged 28.0 points against USC and UCLA and Arizona blew them both away. (Stoudamire was Pac 10 player of the week.)

A month ago I figured the Wildcats wouldn’t make the Sweet 16. Now I’m not so sure. After all, a fourth seed in the NCAA (which they’re on target for now, ranked 13/14) was ideal in 1997 (National Champions).

Tonight will be a good indication.

Coach Olson

From UA superstitions in the Arizona Daily Star:

But when Olson doesn’t feel right, even if the outward appearance is fine, it gets worse. The Wildcats can lose.

On Feb. 16, 2002, the normally well-prepared Olson forgot a critical element in his game-day efforts at USC.

He had the defensive assignments parceled out. The pre-game talk prepared. The offensive sets planned.

But there was no red necktie in his hotel room.

He called associate head coach Jim Rosborough, who thought he had the perfect tie for Olson to borrow: red with navy stripes.

Olson wore it to the game, and Rosborough was relieved. He had no reason to worry.

Arizona lost 94-89.

“He gave it back to me and said, ‘You need to burn this tie,'” Rosborough said.

NewMexiKen hopes Olson has all the essential clothing when he gets to Pauley Pavilion this afternoon.

Yesterday, November 28, 2003…

a date which will live in University of Arizona infamy. The football ‘Cats lose to ASU 28-7 to complete their worst season — won 2, lost 10. Last in the Pac 10 in offense, defense and special teams. Two freakin’ field goals all season!

Then the basketball ‘Cats lose to Florida 78-77. No points in the final 2:37. Hello, the game is played for 40 minutes!

Coach Olson: “I’ve often said I would rather lose a game like this than beat some team by 40. We can take a lot out of this game. We have a lot to learn.”

NewMexiKen agrees, the games don’t mean a lot until March if you win enough of them (and Arizona surely will). But Coach, can we run a few more plays? The team with the best athletes doesn’t always prevail.

Not so sweet 16

The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport published a report earlier this year on graduation rates for the Sweet 16 NCAA basketball teams. Their chart is here.

The colleges rate from 0% graduating to 86%; the average rate for the 16 for all basketball players is 44%, for African-American players it’s 39%. This is certainly not surprising, and perhaps even higher than expected, but Oklahoma (0/0), Maryland (14/11), Arizona (15/9) and national champion Syracuse (25/0) surely need to re-think their approach. (According to the NCAA the overall graduation rate for incoming freshmen at these schools is Oklahoma 54%, Maryland 69%, Arizona 55% and Syracuse 77%.)