The Lava Lamp Nine -- Big Nod to SI's Grant Wahl...
....whose weekly "'Bag" is just about the most must read college bball stuff in the nation.
Hell, it is.
====================================
The National Champ is simply GOING to come out of this group. Or your money back, no questions asked...
(1) The current favorite to win it all this year is Kansas. They have two of everything, incredible athleticism, dual point guards whom we trust (Is Sherron Collins the 21st Century Gene Smith of G-Town, plus scoring? Love his 'tude and demeanor. Does Collins really crap thunder, or is that just something we picked up watching a Rocky movie? Love his game. Just grow a bit, huh, Sherron?) Darrell Arthur and Julian Wright, with Sasha Kaun for D and other goodies, are the best frontcourt trio right now. And that includes Carolina and Florida. The Gators are thin up front after the lithe shot blocker Noah and moster-mashing Horford. UNC, for all its talent, just ain't playing defense right now. They forced 9 damn turnovers the other night and gave up +50% shooting. That just can't happen, though we're glad to see the "real" lineup finally installed, especially in the backcourt. If you can't trust Roy Willimas to get them right, you can't trust anybody.
Anyway, you can figure out who (2) and (3) are. And in case we forget, THIS IS A GREAT YEAR for the college game. The NBA's draft shenanigans will be ultimately found illegal, but damn it's nice to have ya for a year, kids.
So...
(4) UCLA -- Not enough inside presence to go against the other monsters listed here. Mota plays at full tilt full time, but has no big man help. Love the midrange guys, especially Mbah a Moute, Aboya, and the frosh Wright. Love Collison, as detailed a while back, but Westbrook is no point guard. Stop shooting every time you get the ball, kid. And we are not crazy about the shot happy upperclassmen Afflalo and Shipp. They've played that way since arrival, but do they have to? Winning a title gives you a chance at The League, guys. Not shooting every time you get the ball. If you can play, they'll find you. There has never been anything to the "showcase my skills" crap that agents and hangers on fill young athlete's heads with. Anyone who says this to you is full of shit. Just play. Just win.
(5) Ohio State -- How in the world can Greg Oden be better than we ever dreamt? How is this possible? It's incredible. The kid is actually better than the hype, in every way. At least when viewed through the "'Pent Prism" known as cable tv. He is the fucking real fucking deal, 6 9 or 6 10 or legit 7. The next 10 years will be occupied by Oden -- Yao matchups that will cause the earth to tremble. Wow. And Cook, Conley, and the other Buckeyes are nasty. Love Conley. How can HE be better than we thought? Smart, smart player. But can he dunk? Ain't that weird. Cook better get his game face on. Do you want to be Ray Allen with a killer drive? Or do you want to be the next Baby Jordan (Harold Minor, for the kids who are too young)? Get serious and TWISY, young man.
(6) Wisconsin -- How can they ball like that in the frozen tundra? Stevens Point used to kick ass in DIII, ***, Marquette has had about thirty teams that could really play during the last four decades. And in the last ten years, Wisconsin has done more with only a couple of NBA players than anyone, thanks to their coaching staff and the hard work of their players. Plus, the crowds in that state are always nuts. Do they not feed them for the 10 hours prior to a football or basketball or hockey game in that state? They all sound like raving lunatics. Big fun. The Wisconsin b-ball season rides on their big men, because they have a lot of talent elsewhere. Can they get 25 and 12 per out of their 3 big guys for three weekends in a row? If so, they have a shot to win it all.
(7) Oregon -- Never thought we'd have such good things to say about this squad. But they are good. If Oregon doesn't funk it up with a three or four game Pac-10 losing streak in the next month, they can get to the Final Four. Their smalls are superquick, though streaky. And their bigs are good, too, in a lot of nice ways. A top 10 team.
(8) our own wild card, the University of Washington. You know that Hawes kicks ass, Pondexter, too. Brockman. It goes on and on. They just need to get healthy and put some wins together in February. Romar for Guv of WA.
(9) the perennial choice, Arizona. We think that Shakur is still not there, despite being at the end of his career. The senior may be near the top of the NCAA in assists, but we wonder about him. Not confident and thinks too much or too little, we can't tell. Love Budinger, Williams, etc. They can score and run and defend. But does Zona settle for quick shots too often? We don't think they'll be there at the last weekend's go round, but then nobody thought that Bibby, Simon, and Dickerson would get out of the first weekend a decade ago, either. Another decade of Lute-ball would be just grand.
So there you have it.
For refunds if, say USC or Pitt win it all, email us at SoccerNut@SI.com for the refund check.
*** Edit 1/18/07. UW-Platteville, too. Luke Winn's SI Power Rankings ain't too bad, neither.
Hell, it is.
====================================
The National Champ is simply GOING to come out of this group. Or your money back, no questions asked...
(1) The current favorite to win it all this year is Kansas. They have two of everything, incredible athleticism, dual point guards whom we trust (Is Sherron Collins the 21st Century Gene Smith of G-Town, plus scoring? Love his 'tude and demeanor. Does Collins really crap thunder, or is that just something we picked up watching a Rocky movie? Love his game. Just grow a bit, huh, Sherron?) Darrell Arthur and Julian Wright, with Sasha Kaun for D and other goodies, are the best frontcourt trio right now. And that includes Carolina and Florida. The Gators are thin up front after the lithe shot blocker Noah and moster-mashing Horford. UNC, for all its talent, just ain't playing defense right now. They forced 9 damn turnovers the other night and gave up +50% shooting. That just can't happen, though we're glad to see the "real" lineup finally installed, especially in the backcourt. If you can't trust Roy Willimas to get them right, you can't trust anybody.
Anyway, you can figure out who (2) and (3) are. And in case we forget, THIS IS A GREAT YEAR for the college game. The NBA's draft shenanigans will be ultimately found illegal, but damn it's nice to have ya for a year, kids.
So...
(4) UCLA -- Not enough inside presence to go against the other monsters listed here. Mota plays at full tilt full time, but has no big man help. Love the midrange guys, especially Mbah a Moute, Aboya, and the frosh Wright. Love Collison, as detailed a while back, but Westbrook is no point guard. Stop shooting every time you get the ball, kid. And we are not crazy about the shot happy upperclassmen Afflalo and Shipp. They've played that way since arrival, but do they have to? Winning a title gives you a chance at The League, guys. Not shooting every time you get the ball. If you can play, they'll find you. There has never been anything to the "showcase my skills" crap that agents and hangers on fill young athlete's heads with. Anyone who says this to you is full of shit. Just play. Just win.
(5) Ohio State -- How in the world can Greg Oden be better than we ever dreamt? How is this possible? It's incredible. The kid is actually better than the hype, in every way. At least when viewed through the "'Pent Prism" known as cable tv. He is the fucking real fucking deal, 6 9 or 6 10 or legit 7. The next 10 years will be occupied by Oden -- Yao matchups that will cause the earth to tremble. Wow. And Cook, Conley, and the other Buckeyes are nasty. Love Conley. How can HE be better than we thought? Smart, smart player. But can he dunk? Ain't that weird. Cook better get his game face on. Do you want to be Ray Allen with a killer drive? Or do you want to be the next Baby Jordan (Harold Minor, for the kids who are too young)? Get serious and TWISY, young man.
(6) Wisconsin -- How can they ball like that in the frozen tundra? Stevens Point used to kick ass in DIII, ***, Marquette has had about thirty teams that could really play during the last four decades. And in the last ten years, Wisconsin has done more with only a couple of NBA players than anyone, thanks to their coaching staff and the hard work of their players. Plus, the crowds in that state are always nuts. Do they not feed them for the 10 hours prior to a football or basketball or hockey game in that state? They all sound like raving lunatics. Big fun. The Wisconsin b-ball season rides on their big men, because they have a lot of talent elsewhere. Can they get 25 and 12 per out of their 3 big guys for three weekends in a row? If so, they have a shot to win it all.
(7) Oregon -- Never thought we'd have such good things to say about this squad. But they are good. If Oregon doesn't funk it up with a three or four game Pac-10 losing streak in the next month, they can get to the Final Four. Their smalls are superquick, though streaky. And their bigs are good, too, in a lot of nice ways. A top 10 team.
(8) our own wild card, the University of Washington. You know that Hawes kicks ass, Pondexter, too. Brockman. It goes on and on. They just need to get healthy and put some wins together in February. Romar for Guv of WA.
(9) the perennial choice, Arizona. We think that Shakur is still not there, despite being at the end of his career. The senior may be near the top of the NCAA in assists, but we wonder about him. Not confident and thinks too much or too little, we can't tell. Love Budinger, Williams, etc. They can score and run and defend. But does Zona settle for quick shots too often? We don't think they'll be there at the last weekend's go round, but then nobody thought that Bibby, Simon, and Dickerson would get out of the first weekend a decade ago, either. Another decade of Lute-ball would be just grand.
So there you have it.
For refunds if, say USC or Pitt win it all, email us at SoccerNut@SI.com for the refund check.
*** Edit 1/18/07. UW-Platteville, too. Luke Winn's SI Power Rankings ain't too bad, neither.
posted by joe sweeney at 1:38 PM
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