College Hoops Observations: The Calm Before the Storm

I’m writing this before Duke plays BC tonight because if Duke loses I won’t write another one of these until just before the NCAA tournament. So here’s the random thoughts I’ve got going on:

Ty Lawson won ACC Player of the Year, which I actually agree with because he was the most indispensable player on the best team in the conference. In fact, his importance is so great, that unc may lose to VT today since he isn’t playing. But the larger point is that Cryler “Shuffles” Hansbrough didn’t win the conference MVP. So prior to the season the pundits basically handed unc the National Title because they could foresee no way that they could lose to anybody and marketed Cryler as the greatest college basketball player in the past decade and the easy choice for National Player of the Year. As it turns out, unc did lose to people and Hansbrough isn’t even the best player on his own team.

In other Cryler news, did you know he has taken the second most free throws in NCAA history? Personally I file this in the same category as the fact that Michael Jordan never fouled out of an NBA game in his entire career. Think about that; Jordan never ever fouled out of an NBA game. How likely is it that he never committed 6 fouls in game? Not likely. The reality is that the NBA has two sets of rules, one for superstars and one for everybody else. So Jordan got away with fouls that would’ve been called on other players. I think “Shuffles” is in the same position. I have never seen any player get bailed out by the refs more than Hansbrough. He goes up with an akward shot and the refs immediately blow for a foul. So am I surprised that he has taken the second most foul shots in NCAA history? No, not at all.

Speaking of players I can’t stand, why does no one point out how much of an asshole Eric Devendorf? If you don’t know who he is, he’s the white guy covered in “tats” who plays for Syracuse. He’s a good player, but in November he apparently pulled a Chris Brown and hit a female student. Here’s where things get interesting. The student body government decided he should be suspended for the entire academic year. If that seems like a harsh punishment, keep in mind that he was involved in a previous altercation during the spring of 2008. So he’s nothing if not consistent. Anyway, Coach Jim Boehiem, who is a good friend of Coach K but I’m going to kill him anyway, decided that losing his best player for a whole year due to slapping a chick was unfair so he and Eric “Chris Brown” Devendorf appealed the decision and won. Hence, Devendorf is on the court for Syracuse. Now, you’d think after all that the guy would be humble and keep a low profile. However, I’ve watch Syracuse play in the Big East tournament and Devendorf spends the entire game trash talking, clapping his hands in other people’s faces, popping his jersey, making faces, and mugging for the cameras. The guy is a total asshole and yet, the Big East loving ESPN media never mention this. “Boy, Devendorf is really intense.” So there you go Chris Brown, just tell the judge you are “intense” and you’ll be forgiven.

Here’s a great article about how the ACC Tournament being played in the Georgia Dome is retarded. The journalist is actually much nicer than I would have been, but the overall point is that they basically cut the Georgia Dome in half and then couldn’t even sell out half of the venue. But Swofford’s defense is that they sold more tickets, even though they didn’t sell out, than they would’ve if they had sold out a venue like the Greensboro Coliseum. Maybe that’s true, but all that proves is that for the sake of more money, Swofford and his douche bag cronies are willing to play in a quarter full football stadium where you can’t really see the action on the court instead of playing somewhere that oozes atmosphere and tradition. Once again, good job Swofford (who, by the way, went to unc).

I love that Georgia Tech randomly beat Clemson. I’ve said this before, but here it goes again. Clemson folds under pressure because they schedule a bunch of cupcakes to start the season. Yes, that does mean that they get to start the year with a 16-0 record, but it also means that you never get pushed and therefore never grow as a team. Dollars to donuts says they lose in the first or second round and don’t look at all good in the NCAA tournament.

Duke made the move to put Elliot Williams in the starting lineup after the losing at BC. So tonight we get to see if that move was just a band aid or if it actually made Duke a substantially better team. That’s all I’ll say about the game because nothing makes me more nervous and antsy than Duke in the ACC and NCAA tournaments.

As for the NCAA tournament, UConn losing to afore mentioned Syracuse (a battle of teams that litter the police blotter) I think cost them a number 1 seed. They lost to Pitt twice and got knocked out in the first round of their conference tournament. So the number 1 seeds that are locked in are unc and Pitt. After the UCon(vict) loss, I think Memphis will get a number 1 seed provided they win their conference tournament (which they should do easily). The fourth number 1 I think goes to Louisville. However, if Louisville blows it in their tournament and Michigan State wins their tournament convincingly then the Spartans could get the number 1. Or, and I think this is the more interesting thing, if Duke and Wake Forest advance tonight and then play each other and the winner of that game plays either FSU or unc in the ACC championship game and wins (all of which would raise their already strong RPI), then they could leap frog up to the fourth number 1 seed.