LamarCheeks

When we were in the Final Four in 2002, Kansas and Maryland (both No. 1 seeds) were the two best teams remaining. And it just so happened they were playing in the semifinals, while we (a 5 seed) and Oklahoma (2) were in the other semi. Dick Vitale screamed his head off that it should be re-seeded -- essentially so Kansas and Maryland could play in the finals. It made no sense, because the NCAA tourney has never re-seeded before the Final Four and as far as I know, never even considered re-seeding before the Final Four. The brackets are set, you play whoever's next and the chips fall how they may. ... I still think part of it was he was hating on us because of the Knight firing -- it was just a couple years after that and he was pals with him. It wasn't our fault that we were on one side while Kansas and Maryland were on the other. Hell, we already had beat what was considered the tournament's best team (Duke) in the Sweet 16.

Yet another early exit for (supposedly) one of our coaching candidates a year ago ...

The South Regional is parting like the Red Sea for Cal, clearing his path to the Final Four.

I cannot adequately explain in words how much I detest Jason Whitlock. I never liked him much, anyway, but my loathing for him reached new depths when a few years ago, he claimed in a column that he was the most important person in sports journalism.

Vince Edwards being in the game that late in the half with two fouls was ridiculously foolish.

Sideline reporter said before the Purdue game that the NCAA wouldn't approve a brace Haas wanted to wear on his elbow and without it, Painter decided not to play him. My question: What if it's Purdue and IU at Mackey in early February? Who rules on the brace then?

3/18 K-State

Forgive my ignorance (like you haven't already!), but I watched a little of the Warren Central-New Albany game online today and noticed three officials. They don't always use three at high school games, do they? ... Is it just for playoffs? ... Last weekend, I watched a little of the regionals to see Damezi and Romeo play and didn't notice three officials -- but I wasn't really paying much attention to that.

3/17: Michigan

On the flipside, Billy Donovan has the Thunder at 42-29 and fourth in the Western Conference!

As much as I can't stand Purdue, I'm sad to see the news about Isaac Haas. Despite his wandering elbows against us, he's an easy kid to root for. His sister has a rare form of epilepsy and at her worst, could have as many as 25 seizures a day. The folks in West Lafayette did a gofundme page for her and raised a bunch of money to get her a seizure dog. ... Plus, I'm from one of those half-PU, half-IU families -- my dad was raised near Lafayette and went to PU. He passed last May, so I was sorta hoping they might have a nice run so he could enjoy it from where he is. But I'm not sure how far they'll get now.

For your entertainment ... http://georgiadogs.com/watch/?Live=1208&type=Live

With lineup A, we would go 35-4 and reach the Final Four. With lineup B, we would go 33-5 and reach the Elite Eight. With a combination of both (and a healthy, productive De'Ron), we'd go 40-0 and win the NCAA title. ... In all seriousness, I think lineup A would get the better results. Sure, Taylor has more experience, but both he and Romeo would be in their first years with Archie and I have to think Romeo is the more talented player, so in the end, I go with talent.

According to a CBS Sports story, Crean actually was U.Ga.'s fourth choice. They asked about Chris Mack and Shaka Smart, who declined, then offered to Matta. ... Guess you can't blame them for swinging for the fence. And maybe they're getting serious about basketball -- or think they're getting serious -- if they're paying $3.2 million per. But why would Smart or Mack be interested in Georgia? I read one Crean-to-Georgia story (before the official hire) where a commenter said Jay Wright would be perfect. Seriously? ... That would be like us needing a football coach and saying we should look at Mark Richt or Jimbo Fisher or Chris Petersen or Urban Meyer. ... Maybe I'm wrong, but I look at Georgia basketball as being about on par with Indiana football -- OK, maybe not quite that bad. But really, what has Georgia ever won in hoops?

3/16: Cincy

I actually wondered if he might make the triumphant return to Pitt. I think UConn is gonna go after Danny Hurley pretty hard. Pitt is a crappy job (especially being in the ACC), but he might not have many other options.

Can't help but wonder if that's big brother's final game at Arizona.

That's right -- Cal can't duck "Tommy" anymore!

Steve Martin's ode to Loyola!

From what I remember, Davis swore up and down that Sean told him he was coming to IU. Told him that several times. Then Scott May took Sean down to Lubbock to visit Knight and evaluate his recruitment. Not long after that, Sean committed to UNC. I have no doubt Knight sabotaged that.

Stan Robinson misses a bunny at the buzzer. OT in OU-URI.

According to this, Tom Crean would accept Georgia job if offered, barring any money or other unexpected issues. How can there be money issues? We're paying him $4 million! ... Another name floated about regarding the U.Ga. job -- Kermit Washington of Middle Tennessee -- will take the Ole Miss job. https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/georgia-coach-update-tom-crean-expected-to-meet-with-bulldogs-officials/ P.S. Vitale is stumping for Crean to get the gig. Says "They need energy. They need recruiting. They need a guy who can really give them a buzz.” ... I'm guessing at some point, they'll also need a guy who knows how to attack a zone.

3/15: Gonzaga

I keep seeing stories about what Crean has done during his year away from coaching and how much improved he is as a coach -- and a man. He spent time at the Patriots training camp, where he saw how Bill Belichick commanded the attention of his players. He worked a Kansas game and was impressed with the way Bill Self ran his morning walk-through. He spent time with the Chargers before the draft, and learned how prepared they were and how in-dept they analyzed each prospect. He learned great lessons on time management, and what makes leaders great etc., etc., etc., ... That's all fine and good, but those don't necessarily help combat his weakness -- coaching in a game. Those don't help you figure out how counter a 2-3 zone when it takes you out of your offense. Those don't help you figure how to alter your defense when a big man is killing you inside. Those don't help you alter your attack when your guards aren't hitting shots. ... I actually hope he does well at his next landing spot, but I think it will be more of the same -- uneven, inconsistent performances.

This Atlanta columnist says between Crean and Matta for the Georgia job, he'd take ... Matta. Geez, tough call on that one. However, I was puzzled a little by these comments: "It took Crean forever to get the Hoosiers hurryin’ again ... " "My worry with Crean: If you can’t win enough to suit Indiana, one of the few places where basketball is a bigger deal than football, what assurance is there that he’d win enough at a place that reached its one and only Final Four at the expense of Michael Jordan?" As to the first comment. I actually thought for all Crean's faults, he did a pretty remarkable job in getting the program up and running again, considering what he had to work with. The problem was after that -- he couldn't sustain the little success he did have, recruit in-state and coach in big games. As for the second comment -- I would think that would be the whole point. At Indiana, the expectations are very high -- as they should be. We want to go to the NCAAs every year and compete for national titles. If Crean were to go to Georgia and have the kind of record he did at Indiana, I would think they'd be pretty pleased. ... Heck, they fired Mark Richt because he didn't win enough to suit the football fan base. If Richt wanted to coach football at IU, I certainly wouldn't say no. https://www.myajc.com/blog/mark-bradley/georgia-post-fox-choices-thad-matta-tom-crean/q5VipzTSUtKgHQZHss4rDJ/