Looking At The College Basketball Landscape

I have not posted in about ten months so this time feels right. Much has change in the past year, most notably the fall of North Carolina (this season is just a blip) and the resurrection of Kentucky under John Calipari. The elite teams in the country are Kansas, Kentucky, Villanova, Syracuse, and possibly Purdue and Michigan State (if Kalin Lucas can get healthy again). Let's take a quick cruise through the BCS conferences as they stand today before the Rivalry Week games kick in.

ACC: POY and COY may both come from Maryland. Greivis Vazquez torched UNC yesterday and the Terps, sitting second behind Duke, look great despite the rumors and chatter that Gary Williams may be on his way out of College Park. His team has responded and they look great. COY is not a lock for Williams because UVA coach Tony Bennett has made a smooth transition from Pullman to Charlottesville. His slowdown tempo may not win over high school All-Americans but his tempo produces success. It's also easy to look good when you have a dynamic talent like Sylven Landesburg.

Big Ten: On paper this was supposed to be the year of the midwest. The big physcial brand would reign supreme. That's not the case anymore. The only quality teams are Purdue, Michigan State, and Wisconsin. Bo Ryan always has teams that come in with low expectations and all he does is win, especially at home. The big shock is the mediocrity of Michigan. Hoops experts were saying that John Beilein's teams do well in his third season. With Manny Harris and Deshawn Sims, he has two all-conference players. That hasn't been enough. Indiana is slowly coming back while Minnesota is full of off-the-court problems.

Big East: The Big East is down right? All that talent left. Thabeet, Blair, Flynn, Young, Clark, and Cunningham. The conference just reloads and finds new stars, notably Syracuse's Wes Johnson, Pittsburgh's Ashton Gibbs, and the best unknown major conference player; South Florida's Dominique Jones. This year the conference has several lock bids in Syracuse, Villanova, West Virginia, Pittsburgh, and Georgetown. Connecticut lost too much talent last year and has been an inconsistent team. Not many people thought SU would be in the position they are now, tied for first in the conference. The game of the year will take place before a sold out Carrier Dome crowd on Feb. 27 when Nova takes on Syracuse.

Big 12: Kansas has the most talent in the country and has to be the favorite for the national title. With Cole Aldrich and Sherron Collins, they have arguably the best PG-C combo in all of basketball. Texas was a team that should have been a top-five team all year but they have been hot and cold. They were touted because of depth but Rick Barnes' club has a serious problem. Their best defensive team can't score and the best offensive team can't guard anybody. The wildcard teams are Baylor and Kansas State, who both have excellent guard play as well as solid post scoring.

Pac 10: This conference is down, big time. They will only get one bid in the NCAA Tournament. UCLA lost too many players early in consecutive years and are behind. Arizona's program had to be built again by Sean Miller (who has them in second place). Washington and Cal were the class of the west until Harper Kamp went down for Cal and when U-Dub opened up conference play 1-3. No need to bring up the East Coast Bias, the Pac-10 is just plain bad this year, from top to bottom.

SEC: All Kentucky all the time. John Wall and Demarcus Cousins are touted as top five draft picks once they leave UK (On a side note: do they even go to class? No need too because they are turning pro anyway). Outside of the Cats, Bruce Pearl's Tennessee club has moved past the shocking news that star Tyler Smith was dismissed after a traffic incident. They have been playing well as of late but the boys from Rocky Top don't have much left in the tank. Vanderbilt has been solid but nobody really cares about them anyway. The SEC is a football conference, except in Lexington.

Manhasset Senior Class Excels

http://blip.tv/file/2053583/

What I Learned from My Video Project

The Manhasset players and coaching staff were extremely accessible and helped me every step of the way. I was frustrated at first because I was unable to contact coach Cherry. Once I met him and introduced myself at the Woodstick Classic, he turned out to be a great person and immediately invited me to practice and vowed to help me in any way he could.

I did not expect to talk to assistant coach Bob Rule but I knew he was a longtime JV coach so I asked about the Manhasset senior class and he gave me a great thirty second plus sound bite. The players were also fantastic and I could tell that the frustration of losing to Cold Spring Harbor was getting to them and even though they have the most talent the players expressed a refreshing sense of humility. They know they are good but are quite humble. I wish the seniors the best of luck in their future endeavors.

Editing the video was the most problematic but after dragging clips and becoming familiar with MovieMaker, it became easier.
I'm excited to use the tools I learned in this project to better myself and to become a successful professional journalist in the near future.

Postseason Awards: Big Ten

They may have the most bids of any league come Selection Sunday but they are not the best league. They have talent but that talent is young. The sophomore class of Evan Turner, Taylor Battle, Manny Harris, Kalin Lucas will highlight this league in the coming years.

Player of the Year: Taylor Battle, Penn State

I have to say he has been one of the best players and also one of the most valuable. Even if they don't go dancing, his mark has been made. MSU is too balanced and so is Purdue. Battle is the player that stands out the most

Freshman of the Year: William Buford, Ohio State

Coach of the Year: Ed DeChellis, Penn State and Bruce Weber, Illinois

1st Team All-Conference:

F Mike Davis, Illinois
F Evan Turner, Ohio State
G/F Manny Harris, Michigan
G Kalin Lucas, Michigan State
PG Taylor Battle, Penn State

2nd Team All-Conference:

C JaJuan Johnson, Purdue
F DeShawn Sims, Michigan
SF Kevin Coble, Northwestern
SG E'Twaun Moore, Purdue
G Demetri McCamey, Illinois

Postseason Awards: Big East

I understand the advocates that want DeJuan Blair to be player of the year. Yes he has been fantastic and his team has been great but Thabeet impacts the game even when he does not touch the ball. That gave him the nod.

Player of the Year: Hasheem Thabeet, Connecticut

Rookie of the Year: Greg Monroe, Georgetown

Coach of the Year: Jay Wright, Villanova and Buzz Williams, Marquette

1st Team All-Conference:

C Hasheem Thabeet, Connecticut
PF DeJuan Blair, Pittsburgh
SF Sam Young, Pittsburgh
SG Terrence Williams, Louisville
PG Jerel McNeal, Marquette

2nd Team All-Conference:

C Luke Harangody, Notre Dame
PF Dante Cunningham, Villanova
PF/SF Earl Clark, Louisville
G Jonny Flynn
PG Levance Fields

Postseason Awards: ACC

Every 1st team all-conference player was tough to pick. The ACC and the Big East had a plethora of well qualified candidates. I mixed and matched certain positions. My teams try to combine the five best players with somewhat of a conventional lineup.

Player of the Year: Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina

In the end, he has some of the best numbers and is so valuable to his team. First in scoring and not far behind in rebounding.

Freshman of the Year: Sylven Landesburg, Virginia

This was a tough call with Al-Farouq Aminu turning in a great season. In the end, it was Landesburg's better numbers and lack of supporting cast that gives him the award in a close race.

Coach of the Year: Dino Gaudio, Wake Forest

2010 was supposed to be the Demon Deacons coming out party. Gaudio's steady hand has Wake in position for a three seed in the NCAA Tournament.

1st Team All-Conference:

F Tyler Hansbrough, UNC
F Trevor Booker, Clemson
G/F Gerald Henderson, Duke
SG Jack McClinton, Miami
PG Ty Lawson, UNC

2nd Team All Conference:

F Gani Lawal, Georgia Tech
F Kyle Singler, Duke
SG Toney Douglas, Florida State
PG/SG Jeff Teague, Wake Forest
PG Tyrese Rice, Boston College

2009 Final Four

Connecticut, North Carolina, Michigan State, and then a bevy of teams. MSU has not been talked about but I believe they will make the Final Four. When healthy, they are an elite team. Bracket willing, in a one game showdown, they could beat a team like Pittsburgh or a team like Oklahoma.

Interesting stat: No team since 2000 has lost more than two home games that season.

2000 Michigan State 14-0
2001 Duke 13-2
2002 Maryland 15-0
2003 Syracuse 17-0
2004 Connecticut 17-1
2005 North Carolina 15-0
2006 Florida 16-2
2007 Florida 16-0
2008 Kansas 19-0

That's an astonishing 142-5.

UConn lost their second home game tonight against Pitt. If they drop one more (Notre Dame may give them a game) then I won't pick them to win the national title. However if they beat ND, we can still call them a favorite.