SAN ANTONIO — This was a busy day for our resident expert. First, he spent the entire morning handing tissues to his old friend Dick Vitale after the veteran college hoops analyst was announced as an inductee into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
"I told him, ‘Dick, you are a blubbering mess. Get a hold of yourself!" Bracket Boy said. "But the old lug was just so overcome. It was sweet ... and maybe just a little pathetic."
After Vitale finally composed himself, BB had to rush down to the Riverwalk. It was such a beautiful day that, for the first time, he decided to hold his annual awards ceremony outdoors.
So there was our bracketologist, in a tuxedo jacket and shorts — "Hey, it’s gonna be 105 degrees here tomorrow!" — as the best of the best (and worst of the worst) in college basketball prepared to be recognized.
And the Brackies go to ...
The Tournament MOP (Most Outrageous Performance)
He couldn’t get his team to the Final Four, but Stephen Curry did just about everything else for Davidson, taking over this tournament like no player has in more than a decade. The NBA scouts, of course, are still not impressed, but Curry can play for BB anytime, anyplace.
BB All-Tournament Team
Guards: Curry and Chris Douglas-Roberts, Memphis. Forwards: Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina, and Brandon Rush, Kansas. Center: Kevin Love, UCLA. Oh, and the coach? Bob McKillop, Davidson.
Coach Most in Need of the Heimlich Maneuver
Wait ... ladies and gentlemen, we have a tie! Ben Howland has reached the Final Four three straight times now with UCLA without a title, and this was clearly his best team. But his team wasn’t nearly as good as that of Roy Williams, whose Tar Heels fell behind Kansas by 28 points in the first half. The first half?
Coach Most in Need of a New Accountant
Oklahoma State is apparently ready to give Kansas coach Bill Self most of Stillwater (which, admittedly, might not be much) to come coach its basketball program. The biggest attraction in Stillwater, for the record? According to Google, it’s "Frontier Lanes" — 16 lanes AND a snack bar. Top that, Jayhawks!
Game BB Will Watch Again and Again All Summer
The two teams combined for 70 3-point attempts, so you had to figure the game would end like this — a 25-point heave at the buzzer. Ty Rogers made the shot for Western Kentucky, and just like that, fifth-seeded Drake was headed home. "You’ve got to love the NCAA Tournament, don’t you?" Western Kentucky coach Darrin Horn said. Yes, coach. We do.
The Other BB: Biggest Bust
Oh, BB could hand out a bunch of Brackies in this category. Duke, for nearly losing to Belmont before collapsing against West Virginia, is on the list. So is the SEC, which barely made a ripple. But the winner is the Big East: Eight teams in the tournament and not a single one in the Final Four? League winner Georgetown out in the second round? Big Least is more like it.
Worst Decision By Two Jersey Guys Who Should Know Better
Derrick Caracter is going pro? Hope the Turkish Elite League is ready. Earl Clark has a better chance at getting drafted, but both Jersey big men should have stayed at Louisville for another year or, better yet, two.
Worst Job of Hedging Your Bets in the Pool
Jay Bilas, the ESPN analyst, picked a Kansas-UCLA final on air but picked a UNC-Memphis final online. "Come on, Jay!" BB said. "Just one more guess! You’ll get it this time."
Best Soap Opera Not in San Antonio
They can dub in the Spanish subtitles. He’s staying. He’s going. He’s staying again. Can they just make up their minds over at Seton Hall with Bobby Gonzalez? The university president had to actually issue a statement yesterday to reassure people that Gonzalez is the coach. Hey, at least the Pirates made news at the Final Four.
Worst Diet by a Good Player
Derrick Rose missed practice on Sunday with a stomach ache, one that didn’t surprise his backcourt mate Chris Douglas-Roberts. "He eats Gummy Bears and Starbursts for breakfast, and Twizzlers and Honey Buns for dinner. That’s why his stomach hurts," Douglas-Roberts said. Come on, Derrick. Mix in a salad!
Bracket Boy is taking a well-deserved vacation. All right, maybe you’ll argue with the "deserved" part of that sentence, but he’s taking one anyway. Keep in touch at boy@bracketboy.net or at BracketBoy.net, and maybe he’ll send you a postcard.
1 Comments
bracket killer
4 months, 1 week agoProfessor,
A couple of additional brackies.
The "Careful what you Wish For" Brackie goes to all those that wanted an all No. 1 seed final four. Sure the championship game delivered, but the Semi-finals were as appealing as a November pay-to-play game. The "ridiculous idea that he wont let go of" Brackie goes to Robert Montgomery Knight. His idea of having 7022 teams in the tourney so that only the big schools really participate was selfish enuf, but to beat us over the head with it instead of breaking down brackets was unbearable (and put on a suit man). The "i know nothing" Brackie goes to Seth Davis. I have not liked him since he guaranteed Arizona would crush SHU. Wrong!! Let's hear some others.
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