Haven’t watched much college basketball this year. Saw one game live – Penn State-Rutgers – that made me want to avert my eyes. Watched the ACC Championship Game between Duke and Virginia, and a couple First Four games (OK, RedHawks).
But this week, that’s what you do – you watch college hoops. From noon until after midnight, for four straight days, you turn on, tune in and veg out. And it’s glorious.
I have questions after the early part of Day One – questions pertaining particularly to Siena’s near-upset of Duke. The Saints came in as the No, 16 seed, and 28.5-point underdogs. The Blue Devils came in off ACC regular-season and tournament titles, and a Final Four appearance last year.
And were promptly down 43-32 at half.
That the Devils won, 71-65, is a tribute to the fact that they are bigger, deeper and better-bankrolled. Rooting for such a team, and such a result, is not the way to go this time of year, brackets be damned. Cinderellas always have far greater appeal.
But alas, that’s not how this one turned out.
So those questions:
Is Cam Boozer good?
Not just college good – NBA good. The Duke forward will no doubt be named to every All-America team, and rightfully so. He possesses an impressive, varied skillset, and he has put up big numbers in his only season as a student-athlete.
One quibble, based on a microscopic sample size: He doesn’t seem all that explosive, which is crucial at The Next Level. Doesn’t jump over guys. Doesn’t power to the rim. He was 3-for-17 from the floor while scoring 13 points in the ACC final, with four of his 14 misses swatted by Virginia’s Ugonna Onyenso. (Note to Cam: There are a bunch of Onyensos awaiting you next season.) And he was just 4-for-11 while putting up 22 points against Siena.
Let’s be clear: It doesn’t mean Boozer was terrible in either game. He claimed 13 rebounds against Siena, and had eight boards and eight assists against UVa. And it doesn’t mean he won’t be a high draft pick. Because he will be, and deservedly so.
But will he be as good a pro player as his dad, Carlos? That’s a higher bar than you might have realized. Carlos, who also played at Duke, averaged 16.2 points and 9.5 rebounds over 13 NBA seasons, and was twice named an All-Star.
I can’t say I know the answer, but I am very curious. College greatness certainly doesn’t translate to pro greatness as often as might be expected. (I submit to you as examples Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz, just for starters.) On the other hand, some recent Dookies have been far better NBA players than expected. (I submit to you as examples Jayson Tatum and Jalen Johnson, just for starters. Also, uh, the Jared McCain we’ve witnessed in recent weeks.)
So we’ll see.
On with the countdown, as Casey Kasem used to say.
Are GMac and GDot somehow related?
Siena coach Gerry McNamara was a legend when he played at Syracuse, winning a national championship as a freshman in 2003 and leading the Orange on a memorable run to the Big East Tournament title three years later. And in Saints sophomore guard Gavin Doty, he appears to have a kindred spirit.
All of Doty’s attributes were on display against Duke. He slashed and scrapped and scurried, and as with his head coach back in the day played with something of an edge. Very impressive.
But after a 6-for-11, 16-point first half, Doty sagged. He missed eight of his nine second-half attempts and finished with 21 points. Part of that was the Duke defense – Siena shot 8-for-34 from the floor in the second half as a team – and part of it was his legs were probably gone; like three of his teammates, he played all 40 minutes, and banged his leg on the scorer’s table while going for a steal at one point.
Impressive kid. And he’s obviously on the right team. Hoping he stays there, in an era where high-major teams are always trolling the mid-major waters, NIL cash in hand.
Why is Grant Hill on my TV?
He was a great player in his day, and is obviously an accomplished guy, as evidenced by the fact that he is the managing director of USA Basketball’s Men’s National team and owns pieces of three sports franchises – the Atlanta Hawks, Orlando City SC of Major League Soccer and the Orlando Pride of the National Women’s Soccer League.
But I just don’t see what he brings to CBS’s No. 1 announcing team, which also includes play-by-play voice Ian Eagle and the always-entertaining Bill Raftery. Hill is bright but boring, agreeable but bland. Think of it: Has he ever said one thing that made you sit up in your chair? One thing that was even faintly amusing or trenchant?
He’s a bright guy. He must have something to say. He must have some stories. Hell, he was part of one of the most iconic plays of all time. But maybe he’s checking himself. Maybe he wants to stay out of Raftery’s way – a good decision, actually, and an argument against the three-man crew. Or maybe he’s so conscious of his USA Basketball duties that he doesn’t want to risk offending anyone.
Either way, it just doesn’t work for me. Never has.
Bonus Question: Has it really been 10 years since Villanova-North Carolina?
TruTV aired “4.7 Seconds For the Championship,” an HBO Max mini-documentary about the classic 2016 championship game, during a lull in Thursday’s action. ‘Nova beat Carolina, 77-74, on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Kris Jenkins, and here are some of the things about that game revealed in the doc:
- UNC guard Marcus Paige, who hit an acrobatic triple to tie the game at 74-all with 4.7 seconds left, said he was more proud of a basket moments earlier, when he drove the lane, missed a layup, wrestled the ball away from a bigger ‘Cat and scored.
- Then-’Nova coach Jay Wright said that while they often ran the last-second play that resulted in Jenkins’ dagger – a play, called, appropriately, “Nova” – that was the first time that season that point guard Ryan Arcidiacano pitched the ball backward. Usually he was looking ahead, seeking to create a shot for himself or others. But Jenkins, trailing the play after inbounding from his own baseline, was calling for the ball all the way up the court, and Arcidiacano teed him up. Good choice.
- Then-Heels coach Roy Williams said he was so overcome by emotion that afterward he took a seat outside his team’s locker room in an attempt to collect his thoughts. What, he wondered, could he possibly say to his crestfallen team? Then Michael Jordan appeared, and Williams dished off to him — never a bad idea. Paige, who comes off as a bright, thoughtful guy throughout the doc, said MJ’s speech, about using the loss to build for the future, didn’t land with him at first, since he was a senior. But with time he came to appreciate the sentiment.
A couple final thoughts about that game:
- The call of Jenkins’ shot by CBS’s Jim Nantz (“For the championship …”) was the best of his career, by far. Too often in title games he had used canned, contrived calls that fell flat, the worst being, “Just when you think you can’t, UConn,” after one of Connecticut’s championships. But this ending was so thrilling that he was not able to lean on such a crutch, and thank goodness for that.
- I’ve always thought that Mikal Bridges, seated on the Villanova bench, was one of the first guys to know that Jenkins’ shot was true. Watch him on the video. He has already risen from his seat and taken two steps toward the court, before the ball even reaches the hoop.
- Speaking of Bridges, he was one of the best NBA players to come out of that game, trailing only his Villanova teammates, Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart. All three now play for the Knicks. Of the biggest stars on the two teams that night in Houston, Arcidiacano played in 257 NBA games over seven seasons, while Paige appeared in just five and Jenkins exactly none.