RETRO: college hoops and swoops

Yes, it’s time once again for college hoops. Now that I’m not in school …. well, I’m still in college, but not like I was…. It’s harder to get up for it. The whole rape case at La Salle kinda ruined all my hopes and dreams of ever having a good team to represent. Seriously, without that, they might have been an NIT team the last two years or even snuck into the tournament last year when the league was down. In any case, I think they could have been over .500 for the past few years, which hasn’t happened in a while. Now? They’ll get close to winning but won’t. Steve Smith will put up great numbers and get awards, but nothing big.

It would be nice if Penn State could get another relevant season soon, but it’s not going to happen. And those are my only favorites to follow. ‘Nova may or may not go far, pending on injuries. The rest of the Philly Big 5, A-10, and Big Ten…. I should care, but I can’t. George Washington has a chance to surprise people. See picks.

Other than that, I’ve lost a lot of interest in college ball during the regular season. I check on the A-10 and the major teams and watch games when I can, but up to March Madness, I can’t just keep up on it like I used to. Once football is done, my interest in basketball on both levels rises dramatically. But I should make a few predictions on my favorite sport and first true love, even if I don’t have the comprehensive knowledge I did when I was looking to make covering it my career. Here’s my final four picks:

Duke

Connecticut

Texas

George Washington (sleeper pick…. Gotta represent the A-10)

I like UConn to upend Duke yet again in the title game. Calhoun knows how to do it. Plus, I just can’t pick Duke. I can’t. This team doesn’t have the complete depth like their title teams did, when every position had one or two future pros. UConn has a number of big men to throw at Shelden Williams, and if Redick is covered, who does that leave? I don’t know enough about these young kids, though I’m sure they were all highly recruited All-Americans and so forth. Whatever. Hate Duke.

Other sleepers include Texas A & M (they have a good seven footer… when do you see that anymore in college?), Boston U. (they don’t have unsung all-star Ryan Butt anymore, but that league sucks now), and Memphis (rated kinda high but they could go undefeated in their decimated league and get a high seed). Other than that, I don’t know. Oklahoma, Michigan State, Kentucky, etc. all those usual highly ranked teams are all good. I need to see something special. Those final four teams have special players. GW is solid all around.

Connecticut wins it with Rudy Gay, the best player, along with shooters and big men to spare. Their point guard was suspended, but he will come back eventually (they’ll figure something out, like all athletic departments do). They might not have a 1 or 2 seed, but they’ll make get hot and make a run with his Mateen Cleaves-esque return.