By Jim Coffman
Anyone who was surprised by North Carolina and UCLA’s demise Saturday hasn’t been paying close enough attention. Memphis simply has more talent than any other team in this year’s tournament (and that will usually do the trick if the coach can avoid screwing it up). And it had a legitimate chip on its shoulder going in against a UCLA team that was getting a lot of attention during the week prior. UCLA was the storied program that has almost restored its faded grandeur, for goodness sake. The Bruins were returning to the Final Four for a third consecutive year and they would prove they were finally, truly living up to the legacy established by the . . . oh, enough already. UCLA won a bunch of championships in the 60s and 70s, one more in 1995 and the Bruins thought they were on their way to another one. Small problem: Memphis was clearly the better team.
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In the other semifinal, a Kansas team best described as the deepest in Bracketland was ready to let it all hang out against North Carolina. The Jayhawks had cleared a huge psychological hurdle by barely knocking off Davidson in a regional final to finally give coach Bill Self his first trip to the Final Four. The pressure was off and Kansas blitzed the Tar Heels, stumbled a bit in the first half of the second half, and then held on down the stretch.
This is the place where folks have been writing statements along the lines of “and so we come to a classic final between two of the Titans of college basketball,” or some such drivel. But this has been the tournament of blowouts and the final should be no different. So in that spirit, I predict . . . I predict I have no idea what’s going to happen. Memphis probably should win but the Tigers know they probably should win and that’s never a good thing. Kansas is capable of greatness, but as it showed against Davidson in particular, it is also capable of not playing very well at all. So your prediction is as good as mine.
* The best thing is, both the remaining teams have great local angles. Plenty has been written about Memphis freshman Derrick Rose, the two-time state title winner and pride of the South Side’s Simeon High, who already qualifies as one of the best players ever to come out of Chicago. Rose is a 6-3 guard who combines exquisite unselfishness (the classic point-guard mentality) and high-flying style (that often results in rim-rattling dunks). If whichever NBA team gets the first pick in the draft later this year really puts its thinking cap on, it will choose Rose.
But Sherron Collins, who has played a critical role for Kansas, deserves all sorts of attention as well. Collins, who grew up mostly in the North Side Lathrop Homes (which spread out on either side of Diversey in between Clybourn and the North Branch of the Chicago River), and then attended the West Side’s Crane Tech, is a sophomore guard. He is generally the first or second player off the bench for the Jayhawks. Collins only stands 5-11 but he is a powerful force who doesn’t start but usually finishes games for Kansas. He is a not-to-be-denied penetrator who creates all sorts of opportunities for teammates. And he’ll have a chance to really shine starting next season.
So not only is Chicago well-represented, the South, West, and North Sides are well-represented.
In other news . . .
* I took in my first game of the season at Wrigley on Sunday and the good stuff certainly outweighed the aggravation. As the game began we were already focusing on the lightning-rod left fielder, whose lack of discipline at the plate was brutal before we had the chance to compare it to the clinics Kosuke Fukudome put on during just about every at-bat in the season’s first five games. But after Carlos Zambrano gave up a single and a double to start the game, rallied with a strikeout but then gave up a routine little fly ball with some RBI sacrifice potential, Alfonso Soriano stepped up. His form was impeccable as he moved forward to make the catch, reared back and fired an absolutely perfect one-hop throw to Henry Blanco to complete the double play.
When Soriano is bad, he is among the worst. But he tied for the major league lead in outfield assists last year, and you know the power will come. In fact, it came later in the game in the form of a big solo home run that barely made it into the basket down the left field line. Of course he shouldn’t be hitting leadoff but if not there, where? Certainly not in the two-hole. At some point they may have to try him sixth (because he isn’t replacing Lee or Ramirez and if he hits fifth that gives the Cubs three righties in a row), but I understand why the manager isn’t eager to do that with the $136 million man.
* The Hawks improved a great deal this season (wrapping it up with a 4-1 loss at Detroit Sunday) and played better than they had in at least a half-dozen years. But the amount of satisfaction felt by those affiliated with the team as the season came to an end (general manager Dale Tallon was practically gushing as he looked back at the campaign in the middle of last week) was a little much. For one thing, their record wasn’t as good as it appeared in the standings. After all, 40-34-4-4 is actually 40-42 when you count the overtime and shootout losses for what they actually are, even if they are worth a point apiece. The Hawks may not be that far away from qualifying for the playoffs, but they are still a long way from contending for the Cup.
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A Beachwood Reader Comments:
Worst NCAA Tournament Ever? By my count, since the start of the third round, only 2 of the 14 games have been decided by less than ten points. The teams are supposed to be more evenly matched at this point of the tournament, but we’ve been subjected to blow out after blow out. Baseball season couldn’t have come soon enough.
Posted on April 7, 2008