Final four wrapup
Wow. What a weekend. I’m really surprised that I got any work done.
What an amazing final four. What a slate of NBA games. What did I do this weekend? Well you guys get the picture.
The first ever “all four #1 seeds” final four did not disappoint. Once everyone got past the mystique of UCLA and their 11 national titles, anyone who’s seen this Memphis team play this season will quickly realize that these Tigers are no pushover. Their swagger, their attitude and their confidence are all apart of who they are. These Tigers have really bought into Coach John Calipari’s war cry of “no one believes in us”.
I’ve said this many times and I will say it again. College basketball is all about guard play. It’s really as simple as if you have the best guards playing the right style, you have a real good shot of winning it all. And the Tigers have just that with Derrick Rose and CDR.
Assuming Rose enters this year’s NBA draft, he should be the #1 pick. So listen up Miami, Seattle, Minnesota or whichever team ends up with the #1 pick. Don’t make the same mistake the Hawks’ and Bucks’ made in the 2005 draft when they passed on Chris Paul and Deron Williams. Sure Michael Beasley is a hell of a player in his own right but Derrick Rose has “sure thing superstar” written all over him. And the best part: it’s all happening in front of our very eyes. I can’t wait to see him play in tonight’s game and in the NBA.
Oh yea and that other guy, known as CDR? Chris Douglas Roberts could be a Josh Howard, a guy that gets overlooked not because of his lack of talent but because of a stacked field (assuming as many big names come out as expected). Want proof that this guy is pretty good? How about he dunk on the other team’s best player and suck any remaining life out of them?
Love the point and laugh from Joey Dorsey.
Their opponent: the Kansas Jayhawks who just took down the #1 overall seed. Now I’ve seen the Jayhawks play against the Longhorns this year and that team Saturday night was definitely not the same team that we beat back in February. They simply willed themselves to win.
The 28 point lead that they built in the first half was almost surreal to me. I really was sitting there asking myself, “Is this really happening to the UNC Tar Heels?”. But of course Billy Packer had to go ahead and ruin it by saying “this game is over,” at the first half’s 7 minute mark. And almost instantly, UNC pulled within 17 to end the half.
The Tar Heels comeback effort was absolutely stunning. To pull within 5 after trailing 28 is really something to be proud of. But in the end, it really was too little too late.
And on the Kansas side, to hold them off when they have all the momentum was almost as draining as the 200 percent they gave in the first half. The only question now is how much do they have left for this final game.
Pick: Memphis Tigers by 15, 84-69
