College Hoops - In The Paint

By Mark Barnes
for HOOPSADDICT.com

Published: January 18, 2009

It’s only been a few weeks since North Carolina was being lauded in this space as one of the most invincible teams that college basketball has seen in a very long time. The Tar Heels promptly lost to Boston College, which turned around a few days later and lost to Harvard. Two games after being vanquished by BC, North Carolina lost again – this time to a much more reputable foe, Wake Forest. Still, one must now wonder just how invincible UNC really is.

Sure, the Heels will be a high seed in the NCAA Tournament, but smooth sailing to the Final Four can no longer be assumed. This team, however, is littered with future NBA players, forcing the question – what, if anything, is wrong with North Carolina?

Congratulations Todd Bozeman

Remember when a young Cal coach, named Todd Bozeman, was the talk of the college hoops world? Bozeman came out of nowhere to lead Cal to the Sweet Sixteen in his first year. Bozeman was forced to resign for several violations and a sexual assault complaint; subsequently, Bozeman was banned from coaching by the NCAA. Ten years later, after working as an assistant and scout in the NBA, a contrite Bozeman landed the Morgan State head coaching job. After a forgettable first year, the Bears made the NIT in Bozeman’s second season.

This year, although Morgan State is off to a pedestrian 8-8 start, the Bears recently recorded an excellent win over a very good Maryland team – arguably Bozeman’s best victory, since returning to college coaching. Some might argue that Todd Bozeman didn’t deserve a second chance. All I’ll say is, congratulations coach Bozeman on a great win and a good start to your second beginning.

Kentucky’s Jodie Meeks sets amazing record

The shots just kept going in. The opponent couldn’t stop him, and he didn’t stop himself. One point after another, Kentucky’s Jodie Meeks poured in a whopping 54 points, as the Wildcats pummeled 24th-ranked Tennessee last week. Meeks dropped in a stunning ten 3-pointers in the game, also a school record.

Sure, 54 is an impressive number in and of itself, but Meeks’ scoring mark becomes even more remarkable, when you consider the list of other fabulous Kentucky players, who never scored this many points in a game, not to mention the fact that Kentucky is arguably the most storied program in NCAA history.

Here are a few Wildcat greats who never tallied 54: Kenny Walker, Mel Turpin, Sam Bowie, Jamal Mashburn, Rex Chapman, Tayshaun Prince, Chris Mills and Ron Mercer. And you could certainly add to this stellar list. Most of these players moved on to very good NBA careers.

Who knows if Meeks will make it at the next level or how good he’ll be. For now, though, he holds one of the most historic marks in college basketball lore.

Stephen Curry looking better

Going back to last season, when Davidson’s Stephen Curry was making basketball fans from San Francisco to Charlotte fall in love with him, as Curry rained in shots from coast to coast in the NCAA Tournament, I remained steadfast in my belief that Curry was not going to be a good pro. He’s not very big for a shooting guard, and I didn’t think he had the quicks to play lead guard.

In a recent loss to powerful Duke, Curry looked every bit as good as many solid young pros. Not only is the deadliest shooter since J.J. Reddick, Curry has uncanny court awareness for a guy who has always been coached to score first and pass second. Curry meandered his way into the teeth of the Blue Devils’ defense many times, often dishing to the only scoring option on the court.

He’s got me convinced of his ability. This guy is a special talent who should be a very fine pro in the Jameer Nelson mold.

Ten teams from the Big East?

Is it plausible for the Big East Conference to send ten teams to the NCAA Tournament? West Virginia, currently the holder of the tenth position in the league, is 12-4, including impressive wins over Ohio State and Iowa and a narrow loss to Connecticut. There’s plenty of time for some of the 16 teams in this monster conference to eliminate each other, but the top ten were a combined 135-27 heading into January 17, making a serious case for the selection committee to consider.

From the Department of Quirky Statistics

* South Dakota leads Division I Independents with a mark of 15-5. The Coyotes have won 11 in a row, including a recent victory over the Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish.

* Morehead State’s Kenneth Faried ranks fourth in the nation in rebounds at 12 per game. At just 6-8 and 215 points, Faried underscores what most coaches believe – there’s more to rebounding than size.

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College Hoops - In The Paint

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