The IronDog Chronicles

Who are you running with…?

On my end, I’m sticking with my original pre-season call…And I don’t think that I’m being ‘Johnny Carolina’ on this one. So, no drum roll needed, aaight…The UNC Tar Heels.

The other squads that I’m looking to complete the quartet are:

Midwest: Georgetown
South: Memphis
West: UCLA

Here’s my Elite 8:

East - North Carolina vs. Louisville

Midwest - Kansas vs. Georgetown

South - Memphis vs. Texas

West - UCLA vs. St. XavierThe team that I’m looking at doing more than a little something is Clemson. From my point of view, they are very impressive because of their frontcourt. Trevor Booker is a beast! That match-up between him and Tyler Hansbrough in their three-game match-ups were every bit as entertaining as the Duncan/Wallace showdowns in ‘95.

Their press is a strangler, and with Hammonds and Rivers getting hot, that team could do a lot of damage. If Clemson matches-up with Kansas, they could give them a lot of heat.

I’m also thinking that this tournament is going to have more pressure on Bill Self. Can he get a team to drive over the hump?

He had some great teams at Illinois, but couldn’t get over the hump with them. Last year’s Elite 8 finish was underwhelming, and this particular team pulls some bone-headed plays at times late in games. With previous early-round exits…And I understand how much talent that they have, I just can’t make the pull on the Jayhawks.

With Memphis, the Tigers have the best assemblage of talent in this decade. Yet, Calipari is a lot like Self. He took UMass to the Four, but there’s something that seems to hold the team back against established teams in the tournament. Can they play tough, intelligent basketball when the times for dribble-drive don’t call. I think that a gritty team like Pitt could knock them out.

With that said, I have them bouncing out to UCLA, who I adore because they’ve won tight games and most of their players such as Darren Colleson, Josh Shipp, and Lorenzo Mata. And Kevin Love is steady in crunch times. That team has taken a lot of knocks in hostile arenas and still stood tall.

Another team to look out for St. Xavier.  If I were an AD for an ailing program, the first guy that I would look toward is Sean Miller.  From his father’s coaching roots and basketball fundamental development program, Miller’s knowledge of the game is incredible, and he motivates his players to play on both ends of the court at high levels.  The dribbling-drill machine gets incredible defensive play from Drew Lavender and Stanley Burrell, and I think that his Xavier team will be the class of the West region.

Let’s just hope that Coach Miller stays in Cincinnati for a while after the tournament.  There’s a good fit with him in that region.

As much as everyone is shaking in their boots with Tennesee, the team that the Heels shouldn’t want to play is Louisville. They not only had a nice run at the end of the year, but also they are athletic and can play both halfcourt and fullcourt.

Juan Palacios is tough. They have David Padgett who is not only playing very well, but also big enough to give Hansbrough problems. And if Edgar Sosa plays with any semblance of human intelligence, Tywon Lawson is going to have to really step up on him to beat him with speed. Also, whether you like of dislike the guy, you can never underestimate the coaching excellence of Coach Rick Pitino.

By the way, I’m not sure that Pitino and Williams have ever had a match-up…How enticing is that one?

Undoubtedly, the guy that has to step up is Tywon Lawson.

Now, the Tywon Lawson that I’ve seen over the past five games has understandably lost a step. However, I don’t know if his game is well-rounded enough to make-up differences in other ways against top-flight point guards like Sosa, McAlarney that will take-over games like we expected. Yet, he still comes up with cheap rebounds and generates fast-break buckets like few others in the game do. The Heels need him badly.

All that said…

On one hand, I want to take shots at how the Heels disappear in games and how the Heels do not blow teams out of late. On the other hand, I’m impressed with how tough we’re playing when down, but also how the Heels closing games. Most of their tough games have not only been on the road, but also with everyone targeting them due to their high rankings.

Yes, the Heels have their faults, but I’m highly impressed that they’re able to come away with big victories.

Now, how many people would like to see a rematch of that Georgetown game with a national audience? Man…I want payback.
National Championship Final: UNC vs. UCLA - I would love to see Coach Smith and Coach Wooden sitting together. With Coach Wooden’s fall, I don’t know if this could happen…But it would be too cool.

That’s my call…

** First-round games that I don’t want to miss are: Davidson/Gonzaga, Western Kentucky/Drake

Davidson/Gonzaga - I am all over the point guard match-up between Jeremy Pargo and Jason Richards. City vs. Suburbs…Yet, the Zags have been all over the board this year, and I’m a little down at the progression of Micah Downs. He just can’t seem to break through to the high expectations. I’m rolling with Davidson on that one.

By the way, if Coach Williams had never taken the job. I would have been very happy with Bob McKillop in the Hill. Seriously…I think the guy is a Gold Star Premium Traveler.

Western Kentucky/Drake - I’ve caught Western Kentucky three times now. What a shame that they drew Drake because I like that team a lot. My head and gut says Drake on this one, but my heart is rolling with Western Kentucky. Tyrone Brazelton is a lanky, grimy, point guard from Chicago and Courtney Lee is a solid NBA prospect.

If there is a discrepancy with seeding, I can’t believe that Western Kentucky received a #12 seed. Watch out for that game.

** Tip-Ins: On the ACC/Raycom programming front, did anyone share the same distaste for Raycom’s programming of the ACC tournament?

I don’t think that as a sports viewer, I’ve seen lower schlock than the choice of “Shawty, Get Loose” as the theme for three days of basketball…After listening to Mike Hogewood introduce ‘Lil’ Mama for three days, I truly felt that I was at the State Fairgrounds throughout the weekend. Along with the overload of graphics that consistently pre-empted and cut-off plays, I believe that we have stooped to a new level with television sports programming.

Did Raycom feel that they had to tap into a younger demographic with their programming?

I not only questioned whether or not I had entered a MySpace influenced content, but also actually wondered if I had surpassed the demographic threshold for watching college basketball.

And to top it off…Jason Capel as an analyst? For the amount of quality guys who have come through the ACC over the past decade who are scrambling for a gig, they choose the former Boy Band wanna-be…I kept wondering if was going to “shine his horns.”

I’m writing a request to have him and Joseph Forte in the same in-arena studio next season…Now, that would be entertainment…;)

“Clank your chains, and count your change…” You keep ramblin’.

Stretch Run,
BD