Bay Hill? More like GAY Hill.

Am I right? Come on people.

Anyway, here's Grandslam's half-hearted contribution this week:

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Well first off Nick Faldo, i will apologize for my great golfing mind pick of Joe D. Nice MC!

This weeks recap is gonna be short and sweet, because lets face it selection Sunday is this weekend and the majority of you could give a shit less about what i have to say about golf this weekend.

As for the PODS Stewart Cink pretty much had an ass explosion down his leg and Sean O'Hair took advantage of it and won!

And as for this weeks Arnold Palmer Invitational aka The Bay Hill, it will be possibly the best field that we have seen thus far this year. Invitational tournaments on the PGA Tour are basically like majors, you have to be someone to get invited to these things. That being said, guess who's in the field this week???? That's right the #1 player himself Tiger Woods. I will really go out on a limb for my pick this week and pick Tiger Woods. Lets face it the way this guy has dominated in the last 2 years, you would have to be a complete dumbass not to pick him. My honorable mention pick will be Geoff Ogilvy. Hopefully he found his game again last week at the PODS and will start to get on a hot streak, i really like this guy.

But again, the majority of you don't give a shit about what i say, and you especially won't this week with maybe the biggest week of college basketball all season. So enjoy the week and i will talk to you knuckleheads next week.

GO Oral Roberts!!!

- Grandslam

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CHIEF KICKINGSTALLIONSIMS

Many of the big conferences join the madness today, starting with the Big East at 11:00am on ESPN. The best news of all, not only is there day action all this week, but there's late night action as well, with the Pac 10 having a game on Fox Sports starting at 10:30 Wed-Fri of this week.

Last night bubble teams got some relief, as Butler, a lock, won the Horizon tournament and Western Kentucky, a bubble team, won the Sun Belt. Another solid team in Oral Roberts (o, r u?) won the Summit as the #1 seed. The Big Sky championship is set up well, with #1 Portland State vs. #2 Northern Arizona. RIP Weber State.

Several tournaments start off today, but I'm not going to do a full profile on them all, just the smaller ones:

SOUTHWESTERN:
Basically the most worthless of all the small conferences, the SWAC ranked 31 out of 31 in conference RPI, and whoever comes out of here will be a 30 point underdog in the first round (if they get past the play-in game), but still, all basketball is interesting to some degree. The top team in the SWAC this year is Alabama State, who finished out the conference at 15-3 to win by three games. The Hornets have a balanced attack with no player in the top 5 in either scoring or rebounding in the conference, but the awesomest thing about this team is that their starting center is named CHIEF KICKINGSTALLIONSIMS That's bolded so you recognize how awesome that name is. And totally true.
FAVORITE: Alabama State
SLEEPER: Jackson State. The Tigers were one of three SWAC teams to beat Alabama State, and are a fascinating team. They are one of the fastest teams in the country (ranked 19th in tempo) but also one of the least efficient offensively (315th). By sheer volume of shots taken, they score a lot of points.
W's PICK: Chief Kickingstallionsims!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BIG WEST:
It wasn't all that long ago the Big West had teams like Utah State, Pacific, and CS-Fullerton who were legitimate threats to take down a team or two in the Big Dance, but Utah State left for the WAC and Pacific and Fullerton aren't quite the same anymore. The top Big West team this year is UC-Santa Barbara, and other than the nickname "the Gauchos" they don't have much of a claim to fame. A win over UNLV stands as the one bright spot out of conference. In conference play they finished in a three way tie with Fullerton and CS-Northridge, but grabbed the 1 seed due to sweeping Northridge and splitting with Fullerton. The Gauchos do most of their damage from the outside, shooting 41.3% from beyond the arc as a team, good for fourth in the country.
FAVORITE: UC-Santa Barbara
SLEEPER: Long Beach State. Led by basketball wizard Dan Monson, the 49ers finished 6-24 overall, but I have no doubt that led by this maestro of the hardwood, LBSU can find a way to win and get to the big dance.
W's PICK: CS-Fullerton. The Titans play a fast (13th in pace) and efficient style (78th), leading the Big West with 83 points scored per game.

MID-AMERICAN:
The MAC always seems to be just good enough to get a bubble team, but not good enough to actually get an at-large (see: Akron last year). This year should be different, as Kent State has done enough to merit an at-large, assuming they don't flame out too early here in the MAC tournament. It won't be an easy road for the Golden Flashes, as even though they are an excellent squad with an RPI of 26, they'll have to outlast fellow top 100 teams Ohio (74), Akron (84), and Miami-Ohio (81). Kent is very balanced inside and out, as they get double digit scoring from guards Al Fisher and Chris Singletary and from big men Haminn Quaintance and Mike Scott (not the pitcher). Quaintance also leads the MAC in field goal percentage, while Singletary is fourth.
FAVORITE: Kent State
SLEEPER: Ohio. The Bobcats are the fourth seed, but have the second best RPI in the conference (due to wins over Maryland and St. Johns), and the best player in the conference in Leon Williams (4th in scoring, 1st in rebounding).
W's PICK: Kent State. Bubble teams breath a little easier as the best team and at-large candidate picks up the auto-bid.

And now for the bigger conferences, in a slightly less obnoxious form:

ATLANTIC TEN:
FAVORITE: Xavier. The only team with an at large locked up
LOCKS: Xavier. I already said that.
SLEEPER: Dayton. Is a team a sleeper if they were hot, then flamed out, then got hot again?
BUBBLE TEAMS: Dayton, UMass, Temple, St. Joe's
PLAYER TO WATCH: Chris Wright, Dayton. Stud freshman who got hurt. Dayton was 12-1 with him, 8-8 without him. Rumors are he might be back for the tournament, which would be huge if he can play back to his high level
W's PICK: Dayton
WHO'S GETTING IN: Xavier, Dayton, UMass

MOUNTAIN WEST:
FAVORITE: BYU. Ended up winning the conference title by 2 games.
LOCKS: BYU. An RPI of 21 and a win over Louisville will do that.
SLEEPER: Air Force. Yes, they still play that annoying slow style that is always dangerous (338th in tempo)
BUBBLE TEAMS: UNLV, New Mexico. Although UNLV is ALOT closer to a bid than the Lobos.
PLAYER TO WATCH: JR Giddens, New Mexico. A Kansas recruit before he killed somebody or cheated in high school on a test or something and got shipped out, has started to live up to his potential (15.6 ppg, 8.4 rpg) but very inconsistent. Has the ability to take over, with two thirty point games in the past month, highlighted by a 36 point, 11 rebound, 6 steals monster against Wyoming.
W's PICK: UNLV. They have home court advantage throughout the tournament (see: San Diego)
WHO'S GETTING IN: BYU, UNLV.


BIG EAST:
FAVORITE: Georgetown. Could be Louisville, but the Hoyas beat them in the regular season finale to take the conference title.
LOCKS: Georgetown, Louisville, UCONN, Notre Dame, Marquette, Pitt. And all them are serious final four contenders.
SLEEPER: Syracuse. With that much depth it's hard to pick anybody, but Boeheim has done it before. Too bad there's no Gerry Mac this year.
BUBBLE TEAMS: West Virginia, Syracuse, Villanova. WVU is probably in, Cuse and Nova play each other in the first game of the tournament.
PLAYER TO WATCH: Levance Fields, Pitt and Donte Green, Syracuse. Fields was the leader of a Panther's team considered a national title contender before he got hurt. After struggling a bit in his absence, they haven't received the boost they hoped from his return. He's shooting just 30% since coming back and the Panthers have gone 3-4. Green is the leading scorer for the Orange and best player, but at 6-11 he tends to fall in love with the three pointer too much at times. Over half his FG attempts this year are from beyond the arc, and the team plays much better when he works inside/outside, as opposed to just Rickerting it the whole time.
W's PICK: Notre Dame. I didn't realize how good the Irish were. They snuck up on me.
WHO'S GETTING IN: Notre Dame, Georgetown, Louisville, Pitt, UCONN, West Virginia, Marquette. Sorry Syracuse. Come to the Barn - how awesome would that be?


PAC 10:
FAVORITE: UCLA. Did you know the Bruins are 4th in both offensive and defensive efficiency? That's just sick.
LOCKS: UCLA, Stanford, Washington State, USC
SLEEPER: Arizona. Even at 8-10 in conference, an RPI of 29, strength of schedule of 1, and a 10-5 record against top 100 teams means you are something to be reckoned with. Although 0-6 against the RPI top 25 is not good, no team needs a run in this tournament more than the Wildcats (or Mildcats, tee-hee).
BUBBLE TEAMS: Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon. All three are about as "bubble" as you can get. Will be very interesting to see what happens here.
PLAYER TO WATCH: Jerryd Bayless, Arizona. No, not OJ Mayo. Dude's overrated. Bayless is as good as the come, and is the best freshman in my mind in the Pac 10 not named Kevin Love. Bayless missed four games with injuries, and the Wildcats went 1-3, including 1-2 in conference to fellow bubblers Oregon and Arizona State.
W's PICK: USC. UCLA always seems to coast in these things, and USC is built for tournament play.
WHO'S GETTING IN: UCLA, Washington State, Arizona, USC, and Stanford.


CONFERENCE USA:
FAVORITE: Memphis. Obviously. But did you know they're dead last in the country in free throw shooting at 58.7%? Dead. Last. Four regulars under 60%, and nobody over 70.6%. That could hurt.
LOCKS: Memphis. Obviously. Joey Dorsey is 36-99 this year. That's 36.4%. I can't think of many things I fail at 63% of the time, other than being interesting.
SLEEPER: UTEP. I'm not actually sure there really is a sleeper here, but the Miners are the closest thing. They damn near beat Memphis last time they met, but the Tigers pulled away to win by six. And UTEP plays a seriously uptempo style, ranking 16th in tempo. I don't know, I got nothin' here.
BUBBLE TEAMS: UAB, Houston. UAB looks better than Houston, as the Cougars are hanging on by mere fumes, but the Blazers aren't in great shape either. A season-ending 38 point loss to Memphis really hurt, and C-USA may be a one bidder.
PLAYER TO WATCH: Robert Vaden, UAB. Former Hoosier who is thriving under Mike Davis on the Blazers. Ended up third in scoring in CUSA at 21.7 per game, and can light it up in a heartbeat, leading the nation in three pointers made. He averages 11 three point attempts per game, so he can shoot you right out of a game, but if he's hot he's almost unstoppable (see: 7-11 against Kentucky, UAB's biggest win of the year and big reason they're on the bubble).
W's PICK: Memphis. They handle these clowns on a regular basis, should continue.
WHO'S GETTING IN: Memphis, UAB. Somehow, I see UAB sneaking in. They've had some success in recent years, and even though it's not supposed to matter, I can see it having an effect.

So there you have it, lots going on. And Thursday we see the Big Ten, SEC, ACC, Big 12, and Southland (wait.......the what?) all kick it off.

Big Bubble Blows

Two bubble teams were knocked out of the tournament (most likely) last night, due to losses by South Alabama and Gonzaga in their tournaments. This, along with the VCU loss this weekend, makes the bubble an even muddier picture. Gonzaga is in for sure. But South Alabama and VCU are bubble teams.

South Alabama has an RPI of 37, with a strength of schedule of 127. VCU's RPI is 54, with an SOS of 155. USA finished 26-6, 16-2 in their conference to finish tied for first in the 15th toughest league by RPI. VCU finished 24-7, 15-3 in conference to finish first by 3 games in the 13th toughest league. USA lost in the tournament semifinals, as did VCU. Non-conference saw USA with a NC SOS of 73, with VCU at 81. In terms of results, USA beat Mississippi State and San Diego (two tournament teams), swept Western Kentucky, and lost to Vanderbilt and Ole Miss both by three on the road. VCU beat Maryland and Houston, lost to George Mason in their only meeting by 12, and lost to Miami (FL) by six and Arkansas by 10. It's closer than I thought, but I think South Alabama is clearly a tournament team, while VCU is probably just out.

Two more tournaments kick off today, the WAC and the MEAC, along with chamionships in the Horizon, the Sun Belt, and the Summit.

Western Athletic Conference:
The WAC is a really weird conference to me, as it seems like it should be better than it is. But it's not, it sucks. The WAC rankes 20th out of the 31 conferences in RPI. A four way tie for first just reinforces the mediocrity. Leading the way down crap lane is Utah State and superstar guard Jaycee Carroll. It's not too touch to figure out what this team is all about, as they rank 7th in the country in offensive efficiency, but 259th in defensive efficiency. They shoot 52% from the floor as a team, 39% from three, and 79% from the line - second in the country. Carroll himself is sixth in O-efficiency, shooting 53%, including 50% from three, and 92% from the line while averaging 23 points per game. The Aggies biggest competition is Nevada, who has been the favorite for several years but dropped off without Nick Fazekas around anymore. Marcellus Kemp is still around, however, and was second in the league in scoring to Carroll.
FAVORITE: Utah State
SLEEPER: Boise State. Finished in that four way tie for first, but ended up with the fourth seed after tie breakers. Led the league in scoring and have the two top rebounders in the WAC. Also swept Nevada, although Utah St swept them.
W's PICK: Utah State. I can't pick against a team I watched play in person. Especially with all the hot girls who attend there.

MEAC
One of a couple of conferences that is always in contention to send it's champion to the play-in game, and this year doesn't look much different, as the MEAC finished 30th out of 31 conferences in RPI. This year's leader is Morgan State, who steamrolled through the conference at 14-2, winning by three games. The Golden Bears are yet another one of those teams that play solid defense and a slow game, and could at least give their NCAA opponent some trouble if they make it. They'll have to get by Hampton and Norfolk State in the tournament if they want to make it, they finished in a tie for second, and Norfolk handed Morgan State one of it's losses this season.
FAVORITE: Morgan State
SLEEPER: Florida A&M. The Rattlers are on a roll (won five straight), have been here before (have won the MEAC tournament twice - including last year), and play Morgan State tough (2 losses by a total of five points)
W's PICK: Morgan State

TOMORROW: Some of the "real" conferences get things moving, such as the Atlantic 10, Mountain West, Big East, and Pac 10, along with the Big West, MAC, and Conference USA. Championships for the NEC and Big Sky, too. And it's my mom's birthday.

WCHA Playoff Preview

The WCHA regular season came to an end last weekend. This week I will be handing out my post season awards and breaking down the first round of the WCHA playoffs. Before we start I want to give congratulations to Colorado College for winning the McNaughton Cup and basically leading the conference from wire to wire.

WCHA First Team

F- Ryan Lasch- Leading Scorer in the conference and one of the top scorers in the nation.
F- Chad Rau- 2nd leading scorer in conference play, led conference in shorties, WCHA Champion.
F- TJ Oshie- Best all around player in the conference. Will be on the People Magazines 2008 sexiest people list.
D- Jack Hillen- Leading scorer among defenseman in the conference and country.
D- Taylor Chorney- Probably doesn’t deserve this, but was first team last year and still had a solid season. Robbie Bina could also land here on the official list, just not mine, I hate gimps!
G- Phil Lamerioux- Best goalie in the league. Also the biggest twat. 1.66 GAA and .934 Save %

All Frosh Team

F- Garret Roe-SCSU- Top frosh scorer in the conference and one of the top overall scorers in the country.
F- Kyle Turris-UW- Led Wisconsin in scoring. #3 overall pick in last years NHL draft.
F- Tyler Bozeak-DU- #7 overall scorer in WCHA play.
D- Ryan Mc Donaugh-UW- Wisconsin- Played a ton of minutes and had a very solid year.
D- Cade Fairchild- MN- Leading point getter for Frosh defenders in the conference. Played a ton of minutes
G- Richard Bachman-CC- If he wasn’t a frosh he might be up for Conference MVP. Similar numbers to twat boy. 1.77 GAA and .934 Save %.

Conference MVP- Phil Lamerioux- UND

ROY- Richard Bachman-CC- Three way race between Bachman, Roe (scsu), and Turris.

Coach of the Year- Troy Jutting- His team was expected to finish near the bottom of the WCHA and finished in the top half of the conference and will likely make the NCAA tournament. Lucia still owns him though!

#1 Colorado College vs #10 Alaska Anchorage- Alaska is just plain awful and will not be able to skate with Colorado College. CC wins 5-1 on Friday and 4-1 Saturday for a 2-0 sweep. It would be nice if the WCHA could boot Alaska from the conference and add Bemidji State.

#2 UND vs #9 Michigan Tech- These games SHOULD be low scoring because of the style Tech plays and I wouldn’t be shocked if Tech steals 1 game. With that being said I am still picking UND to win 3-2 Friday night and 2-1 Saturday for a 2-0 sweep. UND’s winning streak will end next weekend in St. Paul.

#3 Denver vs #8 UMD- Not sure what to expect in this series. Denver has not played well for over a month now and UMD has been terrible until the Gophers gift wrapped a win for them last Saturday. I will go with the home team winning 3-1 Friday night, UMD stays alive with a 3-2 win Saturday and Denver wins game #3 3-1. Denver wins the series 2-1.

#4 Mankato State vs #7 U of — This may come to a shock to most of you but I am actually going to pick the Gophers to win in three games. The main reason is the Gophers own Mankato State. The Gophers life time record vs Mankato is 25-2-5. If Mankato wins 1 game this weekend that would double the amount of games the have won vs the gophers in Mankato. Gophers win 3-2 Friday, Mankato wins 3-2 Saturday and the Gophers win 2-1 Sunday. Gophers win the series 2-1.

#5 St.Cloud vs #6 Wisconsin- This is another series where the visiting team completely owns their opponent. Up until two weeks ago St. Cloud had gone 17 games without beating Wisconsin. That streak was snapped two weeks ago with a 3-2 victory in the 2nd game of that series. Look for another close series similar to the MN vs Mankato series. Wisconsin wins 3-2 Friday, St. Cloud wins 3-2 Saturday and Wisconsin wins 4-2 Sunday. Wisconsin wins series 2-1.

That will give us a final Five of CC, UND, Denver, Wisconsin and MN. You can write that in with permanent marker!

Also, Congratulation to Ryan Duncan on winning the Hoby Baker Award in 2007 and not even making first team all-conference in 2008. Toews is still waiting for his trophy....f’ing thief!

Royce White Interview

Snacks forwarded me an interview Royce White did post getting kicked out of De La Salle.

By Antonio Curro - NY2LA Sports

March 10, 2008

One of the hottest prospects in the Class of 2009 has seen his recruiting stock soar over the past year with monster performances on the basketball court and as the high school season began 6'7" F Royce White of Minnesota was one of the most talked about Class of 2009 prospects in the country for his ability on the court. After a whirlwind past few days, he is again one of the most talked about prospects in the country, except this time it's for what's happening off the court after he was dismissed from De La Salle (MN) High School last week. In a private one on one conversation with me last night, White discussed his recruitment, De La Salle, and the whirlwind that was last week.

AC - First off, how are things with you right now, I know it's been a tough couple of days?

RW - It's been tough but I'm hanging in there right now.

AC - Let's talk basketball first. What's happening with you on the recruiting side?

RW - It's been pretty crazy. Lots of schools have shown interest this year.

AC - Who's offered so far?

RW - Minnesota, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Iowa State, Northern Iowa, Cincinnati, Miami (FL), Arkansas, Seton Hall, Arizona, USC, Xavier, Texas A & M, and Virginia

AC - Anyone else showing interest?

RW - North Carolina, Kentucky, Marquette, Texas, and Purdue.

AC - Have you taken any unofficial visits yet?

RW - Yeah I've been to Minnesota, Iowa State, Wisconsin, and Texas A & M

AC - Any thoughts on when you plan on narrowing the list down or making a decision?

RW - I was just talking about that with my family today. I think I'll probably meet with the people that support me and talk about narrowing the list down maybe before the spring season starts. I'll probably make a decision when the summer season is over.

AC - Are you playing with Howard Pulley again this spring?

RW - Yes

AC - What's the biggest difference you see between grassroots travel and high school basketball?

RW - The biggest difference is that the spring is more competitive and when you play a team they have all good players as opposed to just one or two. In high school sometimes they'll run a silly zone at you or something like that. That happens in the spring but not as much, it's more straight up where you go head to head and find out who's better.

AC - As a player what do you think your biggest strengths are that you can bring to a team at the collegiate level?

RW - Hardwork and versatility. I'm the type of guy that'll do whatever it takes to get the job done on the court.

AC - What areas are you focused on improving right now?

RW - Expanding the range of my shot, adding strength, and improving my footwork on the court.

AC - Let's switch gears a bit. Obviously the basketball side is continuing to move forward with spring approaching, but I want to talk about the past few days. You were dismissed from De La Salle last week correct?

RW - That's correct.

AC - I don't want to get into the specifics of what happened but in a nutshell what went down?

RW - I don't have any excuses. Last week I made a stupid mistake that I'll regret for the rest of my life. It's one of those things that I wish I could go back and change but I can't and I let a lot of people down.

AC - Did you think you would have an opportunity to stay at De La Salle when everything went down?

RW - I was given a chance to speak to the Board of Review with my family present and afterwards they contacted my mom and informed her that I would not be welcome back at De La Salle.

AC - How did you feel when you heard that?

RW - I wish I was still there. I have a lot of respect for the people there and it was a place I felt would allow me to achieve the goals I wanted to achieve. It's a school of high principles and standards and unfortunately, I made a stupid decision that didn't meet those standards.

AC - Did you have a chance to talk to your coach when everything happened?

RW - We had a game that night so I didn't talk to him until the next day. He's still in my corner and a big supporter of me. He's one of the people I trust and I'm really sorry that I let him, my teammates, and the school down.

AC - Did you talk to anyone else like college coaches, friends, etc. about what happened?

RW - Yes

AC - What was the general consensus from them?

RW - They all agreed that I made a mistake and need to grow up, use this as a learning experience, and move forward.

AC - What are your thoughts now as you look back on things that happened at De La Salle?

RW - It hurts me a lot that I had to part ways. De La Salle had a great tradition and a general community sense that was really supportive and fun to be a part of, and that's not just basketball wise. I had a great relationship with my coach and I'm really sorry that I let so many of the people there down who supported me over the years. It's a mistake I wish I could take back but obviously I can't so I'm just going to have to move forward and get back on track.

AC - Anything you'd like to say to the people at De La Salle?

RW - I just want to wish them the best of luck. I have the utmost respect for the school, the coaches, my classmates, and my teammates. I have no hard feelings towards any of them. I made mistakes and let them down. Even when I had to sit out earlier in the year, that was on me. I acted with immaturity and I just really want to apologize to all the people there and tell them that I regret what I've done and wish them the best of luck.

AC - Anything you'd like to say to the people who've supported you?

RW - Yes. I've let a lot of people down with my actions last week. My family, coaches, friends, classmates, teachers, teammates, and other supporters have always been in my corner. I owe all of them an apology and I'm very sorry that I let them down.

AC - Anything else?

RW - I'm just going to work hard to get things turned around and become the best person I can be. I'm young and have made some mistakes but I plan on moving forward to prove that I'm not that type of person. I want to thank everyone who's supported me and hopefully I'll be able to make them proud again very soon.

AC - Thanks for your time Royce and best of luck to you.

RW - Thanks.

He certainly says all the right things, so maybe he will use this experience to grow and become a more mature person. Then again, he says exactly what you would want him to, so it could be good coaching. We shall see.

Future Gophers?

With the whole Royce White hub-bub dominating Gopher recruiting thoughts, I thought I'd take a minute to look at some possible Targets who are still out there for the team

2008:
PG Verdell Jones, Illinois, 30th ranked PG by Scout, Rivals #123 overall: Probably the best known of the names out there other than the two Minnesota kids for 2009, Verdell Jones has an offer from the Gophers. According to Scout, his choices are between Minnesota, Tennessee, and Kentucky - but his only offer is from the Gophers at this point. They also top his list. Jones is the second best point guard still available for 2008, and has taken visits to both the Gophers and Kentucky. The Volunteers just signed PG Daniel West, so that has to take them down a peg for Jones. All signs point to the Gophers leading to get his services.

C Krys Faber, Los Angeles, 23rd ranked C by Scout: Faber also has an offer from the Gophers, and is a big 6-10, 245 physical player. As of now, Scout has Minnesota at the top of his list along with Northern Illinois. He has visited both schools, and has an offer from each. Faber was well under the radar, but had a tremendous senior season and interest has picked up, with Notre Dame, St Johns, Baylor, Iowa, and even UCLA starting to show some interest.

C Steven Toyloy, Miami-Dade CC, 16th ranked Juco player by JuCo Junction: One other name for 2008 that I hadn't heard before is JuCo center Steven Toyloy, who led all junior college players in rebounding last year as a freshman with 13 per game at Miami-Dade. I was surprised to see that Minnesota has an offer out to him according to scout, along with West Virginia, Clemson, and Baylor - with UCONN in the mix as well. He is the 16th ranked JuCo player, but as referenced in this post, who the hell knows what that means. He sounds like a bit of a project, as his coach said, "He needs to continue to improve his footwork. His free throw shooting needs to get a little better and his overall skill development," Eisele said. "He has made great strides since high school and he is getting better day by day. He plays extremely hard and he has got a little bit of a mean streak in his game, which is always helpful with big kids" which sounds very projecty to me. apparently he's a great defender and rebounder, however.

2009
PF Royce White, Minneapolis, four stars from Scout, #32 overall from Rivals: If you're reading this, you probably already know about Royce so I'm not going to say much. I will say that I'm backing off a little from my whole "you are all idiots for saying we shouldn't recruit him anymore" stance, mainly because I was ignorant and ill-informed. I was unaware that this was White's second suspension, and I didn't know he had been a behavior problem all season. I'll trust in Tubby, but if he chooses to no longer go after Royce, I won't have a problem.

C DaShonte Riley, Detroit, #4 center by Scout, #13 overall by Rivals: Riley would absolutely be the best recruit the Gophers have gotten in a while. A 6-10 center who is a defensive monster. Averaged nine points, 12 rebounds, and 7 blocks per game as a junior. Needs to work on his offense a bit, but is a good enough player that besides the Gophers he also has offers from Florida, Georgetown, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, UCLA, and USC. If Tubby can pull Riley out of that group and get him to Minneapolis, a new era will truly have dawned at Williams Arena.

SG/SF Rodney Williams, Robbinsdale, #8 SF from Scout, #43 overall from Rivals: Williams is another guy you probably know about. He's been shooting up the charts and has offers from Minnesota, Iowa State, Kansas, Wisconsin, Iowa, Miami, and Purdue. Williams can flat out score, and if he qualifies academically - which my source indicates is no longer much of a concern - he would be a great signing for Minnesota.

One other interesting name out there for 2009 is Johnnie Lacy, a point guard from Milwaukee the Gophers have shown interest in, along with Wisconsin, Marquette, Cincinnati, and Tennessee. Not only is that just a sweet name, but to steal a Badger target and get him in Maroon and Gold would be a huge step in the right direction. Lacy is the #10 PG by Scout and is #88 overall by Rivals.

DaShonte Riley highlights below:

Busy Weekend

So what all happened this weekend that matters? Well, other than the Gophers getting beat by Illinois, and ending the season the same way they've played all year - disappointingly. I was unable to see very much of the game, seeing as I was at an infant CPR class (which was basically 2 hours of some lady telling us all the ways our baby could die), but from what the box score tells me I'm pretty glad I missed it. The Gophers only turned it over 9 times, which is excellent, but they were also outrebounded by the Illini 45-19. You read that correctly. I have a feeling I would had a stroke if I had watched the game. Hopefully they can dominate in the NIT or CBI now.

Anyway, it was a big weekend in college hoops, here's what happened.

CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS:
At least so far, most of the conference tournies are shaping up to make this an excellent NCAA tournament, with top seeds winning. Of the autobids given out, all four teams were either 1 seeds or a 2 seed via tie-breaker at the top. Austin Peay won the Ohio Valley, Drake came through in the Missouri Valley, Winthrop took the Big South, and Belmont grabbed the Atlantic Sun. This is great stuff, helping to assure that the top talent will be in the field of 65. Most other conference tournaments are looking pretty good too. The America East, Horizon, and MAAC title gams are all between the #1 and #2 seeds, the Patriot title game is between #1 and #3, as is the West Coast Conference. Obviously they aren't all set up like that, the Colonial is #5 vs. #3 (thanks VCU - more on that later), but in general most of the top seeds are still around.

WHO HELPED THEMSELF?
Arkansas looks pretty good after finishing the regular season with a win against Auburn. The Razorbacks aren't a lock by any means, but are looking pretty solid after finishing 9-7 in the SEC.

New Mexico kept their slim hopes alive with a win Saturday at Colorado State. The win doesn't really help all that much, but a loss would have killed them.

Davidson rolled through the SoCon tournament into the title game where they will face seventh seeded Elon, still unsure if they'd get an at-large if they fall, but I think they most likely will. Would still be a good idea for them to win.

Dayton beat St. Joe's in a huge bubble game in the A-10, and finished the year at 8-8 in conference, recovering from a midseason crash to put themselves at the top of the bubble list.

UMass won at George Washington to finish out A-10 play with 6 straight wins and a 10-6 record. They look ok, but face either Rhode Island or Charlotte in their first A-10 conference game and need to win to get in.

Temple is yet another A-10 team with a shot, winning at LaSalle to get to 11-5 and a second place finish. They have wins against Xavier, St Joe's, and Umass, but there's nothing else on the resume. At all.

Oklahoma pretty much put themselves in after winning against Missouri. Even a first round exit in the Big 12 tournament shouldn't keep them out.

Oregon picked up a huge win by defeating Arizona. The Ducks beat both Arizona schools this past week, both fellow bubblers, and have put themselves in a position to have a chance. Still, they need a win over Washington State in the Pac 10 tournament to get upgraded from Probably Not to Maybe.

Arizona State is in a similar position to the Ducks, but lost to them earlier in the week. The beat the worthless Beavers of OSU on Saturday to finish 8-8 in league play. They have a win against Xavier in the non-conference, and swept fellow bubble team Arizona this season. Still, a win against USC in the first round of the Pac 10 tournament is a must.

Kansas State won at Iowa State to get to 10-6 in the Big 12 and a third place finish. It's hard to see them not getting in at this point, but a win against Texas A&M in the first round would clinch it.

Villanova and Syracuse are pretty much longshots at this point, but both got the win they needed - Nova at Providence, the Orange against Marquette. Obviously the Marquette win is more impressive than Providence, and Syracuse ranks above Villanova on the bubble. Both teams likely need two wins in the Big East tournament to get invited.

Baylor is likely in after a win against Texas Tech in Lubbock. The Bears lost earlier in the week at home against A&M to make them a question mark, but at 9-7 in the Big 12 with some nice non-conference work should be enough to put them in.

UNLV closed out it's Mountain West season with a win against Utah to get to 12-4 and finish in second place. This win very likely gets UNLV an at-large bid, but if the Rebels stumble early in the MWC tournament, held on their home floor, they might not get in.

Ohio State did what it needed to do for the second game in a row, following up a win against Purdue with a win against Michigan State this weekend. Is it enough? Probably not yet, thanks to a 2-9 record against the RPI top 50. Win again against MSU in the Big Ten tournament, and that would likely be enough to get them in.

Kentucky grabbed a huge win against Florida, as the Wildcats finish 12-4, good enough for second in the SEC East. An absolutely horrid non-conference season is the only reason they are on the bubble, as they have played brilliantly as of late. They might be in already, but a huge game in the SEC tournament against Ole Miss could decide both teams' fates.

Speaking of Ole Miss, they won at Georgia on Saturday to close out with three straight wins and get to 7-9 in the SEC West. A 5-4 record against the top 50 is great, but without a win against Kentucky, the Rebels might end up one of the most disappointing teams of the year.

South Alabama and Western Kentucky rolled in their games in the Sun Belt, both advancing to the semifinals. I'm guessing this is as far as USA needed to come to get a bid, and they should be in regardless. Obviously, one more win wouldn't hurt. For WKU, they definitely need a win today over Little Rock to even have a chance. They may need to win the championship to get in, but at the very least, they need to get there.

Kent State won at Akron on Sunday, wrapping up a MAC regular season title. A 25-6 overall record and an RPI of 32 should be enough to get Kent State a bid, even with a stumble in the conference tournament.

WHO HURT THEMSELF?
The aforementioned loss by St. Joe's to Dayton might be a killer. The Hawks have two easy games to open the A-10 tournament, but pretty much need a trip to the finals to have a chance.

Miami didn't do itself any favors losing to Florida State in OT. They should still be in, but need to win their opening game in the ACC tournament to breathe easy.

Illinois State both helped and hurt themselves by getting to the MVC championship, but then getting blown out by 30. Getting to the championship was what they needed to have a shot at an at-large, but losing by thirty might stick in the committee's mind and keep them on the outside.

Arizona really hurt themselves by losing at Oregon, meaning they were 3-7 in their last ten to finish the season. The Wildcats are a good team, and dealt with injuries to guards Jerryd Bayless and Nic Wise, but they might be on the outside right now. Even with the second most difficult strength of schedule and an RPI of 30, can a team get in with an overall record of 17-13, and 8-10 in the conference? Arizona is probably the most fascinating bubble team right now. They open the conference tournament against Oregon State - a game that can only hurt them - and then get Stanford in what might very well be a must win for the Cats.

Texas A&M got thumped by Kansas in College Station, and if it weren't for a win at Baylor earlier in the week would be NIT bound. They're still alive after the loss to the Jayhawks, but now are on thin ice. They get Kansas State to open the B12 tourny, and need to win to get in.

Houston was pretty much in "no-chance" for an at large territory already, but losing to UTEP in the season finale seals it. The Cougars will now need the autobid to make the NCAAs. Texas Tech and Oklahoma State were pretty much in the same place, and with both losing this weekend they are in "need to win to get in" territory as well.

Virginia Commonwealth got bounced in the semis of the Colonial tournament by William & Mary, proving that weird old drunk guys in hotel bars know what they're talking about. Can the Rams get an at-large? Very debatable. Pretty much the definition of a bubble team. Good out of conference results, regular season league championship, but an SOS of 143 and an RPI of 45, and didn't make the conference tournament championship. My gut says they should make it, but the committee does weird things sometimes.

Florida will become one of the rare teams that wins a title, and then misses the tournament the following year - barring winning the autobid, of course. Sunday's loss at Kentucky was a killer. A SOS of 93 and RPI of 63 isn't getting anybody in.

A pair of bubble ACC teams hurt themselves yesterday - Virginia Tech letting Clemson steal a game and Maryland getting steamrolled by Virginia. The Hokies still have some hope, despite a pretty empty profile. They've finished strong, winning four of their last five to get to 9-7 in the conference, and can get in with two ACC tournament wins, maybe even with just one. Maryland's hopes are pretty much over, unless they can run the table in the conference tournament.

UAB didn't do themselves any favors getting blown out by Memphis by 40 on Saturday. Still, the Blazers finished second in C-USA, have an RPI of 46 and a win over Kentucky that keeps looking better and better. If they can get to the finals of the C-USA tournament, they're probably in. Otherwise, most likely not.

Finally, late late late last night St. Mary's got bounced out of the West Coast tournament in the semifinals by San Diego in double OT after leading by double digits most of the game. It's hard to believe the Gaels are on the bubble, but that's where ESPN has them. I can't believe they wouldn't get a bid with an RPI of 33, a 24-5 record, and some good non-conference wins, but even so, selection sunday is going to be nerve-wracking.

TODAY:
Colonial (W&M vs. George Mason), West Coast (Gonzaga vs. St. Mary's), MAAC (Rider vs. Siena), and SoCon (Davidson vs. Elon) championships.

And yes, I know this is mainly a Gopher blog, but this stuff is way more exciting and interesting than dissecting why Dan Coleman disappears for long stretches or why Lawrence McKenzie won't pass to Blake Hoffarber.

A few More

Southern Illinois said bye-bye to it's postseason hopes with a second round exit against Northern Iowa in the Missouri Valley tournament yesterday, while 2 seed in the OVC Murray State got bounced in the semis by Tennessee State. Valparaiso also knocked off Wright State in the Horizon, setting up a semi final with Cleveland State to see who gets to lose to Butler. Meanwhile Belmont and Jacksonville rolled through the Atlantic Sun, setting up a 1 v 2 matchup in the championship today. Other championships today include the aforementioned OVC championship between Tenn State and 1 seed Austin Peay, and the big 1 v 2 in the Big South between UNC-Asheville and Winthrop that I highly recommend watching (I can't, I have to go to an infant CPR class) on ESPN2 at 10:30am CST.

Two tournies kick off today:

BIG SKY:
The Big Sky never seems to make much noise during the regular season, but the teams have won a few NCAA games. Weber State has a few wins, including a nice run with Harold "The Show" Arceneaux, and Montana has a win or two. This year was bascially a two man race, with Portland State and Northern Arizona at the top of the conference, which only sends its top 6 teams into the tournament, which is weird. Portland State is the highest scoring team in the league, led by two top-5 scorers in 5-6 point guard Jeremiah Dominguez and shooting guard Deonte Huff. The Vikings essentially take 6-11 center Scott Morrison, plot him down low and surround him with scoring guards. Northern Arizona comes in on a tear, having won their last five. The have maybe the top player in the conference in power forward Kyle Landry, who was second in the Big Sky in scoring and field goal percentage, and third in rebounding. The Lumberjacks can shoot the ball, ranking 27th in the nation in 2-point field goals at 53%. Both teams can score and shoot, so if they match up in the final it should be a good one.
FAVORITE: Portland State
SLEEPER: Weber State. Third in the conference, and you can never count them out in the Big Sky tourny.
W's PICK: Northern Arizona. Despite getting swept by PSU this year, I still think Northern Arizona is the better team, as evidenced by their win over Western Kentucky earlier this year.

SUMMIT:
Formerly the Mid-Con, Valpo went away and this league changed around a bit and renamed itself the Summit. One thing that hasn't changed, is that Oral Roberts (O, R U?) is still the class of the league. The Golden Eagles were good enough this season to have been in the At-Large discussion at one-point, thanks to a win over Oklahoma State and an 11-0 league start. They are in free fall mode, finishing up 3-3 (2-3 in conference) and hoping to regain form to run through the tournament and make the dance. Their biggest challenger will be the IUPUI Jaguars, who finished just one game behind ORU and have a win over UMass on their resume. IUPUI is a very efficient team offensively, and boast a top player in George Hill, who led the Summit in scoring (21.2) and was third in steals (1.8) and fifth in rebounding (6.6), assists (4.4), field goal percentage (56%) and three point percentage (46%). Basically he does it all well.
FAVORITE: Oral Roberts
SLEEPER: North Dakota State. The Bison can score (1st in the Summit), rebound (2nd), and shoot (2nd). Woodside and Winkelman are the 3rd and 4th top scorers in the conference, and if they get hot they could do some damage.
W's PICK: IUPUI. The Jaguars as a team shoot 51% from the field, 42% from three, and 78% from the line. These numbers mean they are the #2 ranked team in terms of offensive efficiency in the country, and are #1 in both field goal and three point percentage. Both Hill and point guard Gary Patterson rank in the top 20 in efficiency individually.

TOMORROW: America East and Missouri Valley championships

Day Action Begins

It's a very exciting day today, as Day action begins with games at 11, 1:30, 2, 2:30, 3:30, 4:15, and 5:00 today in the Southern, Colonial, and Missouri Valley Conferences, and pretty much continues all through next week.

As far as yesterday's games, in the Big South UNC-Asheville and Winthrop both rolled through the tournament, setting up what should be a really fun final on Saturday on one of the ESPNs. Oregon knocked off Arizona State, essentially sending them to the NIT, while St. Joe's gave itself a huge shot in the arm by knocking off Xavier.

Today's tournaments:

America East:
A pretty boring conference, although it contains Albany, who put a scare into UCONN as a 16 seed a few years ago. Albany does have a shot in the tournament, coming in as the three seed with back-to-back wins in their last two games. They are led by do everything 6-5 swingman Brian Lillis, who leads the team in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The conference's regular season belonged to UM-Baltimore County, who rolled through 13-3, winning by 3 games. UMBC is a quality team who went 3-0 against the A-10 this year (Richmond, GW, and LaSalle, but still) and plays a very slow, efficient offensive game. Their biggest concern is depth, as five players score 87% of their points.
FAVORITE: UMBC
SLEEPER: Binghampton. They have a win over both Albany and UMBC already this season. Plus, I have a Binghampton shirt.
W's PICK: Albany. They have the best player in the league in Lillis, and he and fellow guard Jon Iati were part of the team that challenged UCONN.

SOUTHERN:
The big story here is Davidson. Universally recognized as one of the best teams in the country from the small conferences, Davidson had too many missed opportunities to feel safe if they don't win the tournament. Although they went 20-0 in conference, they were unable to get a win against North Carolina, Duke, UCLA, Charlotte, or NC State. A loss to Western Michigan doesn't help either. Their best win was at Winthrop in bracket busters, and an RPI of 45 and SOS of 136 is going to leave the Wildcats feeling very nervous if they don't win the SoCon tourny.
FAVORITE: Davidson
SLEEPER: UNC-Greensboro. The only team in the conference to say within ten both games against Davidson.
W's PICK: Davidson. They're just so much better than their competition, and superstar Stephen Curry has the game to put the team on his back and get to the tourny. After scaring Ohio State and Maryland the last two years, maybe this is the year Davidson gets that tournament win.

COLONIAL:
The darling of the mid-major fans after George Mason's Final Four run and VCU's win over Duke last year, they may be a one bid league this season. Virginia Commonwealth is the top team in the league and only shot at a at-large. VCU went 23-6, 15-3 in the conference winning by 3 games, won 8 of their last 9, and beat fellow bubble teams Houston and Maryland this year. VCU is led by superman Eric Maynor, who led the team in points and assists. Search the blog for Maynor if you want to see a nice highlight clip of what he did to Duke last year. And you can't forget George Mason. Although their at-large hopes went bye-bye after their loss to Ohio in bracket busters (compounded with a season ending loss against Northeastern), GMU is still a quality team with a win over Kansas State this year. Will Thomas and Folarin Campbell are still around from that final four team, and would love to get back to the big dance.
FAVORITE: VCU
SLEEPER: Old Dominion. They come in hot, winning 6 of their last 7 and beat both GMU and VCU earlier this year.
W's PICK: VCU. I think George Mason has a shot, but Maynor is could enough to put VCU over the hump.

WEST COAST:
The WCC is used to sending Gonzaga to the dance year after year, but this season they could get three bids. Gonzaga and St Mary's are both likely in - the Zags are a lock, the Gaels need to not flame out too early in the WCC tournament to be safe. If a third team wins the tournament, their could be three in. Gonzaga is led by overrated Matt Bouldin, but Jeremy Pargo, Josh Heytvelt, and Austin Daye are good enough to carry the team. St Mary's burst on the scene this season after their big win against Oregon, where star freshman Patrick Mills dumped 37 on the Ducks. It's not just a one man show for the Gaels, as Diamon Simpson can score and defend three positions, and Omar Samhan and Ian O'Leary give them a presence in the paint.
FAVORITE: Gonzaga
SLEEPER: San Diego. With all the talk about SMU and Gonzaga, the Toreros have been forgotten despite on three losses in the league, all to the top two. They've beaten St. Mary's, played Zaga tough both times, and have a win over Kentucky. And Pepperdine is also a sleeper, because they have Rico Tucker.
W's PICK: St. Mary's. I think they're a better team than the Zags, with a better balance of inside/outside and better defense.

METRO ATLANTIC:
For the longest time this was my favorite small conference, because they were one of only two who played on Friday nights - so I needed them for gambling purposes. Back in the day when Manhattan was led by Luis Flores and was dominate, Keydren Clark was scoring like crazy for St Peter's, and Loyola-Maryland was one of the worst teams in the country. Times have changed, but the MAAC is still solid with four good teams that could win this thing. Niagara - led by the nation's second leading scorer in Charron Fisher, Rider - led by NBA prospect and the nation's second leading rebounder in Jason Thompson, Siena - who swept Niagara, and Loyola-MD - who bombs from three, hitting 8.1 per game to lead the MAAC. All four teams score more than 72 points per game, so this should be a very entertaining tournament.
FAVORITE: Rider
SLEEPER: Marist. An average team, but second in the conference in 3 point shooting. If they get hot, they could do some damage.
W's PICK: Niagara. They won last year, and won the play-in game, and have the best player in the conference.


TOMORROW: Big South, Ohio Valley, and Atlantic Sun championships, while the Big Sky and the Summit kick their's off. And pretty much every bubble team plays and should probably try to win. Unfortunately, the Gophers have to play too.

Keep 'Em Coming

Kentucky, Temple, UMass, Syracuse, Villanova, and Texas A&M all kept their tournament hopes alive with wins, including a tough one for A&M at Baylor. Florida couldn't knock off Tennessee, and is likely headed to the NIT. Seton Hall and Oklahoma State were losers at home to the 'Cuse and Oklahoma, and are both also knocked off the bubble. No major upsets in the Sun Belt, but over in the Patriot Navy was knocked off by Bucknell in triple OT, and American barely held off Holy Cross, winning by two.


MISSOURI VALLEY: Everybody knows about the Missouri Valley, because it's been the darling of the mid-majors for a few years now, and with good reason. The Valley is down a bit this year - likely only two bids- but still boasts a solid team or three. Leading the way is Drake, who finished up at 25-4 including a win at Butler to prove they are for real. The Bulldogs are a lock to make the tournament, with or without the auto-bid. That leaves the second bit up to a fight between second and third place regular season finishers Southern Illinois and Illinois State. So Ill has been there before, including a couple sweet 16 appearances, while Illinois State has burst on the scene this year led by guys with names like Osiris, Boo, Dom, and Levi. Sounds scary.
FAVORITE: Drake, but they don't need it
SLEEPER: Bradley. Have wins at Drake and against Illinois State this year. Point guard and second leading scorer Daniel Ruffin has missed a lot of time with injuries this season, but he's back and dropped 30 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists on Creighton in a double OT thriller in his first game back.
W's PICK: Southern Illinois. The Salukis are experienced, with top players Randal Falker, Matt Shaw, and Bryan Mullins all having been there before. They still play the same slow down, tough defensive style that can wear teams out.

NORTHEASTERN: One of the more irrelevant conferences in division one, the NEC might actually have a decent team this year in Robert Morris. The Colonials finished with 25 wins this season, including wins over Boston College and Fordham, and have won their last 13 straight going into the NEC tournament. They are a rare team that plays a fast paced game, but also is tough defensively, and they rank 7th in the country in turning other teams over.
FAVORITE: Robert Morris
SLEEPER: Wagner. Not sure how much of a sleeper they are, since they finished second in the conference, but they did just get blow apart by RMU by 22.
W's PICK: Wagner. Just seems like the kind of thing that would happen.

OTHER BUBBLE GAMES:
Arizona State @ Oregon - a true elimination game, as the loser can forget it. The winner will need to grab a couple more wins though
Xavier @ St Joe's - would be a huge win for the Hawks. A loss doesn't kill them, but it's close


TOMORROW: American East, Southern, Colonial, West Coast, and the MAAC all tip off. Plus DAY ACTION!