Having best player doesn’t assure a title
Griffin's greatness almost guarantees Sooners won’t be champions
Donna Mcwilliam / APOklahoma's Blake Griffin averages 22.1 points and a nation-leading 14.2 rebounds per game, making him the best player in the country.
Q: Is the NCAA tournament ever going to expand again?
— Tom Dawson, Fort Collins, Colo.
A: “Ever” is a very long time, Tom. Right now, in March 2009, I can’t sit here and say that the NCAA will never, ever expand again. But I can tell you that expansion is not being considered right now and won’t be in the near future.
There have been coaches, most notably Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim, who have campaigned for an increase to 73 teams or 128 teams. Others have insisted that the tournament should be opened up to every Division I school. But the NCAA Men’s Basketball Committee addressed expansion during its meetings in the summer of 2007, and the issue went nowhere. Tom O’Connor, chair of the committee, said this in Feb. 2008: “At this time the committee and the NCAA board has deemed that the current bracket is appropriate. We feel, coming out of our meetings this summer, that where we are right now is fine.” The topic really hasn’t received much serious attention since then. And with all the economic problems in this country today, I can’t see any way the topic gets brought up when it would mean extra costs.
I think the size of the field is perfect. The tournament is designed for maximum excitement over a three-week period. Talk of opening the tournament to all Division I teams is ridiculous. First, that would reduce the importance of the regular season to nothing. Second, in my opinion, the tournament is open to everyone already. If you want to get in the NCAA tournament, go win your conference tournament and get the automatic bid.
Jay Bilas, who just happens to be the smartest guy on ESPN’s college basketball team, is against expansion as well. But he recently proposed turning over the entire selection process to the NCAA committee. Forget the 31 automatic qualifiers and 34 best teams after that. Let the committee select the 65 best teams. It’s an interesting proposal, one that would meet a lot of resistance. But it’s worth considering.
Q: What happened to LSU? The Tigers were rolling through the SEC then they lost their last two games. Please tell me they’re not going to flame out in the NCAA Tournament.
— Ed Bradley, Slidell, La.
A: The Tigers are 25-6 overall and 13-3 in the SEC. They won the SEC outright and were one of the biggest surprises in the country this season. And you are crying that the sky is falling, Ed. Is that fair? Marcus Thornton and Tasmin Mitchell had terrific conference seasons and Trent Johnson turned in one of the best coaching jobs in the nation.
People forget that two teams take the court every time there’s a game. LSU lost to Vanderbilt and Auburn, two extremely hungry teams that needed to improve their postseason resumes. Auburn is a dangerous team right now and finished 10-6 in the SEC. Vanderbilt was looking for a signature win and got it. The Commodores had a healthy A.J. Ogilvy in the lineup and LSU had a bad shooting night. I’m sure it’s not the way Johnson wanted his team to head into the SEC tournament, but two games don’t make a trend. The Tigers can use the conference tournament to get back on their game and then it’s really a matter of getting a decent seed and hoping the bracket falls your way.
Q: Ken, what are the odds Gonzaga makes a run to the Final Four?
— Matt S., Seattle
A: I will leave it to the professionals in Las Vegas to determine those odds, Matt, but my basketball sense tells me Gonzaga is coming together at the perfect time. I’m beginning to think this could be the year the Zags make a deep run. I’d like to see how the bracket falls before I predict a run to the Final Four, but Gonzaga should make the Sweet 16 and has Elite Eight potential. Once you get that far, just about anything can happen.
It was only a month ago that I thought the Zags had packed it in for the season. When they lost to Memphis 68-50 in Spokane on Feb. 7, I thought the Zags were mentally finished. The emotional strain from that overtime loss to UConn in December started a three-game losing streak. Then Mark Few’s team beat Tennessee and went on a nine-game winning streak before the loss to Memphis. The usual run through West Coast Conference wasn’t that convincing. But Gonzaga closed impressively, including that dominating performance against St. Mary’s in the WCC title game.
Depth might be a problem but Gonzaga’s top six players stack up with anybody.
Q: How many years could someone play college basketball? Could someone play until they were 30 by transferring a couple of times, taking a medical redshirt or stuff like that?
— Karl, Winona, Minn.
A: If you were good enough and healthy enough to play college basketball that long, wouldn’t you want to leave and try the NBA? Think of the pro money you would give up, going from college to college. How many degrees do you expect to earn?
Seriously, there really isn’t an age limit but you are only allowed four seasons of competition per sport, under NCAA rules. You can transfer and redshirt, but the general rule of thumb is that you have five years to complete four years of competition. In some medical cases, an extra year of eligibility is granted. And in Division I, there is the 21 year age rule, which reads: “In Division I only, if a student-athlete has participated as an individual or as a team representative in organized sports competition, that kind of participation during each 12-month period after his/her 21st birthday and prior to initial full-time collegiate enrollment will count as one year of varsity competition in that sport. Any participation in organized competition during time spent in the U.S. armed services will be excepted.”
This season, I believe the oldest Division I player was Utah State’s Gary Wilkinson. He turned 26 last October and served a two-year LDS church mission in Canada. Kansas guard Brady Morningstar, a redshirt sophomore, turned 23 in January. Morningstar attended prep school in New Hampshire after completing high school in Lawrence, Kan. He redshirted at Kansas last season after a freshman year in 2006-07.
For a full explanation of age limits, check out the NCAA web site.
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