Basketball Tidbits

Well the tournament is on the way and the first round was not as exciting as I wished. This was a great time of the year for me many years ago. It was a time when most Guys, and some Gals, called in sick to watch the opening round games. I know I did, and it was something I really enjoyed.

Unfortunately CBS has ruined the opening round by not being creative enough to move the coverage around. It's not just about covering the close games, we want to see other games involving teams we rarely see. Want to hear the "Lets Go Peay" cheers. We want to see the Belmont's of the world (and we did) and their famous alumni attending to support their teams. I for one honestly dread the day ESPN lost the contract to broadcast this event. We needed Dickie V involved with the Belmont game! I know you can use your computer to go from game to game, but it does not take away the pain from the way they are broadcasting. And talk about boring!!! I would bet work attendance for men is up the past 3 years during this event. At one time supervisors knew attendance and productivity would be down during the NCAA's.

Lets Talk Games

As good as the Duke vs Belmont game was, the UCLA vs Mississippi Valley State was the opposite. Will someone please explain why these match-ups exist? oops, I know why now. The same reason the Belmont vs Duke game took place. Anything can happen! But unfortunately it happens far and few in between. Most of these games are always one sided with the lower seeded team being embarrassed. Think Mississippi Valley State is still happy about being included? Lets see that cheer when the seeding's were announced again lol. Just one time I would love to see a 16 or 15 seed say "&^%^&&^%$^%% we have to play North Carolina? We should have went to the NIT!" Money wise it's a great thing. Public relations wise it could backfire. I still think we need a D1AA with same money breakdowns with the top 1AA teams moving on to be seeded in the regular D1 NCAA Tournament.

I still remember a school called Prarie View (sp) from Texas attempting to recruit kids out of Newark and NYC years ago. Unfortunately everywhere the PV Coaches went in the area they were laughed at and mocked. Though they were an NCAA D1 team, they had finished a season similar to what NJIT had this year. So getting blown out takes away the excitement of making the tournament.

How about Temple playing Michigan State tough yesterday. It seems to me Temple is back in a good way. With a few more pieces added the puzzle they could be a major eastern player.

West Virginia beating Arizona does not surprise me because WVA has great bench Coaches who also are world class recruiters. They will be even better in the future than they were under Baeline (sp).

More On Local Teams, And I will Keep This Real

Seton Hall University is being suicidal in their treatment of Bobby Gonzalez. But I also think the Big East Commissioner is out to lunch. How dare he get on Fred Hill Jr. and Bobby Gonzalez. Is he crazy!! Doing what he did in front of the entire Big East basketball family was so wrong the Presidents of the Big East should suspend him without pay for two weeks. Talk about un-professional!

Back to SHU. Everyone knows they were moving in the right direction. Should folks be super pleased with the season? NO!! Please somewhat? YES!! Add a few peices and this team will sell out every game in the Prudential Center at the 10,000 capacity. Even the game against NJIT!

Rutgers has alot of areas to clean up. This is not a thorough assessment of the RU program because I am not qualified to do that. But Fred Hill Jr. is! He needs to sit down and really reflect on the season. How well did his players hold up physically during the season? How was the development process? Mental development? How well did he coach? Were his Assistants helpful and if so how? Can he compete in the BE with what he has playing the same style as this year? Will Rosario make that much of a difference? Remember as good as he is, he is not Mike Beasly or Kevin Love, or even OJ Mayo physically, which is one of the reasons those three had great freshmen seasons.

Recruiting wise let me break it down. Rutgers signed some very good players who would be extremely impressive if they were a winning program already. Unfortunately they are not. Rosario could be as good as Chandler was this year. Morris is morris. Good but not a program changer. Jackson is a wing who could be good in time. He needs to work hard this off season to get more prepared. But the biggest recruit FHJ should be going after, and it is not Ebanks, is a GREAT STRENGHTH and CONDITIONING GUY!!! The RU kids need to get stronger.

Just A Bit On NJIT

Will these guys open the purse strings and get a decent guy ASAP! Recruiting is taking place now! Get the William Patterson Guy and bring the Hamburger guy with him if he does not go to a local higher profile program because HE UNDERSTANDS X's and O's very well. The time is NOW!!