March Madness was entertaining if not profitable through the weekend. Some dark horses emerged in Davidson and West Virginia to salve the hurt of early losses by USC and Arizona. But bluntly, t'ain't enough. I am out of it, contest-wise. So it's down to just pure enjoyment.
The talking ape, Too-Much Talking Timmy on SportsNet, tried ever so hard to screw it up. But it came down to a series of great games that even HE couldn't deface. And there were some heroic performances that will stand the test of time. Davidson's Stephen Curry, the honorary Canuck (his dad played with the Raptors) stood out again. He hit for 30 last year, so his prime-time stepping up should hardly be a surprise. But coming back to beat Gonzaga AND Georgetown in similar fashion has Davidson eying the spotlight George Mason has left empty the last two years. And you know, Davidson MIGHT just be good enough to get to the final four. Such is the sublime shooting ability that Curry possesses.
Rick Majerus would not have been seen by the majority watching the CBS feed. But he brought up a great stat. The 180 Club. Basically, you take the player's shooting percentage, add it to the three-point shooting percentage and the free throw percentage. If they add up to more than 180, you are a certified shooter. The ability to be around and occasionally above that mark tends to last through school, college and into the pros. Steve Kerr had the top total on that list at 184. Reggie Miller was next with 181 and a whole bunch of current shooting hotshots were between 173 and 179. Curry? 183. He will be small for an NBA shooting guard at around 6-3, but he WILL have an NBA career. Might be a long one. I'd like to see him wearing Raptor Red in about two years.
Saturday's unsung hero was everyman Joe Mazzulla who almost triple-doubled OFF the bench! L'il Joe was the deciding factor in West Virginia's dismissal of vaunted Duke. He'll make a great motivational corporate speaker one of these days. A marvelous performance. Big Joe, as in Joe Alexander displayed a fine game that I missed completely before he starting heaving in 30-point efforts at the start of March. Besides sharing a name with local product Joey Alexander, who had a fine collegiate career and played for Canada's National Team, West Virginia Joe has the same lanky physique that had some maturing to do before catching up with the talent. Might be a bit thin and lacking range for the pro game, but Alexander sure impressed playing the college game Saturday. If he goes off and Mazzulla has a little more heroics inside him, the Mountaineers will be dangerous.
North Carolina and Kansas look like the only untroubled teams thus far. I don't see any way they don't meet in a semi-final in San Antonio. UCLA, Tennessee, Stanford, Texas and Memphis could have lost. I could argue UCLA and Stanford SHOULD have lost. Tennessee looks awfully lacking in direction right now, changing starting point guards THIS weekend. Memphis can't hit free throws to save John Calipari's job. Derrick Rose or no, Memphis is going home early. Still, you have to get a little tussle here and there before the final and both West Coast schools might benefit. Still can't believe Trent Johnson was willing to get tossed out the Stanford game. To me, that puts Stanford into the Can't Win category. Into the mix emerge Wisconsin, Washington State and possibly Louisville.
A week ago, I had UCLA over Tennessee in the final, Kansas and Texas getting Oh-so-close. But I was really backing Kansas. So, what the heck, flip Tennessee for North Carolina and keep the same script. But watch out for Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk!
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