Friday, 04/18/08

He's Outta Here...And So Is He

Over the past year or so, I've had the opportunity and privilege to discuss the latest happenings in and around the college basketball world in this space.

And as the days, weeks and months passed, we saw plenty go down, from Joey Dorsey's "Make It Rain" party on Beale Street to Lute Olson's leave of absence to Bob Knight's abrupt retirement to Mario Chalmers' miracle three-pointer in what will be forever remembered in Kansas' stunning championship comeback this season.

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Thursday, 04/17/08

UCLA's Love, KU Duo Ready For NBA

It's what we all expected but what UCLA fans were hoping wouldn't come true when the 2007-08 season came to an end.

Yes, Kevin Love is headed to the NBA.

With UCLA coach Ben Howland and Love's father, Stan Love, along side him, the freshman forward formally announced his decision Thursday afternoon at a campus news conference, choosing to skip his final three college seasons and enter this June's draft as a potential lottery pick, according to several NBA scouts.

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Thursday, 04/17/08

It's All Or Nothing Now For Ford

Travis Ford isn't interested in Big 12 championships and Sweet 16 appearances.

After three years at UMass rebuilding a program that once reached the Final Four in 1996 under John Calipari, the 38-year-old has even bigger plans now as Oklahoma State's new head coach.

"My goals are to take this Oklahoma State basketball program to a national championship," he said in a news conference Thursday.

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Wednesday, 04/16/08

Martin Moving Up In The Little Apple

When Frank Martin was named Kansas State's new head coach after Bob Huggins left Manhattan, Kan., for his alma mater West Virginia, Wildcat fans weren't sold on a guy whose experience went only as far as an assistant.

But with freshman All-American phenom Michael Beasley punishing opponents on both ends of the floor, Martin rejuvenated a K-State program by becoming just the second rookie coach in school history to lead his team to the NCAA Tournament.

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Tuesday, 04/15/08

Rose Ready To Bloom Bigger In NBA

John Calipari couldn't have gotten everything he wanted on Tuesday.

But despite learning that his standout freshman point guard Derrick Rose will be headed to the NBA next season, the eighth-year Memphis coach is looking at a nice contract extension with the school.

Rose, though, will certainly be missed by Calipari and the national runner-up Tigers.

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Tuesday, 04/15/08

UTEP's Jackson Takes A Step Back

Stefon Jackson may have been one of the nation's most underrated players last year.

After all, the junior shooting guard unfortunately didn't get much national exposure playing in Conference USA, but he has been UTEP's top scorer the past two years and there's something to be said about that.

Even better, Jackson ranked among the nation's best scorers this past season with a seventh-best scoring average of 23.6 points per game.

Yet even worse, the Philadelphia native does not know what the future as a college basketball player now holds for him after being arrested Tuesday for hindering the investigation of a Pennsylvania shooting.

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Tuesday, 04/15/08

Drake's Davis Entering The Big Time Now

It's amazing how much one year can change things.

If you're Keno Davis, it's certainly come much quicker than you might have expected.

Just one season after leading Drake to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1971, a school-record 28-5 record and its first national ranking in 33 years, the 2008 AP Coach of the Year is headed to the Big East to take over Providence for Tim Welsh, who was fired last month after failing to take the Friars to more than two NCAA Tournament appearances in 10 seasons.

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Monday, 04/14/08

Walters Heading To San Fran

Remember when San Francisco won back-to-back national championships after capturing an NIT title just six years earlier?

Well, that was a long time ago -- almost 60 years ago during the days of Pete Newell and Bill Russell.

Since then, the Dons haven't had much to boast about, but former NBA player Rex Walters is hoping to change that perception after agreeing to take over as head coach of USF on Monday.

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Thursday, 04/10/08

Self Sticking To Lawrence

When there first came word of Oklahoma State offering Kansas' Bill Self the head coaching job at his alma mater, there was plenty of gossip going around the media in San Antonio before the Jayhawks ultimately claimed the national championship one day later over Memphis.

And while that buzz continued for a couple days as Self and his team returned home to Lawrence, Kansas fans don't have to worry now about their coach hightailing it to Stillwater, Okla.

That's because on Thursday the national championship-winning coach announced that he won't be leaving the Jayhawks after spending much of the day meeting with athletic director Lew Perkins.

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Thursday, 04/10/08

Calipari Takes Home Naismith Award

John Calipari's heart may be broken after Monday night's loss to Kansas in the national championship game, but the eighth-year Memphis coach can feel good about the job he did this season in Graceland.

And the Atlanta Tipoff Club was certainly aware of that, honoring the former New Jersey Nets coach as the 2008 Naismith National Coach of the Year earlier this week.

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Wednesday, 04/09/08

Hansbrough Racking Up Postseason Awards

Whether Tyler Hansbrough decides to return to North Carolina for his senior season is still uncertain, but for the time being, he's certainly enjoying his slew of postseason awards these days.

But the biggest came on Sunday, when the All-American junior was handed this year's Naismith Trophy by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. Hansbrough beat out a great field of ball players, which included Memphis junior Chris Douglas-Roberts, Kansas State freshman Michael Beasley and UCLA freshman Kevin Love, in becoming the 16th player from the ACC to receive the prestigious award.

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Wednesday, 04/09/08

Those Memphis Blues Again

Author's Note: I wrote this for a Boston-based website, but it has resonance beyond Beantown, I think. This will be my final post at Hang Time and I hope you've enjoyed the ride as much as I have. Hope to see you all again next basketball season, somewhere, somehow.

They have Gus's fried chicken, we have Kelly's roast beef. They've got Elvis, we've got Aerosmith. Visitors there can see where MLK was killed. Visitors here can see where JFK was born.

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Tuesday, 04/08/08

Wrapping Up The Road To San Antonio

SAN ANTONIO -- As I sit in the hotel lobby the morning after one of the most thrilling championship games ever, I started pondering some of the bests and worsts of my road to San Antonio, which included stops in Denver and Detroit.

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Monday, 04/07/08

Calm Before The Storm

SAN ANTONIO -- The Sunday before the title game is usually a day of rest and relaxation. Over at the dome, the teams have brief practice/walk through sessions and meet the media one last time before the game. Fans of the winning teams are out taking in the sights and sounds of the city. Fans of the losing teams are harder to find and probably trying to get out of Dodge.

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Sunday, 04/06/08

A Freshman Shall Lead Them

SAN ANTONIO -- Memphis's remarkable freshman point guard has a bit of a problem with that very description of him. Not the remarkable part -- although he does shy and blush from praise and adulation.

No, Derrick Rose doesn't like the other part.

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Sunday, 04/06/08

Can Anybody Stop These Guys?

SAN ANTONIO -- Undoubtedly, that's the question being asked in the Kansas locker room as they look at tapes of the Memphis back court of Derrick Rose, Chris Douglas-Roberts and Antonio Anderson. Those three combined for all but 12 of the Tiger points in last night's win over UCLA.

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Sunday, 04/06/08

Quick Update

SAN ANTONIO -- A fairly routine day of day-before-the-title-game interviews here at the Alamodome. The one semi-newsworthy note is that Memphis's Derrick Rose bowed out of interviews (both on the dais and one-on-ones) as he was suffering a stomach ache.

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Sunday, 04/06/08

Semifinal Day In Review

SAN ANTONIO -- I got up early (again) on Semifinal Saturday and took a mosey around downtown San Antonio. It looks like many touristy areas, with shops, restaurants, bars, a Ripley's Believe it or Not museum, etc, all seeming built around this place.

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Saturday, 04/05/08

Hansbrough Has Only One Gear

SAN ANTONIO -- We're still more than a couple hours away from our first semifinal between Memphis and UCLA, but there's plenty of buzz already surrounding the Alamodome as media members and fans start to file in the building for what should be some exciting basketball tonight.

And if you've watched Tyler Hansbrough at all this year, you'll know that there's no one who will be more excited than the North Carolina junior to take the floor for this evening's second semifinal against Big 12 champ Kansas.

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Saturday, 04/05/08

Getting Ready For Some Fun

SAN ANTONIO -- Here's what the floor of the Final Four looks like here in San Antonio two and a half hours before game time.

UCLA and Memphis tip off at 5:07 p.m. Central time. I'm guessing this place will look a whole lot different by that time. Should be wicked fun. Can't wait.

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Saturday, 04/05/08

Flashing Texas

SAN ANTONIO -- Yesterday was the day of the open practice session, which I was hoping to attend, but first, I had to go fight off the challenges of the credential disappearance system and see if I could actually acquire mine (click "more" for, um, more).

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Saturday, 04/05/08

Dragging The River For Final Four Tidbits

SAN ANTONIO -- They drag the river part of the famed "River Walk" regularly here and they do it with a boat that is rigged with nets under its bow and two spotters looking to see if anything - or anyone - is dredged up.

This weekend, when that boat makes its trip amidst a cuty-full of Final Four participants and on-lookers, it will probably not be able to cleanse the river of things like the following beacuse:

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Friday, 04/04/08

Williams Not Worried About Facing Former Team

SAN ANTONIO -- North Carolina coach Roy Williams knew while his team played Louisville in Charlotte, N.C., last weekend that there was a decent chance he could be facing his former team in the Final Four.

But after Kansas' survival victory over Davidson in the Elite Eight last weekend, that circumstance has now become a reality and Williams has never really totally forgotten about his days in Lawrence, Kan.

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Friday, 04/04/08

North Carolina Takes Floor For Open Practice

SAN ANTONIO -- North Carolina has taken the floor for its open practice here at the Alamodome, and the Tar Heel faithful that have shown up for the session are on their feet and applauding their team.

Stretching, of course, is the first order of business for Roy Williams' players, and after Kansas' Rodrick Stewart fractured his kneecap earlier this afternoon on a dunk attempt late in the Jayhawks' open practice session, you can't undermine the importance of getting those ligaments and tendons all worked out before putting any other stress on the body.

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Friday, 04/04/08

Rodrick Stewart Update

SAN ANTONIO -- Not surprisingly, Rodrick Stewart, a fifth-year senior, will miss the Final Four. Coach Bill Self told the assembled media that he fractured his kneecap when he slipped and fell after an attempted dunk.

Self said that he told the freshmen they could dunk, but Stewart decided to join the party.

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Friday, 04/04/08

Final Four: Memphis Presser and Open Practice

SAN ANTONIO -- Memphis student-athletes are now on the dais. We're in the press room live with Antonio Anderson, Chris Douglas-Roberts and Joey Dorsey.

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Friday, 04/04/08

Kansas Begins Open Practice

SAN ANTONIO -- Here's a live blog from the open practice. Feel free to chime in where you can.

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Friday, 04/04/08

UCLA Is All Business In Alamo City

SAN ANTONIO -- UCLA point guard Darren Collison is making his third straight appearance in the Final Four.

But while the Bruins ended both of their previous two runs to two-time national champ Florida, they won't have to worry about facing the Gators here in San Antonio.

Now after two years of disappointment on this same stage, it's just business as usual for Ben Howland's club.

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Friday, 04/04/08

Dropping Names and The Ball

SAN ANTONIO -- The Final Four attracts all of the big wheels of this sport, and sometimes even other sports, to the host city, and we are blessed this year to have the event in San Antonio. Unlike Detroit, which hosted last week's Midwest regional and hosts next year's Final Four, you can walk this city. Most people do that on the Riverwalk, where there is a bevy of bars, restaurants and shops to keep people occupied.

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Thursday, 04/03/08

Coaches Lobby Blogging Delayed

SAN ANTONIO -- A bit of a frustrating morning for your CSTV.commers here in the Alamo City. Our special secret trip to a special nearby Texas town was aborted after major delays in trying to procure our media credential at the Alamo Dome. Seems the NCAA hasn't quite mastered the photoing process for media credentials and since our pictures weren't received by the NCAA, we were asked to wait in a line as long as the Great Wall.

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Thursday, 04/03/08

Welcome To San Antonio

SAN ANTONIO -- Welcome to the site of the 2008 Final Four and, more specifically, La Quinta By The Denny's where the CSTV.com crew is headquartered for the fortnight. Or FourNight.

Things are already buzzing a bit in the city with coaches starting to roll in last night, participating teams beginning to arrive and our first minor news story of the weekend as Memphis back-up guard Andre Allen has been suspended for at least the first game of the Final Four.

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Tuesday, 04/01/08

Lopez Twins Heading To NBA

Stanford coach Trent Johnson only got them for two years, but for Brook and Robin Lopez, that was long enough.

The 7-foot twins will be heading to the NBA this June after announcing Monday that they'll be entering this year's draft following successful sophomore campaigns.

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