|
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Video Plus Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities 
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|  |
Best of the last decade
Sports Illustrated senior writer Grant Wahl will answer your questions every Wednesday during the college basketball season. Click here to send him a question. SEATTLE -- Silly me. I always thought "Oakland" was some sort of Rust Belt comedy troupe, a poor-man's Washington Generals that existed solely to get pulverized by Michigan's state schools on the basketball court every November (thus performing the same service "Belmont" provides to the SEC). For all I knew, "Oakland" didn't have a campus, didn't operate after Thanksgiving and, for that matter, had never won a game -- at least not until last Friday, when the "Golden Grizzlies" somehow upset Michigan 97-90. Which prompts two responses: 1) The same school that produced the Fab Five has fallen so far off the college hoops map that it has become -- warning, insult to follow -- irrelevant; and 2) In honor of the Golden Grizz victory, I'll drop the quotes from Oakland for the rest of the season. Congratulations, guys! (In case you're wondering, "Belmont" will remain "Belmont," however.) Otherwise, I'm still grappling with my move to the West Coast, not least because it means I can no longer stay up until 2 a.m. watching UC-Santa Barbara/Nevada-Reno games while vegging pathetically in my boxers on the couch. Monday night's games from Hawaii ended at 11 p.m., which left me with nothing to do but ... go to bed. (Talk about pathetic.) Speaking of Hawaii, I'm counting on Arizona to prove that even without Loren Woods the Wildcats are still the second-best team in the nation (and perhaps the best) by beating Illinois in Wednesday's Maui Invitational final. Whether the Wildcats will be better than the 1990 and '91 UNLV teams, as I argued last week, is another story. About a dozen of you read me the riot act on that one, but reader Brad Phillips had a different point of view, arguing that the 1996 Kentucky team was better than both of them. (Any surprise that Brad's from Lexington, Ky.?) I don't buy it, Brad, though I'd put Rick Pitino's boys up there. Here, then, are my top 10 teams of the '90s. My ranking isn't based on whether a team won the national title, but rather on how much it scared the crap out of other teams. 1. UNLV 1990-91 (Larry Johnson, Stacey Augmon, Greg Anthony, Anderson Hunt) Granted, I'm 26, but if anyone can name me a better defense in the history of college hoops than the Rebels' amoeba, I'd like to hear it. 2. Duke 1991-92 (Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley, Grant Hill) Coach K's finest team had more tough-guy 'tude than most fans realize. 3. Kentucky 1995-96 (Antoine Walker, Ron Mercer, Tony Delk, Derek Anderson, Walter McCarty) Why does Pitino bother in the pros when he can put together a college team like this? 4. Kansas 1996-97 (Raef LaFrentz, Paul Pierce, Jacque Vaughn, Scot Pollard) Only two losses all season. How did this team not win the title? 5. Cincinnati 1999-00 (Kenyon Martin, Pete Mickeal, DerMarr Johnson) Given Martin's season-ending broken leg, only a home loss to Temple slows down the myth-making machinery and keeps the Bearcats from being even higher on my list. 6. Duke 1998-99 (Elton Brand, Trajan Langdon, William Avery, Chris Carrawell, Shane Battier) See: Kansas 1996-97. Like the Jayhawks, these Blue Devils were unstoppable in the regular season. 7. North Carolina 1997-98 (Vince Carter, Antawn Jamison, Ed Cota, Shammond Williams) High-flying Heels underachieved even though they reached the Final Four. 8. Michigan 1992-93 (Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard) The Fab Five's final ride. Shame about that last time-out call. 9. Arkansas 1993-94 (Corliss Williamson, Scotty Thurman, Corey Beck) Remember the days when the Razorbacks never lost at home? 10. UCLA 1994-95 (Ed O'Bannon, Tyus Edney, Toby Bailey) The way the Bruins had regained their former glory, you figured Jim Harrick would be around for years. Flame away, folks. The 'Bag's first contest offerThe first person who can tell me the current whereabouts of Moses Scurry and Travis Bice gets a free CNN/Sports Illustrated hat. Good luck! GUESS I SHOULD answer a few questions at some point, so here goes ... What do you think about Minnesota being able to sign Rick Rickert? I am in shock. The Gophers may actually have a team next year with Rickert, Michael Bauer, Dusty Rychart and transfer Jerry Holman. Also, what about the job Dan Monson is doing to turn the program around?
Monson really pulled a coup by convincing Rickert, a prep star from Duluth, to stay in-state after he had given a verbal commitment to Arizona last month. Granted, Rickert's parents pressured him to sign with the Gophers, but any time you can outduel Lute Olson on the recruiting trail you've accomplished something. All credit to Monson, who is finding a way to rebuild the U of M program despite NCAA sanctions from the Clem Haskins era. That said, Monson lost a lot of my respect when he threatened to revoke the Minnesota student newspaper's credentials last month if it didn't run more "positive" coverage of the team. What a crock. Somebody needs to tell Monson and Kansas's Eric Chenowith (who was offended when the KU student paper criticized him last year) that journalists aren't to be confused with cheerleaders (unless your name is Ahmad Rashad ). Grant, the aerodynamic look is OK by me even though my husband has a full head of hair and a beard. Anyway, my hope is that Matt Doherty can North Carolina to peak right at the postseason. My theory -- if the Heels lose in the ACC tournament they do well in the NCAA -- usually holds true. What do you think the chances are of seeing two ACC teams in the 2001 Final Four?
Thanks, Ann, but c'mon -- you've got a fun team to watch in Huntington with Marshall. Forget the ACC! I'll be the first person to say that the Atlantic Coasters are back up to snuff this year after two down seasons, and I'd watch an ACC game over a Big Ten game any day. But the way I see it, too many hoops pundits bow at the altar of the ACC. Consider me a dissenting voice for the Midwest and the West. OK, lecture over. We'll know a lot more about Carolina after the Heels meet Michigan State next Wednesday, but if a tight win over Winthrop and convincing victories over Tulsa and Appy State are any indication, then Joseph Forte (38 points vs. Tulsa) is going to have a huge year. I could see the ACC getting two Final Four teams, the most likely combos being Duke and UNC or (surprise!) Duke and Virginia. I'm still not sold on Maryland as a good tournament team -- and probably won't ever be after last year's 35-point loss to UCLA. How can you and everyone else omit Georgetown from the Top 25? The Hoyas can match up athletically with anybody, and they arguably have one of the most potent three-pronged threats in the nation in Kevin Braswell, Ruben Boumtje Boumtje and the versatile Lee Scruggs. You heard it here first, Grant: Get ready for some 21st century Hoya Paranoia!!!
Well, it's about time, after more than a decade of Hoya Tourette's Syndrome (Whoop! Oh boy!) under John Thompson. Sports Illustrated included Georgetown in its Top 20, but we did last year, too, and look what happened. Boumtje Boumtje needs to stay healthy this season, and Braswell has to discover his inner point guard, but you're right -- those three are players you can build a successful team around. I fully expect the Hoyas to compete for the title in a tight Big East race with Notre Dame, UConn, Villanova and (after watching the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament) St. John's. How long before Quin (The Recruiter) Snyder wins a championship? Or will probation come first?
Don't expect any titles at Missouri this season (except for maybe the NIT, which would be a disappointment), but the way Snyder has turned Columbia into a hot destination for blue-chip talent, I'd think expectations would be high for a long NCAA tournament run a year from now. Snyder has made the state of Michigan a prime recruiting ground again, just as Rich (Doctor Detroit) Daly did for Norm Stewart a decade ago. As for your probation jab, I haven't heard of any serious charges at Missouri that have been backed up yet. (Most of them come from coaches Snyder has beaten on the recruiting trail.) In that respect I compare Snyder to Florida's Billy Donovan, another young turk who has snapped up some of the nation's best prep talent. Certainly, the NCAA needs to keep a close eye on things, but don't underestimate the value of a youthful, energetic coach when it comes to recruiting. It's not a hard-and-fast rule (see Arizona's Olson and his buddy Tark ), but it helps to be a 30-something coach these days. What are your thoughts on the toughest conference in college ball this year? Will the Big Ten again send, what was it, seven teams to the dance?
Actually, it was six, Hal, but I think the Big Ten will be down a shade this year and you'll see only five teams reach the tournament (Illinois, Iowa, Michigan State, Ohio State and Wisconsin). I still doubt that the NCAA's crackdown on physical play will have much teeth by January and February, but on the odd chance it does, how will that affect the Big Ten? My guess is that teams like Illinois and Michigan State (which have as much skill as they do brawn) would do just fine, but Ohio State and Wisconsin could struggle. FINALLY, MY SHAMELESS attempt to get female readers to write in drew several responses, the best of which came from "S" in Washington D.C.: "This isn't a question, but a response to your call for ladies (which I am). Of course your Caucasian Michael Jordan look is super sexy, and you remind me of Danny Ferry, only hotter (uh, that was meant as a compliment)." That "S" might as well have been signed in lipstick. Hoo-ha. Danny Ferry! Wait ... Danny Ferry? Have a great Thanksgiving ...
Click here to send your college basketball question to Grant Wahl.
| ||||||||||||||||||||
