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It's Magic Eight time

Posted: Wednesday January 23, 2002 5:18 PM
Updated: Thursday January 24, 2002 6:14 PM
  Grant Wahl - Mailbag

Sports Illustrated senior writer Grant Wahl answers your college basketball questions every Wednesday. Click here to send him a question.

Remember that night in November 2000 when Dan Rather said of CBS' election projections, "You can take it to the bank"? Naturally, the Eye then whiffed -- big-time -- on Florida. Well, when it comes to projections, let's just say the 'Bag ain't Dan Rather, nor have we ever missed on Florida (though we came close two years ago).

We're referring, of course, to our third annual Magic Eight, the octet from which I GUARANTEE the national champion will emerge. This has worked twice already, with Michigan State (2000) and Duke (2001) winning it all, and I feel even more confident about this group. In alphabetical order, then:

DUKE: Still the team to beat. Which reminds me, Mike Dunleavy's three-steals-in-30-seconds against Maryland was, for me, among the most jaw-dropping feats of the season.

GEORGIA: Let's see, wins at Kentucky and at Florida. If Jim Harrick cops another national title, people will finally have to stop looking at him as a one-hit wonder. (Which, by the way, isn't true to begin with. I remember staying up late in 1983 to watch Harrick's Pepperdine Waves, led by the inimitable Victor Anger, nearly upset eventual champ N.C. State in the tournament. Even at the age of 9, I knew this guy could coach.)

GONZAGA: The answer to the question, Can a mid-major make the Final Four? With this tournament-tested bunch led by Dan Dickau, there's no doubt.

ILLINOIS: Disappointing so far, but you know the Illini are capable of putting a run together, especially when healthy. Besides, Frank Williams is far too memorable a player to leave with a whimper.

KANSAS: At full throttle, these guys are unbeatable. Look for Roy Williams to get off a nine-year schneid and make it to Atlanta.

KENTUCKY: I have no idea what happened to Keith Bogans, but Tayshaun Prince can still get the 'Cats to the promised land.

MARYLAND: Fine, I give in. This year's talent (and last year's tournament run) make it impossible to leave the Terps off the list.

UCLA: I don't think the Bruins will be consistent enough to win the Pac-10, but they're capable of putting together a scary-good run in March.

Digest that for a while, and before you say I'm hardly going out on a limb, keep in mind, I'm saying there's NO CHANCE the following top-10 teams will win the national title: Cincinnati (bad tourney mojo), Florida (home loss to Georgia validates doubts about non-con schedule), Oklahoma (too many unscheduled first-round exits), Virginia (way overrated/brutal tournament team) and Arizona (title contenders never get blown away -- see: 30-point loss to Oregon).

Take it to the bank.

Quick question

Will you guys lose all respect for me if I tell you that right now I'm listening to the Duran Duran greatest hits CD?

B-sides: A week with the Jayhawks

One of my Sports Illustrated colleagues, Ian Thomsen, thinks the magazine should have a second weekly issue called Sports Illustrated B-Sides, which would include all the excellent stuff that doesn't make it into the main mag. Those were my thoughts exactly after spending a week with the Kansas Jayhawks.

A few things that didn't make the story you can read in this week's SI:

  • In the locker room right before the Kansas-Oklahoma State game, intrepid SI photographer Al Tielemans followed Roy Williams ... into a bathroom stall. Thankfully, Al realized he was getting a little too "inside" at the last second and fled the scene.

  • Jayhawks freshman point guard Aaron Miles -- an academic stud who was his student body vice prez in high school -- actually wrote a paper last semester on "abused husbands." No lie. Got a B on it, too.

  • Jinx watch: UCLA's upset of the Jayhawks was the seventh time in the last three years I've been on hand to see the nation's No. 1 team go down. (Let's just say I've learned how to evacuate press row in the last 20 seconds to avoid maniacal, court-storming students.)

  • There's no more appropriate name for a player in the country than Kansas redshirt freshman Jeffrey Hawkins, whom his teammates call (what else?) J-Hawk.

  • Speaking of great names, Kansas has an incoming softball player named Destiny Frankenstein.

  • Bizarre Williams Exercise Story I: In Stillwater, the coach went for a noonday walk by himself, only to get lost and have to cross a creek and a hog farm to get back to the hotel 90 minutes later. I caught him outside the hotel banging his shoes together to get the dirt (?) off.

  • How come nobody calls Kansas the "Finnish Pipeline" -- what with the grand tradition of big men Drew Gooden (50 percent Finn) and Pekka Markanen ?

  • Bizarre Williams Exercise Story II: Last Friday I joined Williams and his pals Scot Buxton and Randy Towner on their traditional jog to the east side of Lawrence to touch the gravestones of James Naismith and Phog Allen. Cool stuff -- except that Williams strained his hamstring on the run and limped around like a gimp the rest of the day.

  • While I was sitting next to Keith Langford during a team dinner at the Scotch and Sirloin in Wichita, an old dude with a hole in his throat -- and one of those voice-box microphones, like the guy in South Park -- came into the banquet room to wish the team luck. Best ad for not smoking that I've ever seen/heard.

  • Revealing factoid: While most coaches travel in first class on road trips, Williams always lets his players have preference over him if a first-class or exit-row seat comes available. Classy move.

  • A semi-related tale (at least in terms of locker-room access): Bruce Arena, the U.S. men's soccer coach, once told me a crazy story. When he was coaching at Virginia, his office used to be in the basement of the UVa basketball arena, separated by an air duct from the hoops visitors' locker room next door. Well, during every ACC game, Arena would go to his office and eavesdrop on the pregame and halftime speeches of the ACC's top coaches. If you know Arena at all, you'll realize how amusing it is to imagine him skulking around, listening to Lefty Driesell, Dean Smith and Coach K.

    You can call me Casey Kasem: American Top 40

    Huge response to the post-1985 all-star teams list from last week. I still think Nick Collison, Gooden and I did pretty well considering it was 2:30 a.m. and we were on a bus, but thanks to readers' submissions we've amended several lineups and expanded to a top 40. (Yes, this makes us all hoops weenies, but that's why we're here, right?)

    New players are noted in all-caps:

    1. Duke (Last week: 1)
    ( Jason Williams, Johnny Dawkins, Grant Hill, ELTON BRAND, Christian Laettner )
    You won me over, folks. Shane Battier heads to the bench, allowing Brand to give the Devils more rebounding up front.

    2. Michigan (LW: 2)
    ( Rumeal Robinson, Jalen Rose, Glen Rice, Juwan Howard, Chris Webber )
    No changes here, though a few readers tried to get me to replace Robinson with Gary Grant. No dice.

    3. North Carolina (LW: 3)
    ( Kenny Smith, GEORGE LYNCH, Jerry Stackhouse, Antawn Jamison, BRAD DAUGHERTY )
    True, NBA No. 1 pick Daugherty deserves the center spot ahead of Rasheed Wallace. And Lynch wins the 2-guard spot by a hair from Vince Carter (Carter the college player, remember).

    4. Kansas (LW: 4)
    ( Jacque Vaughn, Rex Walters, Paul Pierce, Danny Manning, Raef LaFrentz )
    The Jayhawks aren't deeper than Kentucky -- just a fraction better.

    5. Kentucky (LW: 5)
    ( WAYNE TURNER, REX CHAPMAN, Jamal Mashburn, KENNY WALKER, Antoine Walker )
    Wholesale changes for the Wildcats, which indicates how much talent has sailed through Lexington. Turner's in to give us a true PG (gotta follow the rules), while we plain old omitted Sky Walker. Several readers persuaded me to insert Chapman for Tony Delk. Tough, tough team.

    6. Georgetown (LW: 8)
    ( CHARLES SMITH, Allen Iverson, Reggie Williams, Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutombo )
    Victor Page, we'll tell you the same thing the NBA said: You're not wanted here. Enter Smith, which (considering we underrated these guys last week) moves the Hoyas ahead of rival Syracuse.

    7. Syracuse (LW: 6)
    ( Sherman Douglas, Billy Owens, John Wallace, Derrick Coleman, RONY SEIKALY )
    Seikaly moves in, creating a bigger lineup as Lawrence Moten heads to the pine. Pearl Washington is in fact age-eligible, but I'll still go with Douglas instead.

    8. UNLV (LW: 7)
    ( Greg Anthony, Anderson Hunt, SHAWN MARION, Larry Johnson, Armon Gilliam )
    Marion enters for J.R. Rider, who was suspended by Jerry Tarkanian for an "undisclosed" violation.

    9. Maryland (LW: 14)
    ( Steve Francis, Juan Dixon, WALT WILLIAMS, Len Bias, Joe Smith )
    Forgot the Wizard -- sorry, brain lock. Keith Booth takes a seat, and the Terps move up.

    10. Connecticut (LW: 10)
    ( Khalid El-Amin, Ray Allen, Richard Hamilton, Donyell Marshall, CLIFFORD ROBINSON )
    My bad for failing to name an eminently qualified UConn big man last week. Robinson in, Tate George out.

    11. UCLA (LW: 9)
    ( Baron Davis, Reggie Miller, Tracy Murray, Ed O'Bannon, Don MacLean )
    No changes.

    12. Michigan State (LW: 11)
    ( Mateen Cleaves, Shawn Respert, Scott Skiles, Morris Peterson, Steve Smith )
    No changes.

    13. Indiana (LW: 17)
    ( Steve Alford, Calbert Cheaney, A.J. Guyton, ALAN HENDERSON, BRIAN EVANS )
    An improvement in the frontcourt: Henderson in for Dean Garrett, Evans in for Kirk Haston.

    14. LSU (LW: 13)
    ( Chris Jackson, RANDY LIVINGSTON, JOHN WILLIAMS, Stromile Swift, Shaquille O'Neal )
    Gooden kept telling me all last week I should add Livingston for Ricky Blanton, so here it is, pal. Hot Plate replaces another talented blimp, Stanley Roberts.

    15. Arizona (LW: 12)
    ( Damon Stoudamire, Mike Bibby, Sean Elliott, Chris Mills, BRIAN WILLIAMS )
    In a quest for height, Williams beats out Loren Woods in a battle of head cases to replace Miles Simon. Lots of votes to bring in Khalid Reeves, Steve Kerr, Jason Terry and Michael Dickerson, but whatever way you look at it, this team is loaded at the guard spots.

    16. Cincinnati (LW: 15)
    ( Nick Van Exel, Ruben Patterson, HERB JONES, Danny Fortson, Kenyon Martin )
    Mel Levett gets benched in favor of Jones. Still the best defensive team on the list.

    17. Louisville (LW: NR)
    ( DeJuan Wheat, Milt Wagner, Billy Thompson, Clifford Rozier, Pervis Ellison )
    Never Nervous Pervis was a sweet college player. Whiffed on these guys last week.

    18. Georgia Tech (LW: 16)
    ( Kenny Anderson, MARK PRICE, Dennis Scott, Matt Harpring, John Salley )
    In the interest of team play, Stephon Marbury takes a seat for Price.

    19. Arkansas (LW: 18)
    ( LEE MAYBERRY, Scotty Thurman, Todd Day, Joe Johnson, Corliss Williamson )
    Mayberry takes over for Corey Beck. Duh.

    20. Cal (LW: 19)
    ( Jason Kidd, Kevin Johnson, Lamond Murray, Sean Lampley, Shareef Abdur-Rahim )
    A solid team. And far better, surprisingly, than rival Stanford.

    21. Ohio State (LW: NR)
    ( Scoonie Penn, Michael Redd, Jimmy Jackson, Dennis Hopson, Brad Sellers )
    With Jay Burson coming off the bench (post-halo removal, of course) and Ken Johnson for a little defensive intimidation.

    22. Alabama (LW: NR)
    ( James Robinson, Latrell Sprewell, Robert Horry, Derrick McKey, Antonio McDyess )
    What's Wimp Sanderson up to these days, anyway?

    23. Illinois (LW: 20)
    (Frank Williams, Kendall Gill, Nick Anderson, KEN NORMAN, Deon Thomas )
    Buh-bye, Marcus Liberty !

    24. Oklahoma State (LW: NR)
    ( Maurice Baker, Randy Rutherford, Desmond Mason, Byron Houston, Bryant Reeves )
    Richard Dumas was going to start ... until he failed to show up for practice.

    25. Utah (LW: NR)
    ( Andre Miller, Brandon Jessie, Keith Van Horn, Hanno Möttölä, Michael Doleac )
    Jessie pulls the Utes down a bit, but the rest of the lineup is dangerous.

    26. Oklahoma (LW: NR)
    ( Mookie Blaylock, Corey Brewer, Eduardo Najera, Harvey Grant, Stacey King )
    Regardless of how terrible the officiating is, please do not throw things on the court!

    27. Wake Forest (LW: NR)
    ( Muggsy Bogues, Randolph Childress, Rodney Rogers, Darius Songaila, Tim Duncan )
    Nice team. Songaila and Bogues are the weak links, though.

    28. St. John's (LW: NR)
    ( Mark Jackson, Malik Sealy, Ron Artest, Walter Berry, Jayson Williams )
    Walter Berry -- now there's an eye-catcher from the past.

    29. Missouri (LW: NR)
    ( Melvin Booker, Anthony Peeler, Kareem Rush, Derrick Chievous, Doug Smith )
    Those Tigers teams from the early '90s could really play some ball.

    30. DePaul (LW: NR)
    ( Rod Strickland, Quentin Richardson, David Booth, Tyrone Corbin, Dallas Comegys )
    Bring back Ray Meyer to coach and you might have something here.

    31. Notre Dame (LW: NR)
    ( David Rivers, Monty Williams, Troy Murphy, Pat Garrity, LaPhonso Ellis )
    God knows why the Irish haven't had more success in the NCAA tournament.

    32. Iowa State (LW: NR)
    ( Jamaal Tinsley, Jeff Hornacek, Jeff Grayer, Marcus Fizer, Kelvin Cato )
    Fred Hoiberg, Lafester Rhodes and Dedric Willoughby provide bench strength.

    33. North Carolina State (LW: NR)
    ( Chris Corchiani, Rodney Monroe, Chucky Brown, Tom Gugliotta, Todd Fuller )
    This team would perform better with Chris Washburn and Charles Shackleford off, not on the bench.

    34. Stanford (LW: NR)
    ( Brevin Knight, Casey Jacobsen, Mark Madsen, Adam Keefe, Jarron Collins )
    With Todd Lichti as the sixth man.

    35. Villanova (LW: NR)
    ( Alvin Williams, Kerry Kittles, Tim Thomas, Michael Bradley, Jason Lawson )
    Remember, Kittles was a genuine college star.

    36. Temple (LW: NR)
    ( Mark Macon, Eddie Jones, Aaron McKie, Mark Karcher, Kevin Lyde )
    Owls would probably draw Duke in a mythical tournament -- and lose, naturally.

    37. Florida (LW: NR)
    ( Jason Williams, Vernon Maxwell, Mike Miller, Andrew Declercq, Udonis Haslem )
    I pray to you, resist the urge to start Dwayne Schintzius.

    38. Massachusetts (LW: NR)
    ( Edgar Padilla, Carmelo Travieso, Monty Mack, Lou Roe, Marcus Camby )
    Remember when UMass used to be good?

    39. Iowa (LW: NR)
    ( B.J. Armstrong, Roy Marble, Ed Horton, Matt Bullard, Acie Earl )
    As much as I wanted to put Brad Lohaus on here, I couldn't bring myself to do it.

    40. Seton Hall (LW: NR)
    ( Terry Dehere, John Morton, Andrew Gaze, Eddie Griffin, Luther Wright )
    Came oh-so-close to the 1989 national title.

    Sorry, guys, WATN stays on hold. The 'Bag Lady forgot what I looked like after 10 days on the road, so the last thing I'm doing is spending a few hours tracking down Rodney Monroe and Chris Corchiani. How about a raincheck?

    Have a great week.

    Click here to send your college basketball question to Grant Wahl.

     
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