College Hoops -- Midseason Awards and Predictions
Player of the Year: Alando Tucker, Wisconsin. Wisconsin isn't exactly known as a basketball hotbed. Since 1981, only three UW grads have gone on to the NBA -- Michael Finley (1995), Paul Grant (1997) and Devin Harris (2004) -- but Tucker has been nothing short of sensational, averaging 19 points and five rebounds for the No. 2 team in the nation. Coach of the Year: Jeff Bzdelik, Air Force. When was the last time anyone considered Air Force a basketball powerhouse? Seriously. In less than two years, Bzdelik has accomplished just that, but how long until the lure of returning to the NBA is too much to handle? Freshman of the Year: Kevin Durant. Yes, we do feel Greg Oden will be the better NBA player, but Durant is leading the Big 12 in scoring (24 ppg) and rebounding (11 rpg) and has been the top player in the nation not named Tucker. Final Four Predictions: Florida, UCLA, Ohio State, Wisconsin National Champion: Florida. Not really going out on a limb with this pick, but the Gators may just be the best college hoops team of the past decade. Of course, we said that about UConn last year and the Huskies couldn't get past George Mason, so what do we know? Give us your mid-season awards and predictions. Which Coaches have the Most School Spirit?
Today, our question is simple. Has any NCAA coach, in any sport, done something like what Pearl did on Monday night? What other creative (read: crazy) methods have coaches used to show their school spirit? Should Fans Censor their Trash Talk?
During last Thursday's Oregon-Stanford game, Oregon's student section – aka "The Pit Crew" – chanted "al-co-hol-ic" at Stanford player Fred Washington every time he attempted a free throw. The chant angered Ducks coach Ernie Kent, who said to the Eugene Register-Guard: "We feel we have such a great homecourt environment here that we can cheer the right way without all of the negative stuff. We hear enough of it on the road. I never like it (away from Mac Court) and I certainly don't want it to come out of our Pit Crew. I'm asking them to clean up their act. There's a right way to cheer and wrong way to cheer. You don't need to make personal attacks against anybody, that's wrong. We can have fun in here. We've got a great product on the floor that shows well on TV, and we don't need all the extra stuff." The ordeal brings up a bigger problem: Just where is the line when it comes to taunting the other team? For instance, do Big East fans have a right to chant "Laptop" at UConn's A.J. Price in reference to his suspension last year for stealing laptops from the UConn campus? We say yes. But at the same time, Big East fans shouldn't chant "aneurysm" at Price in reference to his medical problems from two years ago. Today we want to know where you think the line should be drawn. Obviously, race, religion and sexual orientation are out of bounds as far as subjects you can taunt a player with. But what about academic ineligibility? Accusation of theft (without proof)? Family problems? Girl problems? Where is your line?  |
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