BDD Alumni Bracket Elite 8

See what program's alumni teams advance on to the Final Four in our BDD Alumni Bracket. (celebritynetworth.com)

After a heavily debated Sweet Sixteen, we're on to the Elite Eight.

The greatest players in college basketball history take the court one last time for their respective school. If you need to catch up check out the Sweet 16 Part I and Sweet Sixteen Part II.

Each match up is voted on by three of our writers.


Louisville:

Point Guard: LaBradford Smith ‘88-’91
Shooting Guard: Darrell Griffith ‘77-’80
Small Forward: Billy Thompson ‘83-’86
Power Forward: Pervis Ellison ‘86-’88
Center: Wes Unseld ‘65-’68

Duke:

Point Guard. Bobby Hurley. ‘90-’93
Shooting Guard: JJ. Redick ‘03-’06
Small Forward: Shane Battier ‘98-’01
Power Forward: Christian Laettner ‘89-’92
Center: Mike Gminski ‘77-’80


Duke- 2
Louisville- 1

_______________________________________________________________

Wichita State:

Point Guard: Warren Armstrong ‘65-’68
Shooting Guard: Cleo Littleton ‘52-’55
Small Forward: Xavier McDaniel ‘82-’85
Power Forward: Cliff Levingston ‘80-’82
Center: Dave Stallworth ‘62-’65


Ohio State: 

Point Guard: Robin Freeman ‘53-’56
Shooting Guard: Jim Jackson ‘90-’92
Small Forward: John Havlicek ‘60-’62
Power Forward: Gary Bradds ‘62-’64
Center: Jerry Lucas ‘60-’62

Ohio State- 3
Wichita State- 0

_________________________________________________________________

Kansas:

Point Guard: Aaron Miles ‘01-’05

Shooting Guard: Kirk Hinrich ‘99-’03

Small Forward: Paul Pierce ‘95-’98

Power Forward: Danny Manning ‘84-’88

Center: Wilt Chamberlain ‘56-’58

Florida:

Point Guard: Andrew Moten ‘84-’87

Shooting Guard: Joe Hobbs ‘55-’58

Small Forward: Ronnie Williams ‘81-’84

Power Forward: Al Horford ‘05-’07

Center: Neal Walk ‘66-’69

Kansas- 3
Florida- 0

______________________________________________________________

Indiana:

Point Guard: Isiah Thomas ‘80-81

Shooting Guard: Calbert Cheaney ‘90-’93

Small Forward: Scott May ‘74-’76

Power Forward: Alan Henderson ‘92-’95

Center: Don Schlundt ‘52-’55

Marquette:

Point Guard: Doc Rivers ‘80-’83

Shooting Guard: Dwyane Wade ‘02-’03

Small Forward: Don Kojis ‘58-’61

Power Forward: Maurice Lucas ‘72-’74

Center: Walter Downing ‘85-’86

Indiana- 2
Marquette- 1

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Friday Roundtable: Who's Buying the Brooklyn Nets?

With Jay-Z selling his ownership stake in the Nets, what celebrity would be best standing next to owner
Mikhail Prokhorov next? (sbnation.com)

BDD's Friday Roundtable is a weekly discussion among a group of our writers on a trending NBA or college basketball topic.

This week's question: With Jay-Z selling his minor ownership stake in the Brooklyn Nets (and writing the song "Open Letter" about it, nonetheless), which celebrity should buy the shares and claim courtside seats in Barclays Center?

Chris:

I’m prefacing my response with this: I’m a man. A man’s man. Wait, that’s not right. Meat is my thing. Men like me. Oh, God. I mean, sports! Hoops and balls and rims, that’s what I’m talking about, you guys! Damnit.  

I think Andy Cohen should nut up and buy the Brooklyn Nets. You may not think you know Andy Cohen, but you know Andy Cohen. And more importantly, your girlfriend, the one with all the disposable income and 84 percent of your DVR, knows Andy Cohen. He’s the fella responsible for the Real Housewives franchise, among other things.  He’s the triple threat: loud, gay, and a television genius. Look out, Miami! Andy Cohen’s Nets are coming to box and one LeBron AND solve all of South Beach’s sartorial offenses.  

Why would Andy Cohen be a good NBA owner?

1.     Boom, the entire season is a reality show. Just like that. How many times have you watched an episode of Hard Knocks and thought, “you know what this show needs? More Andray Blatche!” With Andy Cohen at the helm, ask and you shall receive. I’m talking cameras in the locker room, in the practice facility, in Brook Lopez’ cedar closet (I’m not the only one assuming Brook Lopez has a cedar closet, right?). Twenty-four-seven access to the Brooklyn Nets.
2.     Luxury Tax? Hel-looo! Andy Cohen has size nine Ferragamos that cost more than Keith Bogans. Andy Cohen laughs at your luxury tax, Mr. Stern. Only he does it in a really intelligent, passive aggressive way that leaves Stern questioning his own acumen, and then, like, whether they were even BFFs in the first place. And omigod, Andy, why did you have Adam Silver over for brunchtails and not David? He’s way upset.
3.     Star power. According to this GQ article , Andy Cohen has the following folks in his rolodex: Jerry Seinfeld, Meryl Streep, John Mayer, Mark Ruffalo, Dan Rather and Sarah Jessica Parker. That’s a compelling courtside angle. Also, hell of a kiss cam with Rather and SJP. Gross.

Sidenote: Which jersey do you think Meryl would wear? I’m thinking Jerry Stackhouse. That woman is all class. John Mayer would rock Mirza Teletovic because, man, he would never comply with the disgusting social norm that is supporting Deron Williams.  

That’s it. Cohen is the guy. I’ll leave you with one lasting image: Lakers amnesty Kobe. Upset Kobe tells all on Bravo. Jeanie Buss and Andy Cohen throw champagne at each other during the next owner’s meeting.
Kyle:

Obviously part of Jay-Z's appeal with the Nets is the not-at-all secret that Brooklyn is his home and his third love behind his wife Beyoncé and black clothing. So naturally it would make sense for his replacement to also have ties to the Brooklyn or New Jersey (the Nets former home) area.

As cool as it would be for New Jersey native "The Boss" Bruce Springsteen to be an NBA "boss" (he's more of a baseball guy, anyway) I'm going with a basketball fan who may spend his days in Hollywood, but grew up in Brooklyn and who's personality would make the Nets instantly entertaining. And that man is Jimmy Kimmel. Kimmel has become a big name in late night TV and comedy with a connection to the NBA as his ABC show Jimmy Kimmel Live! has a primetime "Game Night" show during the NBA finals. Not to mention he gets current and former NBA player on his show as guest on a routine basis.

Imagine how entertaining Nets media events would be with Kimmel cracking jokes. Hell, imagine one-on-one conversations with he and majority owner Mikhail Prokhorov. "Hear me out, Mikey, medicinal marijuana night would make concession sales skyrocket!" Kimmel would recruit free agents to the Nets as guests on his show and entertain the crowd with a stand-up act at halftime. The final step would be getting his good friend, and Boston lover, Matt Damon to own a piece of the Celtics and the two would plot and conspire to split up and take down the Heat and reclaim the NBA for their respective cities. Then the two can compete for who gets LeBron James on Kimmel's show by letting LeBron fire a current Nets or Celtics player on live TV. You're welcome, ABC.

Alex:
There are too many good answers to this. Here's one I discarded: Kevin Garnett. He's surly against opponents and Craig Sager, plus he was involved in a scuffle against the Nets earlier this season. Imagine how he would leverage this against a divisional foe that should be in the Eastern Conference playoffs every year for the foreseeable future. It's the kind of thing that, combined with Garnett's high-level trash talk game, could cover any slips in his game for the next 10 years. The Celtics might consider stashing him in the D-League when Garnett is ready to retirement, if only to call him up for games against Brooklyn. Allowing a current player to own a share of an NBA franchise he is not part of is probably against some bylaw, I don't know, but this is worth exploring if you are Doc Rivers.

The best answer, though, is the easy one. Did the Nets trade Kris Humphries? No? He's still there? Then Kanye West should buy those shares and any others he can until he has a significant ownership share. He's already in good with Jay-Z and has a history of rubbing other celebrities the wrong way, so this move actually wouldn't be too shocking. Yeezy's history with Humphries is more serious than any of Garnett's superficial beefs in the name of sport, especially as Humphries' ex-wife moves further along in her pregnancy with Kanye's baby. West could maneuver to keep Humphries under contract with the Nets for the remainder of his NBA career, smugly smiling from seats at the end of the bench with Kardashian and Babye the entire time.

It wouldn't all be bad, of course. Kanye could perform at every halftime, bring his bear mascot into Barclays for additional crowd entertainment and expand his designer dabbling into the realm of athletic wear. (He couldn't do any worse than Jay in the last category.) Oh yeah, and the Kris Humphries thing. That would be great. 

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Hometown Legends in Their Own Right

Ben McLemore guards Trey Burke during the NCAA Tournament. (Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

Ben McLemore was clearly the best player on the floor for the Kansas for the majority of the Jayhawks' season before it ended in the Sweet 16 to Michigan, the eventual national runner-up revolving around point guard Trey Burke. Both ended up at their respective colleges after options closer to their hometowns fell through, either because they eschewed them (McLemore) or there was not enough playing time available (Burke).

Despite a push from his mother to attend Missouri, McLemore signed with Kansas before the 2011-12 season and was an unseen factor in the program's run-up to playing in the national championship game during what was expected to be a down year. McLemore was able to practice with the team as a partial qualifier, challenging starters to bring their best in empty gyms, not just in front of packed crowds.

In the same high school class was Burke, a native of Columbus, Ohio. Before his Wolverines squad played in the national championship against Louisville on Monday, Burke admitted his adolescent hoop dreams included counting down imagined buzzers while pretending he was an Ohio State player. When it came time to make a college decision, though, the Buckeyes had a starting point guard that perfectly fit their strategy and the defensive identity of the Big Ten in Aaron Craft. Burke's decision was surely spurred along by the fact that, given its roster, Ohio State did not offer him a scholarship, even with Burke's former high school teammate, Jared Sullinger, powering the Buckeyes.

The rest is well-known by now. Burke went to Michigan, adding to the program's resurgence and sweeping the college player of the year awards after leading his team to the national championship game in his sophomore year. Whether or not Ohio State would have been better off with Burke splitting point guard duties with Craft is an argument without a definitive answer, but it wouldn't be Ohio if everything went right in sports, would it?

Burke was never a Buckeye. He didn't transfer to Michigan and never had the opportunity as Ohio State didn't give him chase. LeBron James was Ohio, through and through, until the summer of 2010. He had grown up in Akron, a stone's throw south of Cleveland. When the in-state product declared for the NBA Draft after his senior year of high school, the Cavaliers were coming off a season in which Ricky Davis led the team in scoring (I was surprised, too) and the franchise finished with a 17-65 mark, won the draft lottery and held the top overall pick. James' arrival instantly changed the culture and the buzz around professional basketball in Ohio then spent the next seven years trying to bring an NBA championship to the state that relied on his young success, but reached the Finals only once and could not bring home a banner.

His supporting cast was never grade-A, and the LeBron James of those seven years was still far from being the LeBron James of today. Somewhere through the progressions of James growing frustrated and experiencing playing with other superstars in the Olympics, he thought it best not to sign an extension with the Cavaliers. He strung along the franchise and fans, considering offers from other teams before announcing his chosen team on national television. The Decision was a debacle. Fans burned jerseys, cursed James' name and stood behind Cavs owner Dan Gilbert's comic-sans promise to win an NBA title for Cleveland before James could earn a ring.

That didn't happen, obviously; the opposite events took place as Miami's new Big Three claimed top Eastern Conference honors and played in the Finals directly after uniting, then won a championship while the Cavs toiled near the bottom of the NBA ranks, though not without collecting young talent, including point guard Kyrie Irving. Nearly three years later, the strife seems to have dissipated and there is hype around James' potential return to his home state to don a Cleveland Cavaliers jersey in 2014 after playing out a final season in Miami.

The previous seven paragraphs are filled with old news in a time-driven cycle, but they lead to an old point: the influence of a hometown in sports is a powerful thing. Whether it is nostalgic magnetism that leads to a triumphant return for LeBron in Cleveland or a renewed disgust of the Cavaliers' fan base after a second scorning next summer; whether McLemore spent his sole year playing college basketball at the right school in choosing a blue-blood powerhouse known for producing pros instead of the one under two hours away from his St. Louis roots; these are personal decisions, but in all these situations, there must be an inkling of what Burke felt. Shunned by the school whose players he grew up idolizing, Burke became a certified star on the NCAA level at Ohio State's fiercest rival. He wore gold and navy, but even before the biggest game of his life to that point, Burke was fondly ruminating on those backyard memories of non-existent crowds roaring as he launched a final shot with a game on the line, clad in grey and scarlet during his daydream.

More often than not, athletes do not get the chance to compete for the pride of their land, that place they grew up. For every Larry Bird at Indiana State, there are a dozen Dorian Green's playing at Colorado State instead of in his backyard Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas. Burke and McLemore are the rule, not the exception. Deron Williams opted to stay with the Brooklyn Nets instead of playing with the Dallas Mavericks, a franchise near his home. But every once in a while, there is a LeBron James who has it both ways; who knows what it is to play at home and away in a sense that most athletes will never understand. Even rarer is someone with the opportunity to return home after turning it into a fiery mess not so long ago, and to be received with open arms.

Of the 82 games in the NBA regular season, 41 are played on the road. When players return, they are typically not returning to an environment where they have spent the majority of their lives or anywhere near such a place. Coming back to a familiar place is comforting for the average person without the scrutiny of innumerable pundits, onlookers and hangers-on carried by professional and, to an extent, collegiate athletes. Loved or hated, hometowns hold a special draw. They all have specifically tailored legends, tall tales and folk heroes. Athletes often get to be all three, but to build such a reputation while performing exactly where you have sown all your seeds? That's truly admirable and, I have to think, exceptionally satisfying.

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Fixing College Basketball: What Rules Need To Be Changed For Next Season

Freshmen Marcus Smart (left), Ben McLemore and Anthony Bennett are all expected to be in this June's NBA Draft, but should the one-and-done rule be changed? (espn.com)

Reputations are powerful, especially bad ones, and right now college basketball's reputation is heading south. This reputation isn't about cheating or steroids. It's about the on-court product, although the NCAA does have its own issues to work out in terms of "amateurism."

A brilliant and entertaining national championship game wasn't enough to mask months of low scoring and poor officiating. Now that college basketball has entered the offseason, it's time to make the changes necessary to improve the game. If the NCAA needs some suggestions, how about starting with these:

One-and-done rule
This should be first and foremost on the NCAA's to-do list. It is difficult for the casual fan to become attached to the game when the teams go through complete overhauls each season because the star players sprint to the NBA Draft just as the country gets to know them. Imagine this – Kyrie Irving, Austin Rivers, Bradley Beal, Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Tristan Thompson, Brandon Knight and others all entered the draft as freshman and if not for the rule, they could all still be playing college basketball. What a March this could have been.

Six freshmen from this past season have already put their names in the draft, two of which, Ricky Ledo and Norvel Pelle never even played a game in college. Some players are talented enough to be ready for the NBA out of high school. That's fine, let them go. LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard did not need college. But most do. Josh Selby left Kansas as a freshman and now has been jumping back and forth from the D-league. So let those leave out of high school if they are projected lottery picks. Otherwise make them stay in college for three years. The players will develop their games, mature and the fans get players and teams they can look forward to watching for more than one season.

Charge/block rule
The addition of the charge arc under the hoop, as seen in the NBA, is meant to protect offensive players from defenders laying out for a charge under the basket. If the defender is on or inside the arc, it can't be a charge. The problem lies in the focus on the arc. Officials are paying more attention to the defender's feet in relation to the arch that they are missing crucial factors such as if the defender is shuffling his feet or leaning into the play or if the offensive player was out of control.

The charge/block call is the focal point on an overall issue of officiating as the game has become more physical. The whistles constantly blowing breaks up the flow of the game. Part of this is poor defensive principles by the players, but too often are officials the story of the game and eventually players need to be able to make plays when the game is on the line.

Shot clock
Those 35 seconds on the shot clock in the college game can feel like an eternity, especially when teams like Wisconsin slow the game down and play a low-scoring, grind-out game. You could make dinner and do your taxes in the time Wisconsin has the ball for one possession when they grab offensive rebounds and throw the ball back out to start again.

There is no reason why college offenses should need 11 more seconds to hit the rim than NBA teams get with a 24-second clock. Take the college clock down to 24 seconds, or 30 even if 24 is a little too extreme. This will speed up the game, increase scoring and keep fans from falling asleep when those teams that play at the pace of a geriatric league don't bore people into turning the channel.

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NCAA Alumni Bracket Part II: The Second Half Of The Sweet 16

The second part of our alumni bracket takes a look at right side of this year's Sweet 16 bracket: Kansas, Michigan, Florida, Florida Gulf Coast, Indiana, Syracuse, Marquette and Miami. 

Each team is gathering their alumni to suit up one last time in an attempt to figure out which school has the greatest all-time team.

If you missed part one, you can catch up here.

Once again, I asked writers Alex, Kyle and Dakota to vote on which team they feel would win if they faced off.

Kansas:

Point Guard: Aaron Miles ‘01-’05

Shooting Guard: Kirk Hinrich ‘99-’03

Small Forward: Paul Pierce ‘95-’98

Power Forward: Danny Manning ‘84-’88

Center: Wilt Chamberlain ‘56-’58

________________________________________________________________

Michigan:

Point Guard: Jalen Rose ‘92-’94

Shooting Guard: Cazzie Russell ‘63-’66

Small Forward: Glen Rice ‘86-’89

Power Forward: Chris Webber ‘92-’93

Center: Juwan Howard ‘92-’95

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Kansas:3

Michigan: 0

Chamberlain (Via http://www.jakestakeonsports.com)

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Florida:

Point Guard: Andrew Moten ‘84-’87

Shooting Guard: Joe Hobbs ‘55-’58

Small Forward: Ronnie Williams ‘81-’84

Power Forward: Al Horford ‘05-’07

Center: Neal Walk ‘66-’69

_____________________________________________________________

Florida Gulf Coast:

Point Guard: Brett Comer ‘13

Shooting Guard: Bernard Johnson ‘13

Small Forward: Sherwood Brown ‘13

Power Forward: Chase Fieler ‘13

Center: Erik McKnight ‘13

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Florida: 3

Florida Gulf Coast: 0

Neal Walk (via. gatorzone.com)

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Indiana:

Point Guard: Isiah Thomas ‘80-81

Shooting Guard: Calbert Cheaney ‘90-’93

Small Forward: Scott May ‘74-’76

Power Forward: Alan Henderson ‘92-’95

Center: Don Schlundt ‘52-’55

_____________________________________________________________

Syracuse:

Point Guard: Sherman Douglas ‘86-’89

Shooting Guard: Gerry McNamara

Small Forward: Carmelo Anthony ‘02-’03

Power Forward: Derrick Coleman ‘85-90

Center: Rony Seikaly ‘84-’88

_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

Indiana:3

Syracuse: 0

 

Isiah Thomas (via spokeo.com)

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Marquette

Point Guard: Doc Rivers ‘80-’83

Shooting Guard: Dwyane Wade ‘02-’03

Small Forward: Don Kojis ‘58-’61

Power Forward: Maurice Lucas ‘72-’74

Center: Walter Downing ‘85-’86

________________________________________________________________

Miami

Point Guard: Dick Hickox ‘59-’61

Shooting Guard: Don Curnutt ‘67-’70

Small Forward: Tim James ‘95-’99

Power Forward: Rick Barry ‘62-’65

Center: Tito Horford ‘87-’88

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________

Marquette:3

Miami: 0

Dwyane Wade ( Via. http://www.dwyane-wade-flash.com)

The winners will be moving on as we continue our quest to crown the greatest alumni team. Keep checking back during the next few days for the next round.

Agree or disagree with our writers? Let us know in the comments below.

NCAA Title Game Sends College Basketball Out On High Note

Louisville won a national championship Monday night in a game college basketball needed to see. (washingtonpost.com)

All year the discussion has been the product of college basketball has been down. The game lacked a truly dominant team. Scoring had been down all season. Officiating has been as big of a topic as the actually play on the court.

The college basketball season ended last night with the national championship game between Louisville and Michigan and with all the negative talk around what's wrong with college basketball, this game took the season out on an extremely high note.

The season still lacked a 2012 Kentucky-like team and officiating, even in the title game, was questionable at best. Aside from that, the championship game had everything fans love about college basketball.

In a season where games have looked to be in slow motion and teams were happy to score 70 points a game, Monday's game was played at a fast-paced tempo with enough plays to pack a highlight reel and offenses that were not missing in action. Both teams shot at least 45 percent from the floor - Michigan actually had the better percentage at 52 percent - as Louisville held on to win 82-76.

While an underdog team was missing, two bench players, Spike Albrecht for Michigan and Luke Hancock for the Cardinals, took on that role and were the talk of the first half, scoring 17 and 16 points respectively. Neither player was highly recruited, and it is these stories of players getting their chance making the most of the big moment that draws fans to the college game. Then it was the stars' turn to shine at the end, as Peyton Siva and Trey Burke traded blows and crucial shots in a highly contested game that came down to the final minutes.

It wasn't error-free basketball, but it was competitive, intense and it was obvious from the stands or TVs at home these two teams were leaving all they had on the court in this final game. Louisville climbed back from an early double-digit deficit in the first half to trail by just one at halftime. The Cardinals and Wolverines exchanged leads throughout the first part of the second half before Louisville pulled away for good. Aggressive defense, high flying dunks and clutch 3-pointers will be remembered, not the sloppy play, horrible passes and bad offensive sets that we've seen before.

Plenty of ugly games have taken place throughout this basketball season, and the NCAA has plenty of changes to think about in the offseason for next year. That is still true. But Monday night's championship game showed how beautiful, entertaining and intense college basketball can be; a friendly reminder that the product so many love is not completely lost.


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Louisville vs. Michigan: No. 1 Offense, Defense Face Off In Title Game

Louisville's No. 1 defense will take on Michigan's No. 1 offense in the NCAA Championship game tonight. (washingtonpost.com)

It was close to happening in the BCS National Championship game and was the matchup everyone wanted to see; the No. 1 offense in Oregon against the No. 1 defense in Alabama. But Stanford ended those chances and instead the championship game was a bulldozing victory for Alabama over Notre Dame.

Stanford wasn't around to end this opportunity for college basketball as Monday Louisville, the No. 1 defensive team in the country according to Ken Pomeroy, faces Michigan, who Pomeroy has as the No. 1 offensive team.

Something will have to give when Michigan's athletic guards and rising freshman forward try to break Louisville's stingy pressure defense. John Beilein needs not to look any further than Louisville's game Saturday for examples of breaking the press. Wichita State and coach Greg Marshall handled the pressure beautifully for 35 minutes, and it nearly earned the Shockers a victory.

For Louisville, it's not just about stopping Trey Burke, even though he's the main target and National Player of the Year. Burke only had seven points on 1-for-8 shooting Saturday against Syracuse and the Wolverines still lead comfortably for most of the game. Michigan has so many offensive weapons that it will take a complete defensive performance from every Cardinal on the court to shut down the Wolverines' scoring.

Both coaches are known for preparation, so both teams should be ready when the ball is tipped.

For years people have said that defense wins championships. Monday night will be a great opportunity to test that theory.

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