Convergence of Relevant Stuff

Steve Lavin brings the experience of leading a  high level Division I  basketball program to his new assignment; basketball coach at St. John’s.  The Big East looms as the engine that will drive St. John’s back  to respectability. Lavin might just be the guy to do that. Lavin’s resume is impressive enough; former head coach at UCLA where he had a fairly successful seven year run. Going to the NCAA tournament seven consecutive years.   This program is a step  down from UCLA, but it just might be a great fit for Lavin, as he climb toward basketball relevance.

St. John’s has suffered over the years in terms of wins, so Lavin will need to turn that around quickly  and by all means he must make St. John’s relevant again, first   in New York,for recruiting sake and then in the Big East, just because of the high impact stage  the Big East enjoys.  This is a great move  for Lavin and I believe a job that he will grow into. It will  be a transformation that we  will enjoy watching.

ANAHEIM — Warriors rookie guard Stephen Curry will be at least a part-time starter this season.

Before Wednesday’s 118-101 exhibition loss to the Los Angeles Lakers at the Honda Center, coach Don Nelson said Curry will be used at times as the fifth starter and play next to Monta Ellis.

That plan didn’t work out too well against the Lakers when Ellis sprained his left ankle just over a

minute into the game and did not return.

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Nelson didn’t name Curry the permanent starter, saying he will go with someone bigger when an opponent has a shooting guard that is too big and dominant.

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I had high hopes for the  success of  the  University of   Louisville in this years run to the NCAA finals.  It came to a halt on Sunday. Michigan State put the skids on the Cardinal Express train.  I should not be surprised.   We saw his happen often both under the Rick Pitino tenure and Denny Crum’s 30 year tenure at Louisville. The score does not matter, the point is Louisville lost and  their players showed up, but not with the idea of playing to their potential.

Maybe it was because they stage a premature celebration on Friday night against  Arizona.  Somehow this team lacked the emotional makeup on Sunday to  ride  the ups and downs of college basketball. and. It  did not help matters that Louisville is coached by one the most ambitious, demanding and driven coaches in the college basketball ranks; Rick Pitino.  Perhaps he shares in the  demise of the Big East reglar season and tournment championship team by taking away the one thing that fragile kids need to take it all the way- confidence. Once you take that away, the whole house of Cards will come tumbling down.

Western Kentucky has a superb team. To me they are the sleeper in this NCAA tournament.  Western has an up tempo game with shooters who are solid. They also play in your face defense and they are quick. The have one player  Mendez-Valdez who can literally light it up from  downtown 25 foot . They are not shy about putting up the trey and they are currently giving Illinois all they can handle in the  first round of the South regional.

This is not entirely a surprise as Western took Louisville to the woodshed early in the season and handed the Cardinals an embarassing  defeat. From the looks of things with  3:39 left in the first half, Western may give Illinois unexpected  defeat. At the half Western led Illinois 37-28.

In the end Western Kentucky won the game 76-72

The wars continue in the Big East with over eight teams ranked in the nation’s Top 25 Basketball Polls, it is not a stretch of the imagination to say  that at least two Big East Teams may be headed for the Final Four.  Currently Marquette leads the Big East in what many see as a significant surprise. Louisville follows  going into their game today with Syracuse at the Carrier Dome.  Syracuse has surprised a number of sports pundits with their play. But it is a typical  Syracuse team.

Early on Louisville poured it on with perfect passing, picking off passing in the lane and finishing on the fast break.  This  team is for real and Louisville is on the move in the Big East.  Look for the Big East to be a signifaicnt player on the national scene come NCAA  Tournament time.

Greg Monroe is mature beyond his years and it shows at Georgetown. He has already made his presence noticed and appears to be headed for a banner season. Monroe may be a one and done freshman. He is just that good. Last Monday, He led Georgetown to a defeat of UCONN, primarily because he out scored 7-foot-3 UCONN junior Hasheem Thabeet 16-4.

Monroe is the first NBA ready player Georgetown has had since Allen Iverson. It is not clear whether Monroe will stick around or not. But he appears to be in no hurry to leave. We will see where and how he play this year and just like every other NBA ready prospect it is a wait and see game.

The high incidents of layoffs in America gives us all room to pause and reflect on the state of the economy and  where the job market is heading.  It is a  difficult and dreadful situation, and it is poised to get worse in the next few month.

Seth Curry is becoming a scoring machine at Liberty College in Virginia. He is Stephen Cury’s brother and according to Steph Curry, Seth has the potential to be even better. There apparently was a lot of sibling rivalry while growing up; but this served to make them both better. Seth Curry is number 17th in scoring by the nations freshmen, so this give you a good idea about his potential.

LeBron James has a stated goal to become the richest man ever. Lofty goals for some one who will probably achieve it within the next two year. James will become a unrestricted free agent and a number of suiters will come calling for his services with bags and bags of money. Top suiters will be a team from the European Basketball league who reportedly can offer James at least $50 Million dollars per year, to come play basketball in Europe.

It appears to be an ambitious proposition, but it is one that James would consider, because, he does, after all, wish to be the richest man ever. James it seems would not stay in Europe long term; maybe for one year and then return to the NBA.

If Europe does not break the bank on James there is someone else who will. The New York Nets are removing players and dead weight from their roster in hopes of freeing up enough salary cap room to offer James the world to come play for them. After all James has designated Brooklyn as his favorite Borough in New York. So james has his eye of his future, no matter what.

If James elected to go to Europe, it would be a devastating blow to the NBA, one which they would not take lying down. The NBA would probably find a away to match the European offer. Brooklyn would spare no expenses in trying to land James. in the works are plans to build a new arena for the Nets in Brooklyn called Atlantic Yards. James would not only have a huge salary more than $50 million dollars per years, and a new home to play basketball. Both are intriguing possibilities.

College coaches continue to make the big bucks. In addition to their huge contracts. Huge incentives, shoe contract, television shows, uniform contracts and incentives for winning. A Division I college coaching job is not at all a bad proposition.

College basketball is a  big time business. Especially for the major Division I institutions where the rich just keep getting richer. The one and done athletes continually select the large top ten schools for their one year of college basketball sabbatical; someplace where they can get great exposure and raise their draft position.

It is winning a proposition for College coaches at the power Division I colleges,  because not only do they have an excellent chance at going to the big dance; but they have a great shot at winning it all. To do so means an incentive bonus for the coach and a huge payday for them school.

To hire a well known coach is like hiring a marketing brand in itself like. Roy Williams, Bill Self, Ben Howland, Lute Olsen, Rick Pitino, John Calipari, all are big time coaches that are tremendous draws. The blue chip college athlete is more than likely to choose their school. What that means is usually a cash bonanza for both the coach and the school.

While the coach and the school make out  the one and done blue chip athlete makes out even better.  Where does it leave the other less talented players? They do get scholarships and a four year college education; if they take advantage of the opportunity.  Lute Olsen after losing California High Schooler Brandon Jennings possibly to European Professional Basketball, has vowed that he will never again recruit one and done players. Olsen calls the rule that requires a high school player to not enter the NBA draft until they turn 19 years of age, a farce. Most elect to attend one year of college.

Many coaches don’t see it the same way as Olsen. Tim Floyd Head Coach at USC , who signed OJ Mayo to what turned into a one year contract, said his one year with Mayo did wonders for his program and for the school.

Tubby Smith says who wouldn’t want to coach the best talent available even if it is for one year.

But something is inherently wrong when colleges place so much emphasis on cash cow sports and not enough on making sure all students both athlete and non-athlete have a real chance in life, by making sure that they receive a college education.

The Cost of attending a four year college; both state and private has skyrocketed to the point, that the average student would be hard pressed to fund a college education and it would be harder for the parents as well. As it stands now colleges are in the middle of misguided rules set up by the NBA and it is affecting everyone; coaches, players and their families, and not to mention involving unscrupulous agents as soon as high school player hit the recruiting radar screen