Hey everybody, this is Rick checking in on what work-permitting will be a recurring dip into this season’s college basketball pool. I’m figuring that the blog entries will tell you the most about my allegiances and my opinions on hoops, but here are the broad strokes:

-I’m a Californian living in Charleston, SC, so we’re going to hit everything from Seattle to Miami with these entries

-I’m a UNC fan(as well as a lot of other teams, it’ll get extensive) engaged to a Duke fan, so needless to say you’re going to hear both sides there and everywhere else

-I think every game is important. I mean, they are, aren’t they? Every March these resumes get more critiqued - unless it says Kentucky on your jersey - so you have to look at them all. That’s why I’m so bummed about Cal getting rocked by Mizzou this afternoon(preference hint).

Continue reading "College Hoops across America"

Marquette vs. Tennessee, or: Is it fun to watch a game between two gimmicky ranked teams who aren’t going to go very far in the ncaa tournament because they are so gimmicky?

            Marquette and Tennessee have one thing in common: all of their players on their given team seem the same. But it’s for different reasons.Jerel McNeal, Dominic James and Wesley Matthews have been playing forever. I remember looking at the ncaa west regional three, maybe four years ago and picking Marquette with Steve Novak and Dominic James(kicking himself daily for not leaving for the NBA after his freshman year) to get to the final four. This was when I thought the way to win a bracket was to pick one wild card in a region to distinguish yourself from the pack. Then they lost in the first round. Then I changed my philosophy. It seems like Marquette has 6-year scholarship guards with an interchangeable big man each season that isn’t very big. 

Continue reading "Tennessee and Marquette: You Had No Choice"