Breaking down racial barriers, and other important stuff...

In the interest of getting up more than one post per week I’ve decided to do a small post today and them follow it up with another post on Friday which should be a longer and more comprehensive look at this weekend’s Final Four. Because I’m going to tackle the Final Four on Friday, I’m going to try my best to stay away from any in-depth discussion of the teams we’ll see this weekend in Atlanta.

With that in mind, here’s a brief collection of thoughts from the recent goings on in the NCAA Tournament.

- While I don’t agree with the idea that this NCAA Tournament has been exceptional in any way (other than the talent rich Final Four it has produced), I have enjoyed it far more than last year’s tournament for one simple reason: There hasn’t been a single second of commercial time spent on those god-awful singers from the Applebee’s commercials. I might’ve had to give up basketball if those guys came back for an encore this year. I’d gladly sit and watch 5 straight hours of the UPS Whiteboard guy drawing things Bob Ross-style before I’d volunteer to sit through another 30 seconds of those two asslicks singing and mugging their way through whatever crappy song they’ve ripped off from some real musicians.

- I’m not gonna get too specific here, but there’s a team in Florida who’s close to making the playoffs for the first time in a number of years. They’re not in yet, but a few more wins this week and they’d be in awfully good shape. I’m not sure who this team is, or even what sport they play. I just heard that they’ve got a real shot at the playoffs and that it would be a great step toward the future of the franchise. I’ll have to look into it and see exactly who this team is.

- I know the anticipation has been killing you. However, you need wait no more. The time has come for the presentation of the 2007 Terrence Morris Memorial Award for a player who most thoroughly destroyed their Pro prospects by coming back to college. And this year’s winner is…Aaron Gray.

Unfortunately, Aaron couldn't be here today as he’s busy flying to Eastern Europe to interview with teams in the Hungarian A League. I’ll accept the award on Aaron’s behalf. I’m sure he’s honored to have won this prestigious award and will continue to hold up its legacy by flaming out in the NBA and slowly descending into alcoholism as he realizes how much money he pissed away with his “concern for education.” Do you know what that concern got you Aaron? Nothing. Certainly not a spot in the first round if that was what you were thinking. Well, nothing isn’t exactly true. You do have a shot at ending up in the Guiness Book of World Records as the “World’s Largest Physical Education Teacher”. Special thanks goes out to Pitt coach Jamie Dixon for providing us with two of the last three winners in Chris Taft and Mr. Gray. We’re looking forward to awarding another underachieving Pitt big man in the near future. Keep up the good work.

I'd like to present Aaron with this "major award". Enjoy learning a second language.

- I’ve spent a lot of time bitching about the media’s inability to compare athletes from race to race in this space. Then, yesterday, I realized that if I’m not going to be part of the solution then I’m part of the problem. With that in mind, I give you the first entry in what promises to be a running feature ‘round these parts:

Inter-race Athlete Comparisons

Tyler Hansbrough: He’s been called “Mark Madsen with a jumpshot”. Besides the fact that Hansbrough’s jumpshot is about as consistent as the weather in Florida, this comparison is way off. First, Hansbrough isn’t but about 6’8” and, secondly, he’s far more skilled that Madsen ever was or could hope to be. He’s not unlike many of the undersized power forwards that have populated the collegiate game over the years. After examining a number of these players, the one to whom I see the most similarity is Gary Trent. In my opinion, he’s a more skilled version of Trent. Both Hansbrough and Trent are undersized guys with great motors who use their strength and toughness to carve out space underneath the rim where they excel at pounding the boards and scoring over bigger defenders. Additionally, both players have enough range that they can step out to about 15 feet and knock down a high enough % to keep defenders honest, thereby allowing them to score on the occasional dribble drive. Can Hansbrough have a better, more productive career than Trent? Sure, if he gets with the right team and front court. Remember though, Trent had some decent numbers early in his career.

Aaron Afflalo: First things first, this is how you spell his name. If you write a “basketball blog” you should at least be able to correctly spell the name of a 1st team All-American who also happens to go to school in the city in which you live. Maybe I’m just old fashioned. Anyway, I’ve seen a number of comparisons for Afflalo, the most common of which is Richard Hamilton. While this isn’t too far off (somewhat undersized, good shooter but lacks true 3-pt. range, struggles to create off the dribble) I think that Afflalo is probably a little closer to a former NBA shooting guard, Jeff Hornacek. Afflalo is similar to Hornacek in height and athleticism, where Hamilton is both taller (he's undersized because he weighs 180 lbs.) and more athletic than Afflalo. All three are deadly accurate shooters from mid-range who struggle to maintain that level of accuracy beyond the three point line. Furthermore, while each of these players is adept at reading screens and getting open off the ball, both Afflalo and Hornacek are underrated ballhandlers who can create for themselves in an open court situation. Anybody who’s ever watched much of Hamilton realizes that he struggles to lead the break with the ball in his hands, much less create a shot for himself or others. If Afflalo wants to increase his chances of succeeding in the NBA, he’d do well to incorporate a consistent floater in the lane (ala Hornacek) into his offensive arsenal. Hamilton’s height and leaping ability allow him to elevate over defenders and shoot on mid-range jumpers in the NBA. Afflalo would do well to study the head fakes and floaters of Hornacek if he has designs on being anything more than an end of the bench player in the NBA.

Finally, if the ADs at Kentucky and Michigan are interested in winning, and winning big in basketball. And, judging by their recent personnel decisions they are. I would advise them to look into the possibility of hiring John Calipari as the new head coach. Sure, he’s a smug prick and he’s probably gonna have you under NCAA investigation sooner or later but the guy can build a basketball program. Just look at what he’s done during stops at UMass and Memphis? If he can achieve that kind of success on the court and in recruiting at those two places, just imagine what he could do with the resources of a place like either Michigan or Kentucky. This isn’t rocket surgery, folks.