After going 7-1 on his Sweet 16 picks and 3-1 on his Elite Eight picks, Bobby Gonzalez has only added to his aura of being a basketball savant. He knows more about hoops than just about any columnist in the country. In this interview on WFAN in New York, Gonzo takes a look at the Final Four matchups of Kentucky-Wisconsin and Michigan State-Duke. You will love it. [Read more…]
I have a great Elite Eight story to tell you, but I know you want me to get right to my picks. I went 7-1 in my Sweet Sixteen picks, losing with Louisville — a team I am picking against again Sunday. I went 8-for-8 last year in the Sweet Sixteen, and my Twitter followers and Chris Sheridan want me to take that 15-1 record and try to make it 19-1. So I’ll get right to the picks … and then the story.
Bob Huggins is 8-2 lifetime against coach John Calipari, with most of the games taking place when those two coaches were leading Cincinnati and Memphis. That was years ago. Now they are with West Virginia and Kentucky, and folks are wondering whether Huggins’ personal .800 winning percentage will have an impact on the game. I provided my answer to that question, along with telling my best Bob Huggins story (from back when I was an assistant under Pete Gillen at Xavier), in
The NCAA Committee really deserves to take a bow with the matchups, storylines and drama they helped provide in picking the field this year. After a very compelling and topsy-turvy first two rounds, now it’s what I like to call “big boy time.” After coaching in a few NCAA tourneys and closely following countless others, one thing I’ve learned through the years is that at this point, it’s usually safe to expect the chalk to advance. We will forever have upsets
The Jordan Brand Classic introduced us to the game’s future stars. And from the looks of it, the future is bright. Top recruits from Duke, Kansas and Kentucky dazzled in the All-American Game and showed why each program has drawn considerable buzz heading into next season. Seton Hall – which had five recruits named to the Jordan Brand Classic – dominated the Regional Game. Canada shined in the International Game once again thanks to Jahvon Blair’s MVP performance with the help of his
Sunday night the NCAA Men’s Tournament came to a close as the University of Connecticut Huskies were crowned National Champions after defeating the preseason’s top-ranked Kentucky Wildcats 60-54. UCONN point guard Shabazz Napier was named the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player. The game was the story of the night, being reported on practically every news show. With so much coverage, there was bound to be some gaffs—and there was, as Shaquille O’Neal found out while watching Heather Childers on Fox & Friends
Every player with a long career has experienced amazing triumphs and agonizing defeats. What is remarkable is that if you ask most athletes about those events years later, most will admit that the losses stay with them and are more impactful than the wins. After this year’s NCAA Championship game, Kentucky coach John Calipari could only talk about the missed opportunities. His team missed free throws, turned the ball over or missed shots at crucial times. He rarely mentioned the tremendous
I was sitting at the famed Carnegie Deli in NYC over some matzoh ball soup with my dear friend and Jewish godfather (and also a recent basketball Hall of Fame nominee) Howard Garfinkel, who mentioned a quote from a once-famous basketball coach named Elmer Ripley. The quote dates back more than 50 years and was delivered at a coaching clinic: “The big men are all the same. It’s the guards that make the difference.” Being that I was once a proud point