I was sitting next to a guy at the Arkansas-Oklahoma game the other night, and though I'm not sure who he was or what he does he happened to say something out loud (but to himself) that has stuck with me ever since.
It was a simple yet interesting observation.
This is what he said: Arkansas has a playmaker playing point guard.
Like I mentioned, simple. But after I heard him say it I looked out at the court, and what I realized is that not only does Arkansas have a penetrating playmaker (Courtney Fortson) playing point guard, but it also has a deadly shooter (Rotnei Clarke) playing shooting guard and a legitimate post presence (Michael Washington) playing center, which might be why the Hogs are winning despite their inexperience, because John Pelphrey isn't asking anybody to do anything unfamiliar.
Fortson is asked to dribble into the paint and find an open man; he's been doing that his whole life. Clarke is asked to sink open jumpers from beyond the arc; he's been doing that his whole life. Washington is asked to catch the ball on the block, score and rebound; he's been doing that his whole life. So in an era where many programs recruit the best athletes they can get and worry about positions later -- which has led to Texas trying to play with no point guards, Memphis trying to play with no shooters and Marquette trying to play with no big men -- the Hogs are actually using a lineup featuring guys with very specific skill-sets for their respective positions, and it really is fun to watch.
Will it result in an SEC title?
Who knows?
But I'm certain it's been a factor in their surprising start.
And now let's do the Friday Look Ahead.
Game worth flying to see in person: I wrote a column earlier this week about Cincinnati and how its schedule is impossible, at which time an astute reader pointed out that though it's just as tough as I described it's actually one of the easier Big East schedules. That's a fair point, and for proof consider that No. 11 Georgetown opened league play with a win at No. 2 Connecticut, and now the Hoyas will spend Saturday hosting No. 3 Pittsburgh. Then on Monday, they're at No. 7 Notre Dame, which means Georgetown could lose its next two games and still be a legitimate top 10 team. And that, my friends, is life in the Big East this season.
Game worth driving to see in person: Bruce Pearl had some time off between games this week, so he headed to a high school tournament in Bristol, Tenn., to watch prospects and listen to advice from caring Tennessee fans. "I appreciate the response; I appreciate seeing all the orange in these fans," Pearl told the Bristol Herald Courier at the event. "We've worked hard. They follow us on TV. You know you're making it when I have a couple young guys give me some advice -- that I should keep Wayne Chism closer to the basket." My advice: Keep Wayne Chism right side up, regardless of his location. And if you're wondering, yes, Chism is perfectly fine after Monday's scary fall, and he will be in uniform Saturday when the 14th-ranked Vols visit Kansas.
Game worth watching on TV: Billy Gillispie's Kentucky Wildcats lost their opener to VMI and yet somehow went on to avoid the label of biggest disappointment in the state, which clearly belongs to their rival Louisville. The Cards were ranked third in the preseason AP poll but have started 8-3 with three losses to unranked teams, and because I'm not sure the average fan knows this it should be mentioned that the New Year's Eve loss at home to UNLV came despite UNLV missing its best player (Wink Adams). Now the Cards, ranked 18th in the most recent AP poll, are hosting Kentucky on Sunday, and that means one fan base will go to sleep that night in possession of a four-loss team. Should make for some good message board material, either way.
Some non-BCS love: What could amount to the Game of the Year in the Missouri Valley Conference will be played Saturday when Illinois State puts its undefeated (yet unimpressive) 13-0 record on the line against league favorite Creighton, which is 12-2. Regardless of how you feel about ISU, these are pretty clearly the two best teams in the MVC, and both are threats to make the NCAA tournament even if both are likely to be short on quality wins on Selection Sunday, particularly Illinois State.
An obvious prediction: That Connecticut will beat Rutgers on Saturday probably isn't as obvious as it might've been before the second-ranked Huskies provided a lackluster effort against Georgetown, but it's still obvious and worthy of being the "obvious" prediction. As for Fred Hill, well, I imagine he just wants to get it over with and move on because when the final horn sounds the Scarlett Knights will have played the teams ranked first, second and third in the latest AP poll in a span of seven days, and that's just no fun for anybody ... except for the teams ranked first, second and third.
A crazy prediction (but it might happen anyway): As you know -- because I won't stop telling you -- I've nailed this "crazy" prediction three of the past four weekends, and I really am starting to wonder if I'm genius. I don't pay attention to point spreads or odds or anything like that; I merely look at all the games featuring unranked teams against ranked teams, and then I take some unranked team straaaaaaaaaaight up. I'm right more often than not, which is why anybody looking for a showdown of unbeatens between Wake Forest and North Carolina next weekend should probably make other plans, because I'm taking unranked BYU over sixth-ranked Wake Forest this Saturday, straaaaaaaaaaight up. So place your bets now, and don't bother thanking me because I consider this my way of giving back to my readers. I'm happy to do it free of charge, for now.
Player trying to keep rolling: The promise here is that if Illinois wins Sunday afternoon at Michigan then Bruce Weber's team will crack the Top 25 (and one) on Sunday night, and they'll be better than the "and one." For that to happen, it might require another nice performance from Mike Tisdale, the 7-1 sophomore who is averaging 19 points per game since scoring zero against Hawaii last month. He had 18 points and six rebounds in Tuesday night's win at Purdue before fouling out in 30 minutes, which isn't bad for a guy who only averaged 3.6 points and 1.7 rebounds last season.
Player trying to get rolling: Mike Williams is not a big-time scorer, but it sure helps Cincinnati when he at least scores a little, which is something he's not doing against quality opposition. Consider: the three best teams the Bearcats have played are UNLV, Xavier and Memphis, and Williams has scored a total of nine points in 62 combined minutes on the court in those games. That's a dreadful statistic and something that must change if the Bearcats are to pull an upset at Marquette on Sunday.
Three things you should know before you go
1. Former Indiana standout and brief UAB student Armon Bassett has enrolled at Ohio, where he could either be the star first-year coach John Groce needs or a complete headache in every way. The odds are 70-30 in favor of headache given Bassett's history. But it's probably worth the risk, because a player with Bassett's talent is the type of player who could take Ohio to a Mid-American Conference title.
2. According to KenPom.com, Georgetown is the only team with an offense and defense that ranks in the top 10 in terms of efficiency. That's why the Hoyas are 10-1 and one of the season's early surprises.
3. Of the six undefeated teams, only two remain unranked. They are Illinois State and Stanford, the latter of which is a surprising 10-0 heading into Friday night's game against 17th-ranked Arizona State. A win there, and the Cardinal will get strong consideration for the Top 25 (and one) .
Final thought: Tic Price will be on the visitor's bench Saturday at FedExForum as a Lamar assistant, which will be strange considering he was the head coach at Memphis from March 1997 until he was forced into resignation in November 1999 because of an inappropriate relationship with a female student. The incident -- and the timing of it -- forced assistant Johnny Jones (now the head coach at North Texas) to coach the Tigers on an interim basis in the 1999-2000 season, but more importantly it allowed athletic director R.C. Johnson months to pursue an NBA assistant named John Calipari, who accepted the Memphis job in March 2000.
Long story not so long, it's reasonable to assume that Price would not have been fired that season if not for the affair, which means the Memphis job would not have opened, which means Calipari would not have become the Memphis coach. So in a warped sense, every great thing that has happened at Memphis the past three years -- three consecutive Elite Eights, a No. 1 ranking, a trip to the national title game, Derrick Rose becoming the top pick in the NBA Draft, etc., -- is a direct result of Price's affair, because without it the Calipari era would've never existed. And that's why Memphis fans would be wise to pay their proper respects this weekend and give Price a standing ovation, because if he hadn't screwed up so badly they wouldn't have the program they have today.
