Bests in a tournament full of them
ST. LOUIS -- This (Mississippi) river dance is over. And the celebration has just begun.
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| Sean May closes the tournament with 134 points and 64 rebounds in UNC's six games. (Getty Images) |
We'll leave it to certain Mr. Jordan to sum up. M.J. walked out of the Heels' locker room after hugging every one of the players. His only gesture -- with reporters shouting questions -- a salute.
Well done, Michael, Heels and Arch Madness. Here's a month's worth of tournament reflections.
Best player: Hello? Sean May channeled his father Scott. Twenty-nine years ago Scott had 26 points and eight rebounds to complete Indiana's perfect season. On Monday, Sean had 26 points and 10 rebounds on his 21st birthday. If the election was tonight, he'd be voted president too.
Best finish: Illinois coming from 15 down with four minutes left against Arizona. Where were you when it happened? It seemed like the world stopped those final few minutes. It was a sign from above when a couple from Decatur, Ill., dressed in orange Illini sweatshirts came down to watch the game in the Austin Marriott lounge just as the rally started.
The brightest shining moment: Bucknell's upset of Kansas in the first round was the best story. A coach (Pat Flannery) who was being counseled for stress led a bunch of no-names (Chris McNaughton?) over one of the most storied programs in the sport.
The clock literally struck midnight (ET, when the game ended) for Cinderella. McNaughton hit the winner with an old-fashioned hook shot over All-America Wayne Simien with 10.5 seconds left.
Christy Mathewson's alma mater didn't start awarding scholarships until two years ago. The Bison beat Kansas with five scholarship players and eight other guys on the hook for the $38,000 annual tuition. The only upset that even approaches it is Princeton's victory over UCLA in 1996.
Biggest swing and miss: The talking heads have waaayy too much influence in setting the tournament agenda. The fawning over coaches is to the point that when there are mistakes, no one notices -- or they don't want to notice.
Examples: Bill Self, Lute Olson and Mike Krzyzewski deserved criticism for the way their teams bowed out. Kansas looked uninspired. Arizona blowing a 15-point lead with four minutes left is unforgivable. J.J. Redick was allowed to shoot the Blue Devils (11 of 38 in three games) out of the tournament.
Newest verb: Pittsnogle -- to be victimized by a hot-shooting West Virginia big man. Example: Wake Forest was Pittsnogled in the tournament From the Latin -- hillbillus perimetus. Antonym: Redick.
Biggest misconceptions: That this coaching thing is rocket science during March. Everybody uses three guards. All the good big men (except Sean May) are in the NBA. There are two or three defenses -- man, zone, whatever. Offense consists of guards passing the ball around the perimeter until an opening shows up.
