Jack’s Blog

Duh!  Isn’t that what impossible means?  Michigan State put up a brave pregame front (as Carolina did an imitation of doubt), but to summarize this game, prior to its start, any normal fan, meaning everyone excluding Spartan or Tarheel followers (or, for reverse reasons, the greater majority of Michigan and Duke supporters), assessing the critcal factors would lead any sane individual to the identical conclusion.

First of all, talent.  Michigan State’s roster is full of terrific basketball players.  North Carolina’s just happen to be better.  Say there’s a pick up game and you’re one of the guys selecting.  Throw in, just to make it interesting, a small wager - like your house - and you have first pick.  The rules are you have to pick a point guard.  Chances are, unless you have a burning desire to move, you’d choose Ty Lawson.  Somehow, you get first pick on wing men too.  Unless you’re looking forward to visiting the post office to get one of those “change of address” forms, your selection would come down to Wayne Ellington and ???  “I’ll take Wayne Ellington,” you (wisely) announce.  Now, it’s time to fill out your first three picks and you must take a post player.  No doubt (unless you’re from Croatia - and, not or, you’ve never seen Carolina play), Tyler Hansbrough is your man.

Coaches love their players, so you’d never get Tom Izzo to admit the above - unless somebody had filled his postgame press conference water bottle (following his semifinal victory over UConn) with truth serum.  The point here is that the talent part of the equation was heavily in favor of UNC.

Coaching is next up and anybody can say anything they want - negatively - about either guy, e.g. the only reason Roy ever loses is that he plays too many guys or Tom is too much of a control freak, calling a play every time down the floor - but for a championship game, who else would you want preparing and coaching a team?  There may be other coaches as good, but if you had to select a coach in a championship game out of all the possibilities, these two guys would make the finals of everybody’s list.  So coaching’s a push.

Let’s look at momentum going into the game.  North Carolina had, use whatever word(s) suit(s) you, among: dominated, easily defeated, slaughtered, destroyed, toyed with, thrashed, pummeled and there are several other candidates, all with the same meaning.  Michigan State’s list would look like: survived, outplayed, got by, upset, beat, or other words of a less powerful nature, BUT… the game was being played in Detroit, which cannot be dismissed as a non-factor.  After all, if Roy was asked where he would have liked the game to be played given the choices: A) North Carolina, B) Michigan or C) anywhere else, I’m pretty sure not only which answer he’d pick, but which order he’d pick them (even though he’s on record as saying, “I’ve never lost to a building.”  So, … as far as momentum, let’s call that a push too.

Intangibles: The Spartans, supposedly, had added incentive, since they were representing the state that was (considered by many) to be the one that was most affected by the country’s economic woes.  So, as if the pressure of playing for a National Championship wasn’t bad enough, they were entrusted with “giving the people something to cheer about, to get their minds off of their current personal problems.”  Now, deep down, everyone, and this includes players, coaches, announcers, as well as the people who were supposed to root for MSU to take their mind off of their problems, knew that, win or lose, those problems were still going to be there after the game concluded.

Something that no one had remembered, however, was that North Carolina had a mission too.  Tyler Hansbrough, someone who comes from a different type background than many college basketball players, decided to come back to school for his senior year - because he loved college but, even more, didn’t want to leave college without having won a National Championship.  Whether or not he made this pledge when he signed with UNC out of high school (as OJ Mayo said he did, i.e. go to USC to win a National Championship for the school, then reassessed his lie goal after his first and only year there), Psycho T was determined to make good on his word, … and when his teammates tested the NBA waters and found out they weren’t going to be drafted as highly as they’d hoped/people were telling them they’d be), they also returned.  That meant the number one recruiting class in the nation, the one composed of kids who, certainly had thought that those guys were going pro and there’d be a ton of minutes available, became the best back ups in America. 

Another roadblock in The Spartans’ path was what most people, including Coach Izzo said: “We’re going to have to play a perfect game.”  Basketball is not a game you can play perfectly.  It’s not bowling (where a great many people have bowled 300 games) or swimming (where Mark Spitz and Michael Phelps won gold medals and set world’s records doing it).  One main reason is there’s defense, trying to keep you from getting what you want.  Hey, even the ‘85 Villanova team didn’t shoot 100%. 

So, it was a great run by a very good, gritty (a term associated with every Izzo-coached squad) team, but the Spartans happened to run into another team who bought into its head coach’s philosophy, who played hard and executed well.  So, in the words of Colin Powell:

“You can’t slay the dragon every day.  Some days the dragon wins.” 

And that goes for Tar Heels too.Â

Most people have offered their opinions on which player the Chicago Bulls, with the rights to the number one pick in the 2008 NBA draft, should select and it’s as close to unanimous as can be (meaning I haven’t heard anyone disagree) that Derrick Rose deserves that honor.  This makes sense for all the reasons I’ve heard - plus one.

The Chicago Bulls have a new head coach in Vinny Del Negro who has more charisma (a significant amount) than head coaching experience (none).  Whether he was born with charisma or was educated in its art from his college coach, the late Jim Valvano (who had as much or more of it than anyone I’ve ever known) is uncertain, but it’s that quality that will determine his success in his first coaching job more than any other factor, e.g. system, strategy, substitution pattern or anything else purely basketball-related.  His greatest need is in that all important coaching trait of getting his guys to buy in to what he wants.  He was a point guard and that’s why he needs a point guard - one who’s talented enough to run a team, but also one who’s been with the club for a lesser amount of time than he has been, so his “leader on the floor” realizes who’s in charge (don’t laugh, it’s not as obvious as it ought to be in today’s NBA).  That’s why Derrick Rose is more vital to him than a big man, e.g. Tim Duncan or a great scorer, e.g. Kobe Bryant (even though Kobe also is a lock-down defender).  Rose will, when necessary, take on a subordinate role to his coach sooner than the other two.

Young coaches seldom win, not due to lack of experience, but usually because they inherit a bad job.  It’s imperative they have a team the coach is comfortable with more so than one that’s ultra-talented (yet less talented than many others in its division, hence the job opening). 

A similar situation exists in Miami with first-year head man, Eric Spoelstra, who has coached (nine years of “coaching” with the Heat, including the last three years leading their summer league team), but doesn’t have the presence Del Negro seems to possess (how could anybody, working for another King of Charisma, Pat Riley).  The Heat were 15-67 last year, so they certainly are in need of an infusion of talent (having a healthy Dwyane Wade would significantly help as well), but no one player will be able to turn that abysmal record around.  The grinding NBA schedule means those inevitable losing streaks - usually occurring during road trips.  While losing’s bad enough to deal with, any “off-the-court” incidents (or “on-court” incidents - all of which are recorded for the media to play and replay as many times as a light or heavy sports day dictates) become ancillary problems that will consume a young coach’s work day, which is already packed from sunrise until all his players finally check back into the team hotel (most of time, well after sunset).

That may explain why Pat Riley, the Heat’s president, expressed doubt about the character of the most likely number two pick, Michael Beasley.  Spoelstra is Riley’s hand-picked successor and just the thought of someone, let’s call it “misbehaving” for the sake of a G-rated blog, during a time frame when the team is stringing together multiple losses, undermines any chance of success a new, young coach has.  Not that O.J. Mayo (the most likely replacement candidate) is going to be on the cover of Role Model magazine anytime soon (unless the only choices were USC alumni named O.J.), but the article done on Beasley by Sports Illustrated during the college basketball season showed not only an immature college freshman with a history of “misbehavior,” but a somewhat unrepentant one at that. 

Teams have way too much money invested in these picks and they hope to make such a good one, they’ll never have to pick this high again (being a regular on the “ping pong ball show” is very hazardous to your employment health).  As Henry Miller said:

“The real leader has no need to lead - he is content to point the way.”

He just needs to make sure he’s pointing to the right guy.

When I was Director of Basketball Operations at Fresno State under Jerry Tarkanian from 1995-2002, we were fortunate to have many players with NBA-type talent.  There were critics who said our guys weren’t model citizens and, in some cases, there was substance to that complaint.  However, in the world of basketball, there seem to be an abundance of young men who fit neatly into that category, e.g. this year’s top three candidates to be drafted into the NBA are Michael Beasley (a less than complimentary story in Sports Illustrated appeared during the season on him and his past), O.J. Mayo (someone who’s had as much bad press following his USC career as he did positive pub prior to enrolling) and Derrick Rose (rumors abounded during, before and after his sensational year at Memphis that he matriculated there for considerably more than room, board, books, tuition and fees).  Even Stanford product, Brook Lopez, as bright, skilled and engaging a player as can be found in college basketball, was forced to sit out a few early season games for misbehavior and non-attendance at class (something that is totally unacceptable on the Farm).  Maybe the issue is more that these soon-to-be-millionaires (even it the payday’s a few years away) are so highly scrutinized by those who are never-to-be-millionaires that a “strengthen the weak by weakening the strong” mentality pervades the reporting style.  Or maybe it’s just status quo in today’s world of journalism. 

In any case, the superior prospect, about to venture into a profession he’s dreamed of, could use some helpful advice during that final season in college (now that kids have to spend at least a year in the field of higher education).  What one of our Bulldog players was told by an NBA general manager one day before practice was, by far, the wisest bit of knowledge he learned in college (and believe me or not, he was actually a good student and an intelligent young man).

This GM took him aside and explained what NBA teams who were checking him out wanted to see.  I happened to be a witness to the conversation when he said, “You know Fresno State’s good enough to be in the NIT … BUT, you guys want to go to the NCAA’s.  Well, you know you’re good enough to be a first round pick … BUT you want to be a lottery pick.  Think about it.  The teams that are picking in the lottery are teams that lose … and because they lose - a lot - they probably have no leaders and no true superstars.  When they come to see you play - or practice - don’t show them a guy who’s tough to coach, is moody or is a pain in the butt.  That’s what they have now!  They don’t need any more of that type of player.”

The youngster genuinely appreciated the remarks and I know Tark did as well, because coming from a guy in a leadership position in the league, advice of that nature will always carry more weight.  Kids get used to hearing propaganda from their coaches (”Just because these guys are 2-20, don’t think tonight’s game isn’t going to be a battle”), so coming from someone with no agenda makes a valuable impression and a service that, if you don’t provide as a coach, you’re neglecting your player’s best interests - something you promised him and his parents in that home visit so many months or years ago.

I don’t want to name names because that would actually detract from the message, which was, although to a completely different type of individual, similar to what Walter Lippman once said to those who considered themselves reformers:

“Unless you can invent something which substitutes attractive virtues for attractive vices, you will fail.” ¼/p>

The OJ Mayo saga is dominating the LA papers nearly as much as he did during his prep career.  Not enough is known here to comment a great deal, but from the beginning, the entire recruiting process really didn’t pass the smell test.

Go-between’s calling the college coach who wasn’t allowed the prospect’s cell phone number.  A high-profile player, many had him ranked the number one prospect in all the land, deciding to go to Los Angeles to play, not for UCLA, but for the Trojans because he 1) wanted to lead them to the national championship they never had and 2) simultaneously market himself in a place where stars are born.  Number one was dashed by Mayo’s press conference immediately following his one and only season with The Men of Troy.  Was he sincere in his desire to lead SC to the winner’s circle? Certainly not - if it could have been accomplished in a year. 

The other players - Louis Johnson, Rodney Guillory, Calvin Andrews and Bill Duffy - have, SURPRISE! conflicting stories on all that took place.  Certainly there are people who know what went on but for now, nobody but Johnson (who seems to have been kicked to the curb by Team Mayo) is saying anything.  And he’s saying enough for everyone.

When the smoke clears, we’ll probably wind up finding out what Donald Cressey once said about situations like these:

Things in law tend to be black and white.  But we all know that some people are a little bit guilty, while other people are guilty as hell.”