National recruiting analyst Evan Daniels of Scout.com has agreed to answer questions from Inside the Hall readers as a part of a Q & A we’ll be conducting in the near future. To submit a question, please post it in the comments of this post. We’ll use the best questions submitted.
Final standings for Pick ‘Em Challenge
Thanks to more than the 500 of you that participated in the contest. Here is a look at the final standings:
The top three should contact us at info@insidethehall.com to arrange delivery of their prizes.
On a side note, a couple people have inquired in the comments about coverage of this weekend’s Wazoo Sports Derby Festival Basketball Classic at Freedom Hall in Louisville. We will be at Friday’s event at Bellarmine and at the game on Saturday. Look for coverage on the site beginning either late Friday or early Saturday. If you are interested in attending, ticket information is available here.
Dominique Ferguson opens up his recruitment
by Alex Bozich in Recruiting | April 3rd, 2009
According to a tip we received early this evening, Lawrence North junior Dominique Ferguson has de-committed from the University of Kentucky. It was speculated after the coaching change in Lexington that Ferguson would re-open his recruiting process and a tipster tells Inside the Hall that Ferguson has done just that.
8:30 PM Update: Ferguson has confirmed to Inside the Hall that he has re-opened the recruiting process.
8:15 PM Update: Our friend Jody Demling of the Louisville Courier-Journal has confirmed that the five-star forward has re-opened the recruiting process with Ferguson’s father, Deon. The report says that IU is “no doubt” one of the schools Ferguson will consider.
Why They’ll Win It All: Connecticut
by Alex Bozich in Opponents | April 3rd, 2009
Throughout the week, we’ve stated our case for each of the Final Four teams to win the national championship. We conclude the series today with Connecticut.
There are reasons to like Connecticut to win it all beyond the fact that they’re coming out of the West Regional, like they did during championship runs in 1999 and 2004. First, the gentleman to the right has the ability to shut down the interior. And since the only guy who figured out a way to get the best of Hasheem Thabeet this season, Pittsburgh’s DeJuan Blair, is out of the tournament, I’m liking his chances to control the lane in Detroit.
But it’s far from a one man show for the Huskies. With Thabeet, Stanley Robinson and Jeff Adrien, UConn has the best front court remaining in the tournament. The season ending injury to Jerome Dyson raised some questions about this team’s ability to advance deep into the tournament, but A.J. Price has taken on more of a scorer’s mentality and it’s working out beautifully. And it doesn’t hurt that freshman Kemba Walker and Craig Austrie have filled in admirably for Dyson down the stretch.
Another factor, which hasn’t been much of a factor at all, is the Yahoo! story accusing Connecticut of serious NCAA violations. Could Jim Calhoun be using a negative and turning it into a positive to motivate his troops? It sure seems like it. Often times when a coach says an off the court story won’t be a distraction, it manages to find its way onto the court. But the early results look promising in this department for Calhoun. And who doesn’t believe that he’d love to win his third championship and then walk away from potential sanctions?
Why They’ll Win It All: Michigan State
by Alex Bozich in Opponents | April 2nd, 2009
Throughout the week, we’ll be running small capsules on the remaining Final Four teams, stating why they’ll win it all. Today: Michigan State.
Had I told you before the tournament that Michigan State would beat the No. 1 overall seed Louisville and do it easily, you likely would have called me crazy. But that’s exactly what happened last Sunday as the Big Ten regular season champs dismantled the hottest team in the country to reach Detroit.
There are several reasons to like the Spartans to win their third national championship. First, Tom Izzo gets it done in March. He’s 30-10 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and the Spartans typically peak down the stretch. This year is no exception. After head scratching home losses to Northwestern and Penn State, Michigan State has won 13 of 15. There’s something to be said for momentum.
Michigan State is also a balanced team. Five guys average eight points or more. If Kalin Lucas doesn’t beat you, Goran Suton will. If Chris Allen isn’t hitting from behind the arc, Durrell Summers or Korie Lucious will pick up the slack. It’s also unlikely the Spartans will hit the wall due to fatigue. Izzo carefully distributes the minutes for a perfectly balanced rotation. Only Lucas averages over 30 minutes.
And what I like most about the Spartans is the way they crash the boards. They’re grabbing 9.6 more rebounds per game than opponents. Which means they’re not allowing many second chance points. That will come in handy against Connecticut with Hasheem Thabeet and Jeff Adrien, who can both control the paint. Combine a proven winner in March with a balanced rotation that pound the glass and what do you get? A national championship.
Why They’ll Win It All: Villanova
by Eamonn Brennan in Opponents | April 1st, 2009
Throughout the week, we’ll be running small capsules on the remaining Final Four teams, stating why they’ll win it all. Next up: Villanova.
Villanova is just barely a sleeper in this Final Four, in so far as no one thought any non-No. 1 seeds would make it to the Final Four. (With the possible exception of Memphis, but that didn’t go so well.) But in their run to the tournament, Villanova has showcased exactly what makes them so dangerous to teams: their complete and utter understanding of how to play fast-placed basketball.
A lot of times people associate high-tempo stuff with a willy nilly style, a style that seeks to deconstruct what most of us spent our entire childhoods learning about basketball. Get back on defense. Four passes before a shot. (Via Norman Dale.) Get good looks. Make the extra pass. But Villanova, and other teams like them, have shown that a good team can be fast-paced and pressing without abandoning any of those core concepts. With enough practice, they can have the best of both worlds.
That’s what Villanova brings to the table. North Carolina wants to run. Most teams want to slow North Carolina down. But Villanova won’t — it has a super capable group of guards, and its center, Dante Cunningham, is perhaps at his best when running the floor. Unlike most teams, Villanova will be able to run with UNC, and be efficient while doing so.
That’s the thing about Villanova’s style. It actualizes those guards, and when they’re on, when they’re hitting shots, Villanova can pour it on. They’re the real deal, and when they’re efficient, they can beat anyone in the country. That’s why they’ll win it all.
