Man Down...Carter-Williams Steps Up

It's only mid-January, but the action this weekend in college basketball had a March feel to it. With Lance, Manti, Lennay, NFL Conference Championship dominating headlines the last few days, college basketball nudged its way into the fold with a couple of impressive performances.

While we'll focus on two come-from-behind wins for Syracuse, we can't talk about the weekend of college hoops without giving some love to Butler, Roosevelt Jones, Brad Stevens, Jimmy Chitwood and the Hinkle Magic. If this video doesn't give you some sort of chills, there is something wrong with you.



Butler pulled off the win over Gonzaga, an instant classic between two "mid-majors" that both have a chance to make a run to the Final 4 this year. Even more impressive, the Dawgs (Butler not Gonzaga) got the win without their leading scorer, Rotnei Clark, who missed the last two games with a neck injury. Clark has produced some of his own magic for Butler this season.

Earlier in the day, Syracuse traveled to the Yum! to take on top ranked Louisville. It would be the Orange's second game without super 6th man James Southerland, who is out indefinitely due to some academic issues (Southerland being ineligible a year after Fab Melo had issues is a whole other story that we could explore at length...what's the issue guys? Go to class and do you work. It's not THAT difficult).

Sure Southerland comes off the bench, but in Jim Boeheim's world, that doesn't really matter (see: Waiters, Dion). Southerland's impact can be seen in the box score despite not starting. The senior is 2nd in scoring, 4th in minutes, 3rd in rebounding and is the teams best 3-point shooter as what people are now calling a stretch-4 (a forward who can shoot it from deep to...you got it, stretch the floor).

In Southerland's first game out, Syracuse overcame an ugly first half to eventually pull away from a pesky Villanova team at the Dome. This weekend's match up with Louisville, arguably the best team in the Big East, if not the country (Boeheim believes this), would prove what Syracuse would be able to do with Southerland who may not return this season.

A classic Big East battle between two top 6 teams that will be playing in the ACC next year ensued on Saturday afternoon. Tied at the half, Louisville held a slim lead the majority of the 2nd half. SU finally regained the lead with 5:30 to play thanks to five straight points from Michael Carter-Williams. MCW, who struggled the majority of the game put the team on his shoulders down the stretch. He did it on both ends of the court, including a steal, dunk and faceful of hardwood to give the Cuse the lead for good....see for yourself.



MCW then made 1 of 2 free throws to put SU up 2 with 13 seconds left. On Louisville's final possession, it was Carter-Williams who came away with a steal to seal the deal.

Let's take a step back and recap the last 6 minutes of the game:

MCW scored 10 of the last 12 points for Syracuse. The other basket, a layup by Jerami Grant (a Daily Onions favorite) was assisted by Carter-Williams. On Louisville's final three possessions...MCW had a steal, had a rebound (off of a Grant block) and added another steal on the final play of the game.

The kid gets it. Sure, he has some growing up to do and he has a tendency to start slow in games, but he has the ability to take over a game on both ends of the floor. It's the reason NBA scouts have him as a top 10 pick next year.

Great. He has a good game on a big stage. How does he follow up that up less than 48 hours later? Well for one thing, he gets Bill Raftery a little excited....



With 3 minutes left, Syracuse found itself trailing Cincinnati by four points. Enter MCW. Five straight points by the sophomore tied the game at 55. A CJ Fair tip-in following a Jerami Grant drive with 22 seconds left would give the Orange the 57-55 win.

Carter-Williams would finish with 16 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, and 1 steal. Oh by the way, he only turned it over 3 times.

I'm not ready to retire his number or name a practice facility after him, but its been a pretty impressive 48 hours for Michael Carter-Williams. A McDonald's All-American two years ago, who almost transferred last year because he had to sit behind Triche, Waiters and Scoop, its safe to say its been worth the wait for Orange nation. With or without Southerland, Michael Carter-Williams has shown he can step up when his team needs it the most.

Video Onions: McLemore, Mountaineers, Paul, Franklin and more...

Best way to relive some of last night's best plays, whether it was a dunk or Onions in the bank, is to see the video...

Let's start with Kansas, who barely escaped Iowa State at home, in overtime (97-89). The Jayhawks were down three in the final seconds, when Ben McLemore hit his fifth 3-pointer of the game. Chaos commences at the Phog.



McLemore finished the game 6-6 from 3, and 10-12 from the field, ending with 33 points. Kansas escaped this one and narrowly defeated Temple at home over the weekend. On the other side, The Mayor, Fred Hoiberg, will second guess his strategy not to foul Kansas, when his Cyclones held a 3 point lead under 5 seconds. The #foulordefend debate is a good on. Check out the hashtag on twitter.

Our old friends down in Morgantown, WV had a big road test last night in the Big 12. At Texas, the Mountaineers led by 3 with just five seconds left. They chose not to foul. Any guesses what happened next? From the corner....



Luckily, WVU ended up winning the game in overtime 57-53, which could have saved their season. A nice road win in conference to hopefully get Huggins' crew back on track.

In the Big Ten, it took only 3 minutes and change for Brandon Paul of Illinois to put Minnesota's Trevor Mbakwe on a poster.



Mbakwe and the 8th ranked Gophers had the last laugh though, winning 84-67.

Jamaal Franklin of San Diego State got his Dunk Contest resume tape ready last night, going a little Tracy McGrady, off the backboard to himself.



Other games of note in the Big East: Syracuse got a road win at the Dunkin' Donuts Center, beating Providence 72-66. The Orange rallied from a 9 point first half deficit. Rutgers, who is 2-1 after Daily Onions wrote about Mike Rice, got a nice road win over St. John's, while Villanova won its 7th straight game with a victory at South Florida. Nova heads to the Dome on Saturday to square of with Syracuse, and Daily Onions will be there.

Notre Dame Wins!

In the Daily Onions universe, this headline is true. Notre Dame did indeed win last night, on the basketball court. Eddie Lacy, AJ McCarron, Amari Cooper, Nick Saban, Ha Ha Clinton-Dixon (who doesn't love a Ha Ha) and AJ McCarron's girlfriend made sure that Notre Dame wasn't even close to winning on the football field last night.
Now that we've mentioned Katherine Webb, like every other blog out there, we can move on to the real reason we are here.
The Big East conference season is underway. It is time to figure out who is for real, who looked really good out of conference but has stumbled out of the conference schedule gates and who deserves some more attention from the conference.
Here are two teams that haven't had the conference starts they were really hoping for...
-Pitt Happens: The Panthers, coming off a disappointing season (College Basketball Invitational, anyone?), got off to a good start this year. With 12 wins in their first 13 games (one loss to Michigan), Pitt was ranked in the Top 25 as Big East play started. They lost at home to Cincinnati and then went to the RAC and fell to Rutgers. Things don't get any easier as tonight they'll be on the road again at Georgetown. Panthers staring at an 0-3 start in conference play. 
-Bearcats Down: The 'Nati was ranked #8 in the country just two weeks ago. Lots of chatter about how good they were and everyone was very high on Sean Kilpatrick (as they should be). They won their first 12 games, lost a tough one at home to New Mexico State by 1, and then kicked off conference play with a victory at Pitt. Last Saturday, St. John's came to town and downed the Bearcats, and then last night Notre Dame beat them on their home court. For those of your scoring at home, they've lost 3 of last 4 games, all at home. Not a good recipe for success in conference.

The All "That Guy is Still in School?!" Team

We've all done it. You are watching a college basketball game and you see that player and you say, "Wait....he's STILLLL in school?" It happens a handful of times each year, and basically it means that the player is good enough to get solid playing time as a freshman, but not a sure thing at the next level that would lead them to leave school early.

This year is no different. Plenty of players out there that have been around around forever. Now presenting, the Daily Onions All "That Guy is Still in School?!" Team.

First Team
Peyton Siva - Louisville (Unanimous selection): Loyal reader Ramy actually sent us a text a few weeks back saying/asking "Siva is STILL at Louisville?!" See it really does happen.

CJ Fair/Brandon Triche - Syracuse: Fair has been a solid contributor for 4 years, but Triche is on the verge of getting the Craig Forth Award for starting every game of his four-year college career. Cuse fans will miss these two guys a lot next year (EDITOR'S NOTE: We had convinced ourselves that Fair had been at Syracuse for so long that he was a Senior. Well, he's only a Junior. So good news, he'll be back next year, and an automatic first teamer).

Miles Mason Plumlee - Duke: Good news, there is a younger brother Marshall, who is a redshirt freshman on the Duke roster.

Travis Releford - Kansas: Releford is a player that you might not know the name, but when you see him, you know exactly who he is...and then you wonder if he was a teammate of Mario Chalmers when Kansas won the National Championship in 2008 (he wasn't).

Kenny Boynton - Florida: We used to confuse Boynton with Erving Walker, who was a senior last year, similar type player. Probably leads to us thinking Boynton has been around for that much longer.

Second Team
Deniz Kilicli - West Virginia: The Turk. The Hook. The Beard. The no longer has the beard. Whatever you want to call him, he's been around way too long. Moutaineer fans are ready for him to be gone.

Mike Rosario - Florida: This one is a little tricky, considering Rosario started his career at Rutgers and then transferred to Florida. Rosario did match up against Johnny Flynn, who is now already (!) out of the league and playing in Australia. In fact, watch the video, maybe this is why Rosario left Rutgers




Derrick Nix - Michigan State: When you are a senior that is 6-7 and 290 lbs, its hard for people to miss you. Throw in the fact that you play for one of the nation's most recognizable programs, you are going to be seen a lot.

Rodney McGruder - Kansas State: One of Daily Onions favorite players, solely because of his last name...so close to McGruber!

Mike Brusewitz - Wisconsin: Big, white dude with a buzz cut that can shoot from outside and plays hard for Wisconsin. Sounds familiar, right? Well Brusewitz also used to have some flowing orange locks before he went with the Badger buzz, making him standout during his first two years on campus

Early look for next year's squad- Aaron Craft, Ohio State; Will Spradling, Kansas State. Both are juniors are could be honorable mentions this year.

Who'd we miss?

Mike Rice Farewell Tour

Tonight marks the start of Big East play for Syracuse, as they welcome Rutgers to the Carrier Dome. The game also marks Rutgers Head Coach Mike Rice's return to the bench after serving a three-game suspension handed down by RU Athletic Director, Tim Pernetti back on December 13th. Rice was suspended without pay and fined $50,000 for foul language and inappropriate behavior, which included throwing basketballs at players' heads. Nice.

For those that have read Daily Onions over the last few years know we are not a huge fan of Rice or his sideline antics. In addition to observing him over the years, we also had the opportunity to work along side Rice at a few basketball camps several years ago. Rice comes off as a high energy, motivated and passionate guy - all things you would want as a coach. He also comes off as arrogant and cocky. Take the good, take the bad, I guess.

After stints as an assistant for St. Joe's and Pitt, Rice got his shot to lead a program at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh. In his three years there, he compiled a record of 73 wins and 31 losses. He also earned NCAA berths in his final two years, taking the two seed, Villanova to OT before losing in the opening round of the 2010 tournament. That impressive showing punched Rice's ticket to getting a shot at a BCS conference job.

His time at Rutgers has been highlighted by three victories over top-10 teams in the past two years (Villanova, Connecticut and Florida). While those wins impressive, Rice and the Scarlet Knights have mustered just 5 and 6 wins in the Big East conference during his first two seasons.

Will Mike Rice Change his Ways?

While this is the final year for the Big East as we know it, it also needs to be the final year for Mike Rice as Rutgers head coach. Whether it's getting tossed from a game in the first half for arguing with officials, throwing basketballs at players during practice or ripping into a 19-year old by cursing him out on national television during a game, Rice has shown behavior that has no place in coaching, no matter the level.

When I first read of the suspension, I commended Pernetti for taking that action. A three game suspension and $50,000 fine amounts to about a quarter of Rice's yearly salary, which shows Pernetti wanted to send a message. Others I spoke with thought Rice should have been fired immediately, because it's obvious that Rice's inappropriate behavior was an ongoing issue, not just an isolated event.

With the direction Rutgers University is heading - another solid football season that nearly ended with a BCS bowl berth and the upcoming move to the Big Ten Conference - they cannot afford to have a liability like Rice on the sideline. Yes, Rice was bringing in players and the past two seasons he was coaching one of the five youngest squads in the country.

But when you are trying to build a brand around a basketball team, you don't want the face of the program or the lasting impression of the program, a maniac coach on the sideline.

I'm not questioning whether or not Mike Rice cares about his players. I know he does. He wants them to win and wants them to be successful. That's what we want our coaches to do. However, there is a right way to do that and a wrong way to do that.

Rice says he's learned his lesson and I hope he has. I just don't know if you can flip a switch to turn on and off the passion, or at least channel that passion into a positive, acceptable behavior.

Tonight as Rice returns, Syracuse's Jim Boeheim looks to move into sole possession of second place on the all-time wins list. Ironically, if Boeheim can take care of the hot-headed Rice and Rutgers tonight, he'll move ahead of another coach that had a few flare ups on the sideline, Bobby Knight.

Early Season Onions

Tis the season for turkey, travel, Thanksgiving, the start of college basketball and ...... ONIONS! Yesterday we got our first taste of college basketball onions, when Butler's Rotnei Clark gave the Bulldogs the last second victory over Marquette at the Maui Invitational. See for yourself...



The one unfortunate thing about this game, is that is was played in the early session of the Maui Invitational, which meant that Bill Raftery was NOT on the call. We all know what would have happened if Raftery was on the airwaves. Let's flashback to Raftery in the 2009 NCAA Tournament, where we get 3 Onions calls in the final minutes of the Ohio State-Siena game, including a "Double-Order" to cap things off.


Raftery is back on the mic tonight calling the North Carolina-Butler game. Let's hope there are a few orders of Onions on the menu tonight.

Fun Fact Friday: Brown and Out

Well, that didn't last too long. After just five games played in the 2012-13 NBA season, Mike Brown is out as the Lakers Head Coach. The new look Lakers, who added Steve Nash and Dwight (eisen)Howard to Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol to form the Big Aging Four, started the season 1-4.

Mike Brown: You're Fired.

Five games marked the fastest the Lakers have ever fired a coach, easily beating out the previous record of 12 games back in 1999, when they got rid of Frank Drebin Del Harris. Five games also is the fastest an NBA coach has been let go, the previous record of 9.

Still lots of information to come out on why the move was made, but here are some of the story lines on why this went down:

-Princeton offense: As Charles Barkley said on Inside the NBA last week on TNT, "I want my accountant to come from Princeton, not my NBA offense." He's got a point. While the Princeton offense can be successful with the right group of players and the right coach (not Mike Brown), it just wasn't working here. Not sure why Brown was trying to fit a square peg in a round hole, when he had two of the best big men in the league, along with one of the all time greatest shooting guards, led by a two-time MVP at PG...none of whom have ever run the Princeton offense.

-Dwight Howard: True or False - Dwight Howard has been involved in the firing of two NBA coaches, on opposite coasts of the country, in a mere 6 months. True. With that said, we doubt Howard himself had THAT much to do with the firing.

-Kobe: Speaking of individuals that had to do with the firing. A lot of fingers are being pointed at Kobe. Well, if you saw the death stare he gave to Mike Brown at the end of Wednesday's loss to the Utah Jazz, you probably would too. We'll see what comes out in regards to how much say Kobe had in this decision. Kobe supposedly did sign off on Brown implementing the Princeton offense this summer, but I guess he's flip-flopping on that decision now.



-Weekend at Bernie's: Lakers assistant coach Bernie Bickerstaff will coach the team tonight against Golden State, and most likely Sunday's game vs. Sacramento. The long term replacement is yet to be determined but common names being heard include Phil Jackson (obvious 1st choice), Jerry Sloan (pick and roll w/ Steve Nash leading the way), Mike D'Antoni (Nash's coach in Phoenix, good relationship w/ Kobe from Olympics and Italian roots), Brian Shaw (former Lakers assistant under Phil Jackson, probably should have gotten the job when they hired Brown). Daily Onions pick would be D'Antoni - probably the most realistic and best move at this point.

-7 Games in Heaven: Here is the next seven games for the Lakers. Golden State, Sacto, San Antonio, Phoenix, Houston, New JERRRSEEEY Brooklyn, at Sacto. Six in a row at home, most thought Brown would get at least the weekend to clean things up. Why wait though? He's obviously not the right fit, so get someone new in who can take over the team when they have a handful of winnable games. Get them off to a hot start and go from there.

Throwback Onions: Grant Park 2008, Revisted

The following is an account of Election Night in Grant Park, Chicago, back in 2008, when Barack Obama was named the 44th President of the United States. This post is not meant to be political, but more of a narrative of history in the making. This was originally written the days following the 2008 election.

-->

Reporting Live from Grant Park: Experiencing History

Jason Sacks

11/4/08

When I moved to Chicago on June 2, in the back of my mind I thought that I might be a part of a historic event within the next four to five months.  The Cubs were the best team in baseball, and I was moving in three blocks from Wrigley Field.  I couldn’t help but think how crazy the month of October would be in Wrigleyville as the Cubs ended the 100-year curse. Well, less than a week into October, Wrigley field went dark, and there went the historic event; “wait till next year,” as they say in these parts.  But less than a month after the Cubs were booted from the playoffs, that historic event that I thought about, would turn out to be something much more  than just a World Series in my backyard.

About two weeks ago, people started discussing an Election Night rally in Grant Park, where Senator Barack Obama would hopefully make his acceptance speech as the next President of the United States.  Details were still a bit unclear, but my initial gut reaction was that that rally was going to be absolute chaos.  I attended a free Stevie Wonder concert in the summer at Grant Park and ended up sitting on Lake Shore Drive (for those of you not familiar with Chicago, not the best seat for a concert).  The number of people present made it impossible to move, hear or see anything going on.  I could just imagine what this Election Night rally would be like, and didn’t think I wanted to be anywhere near there. I figured there’d be better views on television.

Then about a week ago, someone sent me the link to register for a free ticket for the Election Night Rally.  Word on the street was that tickets were good for you and a guest, and that they’d allow about 70,000 people into the park.  I filled out the registration form and figured it’d be worth at least having the option of going.  I quickly received confirmation that I had a ticket and that a ticket would be emailed to me a day before the event.  At that point, I was still on the fence on whether or not I’d attend.  The more and more I thought about it though, I wondered, how cool would it be to tell my friends, family and one day my children, that I was there to witness one of the most historic nights in our country’s history.  Done. I was going.

I'm in that crowd...somewhere

The tickets and information about the event said that the doors to Hutchinson Field in Grant Park would open at 8:30 pm (all times in this account are Central Time...I’ve converted).  We knew there’d be large crowds of people down there, so we (myself, Colleen, Brady and Brandi) arrived at the entrance to the event at around 6:15 pm.  We started to work our way through the crowds and entered through our first check point, showing tickets and IDs, disposing of any food, beverages, large bags, etc.  We then walked to another checkpoint where they checked tickets, and another checkpoint where they pretty much did the same thing.  At that point, we could see a row of 24 metal detectors and a large mass of people.  It took about 25 minutes to actually get up to the metal detectors. Luckily, while we were waiting, Brady’s new $15 transistor radio that he just bought at CVS was giving us up to the minute updates on…NASCAR and the Chicago traffic (Eventually Brady would find a news station with Election updates, or not). As we got closer to the metal detectors, I made sure that we went through the detector numbered 22 for good luck (you’re welcome, Barack).  As we made it through the final checkpoint, which was manned by TSA workers along with Secret Service Officers, we could start to see the open field where the rally would take place.

What is David Stern Thinking? NBA Opening Night

Welcome back, NBA. Whew....good to have you back in our life.

Tuesday night kicked off the NBA season with the prime time match up of the Wizards vs. Cavs Celtics vs. Heat. Lots of story lines in this game, but we'll save that for another time.

Instead, let's get to David Stern. Mr. Commissioner announced last week that he will be stepping down on February 1st, 2014, rounding out a 30 year run as the league's leader.

In his first appearance post retirement announcement, David Stern started off the Miami Heat Ring Ceremony by first acknowledging the tragedy and aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Seriously.


At that point, I tweeted, "Nice start David Stern #sandynotkatrina #checkedoutalready"

Obviously, just a slip of the tongue by Stern, but it was interesting timing with him knowing he is on his way out, so maybe he'll just go into check out mode, with a side of I'll do whatever the hell I want mode (I guess the latter is what he is in the majority of the time anyway).

As the ring ceremony got underway, we wondered what Stern was saying to each player as he shook their hand. Everything written below could, or could not be what was actually exchanged.

Terrel Harris: "Who the f are you?"  (not only did Stern say this, but so did everyone else in America)
Norris Cole: "You're right...having that box haircut is the only way someone would ever notice you on this team."
Dexter Pittman: "Just because I'm on my way out, don't think you can pull any of that dirty crap you did last year. I'll be watching you....even if you only play 4 games this year."
Joel Anthony: "Who's Anthony, Who's Anthony?....Wayne's World, anyone?"
Juwan Howard: "Who would have thought you'd be the last Fab 5 member playing in the NBA?"
Mike Miller: "Don't go auctioning this ring off, like you did your house." 
Udonis Haslem: "You have two NBA championship rings?!"
Shane Battier: "Why can't everyone in the NBA be as nice as you? Oh, and cut the flopping, would ya?"
Mario Chalmers: "I would say I know how it feels to be yelled at by everyone, but I don't....sorry."
Chris Bosh: "I loved you in Avatar."
Dwyane Wade: "You don't know how many times I spelled your name D-w-a-y-n-e, instead of D-w-y-a-n-e."
LeBron James: "Remember that whole thing about beating the Lakers in 6 we talked about last year, let's make it 7." (shout-out to Grantland.com)

Fun Fact Friday: CamORANGEflage

Fun Fact Friday is back after a one week hiatus due to the nuptials of loyal reader Ramy, who is currently enjoying his honeymoon in Hawaii. Enjoy this post on the beach while sipping a fruity cocktail. Also, put some more sunscreen on your head.

Anyway, back to the fun-ness that is Fun Fact Friday. We are exactly 2 weeks away from Syracuse tipping things off against San Diego State on the Battle of the Midway. It was announced on Wednesday that Syracuse will be rocking some Nike camouflage jerseys, similar to what Michigan State and North Carolina wore last year during their deck top match-up.

No sign of the 'Cuse jerseys posted online yet, but we are looking forward to the potential. Will it be worth shelling out the $60-80 to pick up a new basketball shorts? If they look good, I'd say strong to quite strong. Why not represent 'Cuse and our Armed Forces.

P-Shump Update: For all of you Orange fans that were wondering, "Hmmm, I wonder what Preston Shumpert is up to these days?" Well, now you know. The Syracuse Post Standard reported yesterday that Shumpert is recovering from a tendon injury in his finger; an injury sustained while playing in Turkey. Here we thought the only competitive sport happening in Turkey was this season of The Challenge on MTV. Turns out Shump has been playing in Europe for the last decade. According to the article, Shumpert, his wife and two kids live in the Syracuse area. Anyone know where Deshaun Williams is?

Orange Cut Day: Ok, so this isn't fun, but its worth noting. In the past week, Johnny Flynn and "I'm Sorry" Rick Jackson have been released/cut from NBA teams. Andy Rautins is one of four players fighting for one position in Oklahoma City. Odds are, Andy is next to be gone. Donte Green isn't on a team as he rehabs from an injury. Rough stretch for a couple of guys that played together up on the Hill. Jackson and Rautins are who we thought they were, but man, imagine if Flynn and Green would have stayed in school for another year or two. Ahh, what could have been.

Fun Fact Friday: The Madness

October 12, 2012. The official start of the basketball season. Today marks the first day that college teams can hold practice, most choosing for a "Midnight" Madness type of event. Up in Central New York, the 'Cuse figured if its not at midnight, why call it Midnight Madness? They opted for Orange Madness, which brings us to our first installment of #FunFactFriday.

Jasmine and Scoop prior to Madness (Post Standard)

This year's Orange Madness will be hosted by none other than, the Human Momentum Killer himself (nickname given by reader JaLil), Scoop Jardine. The fun fact comes here. Scoop's co-host is his girlfriend, Jasmine Jordan. Jasmine is a sophomore at Syracuse, and the daughter of some guy named Michael Jordan. And this is probably the only time Scoop's name will be used in the same sentence as MJ's (Although there were rumors back in August that Scoop was getting an invite to the Bobcats preseason camp - but a longer than expected recovery from a foot injury puts Scoop back at the Dome, instead of in Charlotte). Jasmine said she was asked to co-host the event by The First Lady of SU Basketball, Juli Boeheim. If Juli called you, you'd do whatever she asked as well.

Onto some other Midnight madness notes:

-Jimmy B is 10 wins away from 900, and 13 wins away from passing Bob Knight on the all-time wins list.

-Seth Greenberg thinks Syracuse's weakness this year is not having a "city" guard like Pearl Washington, Adrian Autry, or Dion Waiters. Brandon Triche, Jamesville-Dewitt (NY) and Michael Carter-Williams, Hamilton (MA) are all offended. Seth also thinks he should still be coaching at Virgnia Tech, though.

-Indiana opted for the televised day time practice with drills and Tom Crean pacing around the court chirping compliments and instructions faster than he chews his gum. No crowds, no smoke machines, no freshmen doing ballet numbers (UNC did this). The Hoosiers are ranked as high as #1 in some preseason polls and return ALL of their starters. They also have a guy named Maurice Creek on their team. Mo Creek, anyone?

-ESPN has placed their talent all over the map to report live from Midnight Madnesses. Syracuse got the short end of the stick with Dino Gaudio, while UNC and Pitt were the big winners with Doris Burke and Bill Raftery, respectively. Since Syracuse beat Pitt in football last week, they should have won the rights to have Raftery in town for the Madness.

-Kentucky's madness started with them raising their 2012 National Championship banner to the rafters. Reports out of Rupp Arena is that they are leaving the ladder out, since they will have to vacate that win within the next year or two. #tooeasy  Kentucky also has two players with Kid 'N Play type boxes, stud recruit, questionably eligible Nerlens Noel and transfer PG from NC State, Ryan Harrow.

-Andy Katz has Louisville ranked #1 in his preseason poll. Whatever that means.

-This is the final Midnight Madness for Pitt and Syracuse in the Big East. Next season the 'Cuse will be in the ACC House. Oh my god, oh my god. #RIPBigEast

Return of the Onions

What happens when you are on an airplane for four and half hours, need a break from doing your "real" job (thank you wifi on Southwest!), and start seeing some tweets about college basketball media day? You rededicate yourself to your college basketball blog, that's what you do!

And then you go and post this song to get it stuck in everyone's head - throwback to high school anyone?



By the way, did you know that the Return of the Mack official video has 8,996,280 views on youtube? I have no bearing on whether or not this is super high or average. As reference, This is How We Do It by Montell Jordan has just over 9 million views, while Thong Song has over 17 mllion views. And that ladies and gentlemen, is how you work The Thong Song into a college basketball blog post.

Now, onto more pertinent information regarding some college hoops. Here are a few stories we are following (not breaking).

Sunk my aircraft carrier? Our beloved Syracuse Orange were set to square off against San Diego State on November 9th on the retired USS Midway aircraft carrier flight deck, which is docked in San Diego. This would be the second straight year a basketball game was being played on a aircraft carrier (last year it was UNC and Michigan State).
As of this morning, it looks like this game is in limbo. Apparently the fan fest, concert, and other tomfoolery around the event are all being canceled because the inability to find a national sponsor. Interesting since the game is just over a month away. I'm sure Ron Burgundy and Champ Kind will have more details as this story breaks.
It would be ironic if the game does get canceled though. Syracuse, who gets a bad rap for not playing outside the state of NY until January most seasons, tries to not only go across the country to play again, but they aren't even playing the game on land. Maybe its just not meant to be. Stay at the Dome, Jimmy B.

SI.com

Jabari Parker: The top ranked player in high school hoops since LeBron James happens to reside and play in Daily Onions backyard on the south side of Chicago. The Simeon High School (same as Derrick Rose) senior has narrowed down his list to five schools. Unfortunately for those fans of in-state schools, DePaul and Illinois are nowhere to be found. According to ESPN recruiting folks, Simeon coach Robert Smith said DePaul was the toughest school for Jabari to leave off the list. Wonder if Oliver Purnell and company can use that in their recruiting pitch..."We were #6 on Jabari's list!!"

The top 5 for Jabari looks like this (in no particular order): Stanford, Michigan State, Duke, BYU and Florida (no Kentucky, thank goodness...Calipari did get the Harrison twin brothers yesterday though, both ranked in the top 5 of the class of 2013). Parker and his family are Mormons, so that explains BYU. From all accounts, Jabari is a great kid all around, (check out this article on him from Sports Illustrated) including the classroom, to go along with his basketball ability. Would be pretty cool to see him go to a BYU or Stanford. My early prediction that doesn't mean a damn thing, Michigan State. I'm basing this on Tom Izzo make a couple of extra trips to Chicago during the season last year, just to sit court side and make eye contact with Jabari.

Butler heading East: You didn't think we were going to get through our first post of 2012-13 without mentioning Onions favorite Butler and Brad Stevens did you? Well the Dawgs are on their way to the Atlantic 10 this season. Stevens and company were at the Jay-Z Center in Brooklyn today for the conference media day. Butler has some high expectations this season (despite being picked to finish 6th in the league), after missing the NCAA tournament last year. They bring everyone important back except Ronald Nored (graduation) and Chrishawn Hopkins (dismissed from team). They also add 6-6 freshman guard Kellen Dunham (2-time All-State player in Indiana), as well as senior Rotnei Clark, who transferred from Arkansas. Clark is said to be one of the best shooters in the country. As he'll soon find out, the measurements in Hinkle Fieldhouse are the same as his court back at home ("10 feet........15 feet").

Happy Birthday! Shout out to Daily Onions loyal reader, my dad. He's celebrating his birthday today (October 5th) poolside or green-side down in Florida. Appreciate all the support, whether it was while I was on the basketball court, on the blogosphere, or life in general. Enjoy!

DaJuan Coleman - 2012 McDonald's All-American Game

Last night marked the 35th Anniversary of the McDonald's High School All-American Games. At the United Center in Chicago, the West Squad defeated the East, 106-102.

After the game, we caught up with 6-10, 285 lb F/C DaJuan Coleman, who will be headed to Syracuse next year. Coleman, playing for the East team, finished last night's game with 7 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

As you'll see in the video below, Coleman thinks he can come in and make an impact right away by filling the void in the middle for the Orange. He also comes in hungry to rebound, rebound and rebound.

Winners and Losers of Sweet 16 Thursday

Half of the Elite 8 is set. Syracuse, Louisville, Ohio State and Florida advance. Daily Onions was 2-2 last night in our picks (Marquette and Michigan State). Let's see who else were winners and losers last night.

Fair busts out of slump vs. Wisco (pic: syracuse.com)

Winner: Basketball - Seems kind of simple, right? Well the game of basketball was a winner last night with the Syracuse and Wisconsin game. Whether you are a fan of Otto or Bucky, you HAD to enjoy watching that game last night. One of the best all around played games in a while by two teams in the tournament. You had the athleticism, length and uptemponess (new word) of Syracuse, against the smart, patient, sharpshooters from Wisconsin. The Badgers hit 14 3 pointers in the game, including a stretch of six in a row. But every time they made a run, Syracuse was able to bounce back and answer. Eventually, Wisconsin's shots weren't falling, thanks to Syracuse extending the zone and a little regression to the mean. One other note, good to have Brandon Triche and CJ Fair back doing their thing for the 'Cuse.

Loser: That Awful Camera Angle - Note to CBS and TBS, let's try and stay away from the over-the-court angle that makes you feel like you are even further from the action. Keep it simple.

Winner: Coaching Trees - Rick Pitino was one of Jim Boeheim's first assistants. Pitino then went on coach Billy Donovan at Providence (as well as a short stint with the Knicks). After working on Wall Street for a year, Donovan became an assistant for Pitino at Kentucky. Now, all three of these coaches are in the Elite 8, with Pitino and Donovan squaring off against each other in the West Regional Final.

Loser: Lesley Visser's Face in HD - We don't want to be disrespectful, but come on. Her face just isn't normal anymore, and it's actually frightening. I remember watching Visser as a sideline reporter when I was growing up. She was always solid. But I think it's time for her to hang up the microphone.

Louisville in Orange (pic: syracuse.com)

Winner: Orange - Congratulations to all the teams that wore Orange last night, as you were a winner. Syracuse defeated Wisconsin, Florida beat Marquette, and Louisville beat Michigan State.

Winner: Draymond Green - Yes, we know that Michigan State lost, but how can you not like this kid. Everybody loves Draymond. Classy kid on and off the court. Probably came into this season with a ceiling of being a very good college basketball player, and a quick flame out in the NBA. This year though, he led the Spartans from unranked to a number 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Put Draymond Green on a perennial contender in the NBA and I think he becomes a solid contributor. It's been fun watching Green over the past few years. Too bad he didn't go to Duke...then Dick Vitale would have been comparing him to Derek Jeter all year long.

Loser: The State of Wisconsin - It was a rough night for all the cheese heads. Not only did Wisconsin fall to Syracuse in a heartbreaker, but Marquette couldn't hit an open shot and lost to Florida. We really liked Marquette this season, but if you don't make open shots you aren't going to win Sweet 16 games. Actually, if you do make open shots, you still might not win Sweet 16 games (see: Wisconsin).

Winner: Bill Raftery - Last but not least....this is obvious. Raftery was on point during the Syracuse - Wisconsin game. His greatest work came during Syracuse's first half run. There was a little lingerie on the deck after a Dion Waiters spin cycle. Then Waiters hit a high arching jumper, to which Raftery exclaimed, "It came down wet!" He then followed that up with a jab at a round Derrick Coleman (he was available?!) in the stands ("No Church League for that guy!"). See for yourself.

Swimming and Kicking at NCAA Tourney Open Practices

Prior to the Sweet 16 and Final 4 games, the NCAA hosts "open practices" to the public, where you can come in and watch the teams on the court for an hour or so. Don't expect to see what the team's gameplan will be, though. You mostly get lots of shooting drills, lots of fancy dunks in layup lines, maybe see the team run through a few sets, and barely see the coaches or players break a sweat. With that said, its cool for the fans to get a behind the scenes look at some top programs in the country.

The highlight of the open practice is the half-court shootout to end practice. All teams do it differently. It could be a nonchalant group of guys chucking it up from center court. Others will have two teams to see who can make more shots in a certain amount of time. During the season, Butler's basketball team (and you thought you wouldn't see them in a NCAA tourney post), finishes their day of game walk thru on the road with assistant coaches, radio guys, trainers, etc shooting from half court, with the players watching. Practice isn't officially over until someone makes it. Brad Stevens became a bit superstitious when he realized that when a certain staff member made it, the team would play poorly. Prior to the UIC game, that person wasn't allowed to shoot, and Butler won a few hours later.

Back to the Sweet 16 open practices. Two great videos below. The first is Marquette's head coach, Buzz Williams (who we have in the Final Four), sinking a half court shot and then doing his best Michael Phelps impersonation.

The next video doesn't come on a half court shot, but still pretty impressive. Syracuse walk-on Brandon Reese, who is listed at 5-11 (on two phone books), goes up for an alley-oop (impressive that he can get up that high), can't quite throw it down, but uses his foot to put the ball through the hoop. Check it out.


Less than nine hours away until the Sweet 16 tips off. In no particular order, here are our picks for the next round of games: Syracuse over Wisconsin (sending Bo Ryan to vacation in South Jersey), Michigan State over Louisville, Ohio State over Cincy, Marquette over Florida. Big East sends 2 of 4 teams to the Elite 8. Tomorrow night, we got Baylor over Xavier, UNC over Ohio, Kentucky over Indiana and Kansas over NC State. Yes, you can call us Chalky White.

(videos courtesy of muathletics and fizzfirst on youtube)

March Means Gus Johnson

Today is March 1st. The Madness is basically here. While we won't have Gus Johnson calling the games on CBS, TNT, TBS, TruTV, etc this year (still can't quite process that thought), we got a treat last night in Evanston.

Northwestern, who has never made the NCAA Tournament....yes, NEVER...was hosting Ohio State. A win for the Wildcats and they'd basically punch their ticket to the dance. A loss wouldn't eliminate them, but it'd leave them with some work to do.

Speaking of doing work, here is Gus Johnson on the Big Ten Network completely losing his mind when Northwestern hits a long three to tie the game up in the final 10 seconds.



In case you don't know how this game finished, Ohio State went the length of the court in about 2 seconds, lobbed one into Jared Sullinger, and his layup with 3 seconds left gave the Buckeyes a two point lead. John Shurna's three-point heave at the buzzer came up just short (God only knows what would have happened to Gus if that shot fell).

Heartbreak once again for the Cats and their purple faithful. They finish the regular season with a game at Iowa (who has been playing well of late), and then it's on to Indy for the Big Ten Tournament. If the season ended today, I think Northwestern would be in. However the season does not end today. Two more Ws, they are in comfortably. One more win, hold your breathe on Selection Sunday. Zero more wins, hello NIT.

Welcome to March.

(video courtesy of the Big Ten Network)

I Wanna Dance with Somebody...from the Big East

With Selection Sunday just 20 days away...yes, 20 days...we wanted to explore who'd be dancing from the Big East Conference. You might be saying, anyone can look at the standings and figure who the best teams in the conference are. That may be true. But can anyone predict who will make the Tournament while also comparing the teams to, and in turn honoring, the late, great Whitney Houston? Challenge accepted.

1. Syracuse - "Greatest Love of All" or "I Will Always Love You" - No brainer here. The only school that I've ever truly loved, and will love forever. Syracuse has been in control of the conference since Day 1. They look to be in the drivers seat for a #1 seed in the Big Dance as well (most likely in the East), which would mean opening round games in Pittsburgh, and Sweet 16/Elite 8 games in Baaaahston. Even at 27-1, the Orange have their flaws. If they don't fix the rebounding woes that have hurt them all season, there could be an upset before New Orleans.
Bold Prediction: The Final Four is on Bourbon Street, and Jimmy B has been there in '87 and '03. Why not just invite him and the Orange back for '12, as well.

2. Marquette - "It's Not Right, But It's Okay (Thunderpuss Remix)" - The Golden Eagles beat Syracuse during the regular season last year, and then knocked them out in the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. If I had to root for another Big East school this year, it'd be Marquette (It's not right, but it's okay). I don't know about you, but Marquette scares the crap out of me. They are a tough as nails team, have a crazy coach (in a good way, not in a Frank Martin/Mike Rice way), have a couple of guys that are seniors and have been there before (Crowder and Johnson-Odom), and there have been at least three or four games this year in which they've been down by at least 15 points, and have come back to win the game.
Bold Prediction: They not only make a run to Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in the final "real" Big East Tournament, and continue the streak with a Elite 8 run in the Tourney. Don't be surprised if you see in NOLA as well.

3. Georgetown - "Run to You" - As in, run the Princeton offense. Hoyas have been solid all year long. Nice mix of young and old, as well as inside and outside. Jason Clark can go for 25 time any time he steps on the court, Hollis Thompson is an experienced swingman, while Henry Sims and Nate Lubick provide skill and experience in the paint. However, the Hoyas also depend a group of freshman who have gotten big minutes all year. Can a team with a lot of freshmen go far in the tournament? It's happened before, and G'town would like to rebound from last year's 1st round exit.
Bold Prediction: The Hoyas will be one of the last Big East teams standing in the NCAAs, along with Marquette and Cuse. Look for Georgetown to be playing for a shot to go to the Elite 8, come late March.

3a. Notre Dame - "Saving All My Love for You" - This references all the love Notre Dame is getting from around the country. "Mike Brey does it again....Coach of the Year in the Big East....they lost their best player before the season started....they're they only team to beat Syracuse..." To be honest, most of it is all warranted. Notre Dame has come out of nowhere, running their "burn" offense when they want to control the tempo of games, like they did against Syracuse. Since losing to UConn and Rutgers in mid-January, Notre Dame has won 8 in a row and are now ranked in the top 20.
Bold Prediction: The Irish might be pulling a Rick Pitino, and may be peaking too early. They got trampled out of the NCAA tournament last year during opening weekend. A great story this year, but don't expect the Irish to be around after St. Patty's Day weekend.

5. Louisville - "Heartbreak Hotel" - Unfortunately Fortunately Whitney didn't have a song titled "Italian Restaurant Bathroom," or else we'd have the perfect match for Pitino and the Cardinals. We'll go with the Heartbreak Hotel instead. Syracuse was able to beat the Cardinals at the Yum last Monday, after Louisville basically owned the Orange in their last 7 meetings. Coming off that loss, Cards needed OT to win at DePaul. Big game at Cincy on Thursday. L'ville needs to get some confidence back.
Bold Predication: Louisville is obviously in, and most likely a 3-5 seed. This sets them up perfectly for 13-4/12-5 upset, and "Pitino Doesn't Last Long" jokes lighting up Twitter.

6. West Virginia - "One Moment in Time" - The Mountaineers are taking their final breathes of Big East basketball. Whether or not they'll be spending late March in the NCAA Tournament or the NIT still remains to be seen. WVU has a Huggy-sized huge game against Notre Dame on Wednesday. A win in South Bend would go a loooong way for selection committee members. If WVU wins the games they are supposed to (ND not included) down the stretch, and can get a pair of Ws in NYC in their final Big East Tournament, they should be dancing.
Bold Predication: Their final moment in time in the Big East includes a trip to the NCAA Tournament, but a loss in the Round of 32. Kevin Jones can't do it all.

7. South Florida - "How Will I Know" - The Bulls are a tough team to predict. They are 10-4 in conference (good for a tie for 4th overall), with a trip to the Carrier Dome on Wednesday looming. After Cuse, they have Cincy at home, Louisville at the Yum, and host WVU in the season finale. If they go 2-2 over the final four regular season games, and win at least one in NYC, Bulls will be running into the NCAA Tournament.
Bold Predication: USF isn't quite ready to take the next step yet. They go 1-3 to finish the year, and get bounced early in the Big East tournament, punching a ticket to the NIT. With that said, can you keep an 11-7 team in the Big East out of the Big Dance? Redact prediction, Bulls are in if they win 3 more games before Selection Sunday.

8. Cincinnati - "So Emotional" - It's been quite the rollercoaster of emotions for Cincy this year. The Bearcats have a couple of black eyes on their resume that won't do them any favors on Selection Sunday (Presbyterian and Marshall). Throw in the black eyes they gave to Xavier players, it's been an up and down season for the 'Nati. The Bearcats sit basically in the same position as USF. I'd say they are in right now, but losing to the Bulls or Villanova in the final weeks of the season could be the knockout punch for Cincy.
Bold Predication: If the Bearcats can defend their home court and beat Louisville on Thursday night, they are in. If they lose, they still have a chance, but that's a resume building win and they need it at this point in the season.

9. Seton Hall - "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" - Did you know that Seton Hall lost 6 games in a row during the month of January and early February. Even with that stretch of games, most "experts" have said the Pirates are in, despite being 7-8 in the league right now. The Hall hosts Georgetown and Rutgers before closing out the year at DePaul. To say the Pirates still have some work to do, would be putting it lightly.

Bold Predication: The Hall loses 2 of their final 3, and answer the question, Where Do Broken Hearts Go....the NIT.

10. UConn - "I Have Nothing" - If you looked at UConn's Tournament resume, changed the name at the top to Storrs College, there is no way they'd be a tournament team. But they are UConn, the defending National Champs, so they get the benefit of a perennial tournament team. Similar to Villanova last year, who had no business making the tournament (and lost in their first game), UConn could get some benefit of the doubt votes. Throw in the fact UConn won't be in the tournament next year (NCAA violations), could this year be Calhoun's last opportunity to coach in a NCAA tourney game?
Bold Predication: It's been a rough year for the defending champs. Suspensions due to NCAA violations for a player as well as Calhoun. They've basically quit in a number of games, where it really showed that they had nothing. Shabazz Napier kept hopes alive with his ONIONS on Monday night at Villanova. Don't think that will be enough though. No NCAA Tournament for the Huskies, and loyal reader Ramy has to console his little brother, Jeremy Lamb (that's if he didn't trade in this Jeremy for Jeremy Lin).

Final count: Big East definitely gets 7, possibly 8. Only get 9 if someone has a Gerry McNamara/Da'Sean Butler/Kemba-esque run in NYC. Give me 4 of those teams in the Sweet 16, 2 in the Elite 8 and 1 in the New Orleans.

Tale of the Tape: Victor Cruz vs. Jeremy Lin

New York is dealing with a pair of out of nowhere superstars that are taking their sport by storm. First there was Victor Cruz, the New York Giants wide receiver that helped bring the Lombardi Trophy home to New York New Jersey ("I got a ring....he got one too!"). Now, after the last three games he's played for the New York Knicks, Jeremy Lin is the craziest thing since Tebow Time.


Let's take a look at how these two surprising stars stack up against each other (yes, we are well aware there is a smaller sample size for Lin right now).

Cruz gets the slight edge for his high school, representing the great state of New.....Jerrrrrrseeey, but Lin wins when it comes to college. You have to give the nod to the Ivy Leaguer in the NBA, over the guy that had some academic issues at UMass. Similar in most of the other categories, so let's get into the more important things.


Fun things to do with their name:
Victor Cruz: Obviously everyone knows what to do here...Cruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Jeremy Lin: Endless opportunities here, and we've already seen the likes of Linsanity, #Linning, All I do is Lin, etc.
Advantage: For now, we are going Cruz. It's simple, easy to remember and can get loud. There are too many options for Lin right now, and we might be trying to hard to come up with more creative names.


First three games:

Salsa. Cruz.

Victor Cruz: In week 1, Cruz was shutout. Week 2 he had 2 catches for 17 yards. Week 3 was his breakout game in Philadelphia. Cruz had 3 catches for 110 yards and 2 TDs, including a 74 yard touchdown. The Giants went 2-1 in these three games.
Jeremy Lin: While Lin has played previously, we are going to focus on his three games this week, where he's really taken off: 25 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds. 28 points, 8 assists. 23 points, 10 assists, 4 rebounds. He's also shooting 58% from the field in these games, and most importantly the Knicks have won these three games.
Advantage: Lin has been a little more consistent at the start, but as we stated, he has a lot more pro games under his belt. Cruz went on to have a record-setting season, so if we were to check back in April, we'd probably have to give the season award to Cruz...unless Linsanity goes out of control.


Celebration/handshake:
Victor Cruz: One word. Salsa.
Jeremy Lin: Thus far we have seen Lin bow with Carmelo Anthony after a big play (ala Cruz's teammate, Justin Tuck). On Wednesday night, Lin and teammate Landry "Lance" Fields, who attended Stanford, showed off their "nerd" handshake, where they mimicked reading a book, putting on glasses, and then wearing a pocket protector. 
Advantage: We are giving the nod to Cruz and the Salsa. While we like the bow, the handshake seemed a little too choreographed (because it was), and you need a partner to do it. Cruz's salsa was not only legit (Cruz's hip don't lie), but it also signified a touchdown for the New York Football Giants.


Contract Situation:
Victor Cruz: Currently in the second year of a three year deal, Cruz earned $450,000 this season. Next year he is set to make $490,000. For those scoring at home, Cruz's regular season stats were 1,536 yards and 9 TDs. In the postseason, 269 yards on 21 receptions and the first Giants TD of the Super Bowl. Jerry Reese, pay the man.

Linsanity taking over NYC.

Jeremy Lin: Earlier this week, the Knicks picked up Lin's contract for the rest of the season, which will pay him a pro-rated share of $800,000. With this guaranteed money, Lin might be able to get himself a new place in NYC, or at least a bed. For the last six weeks, Lin has been sleeping in his brother's living room on a couch. 
Advantage: Lin might end up making more money than Cruz this year, but it looks like Cruz has a better future both on and off the field. With that said, how crazy is it that Lin sleeps on his brother's coach! Come on, James Dolan, give the kid a hotel room or something. I saw plenty of invoices during my time with the Knicks, and room for Lin for a few weeks wouldn't make that big a difference.


Comparison to Others
Victor Cruz: Known as a slot receiver, you would have to compare Cruz to the best slot receiver in the league right now, Wes Welker. We need to give credit to Welker for basically revolutionizing the slot position (and thank him for dropping that pass in the 4th quarter of the Super Bowl). I wouldn't say Cruz is as good as Welker, but I think he can get there. He's got the knack for making big plays out of nothing. If he repeats this year's output next year, Welker may have to make some room at the top of the Slot receiver rankings.
Jeremy Lin: I've seen bits and pieces of Lin's last three games, and the first person to come to mind was Steve Nash. With that said, obviously Lin has a long way to go to get to Nash status. But the way Lin handles the ball, sees the floor, gets to the rim, draws contact, etc, looks a bit like Nash. 
Advantage: Push. If you are wide receiver and get compared to Welker, or a point guard and get compared to Nash, that's pretty damn good. Like many of these areas, we'll see if Lin can keep this up the rest of the season, or if fizzles out in the next few weeks.


Twitter
Victor Cruz: @TeamVic has 135,500 followers. Cruz is pretty active as a tweeter, and is good about responding and interacting with his followers. Also has an avatar picture from the Super Bowl parade day earlier this week.
Jeremy Lin: @JLin7 has 74,280 followers, many coming in the last week. Lin tweets a limited times a day, and still has his location as Bay Areaaa (his spelling, not mine).
Advantage: Cruz wins with higher numbers and more activity.


Miscellaneous 
Victor Cruz: Mr. Salsa turned down the opportunity to appear on Dancing with the Stars, which he probably would have won. He also has been participating in a lot of Fashion Week events in NYC the past few days and will be presenting an award at the upcoming Grammy Awards.

Jeremy Lin: I wanted to include this tweet somewhere in this post, but didn't know where to put it. Last night, Knicks beat writer Frank Isola tweeted this from the Knicks game in Washington D.C. on Wednesday night. 
Advantage: Lin has proven that he can drive, just ask John Wall who he blew by a few times on Wednesday night.


Cruz wins the Tale of the Tape, 4-2 with one push. The sample size for Lin is small, and Cruz just helped lead the Giants to their second Super Bowl in five years, so I guess this result is expected. Regardless, we are excited for the Giants to lock up Cruz, and we are excited to see the success of Jeremy Lin continue.

ONIONS Rivers

In the words of loyal reader @mpenz21, "welcome to the Duke-UNC Rivalry, Austin Rivers." The only thing that would have made last night's ONIONS moment better, would have been if Bill Raftery was on the call....(check that, two things would have made it better) and if Rivers pulled a Sam Cassell and did the big marbles dance after he hit the shot.

Just in case you missed it live, like @bradsmit did, here's Rivers firmly planting himself into the greatest moments of the Duke-UNC Rivalry.



Let's say this first. Unbelievable individual performance from freshman Austin Rivers last night. Check out this line: 39 minutes (out of 40), 29 points on 9-16 shooting, including 6-10 from behind the arc. Also chipped in with 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal.

Now, let's really look at what happened in the last few minutes of last night's game. Bottom line, North Carolina should have never lost that game, especially on their home court.

• Duke went on a 13-2 run to end the game.
• Seth Curry got a way with a walk prior to hitting a three with 1:48 left, which brought Duke to within four points.
• Tyler Zeller not only scored in his own basket (accidentally tipped in an errant three pointer) in the final 20 seconds to cut the UNC lead to 1 point, but he also missed a a free throw with 13.9 seconds left, which would have given the Tar Heels a 3 point lead (Zeller actually went 2-4 from the line in the final 44 seconds of the game). Oh, and he also was the one guarding Rivers when he hit the three, giving him too much space for Rivers to get a great look at the game winner. Zeller, who picked up Rivers on the switch, needed to guard him closely and make sure he didn't get off a three. Even if Rivers goes around you, the worst thing that happens is he hits a two and we are going to overtime. Definitely a final few minutes that Zeller will want to forget.
• 2:35. That was the point at which UNC scored their last FG of the game, a Harrison Barnes jumper.
• In the final 4 minutes of the game, Duke had 3 offensive rebounds and a steal, which directly led to 10 points. 

Remember before the season when everyone thought North Carolina wouldn't lose a game? Barnes, Henson, Zeller returning, a couple of McDonald's All-Americans coming in. Well the Tar Heels are now 20-4, 7-2 in the ACC (same exact record for Duke). Their first conference loss was a 33 point loss at Florida State three and a half weeks ago. Their second came last night, at home, to their biggest rival, after blowing an 11 point lead in the final 3:54. This was is going to sting...for a while.

Happy Birthday, Send It In Jerome....

Today is a special day for Daily Onions. If what happened 24 years ago, never happened...we're not sure Daily Onions would be here today.

Of course, what we are referencing is the Jerome Lane dunk that shattered the backboard and eventually led to Bill Raftery's call of "SEND IT IN JEROME".

Check out this video of current Arizona head coach Sean Miller, talking about that moment (with audio from Raftery's call and commentary). Miller was the Pitt player that had the assist on the dunk. Many of our West Virgnia readers will probably agree that this is the best thing ever to come out of Pitt.



It's great to hear a younger Raftery not only make the SEND IT IN call, but the follow up explanation of the play, in which he says "This is amazing...a good dish...but he's ready right by the foul line...bring it down and bring it home, Jerome."(make sure to watch the whole video as Raftery talks about "inferior equipment and superior manpower.") Classic, Bill.

One last note, this call led to one of my finest broadcasting memories. When Rutgers upset Syracuse in 2003 at the RAC, Jerome Coleman was on fire from deep, absolutely lighting up the Orange. After his fourth or fifth three pointer from way behind the line and the crowd going crazy, I obviously had to throw out a "Send it in, Jerome." Respect.

(video posted by KOLDNEWS13)