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.