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Butler - Pro Sports Wrap

2010 PSW NCAAB Coach of the Year

April 4th 2011 14:54

I already did my conference picks for the Big Six conferences, and it is time for me to unveil my major awards. I will name my Coach of the Year, Player of the Year, and Defensive Player of the Year. These awards are only based on the regular season. I also released my three All-American teams earlier, so you might want to check those out. I am ready for a great finals matchup tonight against Butler and UConn. I have no idea who is going to win, and I am inching over to the Butler side. No matter how you look at it, this game is going to be one to keep tucked into your memory for the rest of your life.

Coach of the Year Louisville Rick Pitino

Mike Brey won the AP award and had a remarkable season, but my vote belongs to Pitino. I am not fond of him as a person, but he accomplished an extremely difficult feat this year. It really shouldn't come as a surprise though, because Pitino is one of the greatest coaches in college basketball history.

Before the season started, Louisville was a mess. The team had just one senior and lost five starters from the previous year. Everyone, even Pitino, thought that this team was in no way ready to compete for anything. Then, there were the injuries. It takes the truly great coaches to overcome huge injury obstacles. Nearly every player was injured at some point during the season, and Pitino called this team one of his favorite teams that he has coached.

Against all the odds, Louisville was the 14th ranked team in the nation and was 12-6 in the toughest conference out there. That's a .667 winning percentage for those of you keeping score. They were disappointing in the tournament- losing to Morehead State in the first round- but that was because their two best players missed time with an injury and foul trouble for the latter. Pitino gets this award because he was able to lead a team that wasn't supposed to go anywhere. He also overcame many injuries to get his team to the 14th spot. He definitely merits this award.

2010 Coach of the Year

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Posted By: Joe Soriano - Category: NCAAB, March Madness, Big East, Connecticut, Louisville, Rick Pitino, Notre Dame, Mike Brey, Butler, Morehead State

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2010 NCAAB National Championship Preview

April 3rd 2011 13:13

Wow, it's come to this already. I am psyched. Butler is back and as good as ever, even without Gordon Hayward who was the team's best player on last year's squad. Shelvin Mack pushed Butler over VCU, and they find themselves facing the best player in college basketball. However, UConn is about more than just Kemba Walker. Jeremy Lamb, Shabazz Napier, and Alex Oriakhi are also solid players. Lamb is a great sidekick for Walker.

Brad Stevens and Jim Calhoun will be pitted against each other in a matchup that won't disappoint. It's Butler's stingy defense against Kemba's show. Connecticut was able to get by Kentucky, but Butler is going to be an even bigger challenge. For all the talk about Calhoun vs. Calipari, Butler have the youngest coach to ever get to 2 Final Four appearances. While Cal is better than Stevens, Stevens will find a great scheme to try and slow down Walker.

You can't stop Kemba though. The best you can do is slow him down. Butler was able to throw together another great defensive scheme to take out VCU's prolific perimeter shooting, but it's going to take more than a plan to take down the man. Oriakhi is one of the best interior defenders in the game, and he's going to be able to challenge Matt Howard. Howard's too good to stop, but Oriakhi isn't going to make things easy.

UConn's Roscoe Smith is another tough interior player. This game is full of enticing matchups on the inside and on the outside. The Shelvin Mack and Kemba Walker battle could make this game one for the ages. Shabazz Napier is a great perimeter defender, and he shows the toughness and great defense of this team that goes unnoticed because of the offensive explosion that is Kemba Walker.

Butler and Connecticut are two teams that like rough games, and I fully expect this game to be a 60 point affair for both teams- not combined of course. I think there will be about 130 points scored in total.

In order for Butler to win, they need to play things through Matt Howard and Shelvin Mack. Their two stars have to be at their best. They need to establish the paint early with Howard, and then they can start shooting 3s with guys like Shawn Vanzant. Defensively, Howard needs to lock down on Jeremy Lamb. Mack has to help lock down the perimeter, and they need Ronald Nored to dog Walker. Nored is the key to this game. He can't shut down Walker, but he can make life extremely difficult for him.

UConn has to pass the ball around and play to Butler's style. They both have similar styles of play, so that shouldn't be a problem. If you try to play fast against Butler, they'll will their way to slowing down the game and will greatly decrease your offensive chances. It doesn't work. UConn has to emphasize ball movement and wait for good looks. It's exactly what Butler does.

Defensively, Connecticut has to frustrate Matt Howard early. If they can get him into foul trouble early, things will be much easier. Then, they can focus on shutting down Shelvin Mack on the perimeter. Napier has to have a good day today defensively.

Both teams are great, and it is no surprise that both of them have made it this far. Butler and Connecticut are both the perfect tournament teams. They have great coaches, superstars, and role players. They will their way through games and hit big shots. I think UConn have too many weapons, and they just barely escape through this one with Kemba hitting some big shots. The role players on UConn will also come through.

Will He Be MVP?

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Posted By: Joe Soriano - Category: Gordon Hayward, NCAAB, March Madness, Connecticut, Alex Oriakhi, Jeremy Lamb, Jim Calhoun, Kemba Walker, Roscoe Smith, Shabazz Napier, Kentucky, John Calipari, Virginia Commonwealth, Butler, Matt Howard, Ronald Nored, Brad Stevens, Shelvin Mack, Shawn Vanzant

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2011 Final Four Previews

March 28th 2011 14:51

This is it my readers. It's the games we have been waiting for since the start of the college basketball season. Before the season started, who would have guessed that Butler would return to the Final Four, and VCU and UCONN would join them? Before the tournament began, who thought a First Four team that most people thought didn't deserve a bid would make it all the way to this point? Who though a team that barely made it past the Horizon League would put themselves into the Final Four? The answer to all of those above questions are "almost nobody". But that's what makes the tourney so exciting. You never know.

8 Butler and 11 VCU

The only game I had VCU winning in this entire tourney was that Purdue game. Anyway, since nobody wants to hear about my horrendous predicting skills, VCU really only won that Kansas game because Kansas had an uncharacteristically bad shooting game. VCU shot the ball really well, and that always equates to a win. What worries me about this VCU team is that Kansas still stuck around in that game to some extent.

Against Butler, that brand of basketball doesn't work at all. See, Butler wins tight games and wins without having to shoot the ball really well. While they aren't the juggernaut that Kansas is, they have a better defense and are the better tournament team. Nothing against Shaka Smart, but Brad Stevens is the better coach. Smart is good, but Stevens is one of the best in the business.

Matt Howard vs. Jamie Skeen should be a fun matchup to watch, and Joey Rodriguez is always a huge factor in games. Shelvin Mack and Ronald Nored will have to be on their bests. I think they will be, and Butler gets back into the Final Four. This time, they aren't a Cinderella.

3 Connecticut and 4 Kentucky

Sorry Butler and VCU, but this is the game I am tuning in to watch. It features Jim Calhoun, Kemba Walker, Coach Calipari, and Brandon Knight. In my last game preview, I said that two keys for Kentucky were big games from DeAndre Liggins and Brandon Knight. I said that Knight would actually have to play well for the entire game. The star freshman showed up.

The truth is, it's impossible to stop Kemba Walker. It took his former AAU coach's gameplan in the Zona game to even slow him down. Liggins has the tough task of being among those that have to stop the best player in college basketball. Kentucky needs to slow down Walker, but they also need to put up some offense of their own.

Connecticut is tough, but Kentucky has shown that they are tougher. They need to show it, and they need to clamp down on Jeremy Lamb on the inside. Lamb is growing in confidence with every shot he takes, and he is becoming an underrated force down low. Josh Harrellson, this is your job. I have Kentucky winning this game by the slimmest of margins. This is such a difficult game to predict, which means it will be such a terrific game to watch.

Best Player in NCAAB

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Posted By: Joe Soriano - Category: Purdue, Kansas, Kentucky, Brandon Knight, DeAndre Liggins, John Calipari, Josh Harrellson, Virginia Commonwealth, Jamie Skeen, Shaka Smart, Joey Rodriguez, Horizon, Butler, Matt Howard, Ronald Nored, Brad Stevens, Shelvin Mack

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2011 Sweet 16 Preview

March 22nd 2011 15:48

1 Ohio State and 4 Kentucky

Brandon Knight and Terence Jones are the two best players, but DeAndre Liggins is the guy to watch out for. Can he help close of the perimeter? The answer is no. Liggins is great, but OSU have too many shooters. Jared Sullinger will destroy UK down low. Kentucky will put up a fight- Cal is too good to go down without one- but OSU is just so darn good.

11 Marquette and 2 North Carolina

This game will be per usual for UNC. Marquette will jump out to a nice lead, and then Harrison Barnes and Co. will make a huge comeback at the end to take this game. Man to watch out for: Tyler Zeller. This kid has been playing some really good- and clutch- basketball of late.

1 Duke and 5 Arizona

Sean Miller will make a bazillion schemes to try to slow down Nolan Smith and Kyrie Irving. It won't work. Kyle Singler will get shut down by Derrick Williams- who should have a nice day- but Nolan Smith is too talented and Coach K's team plays too well as a cohesive unit to lose this one. They're the defending champs for a really good reason. They win.

3 Connecticut and 2 San Diego State

Billy White and DJ Gay are too good defensively. They'll find a way to frustrate Kemba Walker. Kawhi Leonard will have another big day, and Malcolm Thomas will be able to help stifle Jeremy Lamb.

1 Kansas and 12 Richmond

Kevin Anderson will give Kansas a huge scare, but then the Morris twins will start rolling and Kansas will show why they are such a powerhouse.

11 VCU and 10 Florida State

Jamie Skeen and VCU are shooting at an extremely high rate- and ripping top opponents as well. Florida State is an interesting team. They can't score, but they are the best defensive team out there. They managed to find their shot against Notre Dame, but that was an abnormal circumstance. Having Chris Singleton will definitely boost them. Shaka Smart will have an interesting task against FSU, and I think FSU's defense will just barely give them this game.

8 Butler and 4 Wisconsin

Jordan Taylor and Jon Leuer are two of the best players out there. I am still taking Butler. Ralph Nored is such an insane defensive player, and I think Wisconsin might have some trouble against Matt Howard. I think Butler scrapes by in this game.

3 BYU and 2 Florida

Can anybody stop Jimmer? I don't think Florida will. Chandler Parsons, Kenny Boynton and Erving Walker are good players, and I think Billy Donovan has a plan in place. I think Parsons knocks down the buzzer beater to beat Butler. I also find it interesting that I took only one team with a worse seed.

Can Florida Stop Jimmer?

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3/17 NCAAB News: Bruce Pearl's Job Now In Question

March 17th 2011 17:46

You know, it was only about a month ago when Tennessee's AD maintained that school icon Bruce Pearl was sticking around even amid allegations against him. Pearl is a great coach that has turned this program around over the years, and it seemed like Hamilton was definitely going to keep him as coach. The creamsicle jacket-wielding coach was a fan favorite, but the allegations are just stacking to the point where Tennessee Athletic Director Mike Hamilton just won't have a choice. However, he isn't going to fire him. Hamilton just isn't sure about Pearl's future with the team. In my opinion, they need to keep Pearl. Even though he made some pretty bad mistakes, he's still a great coach and means everything to this basketball team.

Former Kentucky coach Billy Gillespie is being interviewed by Texas Tech for the job. I would be surprised if Gillespie took their offer, considering he could get an offer from a better program given his pedigree. TT is a poor basketball program and is one of the many schools that have football as their chief concern. Gillespie is a solid coach that has great recruiting experience. Pat Knight was their former coach. If Texas Tech can snag Gillespie, this would be a huge win for their program. They might actually become competitive with Gillespie. I bet a deal is going to happen though. Even though Gillespie can get a better job, he fits Tech well. Besides, he might be able to recruit his way into the tournament. We'll see

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