Number 1:
Parity is among us in college basketball. If you are a college basketball fan and follow what has transpired so far this year, that is the ONLY word to describe it. This weekend we saw no. 4 Kentucky, no. 5 Iowa State, no. 7 Duke, no. 9 Purdue, and no. 16 Baylor go down to "lesser" opponents. You're probably thinking to yourself, "okay? so what? stuff like this happens all the time." I will counter with, yes, this does happen, but so far we have seen so many "upsets" in college basketball. So much that other than the controversy hovering over some player's situation and the NCAA, which is a whole other topic in which I cold rant about for days, this is one of the hot topics that college basketball analysts keep discussing. As of right now you could make an argument that there might possibly be 20-25 teams that could make a run at the national title this year. Of course some of those 20-25 teams would have to be on a roll going into the tournament and would have no room for error, but the bottom line is that there really are no "elite" teams in college basketball this year. I could argue that we haven't seen that in college basketball in 6-7 years, but that would just piss too many fans off. So why have a gone on this rant about something so obvious? Well, because it doesn't seem to be too obvious to people. Just remember, before you go on Twitter or Facebook to bash your team or your rival team, please please please take this little rant into consideration. College Basketball is at a point where we need to throw out records until about halfway through conference play and then start rankings. "But come on Kyle.... where's the fun in that?"
Number 2:
Piggybacking off of my previous take on college basketball, let me channel my inner "couch coach" and give it to you straight on who some of the highly ranked basketball teams right now are. Sit tight because depending on your fandom, this might not be what you want to hear.
UNC
For those of you reading this that may not know, through family upbringing and personal choice I have and always will be die hard Carolina and Florida fan. And yes, you can like two different college programs, so don't even try to tell someone they can't. In saying this let me also clarify that I might be the most pessimistic fan towards my teams. So I'll start with the good ol' Tar Heels. I HAVE NO IDEA WHO THEY ARE. On paper and looking at the intangibles that you typically hear involving a championship bound team, they have it all. Except for one thing, they don't. They are 9-2 and deserving of a top 15 ranking, honestly top ten. But man do they are they a headache waiting to happen. The two losses on their record come to Northern Iowa and Texas, the worst one being Texas. I say this because Northern Iowa was a 31-4 team last year winning their conference title of the annually over-hyped Wichita State Shockers and only lost one of their key players from that team. The loss also came on the road without the man that drives the Tar Heel bus in Marcus Paige; they also just beat currently ranked no. 5 Iowa State on the road so learn about them and get ready because you will hear from them more come March. And if you still don't have respect for UNI, just talk to Kansas fans, they know a thing or two about that "terrible" team. Okay, now digressing from my bias, you have the Texas game. A team led by one of the best coaches in college basketball Shaka Smart. The Tar Heels were absolutely man handled in this game and showed signs of still being the team they have been since 2012, which is a tad bit above average, top 25 deserving maybe top 20. So as other fans of this team including myself and also you ABC fans follow this team please keep one thing in mind. They will NEVER be able to take that next step and win until they can defend the high pick and roll offense (simplest in basketball) as well as staying focused game in and game out, NEVER. Which could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on where you stand concerning the Tar Heels.
The Field
Ha! I got you. Come on... I could only stay but so unbiased on this topic. So let's talk about the field.
Michigan State, they are a very good team, not a great team, a very good team. They have limitations that have not been highly talked about due to their early season perfection. Yes, they have the early season Naismith Player of the Year in Denzel Valentine, but they also do not score points. "But Kyle, they have such a great defense and don't you know defense wins championships." Well yes and no, and stop being politically correct in sports, it's not cute. MSU has all you want as well with a hall of fame coach, deep team, and a star player. However, remember that Izzo is famous for the fact that he GETS to the Final Four, not for actually WINNING it. Reason why? Because when it comes down to it, MSU lacks the point production to win it all. Yes I realize that he does have titles, but his teams always seem to be labeled as over achieving. But over achieving to an extent.
Next you have Kansas, who is a solid team and one you can pretty much book for a conference title and a 1-2 seed every year. So far it looks as if this will stay true. This is a team that could win the national title for a couple reasons. First off, they have the weapons inside along with solid shooters and a dynamic point guard. Secondly, they always seem to grow as a team as the season continues. The only reason everyone doesn't fully commit to them is the fact that they are very susceptible to an early exit in the tourney. Never completely sure why, but they either go to the Final Four, or they are out by the second round. Bill Self has the title to show that he can take a team to the promise land, but even the big time college basketball analyst can never fully commit to believing in a title for the Jayhawks. Only time will tell as to where they go.
Then you have one of the two monopolies in college basketball, the Kentucky Wildcats. What more can you say, this team is not last years team and scouted talent can only get you so far. I am not a believer in Kentucky, honestly never have been. They are a historic powerhouse and deserving of that power they have. Plain and simple it all starts with John Calipari, who is a poor mans Nick Saban. The poor man being that he has only one championship to show for in his tenure at UK. Are they are a team that can win a title? Sure. Will they? No. Many of you reading this might say oh this guy is a UNC fan, just watch him bash UK just out hatred. Okay, sure as a UNC do I honestly like UK? No, but by no means does that mean I do not respect them and their greatness, same goes for Duke. Hate Duke, but both are deserving of what they are and the power and brand they carry. Only difference is that Duke has the best coach to ever live while UK has nothing more than a great recruiter. On top of that, let's be real, if you can't recruit at UK then you have no business being in the coaching profession, sorry Billy Gillispie. With UK's talent pool from the time Calipari has been there til now Coach K would have had at least four national titles, I might go as far as to say he would have won every single year. Hell, even Roy Williams might have been able to win three or four with that talent (sorry Roy, I still love you). Kentucky gives everyone false hope until they actually do it, that is all I am saying.
Finally, let me discuss the Blue Devils. Let me be as professional as possible for this one and I promise to give you my honest feelings on who Duke is this year. They are an above average to good team. They have the most growing up to do out of every team in college basketball. The upside for them, they have talent in the back-court, but are extremely average in the front-court. To add to that, they lack a true point guard. I'm sure true Duke fans and basketball minds would agree, yes Jahlil Okafor is a huge loss, but the bigger loss was that of Tyus Jones and Quinn Cook. Derryck Thornton seems lost on the floor and putting Allen or Ingram at the point completely ruins the flow of the offense. Those guys need to work off the ball to be successful. I don't see a chance at a title for Duke, I know I will obviously be discredited on that view due to my fan-hood, but facts are facts, you watch the games just like I do. They just have too many holes and not enough time to fill them. And lets stop acting like Amile Jefferson is the answer to Duke's problem, because he isn't he is an average college hustle player. That's it.
The rest of the season should be fun ladies and gentlemen. Can't wait to look back and see where my points I made tonight stand by the end of the year. Take care and get ready for an exciting and heated piece on the Panthers vs. Giants game this past Sunday.
