Random March Maddness Stuff

First of all, again, finals week, lack of updates- sorry. For the record I have Wake Forest winning it all, beating UNC in the title game.

A lot of NBA careers are started during this next month (Wally-World anyone?) and Bill Simmons has a nice article on what to look out for: He can't lay an egg in the Tournament -- if he shoots 3-for-130 like Blake Stepp did against Nevada, there's a good chance it will happen again at the next level. He can't provoke an announcer to say anything resembling, "He's got all the talent. He just needs to get it done every night." (Call it the Jerome Moiso Syndrome: if you can't get it up when you're gunning for an NBA contract, you aren't going to when you're getting a guaranteed paycheck.)

Continuing with our NCAA to the NBA theme, Drew Packman listed his top five NBA players who won an NCAA title (out of a possible 31 - no UNC guys who are in the league right now have a NCAA title, isn't that weird?) I'll let you read the article for yourself, I will make a case for one guy who didn't make (though aparently it was close) the top 5: Rip Hamilton.

How many people in the NBA have a championship ring (belt?) from both the NCAA and the NBA. From my count, 2, Rip and Corliss Williamson. So only two guys have both rings, and neither of them make the top 5 NBA players with championship rings? Now I love the Big Nasty as much as anyone, but I understand why he's not on the list. But Rip? Come on, he was one of the main reasons (if not THE reason) that the Pistons won last year (and personally I think he got hosed in the Finals MVP). If we applaud Tom Brady for just winning, not being fancy, not about the numbers, but winning, then how couldn't Hamilton make the list while being the only guy who won at the 2 highest levels of basketball in America.