Billy Donovan wants out? Magic should let him -- at a price

News out of Orlando, Fla., is that Billy Donovan wants out of the $27.5 million contract he signed with the Magic last week to return as head coach of the Florida Gators.

The way I see it, the Magic have very little choice in this matter. Yes, they could hold him to the contract he signed and force him to coach their team. But what good would that do? As an organization, you want complete commitment and complete buy-in from everyone, from ownership down to the last ticket-selling employee. Having a head coach that doesn't necessarily want to be there is likely to be a disaster for all involved.

That said, Donovan did sign a contract, and that can't be ignored, either. The Magic invested significant resources in bringing Donovan there, and with the draft less than a month away, beginning the search for another coach is, at best, an incredible inconvenience for the Magic.

The best solution for everyone involved is for the Magic to allow Donovan to return to Gainesville, but only after negotiating some sort of buyout of the contract that he already signed. After all, if I sign a contract to purchase a house, I can't exactly move out after two days and give back the loan and say, "You know, I just changed my mind."

Donovan should have to pay some kind of monetary amount to the Magic for backing out of the agreement. It's not about punishing Donovan; it's about the Magic getting something for the investment they made in hiring Donovan. Something in the $1 million range would seem to be adequate, and here's to betting that those boosters in Gatorville won't even hesitate to pony up the finances to get their beloved coach back on the sidelines.

Billy Donovan might actually succeed in Orlando; Other observations from the M's to LeBron to white GMs

So, Billy Donovan wants to coach in the pros, huh?

The college hoops fan in me -- and it's a big one -- is disappointed to be losing Donovan to a job where the odds are severely stacked against him. But I can't really say I blame him -- $6 million is a heck of a lot of money to pass up, no matter if you're going to be making $3 million at your previous place of employment or not.

And, despite the mountains of evidence to the contrary, I think there's actually an outside shot that this college coach could have some success in the NBA where so many others have failed.

I think most college coaches that get pro jobs fall into the self-fulfilling prophecy category -- they don't succeed in the NBA because they inherit terrible teams that have little talent. It's a league of superstars: If you've got one, you generally win; if you don't, you don't. The rule isn't hard and fast, but you try finding an NBA winner without a star. (You could maybe argue Utah, but Deron Williams sure looks like one to me after his team folded without him in the series-deciding game with the Spurs.)

So, let's look at the recent history of college coaches in the NBA:

• Rick Pitino: Inherited a putrid 15-win Boston team, missed out on Tim Duncan in the lottery. Think Pitino might have been a better pro coach with Duncan on his team?
• Lon Kruger: Inherited a putrid 28-win Atlanta team. (This just in: Without Kruger, the Hawks are still putrid -- only once since his final year of 2002 have they exceed the 33 wins he posted that year.)
• John Calipari: Inherited a putrid 30-win New Jersey team. His "stars" were an injured Sam Cassell and noted headcase Stephon Marbury; he was fired just in time for the team to hire Rod Thorn, who drafted Richard Jefferson, Kenyon Martin and traded Marbury for Jason Kidd. In what I'm sure was all the coaching skill of his successor, Byron Scott, the team won 52 games in 2001-2002.
• Mike Montgomery: Inherited a so-so 37-win Golden State team that hadn't had a winning record since 1994. Fired after two years, Don Nelson leads franchise to the playoffs in his first year -- but only with a healthy Baron Davis and after suckering Indiana into taking Mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy for Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington, two key cogs in the Warriors' late-season success.

Donovan does have this going for him that those guys never had: This team just made the playoffs, and has a budding superstar. Granted, making the playoffs in the east -- and at 40-42 at that -- isn't the biggest accomplishment, and they were obliterated in the first round by Detroit. But with Dwight Howard as the centerpiece of the franchise, they're already heading in the right direction; Donovan will not be fighting against years of suckitude from the get-go, as virtually every other college-to-NBA coach has.

Additionally, I know that I'm overimplifying each of the four situations above, and that on some level each of them was in a bit above their heads in the NBA. Pitino's hard-driving nature grinds on players, while Montgomery's players never took him seriously. I'm not convinced that Donovan will be so over his head in Orlando. He's 42 years old, still young enough to relate to players (as was obvious from his rapport with his players in Florida) yet old enough to command some respect. He also was (briefly) an NBA player and (briefly) an NBA assistant. So he at least has some clue about the culture he's going to be entering.

If there's a guy to buck the trend of college coaches failing at the NBA level, I think Donovan might actually be it.

Other thoughts from the last 24 hours:

• Didn't catch hardly any of the Mariners game last night, but I was pleased to see that this team did exactly what it should have done: Beat the tar out of a terrible team. Good to see the offense continue to roll against an awful, awful pitcher, and good to see Cha Seung Baek do enough to keep his team in a game. Disappointing that Hargrove had to gas the bullpen a little bit to make a 7-0 lead hold up, but J.J. Putz needed to pitch anyway. A sweep would be fantastic; anything less than winning two of the final three is a failure.
• I also didn't watch the Cavs/Pistons game last night, but I did watch the highlights of LeBron James scoring 29 of his team's final 30 points here. This just might go down as one of the greatest playoff performances in the history of the NBA, but only if the Cavs can win the series. We'll see how much LeBron has left in the tank tomorrow night after that heroic effort. Guess he kinda does know what he's doing, doesn't he?
• What's with NBA franchises just handing over the reigns to former players who have absolutely no previous track record of any kind with player personnel? Why do franchises constantly think these people will be able to manage franchises? Here's to betting that Steve Kerr, like former players Danny Ainge and Kevin McHale before him, will figure out a way to run a perfectly OK franchise into the ground.
• And while we're at it: Is it just me, or are only white former players -- with the notable exception of Michael Jordan (who stunk at his job, too) -- the only people NBA franchises will hire for these jobs with no experience? With so many black coaches, it looks like the new color barrier in the NBA is to the front office. Just wondering why this is.

Cougs end up using final scholarship, after all

Word on the street had been that the WSU basketball team would probably not use its final scholarship that came open when a pair of players decided to transfer.

That's no longer the case.

The Cougs today signed Stephen Sauls, who had been enrolled at the Air Force prep school. When he decided the Air Force wasn't for him, Bennett jumped on the opportunity to sign the 6-foot-3, 195-pound combo guard.

"Stephen will provide needed depth to the backcourt with the departure of Mac (Hopson) and Chris (Matthews)," Bennett said. "He addresses a need for out team with his playmaking ability and defensive mindset. Hopefully, his year at the Air Force Prep Academy has prepared him for the rigors of being a successful student-athlete. Once he met our players and saw the campus, he knew Washington State was the place for him."

Apparently, Sauls -- a Texas native who graduated from high school in 2006 -- determined the rigidity of Air Force life was just too much to handle.

"Waking up at 5:45 every day, putting on the uniform, having to march to breakfast when I wasn't even hungry half the time," Sauls said. "It was too much structure for me. ... I didn't have a choice to be myself, and I didn't like that."

I know I never got up for a class before 10 a.m., so he shouldn't have any problem there. Here's scout.com's bio:

The fast 6-foot-3, 185-pound combo guard from Fort Bend Marshall - the number 48 ranked (TexasHoops.com) player in the state - pulled the trigger on a commitment to the Air Force Academy after an official visit. After enrolling at the Air Force's prep school, decided to open his recruitment back up, culminating in his signing with Washington State. Will enroll at WSU in May or June of 2007.

Follow up on Abbott: Cougs likely won't use scholarship

Just to tag on to the Abbott post from this morning, Glen Kasses of The Spokesman-Review believes that it's now pretty unlikely the Cougars will use the scholarship the team had set aside for Abbott when a pair of players decided to transfer.

There's not a great crop of JC talent out there right now, so unless an international player or a high schooler comes along in the near future I don't know that WSU will fill this last spot. (Certainly, they shouldn't need another guy to fill the rotation for next season if they think there's someone better out there in '08.)

Having said that, though, this Cougar staff has a history of bringing guys into the fold pretty late, with Chris Matthews and Nikola Koprivica two prime examples from the last two years. So we'll see what happens.

He also notes that losing Abbott to ASU is not a huge blow, but could have been had he picked UW over the Cougs, just from a recruiting perception standpoint. It's hard to get too disappointed when a kid decides to stay home and play in front of family, and Herb Sendek is obvsiously making some inroads at ASU.

Checking in with other opinions on Hawes

The morning has brought a flurry of pieces on Spencer Hawes' decision to turn pro. I posted my thoughts last night, which centered around whether he actually is ready for the NBA, but here's a sampling of what others had to say:

-- Seattle Times college basketball writer Bud Withers says ready or not, Hawes sure sounded like a guy who is determined to make this jump and is as good as gone.

He's not hiring an agent, preserving his eligibility to return to Washington for a sophomore season. But there was a palpable vibe that Hawes is one-and-done as a Husky, a prospect his comments didn't discourage.

"In terms of any decision, you have to go in focused 100 percent on what your goal is," Hawes said. "I think right now, my mindset is to be as prepared as possible for the draft. If I was on the fence and trying to satisfy both situations [including the UW], I'd be doing myself and the team a disservice."

Which seemed to be a diplomatic way of saying: I'm outta here.

-- The (Tacoma) News Tribune columnist John McGrath seems to think that a clean break at this point is best for all parties involved. He also disagrees with me that Hawes is better off improving himself at the college level.

Hawes pointed out Thursday that an NBA career was “a lifetime goal.” There’s not a lot to misunderstand about those words. He didn’t go to college to complete a degree. He didn’t go to college to have fun and collect once-in-a-lifetime memories. He went to college because he wasn’t able to play in the NBA for a year. ...

As for the Huskies, Hawes’ return would guarantee that all the conjecture about his turning pro in 2007 is rendered a stark reality in 2008. Despite his athletic gifts, it’s difficult to build a team dynamic when potentially your most dominant player is an underclassman donating his services through a one-year rental agreement.

-- Seattle Times UW beat writer Bob Condotta, who knows the team as well or better than anyone, reached the same conclusion as Withers on his blog.

By the tone of Hawes' comments, he isn't doing this just to get an opinion on his game so he can find out what he needs to work on next season in college. After listening to him speak, and reviewing his comments in writing that story, I don't think there's any question he's looking at playing in the NBA next season if it makes any sense at all. And since it probably will, I think there's a good chance today was goodbye for Hawes.

There's a reason, after all, the Huskies had committed themselves to as many as 15 scholarships for next season. This was one of the things they knew would probably happen. Today was the first step. But it hasn't happened often that a guy in the position of Hawes declares and then comes back --- that's usually borderline guys, and not probable lottery guys like Hawes.

Hawes would be wise to return after testing the waters

As expected, UW star center Spencer Hawes declared himself eligible for the NBA Draft, although he left open the option of returning by not hiring an agent.

While current projections have Hawes being drafted as high as fifth (but probably 10th or lower), he would do well to return to school.

The biggest reason? He's got nowhere to go but up.

If Hawes stays in this draft, he'll be selected on his combination of potential and size -- something that would have been the case had he been allowed to enter the NBA Draft out of high school. It will not be because of anything much he showed on the court this year as an inconsistent freshman for Washington.

For that reason, teams will be necessarily skeptical of Hawes' "upside."

What I saw this year was a player who is extremely skilled on the offensive end, able to play both facing the basket and with his back to it, and able to finish with either hand. That's the part people talk about most often, and rightfully so, since the NBA is obsessed with offense.

But what I also saw was a 7-footer with chicken legs who repeatedly got pushed off the block by smaller defenders. On the defensive end, Hawes was, quite frankly, a liability. He has no clue how to use his size effectively as a shot blocker (or at least shot alterer, if that's a word), and showed slow feet on defensive rotations. That's the difference between a No. 1 pick like Greg Oden and and a mid-first round pick such as Hawes.

What Hawes has an opportunity to do is bulk up and show scouts that he can be an adequate defender against top-level competition. As a Coug fan, I'm the last guy who wants Hawes to come back to school. But Hawes could make himself into a legitimate top five pick in a 2008 draft that doesn't figure to be as loaded as this one.

If I were a betting man, I'd bet that Hawes will get the same advice from NBA scouts, reach the same conclusion, and come back for one more year.

Packer makes me look stupid (not hard to do); other thoughts

Just when I finally go on record as a quasi-fan of Billy Packer, he goes out and does something so moronic I wonder how the guy has made it this far in life.

If you didn't catch it, Packer used the term "fag out" in an interview. He maintains that he used the term in its proper context, which might be true, if taken literally. And, in true Packer style, he remains unrepentant, saying he'd use the phrase again if the situation called for it.

However, as a person who uses words for a living, Packer should understand the power that they carry. Using the term "fag" in any context is, at the very least, an excercise in extremely poor judgement.

What if Packer had said, "That player is such a faggot!" Then came back and said, "Oh, I meant it in the literal sense -- he's playing like a bundle of sticks." Would that be acceptable? Would Packer defend that?

Worse yet, would CBS continue to defend him?

A CBS spokesperson chalked it up to "generational" differences, and said that Packer used "a bad choice of words." The n-word also is "generational"; would CBS dare to defend an employee then? It fired Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder and Ben Wright for comments that could be considered "generational."

The difference is that Snyder and Wright made the mistake of going after African-Americans and women, respectively. Fortunately for Packer, he used a word that is only offensive to a portion of the American population that lives a life that much of the population disagrees with.

It shouldn't matter.

CBS would do well to at least censure Packer for his insensitivity. It's not like Packer doesn't have a well-documented history of insensitive remarks. Was it generational when he called Allen Iverson "one tough monkey"? Or when he said to a group of Duke students, "Since when do we let women control who gets into a men's basketball game? Why don't you go find a women's game to let people into?"

Most importantly, since when does being old get you a free pass?

Agree or disagree with homosexuality, there is no place in American lexicon for words whose primary purpose is to be hurtful. It's just unnecessary, no matter where you come down on this touchy issue. Packer should know better, and so should CBS.

Other thoughts on college basketball ...

• We're seeing more and more coaches electing to stay where they've got a good thing going, and that trend continued today with Billy Donovan electing to stay at Florida, and Rick Barnes electing to stay at Texas. I wondered why Donovan would even consider heading to Kentucky, where the scrutiny is unbelievable, and the resources would only be marginally better than what he has already in Gainesville. Watch him use the momentum of two championships and putting three players in the top 10 of the NBA Draft to swoop in and land Jai Lucas and Patrick Patterson, the last two McDonalds All-Americans still uncommitted.
• Speaking of those Gators headed to the draft, good for them. They've earned it, and they've got nothing left to prove. (Nice story here, by the way, on what Corey Brewer gave up to stay the first time.)
• I'm surprised by Bob Huggins' move to West Virginia, but I can hardly blame him. He grew up in the town and went to the university. Self-righteous people that think Huggins owes K-State something for hiring him out of purgatory need to check themselves -- that program is in far better shape than when he left, and it seems like fans had a good time winning this year. Assuming his players are going to class (not a safe assumption), it was a win-win situation for all involved, even if it was only for one year.

Florida asserts itself as an all-time great team

My guess is that this is the first time in Greg Oden's life that he hasn't been able to will his team to victory with a superlative individual performance.

And that's precisely why we need to start talking about where this Florida team fits in the pantheon of all-time great college basketball teams.

While UCLA's great run in the 1970s will always be the standard of excellence, what the Gators accomplished this season has to rank up there with anything else that's ever been done by any dynastic program in NCAA history. To repeat as champions -- with the same five guys starting, no less -- in this era of early entry (or skip college altogether, before this year)?

It's almost unbelievable.

These Gators are true champions. They took everyone's best shot all year long, and still came out on top in the end. They proved they can beat anyone in just about any fashion, whether by pounding the ball inside or shooting it from the outside. Neutralize Horford and Noah, as the Buckeyes did Monday night? No problem -- Brewer, Humphrey and Green will kill you from outside.

I mean, if I had told Thad Matta that Greg Oden would play 38 minutes, score 25 points, grab 11 rebounds and block four shots, he would have asked me where we were celebrating his team's championship later that night.

It wasn't even close to good enough to beat these Gators, as the rest of the Buckeyes were harassed into a miserable 17.4 percent shooting performance from beyond the arc.

And that alone should say as much as anything about why Billy Donovan might be the best coach in the country not named Krzyzewski. (And why Kentucky better be prepared to throw $3 million-plus at him if it wants to lure him from Gainesville.) Donovan crafted a master game plan designed to send body after body at Oden and contain the rest of the team.

One might say that Ohio State killed itself with its poor shooting, but the reality is that nobody for Ohio State matched Oden's performance in either skill or intensity. It's not coincidence that it seems to happen when the Gators are involved; Florida has a way of doing that to people -- anyone remember UCLA on Saturday night looking like a junior varsity team?

There's a part of me that wants to see what would happen if this group came back for just one more year. But then I wonder: What do they have left to prove? They accomplished their goal, and they can be at peace with heading their separate ways to the NBA.

Could the go undefeated? Does it really matter?

It'll be interesting to see if Ohio State follows the Gators' cue, coming back together to resolve some unfinished business. Here's to hoping they do, so I can watch them for just one more year.

As for the Gators? Go to the NBA -- you can count on me to tout you as one of the greatest college basketball teams of all time after you do.

HALFTIME THOUGHTS: Florida rides hot shooting night to lead

With Florida running out to an 11-point halftime lead, let's revisit my keys to the game -- I think they're very telling as to why this game is a double-digit game at the break.

1. Greg Oden vs. the referees: Oden has just one foul, and has been a force on both ends of the floor 11 points, seven rebounds, two blocks and countless other shots altered. He's completely outplaying his Florida counterparts. Unfortunately for him and the Buckeyes, it's not making a difference in his team's performance. That's because ...
2. Florida's 3-point shooting: ... the Gators are hitting so many shots from long range that it doesn't matter. They're 6-of-9 from the 3-point line, and that's the main reason they've got a 40-29 lead. In contrast, Ohio State is shooting just 2-of-12 from 3-point range. One has to wonder if the Gators can keep it up in the second half, but it won't matter unless OSU starts hitting some deep shots. Ron Lewis -- who I said earlier might have been Ohio State's MVP of the regional -- has been nonexistent. He's got to get aggressive and hit some shots if the Buckeyes want to have a chance to come back.
3. Florida's defense on Mike Conley Jr.: Conley has been a virtual non-factor in the first half. He's finding gaps, but not finding any space to shoot. He's been so good at dictating tempo throughout this tournament, and did virtually none of that in the first half as he was saddled with a pair of fouls. Florida's Corey Brewer, one of the premier defenders in the country, has shut him down magnificently so far. Conley needs to start forcing the issue a bit, which might play right into Florida's hand.
   

I think Ohio State's got a good chance to come back, but it largely will depend on its perimeter defense. The Buckeyes simply can't let Florida have so many wide-open 3-point looks.

I'll be back after the game with a complete wrap.

M's win their opener in encouraging fashion

With about 10 minutes to go until the NCAA championship game tips off, I thought I'd offer up a few observations on the Mariners' season-opening win.

(By the way, I apparently am in the minority in picking Ohio State; only one person out of about 25 consulted by ESPN -- Bobby Cremins -- actually picked the Buckeyes. And he did it because he thought they were "lucky." Not exactly a ringing endorsement. Anyway, back to baseball.)

You never want to read too much into one game in baseball, but today's game was encouraging.

The Mariners now have half as many wins against the A's this year as they had all of last year thanks to a dominating performance from Felix Hernandez. I won't say Hernandez's new physique was the cause for his eight-inning, 12 K, shutout performance, but a sleeker King gives me hope that performances such as this one can occur with some regularity.

The offense was so-so, but it did enough to win -- something that couldn't be said much of the time last year. On countless nights, the Mariners would be presented with a chance to break a game open, only to leave runner after runner in scoring position. Not so today, as a nice sac fly from Raul Ibanez and a three-run bomb by Richie Sexson were more than enough to put away the A's in one quick spurt.

Never mind the fact that the M's needed a big error from the A's to get it going. The fact that they actually made a team pay after an error makes me feel pretty good.

All in all, a nice start to the season for a team that desperately needs one.

BIG GAME PREVIEW: Sticking with my bracket, OSU pulls off upset

After 62 Tournament games and countless millions of brackets up in flames, we've finally arrived at the Holy Grail of the college basketball season: The national championship game. That it involves more great storylines than Law and Order -- the defending national champs playing for the first repeat in 16 years, two teams that held the No. 1 spot in the rankings for most of the season, two schools that just met for the BCS championship -- just adds to the fun.

Here's how I see it breaking down.

No. 1 Ohio State (35-3) vs. No. 1 Florida (34-5)

Line: Gators by 4.5.

TV: 6:21 p.m. PDT, CBS (Ch. 7/107 in Seattle area).

Media releases (all in PDF): OSU gameday release, Florida gameday release

How the Buckeyes got here: After surviving a number of close calls throughout the Tournament, the Buckeyes proved just how formidable they can be in dispatching Georgetown, even with manchild center Greg Oden spending about half the game on the bench. Mike Conley Jr. was especially impressive with 15 points, five rebounds and six assists. He completely controlled the tempo, perhaps proving that he -- not Oden -- is the team's most valuable player.

How the Gators got here: After being accused of sleepwalking through portions of the season -- and the Tournament -- Florida dismissed UCLA in the national semifinal with startling efficiency. The Gators, who returned intact for 2006-07 with the sole purpose of defending their crown, looked like a team that finally caught a glimpse of its prize. Forwards Joakim Noah and Al Horford were virtually unstoppable inside, and the Gators' sharpshooters made the Bruins pay every time they did try to stop Noah or Horford with a doubleteam. Long story short: This looks like a team on a mission.

Keys to the Game

1. Greg Oden vs. the referees: There's little doubt in my mind that Oden can handle Noah and Horford from a physical standpoint. After all, we're talking about the guy who's likely to be the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft, should he choose to come out. The question is, can he stay on the court long enough to make a big difference? Unfortunately, the referees in this Tournament have chosen to call it tight whenever Oden's around. Has Oden learned from the easy fouls he gave up against Georgetown? He has a huge opportunity to singlehandedly neutralize the players that drive Florida. Will he lose some aggressiveness in order to stay on the floor?
2. Florida's 3-point shooting: The Gators picked apart UCLA by feeding the post and kicking the ball out to open shooters when the Bruins double teamed. Those kinds of open shots probably won't be there as frequently tonight for Florida, since Ohio State won't need to double team when Oden's on the floor. That said, if Humphrey, Brewer and Green knock down the open shots when they get them, Ohio State will be stretched beyond what it likes to do.
3. Florida's defense on Mike Conley Jr.: Few freshman point guards in memory have played as well in the Tournament as Conley has. He's proved positively unflappable at every turn this year, and has elevated his play even as the stage has gotten bigger. There's no reason to believe the spotlight will begin to affect Conley now, but that said, the big stage has done some strange things to great players -- see Webber, Chris. Florida's got a long track record the last two years of playing great defense on good guards, and the Gators have proven they can handle all types with their rangy perimeter play -- see Afflalo, Arron; Collison, Darren. Conley's been better than both Afflalo and Collision; can he keep it up?
   

Prediction: All the momentum seems to be favoring Florida. The Gators looked as focused as humanly possible against UCLA, like everything they've worked for since the end of last season is finally within their grasp. Meanwhile, Ohio State continues to fly under the radar, discounted at every turn. A lot of people are expecting tonight to be something of a coronation, but I just can't shake the feeling that the Buckeyes are going to figure out a way to win this game, just as they have all through the tournament.

I have to believe the referees don't like the bad press the OSU/Georgetown game received, and that they'll let Oden, Noah and Horford play the way they play. That benefits Ohio State. And don't forget about that 26-point loss by the Ohio State to the Gators earlier this season; I guarantee the Buckeyes haven't. Unlike last year's championship, this one will go down as one of the all-time classics as Ohio State avenges its football loss. Ohio State 72, Florida 71.

CSTV reairing Division II championship -- WATCH IT!

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the unbelievable finish to the Division II championship game, where Barton beat Winona State in what has to be one of the more unreal flurries of basketball I've ever seen.

If you didn't see it, you have another chance to catch it on a re-air on CSTV, which is part of Comcast's sports package. It's showing at 6:30 p.m. PDT on Friday, April 6.

If you've got a DVR, I suggest recording it for posterity. It was such a good game, my weak description didn't even come close to doing it justice.

When reading this post, remember: It could be Vitale

As you thirst for more information on this, the day between the Final Four and the national championship game, ponder this -- a fact that was brought to my attention by ESPN.com's Bill Simmons:

Billy Packer has announced every Final Four since 1975.

Just let that wash over you for a second.

That, without a doubt, has to be the most astounding run in sports television. I once read somewhere that all college basketball fans fit into one of two categories: They either are Dick Vitale fans or Packer fans. Their styles contrast to such a great degree that it's virtually impossible to like both. If you like one, you almost by definition have to dislike the other.

I'll admit that I used to be among the throngs who couldn't stand Packer, opting instead for the high-energy antics of Dickie V. When I was in that 18 to 25 demographic, Vitale's catchphrases and volume added to the fun of the college basketball viewing experience.

Then something funny happened: I started watching a lot of basketball. That means watching a lot of games on ESPN, and hearing a lot of games called by Vitale. And I got sick of him. Really, really sick of him.

If you're a casual fan, it probably isn't real noticable to you, but Vitale repeats himself sooooo much. I used to think he knew a lot about college basketball, and it's true he knows a lot about the game. But it's like he learns one little nugget about a player or coach, then repeats it endlessly throughout the season. It becomes extremely tedious.

He also has a tendency to focus only on elite teams -- especially those teams that appear on ESPN. Does he even watch the Pac-10? (I suppose you could make that case for anyone at ESPN, but still ...)

And don't even get me started with the self-promotion -- It's not delivery! It's DiGiorno! Or is it Hooters? Or maybe it's Scott's lawn care products. I've lost track. I have a hard time not wondering if the "passion" he so fervently displays is genuine, or just an effort to promote the Vitale "brand."

This necessarily means I've since come around -- somewhat -- to Packer.

Yes, Packer is an unrepentant curmudgeon who is better than most at torquing people with insensitive comments. But that's what makes Packer pretty good at what he does. He's sincere in his observations, and makes no apologies for anything he says, which he can do because he's not obsessed with being buddies with all of the coaches, a la Vitale. He (appropriately) let's the game be the focus, as he makes clear here with his thinly veiled shot at Vitale:

"I love doing the preparation for the games – the game is the thing, it’s not me," Packer told the (Chicago) Northwest Herald. "I say what I see and based on my judgmnt and the research I’ve done, I have a pretty good record of standing behind what I’ve said. If somebody doesn’t like it, it doesn’t bother me at all. I have a right to my opinion and they have a right to theirs. I don’t ever do anything to create a scene, and if there is a scene, I don’t do anything to try and deflate it. It is what it is."

Packer doesn't spend a lot of time pontificating, and he doesn't spend any time talking about his personal "all-Diaper Dandy" team. He simply calls what he sees on the floor -- a refreshing change.

So now that you've gotten over the shock of never having watched a Final Four without Packer, just remember this.

It could be worse.

It could be Vitale.

Starving for more? Here are some good reads in the aftermath of the semifinals ...

• ESPN.com's "Around the Rim"
• "The Zebras' Whistles Ruin A Classic Matchup," by Bryan Burwell, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
• "Shotmaking is the Missing Ingredient Under Howland," by Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times
• "10 Questions from the Semis," by Gene Wojciechowski, ESPN.com

As predicted, Ohio State to square off against Florida

It turned out to be the night of disappearing stars.

First, it was Georgetown's Jeff Green forgetting to show up against Ohio State, then later it was Pac-10 player of the year Arron Afflalo getting shut down by Florida for the second consecutive year.

Both proved to be fatal to their team's chances of advancing to the championship game on Monday night.

Green absolutely was taken out of his game by the Buckeyes, who used a four-guard offense to swarm and overpower the Hoyas while center Greg Oden rode the pine with foul trouble. Afflalo finished with 17 points, but he scored the bulk of them with the game already out of reach. His team needed him, and he couldn't deliver.

Perhaps the thing that continues to surprise people is that the Buckeyes are far more than a one trick pony. So much was made by people such as myself of Oden's impact on that game, but the Buckeyes played some of their best ball while he was on the bench, as pointed out by reader drpezz. In fact, they were able to increase their lead in the first half while Oden was out of the game with two fouls.

Then, when Oden came back in with Hibbert in foul trouble, he took over, I believe scoring six consecutive points. Then when he got his fourth foul, the Buckeyes were again able to keep playing at a high level. Mike Conley Jr. is a heck of a point guard -- he dictates pace as well as just about any guard in this tournament -- and Ohio State proved it can beat a quality opponent in more than one way.

Other quick observations ...

• I came away very impressed with Roy Hibbert. He comported himself very nicely against Oden. He's not the most athletic guy, but he uses his body pretty well to play tall. Georgetown's coaching staff deserves a lot of credit for turning that guy into the player that he is -- he's clearly been coached well.
• The big battle between Oden and Hibbert never materialized, thanks to fouls. There was a lot of outcry on ESPN in the aftermath about letting the big guys play, but I came away with a different take: These guys need to play smarter. Both Oden and Hibbert picked up some silly fouls -- Oden's moving screen and Hibbert's chicken wing rebound come to mind -- and that changed the game more than anything. They have to know that they're big, and they have to not commit such silly fouls -- it jsut shows tremendous immaturity. I do agree with Vitale on one thing, though: I wouldn't mind seeing college basketball go to six fouls. These are kids still learning how to play the game, and it would keep silly fouls -- or questionable calls -- from changing the outcome of games.
• How about UCLA getting outrebounded 42-25 by Florida? The Bruins' big men just couldn't physically matchup with the Gators, as I suspected. Al Horford and Joakim Noah combined for 28 rebounds all by themselves. Let me repeat that: Horford and Noah had more rebounds than the entire UCLA team! And so much for that vaunted UCLA defense. Florida shot 53 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range.
• If there was any doubt about Florida's intensity on its way to the Final Four, the Gators clearly showed they were just waiting for this stage. All those guys came back for this opportunity, and they clearly were not going to let this night pass them by. Should be interesting to see if Ohio State wilts under the championship game pressure in the face of a motivated Florida squad.

I've also thrown in a Bracket Challenge update with just the championship game to do. After that debacle of a start, I've now moved up into third place -- thank goodness, because I was sweating having to face my faithful readers with such a pitiful performance. The first annual Bracket Challenge champion will not be crowned, however, until Monday night. Ryan Sadoski's got a 21-point lead on Chris Cloke, but Cloke can overtake him if Florida wins it all. Sadoski runs away with it if Ohio State wins, and I'll vault to second. Stay tuned.

We'll have some more notes in the next day or so, including a full-blown preview of the game on Monday night. See you then.

A quick look at the Final Four

Many have called this a Final Four that could go down as one of the best in history. I don't disagree at all, and I'm unbelievably excited to catch the games tonight. Here's my quick and dirty preview of tonights two Final Four games. I'll have analysis of the games upon their completion as well.

Game One: No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Georgetown

Perhaps nothing says more about how fortunate Ohio State is to be here that Vegas has installed the No. 1 seed Buckeyes as a one-point underdog to the No. 2 seed Hoyas. Many have tried to make this into a battle of Greg Oden vs. Roy Hibbert, but their impact on the game will not be felt in some kind of one-on-one matchup. Here are my three keys to the game

1. Which big man can stay on the floor and control the defensive end? This is how Oden and Hibbert will determine the outcome of this contest. Both have been dominant on the defensive end at times, and at times, both have been ineffective because of foul trouble. Which guy can stay on the floor? Will Georgetown be stifled on all those backdoor cuts, knowing that Oden is waiting? Or will the Hoyas bait him into foul trouble, which can happen if he's just a split second too late rotating? Will Hibbert have trouble guarding Oden? The team whose center spends more time on the floor likely wins the game.
2. Ohio State's perimeter defense against that Princeton offense of Georgetown. Ohio State has been prone to lapses in perimeter defense in this tournament -- how do you think Tennessee got that big lead? Any team that wishes to slow down Georgetown must demonstrate the appropriate amount of patience on every defensive possession, something UNC tired of. Can OSU's young guards keep the intensity for 35 seconds and avoid those deadly back-cuts?
3. Thad Matta vs. John Thompson III. Neither of these coaches has been to a Final Four, although JTIII spent plenty of years watching his dad do it. The bright lights can cause even the best coaches to wilt -- which coach will make the critical move that either saves his team or costs it?

Prediction: Hibbert is a nice player, but Oden controls a game's tempo like no one else. He'll get more than 30 minutes tonight, snuffing out those back-cuts and allowing his guards to pressure the ball like few opponents of Georgetown can. I don't think this will be as close of a game as most do; I think Georgetown's luck has finally run out. Ohio State 65, Georgetown 58.

Game Two: No. 1 Florida vs. No. 2 UCLA

The much anticipated rematch of last year's championship game finally gets its chance in the nightcap. While most have portrayed it as basically the same two teams as last year, UCLA actually only returned about 50 percent of its points from last year's game with the departures of Jordan Farmar, Ryan Hollins and Cedric Bozeman. However, this might be a better UCLA team than last year, while many wonder if Florida might have taken a step back. Here are my three keys to the game:

1. Can Florida handle UCLA's defense? Florida has not seen a team in this tournament that plays defense as hard as UCLA. In fact, this team plays harder defense than the team that looked so bad in losing to the Gators last year. The Gators have proven themselves vulnerable to stretches of sloppy play this tournament, something that absolutely will get a team into trouble against the Bruins.
2. How will UCLA's frontcourt handle Horford and Noah? As the interior guys go, so goes Florida. Can Lorenzo Mata and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute be servicable enough inside, keeping Horford and Noah from getting the offensive rebounds that so energize their team? If Horford and Noah go off, that's bad, bad news for the Bruins.
3. Can UCLA score enough points to win? Last year, the Bruins' offensive performance was atrocious. Particularly awful was Arron Afflalo, then just a sophomore. Well, Afflalo is now the Pac-10 player of the year and is coming off the best game of his career, given the stage. As the Bruins' primary scoring option, he must come up big against the Gators for UCLA to have a shot.

Prediction: Both teams have been here before, and they know each other well after last season, so there won't be any secrets. Both have great players and great coaches. But I think Florida's interior game is just too much for the Bruins to handle. It'll be close, but Florida goes for the repeat on Monday. Florida 71, UCLA 70.

So, there you have it. I'll possibly be checking in during the games, but at least after them. Until then, happy watching! I know I'll be glued to the TV.

Bennett reels in big fish of coaching awards

Just a quick note: The Associated Press named WSU basketball coach Tony Bennett its coach of the year this morning, completing Bennett's takeover of the state of Washington as he now owns one more coach of the year award than Lorenzo Romar and Mark Few combined.

Bennett can put the trophy next to the slew of others he's received from smaller publications and the Pac-10 coach of the year award. I hope he had a trophy room built into his new house.

Oh yeah, almost forgot -- he gets a $25,000 bonus for winning the award. I need to negotiate that into my next teacher contract.

More details come out on Bennett's deal

I often like to pump up other blogs that routinely contain great information, and Glenn Kasses' "All Cougs, All The Time" blog certainly qualifies. In the wake of WSU's announcement that basketball coach Tony Bennett has agreed to a long-term deal to stay in Pullman, Kasses has worked his sources to come up with information you won't find anywhere else.

Among the highlights, according to Kasses:

• Both Michigan and Iowa contacted Bennett's agent, with Michigan expressing what appeared to be high-level interest. No program requested official permission to talk with Bennett.
• The new annual guaranteed salary will likely start between $600,000 and $700,000 -- a substantial increase from the $375,000 he was slated to make next year.
• There will likely be an increase in the buyout amount, although it won't be in the $1 million range. (Darn.)
• Pay raises for all of Bennett's assistants, too. (One of Bennett's priorities if he was to stay.)

And as I speculated earlier, the “charm” of Pullman played no small part in Bennett’s decision to stay:

“Bottom line here is that Bennett really does enjoy life in Pullman and some of
the perks in terms of having his family and career here where he's at least
partially outside of the fishbowl, relatively speaking. I think that can't be
underestimated as a factor in this immediate decision, though we certainly don't
know if it will continue to be so should his name remain on those hot candidates
lists in years to come.”

Meanwhile, the people who actually get paid to have opinions react to the Bennett extension:

• “Bennett is the anti-Erickson,” by Jim Moore, Seattle P-I
• “Prodigy of the Palouse just does the right thing”, by Jerry Brewer, Seattle Times
  

Bennett agrees to contract extension; I'm not jumping for joy yet

Great news out of Pullman for Coug fans, as my prediction came true: Tony Bennett is not going anywhere next year, as he has agreed in principal to a contract extension with WSU.

"I knew I wanted to be back," Bennett told reporters via conference call. "For me it's about fit. This program, this job, fits me."

Terms of the contract have not been finalized, as Bennett is traveling to Atlanta for the Final Four, an annual ritual among most college coaches. According to the AP, "The contract is likely to include a variety of incentives, plus deferred compensation and a larger buyout clause, Sterk said."

I can't help but be excited, as well, by Bennett's commitment, because I believe him to be a genuine man who means what he says.

"It’s said by a lot of people that if you can have a good year, boy, this is a place where you’ve got tot take a look to go elsewhere. It’s a hard place. I don’t feel that way. I think the journey has just started. This group of young men, I want our program to know that. We don’t want to be just a flash in the pan.”

However, I will reserve jumping up and down until I know what the terms of the contract are. While I'm excited for what is obviously shaping up to be a big 2007-08, the team loses its core after the season and it could present a nice breaking point for Bennett.

I'll be a lot more excited if I find out the buyout on the contract is somewhere in the $1 million range -- a figure that won't be a deterrent to most big schools desperate for the right coach, but big enough to help the Cougs land a suitable replacement. This is a school that has always settled for the cheap choice, looking for a diamond in the rough. Rarely have they found that diamond -- although Kelvin Sampson comes to mind -- and a buyout of that magnitude could help the Cougars land another suitable coach.

Skepticism aside, though, how can you not smile today if you're a Coug fan? When a guy says that his family likes Pullman and the job "fits" him, it starts to sound like we might have not just found the diamond; we might have found the diamond mine.

Clark leaves his mark, but how will he be remembered?

Ah, gotta love college journalism.

Student journalists tend to get looked down upon by the general public because of their relative lack of experience. But a lot of times they can break stories that slip by the mainstream media because of their special relationship with the people they're covering. They are, after all, peers.

Such was the case Monday when The Daily Evergreen, the student newspaper at Washington State University, caught up with Ivory Clark.

At some point this year, Clark and coach Tony Bennett started to fail to see eye to eye, and Clark's minutes became erratic. Never was that more evident than in the NCAA Tournament, when Clark was the player of the game against Oral Roberts but registered only 15 minutes in the double overtime loss to Vanderbilt.

Now Clark is lashing out.

Among the highlights from his rambling diatribe to Daily Evergreen reporter Brandon Scheller:

• On not playing at all in overtime against Vandy: "I mean, even if we wouldn’t have won, me being a senior on the court, I was going to give it everything I had. It was overtime, you know? Any possession could be your last. I was just gonna give it everything I had. And I felt like some of the guys on the floor weren’t giving it everything. Maybe it was because they were tired playing 50 minutes."
• On playing sparingly on Senior Night: "I definitely thought after [the Oral Roberts game] I’d be in there at crunch time. But you know, I mean, it didn’t surprise me at all after playing only seven minutes on senior night. Nothing would surprise me after that. ... I felt very humiliated that night. My mom saved up for months to come see me on Senior Night, so to only play seven minutes was really humiliating."
• On how he views Bennett now: "I’m still kind of bitter, I guess, about the whole situation. I don’t want to say too much into it, you know? People think very highly of Tony, but I think I was really done bad this year. ... All that coach of the year stuff, I don’t endorse that."

Bennett, to his credit, chose to take the high road: "It’s hard to make everybody happy. Ivory’s an emotional guy, he wears his emotions on his sleeve. The hardest thing as a coach is not being able to give everybody what they want. They all work hard for you, so you want to give them what they want. I just hope he doesn’t leave with a bad taste in his mouth."

It seems it's already too late for that, and it's a shame because this was such a special season for everyone involved. I can understand the frustration of wanting to be able to give everything you've got in your final college game, but there also has to be an element of humility. These are the things that need to be talked about behind closed doors, that need to be resolved between men.

All you need to do is look at the entirety of Bennett's reaction in the story to know that in no way did that happen. And that's a shame. Clark played a huge role in the season; with every fit he throws over the way he was treated this year, it becomes harder and harder to remember the game-changing blocks, steals and dunks.

Instead, fans will remember Clark as a sour-grapes individual who readily threw his team and coach under the bus -- seriously, how can anyone make the case that players didn't play hard in overtime? -- only a week after being ousted from the Tournament. Worse yet, this sort of thing does absolutely nothing for a guy whose best shot at making an NBA roster includes proving that he's a humble workhorse.

Kudos to Scheller for putting himself in position to get the big story. He proved that sometimes all you need to do is make a phone call, sit down, turn on the recorder and shut up. Other student journalists would do well to learn from Scheller that it's not cheating to use the special relationships you build with student athletes to beat your professional peers.

Could Morris be forging a slippery slope to avoid NBA Draft?

There's an interesting little story out of New York these days ... which is interesting to me because hardly anything in New York is a little story.

Yet I'm surprised this "little story" isn't getting more play from the national media.

Two weeks ago, Randolph Morris was trying to help his Kentucky Wildcats beat the Kansas Jayhawks in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Now, he plays for the New York Knicks.

How did he avoid the NBA Draft? Well, apparently there's a little-known loophole that allows players who declared for the draft -- but were not drafted -- to essentially become free agents.

Morris declared for the 2005 NBA draft, but was not selected. Because he did not sign with an agent, he was allowed to return to college. However, Morris could not enter the draft again, and technically has been a free agent all season. He was expected to join the team over the weekend. And if the Knicks make the playoffs, he will be eligible to play.

Does this sound like a scam waiting to happen to anyone else? What in the world is going to stop a marginal player with a lot of potential from declaring for the draft as a freshman, assured that he won't get drafted, only to blossom in his last few seasons and able to choose from among the highest bidders in an effort to win his services? (Comforting to know that I'm not the only one who sees what this loophole could do.)

The NBA would do well to close this loophole, and keep this from happening again. Otherwise, they might have a monster on their hands.