The Magazine
NCAA MARCH MADNESS EDITION PHOTO PHOTO BY BYby Jed Jed Jacobsohn Jacobsohn Photo Eric Miller
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MARCH2012
The Magazine
ADDICTED2THEGAME
Los Angeles based daily NBA NCAA magazine. Non-biased real opinion about the NBA NCAA and it's players.
Smart Decisions How VCU Shaka’d the World By Daniel Brewster
Ever since the first NCAA Tournament game in 1939, there has been debates across the country on how many teams should be allowed to participate in the big dance. Last year the NCAA allowed an additional three teams to make to tournament, bringing the total number to 68. The last eight selected to the tournament would participate in a “play-ingame”, which would bring the field to an even 64 teams. Many experts saw the last four teams as mere pushovers who
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really had no business making the tournament anyway. Enter the Virginia Commonwealth Rams and their young, fiery coach, Shaka (Yes Shaka) Smart, who had other plans. Smart was hired by VCU in 2009 after the previous coach Anthony Grant left to become the head coach at the University of Alabama. Prior to taking the job at VCU, Smart had no experience as a head coach. He was an assistant at California University of Pennsylvania, the
University of Akron (3 years), Clemson University (2 years), and the University of Florida (1 year). Smart was also the Director of Basketball Operations at the University of Dayton. Upon arriving at VCU Smart immediately implemented an upbeat style of play known as “havoc.” According to Smart, “havoc” basketball is a defensive style of play that will “wreak havoc on opponent’s psyche and their plan of attack.” “Havoc” basketball consists of a heavy
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Photo by Peter Casey
dose of full court presses to disrupt their opponents’ timing in setting up their offensive sets. Smart’s “havoc” style of defense can be compared to Hall of Famer Nolan Richardson’s 40 minutes of hell-where he encouraged his players to play at a high pace to tire opponents out. As a testament to Smart’s defensive style of play his Rams led the Colonial Athletic Association (CCA) in steals in only Smart’s second year as the head coach. And while most collegiate coaches preach half-court offense, Smart allowed his players to play up-tempo and push the ball after made and missed shots. In Smart’s first season at VCU he coached his team to a 27-9 record, going 11-7 in CAA play. The Rams did not qualify for neither the NCAA nor NIT postseason tournaments, but did get invited to CBI tournament-which they won. VCU lost its’ best player, Larry Sanders, to the NBA to begin the 2010-11 season, but little did
anybody know, Smart and his team was preparing to shock the basketball world. As a mid-major team like VCU, to increase your chances of making the NCAA tournament you have to make your resume look better than every other team. To do that you have schedule tough and grueling opponents hoping the selection committee will see fit to invite you to the NCAA tournament if you do not automatically qualify by winning your conference tournament. The hardest part about doing this is that virtually no high-major school will agree to come play mid-major schools like VCU in their gym. So to get the high profile games necessary to improve a resume, most mid-majors have to travel across the country to play these big programs in their gyms, dramatically decreasing the chances of winning. For any mid-major school, winning these games is an arduous task. For VCU however, something happened. They posted big wins against big schools like Wake Forest,
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UCLA, and mid-major power Wichita State. Even though VCU suffered loses to USF, Richmond, and Tennessee, the fact that VCU played these games greatly increased their strength of schedule--which is a key component in NCAA tournament selection. Because Smart and his Rams did not win their conference tournament they, like other teams with similar resumes, had to resort to watching the agonizing Selection Sunday show with hopes of making it to the big dance. Smart was able to take a huge breath as he and his boy went dancing. Immediately after the Rams were selected to the tournament, hate rained downed from everywhere as many “experts” (especially Dick Vitale) criticized the selection committee for moving the Rams into the tournament. Faced with incredible odds, Smart and his Rams pulled off the impossible, again. Not only did the Rams win games, but Smart and the “havoc” style of basketball wreaked havoc in the tournament. Placed in the opening round game, VCU beat the favored University of Southern California by 13 points. In their second round game against Big East power Georgetown, VCU won by 18 points. Next up was the Big 10 and nationally ranked Purdue; VCU did it again, beating the Boilermakers by 18 points--earning them a trip to the Sweet 16. Remember, this was same team led by a fairly new coach who no one thought should have even made the tournament. There was no way they could win any more games right? Shaka Smart will have his choice of schools to coach when the time comes, for now he leads the VCU Rams towards the Final Four.
Photo by Bob Donnan
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Next up for Smart and VCU was Florida State, who they would beat in a 1-point overtime nail-bitter, earning them a trip to the Elite 8. Waiting there for the upstart Rams were the Kansas Jayhawks, regarded as one of the greatest teams in college basketball history. The thing about basketball is that it often doesn’t matter what the name on the front or back of the jersey says, rather if you can play as a team. David can slay Goliath. And that is just what VCU did, beating Kansas by 10 points and earning their first trip to the Final Four. George Mason, another team from the CCA set the precedent for mid-major teams like VCU to make the Final Four. Just like VCU, nobody saw George Mason coming, and just like VCU, they captivated the whole nation. Smart and his boys from Virginia acted the part and played basketball like they belonged in the Final Four. However, Butler University, another mid major from the Horizon league, made the Final Four for consecutive seasons and was not impressed by VCU’s miraculous run--which set the country up for the first Final Four featuring two mid major teams. Smart and VCU played a hell of a game but Butler eventually defeated the Rams, ending their Cinderella story. Following the completion of the 2010-11 season, Smart was one of the most coveted coaches in the country. The thing about collegiate basketball is that most coaches are often only given a couple of years to be successful, and if they are not, they get fired. There were numerous coaching opportunities available to Smart but he decided to be loyal to the university that gave him his first shot to be a head coach, which says a lot. Coaches often jump at the first sight of big money and find themselves in situations where they cannot be successful (i.e. Billy Gilepsie at Kentucky). Sometimes the grass isn’t always greener and Smart is fully aware of that. Smart, now 34 years old, can expect many other offers and one day he just might take a job at a high major program. However, for now all Smart is worrying about is Wichita State, the team VCU drew in it’s second consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament. Right now for Smart nothing can be better than that, especially if he and his Rams end up in New Orleans for another shot at a national championship.
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The Pacific 12 Conference was a true disappointment from top to bottom in 2011-12
Photos by Jae C. Hong & Stephen Dunn
The Pac-12 How the West went South By Eric Lemus
The 2011-12 Pacific 12 Conference season is probably best summed up with a few clicks of the mouse. The preseason AP Top 25 poll slotted the Arizona Wildcats at #16, UCLA at #17, California at #24 and the Washington Huskies as the fourth team out looking in. Following an eleven-point loss to the Loyola Marymount Lions and a twenty-point blow out at the hands of the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders--both at the L.A. Sports Arena--the Bruins fell out of the Top 25 after just one week. By week 4, the Arizona Wildcats had also fallen out of the polls; the following week Cal was out as well. That would be the last time the Pac-12 would sniff the AP Top 25.
The Conference would see Washington hoist the regular season trophy at 14-4 (21-10 overall) and the conference rookie Colorado Buffaloes win the postseason tournament and automatic NCAA Tournament bid after a 11-7 (23-11 overall) season. On Selection Sunday, the conference saw only two teams get into the field, the Buffaloes and California (13-5 conf., 24-9 overall). It marked the first time that a regular season champion from a power conference did not make the NCAA Tournament. The conference finished a combined 0-12 against AP Top 25 opponents and Cal had the highest RPI ranking within the conference, finishing in the low 30s. Although the Pac-12 faced the embarrassment of sending only two
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of twelve teams from a power conference to the big dance, the proverbial ship began sinking long before the calendar turned to March. Let’s start in the Great Northwest. Even though 10 losses for a conference winner would be a tough pill to swallow, Washington’s losses weren’t really a shocker early on. They first lost to St. Louis (a tournament team) on the road, then two games later lost to Nevada in overtime, again on the road. Four days later Washington lost to #11 Marquette and four days after that to #5 Duke. None of those losses are particularly bad, but to that point, UW hadn’t had any good wins either. Wins over Houston Baptist and Georgia State don’t improve a resume much. A 6-5 record heading into conference play basically crippled any shot UW had of making the tournament--save a Pac-12 Tournament win. Much like the Huskies, the Oregon Ducks and Stanford Cardinal entered conference play with nothing standing out from their preconference schedule. Oregon only faced one ranked opponent, #7 Vanderbilt in the opening game of the season. They lost. Stanford lost their only game against a ranked opponent to #5 Syracuse, it was a competitive match, but Syracuse was a better team. Although Stanford’s only other non-conference loss was to Butler, they too had no wins of merit. Arizona took the same route. Although they played #12 Florida down to the wire, they
“The proverbial ship began sinking long before the calendar turned to March”
Photos by Jae C. Hong & Stephen Dunn
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would eventually fall in overtime. Arizona too was a team that didn’t challenge themselves enough out-of-conference to be taken into account on Selection Sunday. While they were the highest ranked Pac-12 team in the preseason, Arizona was out of the polls before they lost their third game. The Pac-12 simply didn’t challenge itself. Then there was UCLA. The Bruins were the preseason pick to win the Pac-12. They featured a frontcourt that included Reeves Nelson and Joshua Smith, and would add Travis and David Wear to go along with senior guards Lazeric Jones and Jerime Anderson. The only question about UCLA in September was, “How many games would they win?” What a silly question. While Pauley Pavilion was under renovation for the season, the Bruins hosted the majority of their home games at the L.A. Sports Arena in front of what seemed like only hundreds of uninterested fans and students. The home court became more of a disadvantage for the Bruins as they stumbled out of the gates with losses to LMU and Middle Tennessee. UCLA had a chance to rebound in Hawaii, as they would face stiffer competition in the Maui Invitational. They would lose to #14 Kansas and #15 Michigan. After a home loss to Texas, the Bruins seemed to turn it around with solid play as they reeled off 5 wins in a row before Pac-12 play started.
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UCLA’s only consistency came in how inconsistent you could count on the team to play. After the Maui Invitational, Reeves Nelson would be kicked off the team for repeated off-the-court troubles. Joshua Smith showed up to the season out of shape and still had difficulty staying out of foul trouble. The Bruins never seemed to figure out how to best utilize their bigs and the guards took it upon themselves to be the stars way too often. To make things worse, Sports Illustrated published an article at the end of the season that accused UCLA and Ben Howland of some troubling activities that included drugs, alcohol, and fights. By the time the Pac-12 tournament rolled around, each and every team in the conference knew that they would have to win the tourney to get in to the NCAA Tournament. In Washington’s first game, they lost to ninth seeded Oregon State and likewise, Oregon fell to Colorado. Cal lost to Colorado in their second game and eventually the Buffs would beat Arizona in the championship game to win the automatic bid. Even though the Buffs are an athletic, senior-led team, they still finished sixth in the Pac-12 and were coming off of a fifth place finish in the Big 12 last year. The fact that Colorado was able to beat perennial Pac-12 powerhouses Arizona and Oregon, and 2011 Conference Champion Cal speaks volumes to the quality of play from this year’s conference. UCLA’s deplorable season came to an even more uncomfortable conclusion after they were left out of the field of the NIT. Washington, Arizona, Oregon, and Stanford did get invitations, however. But why did the Pac-12 fall off so drastically? The best answer is loss of talent. When you check NBA box scores every night there is no shortage of Pac-12 representation. Last summer, Derrick Williams of Arizona, Klay Thompson of Washington State, Alec Burks of Colorado, Isaiah Thomas of Washington,
Photo by Jae C. Hong
Nikola Vucevic of USC, and Tyler Honeycutt and Malcolm Lee of UCLA were selected in the NBA draft. But the conference also lost many talented seniors: Matthew Bryan-Amaning and Justin Holiday at UW, Joevan Catron in Oregon, Alex Stephenson at Southern Cal, Markhuri Sanders-Frison at Cal. The only team that didn’t lose key seniors was UCLA, which made their debacle so much more troubling. Don’t expect the conference to be down for too long, however. With three of the nation’s top 10 high schoolers coming in, ESPN has deemed Arizona’s 2012 recruiting class tops in the nation. UCLA is not too far behind at twelve with #4 recruit Kyle Anderson already committed and #2 overall prospect Shabazz Muhammad still a
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The Favorite: Kentucky received the #1 overall seed in the Tournament. The Contenders: Duke is only 2 years removed from their last National Title and have an arsenal of talented guards that include Seth Curry and Austin Rivers. Baylor spent the majority of the season in the top 5 and though they have slipped some they are still dangerous. Upset Alert: VCU over Wichita St. & Xavier over Notre Dame #A2TG’s Pick: We got Kentucky. Plain and simple, they are the best team in the NCAA.
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The Favorite: Michigan State won the Big Ten tournament to EARN the last #1 seed The Contenders: Mizzou plays at a pace unmatched in the NCAA. They have some of the best guards in the country and always bring a total team effort. Marquette is tough on the boards and on defense, exactly how Buzz Williams likes his teams. Upset Alert: Long Beach St. over New Mexico #A2TG’s Pick: Playing in the toughest conference in the nation will have Sparty ready to go. The road won’t be easy, but nothing has been for Michigan St. this year.
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The Favorite: With Fab Melo out for the Orange, Ohio State emerges as the favorite in the East. The Contenders: Syracuse is still a solid team even without Melo and the zone defense is tough to beat. Florida State beat Duke and North Carolina twice this year and on back-to-back days in the ACC tournament. Upset Alert: Harvard over Vanderbilt & Montana over Wisconsin #A2TG’s Pick: Florida State’s road got a bit easier with Melo out. We think the momentum from the ACC tournament will carry on in the NCAAs.
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The Favorite: Roy Williams may be the best postseason coach in the nation. The Tar Heels will be ready for anything. The Contenders: If Kansas can make it to the regional finals, they will playing in their own backyard. The Jayhawks were the odd man out for the four #1 seeds. Michigan is a team that can surprise people. They played in the tough Big Ten and will be ready to shock the world. Upset Alert: Belmont over Georgetown #A2TG’s Pick: We think North Carolina is too talented and too well coached to be stopped. They will be cutting down the nets.
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Logo courtesy of NCAA
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#A2TG Staff Final Four Picks Eric Lemus @Eric_Lemus
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Daniel Brewster @Addicted2ThGme
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Kryston Tillett @Tillgetsbucketz
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Preston Newsom
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National Champion marked with *
Logos and brackets courtesy of NCAA & CBS
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By Daniel Brewster
Every year 345 division 1 schools across the country begin their season with hopes of making it to the NCAA Tournament. Those 345 schools (Minus the Ivy League) belong to 31 conferences that at the end of their conference season play in a conference tournament with the winner getting an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. That leaves 37 at-large spots for over 314 teams who did not qualify for the tournament, meaning that at the end of selection Sunday there will be 277 teams left wondering what they could have done to improve their chances of making the big dance. Snubs happen every year, it is part of the NCAA selection process. There will never be a year where every team is happy with their seeds or what region they are sent to. There were discussions to enhance the tournament to as many as 128 teams but even then the 129th team would complain and say they should have gotten in. It is a unfair process to say the least, but it is a part of what makes March Madness so special.
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Drexel University Dragons (27-6 overall, 16-2 conference record, RPI: 71) Drexel probably has the biggest complaint for not making the big dance. I actually though that they would get in considering that they had a 19-game winning streak but lost in the CAA tournament championship game to last year’s Final Four darling, VCU. What probably kept Drexel out of the tournament was their 248-ranked strength of schedule. Drexel’s highest quality opponent was St. Joseph’s (RPI: 72) who they lost to by 13. University of Washington Huskies (21-10, 14-4 conference record, RPI: 69) What’s interesting about Washington is that they are the regular season champion of the Pac-12 conference. It is the first time that a team which claimed at least a share of the Pac-12, Pac-10, Pac-8, or the PCC in the regular season did not make the tournament. What make Washington’s case even more intriguing is that the second place team in the conference, California, made the tournament. What probably kept Washington out of the tournament was a quarterfinal loss to Oregon State in the Pac-12 Tournament. Oral Roberts University (27-5, 17-1 conference record, RPI: 46) Committee chairman, Jeff Hathaway, said that that Oral Roberts was the last team left out--meaning that St. Bonaventure (Not considered a tournament team) winning the Atlantic 10 conference took the last spot away from ORU. The Golden Eagles had an impressive win against #22 Xavier but it came when Xavier’s team was depleted due to the suspensions handed out after the fight with Cincinnati. A one-point loss to Western Illinois was the reason why ORU did not make the tournament--which is extremely harsh in my opinion. University of Miami Hurricanes (19-12, conference record 9-7, RPI: 60) The Hurricanes had huge wins against top 50 teams Duke and Florida State this year. They also had loses against Ole Miss, Maryland, and Purdue (all from power 6 conferences). Miami lost in the first round to Florida State in the ACC tournament. A win against Florida would have solidified their bid, but now Miami is playing in the NIT wondering why. If you ask me Miami should be in the big dance and not the small one. Seton Hall University Pirates (20-12, 8-10 conference record RPI: 68) Seton Hall started the season off well but their poor finish doomed them when it came time for an at-large selection. Losses against Big East cellar-dwellers Rutgers, DePaul, and Villanova definitely did not help. The Big East conference is second in RPI, while the West Coast Conference (which BYU plays in) finished 11th. Seton Hall had four wins against teams that made the NCAA Tournament while BYU had one. Put Seton Hall in the WCC and they are in the tournament. Sounds really suspect to me.
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The Big Ten Conference was a dogfight right to the very end.
Photos by Leon Halip and Andy Lyons
The Big Ten is Bigger than the Rest By Eric Lemus
As the Michigan State Spartans took turns cutting down the nets at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, it brought to an end one of the single greatest conference seasons in recent memory. Over the past four and a half months, the Big Ten (or B1G, depending on your preference) has showcased a level of play unmatched by any other conference in the nation. On Selection Sunday the conference was rewarded by getting six bids into the NCAA Tournament: Michigan State earned a #1 seed, Ohio State a #2, Indiana, Wisconsin,
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and Michigan a #4, and Purdue a #10. The caliber of the Big Ten showed early as all but one of the top six teams won at least their first four games. Ohio St. won it’s first eight games and thirteen of it’s first fourteen. Michigan won it’s first four and twelve of it’s first fourteen. Wisconsin it’s first six and twelve of fourteen as well. Indiana soared out of the gate winning twelve in a row and fifteen of sixteen, and Purdue won it’s first four and nine of eleven overall. The only team to struggle early on was Michigan St., as the Spartans
fell to #1 North Carolina and #6 Duke in the span of five days to open the year. Sparty would right the ship, however, and win it’s next fifteen in a row. The Big Ten didn’t take the easy route either, they challenged themselves early. Michigan St. fell to stiff competition, but in the first week of the season Ohio St. beat #8 Florida and Wisconsin beat Stony Brook (a tournament team), while Purdue took down IONA and Temple (also tournament teams). Over the next two weeks, the Wolverines would beat #8 Memphis, UCLA, and Iowa St. Wisconsin
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would beat BYU, Indiana took down Butler and North Carolina St., Michigan St. beat Florida St., and the Buckeyes beat #4 Duke by 22 points. By the time conference play rolled around the Big Ten had five wins against the Top 25, including a victory by Indiana over #1 Kentucky in what might have been the game of the year. Christian Watford drained a three from the left wing with time running out to give the Hoosiers a 73-72 win over the Wildcats. The loss was Kentucky’s only blemish for three months until the SEC tournament. Once conference play began, the quality of basketball remained high and competitive. On December 31, Indiana beat Ohio St. by 4 at Assembly Hall. On January 3, Michigan St. won an overtime game on the road over Wisconsin. Jan 5, Indiana ekes out a 2-point win over Michigan; Jan 12, Wisconsin over Purdue by 5 on the road; Jan 17, Michigan by 1 over Michigan St.; Jan 24, Michigan by 2 over Purdue; Jan 26, Wisconsin over Indiana by 7; Feb 7, Ohio St. by 3 over Purdue; Feb 26, Wisconsin by 3 over Ohio St. in Columbus. It was enough to make to Dick Vitale go ga-ga! The drama wasn’t exclusive of micro-Big Ten hoops either. On the macro level the nail-biting continued through the last week of the regular season as teams jockeyed in the standings. On February 25 and 26, Michigan and Ohio St. each dropped their fifth game, respectively. When Michigan St. took the court two days later, they held a two game lead in the conference with two to play. After a 15-point loss at Indiana, Michigan St. hosted Ohio St. with a share of the conference championship on the line. With the game tied at 70, William Buford (Ohio St.’s only senior) won it for the Buckeyes when he pulled up for a long, contested jumper from the top of the key and
drained it with :08 left on clock--it would not be the last highly contested match for a championship these two would play. The result meant that Ohio St., Michigan St., and Michigan would share the regular season title three ways as each team finished 13-5. Crazier still, if not for Wisconsin’s 1point loss to Iowa the previous week, the title would have been split four ways. On March 11, Michigan St. would clash with Ohio St. once again, this time the Big Ten Conference Tournament title was on the line. The match was just as competitive as the one the week before. The game was back and forth throughout as the largest lead was 5 for only two possessions in the game. This time, however, it would be a Spartans senior that would come through. Draymond Green, who had struggled the entire game, hit a clutch three pointer with ninety seconds left and Michigan St. would eventually win the championship by 4. This brought the Big Ten season to a fitting close and an
hour later the Spartans were rewarded with a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament. The Big Ten expects good showings from all of it’s representatives in the tournament however, as they have been playing championship caliber opponents for the last three months. Don’t be surprised if the confetti falls on one of these programs on April 2.
Big Ten Notes: -Ohio St., Michigan St., Indiana, and Wisconsin posted scoring margins of at 11, including Ohio State’s +15.7. -Draymond Green of MSU was 14 in the nation in rebounding at 10.4 per, and Jared Sullinger of OSU was 37 at 9.3 per. -Cody Zeller of Indiana was 14 in the nation in FG% at .626 and Jordan Morgan of Michigan was 17 at .620. -Aaron Craft was 12 in the nation in steals at 2.41 per game. -Matt Roth and Jordan Hulls of Indiana were 2 and 6 respectively in 3-point percentage at .554 and .492 with Jordan Gasser of Wisconsin 43 at .453.
Photo by Andy Lyons
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Harvard University Veritas et Basketball? By Daniel Brewster
When you think about Harvard University what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Well for one, it has to be the number of United States Presidents it has produced: John Q. Adams, Rutherford B. Hayes, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, George W. Bush, and current President Barack Obama. If not that then it has to be the 62 living billionaires who all attended Harvard. Maybe it’s the 75 Nobel Peace Prize winners. Whatever the case is, whenever you think of Harvard the last thing you would think about is basketball. That is, until this year, seeing how for the first time since 1946 the Harvard Crimson will be going to the NCAA tournament.
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Things were not always peachy in Cambridge, Massachusetts as the Harvard basketball program has taken it’s bumps and bruises to get to the point where it is at now. For 16 years the Crimson were led by coach Frank Sullivan, compiling a 178-245. Sullivan’s 16th season ended like the first 15, which was without Harvard winning the Ivy League and without a NCAA Tournament bid. Harvard Athletic Director Robert Scalise saw enough and decided that it was time to make a change. He relieved Sullivan, the longest tenured coach in Harvard basketball history, of his coaching duties. In 2007, Scalise set the stage for a national coaching search--meeting with alumni and program boosters to garner support. Scalise wanted to make sure that he
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could offer money that was on par with other upper level programs as well as other Ivy League schools. Tommy Amaker, who was recently let go by the University of Michigan, immediately surfaced as one of the top candidates to replace Sullivan. Prior to coaching, Amaker played collegiately at Duke for arguably one of the greatest coaches of alltime in Mike Krzyzewski. Amaker was also an assistant coach on the 1991 and 1992 Duke championship teams. Another coach who was high on the Harvard radar was Mike Jarvis, the St. John’s coach who coincidentally was born in Cambridge. However, after meeting with the
players and the faculty, Tommy Amaker was named the head coach at Harvard Amaker’s first year at Harvard was quite forgettable. The Crimson struggled in almost every game, opening the season with a 55-point loss at Stanford. Harvard would end the season with an 8-22 record, including a 3-11 record in Ivy League play. Despite the bad record Harvard beat Michigan in Amaker’s first year, which had to be the sweetest revenge for Amaker, who was fired by the Wolverines the year before. Eventually Amaker started to slowly right the ship as he was able to recruit players that before would never consider going to Harvard. The only issue for Amaker was that the Ivy League prohibits the granting of athletic scholarships. To combat this, Harvard announced that families with incomes of $60,000 or less would not be expected to pay anything for their education, whereas families earning between $60,000 and $180,000 would be expected to pay only 10% of their income. Amaker was now able to recruit better knowing financial burdens wouldn’t be a problem for potential recruits. The biggest problem the Harvard basketball program faced was getting players to qualify for admission into Harvard. There have been several players whose first choice was to go to Harvard but were not able to get in due to not meeting the requirements. Despite this setback, Amaker has still been able to recruit and in 2012 secured the first top 25 recruiting class in Harvard history. Under Amaker, Harvard began to see success during the 2008-09 season. The team improved dramatically from 2007’s disastrous season, going 14-14 including a 6-8 record in the Ivy League. Harvard was led by some kid from California named Jeremy Lin (Maybe you’ve heard of him) who was recruited by the previous coach, Frank Sullivan. Lin had improved dramatically from his sophomore season and earned a starting spot in his junior season. With Lin at the helm Harvard starting playing a level of basketball never before seen in Cambridge and the local media was starting to take notice. With all the extra attention, Harvard played #17 Boston College and beat them behind Jeremy Lin’s 27 points. What made the game so significant was that the same Boston College team had beaten #1 North
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“Harvard let it be known that it’s time as a pushover was over.”
Previous Photo by Heather Ainsworth
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Carolina 3 days prior. The win marked Harvard’s first-ever victory over a ranked opponent in addition to the Ivy League’s first win over the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in over 6 years. The 2009-10 season marked many firsts for Harvard as they continued the success of the previous season. The Crimson broke many school records including wins (21), nonconference wins (11), home wins (11), and road/neutral wins (10). The team also received votes in the AP Poll four times, also a first. Harvard would eventually finish 21-7 overall with a 10-4 record in the Ivy League. Cornell had the best record in the conference that year, securing the league’s automatic bid into the tournament--but Harvard let it be known that it’s time as a pushover was over. The 2009-10 season also marked the beginning of Harvard (and Jeremy Lin, especially) receiving attention from the national media. Over the course of the season, Jeremy Lin would be featured in national magazines such Sports Illustrated as well as ESPN to name a few. Lin, in addition, would finish the season as one of the 11 finalist for the Bob Cousy award for best point guard in the country and was one of 31 midseason candidates for the Wooden award, which is give to the best player in the country. It now became obviously clear this was not the same Harvard team that Amaker took over just three years prior. With “Mr. Harvard” Jeremy Lin gone, the 2010-11 Harvard season saw them finish with a 25-7 record including a 12-2 record in the Ivy League. Princeton finished with a similar record, forcing a one game playoff to determine which team would get the automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament. Harvard would lose that game 63-62 on a buzzer beater, denting the Crimson’s tournament hopes. With a RPI of 35 however there was still a chance that Harvard would get into the tournament as an
at-large bid, but that hope never came to fruition as Harvard settled for a NIT berth. They would lose to Oklahoma State in the first round. Harvard started the 2011-12 season 8-0, highlighted by winning the Atlantic tournament in the Bahamas over teams like Utah, Central Florida, and #22 ranked Florida State, taking home its first ever tournament title. 2011 would mark another first, as on December 5, Harvard was ranked for the first time, appearing at #24 in the Coaches Poll and #25 in the AP. Harvard has continued it’s success with wins against high major schools like Boston College, UCF, and Saint Joseph’s. The cherry on top for Harvard was winning the Ivy league outright, finishing the regular season with a 26-4 record including a 12-2 Ivy League finish, guaranteeing a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in over 66 years. What Tommy Amaker has done with the program is nothing short of miraculous--with all the restrictions he has to deal with. There are plenty of schools with all of the resources like being able to offer scholarships, easier admission requirements, and huge fan bases that still have trouble putting a decent team together, just ask UCLA. ESPN senior writer Andy Katz had this to say about the Harvard program, “[Harvard basketball] had been completely irrelevant,” “And that’s what’s unbelievable about what Tommy has done.” The Harvard basketball problem has come a long way since it’s last tournament appearance and I am sure it will not be another 66 years before we see them back in the tournament again.
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Austin Rivers The Kid, the Myth, the Legend
Austin Rivers is the Big Man on Campus in Durham
By Eric Lemus
With 7:20 to go in the second half, Duke was looking at a 12-point deficit on the road against their bitter Blue Blood rivals. The student section at Chapel Hill was in a frenzy. Little did they know the amount of shock and awe they would be hit with just minutes later. With 2:35 left, North Carolina led by 10. With 1:09 left the lead was 2. Down by 2 with 12 seconds remaining, Austin Rivers dribbled past half court, used a screen to get a big-to-little switch, pulled up from 3 feet behind the arch, and drained the game winning three as time expired. You could hear a pin drop. That basket capped a 29 point performance, his best of the season, and marked Rivers’ arrival as a Duke Blue Devil legend. But it wasn’t the box score, however outstanding it was, that was so meaningful. It was the fact that for those 12 seconds, Rivers was exceedingly poised, never hesitating for a moment, in sports’ most storied rivalry. It meant that the highly touted #1 high school prospect was everything he was said to be. But the son of the coach was bred for the big time. Austin’s dad, Doc, attended Marquette University and then played 13 season in the NBA for the Hawks, Clippers, Knicks, and Spurs.
Photos by Streeter Lecka
Doc Rivers found his calling in coaching and has been leading the Boston Celtics since 2004, appearing in two Finals and winning one. The former point guard is renown for his leadership skills and team building ability as a head coach, qualities his son would show at Duke. Doc and Austin have a very close relationship. So much so, in fact, that with the NBA lockout, rumors began swirling of Doc Rivers retiring so that he could watch Austin play his freshman (and likely only) year at Duke. As a young boy, Austin could be found in Madison Square Garden taking shots before a game with his old man, indirectly getting prepped for the big time. Out of Winter Park High School in Florida, Austin was a consensus 5star recruit and the unanimous #1 prospect in the nation. In his senior year he led the team to a 28-5 record while averaging 29.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.0 steals per game. Rivers concluded his high school career winning the Naismith, Parade, USA Today, and MaxPreps National Player of the Year award. He was named a McDonald’s All-American and
scored 14 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, and dished 4 assists in the game. Rivals.com and Scout.com raved about his “advanced ball skills” and “array of finishes going to the basket.” He was praised for his high basketball IQ and was called the best scorer in the class of 2011. When Austin arrived in Durham, the Cameron Crazies were excited to cheer him on no matter how long he would end up staying. Last season, Kyrie Irving left for greener pastures in the NBA despite only playing a handful of games for the Blue Devils, so with that fresh in their minds, the fans knew what to expect. Austin has made it easy for the Duke faithful to fall in love. In his freshman year, he has averaged 15.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.1 assists. He has saved some of his best games for top competition, dropping 20 on #15 Michigan and 22 on #2 Ohio State. Although Florida State eliminated the Blue Devils in the ACC tournament, it was by no fault of Rivers’, dropping 17 and 6 on the Seminoles. And of course, his efforts at the Dean Smith Center will go down in Duke lore.
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The Wild Wild West Now it’s the “Other” Conferences Making Noise on the Golden Coast By Daniel Brewster
The Pacific 10 Conference (Now Pac-12) has long been known as the hotbed for West Coast hoops. If you played anywhere near the West Coast and wanted to stay local, going to play in the Pac-12 was a no brainer. Recently however the Pac-12 has been decimated by injuries and as result, other West Coast conferences have taken the mantle. Conferences like the West Coast Conference, Mountain West, and even the Big West Conference have proven that now is their time to shine, while the Pac-12 tries to catch up from behind. One conference in particular that has taken advantage of the Pac-12’s decline is the Mountain West Conference (MWC). Founded in 1999, the MWC has steadily climbed the ranks and paid their dues and is finally starting to get the recognition it deserves. Last year the San Diego State Aztecs finished with a 34-3 record and was a loss from eventual champion UConn away from reaching the Elite 8. Coached by Steve Fisher, (Coach of the Fab 5) San Diego State lost 4 starters from last year’s team, including Kawhi Leonard, to the NBA and still managed to make it to the NCAA tournament for the third straight year. Led by
The WCC, BWC, and MWC have taken center stage when it comes to West Coast hoops.
Photos by Ethan Miller
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Chase Tapley (Sacramento, Ca) and Jamaal Franklin (Los Angeles) the Aztecs are primed for another run in the big dance. The scary part for the rest of the Mountain West Conference is that this year was supposed to be the transition year as Dwayne Polee II (CA), Matt Shrigley (CA) and Skylar, Spencer (CA) will all join the Aztecs next season. The University of Las Vegas at Nevada (UNLV) is another team who has stumbled upon great times. Coached by Dave Rice UNLV is enjoying success that has not been seen on the strip since Jerry Tarkanian was biting towels and contending for National Championships. Most of UNLV’s success can be attributed to the transfers from UCLA, Mike Moser (OR) and Chace Stanback (CA). Both players were heavily recruited out of high school but for some reason didn’t see much action from head coach Ben Howland. Stanback left first, Moser followed a year later and the folks in Vegas couldn’t be happier. This season Moser averaged 14 points and 10 rebounds and led the team in steals, where as Stanback is right behind Moser averaging 13 points a game. Combine that with the steady
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Photo by Andy Lyons
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floor game of Oscar Bellfield (CA) and Anthony Marshall (NV) and you have a very dangerous combo, just ask North Carolina who UNLV beat when they were ranked #1. UNLV finished this season 25-7 including a 9-5 record in MWC play. With recruits like Katin Reinhardt (CA) and Demetris Morant (NV) coming in next, the Runnin’ Rebels are poised to continue their success. Oh and just so you know, the Reb’s are still in the running for the consensus player of the year Shabazz Muhammad (NV). If they land him, watch out! A relatively newcomer to the UNLV/San Deigo St. dominated MWC is New Mexico. Coached by Steve Alford, New Mexico has staked it’s claim as a team to be reckoned with by winning this year’s MWC conference tournament, beating both SDSU and UNLV in the process. The reason behind most of the team’s success is the play of Drew Gordon (CA), Kendall Williams (CA), Tony Snell (CA), and Hugh Greenwood (Australia). Gordon, another UCLA transfer, leads the team in scoring (13.4) and rebounding and is one of the nation’s leading rebounders at 11 per game. Kendall Williams, a former UCLA commit, is the engine that makes this team go and at times looks like an exact replica of his head coach, who was one of the best guards in the country during his day. New Mexico is not one of the biggest teams but they are quick and pass the ball well--evident by them being a top ten team in the country in assists. With no major professional sports in the state of New Mexico, the boys from Albuquerque are the biggest show in town, which has to be a great selling point to future recruits. The West Coast Conference for years has only been known as the home of Gonzaga, who wrote the blueprint on mid major success. The Zags are still one of the best teams in the country, but they now have some
company. Under coach Randy Bennett, St. Mary’s College has become recognized as one of the best mid major programs in the country. Much of the team’s current success can be attributed to the play of Matthew Dellavedova (Austrailia), who is not the quickest or flashiest player but definitely gets the job done. The wild-haired kid from down under plays with an intensity that any coach in the country would love from their point guard. It is that same intensity that led to the Gaels winning the WCC outright as well the WCC Tournament for the first time in program history. Now in the NCAA tournament for the second time in 3 years, St. Mary’s is staking claim that the WCC is more than just Gonzaga’s play place. The other newcomer to the WCC is Brigham Young University (BYU). Last year while in the MWC Jimmer Fredette and BYU took the country by storm, as Jimmer pulled jumpers from as far as inside the half court line to lead the Cougars to the NCAA Tournament, losing to Florida in the Sweet 16. Now in the WCC, BYU has taken on more of a team approach and has even welcomed back Brandon Davies (UT) who BYU suspended for violating the university’s code of ethics. BYU is now more balanced and the team doesn’t live or die on how good of a game Fredette had. The Cougars are now led by a slew of players who include Matt Carlino (UCLA transfer by way of AZ), Davies, Noah Hartsock (OK), and Charles Abouo (Ivory Coast) who all average double figures in scoring. With the Cougars now making it to the NCAA Tournament for the sixth year in a row, it looks like we can get used to seeing more than just Gonzaga and St. Mary’s in the tournament. The biggest surprise of the various hotbeds of West Coast hoops has to be Long Beach State of the Big West Conference. Coached by
Dan Monson (the man who made Gonzaga into what is today) Long Beach State is going to the big dance with a 25-8 record--a huge improvement from the 6 wins in Monson’s first year. The 49ers are led by a quartet of seniors: Casper Ware (CA), Larry Anderson (CA), Eugene Phelps (CA), and TJ Robinson (CN), who Monson all recruited. This year, Long Beach had one of toughest schedules in the country (#3 ranked S.O.S) as they traveled across the country to play the likes of Pittsburgh, Louisville, Kansas, and North Carolina. Even though they only beat Pittsburgh, it is the experience that was gained that will make Long Beach State a tough out in the NCAA Tournament for New Mexico. Even after this season is over and Monson’s quarter of seniors are gone, Long Beach State will be in good hands because junior guard/ forward James Ennis (CA) will be ready to take over the reigns--and that kid can straight up ball. I definitely see him playing basketball in the NBA. Monson should write a book on how to build a competitive mid major because he did it once at Gonzaga and is in the process of doing it again in the city by the sea. As the Pac-12 goes through the motions and teams continue to regress, the MWC, WCC, and Big West will give you guys plenty to look out for. Slowly but surely, kids are really starting to consider going to these mid major schools, while the high major teams continue to wonder why they are missing out on recruits or why they are transferring. Before, just the name on the team’s jersey was enough to lure a kid to UCLA, USC, Washington or Oregon. Nowadays, most kids want to go to a place that’s winning games and unfortunately for the Pac-12 conference, they are not.
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Photo by Joe Robbins
Anthony Davis The Uni-blocker By Daniel Brewster
University of Kentucky coach John Calipari has always been known as one of the best coaches in college basketball. His teams have always been nationally ranked and contenders for national championships. What makes Calipari so special is that no matter where he has coached (U-Mass, Memphis, and Kentucky), he is a relentless recruiter and has the ability to attract some of the best high school players in the world. Some of those players include Marcus Camby, Amare Stoudemire, DaJuan Wagner, Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans, DaMarcus Cousins, John Wall, and Chris Douglas-Roberts--who were all considered blue chip AllAmerican recruits.
This season has been no different as Calipari recruited yet another top class that landed him Marquis Teague, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, and Kyle Wiltjer. Those three players alone would be considered a great recruiting class by anybody’s standards, but what made this class special was the commitment of 6’10 blocking machine Anthony Davis, or as he is better known, the “Uniblocker.” Davis, originally from the South side of Chicago, was a little known name during his first three years of high school. Matter of fact, when Davis entered Perspective Charter School he was only 6 feet tall and played guard. Davis entered his sophomore year standing 6’1 and was relatively known as a shooter. Over that summer Davis
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started to sprout and started his junior year standing at 6’7 and began playing in the post. Unlike many kids with collegiate basketball aspirations, Davis initially did not play any AAU basketball and considered leaving his school and transferring to a school where he could get some exposure. Davis would eventually decide against leaving Perspectives and continued to work on his game. It wasn’t until Davis began to play for former football player Tai Streets’ “Meanstreets” AAU team that teams started to take notice. After playing AAU basketball during the summer, Calipari saw the potential in Davis and offered him a scholarship, which Davis accepted over the likes of Syracuse, Ohio State, and local favorite Depaul. Davis began his senior season ranked in the top-50 in various recruiting agencies like Scout, Rivals, and ESPN. Standing at 6’10 Davis was able to maintain a lot of his guard skills--that enabled him to handle the ball while still being able to be an efficient post player. Despite all of Davis’ individual success (32ppg, 22rpg, 7bpg) his team still wasn’t that good and finished their season with a 6-19 record. Most kids like Davis would have left their struggling high school at the first opportunity and transferred to schools like Oak Hill, Findlay Prep, or Monteverde Academy, who look for kids in situations just like Davis. Davis stayed at the school in which he started and played well enough to be named to the McDonald’s All-American game and the Jordan Brand Classic where he was named MVP. Davis was also named to numerous All-American teams such as USA Today, Parade, Slam and Dime Magazine. Usually it takes freshman a little while to get used to the rigors of playing college basketball at the highest level. Most kids have trouble getting used to the rigors of living on their own, school, travel, and playing basketball against the best competition in the country. Davis on the other hand, had no trouble adjusting to playing for one of the most storied programs in the country. Kentucky, like Kansas, Duke, and North Carolina are known to have the biggest fan bases in the country and will let you know quick if you are not playing up to par with their expectations. Big Blue, as they are referred to, quickly took a liking to Davis’ style of play. Davis is versatile in a way that has never been seen before; he can block shots, run the floor, score in the post, and face the basket. Most traditional “bigs” are only expected to play defense, rebound, and play in the post. Davis exceeds that beyond measure. For example, in Davis’s first game at Kentucky, he registered 23 points, 10 rebounds, 5 blocks, and 3 assists. Blocks were something that Big Blue got to see a lot of as on February 4, 2012, Davis broke Shaquille O’Neal’s record for blocks with 116. Talk about having a hard time adjusting.
Alongside his partner in crime Michael KiddGilchrist, the two freshmen have led Kentucky to a 32-2 record with hiccups to only Indiana (on a buzzer beater) and Vanderbilt (semis of SEC Tournament). On the road to near perfection, Kentucky has beat a host of nationally ranked and high seeded tournament teams including Kansas (#2 seed NCAA Tournament), Ohio State (#2 seed NCAA Tournament), Louisville (#4 seed NCAA Tournament), and Florida (# 7 seed NCAA Tournament) to name a few. The biggest win of the season for Kentucky had to be against #5 ranked North Carolina who, unlike pretty much every team in country, had enough talent to compete with Kentucky. The game came down to the last possession and Anthony Davis made the game-winning block on UNC’s John Henson to win the game. After going undefeated in SEC play, Kentucky was rewarded as the number one overall seed and are poised to make another run to the Final Four in New Orleans with Davis as their anchor. Players like Davis come once in a lifetime. Tell me who else has won SEC Player of the year, SEC Freshman of the year, SEC Defensive Player of the year, All SEC First Team, All SEC Freshman Team, and SEC All Defensive Team. In addition, Davis has also been named to the 2012 Sporting News All-American team and has been named the Sporting News Men’s College Basketball Player of the Year. He has also been named first team All-American and Player of the Year by the United States Basketball Writers Association. The Associated Press selected Davis as Player and Newcomer of the Year as well. Finally, at the conclusion of the SEC Tournament, Davis was named to the SEC All Tournament team. In just 4 years, Davis has gone from an unknown 6’0 guard to a 6’10 All-American. What it takes most players to do in 4 years or more in college, Davis has done in one. If he decides to leave for the NBA there is no doubt that that he will be shaking David Stern’s hand first. As for now, I am sure that’s the last thing on Davis’ mind because Kentucky’s second round opponent, Western Kentucky, is all that matters.
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InTransition By Eric Lemus
As we conclude our issue, we would like to thank you for your continued support on all fronts. As always, we ask that if you have any concerns or comments please do not hesitate to contact us. We are always looking for ways to make Addicted2TheGame one of the best basketball sources around. In this particular issue, we decided to go a different route and make the magazine a special March Madness edition--with the magazine being released on the real opening day of the tournament. For our diehard NBA fans we will make sure to bring you enough NBA content to keep you satisfied for the month via our website. As we continue to progress we also ask that you progress with us. As you know, we are an up and coming blog/magazine so we ask you guys to tell your friends about us in whatever way possible. We embrace every new follower as much as we embrace our perennial followers. Every email, tweet, text, Facebook like, and Tumblr like will go a long way in keeping Addicted2TheGame going. On the following page we have included our personal twitter accounts, various social media websites, and specific A2TG Magazine email address. We urge you to give us feedback on anything we put out there for you, including our writing, our design, and to a certain point, our opinions. Once again, we thank you for spending some time with us and look forward to hearing from you. -Stay Addicted2TheGame Daniel Brewster - Founder, Co-Editor Preston Newsom - Contributor Kryston Tillett - Contributor Eric Lemus - Co-Editor
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Addicted2TheGame Staff Daniel Brewster (@Addicted2ThGme): Founder/Co-‐Editor Eric Lemus (@Eric_Lemus): Co-‐Editor/Contributor Kryston Tillett (@Tillgetsbucketz): Contributor Preston Newsom: Contributor Webpage: http://www.Addicted2TheGame.com Tumblr: http://www.Addicted2TheGame.tumblr.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Addicted2TheGame Email: A2TGMagazine@gmail.com