Walker drives by past Josh Harrellson. (AP Photo/Eugene Tanner)

By Paul Casey Gotham

It is that time again. Let’s hear from you readers. We had another week of stellar performances. Pick the ONE (1), UNE, UNO that stands out to you, and tell us a story.

UConn’s Kemba Walker grabs my POTW.

Walker led the Huskies to the Maui Invitational title with a trio of other-worldly performances. He hit 8-16 from the field and 14-15 from the free throw line for 31 points as UConn opened the tourney with a 83-79 triumph over Wichita State. One night later, Walker dropped 30 on the Michigan State Spartans.  The junior went 10-19 from the field and 6-7 at the charity stripe. For good measure, Walker lit up Kentucky with 29 in an 84-67 win in the championship round. Walker connected on 10-17 field goals including 3-4 from behind the arc and a perfect 6-6 from the line.

Who gets your POTW?

AP Photo/Nick Wass

By Paul Gotham

Setting: Hot times tonight in the Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center when Jim Calhoun and his Connecticut Huskies (17-12/ 7-9) come a calling for a Big East battle with Mike Brey’s Notre Dame Fighting Irish (19-10/ 8-8).

Plot: A first round bye is at stake. The Irish possess eighth place and the final bye for the upcoming conference tournament. UConn is lurking in tenth.

Sub-plot: Notre Dame continues to play and win without former Big East player-of-the year, Luke Harangody. UConn recently experienced a resurgence when their long-time coach returned from a medical leave of absence.

Flashback: UConn downed Notre Dame, 82-70 earlier this season. Jerome Dyson and Kemba Walker both had double-doubles in the victory. Dyson scored 20 to go with 10 assists. Walker also dished out 10 assists and scored 11. Stanley Robinson led the way with 22. After taking the last four head-to-head match-ups,  UConn leads the series 16-6. Notre Dame has won five of nine at South Bend.

Notre Dame has made 29 appearances in the NCAA Tournament – five under Mike Brey. Likewise, UConn has danced 29 times, including a pair of national titles in 1999 and 2004.

Foreshadowing: Forty-nine Fightin’ Irish have graduated to the N.B.A., including current players Matt Carroll, Troy Murphy and  Chris Quinn. Twenty-nine Huskies have laced them up in the Association with the current list including: Ray Allen, Hilton Armstrong, Josh Boone, Caron Butler, Rudy Gay, Ben Gordon, Richard Hamilton, Emeka Okafor, Kevin Ollie, A.J. Price, Hasheem Thabeet, Charlie Villanueva, and Marcus Williams.

Conflict: Notre Dame is coming off a week where they won two games over ranked opponents shooting just under 50 percent (51-104) from the field. UConn limits opponents to 38.7 percent. UConn’s recipe is not a new one. The Huskies have held opponents under 40 percent since the 1995-96 campaign. Once again, UConn is near the top of blocked shots in the nation at 7.9. UConn’s bigs have led the nation eight years running.

The Irish will need to pick their spots carefully. Notre Dame has decreased their number of shots the last two games. This indicates plenty of ball movement and switching sides of the floor. The Irish will need to continue this pattern. Trying to penetrate into the teeth of UConn’s defense without any ball reversal will serve as an exercise of frustration.

Ben Hansbrough and Tory Jackson combine for an assist to turnover ratio of 2.7:1. Jackson gets into the paint from the top of the key. Hansbrough drives the baseline well and sees the floor for kick outs. The two average over 20 points together. Hansbrough hit three threes in ND’s recent win over Georgetown. A similar result tonight would open up the Husky defense and create lanes.

Tim Abromaitis is third in the nation from long range hitting over 47 percent from behind the arc. The junior struggled against Georgetown (1-9). Returning to familiar confines should help his cause.

Tyrone Nash and Carleton Scott grab just under 10 rebounds a game. They will be called on to do that and then some. The Irish front court will need to stay active on the glass. With the Huskies swatting everything that flies in the paint, Nash and Scott will need to gather what opportunities they can to put points on the board.

Jonathan Peoples and Jack Cooley give the Irish valuable minutes off the bench.

Jerome Dyson leads four Huskies in double figures with 18 and a half. Dyson can hurt an opponent in a variety of ways. He is not afraid to shoot from long range hitting 30 percent (37-122). He does the bulk of his damage inside the arc driving to the basket and getting contact and finishing.

Stanley Robinson averages over 15 points and slightly less than eight rebounds. Robinson is the heart and soul of the Husky lineup.

As a team, the Huskies have made 754 trips to the free throw line. In comparison, the Irish have only taken 642 from the charity stripe. The Huskies thrive on contact and Kemba Walker leads the way making 141 free throws. Walker averages over five assists and almost 15 points.

Gavin Edwards and Alex Oriakhi add 16 points and almost 14 boards. The two combine for four blocks a contest.

Resolution: After getting a boost from Calhoun’s return, UConn came back to reality losing at home against Louisville. Notre Dame shot well in their last two games, but the Irish also out-rebounded  Pitt (31-21) and Georgetown (26-15). This trend will need to continue if ND wants to be successful. UConn will not make it easy though. The Huskies have a rebound margin of +3.4.

Notre Dame is at home which bodes well for their outside shooting. Their best defense will be their offense tonight as the Irish play ball control and minimize UConn’s chances. Notre Dame makes it three in a row over Big East rivals.

Got any comments on the game? Post them here.

By Paul Gotham

Setting: The corner of 7th Avenue and 32nd Street will be hopping this evening when the Duke Blue Devils (5-0) take on the University of Connecticut Huskies (4-0) in the finals of the NIT Season Tip-Off.

Plot: For the first time in NCAA history coaches with 800 or more victories do battle when Mike Krzyzewski (838) and Jim Calhoun (809) square off.

Flashback: The teams have split 4-4 all time with UConn taking the last four. When these two teams get together, there is usually quite a bit at stake. Christian Laettner’s buzzer-beater was the difference when Duke advanced in the 1990 East Regional. Khalid El-Amin and the Huskies “shocked the world” when they downed the Blue Devils in 1999 NCAA Finals. Last meeting, UConn beat Duke, 79-78 in the 2004 National Semi-Finals. Duke has won the NIT Tip Off in 1985, 2000, and 2005.

Sub-plots: UConn has led the nation in blocked shots for the last eight years. This year is no different. The Huskies have blocked 10.3 shots per game. On the other hand, Duke has made the transition on offense from a dribble penetration team to perimeter motion. Duke will need to convert outside the paint to neutralize UConn’s inside talents.

Conflict: Kyle Singler vs. Stanley Robinson.   or Finesse vs. Brawn.  Singler is a versatile offensive player. He can score inside and outside. Singler can knock down a three pointer one possession and on the next trip take his man in the post and play with his back to the basket.  Singler has done all that and more but not against a player like Robinson. The Husky forward knows no fear and does not seek style points. At 6’9″, Robinson has defended bigger forwards and smaller guards.

Characters: Jon Scheyer has committed just two turnovers while dishing out 27 assists in 171 minutes played this year. 18-year-old Andre Dawkins leads the Devils in 3pt. efficiency – 48.3% (14 of 29). Can these guys continue this success against UConn’s pressure. Nolan Smith moved from point guard to shooting guard and has averaged 19.3 over his last three games.

Jerome Dyson and Kemba Walker provide UConn’s offensive punch from the outside. Dyson averages 20 ppg thus far including 6 of 20 from long range. Walker is scoring 16 ppg adding 6 of 11 from the three-point arc. Alex Oriakhi pulls down over 10 rebounds per game.

Resolution: If Duke is to win, the Blue Devils will need to hit over 50% from the field. The Huskies will give the Devils few, if any, second-chance opportunities. Many of Duke’s offensive rebounds will contribute to UConn’s staggering amount of blocked shots. UConn will need to take care of the ball and not give Duke easy buckets off steals.

1st Team All-Casey

PG – Sherron Collins/Kansas

SG – Elliot Williams / Memphis

SF – Wesley Johnson/Syracuse

PF – Jason Love / Xavier

C – Larry Sanders / VCU

‘08 – ’09 Results: 31 – 5 (15 -3 Big East) Lost in the Final Four to Michigan State, 82 – 73.

Coach: Jim Calhoun  557 – 205 (23 years at UConn) 805 – 342 overall (37 seasons)

Key Returners:

Gavin Edwards – 3.8ppg, 3.0rpg

Stanley Robinson – 8.5ppg, 5.9rpg

Jerome Dyson – 13.2ppg, 4.1rpg

Kemba Walker – 8.9ppg, 3.5rpg

Notable Non-Conference Tilts: 12/9 vs. Kentucky, 12/30 at Cincinnati, 1/17 at Michigan, 1/23 vs. Texas

Stat of Identity: 37.7% field goal percentage – third in the nation.

By Paul Gotham

The more things change; the more things stay the same. Sounds complicated, but in Storrs, Connecticut, it’s a way of life. The names on the backs of the jerseys may change every so often, but the way the Huskies play basketball remains the same – rebounding, playing defense, and making the opponent work for everything they get. That is how Jim Calhoun-coached teams play.

Only the Huskies could overcome the loss of Jerome Dyson for the last twelve games of the 2008-09 season. Many programs would have faltered when losing a player of Dyson’s ability. Instead, the Huskies regrouped and made a run to the Final Four.

Last year’s recipe was a familiar one: making it hard for teams to score – 37.7% from the field. UConn accomplished this playing in the deepest conference in the land. UConn also ranked third in rebound margin (8.9) and number one in blocked shots (7.8).

Gone are Hasheem Thabeet, Jeff Adrien, and A.J. Price, but don’t count out the Huskies. If you go back through the years, the Huskies always get it done the same way.

When Dyson went down, Kemba Walker took his spot. Walker responded with a 23-point performance against Missouri in the Elite Eight. Walker and Dyson will have to make up for the loss of Price’s three-point shooting.

Alex Oriakhi and Gavin Edwards may not block as many shots as Thabeet, but combined the two will swat more than their fair share. Stanley Robinson made a name for himself in last year’s tournament averaging 17ppg and 9rpg over the Huskies final six contests. With a full season, Robinson could establish himself as one of the top ten players in the country.

Seven footer, Charles Okwandu will come off the bench along with four freshmen: Jamal Coombs-McDaniel, Ater Majok, Darius Smith, and Jamal Trice.

Twelve former Huskies earn paychecks in the NBA. UConn ranks third with North Carolina in this category.

(AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

by Paul Casey Gotham

Jim Calhoun must be wondering if he is the victim of mistaken identity.

After a recent diatribe in response to an activist’s assertion that his salary lacked  fiscal responsibility, Calhoun has shouldered a bevy of harsh criticism.  Some Connecticut officials have even called for a reprimand of the Husky coach.

A quick look at the path set out for UConn and one would have to wonder if Calhoun is being punished for a Ponzi scheme and not a simple over-the-top tongue lashing. 

Oh sure, UConn earned a number one seed.  Which means they will open against 16 seed Chattanooga.  Everything should be all right for the denizens of Storrs.

But recent history shows the Huskies can take nothing for granted.

Remember 2006?

The Huskies trailed #16 Albany by double digits late in the second half.

Calhoun’s crew recovered just in time to anoint George Mason the official bearer of the ’06 glass slipper.

One year later the Huskies found themselves NIT bound after a first-round loss in the Big East soiree.

And last year Calhoun had a front row seat for the San Diego Toreros and their first -round upset.

This year Calhoun will need more focus from his group starting tomorrow with Chattanooga.

Don’t expect John Shulman and his Mocs to roll over and play dead for the Huskies.  Stephen McDowell – Chattanooga’s career 3pt pace setter with 243 – leads the Mocs with 18 ppg.

Huskies beware!

As a reward for their possible first round triumph the Huskies get a potential matchup with BYU.

One month ago UConn would have been fine with this.  Jerome Dyson was dropping 13 a game and Hasheem Thabeet was swatting put backs like they were shad flies on a hot summer night.

Since then Dyson has had season-ending knee surgery, and Pittsburgh’s DeJuan Blair used Thabeet for a rag doll to clean up the floor.

Now the 7’3″ 266lb. center looks too tall and not wide enough.

That could be an issue if UConn were to face BYU in the second round.  

Oh sure Jeff Adrien and A.J. Price should be able to protect Thabeet.  But the Cougars will load it up inside with 6’11 Chris Miles and 6’10″ James Anderson.  Heck 6’10″ senior, Gavin MacGregor, should see some time.  Give it to him inside.  Thabeet will go for the block, and there is the possibility of a foul call.

Doesn’t matter though.  UConn should advance and by all estimates they will run into Washington.

The West Coast Huskies travel 175 miles down Route 5 to Portland for their first weekend of action. Lorenzo Romar ‘s gang drew a Mississippi State team that is as undeserving of a tournament spot as any.  

The anemic Purdue Boilermakers and Northern Iowa Panthers will do battle opposite the Huskies and the Bulldogs.

And when they are all done Hasheem Thabeet will be staring at Jon Brockman – the nation’s active leader in career double-doubles.  Oh yeah Thabeet has plenty of experience in the Big East.  But Brockman is cagey character who can play a patient game.  

Don’t confuse the Huskies for a one-man team.  Isaiah Thomas, Justin Dentmon, and Quincy Pondexter all score double figures per contest.

Calhoun will have his hands full. That’s all right the native of New England has been through plenty of battles.  He’ll persevere…maybe.

While all this is going on, the opposite side of the bracket could be best described as a Tiger den.

Oh sure there’s Mike Montgomery and Gary Williams squaring off in the first round.  That should be an interesting contest between Cal and Maryland.  Both of those coaches have experienced the Final Four. 

And yeah there’s Marquette and Utah State in the first round.  Buzz Williams and his Golden Eagles looked better when Dominic James ran the point.  The Aggies rattled off thirty wins this year.  They are capable of a couple more. 

Missouri takes pride in their defense.

All of those teams would be worthy of meeting UConn in the Elite Eight…except they have to go through Memphis.

No doubt when Calhoun took a look at the West bracket, he cringed.  Of all the teams to give him as the number two, why Memphis?  It might have been better to give the Tigers number one and take the two seed.  At least Calipari would not have that piece to work with for motivation.

Yes.  Calhoun is guilty of a tactless tirade.  It only seems like he is guilty of a Ponzi scheme.

This year in College Basketball is shaping up to be a special year due to the fact that we could witness one of the most dominating college basketball teams in North Carolina that we’ve ever seen. With a highly qualified coach in Roy Williams and arguably the best player in college basketball, Tyler Hansbrough, the Tar Heels are poised to breeze through this season without a blemish since the 1975-1976 Indiana Hoosiers.

Now moving from the best team in college basketball to the best conference. The Big East began conference play earlier this week with a bang as a young but talented Georgetown team went on the road and thoroughly handled the pre-season Big East Champions UConn Huskies 74-63. Georgetown pretty much dominated in every aspect of the game according to UConn head coach Jim Calhoun. “I want to congratulate Coach Thompson for coming in here and giving us a lesson on how to play basketball with enthusiasm, execution and energy,” said Calhoun. “We got beat by a solid 20 points. I really want to thank our fans for trying to help bring it back into a game – they seemed to want it more than we did.”

The only other conference game saw the Syracuse Orange defeat Seton Hall at home 100-76. Syracuse was led by Andy Rautins, who has been shooting the ball very well as of late. Rautins was 7-for-10 from three-point range and had 26 points. This performance gives him 16 three’s in his last two games after he tied a school record with nine their last game. If he continues to shoot this way, the Orange could make a serious run at the Big East title. The recently reinstated Eric Devendorf also chipped in 20 points, as Syracuse is now 13-1 with their only loss coming at the hands of the Cleveland State ¾ court buzzer beater.

Come March, prior to the March Madness men’s college basketball tournament, we all spend hours on end researching teams and resumes on the field of 65 in order to fill out to perfection the one thing that we are most proud of: Our Bracket. Here are the current resumes for the Top 10 teams in the Big East conference in order of how I believe the conference will end up.

1) Pittsburgh Panthers (12-0)
Next Game: Today @ Rutgers (2 pm)
Key wins: @ Florida State (56-48)
Key Losses: None
Notes: This Pitt team is clearly the most experienced and most of their lineup seems like they’ve been on the team for 5 years. Sam Young had a very productive off-season and is averaging better than 20 PPG while they have the inside presence in sophomore DeJuan Blaire (14.7 PPG, 13 RPG) to get teams in foul trouble. They can beat you in too many ways and are the most versatile team in the Big East as they can beat you in an offensive shootout or a defensive grind. This team will win the Big East regular season title and it’s scary to think what they are capable of in the post-season tournaments because you know Jamie Dixon will have his bunch ready to go.

2) UConn Huskies (11-1)
Next Game: Jan. 3rd (vs. Rutgers)
Key Wins: vs. Gonzaga (88-83 OT), vs. Wisconsin (76-57)
Key Losses: vs. Georgetown (74-63)
Notes: This team is the most talented and most athletic team in the conference, but is still relatively young. They got hot last season at the right time when they ripped off 10 straight victories late in the year and there’s no reason why they can’t do it again this year, but with youth comes inconsistency and they proved that this year already in a nail-biter 68-64 win at Buffalo this year along with their poor effort on Monday night. They do have balance on the offensive end (five players averaging 10+ PPG) to go along with one of the most intimidating defensive shot-blockers in 7’2” Hasheem Thabeet.

3) Notre Dame Fighting Irish (9-2)
Next Game: Today @ DePaul (8 pm)
Key Wins: Texas (81-80)
Key Losses: Ohio State (67-62)
Notes: This Notre Dame team has the defending Big East Player of the Year in Luke Harangody along with one of the nation’s best sharp-shooters, Kyle McAlarney. Tory Jackson is one of the quickest point guards in the nation and the junior is getting better at taking care of the ball as his Assist to Turnover ratio has gotten better each year (this year: 2:1). The Irish have a chance to win the conference but they lack the consistency to be a national title contender.

4) Georgetown Hoyas (10-1)
Next Game: Jan. 3rd vs. PITT
Key Wins: vs. Memphis (88-80 OT) vs. UConn (74-63)
Key Losses: vs. Tennessee (90-78)
Notes: This young Hoya team has only one senior on the roster who plays a significant amount of time (Jessie Sapp). This time next year could see Georgetown a legitimate contender for a top seed in the Tournament, but for now what are they? A young team who’s hot and clicking on all cylinders. It should come to an end soon, right? We shall see, they play Pitt, Notre Dame, Syracuse, and Duke all within the next two and a half weeks.

5) Syracuse Orange (13-1)
Next Game: Jan. 2nd @ South Florida
Key Wins: vs. Florida (89-83), vs. Kansas (89-81 OT), @ Memphis (72-65)
Key Losses: vs. Cleveland State (72-69)
Notes: If it wasn’t for Cedric Jackson’s miracle shot which gave Cleveland State a three point win at the Carrier Dome a couple weeks ago, the Orange would be sitting at 14-0 and in the top 10. That’s not the case. They are a very talented team with a lot of questions to be answered. One of those was answered this past weekend as Eric Devendorf was reinstated by the NCAA committee for the rest of the season. This gives the Orange much needed guard depth which could be a big role in their success. Another big part of their success will come from the shooting abilities of Andy Rautins. He’s starting to get hot and if he can continue to stretch opposing defenses, look for Syracuse to continue to rack up big wins.

6) Villanova Wildcats (12-1)
Next Game: Jan. 1st @ Marquette (2:30 pm)
Key Wins: vs. Temple (62-45)
Key Losses: vs. Texas (67-58)
Notes: This team has been untested with the exception of the Texas game, a game in which they failed to meet the challenge. They have tremendous guards in Corey Stokes, Corey Fisher, and Scottie Reynolds, but I believe this year is the year that their guard-oriented lineup will catch up to them in the Big East. Their lack of size will hurt them down the stretch.

7) Louisville Cardinals (8-2)
Next Game: Today vs. UNLV (6 pm)
Key Wins: UAB (82-62)
Key Losses: Western Kentucky (68-54), Minnesota (70-64)
Notes: A combination of one of the most talented freshmen in the nation along with two of the better players in the Big East of a year ago in Terrence Williams and Earl Clark should result in a successful season for the Cardinals, but it hasn’t started out that way. This season will be very average for Louisville as this year we will find out just how valuable David Padgett was to this team.

Marquette Golden Eagles (11-2)
Next Game: Jan. 1st vs. Villanova (2:30 pm)
Key Wins: Wisconsin (61-58)
Key Losses: vs. Dayton (89-75)
Notes: This team is a lot like Louisville in the sense that the talent and experience is there but some of the performances scare you. A 14 point loss against Dayton? That’s not very impressive. At the same time, I feel confident in saying that they can beat anyone in the conference. This will be a head-scratching season for Buzz Williams to say the least.

9) West Virginia Mountaineers (10-2)
Next Game: Jan. 3rd @ Seton Hall
Key Wins: @ Ohio State (76-48)
Key Losses: @ Kentucky (54-43), vs. Davidson (68-65)
Notes: This Bib Huggins team has a great mixture of talented freshmen (Darryl “Truck” Bryant, Devin Ebanks, and Kevin Jones) and experienced veterans (Alex Ruoff and Wellington Smith), but there’s just one glaring problem, the Mountaineers have no height. Get this: West Virginia has three guys over 6’7” and nobody over 6’10”. The Mountaineers have evolved from a three-point shooting frenzy of an offense over passed years into a defensive, gritty team who crashes the offensive boards as well as anybody in the country (17.2 Off. RPG). Alex Ruoff is their best player and shooter, and a lot of their success this year will fall squarely on his shoulders.

10) Seton Hall Pirates (9-4)
Next Game: Jan. 3rd vs. West Virginia
Key Wins: vs. USC (63-61), vs. Virginia Tech (77-73)
Key Losses: vs. IUPUI (67-65), vs. James Madison (70-64)
Notes: This Pirates team started off the season very well but has been disappointing as of late. They have one of the best offensive players in Jeremy Hazell, but will need to win the games they are supposed to win against the lower half of their Big East Schedule. In my eyes, they are the best of the “Second-tier” teams in the Big East conference, but could rack up a couple impressive wins to possibly elevate themselves in NCAA Tournament talk come March. An upcoming schedule of West Virginia, Villanova, Notre Dame, and UConn will certainly give them that opportunity.

Quick – what do Oscar Robertson, Bill Russell, and Wilt Chamberlain have in common? Yeah, yeah, yeah basketball, I know. Guess I had that one coming. If you also said those three all played on teams that won an NBA championship, you would again be right. They are also all enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Beyond that none of them played basketball their freshmen year of college – that is they didn’t play on their individual school’s ‘varsity’ team.

Up until 1972 freshmen were not eligible to play varsity basketball. It was deemed that youngsters needed a year to acclimate to college life, and they played competitive basketball on a freshman team with a much less demanding schedule. Some of us might not want to admit to readily knowing this fact as it may give a clue to our advancing years.

Okay – what do Darryl Dawkins, Moses Malone, and Bill Willoughby have in common? Yeah – basketball again. You’re really funny. Actually these guys were the first group to skip college and declare eligibility for the NBA draft. Malone led a successful career; he too has a place in Springfield. Dawkins – or ‘Chocolate Thunder’ played parts of 14 seasons – including two years as a starter. Willoughby, on the other hand, became the example used to warn youngsters against such a rash decision.

After a five year career a broken Willoughby ended up living back at home with his parents.

How about Isaiah Thomas, Magic Johnson, and Michael Jordan? I know, I know – basketball (Is there a statute of limitations on this joke?). These hall-of–famers left school early to enter the NBA – Thomas and Johnson as sophomores and Jordan after his junior year.

And Tracy McGrady, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant? These guys were the second generation who made the jump from high school to the NBA? Obviously they have all fared better than Willoughby.

I’m not done yet – DaJuan Wagner, William Avery, and Khalid El-Amin? These guys left school early, but have fallen into the basketball abyss. All three now earn pay checks from teams overseas.

Anyone heard of Korleone Young, Ellis Richardson, and Leon Smith? They tried to make the jump from high school to the NBA. Judging by your lack of response – without much success.

Of course there’s Greg Oden, Kevin Durant, and Michael Conley – the first class to sojourn on a college campus one year before becoming eligible for the NBA draft.

In just a few short decades we have gone from youngsters benefitting from the wisdom and counsel of college coaches, to an era where college coaches must market themselves and their institutions to attract prized recruits. Part of this marketing includes letting the individual display his talents whether it is for the common good or not. For some the game has become less about post entry passes and more about alley oops.

Many young athletes have abandoned the lessons to be learned from the structure provided by a college coach.

Amid this back drop of 21st century American hoops are hall-of-fame coaches, Jim Calhoun and Mike Krzyzewski.

While coaches from all sports look for greener grass, Calhoun and Coach K have thrown down some roots.

Armed with a combined five national titles and twelve final four appearances Calhoun and Coach K forge ahead into this new frontier of American basketball.

Calhoun’s Huskies most recently climbed the NCAA summit in 2004, Kryzyzewski’s Blue Devils in 2001. Recently the two have found it difficult to survive the first weekend of tournament play.

From 1986 to 1994 seven of Krzyzewski’s Blue Devil squads made it to the final four – winning the title in ’91 and ’92. Many likened this run to John Wooden’s teams at UCLA that won ten titles in twelve years during the 60’s and 70’s. Analysts pointed to a larger tournament field and an increased level of competition for recruits as reason why no school could duplicate that of the Wooden’s Bruins.

Now Calhoun and Krzyzewski’s squads seem like nothing more than mid-major bulls eye fodder.

Earlier this season Calhoun suspended Jerome Dyson for nine games and Doug Wiggins two games for violating team rules. While other schools might penalize players by taking away starting privileges and sitting an athlete for a half, Calhoun sent home a message to his players: If you plan on playing at UConn you will appropriately represent this school.

Calhoun was quoted: ‘We feel that life doesn’t begin and end on the court. It’s how we show ourselves as a basketball program. Academics are very important here, and we’ve had some disappointments. Social behavior is very important here.”

The Husky coach might as well have sent himself into recruiting exile. All those recruits looking for a stepping stone into the NBA – they just crossed UConn from their list.

Maybe that’s how Calhoun wants it.

Same for Krzyzewski. Prior to 1999 early exits were something that happened at other schools – not at Duke. Then Elton Brand left – rightly so. The previously mentioned Avery hastily bolted. Corey Maggette left under a cloud of suspicion.
For the denizens of Cameron the exodus signaled the end of an era.

Since then others have left Duke early, and it appears that Coach K has tempered his recruiting efforts.

It looks like the Duke staff is willing to overlook recruits with supreme athletic gifts and hone in on kids looking to learn the game of basketball.

Is it possible that the Duke coach has decided to focus on kids more inclined to staying four years and becoming members of the Duke program than kids auditioning for the NBA?

The irony of this situation is that Calhoun has more players in the NBA than any other university. Duke is tied with UNC for second.

Let the other coaches run the rat-race of signing blue chip recruits who only need a stage for one year. Calhoun and Krzyzewski have more important things to worry about in this brave new world – like monitoring study hall, teaching the screen and roll, demonstrating a post entry pass, and showing kids the possibilities created by a college degree.

Before you go – what do Michael Beasley, OJ Mayo, and Kevin Love have in common? Yeah you guessed it – the next class to spend less than a year on campus before moving on into the brave new world.