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Jon Gold on the NCAA Tournament: The creation of one giant middle class



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Posted:   03/15/2012 10:22:56 AM PDT
Updated:   03/15/2012 04:25:41 PM PDT

Those enlightened few sitting crosslegged, lighting Nag Champa andeating falafel in any major city near you need only look toward college basketball in the west for satisfaction. Call it Occupy: John Wall Street.

There simply is no upper class in college basketball west of the Big 12 anymore. The highest NCAA Tournament seed out west are a five, New Mexico, and two six seeds -- UNLV and San Diego State, the latter of which was a college basketball laughingstock until Steve Fisher turned things around in the early 2000s. Only 12 of the 68 NCAA Tournament teams hail from the Western states, and that's stretching all the way to New Mexico.

And the Land of Enchantment has two of the 12 teams itself, the Lobos and New Mexico State. When did Albuquerque become the hub of basketball out west?

UCLA is nowhere to be found, nor USC. No Arizona, no Arizona State. California is represented by the Aztecs, Long Beach State, Cal and Saint Mary's. There's UNLV and BYU, Gonzaga and Montana. Somehow Colorado got two - the Buffaloes and Colorado State - while Los Angeles got zero.

This is the rich getting poorer, the poor getting richer and one massive middle class. This is kumbaya, friends. This is harmony, tranquility, equality. Peter, Paul and Mary should sing the national anthem. Joan Baez should toss the opening tip.

Come on, hoopheads, give peace a chance.

This is spreading wealth among the people, people.

Ayn Rand would

absolutely hate Pac-12 basketball.

But why? What has changed? How were decades of domination, the giants of the basketball world stepping all over their tiny mid-major brethren, erased so quickly? How did things get so inexplicably, so inexorably, so somebody-please-turn-this-game-off-before-I-toss-the-remote-directly-through-my-plasma-ly bad?

It starts - and ends - with the redistribution of the wealth. The stigma about playing for a team that isn't among the nation's established elite is officially done. When UCLA sophomore guard Norman Powell trimmed his final list to three during his recruitment, there was UCLA, Arizona and ... San Diego State. Not Cal, not Washington, not Arizona State. But the good ol' lowly Aztecs.

"I wasn't caught up on the names," Powell said. "Schools have their tradition, but it's where your fit is. Mid-majors are good now. I've played with a lot of that talent. There's no real difference between mid-majors for most players anymore. It's D-I. It's college ball. They'll have the same opportunities to get to the NCAAs."

It's not just that the wealth is more dispersed than ever before, it's that there is more of it.

With AAU basketball into full-fledged hoops hegemony, there are simply better players across the board. If five three-star recruits decide to play until maturity at a mid-major, isn't that team just as good as a team in a constant state of flux, new players introduced into the rotation on what feels like a weekly basis?

The players themselves say there doesn't seem to be any difference among the teams. UCLA played Kansas and Michigan and Cal and Oregon State and 25 other teams and the Bruins say they could barely discern the level of talent between all of their opponents.

When UCLA was in the middle of its Final Four run just a half-decade ago, the Bruins had some buddies up at the top. Washington, USC, Oregon, Stanford all earned top-four seeds during UCLA's stretch. It wasn't just a single, unstoppable force. These were great teams, full of NBA-ready talent and all the way down at the bottom was the rest of the pack.

Not anymore.

"The WCC, the WAC, all those conferences -- there are a bunch of good schools out there," UCLA forward David Wear said. "They get overlooked. They play national schedules, they beat competition nationwide."

But that includes nothing of the dysfunction that has crept in among the west's top programs. Several Pac-12 teams lost players to transfer and discipline issues in 2011-12. Reeves Nelson almost single-handedly destroyed UCLA's season. Josiah Turner was suspended by Arizona twice. Jabari Brown left Oregon. Keala King was booted out of Arizona State.

We've learned over the past few years that for the little guys to have any fighting chance, the big guy would have to suffer. There is no UNLV without UCLA. No, really. The Runnin' Rebels are stuck on a treadmill without their two best players, Mike Moser and Chace Stanback, both UCLA transfers. The duo averaged 26.8 points, 15.1 rebounds and 2.7 steals for the 26-8 Rebels. Think the postseason-less Bruins couldn't have used them over the past couple years?

As recruiting misses, overconfidence and simple attrition plagued the top teams in the west, trickle-down economics ensued.

It's not the haves and the have-nots any more. It's the have-a-littles and the have ... ehhh's?

All you can do is laugh and maybe shrug.

It's what Atlas did.

jon.gold@dailynews.com
Jon Gold on Twitter: Twitter.com/thecoolsub

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Happy Birthday Nedlakire!! (Last post on 03/19/2012 at 3:33 PM PDT)

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Pac-12 tourney headed to Vegas

March 12th, 2012, 11:08 am · · posted by

The Pac-12 men?s basketball tournament is headed to Las Vegas.

Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott will hold a press conference at the MGM Grand Hotel on Tuesday to announce that the tournament is moving from Staples Center to MGM starting next season.

Scott Sibella, president and chief operating officer for the MGM Grand, Pat Christenson, president of Las Vegas Events, and Rossi Ralenkotter, president and CEO Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority will also attend the press conference.

The Pac-12 tournament has been a disaster at Staples, poorly attended and failing to garner the national media attention that the ACC, Big East, Big Ten and Big 12 tournaments have historically attracted. The Pac-12 event will go head to head with the Mountain West tournament also held in Las Vegas.

Given the Pac-12?s recent performance, Las Vegas? catch phrase could take on new meaning. Considering that only two Pac-12 teams were invited to the NCAA tournament on Sunday, at next year?s tournament what happens in Vegas really could stay in Vegas.

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Jon Gruden has some pretty snappy campers

SAM FARMER / ON THE NFL

Top college quarterbacks are among those who make the trip to Florida to talk to the coach-turned-analyst for a series of shows. Nobody prepares like Gruden.

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By Sam Farmer
From Tampa, Fla.

The professor sits alone in his darkened office, hunkered over the glowing screen of his laptop. His granny glasses, the only sign that the onetime boy wonder has truly aged, hang precariously on the tip of his nose.

It's Sunday morning at 7 a.m., and former NFL coach Jon Gruden is waiting in his makeshift office for his star student of the day, Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck. Every wall is lined floor to ceiling with videotapes, a Library of Congress-worthy collection of blitzes, protections, routes, goal-line plays, Hail Marys ? everything, spanning at least five decades.

The ace prospect arrives in shorts and flip-flops, stepping through an obstacle course of cameras, cords and TV lights. ESPN will capture the study session from every conceivable angle (including cameras hidden in bookshelves), then slice it up for the network's many media platforms.

Luck is one of 10 quarterbacks who will fly to Tampa to spend a day with Gruden before the April draft, with the coach preparing a custom, in-depth film and grease-board session for each. Those are edited into 30-minute shows for each quarterback, plus an hourlong show that includes all the quarterbacks. The series kicks off with Luck on March 31.

The No. 1 draft pick-to-be takes a seat across from Gruden.

"I've got something for you," Gruden says, sliding a canvas rucksack across the glass table to him. "It's a sweatshirt, T-shirt, just some stuff."

Then, already knowing the answer, the ex-coach playfully asks: "Did you bring me something?"

"No," Luck says sheepishly, his cheeks briefly flushing Cardinal red.

In truth, last weekend's eight-hour give-and-take would leave both feeling enriched. This is the third year of "Gruden's QB Camp," which is shot in his hole-in-the-wall office in the back of a Tampa strip mall, and on the practice field at nearby University of South Florida. The first year featured interviews with Sam Bradford, Tim Tebow, Colt McCoy and Jimmy Clausen, and the shows were so popular with the network, viewers and the players that the roster has now grown to double digits.

This year's shows, in order, feature Luck, Baylor's Robert Griffin III, Wisconsin's Russell Wilson, Boise State's Kellen Moore, Michigan State's Kirk Cousins, Houston's Case Keenum, Oklahoma State's Brandon Weeden, Arizona State's Brock Osweiler, Arizona's Nick Foles and Texas A&M's Ryan Tannehill.

"It's almost turned into a rite of passage for all these quarterbacks," Luck says. "I know I watched the shows, and all the guys on my team did. A year ago, when I said I was going to come back [to Stanford], the guys were like, 'Aw, but I wanted to see you on Gruden's camp.' Guys get into it. And, two, he's a great coach. You learn stuff. Every quarterback wants to learn more."

Gruden, 48, knows what he's doing. He spent 11 seasons as an NFL head coach, first with Oakland, then Tampa Bay, compiling a record of 100-85 and winning a Super Bowl with the Buccaneers in 2002 (by beating the Raiders team he built.) He was fired by the Buccaneers in 2009 but didn't leave Tampa, instead staying in town with his wife and three sons.

As speculation swirled that he would immediately resume his coaching career with another NFL or college team, Gruden shifted gears. He rented an office and formed the tongue-in-cheek FFCA ? Fired Football Coaches of America ? a hangout where his coaching brethren could come to watch film and talk football; he took a job as the assistant offensive line coach on his son's high school team, and he signed with ESPN as a "Monday Night Football" analyst, a job that reintroduced America to his made-for-TV observations and devilish "Chucky" squint.

In terms of preparation, Gruden is in "a different stratosphere," says "Monday Night Football" producer Jay Rothman.

"The beauty is, our team is his team, and he coaches us up like no other," Rothman says. "My whole staff has never been more prepared. It's ridiculous."

In October, Gruden signed a five-year extension to stay on the show through the 2017 season. Last month, ESPN announced he would be the lone analyst in the booth, with the network opting to reassign Ron Jaworski.

All the while, Gruden has maintained his workaholic ways, rising each morning in the wee hours and studying tape to such a minute degree it's as if he were preparing his own team to play.

"I want to organize the greatest cut-up library of all time," he explains before Luck arrives. "So if I ever do coach again, and I put in my offense, I'll be able to pick and choose from some of the greatest concepts that are around.

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Bruin Bites: No March Madness for UCLA Edition

Blue_bellerophon_tiny by Bellerophon on Mar 19, 2012 5:00 AM PDT in News

"Hey Ben, we're playing in March Madness this year. What about you?!"

Steve Dykes-US PRESSWIRE - PresswireMore photos »

"Hey Ben, we're playing in March Madness this year. What about you?!"

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Kind of interesting how less interesting this tournament becomes when UCLA is no longer in it. Although, it has been interesting to note how programs like Michigan State are able to rebound from their "bad year" (when they still made the tournament) and secure a protected #1 seed and (so far) look set to make it to at least the Elite Eight, if not the Final Four (and possibly win the whole thing). I mean, it's pretty unusual for UCLA to not be in it. Here's an interesting statistic for the day:

Since Coach Wooden retired following the 1974-1975 season, UCLA has missed March Madness 9 times; in 37 seasons since the end of the Wooden era, UCLA made the NCAA tournament 28 times.

Only nine times have the Bruins not made March Madness. Larry Farmer owns two of those misses (1981-82, 1983-84); Walt Hazzard owns three of them (1984-85, 1985-86, 1987-88); Steve Lavin has only one (2002-03) and just two if you count Howland's first season (2003-04) as being due to Lavin.

Ben Howland? He's now the proud owner of two UCLA basketball seasons with no NCAA tournament (2009-10, 2011-12) and perhaps three, if you count his first season following Lavin (2002-03).

Everyone wants to give Ben more time and more rope because he took us to three Final Fours, as if that should mean something at UCLA, the school where only national titles are hung in the rafters at Pauley Pavilion. If we go down that road, where does it lead? It leads to the mentality "hey, he got us to the Sweet Sixteen consistently, so we should keep him" (Lavin) or worse: "hey, we're in the tournament every year, we should keep this coach around." That's all well and good at a middling program like Cal or North Carolina State (both of whom are actually made the tournament, unlike our hapless Bruins), but this is UCLA, one of the blue-bloods of college hoops.

If Kentucky doesn't win the national title, that's a disappointing season. Same for North Carolina, Duke, Kansas, and Michigan State. Why is that not the standard for the program with more titles than all of those other programs?

In any event, the current state of affairs at UCLA, both in basketball and throughout the athletic department is completely unacceptable and should result in only one thing: the immediate termination of Chianti Dan Guerrero. And with that said, let's take a look at the bits and pieces of news floating around the UCLA-iverse as we watch (kind of) March Madness unfold without our Bruins in the mix, after the jump.

Star-divide

Alright folks, those are your Bruin Bites for the beginning of the week as we wait for the Sweet Sixteen to get underway without our UCLA Bruins. Geez, even Lavin got us this far in the tournament. Just saying.

GO BRUINS

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USC pass defense seeks greatness in 2012

After improving in certain areas last season, the Trojans bring back their entire back seven and hope to ascend to an elite level this year.

  
Article Tab: usc-last-field-saturday
USC tailback D.J. Morgan breaks away for a long gain on the last play of Saturday's scrimmage at Howard Jones field before having the ball stripped from behind by USC cornerback Nickell Robey.
ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
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LOS ANGELES ? Despite some statistical evidence to the contrary (more on that in a bit), USC's pass defense definitely improved last season. It should be even better this season with the entire back seven returning, including three seniors and a junior in the secondary.

But simply being better isn't the Trojans' goal.

"We played well," cornerback Nickell Robey said of 2011. "But we can be great."

The defense showed glimpses of greatness Saturday during USC's first practice in pads of 2012. Robey had two takeaways. Defensive end Wes Horton tipped a pass to himself for an interception. Safety Jawanza Starling and cornerback Anthony Brown nearly had picks.

"Our defense is flying around," quarterback Cody Kessler said.

Monte Kiffin, who runs the defense, believes experience is the biggest factor. Three-fourths of the secondary has been immersed in his scheme for two-plus years.

"Knowing the system, doing the same things over and over -- that's how you get better," Kiffin said. "You play faster."

USC ranked 109th out of 120 FBS teams in pass defense in 2010, the first year of the Lane Kiffin regime. Last season the Trojans finished 102nd, which Kiffin still found "unacceptable."

The Trojans actually gave up more passing yards per game last season (263.3 vs. 259.5) and a higher completion percentage (63.9 vs. 59.9) They also had fewer interceptions (9 vs. 15).

But after emphasizing the need to cut down on big plays last offseason, USC allowed significantly fewer passing touchdowns (17 vs. 30). The pass defense, and defense overall, improved markedly after midseason struggles against Arizona State and Arizona. The Trojans allowed 17 or fewer points in five of their final seven games.

Now they're aiming higher. In discussing the defensive objectives for this season, players and coaches used words such as "dominant" and "elite." Lane Kiffin set the bar at 2003, when USC had 55 sacks, 43 takeaways and five interception returns for touchdowns.

"Even though we had a lot of improvement, we want to go to that next level, where we're doing things like we did that year," Kiffin said.

Linebacker Dion Bailey and tailback Buck Allen were new additions to the injury report. Both sat out because of hurt hamstrings. ... Playing in place of Bailey, Tre Madden had the hit of the day, leveling tailback D.J. Morgan after a reception in 7-on-7 drills. ... Fullback Soma Vanuiku also had a big hit, pancaking defensive end Morgan Breslin with a block in the backfield. ... Reserve quarterback Jesse Scroggins spent practice doing rollovers after "missing something" earlier in the week, Kiffin said. ... Center Khaled Holmes spent most of practice on the sideline because of a strained left calf. Abe Markowitz took Holmes' place with the first unit. ... Receivers Robert Woods (ankle) and George Farmer (hamstring) remained out. ... The Trojans will take the next nine days off for spring break. They will return to practice on March 20.

Contact the writer: mlev@ocregister.com

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For USC, it's NCAA Tournament or bust in 2012-13

Season review: After enduring a ton of injuries and losing a school-record 26 games, the Trojans aim to be back in the NCAA mix next season. Coach Kevin O?Neill?s future could depend on it.

Unless the USC basketball team is under the spell of some voodoo curse, the Trojans will be much better next season. Exactly how much remains to be seen ? and could determine the fate of Coach Kevin O'Neill.

After USC's nightmarish 2011-12 season ended, O'Neill was asked whether he needed to make the NCAA Tournament next season to retain his job.

Article Tab: The fate of Coach Kevin O'Neill could depend on whether USC qualifies for the NCAA Tournament next season.
The fate of Coach Kevin O'Neill could depend on whether USC qualifies for the NCAA Tournament next season.
PAUL RODRIGUEZ, THE REGISTER
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USC AT A GLANCE

WHO'S LEAVING

Eric Strangis (F)

KEY RETURNEES

James Blasczyk (C)

Dewayne Dedmon (C)

Aaron Fuller (F)

Jio Fontan (G)

Garrett Jackson (F)

Maurice Jones (G)

Alexis Moore (G)

Byron Wesley (F-G)

NEWCOMERS

Strahinja Gavrilovic (F)

Ari Stewart (F)

Brendyn Taylor (G)

J.T. Terrell (G)

Eric Wise (F)

MICHAEL LEV/The Register

"I would think we would have to win," O'Neill said, defining that as at least being "in the mix" for an NCAA bid.

With good health, the Trojans absolutely should be in that mix. They don't lose any scholarship players from this season's 6-26 team; they bring back three injured starters; and they add three transfers who have produced on the Division I level.

"We're going to be way better on defense," said freshman Byron Wesley, one of USC's few bright spots this season. "Offensively, we're going to be in a whole 'nother league. It's looking real good for next year."

But going from last place in the weak Pac-12 to an NCAA Tournament berth won't be as simple as filling out a new starting lineup and rolling the ball onto the court. The Trojans have some healing to do after the worst season in school history.

"When a season finishes far below what you wanted it to, it's hard to live with," O'Neill said. "You can't lose this much and not feel it."

The psychological scars run deep. One of O'Neill's coping methods is to compartmentalize what happened in 2011-12. In his view, the season was an aberration not reflective of the state of the program. There's ample evidence to back that up.

In O'Neill's first season, USC finished 16-14 despite losing three players to the pros and suffering school-imposed sanctions in midseason. In his second season, the Trojans made the NCAA Tournament. In his third season, the Trojans lost five of 11 eligible scholarship players to season-ending injuries.

"I think we do have a winning culture here," O'Neill said. "We had a losing season.

"I'm convinced we have the right guys in place to turn that back around. I've coached too long to panic over circumstances."

Although it often felt that way, this season wasn't a total loss. Wesley averaged almost 35 minutes per game, improved markedly over the course of the season and looks like a player O'Neill can build around. The players who survived the season never quit, displaying resolve and character that will serve them well in the future.

Additionally, the Trojans won't lack for incentive after losing as much as they did.

"This whole year was motivation," Wesley said. "We lost to our rival, UCLA, three times, which just can't happen."

Wesley is sure to be among the returning players seeking to end that streak. If USC brings in three recruits, as projected, some of the current veterans won't be back. Those are issues O'Neill must tackle in the coming weeks and months.

Regardless of the comings and goings, the Trojans will have an entirely new look when they reassemble in full in fall. For the first time in the O'Neill era, USC should have real competition for playing time. After the season he just endured, potential chemistry issues don't concern O'Neill in the least.

"I'll welcome that problem," he said. "I can deal with that problem."

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PAC-12 TOURNAMENT NOTEBOOK: Washington coach Romar makes his case to NCAA Tournament committee

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By Jill Painter, Staff Writer
Posted:   03/08/2012 10:38:43 PM PST
Updated:   03/08/2012 11:17:14 PM PST

Washington coach Lorenzo Romar made a desperate plea of sorts to the selection committee to try to get his team into the NCAA Tournament.

The Huskies (21-10) won the Pacific-12 Conference's regular season title, but the league is so bad Washington might not get into the NCAAs with an at-large bid.

"Well, I'm not in there in the committee," Romar said. "I know we haven't had as many wins as we should have in nonconference as a league. I would think the Pac-12 champion would be able to find a place in the NCAA Tournament.

"We certainly didn't help ourselves (Thursday), but I would think we'd be able to find ourselves in there. I'm not on the committee. They're meeting, and we're kind of at the mercy of their decision."

Welcome to the bubble.

It never happened in Pac-10 history that the regular-season champion didn't earn a bid into the NCAA Tournament. This is the first year of the Pac-12, and the conference skidded into oblivion.

If Washington doesn't make the NCAAs, it receives an automatic bid into the NIT. Conference champions that don't receive at-large NCAA bids are automatically given NIT bids. There were 14 of those such cases last year.

Last game?

Tyler Trapani, John Wooden's great grandson, might have suited up for his final game with UCLA on Thursday. Trapani, who will graduate in June, has weathered the tumultuous season that was UCLA basketball.

Asked about Wooden's legacy,

which doesn't jive with all of the reported shenanigans, Trapani said: "It's a new time. There are new players and new coaches.

"It's not to say it's harder or easier. If people say it's hard or it's gotten worse, or it's not how he wants it, he wouldn't want it any other way. It's not his program anymore. It's a new day. It's a new age."

Trapani wants to follow in his great grandfather's footsteps and become a teacher and basketball coach. He'll begin graduate school at Cal State Northridge in the fall, but he doesn't have a director of basketball operations job lined up yet.

"I feel the program will be fine," Trapani said of the recent upheaval. "We'll have a new arena and a lot of years to look forward to after that. I feel we'll get some good players under Coach Howland."

Sights and sounds

Oregon State coach Craig Robinson sported a pink shirt in the upset win over No. 1 seed Washington. Lucky shirt? ... A UCLA fan carried a small dog to the game. One would've thought he snuck the dog into the game in a bag, but he said it was a service dog. ... There were hardly any fans at Staples Center on Wednesday night, but actress Hayden Panettierre sat courtside with her boyfriend, former Colorado receiver Scotty McKnight, for the Buffaloes' win over Utah.

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No. 3 USC Men's Volleyball Sweeps At No. 2 UCLA

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