TERRY MOSHER
I feel bad for Lorenzo Romar. He’s a nice guy who has been a solid college basketball coach at Washington. He’s even a better person.
Having said that, maybe it’s time for the Huskies to turn the page and bring in some new blood that can turn on the Huskies to what they once were, a Pac-12 title contender and an NCAA participant.
I’ve never felt good about Romar’s X’s and O’s. I don’t often see time-outs that change the nature of the game. The adjustments don’t seem to be there. That has been covered over because he was able by the force of his good personality and good people vibes attract good players to his program that allowed us to ignore the obvious game-planning and in-game adjustments that were not the best.
Romar has a top-caliber recruiting class coming in and that may save him from being dismissed. The thinking may be that given a second chance he will again with this recruiting class rebound the program back to respectability. I hate to see good guys being let go, but it might be time to try somebody new, even if he is not the nicest guy that Romar is.
Since we are talking college basketball, is there anybody out there who doesn’t believe Kentucky will remain unbeaten and win the 2015 national title? Coach John Calipari has shook up the basketball world with his philosophy on one-and-done recruiting and has nine McDonald All-Americans on his squad. Which leads me to the question: How many McDonald All-Americans must a team have for others to consider it over-kill?
Okay, I’m going to wade in and look for a team that could possibly do what most of us believe deep down is the impossible and beat Kentucky in the NCAA playoffs.
As you might know, I’m an underdog kind of guy. Even as a kid I enjoyed taking on the challenge of defying the sentiment and staging upsets or at least fight and battle harder than expected. I turn that character trait to horse racing when Longacres was still around. I would try to uncover an overlooked gem in a race and bet it to place or show. That is called an “overlay.” The object is to find a horse that is being ignored by bettors, but is better for some reason that only the serious handicapper can discern.
I’m not going to tell you I was successful that that. I wasn’t. But I had some close calls that if they had hit would have made me a decent profit. But the point I’m trying to make is that because Kentucky is going to be favored by so many of us – millions, most likely – I will take a different tact and look for that hidden gem that may be able to pull off the impossible.
I have heard many college basketball experts say that they have never seen a college basketball team like Kentucky. They have size and length, get up and down the floor, shoot the rock well and, most important, defend like no other team in history.
So how can I be so stupid to believe there is another team out there who could possibly beat Kentucky?
Well, I have another personality characteristic: I don’t like to jump on bandwagons. So I’m not going to get on the Kentucky bandwagon. I’m going to look for somehow find that special team that can pull off the impossible. Call it Mosher’s Mission Impossible.
First of all, I will give the teams I believe have an outside shot. They are Iowa State, Duke, North Carolina, Gonzaga, SMU, Oklahoma and Arkansas. Of this group, I like North Carolina.
Roy Williams’ team can shoot it, pass it, rebound it and score it. The Tar Heels are first in the nation in assists and second in rebounding. I consider rebounding to be a big factor in how well a team performs. If you have the rock more than your opponent, it allows you more ball possessions and more chances to score.
Yes, I know the Tar Heels already lost to Kentucky, 84-70, in a game played on the Wildcats’ home floor. They did score 70 points, however, and that is the most points scored against Calipari’s team with the exception of Mississippi, which scored 86 in a three-point overtime loss to the ‘Cats.
Gonzaga has maybe its best shot in years. The Zags have not done well in the early rounds of the NCAA Tournament, but that could change this year. The Zags are well-balanced. The only thing I have against them is they don’t play in the toughest conference in the nation.
The real overlay, the sleeper in this group, is SMU. I give them a chance because they are coached by Hall of Famer Larry Brown, who is the only man to win both an NBA title (2204 with Detroit) and an NCAA title (1988 with Kansas).
The Mustangs lost at Gonzaga (72-56) in the second game of their season, to Indiana and to Arkansas in their third and fifth game respectively. In their last 21 games they have lost just twice, both times to Cincinnati.
A game to watch for is Feb. 28 when Arkansas is at Rupp Arena to play Kentucky. Arkansas is definitely an overlay play.
There you have it, my Mission Impossible.
Be well pal.
Be careful out there.
Have a great day.
You are loved.
