Anderson Gets Waiver, Will Play Right Away At Wagner

Michigan State transfer Dwaun Anderson will be eligible for entire season at Wagner after he was granted waiver to play immediately for Seahawks.  (Photo courtesy of Staten Island Advance)

Going into the upcoming season, Wagner was still regarded as one of the three teams to watch in the Northeast Conference despite losing all-league guard Tyler Murray and do-everything floor general Chris Martin to graduation before head coach Dan Hurley accepted the vacant position at Rhode Island.  This morning, Richmond County's college team may be just a little closer to their second NCAA Tournament appearance with news that one of their prized recruits will be able to play immediately.

Dwaun Anderson, the transfer from Michigan State who had enrolled at Wagner last spring and was initially slated to become eligible in December, was officially granted a waiver today that will enable him to take the court in the Seahawks' season opener against Delaware State this November.  Anderson already carries the title of being Wagner's highest-ranked recruit, as the former Mr. Basketball in the state of Michigan was a Top 100 prospect before signing with Tom Izzo and the Spartans.

"It's obviously great news for us," said Wagner coach Bashir Mason; who at just 28 years old is the youngest head coach in the nation, but inherits a team built by his predecessor Hurley for long-term success.  "With Dwaun available, it means we can begin establishing our identity as a team as soon as practice begins.  He's a high-level athlete."

Anderson, who averaged a double-double as a senior in high school with twenty points and ten rebounds per game, left Michigan State following the death of his mother, choosing Wagner over higher-profile suitors such as Big East programs in Villanova and Rutgers.  The 6-4 shooting guard, who can also play small forward, will most likely slide between junior guard Latif Rivers and senior forward Jonathon Williams on the wing for Mason, making him a de facto replacement for Tyler Murray.  Kenny Ortiz and Naofall Folahan should round out the starting five for Wagner this season, with Josh Thompson returning as well to headline one of the better benches in the NEC.

Burrell To Resume Pro Career In France

Justin Burrell, who won MVP honors in his only year in Japanese League, continues stellar pro career in France, as former St. John's star signed there last week.  (Photo courtesy of The Wall Street Journal)

Halfway across the world, the influence of St. John's basketball is still being felt stronger than ever.

After a four-year career that included an NCAA Tournament appearance and a Big East Sixth Man of the Year award, former Red Storm forward Justin Burrell is once again making headlines.  The Bronx native, who last year played in Japan, is now headed to France after signing with Champagne Chalons Reims Basket, a club in the second division of the French league.

Burrell's lone year in Japan was a huge success, winning the Most Valuable Player award in the Japanese B-League after averaging nearly nineteen points and ten rebounds per contest for Yokohama.  Burrell becomes the second Red Storm player to take his talents to Franc this year, joining former teammate Anthony Mason Jr., who is playing in France's first division.  Fellow former running mate Dwight Hardy will once again be running the ball screen in Italy, this time for Sigudas Avellino in Serie A after a stellar rookie season with the Liga Due club Pistoia Basket.

Even with his new European team, Burrell is still optimistic that he will eventually land in the NBA.  "Moving forward, I'm going to try to do the same thing I did in Japan," Burrell said.  "Dominate and be (the) MVP, that's the goal."

Red Storm fans nationwide share a similar mindset, as Burrell looks to join D.J. Kennedy, Maurice Harkless, and the artist formerly known as Ron Artest as St. John's alumni playing at professional basketball's highest level.

Rick Majerus To Miss 2012-13 Season

Rick Majerus, who led Saint Louis back into NCAA Tournament last season, will not be on sideline with Billikens this year due to medical reasons which forced him to take leave of absence.  (Photo courtesy of CBS Sports)

For any college basketball fan, the story and tweets that came from the city notorious for the Gateway Arch were equal parts disturbing and melancholy.

Saint Louis University was in one of the more desirable positions in the nation going into the upcoming season.  With everyone except Brian Conklin returning to a team that nearly upset Tom Izzo and Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament last year, the Billikens were a potential Top 25 team that many experts were picking to win the Atlantic 10, which welcomes Butler and VCU into the fold in just about three months.  Sadly, it all came crashing down Saturday morning.

The Billikens did not lose any players, and will still be among the favorites in the A-10; but they will attempt to return to the field of 68 without head coach Rick Majerus, who will be taking medical leave that will keep him off the sidelines this season.  Assistant coach Jim Crews, who has prior head coaching experience at Evansville and also at Army, will serve as Majerus' interim replacement.  However, for the affable 64-year-old coach whose defensive mindset makes him one of the most underrated in his profession in addition to being one of the most gregarious, one cannot help but wonder if this vacation from the bench may be permanent given Majerus' history of past health problems.

Formerly the head coach at Marquette and Ball State, Rick Majerus became a household name in the mid-1990s, when he turned the University of Utah into a perennial Top 25 program.  With future NBA players such as Keith Van Horn, Andre Miller and Michael Doleac; as well as Finnish big man Hanno Mottola, Majerus built the Utes into a deceptively strong mid-major opponent, frequently reaching the NCAA Tournament in a run highlighted by their trip to the national championship game in 1998, one in which Utah led at halftime before falling to Tubby Smith and Kentucky.  After Majerus left the Utes, he became a popular choice among many St. John's fans and alumni to replace Mike Jarvis at the helm of the Red Storm, a job that ultimately went to Norm Roberts.  Majerus' heart problems may have kept him from getting the St. John's job, and they made him reconsider coaching at USC, where he held an emotional press conference announcing his resignation just days after he was hired by the Trojans.  Five years ago, the burly head man with an engaging personality as big as his frame took over at Saint Louis, a school that had seen its fair share of success despite being largely overlooked.

Saint Louis' season may have come as a surprise to most, but when you look at Majerus' career record; which includes a winning percentage over .700 and countless postseason appearances, it really should not be that much of a shock.  For me personally, I was looking forward to finally meeting the legendary coach at Atlantic 10 media day in Brooklyn, and catching up again when his Billikens came to Rose Hill Gym to face Fordham.  

Now, all anyone mildly associated with college basketball can do is hope for the best, to pray that the extra-large coach with the extra-large personality gets another chance to embrace the world that loves him, and rightfully so.  It's only right, because the coach deserves another chance.  There are not enough like him in this world, which is why he needs to stay around a little longer.  If you don't do anything else today, just say a prayer for Rick Majerus.  That alone speaks more than all the words of praise known to man ever can.

26 Greatest Games: #1

Paris Horne's 23-point virtuoso performance only adds to the legend of St. John's Big East Tournament win over Georgetown three years ago.  (Photo courtesy of Rumble In The Garden)

After twenty-five other games before this one were profiled, it's time to reveal the contest that holds the honor of being the greatest I have either called or covered in my five-year career up to this point.  Before the top spot is officially announced, here is a full recap of every other game on the list:

26) St. John's vs. Howard - November 22, 2008, Carnesecca Arena
25) St. John's vs. Marist - December 28, 2007, Madison Square Garden (Holiday Festival)
24) Iona vs. Marist - February 12, 2012, Hynes Athletics Center
23) Iona vs. Fairfield - March 4, 2012, MassMutual Center (MAAC Tournament semifinal)
22) St. John's vs. West Virginia - March 8, 2008, Madison Square Garden
21) St. Francis (NY) vs. Robert Morris - December 4, 2010, Pope Physical Education Center
20) St. John's vs. Louisville - March 4, 2012, XL Center (Big East Tournament quarterfinal)
19) St. John's vs. Seton Hall - February 5, 2009, Prudential Center
18) St. John's vs. Notre Dame - February 25, 2012, Madison Square Garden
17) St. John's vs. Seton Hall - February 22, 2009, Carnesecca Arena
16) St. Francis (NY) vs. Seton Hall - November 12, 2011, Prudential Center
15) St. John's vs. Cincinnati - January 22, 2009, Carnesecca Arena
14) St. John's vs. Rutgers - February 2, 2011, Carnesecca Arena
13) St. John's vs. Providence - February 9, 2008, Carnesecca Arena
12) St. John's vs. Rutgers - March 9, 2012, Madison Square Garden (Big East Tournament second round)
11) Fordham vs. St. John's - December 11, 2010, Rose Hill Gym
10) St. John's vs. Connecticut - February 10, 2011, Madison Square Garden
9) St. John's vs. Villanova - February 26, 2011, Wells Fargo Center
8) St. Francis (NY) vs. LIU Brooklyn - February 8, 2012, Madison Square Garden
7) St. John's vs. Seton Hall - March 1, 2008, Carnesecca Arena
6) St. John's vs. Notre Dame - January 3, 2009, Madison Square Garden
5) St. Francis (NY) vs. Sacred Heart - February 18, 2012, Pope Physical Education Center
4) St. John's vs. Duke - January 30, 2011, Madison Square Garden
3) Manhattan vs. Iona - January 12, 2012, Hynes Athletics Center
2) St. John's vs. Pittsburgh - February 19, 2011, Madison Square Garden

And the winner is...

1) St. John's vs. Georgetown - March 10, 2009, Madison Square Garden (Big East Tournament first round)
Those who know me well have heard me tell the story of this contest more times than they can probably count, a 2pm Tuesday afternoon tipoff that has come to be known simply as the "Landline Game."

Originally, I was going to be leading a three-man booth for this broadcast on WSJU, with fellow sports directors Frank Qasim and David Berov to provide color commentary for the Red Storm's return to the Big East Tournament after missing the field in the previous season.  However, extenuating circumstances kept my two partners away from the "World's Most Famous Arena," leading me to become a one-man band for what still ranks as one of my greatest performances and one of the rare instances in which I felt the broadcast truly was perfect.  Those who have worked with me or know me well know of my excessively high standards, so such a feeling about a broadcast came few and very far between.

My original intention was to do a one-hour pregame show, being that it was a Big East Tournament game, highlighted by a preview of the St. John's game and tournament in general, with bonus coverage of the Cincinnati-DePaul matchup that preceded the Johnnies and Georgetown on the court to take the audience through the pregame.  However, the mixer I would normally use to dial out to the studio was not working, (a semi-regular occurrence for WSJU Sports) which scrapped my pregame plans.  Several minutes later, I dialed the studio on one of the press box telephones, and was relieved to get both a dial tone and signal.  I had also struggled to get a producer for this game, as St. John's had conveniently scheduled their spring break during that week.  Fortunately, WSJU program director Joe Lobosco agreed to come in and push the buttons in the studio, arriving shortly after 2pm, leaving me just a handful of minutes to go through what was initially designed to be an in-depth and detailed pregame before the contest started.  Somehow or another, the magic began without a hitch.

At halftime, I had run down to the media room to get two bottles of water to get me through the final twenty minutes; something I was hesitant about doing since I literally did play-by-play over the phone for the opening half, and was obviously concerned about someone inadvertently hanging up while I was away.  Thankfully, Sal; who works security in the north press box at the Garden, watched over my perch after I had asked for a favor, imploring him to "make sure no one hangs this up."  When I returned to the press box, everything was exactly as I had left it, and I immediately had Joe Lobosco get me back on the air.  After Paris Horne and D.J. Kennedy scored all but three points in the first half for St. John's, (Malik Boothe's three-pointer accounted for the rest of the Red Storm offense) Georgetown came out of the intermission intent on showing the fans in attendance that their standing as the No. 12 seed was a fluke.  St. John's forward Sean Evans, who was held scoreless in the first twenty minutes, had other ideas.  In a gritty performance that earned him Vincenzo's Pizza Player of the Game honors on my broadcast, Evans scored twelve points in the final stanza on his way to a double-double.  Even with Evans' courageous showing, the game was far from over, prompting me to reference the response I received earlier that morning from Lenn Robbins of the New York Post when I asked for his thoughts on the game.

"It's going to be a war." - Lenn Robbins, New York Post

Georgetown lived up to the war billing from Robbins, as they fought back to take the lead midway through the second half after it looked like St. John's was going to put them away.  With the Red Storm up 53-52, Malik Boothe drove inside on his way for what appeared to be a layup, but dished the ball to Paris Horne, who was standing behind the three-point arc on the left wing.  Horne's triple gave St. John's a much-needed boost of momentum that put the Red Storm ahead by four in the final minutes, galvanizing the team for a thrilling stretch run.

"Horne...for three. GOOD!!! Paris Horne...injecting some life into the crowd! Johnnies up by four!" - Jaden Daly's call of Horne's three-pointer on WSJU

Georgetown eventually traded free throws with the Red Storm before getting the ball back inside the final thirty seconds, trailing 62-59.  Logic seemed to dictate that head coach John Thompson III, who was playing without star freshman center Greg Monroe after the New Orleans native had fouled out with 1:34 remaining in regulation, would go for the tie and try to send the game into overtime.  That was exactly what the Hoyas would try to do, as point guard Chris Wright brought the ball up.  In the final ten seconds, shooting guard Austin Freeman appeared to have traveled, but the call was ignored by the officials.  Freeman found an open Nikita Mescheriakov in the corner on the right side with four seconds remaining in regulation, setting the Belarus product up for what would be the game-tying shot if he were to hit it.  Mescheriakov's attempt hit the backboard and sailed over, going out of bounds and handing possession to St. John's, who needed only to run the clock out to advance to the second round, where Marquette awaited the winner.

With three seconds remaining, Quincy Roberts was fouled shortly after receiving the inbounds pass.  Roberts, a 77-percent free throw shooter in the regular season, had scored both of his prior two points at the foul line earlier in the game, and only needed one more to essentially seal the win for the Red Storm.  Roberts calmly made both foul shots to give the Red Storm a 64-59 victory, prompting the following description of the final seconds on WSJU: (picked up after Roberts' first free throw)

"Roberts has one more free throw forthcoming.  It is up, and IT...IS...GOOD. 64 to 59...ST. JOHN'S...WILL LIVE...TO FIGHT ANOTHER DAY!!!" - Jaden Daly's final call on WSJU

(For the record, my final call was slightly influenced by having watched "The Mummy Returns" the night before, where there is a scene toward the end of the movie in which Brendan Fraser's main character Rick O'Connell is told "live to fight another day.")

Have you ever felt like you were on top of the world watching a sporting event, maybe after watching a particular favorite player hit a walkoff home run, or score a game-winning goal or touchdown?  Well, that was what ran through me behind the microphone after the final buzzer inside Madison Square Garden on this day.  Although I was never a die-hard St. John's fan, I vividly remember watching Lou Carnesecca's Redmen several times (St. John's was, in fact, the first collegiate team I ever saw) in the early 1990s; and I never embraced Georgetown, a feeling of dislike that intensified at Big East media day just a few months before the game, when John Thompson III essentially blew me off when I tried to ask him about his team, looking at me with a level of contempt that went beyond the social average.  For St. John's coach Norm Roberts; a true class act that had yet to compete in a postseason game, this was a measure of vindication as well, as his six-year tenure in Queens was spent dealing with harsh criticism of his ability to win.  Everything about this game was special: The actual on-court transpirings, the broadcast, the backstory.  All of it blended together to give the privileged few who were able to listen a show unlike any other, and myself a magical moment which has yet to be replicated or even surpassed.  You don't always need a clash of the titans to make a game great, because as Norm Roberts said after the game, you can "define the moment, or have the moment define you."  Fortunately, the moment was defined by everyone involved.

26 Greatest Games: 5-2

Dwight Hardy's Baryshnikov impression propelled St. John's to their most dramatic victory in run to NCAA Tournament, a 60-59 upset of fourth-ranked Pittsburgh.  (Photo courtesy of ESPN)

We've reached the top five of the twenty-six greatest games I have been on hand to either call or cover, and before we unveil the final handful, here are the most recent seven from the third in our five-part series:

12) St. John's vs. Rutgers - March 9, 2012, Madison Square Garden (Big East Tournament second round)
11) Fordham vs. St. John's - December 11, 2010, Rose Hill Gym
10) St. John's vs. Connecticut - February 10, 2011, Madison Square Garden
9) St. John's vs. Villanova - February 26, 2011, Wells Fargo Center
8) St. Francis (NY) vs. LIU Brooklyn - February 8, 2012, Madison Square Garden
7) St. John's vs. Seton Hall - March 1, 2008, Carnesecca Arena
6) St. John's vs. Notre Dame - January 3, 2009, Madison Square Garden

5) St. Francis (NY) vs. Sacred Heart - February 18, 2012, Pope Physical Education Center
The second of two doubleheaders I have called.  After leaving Madison Square Garden at halftime of St. John's and UCLA and running into former colleague Mariel Brady on my way out of the Garden, I headed to Brooklyn to call two games that now rank as the two greatest calls I have had aside from the game that is number one on this list.  Following a women's game in which the Lady Terriers played eventual NEC champion Sacred Heart to a four-point loss, the men's sides came out for the second half of the twin bill.  A 14-0 St. Francis run sparked by eight points from Stefan Perunicic in the opening minutes gave Glenn Braica's Terriers the early momentum, but the Pioneers ended the first stanza on a 23-6 run despite two fouls from starting center Justin Swidowski.  At halftime, I conducted my first live interview in three years when Ryan Peters of Pioneer Pride joined me at the intermission to talk about Sacred Heart and the NEC in general, and our chat made a great broadcast all the better.  In retrospect, I feel bad for mentioning bitter Sacred Heart losses shortly after introducing Ryan, because that was exactly what happened on this night.  With the game tied at 56 on the final possession, St. Francis point guard Brent Jones drove in for a layup, but missed it.  However, Travis Nichols bailed him out, getting a putback with just a second and a half remaining in regulation.  Sacred Heart could not get a shot off to respond, and the Terriers locked up a home game in the upcoming Northeast Conference Tournament for the first time since 2001.

4) St. John's vs. Duke - January 30, 2011, Madison Square Garden
As a North Carolina fan, it goes without saying that I hate Duke.  With that said, this game had added meaning given that I am a St. John's alum who had waited a long time for a game like this.  The Red Storm simply came out firing and Mike Krzyzewski's Blue Devils could not make a three-point shot to save their lives until late in the second half.  St. John's was in control throughout, sparked by a yeoman's effort from forward Sean Evans, who scored ten points on a perfect 5-for-5 day from the field.  With the game having already been decided well before the final buzzer, Red Storm fans lined up to rush the Garden court, but were unfairly confronted by Garden security in the first seconds following the consummation of St. John's resounding 93-78 victory.

3) Manhattan vs. Iona - January 12, 2012, Hynes Athletics Center
What many predicted would be the beginning of the end for the Gaels after they blew an 18-point lead in the final eight minutes became a turning point for Tim Cluess' bunch.  However, it was Manhattan's rally that defined what could arguably be the best game of 2012.  After Rhamel Brown's three-point play gave the Jaspers a 72-70 lead with eight seconds left, Iona answered back on a miraculous desperation heave by Momo Jones to tie the game before Manhattan's final possession.  With 1.3 seconds remaining in regulation, rookie Manhattan coach Steve Masiello wisely called a timeout before Emmy Andujar banked in a three at the buzzer.  While the play was being reviewed, Masiello's team ran into the locker room thinking they had it won while the Gaels remained on the court to await the verdict from the officials.  After the shot was declared good, Manhattan returned to the court to shake hands with Iona, while Masiello received his own congratulatory embrace from former Manhattan coach Bobby Gonzalez, who attended the game.

2) St. John's vs. Pittsburgh - February 19, 2011, Madison Square Garden
I have never seen the Garden this loud and this intense.  After catching up with my friend Brandon Tierney in the media room, (this would end up being the last time I saw BT, as he now hosts a successful afternoon drive show on 95.7 FM The Game in San Francisco) the Red Storm and Panthers put on a show that started out slow, picked up, slowed down, and intensified after Travon Woodall's three put Pitt ahead 59-58.  With no timeouts, Dwight Hardy ran the length of the court; and on a reverse layup in which he appeared to step over the baseline, channeled what St. John's coach Steve Lavin dubbed his "inner Baryshnikov" to give the Red Storm the game-winning basket with less than a second left.  In an uncharacteristic (from a media perspective) show of emotion, my inner fan made an appearance with a leap in the Garden press box that was captured on ESPN's replay of the Hardy heroics.  Brad Wanamaker's last-second heave fell short on the ensuing possession, and St. John's had their biggest win of the season against the fourth-ranked Panthers, not to mention a huge part of their captivating run to the NCAA Tournament.

26 Greatest Games: 12-6

Some of my greatest memories behind the microphone have had Madison Square Garden for a backdrop.  (Photo courtesy of the author's personal collection)

Over the last two days, I have shared some of the brief highlights of my five-year career while recounting twenty-six of the greatest games I have either called or covered.  This third installment of the series starts off with contests I have watched on behalf of this site before transitioning into the play-by-play archives.  Before I continue the list at No. 12, let's get caught up to speed on the seven games that made the cut in the second of our five-part series:

19) St. John's vs. Seton Hall - February 5, 2009, Prudential Center

18) St. John's vs. Notre Dame - February 25, 2012, Madison Square Garden

17) St. John's vs. Seton Hall - February 22, 2009, Carnesecca Arena

16) St. Francis (NY) vs. Seton Hall - November 12, 2011, Prudential Center

15) St. John's vs. Cincinnati - January 22, 2009, Carnesecca Arena

14) St. John's vs. Rutgers - February 2, 2011, Carnesecca Arena

13) St. John's vs. Providence - February 9, 2008, Carnesecca Arena

12) St. John's vs. Rutgers - March 9, 2011, Madison Square Garden (Big East Tournament second round)

The ending of this game speaks for itself, as do the numerous controversial missed calls by referees Jim Burr and Tim Higgins.  Even as a St. John's alum and media member, this was a game the Red Storm had no business winning.  Rutgers had their interstate rivals dead to rights in a "Mike Rice special" game, and when the Scarlet Knights pulled even with St. John's inside the final minute, I couldn't help but think Rutgers was going to pull off the upset.  Even after Mike Coburn was fouled by D.J. Kennedy despite no call and an interception by Justin Brownlee off a Gilvydas Biruta inbounds pass, the game was not over at the time.  Brownlee then drove the baseline and stepped out of bounds with 1.7 seconds remaining in regulation, perhaps influenced by coach Steve Lavin making his way up the sideline to shake his counterpart Mike Rice's hand.  The officials missed Brownlee's travel, as well as his throwing the ball into the stands, which was grounds for a technical foul.  After the game, Rice showed his true class with a professional approach to his press conference when many expected a tirade of some sorts.

11) Fordham vs. St. John's - December 11, 2010, Rose Hill Gym

I love Rose Hill.  Let me clarify that first and foremost, and this was the case even before I started covering the Rams regularly.  Of all the places I have been to, there is no better venue to watch a game at.  Even the worst seat in the house feels like you're right on top of the action, and when it gets close to capacity, the nation's oldest venue is about as loud as any in the country.  This game in question was my first visit to the Bronx, and I was fortunate enough to see arguably one of the better games of the season at that point.  With St. John's up 60-39 in the second half, it seemed as if the Red Storm would overcome the curse of their alternate black jerseys (in which they have only won one game since their inception) and demolish the Rams, but Fordham would have none of it.  Feeding off a sellout crowd and raucous student section, Tom Pecora's scrappy team put together two separate 16-0 runs to draw closer to; and eventually wrest away the lead from, the Red Storm.  St. John's was unable to make a basket down the stretch as Fordham held on for the 84-81 victory and subsequent rushing of the court.

10) St. John's vs. Connecticut - February 10, 2011, Madison Square Garden

The latest I ever showed up for a game came this night, as personal circumstances kept me from arriving at Madison Square Garden until about 6pm, one hour before the Huskies and Johnnies took the court.  Thankfully, a special someone was on hand to put me at ease and in a better mood.  On the hardwood, Dwight Hardy had yet another career night, going for 33 points as the Red Storm methodically outplayed and handily defeated the eventual national champions by the final of 89-72 in one of the few moments where Jim Calhoun and UConn had no answer for St. John's.

9) St. John's vs. Villanova - February 26, 2011, Wells Fargo Center

The breaking of the "WSJU curse" was one of the many highlights of my trip to Philadelphia, as prior to this day, no modern-era WSJU member had seen a St. John's win on the road.  Jim's Steaks on South Street provided the pregame dining, as I stopped there on the way to the arena along with David and Quinn Rochford.  Villanova's decision to wear their 1985 national championship throwback uniforms was one that complemented the St. John's red quite well, and the backcourt matchup was the key to the game.  Dwight Hardy's ability to score from seemingly anywhere on the court served to further expose the difficulty that Villanova's "Lost Boys" backcourt of Corey Fisher and Corey Stokes had in making shots, as the Red Storm pulled away late for a convincing 81-68 victory.

8) St. Francis (NY) vs. LIU Brooklyn - February 8, 2012, Madison Square Garden

This was huge for me considering I got to do play-by-play at the Garden again for the first time since 2009, and I had spent the three years in between wondering if and when I would ever make it back.  Needless to say, I was courtside on the call for the first time ever; and before signing on for my pregame show, I was met by Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin, a good friend from our past media day encounters who had just wrapped up his postgame interview following the Bearcats' win over St. John's.  After a whirlwind experience of final preparations that included my pregame interview with Glenn Braica and a pregame reunion with a person who has become a good luck charm of sorts, Cronin walked up and shook my hand before retreating to the media room.  I then proceeded to have one of my better broadcasts in a long time, and the game was a good one too.  St. Francis hung tough as they always do against their adversary LIU Brooklyn, as the two schools separated by a mere ten-minute walk contested a better game than St. John's and Cincinnati before them, with the Blackbirds prevailing 86-77.

7) St. John's vs. Seton Hall - March 1, 2008, Carnesecca Arena

"MASON KNOCKS IT DOWN!"

With those four words, I had the first memorable call of my career; one that did not get on the air until the five-minute mark of the second half, as producer Reginald Bazile scrambled to patch me through after arriving in the studio straight from a spring break trip in Vermont.  Anthony Mason Jr. had guided the Red Storm through a trap game against Seton Hall, but his three with a second and a half remaining in regulation was what won it for the Johnnies.  After Mason hit the trifecta to give the Red Storm the 65-62 margin that ultimately served as the final score, then-freshman Jeremy Hazell hit a three of his own from the St. John's benches to tie the game, roughly 65 feet away.  However, Pirates coach Bobby Gonzalez called a timeout before Hazell got the shot off, negating the shot and preserving the victory for St. John's.  Years later, I revisited the game with Gonzalez; who revealed to me that he could not believe Hazell had made the shot, telling his guard "Are you kidding me?" in disbelief as the teams made their way back to their respective benches.

6) St. John's vs. Notre Dame - January 3, 2009, Madison Square Garden

From the moment the schedule was announced, this game was my personal Super Bowl.  Even though I graduated, I came back to WSJU for the 2008-09 season, and made it a point to take the call for the Fighting Irish game by using my power as the sports director.  This game marked the return of Keith Arias as my color commentator, as well as the debut of the pregame interview; which I had conducted earlier in the week with Notre Dame shooting guard Kyle McAlarney, a Staten Island native who was playing one of his final games in his hometown.  McAlarney managed only ten points amid intense pressure from Paris Horne on the defensive end, forcing Luke Harangody to carry the Irish on his back in a 28-point, 14-rebound performance that kept the outcome in doubt until the forward picked up his fifth foul late in the second half.  D.J. Kennedy's free throws provided the icing on the cake for St. John's, who upended the seventh-ranked Irish by the final of 71-65 to give coach Norm Roberts the biggest win of his career.

26 Greatest Games: 19-13

Newark's Prudential Center is home to not just Seton Hall, but some of this author's great play-by-play moments as well.  (Photo courtesy of the author's personal collection)

Yesterday, I started a series to commemorate my 26th birthday in which I recounted the twenty-six games that have the honor of being among the best that I have either called or covered.  Today's second installment continues the list that started with the following seven contests:

26) St. John's vs. Howard - November 22, 2008, Carnesecca Arena
25) St. John's vs. Marist - December 28, 2007, Madison Square Garden (Holiday Festival)
24) Iona vs. Marist - February 12, 2012, Hynes Athletics Center
23) Iona vs. Fairfield - March 4, 2012, MassMutual Center (MAAC Tournament semifinal)
22) St. John's vs. West Virginia - March 8, 2008, Madison Square Garden
21) St. Francis (NY) vs. Robert Morris - December 4, 2010 - Pope Physical Education Center
20) St. John's vs. Louisville - March 4, 2012 - XL Center (Big East Tournament quarterfinal)

Now, to pick up where we left off...

19) St. John's vs. Seton Hall - February 5, 2009, Prudential Center
After an amount of time that no one was able to determine, WSJU ended up broadcasting a road game thanks in large part to my desire to as the sports director.  Frank Qasim, my co-director and broadcast partner throughout most of the 2008-09 season, was the driver for this monumental occasion.  We made it across the river four hours before the 9pm tipoff, (thank me for wanting to beat the traffic into New Jersey) and had the honor of meeting the great Gary Cohen; who will show up on this list again later, prior to the game.  Sadly, those were the only highlights for us other than our courtside press row location until the final buzzer.  St. John's was unable to stop Jeremy Hazell, who went off for 31 points in the Pirates' 91-81 victory; one that featured a 31-9 Seton Hall lead midway through the first half, not to mention another quietly dominating performance from forward John Garcia, who seemed to kill the Red Storm whenever he played them.  The true memory of this game occurred on the drive back to Queens, when Frank's GPS inexplicably got us lost in the Garden State and had us getting on the Pulaski Skyway in the middle of it.  That experience alone made the journey worth it despite the St. John's loss.

18) St. John's vs. Notre Dame - February 25, 2012, Madison Square Garden
Frank Qasim makes a second appearance on the countdown, albeit indirectly for this game. A noon tipoff, (you'll see many more of these as we get closer to No. 1) St. John's vs. Notre Dame was preceded by me covering Iona and Fairfield in New Rochelle, followed by a night in Manhattan celebrating Frank's 24th birthday.  After not getting home until 5am, I made the conscious decision to stay up; knowing that if I went to sleep, I was not getting up to make the matinee at the Garden.  Needless to say, I was running on adrenaline before falling asleep several times in the second half of what turned out to be one of the few bright spots last season for the Red Storm.  St. John's battled to the wire in a 61-58 win that was not decided until Alex Dragicevich missed a three from the corner that would have sent the game into overtime for the Fighting Irish, and all I could think of in the final possession was Notre Dame coach Mike Brey (who wore a bowtie for charity that afternoon, a rarity if you're familiar with one of greatest coaches in the Big East) not using a timeout when he clearly could (and should) have.  I returned to New Rochelle the next day to see Iona go on a 31-0 run against Saint Peter's, but not before passing out at home following the Red Storm win.

17) St. John's vs. Seton Hall - February 22, 2009, Carnesecca Arena
Seventeen days after Seton Hall scored a home victory against St. John's, the Red Storm welcomed the Pirates into Queens on Senior Night for Tomas Jasiulionis, who started the game and scored a quick basket in the 5pm tipoff.  The pregame atmosphere was marked by a unique tribute from the Red Storm student section directed at then-Pirates coach and personal friend of mine Bobby Gonzalez, who one year prior had expressed his disbelief that Seton Hall was not playing the Red Storm in Madison Square Garden following a dramatic Red Storm win that will appear later in the countdown.  Gonzalez, who had said multiple times in his 2008 press conference that the game should have been played in the "World's Most Famous Arena," (he had a valid point) was greeted by signs featuring pictures of the coach with a pacifier in his mouth; as well as the quotes "Welcome to the World's Most Famous Arena," and "Mommy, I don't want to play at Carnesecca!"  Gonzalez acknowledged the efforts throughout the game, one that was won by the Red Storm amid some controversy after Malik Boothe made contact with Eugene Harvey in the final seconds despite no call from the officials.

16) St. Francis (NY) vs. Seton Hall - November 12, 2011, Prudential Center
I had the honor of doing play-by-play for a season opener for the first time in my young career last season when the Terriers made the journey to Newark, and for fifty-nine minutes, it seemed that St. Francis would pull off the upset.  The Terriers had fought off several Seton Hall rallies to take a lead into the final ten seconds of the game, where it all fell apart.  After Travis Nichols, the team's best free throw shooter in the previous season; missed the front end of a one-and-one with 9.9 seconds left, Seton Hall got a driving layup from senior point guard Jordan Theodore to send the game into overtime, where he carried the Pirates on his back.  Had St. Francis not made 24 turnovers and made a couple more foul shots down the stretch, they would have likely come away with the victory.  Gary Cohen also makes another appearance on this countdown, as the voice of the Mets and Pirates; who I had caught up with a few weeks prior at Seton Hall media day, walked up and shook my hand on his way back to the broadcast booth after I wrapped up my halftime show.  I considered that to be the first instance in which I had "made it" in the industry, as I was recognized by a fairly well-known fellow broadcaster.  I returned the favor three months later when I came back to Newark with St. John's.

15) St. John's vs. Cincinnati - January 22, 2009, Carnesecca Arena
A game that I originally was not going to broadcast ended up serving as a brief introduction of Jaden Daly to a national audience after no one else wanted to call this 9pm tipoff on a Thursday night.  Frank Qasim provided color commentary for me once again in a matchup that was evenly matched until D.J. Kennedy was ejected early in the second half.  Cincinnati ultimately won the matchup, but not before what appeared as a routine broadcast for Frank and myself was simulcast on ESPNU, giving us and WSJU exposure that we did not know came until we were bombarded with text messages during the game.

ESPNU's "Campus Connection" program enabled a routine WSJU broadcast to be simulcast to a national audience.  We had no idea exactly when we would be on national TV, but at least St. John's was still leading when we were.  (Photo courtesy of Al Ragone via WSJURadio.org)

14) St. John's vs. Rutgers - February 2, 2011, Carnesecca Arena

I always look forward to visits from Rutgers, as they enable to catch up with two friends: Head coach Mike Rice, and radio play-by-play voice Chris Carlin, who I had worked very closely with during our time at WFAN.  This invasion of the Scarlet Knights has even more of a backstory.  After traveling through the snow after filing my taxes earlier in the day, I continued my old tradition from my play-by-play days of being one of the first in the arena; (I actually channeled my Prudential Center experience and made it to Carnesecca a little after 5pm for the 9pm tipoff) where I soon caught up with Mariel Brady, the irreplaceable St. John's graduate assistant that basically ran the whole operation in addition to her many talents, while she was setting up press row.  Two reunions with Rice and Carlin, a delicious Qdoba taco bar, and twenty minutes of basketball later, Daly Dose superfan Quinn Rochford introduced himself to me at halftime, starting another great relationship that has now been enhanced through Quinn's work at Rumble In The Garden.  St. John's also won the game, fighting a game Rutgers team paced by the great Jonathan Mitchell and three consecutive three-pointers from Robert Lumpkins, on a reverse layup from Justin Brownlee; who battled through a broken thumb for the duration of the game, providing the perfect end to a great night.

13) St. John's vs. Providence - February 9, 2008, Carnesecca Arena

The first of two doubleheaders that I have called both ends of, this game involved trying to get Friar fan and WFAN producer Ray Martel in for a guest commentary spot, but he was unable to make it after falling under the weather on the way back from Arizona following the Giants' Super Bowl upset of the then-undefeated New England Patriots.  Even without "Sugar" Ray, the game was an instant classic.  Another noon tipoff, (recurring theme, huh?) this Big East tilt was a near-sellout, surprising since the Red Storm came into the game at 9-12 on the year and Providence was not much better.  Nonetheless, the 5,000-plus in attendance got a good show.  With the Red Storm clinging to a two-point lead, Eugene Lawrence hit a fadeaway three from the top of the key inside the final minute to give St. John's a five-point advantage, but the Friars battled back.  Down two with just a tenth of a second remaining in regulation, St. John's fouled Weyinmi Efejuku, who needed only to hit both foul shots to send the game into overtime.  Efejuku, a native of nearby Fresh Meadows, missed both shots as St. John's won the game.  On a side note, the women's matchup against Villanova that immediately followed was just as good despite the Red Storm coming up just a little short.

26 Greatest Games: 26-20

Now a member of the Memphis Grizzlies, D.J. Kennedy's career at St. John's included a handful of games that are among some of this author's career highlights.  (Photo courtesy of NBA.com)

Four days from today, I turn (surprisingly to some) 26; and to commemorate this occasion, today will be the first of a five-part series in which I recount the 26 most memorable games that I have either called or covered in my five-year career.  Please note that although I broadcast a variety of sports, this list will be restricted solely to basketball; and even if the final score may not be considered great, some of these games (most of them in fact) have a great amount of sentimental value to me.  With that said, let's start the list with No. 26 on the countdown.

26) St. John's vs. Howard - November 22, 2008, Carnesecca Arena
This was significant for several reasons.  For starters, it was my return to the broadcast booth for WSJU after having missed the season opener the week prior while interning at WFAN.  Second, this game was the first in which Vincenzo's Pizza became a part of my broadcasts as my soon-to-be ubiquitous sponsor, beginning a partnership in which the "incredibly good and insanely amazing" pizzeria and myself went together like Mel Allen and Ballantine beer during Yankee games of the 1960s.  In addition, this game was also the birth of "The Hitman."  With Keith Arias in the booth with me to provide color commentary that soon set the standard that all of my future broadcast partners lived up to, we watched D.J. Kennedy score eleven of St. John's first nineteen points, with all but two of the eleven coming from beyond the arc.  After Kennedy's third three-pointer, Keith chimed in with this quote that has become part of WSJU history:

"You may as well call him 'The Hitman' - he's a real sharpshooter out there!" - Keith Arias

By the way, St. John's continued their domination of Howard even after Kennedy's hot start, destroying the Bison by the final of 79-44 to improve to 3-1 on the young season.

25) St. John's vs. Marist - December 28, 2007, Madison Square Garden (Holiday Festival)
My first basketball broadcast, a 76-47 St. John's win over Sacred Heart one month and eight days prior, wasn't anything special other than the fact that it was my first hoops call.  However, my first play-by-play experience at Madison Square Garden (also the first Garden broadcast in WSJU's modern era) was a little more entertaining.  In what was arguably the defining moment for Tomas Jasiulionis in a Red Storm uniform, the Lithuanian big man scored a career-high twelve points; including his first and only three in red and white, as St. John's overcame a late rally from the Red Foxes to prevail 62-59 and reach the championship game of the Holiday Festival, which they eventually lost to Virginia Tech the following day.

24) Iona vs. Marist - February 12, 2012, Hynes Athletics Center
This game marks the first off-air appearance for me on this list, as I covered this MAAC tilt for this outlet, something I never thought possible until Iona sports information director Brian Beyrer was one of the first in his field to grant me a media credential for A Daly Dose Of Hoops when I went up to New Rochelle to cover the Gaels' November matchup with Northeast Conference champion LIU Brooklyn.  This game, one in which Marist surprisingly hung tough with conference leader Iona in the second half; even taking the lead on the Gaels just shortly after the intermission, turned out to be an 83-74 Gaels win, but the highlight was not the score.  Scott Machado, who has since gone on to be the subject of many pieces on this site, took matters into his own hands late in the final stanza, grinding his way to a 10-point, 11-rebound, 10-assist performance that gave the point guard just the second triple-double in Iona history.  (FYI: Without Machado, this game probably would not have made the cut, as Scott's determination to win the game while just so happening to rack up the triple-double was what made this game meaningful)

23) Iona vs. Fairfield - March 4, 2012, MassMutual Center (MAAC Tournament semifinal)
The first of several doubleheaders in this countdown, the journey to Springfield, Massachusetts alone is enough to qualify for a spot on the list.  Following a night in Piscataway to cover a largely forgettable St. John's loss to Rutgers, I returned home to Queens at 1:40 in the morning and left almost five hours later (on no sleep, which comes into play again later in the countdown) to board a Greyhound bus out of Manhattan headed for the home of the Basketball Hall of Fame.  After a pregame media room meal with my colleague and mentor Bob Heussler, I encountered Manhattan College superfan Ronnie Weintraub; surprisingly in good spirits after his beloved Jaspers lost to Siena in double overtime the night before, before making my way out to the court.  What ensued was an underrated, back-and-forth battle between two teams that deserved their eventual trips to the postseason.  Led by Scott Machado, Iona took a two-point lead into the intermission that they soon built on early in the second half before Rakim Sanders sparked a 13-1 Fairfield run that allowed the Stags to seize momentum the rest of the way, as Fairfield took advantage of Iona's excessive reliance on their "Big Three" (Machado, Mike Glover and Momo Jones) to defeat the Gaels 85-75 and advance to the MAAC championship against Loyola.

22) St. John's vs. West Virginia - March 8, 2008, Madison Square Garden
A noon tipoff for which I was at the "World's Most Famous Arena" at 10am despite just five hours of sleep turned into the first overtime game I got to call on the hardwood.  Knowing that they were eliminated from Big East Tournament contention before they even tipped off that afternoon, the Red Storm attempted to send senior guard Eugene Lawrence out a winner.  For thirty-nine minutes and fifty-eight seconds, it looked as though they would.  After a then-freshman Malik Boothe calmly iced two free throws in the final seconds to put St. John's up 68-66, West Virginia had to drive the length of the court for the tie since they were out of timeouts.  Backup guard Joe Mazzulla was unfazed by that challenge, taking it coast to coast on his own to hit a running layup to tie the game and send it into the extra session after St. John's was unable to pull it out at the buzzer.  The Mountaineers prevailed 83-74 in a game that, for a while, ranked as one of the better ones I had seen behind the microphone.

21) St. Francis (NY) vs. Robert Morris - December 4, 2010, Pope Physical Education Center
Mike Rice, who was just three weeks into his maiden season at Rutgers after guiding Robert Morris to two consecutive Northeast Conference championships, had the day off and spent it in Brooklyn watching his former Colonials squad take on a St. Francis team that started the season off strong for their own first-year head coach, former St. John's assistant Glenn Braica.  As is usually the case between the Colonials and Terriers, the outcome of the game was in doubt until the final seconds.  With the game tied at 57, Akeem Bennett scored the final six points of the game to lift the Terriers to the upset and send the hundreds that packed the stands into a frenzy.  The game's other defining moments came early in the second half, when a Robert Morris player (I forget who it was) created a three-point play opportunity that made Rice jump up from his bleacher seat behind press row; and after the game, when I left my perch as public address announcer to catch up with the aforementioned coach, who remembered our encounter from Big East media day two months prior and has since become a personal friend.

20) St. John's vs. Louisville - March 4, 2012, XL Center (Big East Tournament quarterfinal)
The back end of a doubleheader in which the aforementioned MAAC Tournament game between Iona and Fairfield served as my opening act featured me having to leave Springfield at the under-4 TV timeout in the second half in order to catch my Amtrak connection to Hartford, where I covered this overtime thriller featuring the team I admittedly knew nothing about when I first started broadcasting, but quickly grew attached to.  Having secured the No. 2 seed and a double bye, St. John's was enjoying their finest season in program history, one in which they defeated Connecticut on the road and eventually advanced to the Fresno regional semifinals in the NCAA Tournament.  On this night, junior guard Shenneika Smith was the deciding factor, as her refuse-to-lose mentality propelled St. John's back from a furious Louisville run.  Smith's 24 points included four of the first five in the extra session, which gave the Red Storm all the support they would need to emerge victorious.  On a sad note, this game also turned out to be the last time I got to speak to St. John's coach Kim Barnes Arico, who accepted the vacant head coaching position at Michigan one month later.  Her ten-year stint in Queens, where she literally resurrected a program that was largely nonexistent on her way to becoming its all-time winningest coach, provided some of the greatest moments in St. John's women's basketball history, and will not soon be forgotten.

Syracuse Gets Commitment From Tyler Ennis

St. Benedict's Prep point guard Tyler Ennis becomes first member of Syracuse's Class of 2013.  (Photo courtesy of Nation Of Orange)

Syracuse may be leaving the Big East and jumping ship to the Atlantic Coast Conference at the end of next season, but the impending switch in league affiliations has not stopped Jim Boeheim from attracting top-flight prospects, which fits into the belief that the Orange can land coveted recruits despite playing in a conference where most of the members reside below the Mason-Dixon Line.

Just moments ago, Syracuse scored their first verbal commitment for next year's class when the Orange became the choice for guard Tyler Ennis.  A 6-2, 180-pound combo guard, Ennis is a consensus Top 50 prospect who comes to Syracuse out of the renowned powerhouse program at St. Benedict's Prep in New Jersey.  Ennis, who like former Orange swingman and Boston Celtics draft pick Kris Joseph is a native Canadian, could perhaps be the first of a potential domino effect for Syracuse recruits, as the Orange are still looking at fellow 2013 recruits Jermaine Lawrence and Kuran Iverson among others.  Described by college basketball insider Jon Rothstein as a "better ball-handling version" of former Villanova guard Scottie Reynolds, who Orange fans are quite familiar with from watching him battle Syracuse for four years from 2006-2010, picked Syracuse in the end over offers from other suitors such as fellow Big East competitor Louisville; not to mention Memphis, Illinois and UCLA among others.

Ennis should provide a replacement for Dion Waiters, the Syracuse combo guard who two months ago was selected fourth overall in the NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers despite never starting a game in his two years wearing an Orange uniform.  His ability to play both at the point and off the ball will prove invaluable for Boeheim in his freshman year and beyond, as he can not only back up Michael Carter-Williams at the point, but also slide into the starting shooting guard spot that will be vacated by Brandon Triche upon his graduation next May.  His commitment also provides an instant credibility boost to Syracuse's recruiting class next year after the Orange already secured DaJuan Coleman and Jerami Grant for this season to join a team that may be deeper than last year's squad that reached the East regional finals with a 34-3 record.

For Syracuse fans that have yet to see what Ennis can do, the following highlight video (courtesy of Nation Of Orange) should be a pleasant sight for you.

Machado To Attend Rockets' Training Camp

His Summer League performance was apparently enough for Rockets to invite Scott Machado to attend training camp with Houston, moving the former Iona guard one step closer to playing in NBA.  (Photo courtesy of NBA.com)

For those who knew what he was capable of, Scott Machado confirmed last night what his fans and the privileged few fortunate enough to see his four-year transformation from role player to superstar at Iona expected all along.  For those who did not, the point guard once again proved whatever skeptics he had wrong.

The MAAC Player of the Year last season while the Gaels became just the second team in conference history to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, Machado tweeted last night that he will be attending NBA training camp with the team he auditioned for last month.  "For everyone that keeps asking, I'm going to training camp with the Houston Rockets," read the guard's entry on Twitter.  In his five-game tryout for the Rockets' Summer League team in Las Vegas, Machado averaged eight points and 5.6 assists per game, with both his numbers and playing time increasing with every game.  He also shot 39 percent from the field last month in Sin City, a statistic that; although not excellent, is definitely manageable in the NBA.

The Rockets have yet to make an official announcement, but Machado is expected to enter training camp as one of the favorites to win the backup point guard spot after the team signed Jeremy Lin during the offseason.  It is also believed that Machado can eventually win the starting job from Lin, who inked a three-year, $25 million deal after a breakout campaign with the New York Knicks that was highlighted by his rags-to-riches rise that spawned the phenomenon known as "Linsanity."

Mike Aresco Named Big East Commissioner

Mike Aresco, a former executive vice president at CBS Sports, is new Big East commissioner.  (Photo courtesy of Connecticut Post)

Three months after the near-three-year reign of John Marinatto came to a disappointing close, the Big East Conference this morning found his permanent replacement.

Mike Aresco, previously an executive at CBS Sports, will assume the position after being officially announced by the league office later today.  Aresco becomes the fourth permanent commissioner in the Big East's 33-year history, and replaces interim commissioner Joe Bailey just several weeks before the start of football season.  The network executive spent the last sixteen years with CBS, the final four of which were as the executive vice president of programming for the home of the NCAA Tournament.  Most importantly for the Big East, Aresco is a proven commodity in negotiating broadcast rights, something the conference will begin next month since its contract with ESPN expires following next season.  While at CBS, Aresco was not only a key figure in securing the renewal of CBS' coverage of both the NCAA Tournament and Southeastern Conference football/basketball, he also provided the early framework for the Mountain West and CBS Sports Networks to succeed and grow in their respective infancies.  Prior to his CBS career, the Tufts University graduate worked at ESPN; helping the "Worldwide Leader in Sports" develop a diverse range of sports coverage as well as the development of college football "Bowl Week" in late December, featuring such games as the Holiday, Peach and Alamo Bowls.  Aresco is also a private attorney, having practiced law in Hartford, Connecticut in the past.

Aresco was selected over a number of rumored candidates, including ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas, and already comes into the league office in Providence with mounds of praise from both colleagues and the media.  Former Boston Globe columnist Mark Blaudschun, who now runs his own website, was first to report the hire this morning; and heralded his ability to "deal with people," calling him both "charming and tough at the same time."  The hire comes one day after the conference trusted consultant Chris Bevilacqua to lead the league in its aforementioned broadcast rights negotiations.

Winning the hire is one thing.  Now, the Big East must prove that they made the right choice.  Mike Aresco seems like the right man for the job, and should make short work of whatever questions may be raised from his under-the-radar hire.

Two National Championships...Yet Overrated?

Despite two national championships at North Carolina and a stellar career at Kansas, Roy Williams inexplicably is considered most overrated coach in Division I by some of his colleagues.  (Photo courtesy of Chicago Sun-Times)

He has been a head coach for parts of four decades at two perennial college basketball powers, winning over 600 games and appearing in the NCAA Tournament in all but two of his seasons as the man in charge of his program.  He is also one of only four active coaches with two or more national championships, which automatically validates him as one of the all-time greats once he finally decides to hang up his whistle.  However, while Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Calhoun and Billy Donovan; the other of the three coaches with multiple national championships, are not considered overrated, Roy Williams somehow is, according to a poll of his coaching colleagues released by CBS Sports earlier in the week.

It just doesn't make sense.

About to enter his tenth season at North Carolina, Williams has won his two national titles within the last eight years on the bench for the Tar Heels, continuing the tradition started by Frank McGuire and Dean Smith.  After a stint at Kansas that featured many great teams and two national championship game appearances, but no wins, Williams was the Dan Marino of college coaches in that he had the credentials, yet lacked the testimonial.

If you want to talk about overrated, look no further than Williams' predecessor in Chapel Hill, one who committed the cardinal sin of going 8-20 at a program that had never had a season quite like that in its rich history.  With only one NCAA Tournament appearance between his tenure at both North Carolina and Notre Dame, with a talented roster at each school to boot, Matt Doherty never did get the job done aside from recruiting Carolina's 2005 national championship team that Williams led to victory in St. Louis.  Now, let's go back to Williams.  Is he overrated just because the name of his program attracts elite players just as well as his own name and resume?  Yes, North Carolina being North Carolina does help the cause, but you could put Roy Williams anywhere else and he would still not only win, but win big within a short period of time.  

Take the University of Pittsburgh as an example.  Pitt has been among the class of the Big East for the last decade, yet have never made it past a regional final under head coach Jamie Dixon, who has been at the helm of the Panthers just as long as Roy Williams has been in Chapel Hill.  However, Dixon; who has managed to attract players that turn down better programs to play for Pitt, is not even among the top five overrated coaches when he in fact should be.  If you switch the two coaches today, putting Roy Williams in charge of the Panthers and Jamie Dixon at the helm of the Tar Heels, Pittsburgh would be the bigger winner and better program, and with good; not great, players to boot.  I'm not saying that Carolina would be unsuccessful, but the Dixon tradition of great regular season team and early postseason exit; kind of like the Philadelphia Eagles of college basketball, would carry on.

Are there coaches out there who can recruit better than Williams?  Absolutely.  Look no further than another historic college basketball blue blood, UCLA.  The Bruins have managed to stay relevant even after the retirement and passing of John Wooden, but have only managed one national championship since then.  Since Jim Harrick was dismissed in 1996, Steve Lavin and current UCLA coach Ben Howland have attracted some of the nation's best recruiting classes to Westwood, but have had nothing to show for it.  

Howland has brought in a massive amount of talent this year with Shabazz Muhammad, Kyle Anderson and Jordan Adams to make his Bruins one of the favorites in the Pac-12 this season, but his in-game coaching has always prevented the Bruins from reaching the top of the mountain despite three consecutive Final Four appearances.  The same can be said for Lavin, who never made it out of the Elite Eight in Los Angeles, and now has signed his second consecutive top recruiting class at St. John's.  As charismatic and engaging as Lavin is, he has unfortunately yet to prove he belongs on the level of Williams, Calhoun, Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim and Tom Izzo, and this comes from a St. John's alumnus and broadcaster who has gotten to know the coach since he came to Queens in March of 2010.  Considering Williams has won with less in the past, it would not be out of the ordinary to suggest he would be able to replicate his success if you hypothetically placed him in either of those two programs.

Here is a link to the CBS poll for those of you who have yet to see it.  In it, Williams tells CBS' Gary Parrish that he considers himself good; not great, and goes on to say that he does not want to be in a situation where he has to determine whether or not he can win with average players, which explains his recruiting strategies.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/blog/eye-on-college-basketball/19753693/critical-coaches-who-is-the-most-overrated-coach-in-the-country

Maybe I may have lost touch with the whole "overrated" concept, but to paraphrase a line from the Adam Sandler movie "Billy Madison," if being overrated is cool, then call Roy Williams Miles Davis.

Should Calhoun Have Retired? Not So Fast...

After Jim Calhoun's unfortunate biking accident last night resulted in a fractured hip, UConn's coach may arguably have been better off retiring after winning national championship in 2011, but that was the last thing Calhoun should have done.  (Photo courtesy of New Haven Register)


Some college basketball experts would argue that Jim Calhoun should have ridden off into the sunset sixteen months ago following the University of Connecticut's third national championship in the Hall of Fame coach's legendary tenure.


Calhoun was on top of the world, they would say.  A coach whose season started off sensationally, crashed down to earth through a 9-9 campaign in Big East play, yet was resurrected in the postseason at the hands of a point guard who seemed to create a magical atmosphere whenever he touched the ball.  For a coach who was one month away from celebrating his 69th birthday after a career filled with over 800 victories between UConn and his previous employment at Northeastern, the Huskies' Cinderella run seemed like the fitting finale for the blue-collar kid from the suburbs of Boston.


Only Jim Calhoun is impervious to the word "quit," even after his latest medical scare last night, a fractured hip suffered while biking before a charity game in which he was to coach.  Rather than grace the bench, the coach was instead in a hospital, requiring surgery after the aforementioned bike accident.


Calhoun's hip injury is the most recent in a litany of medical problems that the gruff but affable UConn legend, three months removed from turning 70, has suffered in recent years.  There was the well-documented battle with prostate cancer that the coach fought valiantly and emerged victorious from, then another bout with skin cancer, not to mention the spinal stenosis that kept Calhoun off the bench late last season during the Huskies' run to the NCAA Tournament, where he ultimately returned despite UConn losing to Iowa State.  That does not include the numerous other extenuating circumstances that have taken their toll on Calhoun over the years despite not being related to his personal health, such as the allegations of laptop theft by guards Marcus Williams and A.J. Price, the recruiting scandal involving prospect Nate Miles and a former student manager, and the academic performance issues that currently leave the Huskies on the outside looking in when it comes to participating in postseason play for the upcoming season.


Yet through it all, Calhoun has done the only thing he really knows how to do other than coach: Fight.  Those who know the coach personally expect nothing less from someone who had to put his education on the back burner to work an array of various jobs to support his family from the age of fifteen following the death of his father.  "I can't even picture him retired," said Kemba Walker, the hero of the 2011 national championship team.  "I can't see that at all," the Bronx native and current Charlotte Bobcat told the Hartford Courant.


Neither can this author.


In my numerous interactions with Calhoun over the years, I can tell you just by looking at him for mere seconds that the man lives for what he does.  Coaching keeps him alive, and the chance to mold boys into men regardless of whether or not they become future superstars keeps him young to some degree.  That zeal and passion for his life's work is undoubtedly one of the reasons why Calhoun remains far more active than some other septuagenarians, proving that the old adage "if you love what you do, it isn't work" to be correct.  Naturally, Calhoun immediately reached out to longtime deputy George Blaney to inform him that he would be fine, a message that the associate head coach conveyed to fans in attendance at the UConn charity game Calhoun was slated to coach last night.


To suggest that Calhoun should have hung up the clipboard sixteen months ago is like suggesting that Joe Montana retire in the wake of the San Francisco 49ers' fourth Super Bowl win at the end of the 1989 season, even though he was only 33 and had several years of greatness left; like arguing that LeBron James call it a career following his NBA championship win and anticipated second consecutive Olympic gold medal despite being a mere 27 years old and in the prime of his life.  Yes, the men in these scenarios are young enough to be Calhoun's children; or even grandchildren in today's society, but age truly is just a number.  I myself will turn 26 in another seventeen days, and Jim Calhoun's lifestyle is far more active and energetic than that of my own, which I have no shame in admitting.


We all got to see just how important coaching can be to someone in the aftermath of the Jerry Sandusky saga, wherein Joe Paterno was fired from the Penn State head coaching position he had held since the Eisenhower administration only to die tragically a mere two months after being dismissed from the work that made him an institution in State College.  Jim Calhoun will certainly not meet the same end Paterno did, but for him to leave what, in essence, is the only thing he knows, is something of which the sheer ramifications ensuing from such a life-changing decision cannot be fathomed at the present moment; just because it is hard to picture him bowing out permanently after all the triumphant and heroic returns he has made from far greater setbacks, especially when the coach is really 70 going on 30.


With two years remaining on his contract, the lingering questions surrounding Calhoun's future will once again resurface both around Storrs, and the nation as well.  While some believe that this might be the time where the Hall of Fame coach thinks with his head and not his heart, it would not be the least bit surprising to see Jim Calhoun stick around even longer, perhaps signing a new agreement with the University of Connecticut.


After all, no part of his legacy can be tarnished, for the man has already taken a program acknowledged by few upon his arrival in 1986 and turned it into a national powerhouse; proving that he can still compete, recruit and coach with the best of them, some of whom are more than half his age.  Besides, he still has something to prove.


In professional boxing, the biggest separation among older fighters is their competitive spirit.  It is the most visible identifier between a punch-drunk has-been still hanging on for one last moment in the sun and a man who may be physically worn down, but whose heart lives and beats stronger than ever with each passing day.


Jim Calhoun is the latter, and will be until time; or some other factor beyond his control, proves otherwise.  Until then, any sight of him away from the basketball court for a considerable amount of time would be inhuman.

Jabari Parker: Chicago's Native Son Who Needs To Stay Home

Chicago prospect Jabari Parker continues to list DePaul among his final choices, and Blue Demons would not be only winners if he were to keep his talents in the Second City.  (Photo courtesy of USA Today)


The city of Chicago has seen many great basketball prospects make a name for themselves within its boundaries over the last twenty years, a Who's Who of prep stars that have gone on to accomplish bigger and better at the collegiate and professional levels.  Sadly for the United States' third-most populous city, none of these young men have stayed home, opting instead to take their talents elsewhere around the country on the road to the NBA.


Starting with Kevin Garnett, who played at Chicago's Farragut Academy before being selected fifth overall by Minnesota in the 1995 NBA Draft, no elite Windy City prospect has remained in the area, or even in the state for that matter.  Michael Finley, taken in the same 1995 draft that produced Garnett, went to Wisconsin.  Dwyane Wade, regarded to be arguably among the best players Chicago has turned out in recent memory, went up Interstate 94 to Marquette before spurning a potential NBA homecoming to remain in Miami.  Most recently, the Second City has been victimized twice in the last five years by John Calipari, who lured Derrick Rose and Anthony Davis away from home to become one-and-dones at Memphis and Kentucky respectively before the two subsequently became No. 1 overall draft picks.  Fortunately for Chicago fans, Rose returned home when he was drafted by the Bulls.


Enter a 17-year-old who has already been hyped by Sports Illustrated as the best high school prospect since the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player who just celebrated winning his first championship.  Not even a senior in high school yet, he continues to keep a local school in play for his services among a national list of suitors that includes blueblood programs such as North Carolina, Duke and Kentucky.  When you consider that it has been over three decades since one of Chicago's own opted to stay home for college, you will see monumental the hope around the city he calls home is for that honor to stay that way.


A 6-8, 220-pound swingman, Jabari Parker has already received Mr. Basketball honors in the state of Illinois to go with more accomplishments than most boys his age can place in their resumes.  Already regarded as the nation's best prospect in the class of 2013 by multiple outlets, Parker has narrowed his list down to ten.


As expected, the usual suspects for top prospects are there in the form of North Carolina, Duke, Kentucky and Michigan State, not to mention some other traditional powers such as Kansas, Georgetown and Florida.  The other three schools on his list are unique in their own different ways.  There is Stanford, which justifies Parker's standing as a true student-athlete, something you do not see often anymore.  The 17-year-old carries a 3.63 grade point average into his final year at the prep level, which would certainly qualify him as an honor student that would have no problem getting into a school of high academic reputation such as Stanford.  


There is also Brigham Young, a variable that could play a huge role in Parker's recruitment because Jabari is a true minority in this sense: He is not only biracial, but also a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  A Tongan and African-American blend, Parker is part of a scant three percent group of minorities of Mormon faith; something that is also very important to Parker, who still carries the Book of Mormon with him at practices, attends church services regularly, and may still undergo a two-year mission that is required of all Mormon men.


Finally, there is a third wild card, one that has fallen on hard times recently.  One that has a proud and rich tradition and history.  One whose fan base is equal parts eager and desperate to embrace a winner and one whose fan base are already showing mounds of support for a native son who would be their first highly regarded hometown hero since Mark Aguirre led the program to a Final Four in 1979.  More importantly, one who needs this kid more than anyone.


DePaul University is still attempting to not only rebuild, but establish itself as a player in the powerhouse Big East Conference.  Since leaving Conference USA in 2006, the Blue Demons enjoyed brief success in their first two years as a Big East institution, but have since endured four consecutive last-place finishes in league play after a 12th-place standing in 2007-08.  Third-year coach Oliver Purnell has undertaken similar rebuilding efforts in the past at Dayton and Clemson, with NCAA Tournament appearances being the end result in each circumstance.  Purnell has already built a solid foundation in Chicago with the recruitment and evolution of Cleveland Melvin and Brandon Young, and has help on the way with incoming freshman DeJuan Marrero.  Parker's skills have already been compared to Grant Hill, and Jabari himself likes to consider his game a hybrid of Paul Pierce and Carmelo Anthony, a skill set that would augment DePaul both inside and outside while also making it difficult to guard him in a Big East that prides itself on true guard and forward matchups.  DePaul has also gone six years since one of their own heard his name called in the NBA Draft, and Parker has already been thrown around as a potential No. 1 overall selection in 2014, a distinction that would help Blue Demon fans forget that it has felt like somewhat of an eternity since Wilson Chandler was drafted.


There are also two familiarity factors that will hopefully make DePaul intriguing and appealing to Parker.  First is his relationship with assistant coach Billy Garrett, who has spent the last two years recruiting Jabari, and whose son Billy Jr. has already given the Blue Demons a verbal commitment for next year.  Second is the prospect of a player opting to turn down bigger names to play in his hometown and help lead a revolution, something Maurice Harkless did to perfection this past season at St. John's.  After turning down offers from schools such as Arizona, Baylor, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas and Maryland, the Queens native signed with Steve Lavin and the Red Storm, becoming the Big East Rookie of the Year and 15th overall selection in June's NBA Draft when Harkless was taken by the Philadelphia 76ers.


Finally, there is the sentimental factor, a human interest story of sorts.  The Chicago basketball community is still recovering from the murder of Michael Haynes, one of their own who had recently signed with Iona College before being fatally shot a week ago tonight outside his home.  Parker staying home would help ease the pain in a way, giving Chicago fans easy access to cheer one of their own frequently; not to mention it would go a long way toward giving DePaul and its own fan base a reason to believe that they can not only compete in the Big East, but on a national level as well.


Being a broadcaster in New York and a St. John's alumnus, I got to see firsthand how positive of an effect Maurice Harkless staying home to play for St. John's had on his team despite playing with a six-man rotation for more than half the year.  Harkless' commitment brought additional blue chip prospects to St. John's, including this year's class that is headlined by the likes of JaKarr Sampson and Chris Obekpa.  It only takes one, and if his well-rounded persona is any indication, Jabari Parker is more than capable of starting a similar domino effect in Chicago.


Chicago already has great pizza, great tradition, and a great fan base.  All they need now is a great player to stay in their backyard.