Duke’s Christmas Gift This Season – A Number 5 Ranking in the Polls
Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas!
There goes Santa Claus, heading back to the North Pole after a very solid and successful holiday (number 2006 and counting – talk about a dynasty – nice work St. Nick). The list of gifts he brought this year to collegiate programs is long but I’ve put together my top ten list of college basketball Christmas (and Hanukkah where appropriate) gifts this season for teams and fans alike. Keep in mind, as always, some of the gifts are deserved and some not so much…
Number 10 – Dance Teams in spandex (‘nuff said – provided there are screening filters in place – you all know what I’m talking about).
Number 9 – Mid-major TV madness. This year more than any other we’ve seen a lot of Mid-major basketball on national television (deservedly so)…this is going to be more of a trend than an anomaly and it will make for better basketball viewing for a larger audience.
Number 8 – Big conference match ups early in the season. Even outside of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge and Thanksgiving Tourneys we have seen some nice early season match ups between college powerhouses and I for one hope it continues.
Number 7 – More games in HD. It ain’t just good for football (and it’s great for Dance Teams in spandex – provided said filters ARE in place) and networks are catching on…
Number 6 – Florida gets Ohio State on a day where Greg Oden can’t hit the backboard with a beach ball (it was bound to happen but I was hoping it wouldn’t come against that goofy, long-haired, lanky mess of chest bashing energy – Joakim Noah)…
Number 5 – Gary Williams gets a new supply of sweat resistant suits in time for the ACC regular season (for most coaches these are sweat proof but we know that Gary has the glands of ten fat men).
Number 4 – Tyler Hansbrough has the entire regular season to make UNC fans forget about his inexcusable disappearance against Gonzaga, which resulted in their lone loss SO FAR this season.
Number 3 – Bobby Knight watch. He says it doesn’t matter to him, but I know Carolina fans have an opinion. Whatever you think of Knight and his methods, he HAS done it the right way – he runs a clean program and his kids graduate. That’s college sports in my book.
Number 2 – UCONN gets a top 10 ranking in spite of an 81 RPI ranking and a 316 SOS (Strength of Schedule), plus they haven’t left home once this season. Congrats Coach Calhoun and a VERY Merry Christmas.
Number 1 – Duke is number 5 in the polls even with the loss of Redick and Williams; but it is validated by a number 3 RPI ranking and a number 2 SOS. Once again, Coach K shows that it’s his methods that get the results. My predication: Coach K gets ACC and NCAA Coach of the Year.
