Welcome to the third installment of Throwback Thursdays with the Coach. If you are a true historian of the game you will no doubt appreciate this week’s choice, and the uniform, of Wes Unseld. If you have never heard of this guy or never checked out who the great frontcourt players in the 1970s were besides Kareem and Walton, then please take the time to add to your knowledge. Read More »

It’s alright if you’re not familiar with Marquis Teague just yet. Unless you’re a diehard high school hoops fan, or from Indiana, chances are you’ve never even seen the kid play. But as the best point guard in the Class of 2011, and the younger brother of the Atlanta Hawks’ Jeff Teague, you should get to know him. Today, Teague has setup a 1:30 PM news conference to decide where he’s going to school in two years. And all signs point to it coming down to Kentucky and Louisville. Read More »

It’s safe to say that in one year, John Calipari has turned Kentucky into NBA U. With five players slated to go in the first 20 picks of this year’s NBA Draft, and commitments last week from top-five players in the Class of 2010 (Brandon Knight) and Class of 2011 (Michael Gilchrist) – not to mention All-American senior Doron Lamb – you’d think Coach Cal would take a day off. Think again. While there are still some outstanding players who might commit to the Wildcats for next year, Calipari is focusing his attention on the Class of 2012. Read More »

That’s right, the start of the college hoops season is just one week away and you know what that means: it’s time to unleash the mother effing fury! For the past seven months, I’ve been bottling up a vicious mixture of excitement and rage, just waiting for the moment to release my emotions onto the rest of the world. Well that time has come. Your boy Matty D is back to give you a look at the top teams in the country and to separate the champs from the chumps. Read More »

Not sure whose idea this was yesterday, but what a mess. He sounds like a guy with his back against the wall.

Watching Amir Johnson in his 10 minutes off the bench last night, two things occurred to me: (1) Instead of barely cracking the Pistons’ rotation, the 21-year-old could have been a senior at Louisville this year, and (2) Amir has the tightest waves in the NBA. Read More »

While No. 1 seeds UConn and North Carolina had little trouble getting through the first two rounds of the tourney and into the Sweet Sixteen, Louisville and Pitt haven’t looked nearly as strong. Yesterday, Pitt was tied with Oklahoma State around the 2:30 mark of the second half, struggling again to put away a lesser-talented team before Levance Fields took over. Read More »

While the rest of us have the luxury of filling out an NCAA Tournament bracket in relative peace — only having it picked apart game-by-game if somebody in your office pool is really bored — President of the United States Barack Obama (I still like typing that out in full) gets no such treatment. Read More »

Whether it’s Dick Vitale‘s hoarse screaming or Bruiser Flint reading it off some intern’s notes, every college basketball analyst will tell you that backcourt play is beyond critical in the Tournament; especially point guard play. Like I said in picking Louisville senior PG Andre McGee (and backup Edgar Sosa) to lead the Cardinals to a national ‘chip, each of this decade’s title-winning teams had, without exception, good to great point guards. Read More »

Whether you’ve got just one empty Big Dance bracket staring back at you or five, here’s a few pointers before you put that crucial $20 on the line:

1. Be wary of the “hot” teams I know it’s tempting to take teams like Mississippi State and USC after they both just ran through their conference tournaments, but be careful. Look at the teams that have pulled off similar runs in the past few years: ‘Cuse in ’06 and Georgia in ’08. Read More »