To tell the truth, I’m fighting back tears writing this article because basketball is officially over. Just to clarify, I’m talking about real basketball being over, the NBA doesn’t quite qualify as real basketball. Anyway, there is quite a lot going on in the world of sports, and I need to get everyone caught up. Most water-cooler discussions over the last month or so have been directed at college basketball, and rightfully so because almost every English speaking office in the world has an NCAA Tournament bracket contest. The office at The Reflector was no different. I and a few other writers decided to enter the bracket contest on ESPN.com, and as in every contest, there is a winner and a loser. Not one person correctly picked the national champion, Maryland. Everyone picked Maryland to go to the Final Four, but no one had them winning it all. Now our winner, Reflector reporter Chris Whitaker, picked two of the Final Four, and had Maryland in the finals, which gave him the victory over Assistant News Editor Stephen McCloud. McCloud, reporter Craig Peters and I had three of the Final Four with Maryland, Kansas and Oklahoma, but we all fell short especially since I picked Kansas to defeat OU in the national championship game. Everyone was pretty close during most of the contest with the possible exception of reporter Grant Alford. Alford finished dead last. His Final Four picks, Alabama, Cincinnati and Mississippi State all fell in the second round of the tournament, but there was a bright spot for Alford, he had Maryland in the Final Four. You’ve got to give him the school pride award, though for picking the Bulldogs to beat Cincinnati for the national title. I know I wouldn’t have minded seeing that.
OK, enough about that, how about those Indiana Hoosiers? Of course I was disappointed that the Oklahoma Sooners didn’t get to play for the national championship, but if there was a team I wouldn’t mind seeing them lose to, it was Indiana. They reminded me a lot of Hickory High School in the movie “Hoosiers,” but Maryland was just too tough and they had that extra something special that only national championship teams possess. It was their one shining moment.
Now, I’ve got one more note about college basketball before I close the book for a couple of months. According to ESPN.com, Mississippi State forward/center Mario Austin has changed his mind and decided to enter the NBA Draft. In a report filed by ESPN college basketball analyst Andy Katz, Austin will reportedly drop out of school and work out in Philadelphia until he is scheduled to attend an NBA-sponsored workout in Chicago.
My opinion: this is not a good decision by Mario at all. NBA scouts expect him to go mid-to-late in the first round of the draft, and they are probably right. But think about it this way–if Mario were to stay this season, he not only would have a good chance to advance in the NCAA Tournament, but he could also dramatically improve his already rising NBA stock. If he stays, Mario could end up being a lottery pick (early first round), and making a lot more money while playing for a somewhat mediocre team. Now he runs the chance of being drafted late by a playoff-caliber team, not being paid as much and probably not getting to play as much either. I am considering myself one of those people who wishes Austin would change his mind, not just for the team’s sake, but for his own.
As everyone knows, this week is Super Bulldog Week. You could argue that the highlight of the week is the Nickelback concert at The Hump, but I disagree. Ron Polk’s former team, the Georgia Bulldogs, play our Bulldogs at Dudy Noble Field Friday at 6:30 p.m., Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at 1:30 p.m., but that’s not all in the way of sporting events this weekend. The women’s tennis team will take on Louisiana State University Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre, and the men will match up with Arkansas at 1 p.m. on Sunday also at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
One more thought as I close–forget Deion Sanders, we’ve got our own version of “Primetime” here at MSU. I’m speaking of course of former MSU basketball player Michael Gholar who is now practicing with the football team for the 2002 season. But I’ve got one question to ask Gholar. Can you do the Dawg Pound Rock?