Best and Worst of the Orlando Subregional
(Nothing connected to Mississippi State can be considered for these awards, since I’m always biased for the Maroon and White.)
Best Pep Band: University of Louisiana-Lafayette for playing Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” during time-outs. Nice choice for an underdog who gave North Carolina State a scare.
Worst Pep Band: I forgive Monmouth for not bringing as many band members as, say, North Carolina State. The school just isn’t that big. But their fight song sounds like a cross between a polka and a funeral dirge.
Best Mascot: Louisiana-Lafayette’s hot pepper wins for originality. A hot pepper. Who can compete with that?
Worst Mascot: A toss-up between Vanderbilt’s Commodore and Xavier’s Musketeer. The Commodore looks like an old man who takes steroids, but forgets to work out any section of his body besides his chest. Think David Spade wearing a Wonderbra.
The Musketeer looked like Salvador Dali. I’m not sure what kind of team rallies around a surrealist painter, but they are pretty good. Maybe Bully needs a makeover involving melting clocks.
Best Dance Team/Cheerleader Uniforms: Vanderbilt had a single Commodore logo across their chests. Simple, but classy. The complete opposite of their student section during MSU’s game in Nashville.
Worst Dance Team/Cheerleader Uniforms: The Western Michigan dance team wore something that resembled a basketball practice jersey from the 1970s-the part of the 1970s that should never, ever, see the light of day.
Best Fan Showing: Western Michigan, who gets extra points for having a loud, rambunctious and full section. In a state with schools like Michigan and Michigan State , it’s impressive to see that they’re not the only schools with a passionate following. Louisiana-Lafayette gets an honorable mention for having a guy who danced in the aisles, regardless of what was happening on the court.
Worst Fan Showing: Xavier’s fans make Alabama and LSU fans look humble. Xavier, State still has a 3-1 overall record against you.
Best Game: Lionel Chalmers and company put on a show in a comeback victory in the Louisville/Xavier game. It was an unfortunate preview of what was to come Sunday.
Worst Game: In basketball hell, the game between NC State and Louisiana-Lafayette will be shown on endless replay. I’ve never seen worse shooting by a group of presumably sober people.
Best Coach: Monmouth’s Dave Calloway provided fun quotes. He wasn’t afraid to have a beer with his fans or to stand up on a bar and address those fans. Also, his rapport with his players was readily apparent. I’m not surprised that Calloway is making a lot of athletic directors’ short lists of coaches to consider.
Worst Coach: Louisville’s Rick Pitino walked around with an entourage that rivaled P. Diddy’s. How does he actually coach with that amount of people surrounding him? Then again, the Cardinals lost 9 of their last 10. I guess that answers my question.
Best Media Guide: Monmouth’s sports information director connected several players and coaches to Kevin Bacon, a la “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.” Central New Jersey must be pretty dull this time of year.
Worst Media Guide: Louisville published their guide in hardback form. The sheer waste of money-winning, not canvas, impresses sportswriters-earns the Cardinals this award.