Tim's 2005-06 college basketball preview
By Tim Narrigan
Sports Reporter
tansool@psu.edu
College basketball has risen
to the point where many avid
basketball fans like it more than
the NBA. But who can blame
them? What other sporting event
can captivate the nation and
dominate sports headlines for
more then two weeks? College
basketball's popularity is higher
then it ever was and with the
NBA's new age requirement, I
predict it will rise even higher.
Starting next year, the NBA will
implement a rule that raises the
minimum age requirement from
18 to 19 and requires at least
one year out of high school. That
means the Leßron James's, Kevin
Garnett's, Tracy McGrady's, and
Dwight Howard's of the world will
be forced to play at least one year
of college basketball. Agree with
this new rule or not, you cannot
deny that it will dramatically
increase the talent in the college
ranks.
Greg Oden, the top ranked
high school player in the class
of 2006 who has been compared
to a young Shaquille O'Neal,
would have most certainly been
the top pick in the 2006 draft,
but instead will now attend Ohio
State along with four other highly
Seminoles win ACC championship
By MARK LONG
AP Sports Writer
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The
constant questions. The stinging
criticism. The growing cries for
change. They're all history.
At least for now.
The Florida State Seminoles are
conference champions, again.
Willie Reid returned a punt
83 yards for a touchdown, the
defense continually harassed
Marcus Vick and Florida State
upset No. 5 Virginia Tech 27-22
Saturday night in the inaugural
Atlantic Coast Conference title
game.
The Seminoles (8-4) snapped
a three-game losing streak, the
program's first since 1983, and
won the league title for the 12th
time in 14 years. They turned
around a disappointing season
and earned a Bowl Championship
Series berth in the Orange Bowl,
where they likely will face No. 4
Penn State.
Bobby Bowden vs. Joe Paterno,
the two winningest coaches in
major college football history.
"Does it look like that? I might
not show up," Bowden joked.
Few could have envisioned that
matchup. Not after Florida State
was outscored 89-36 in losses to
North Carolina State. Clemson
and Florida .
Boosters and fans were
touted freshmen. Could it be the
next "Fab Five?" Probably not,
but without the NBA's age limit,
college basketball would not
have been able to experience
such a talented recruiting class
on one team, let alone a single
player like Oden.
The college basketball season
is upon us, and here are some
teams/players to watch out for
this season. My top ten teams
are:
1.) Duke they have a perfect
mixture of seasoned veterans
along side young talent. Seniors
Sheldon Williams and J.J. Redick
are All-American candidates
along side super freshmen Josh
Mcßoberts and Drew Paulus and
sophomore DeMarcus Nelson.
With North Carolina rebuilding
and Wake Forest without their
catalyst Chris Paul (now in the
NBA), Boston College is Duke's
primary obstacle in the ACC.
Bank on Duke as a #1 seed in
March.
2.) UConn losing Charlie
Vilanueva to the NBA would seem
like a huge loss, but with Rudy
Gay getting more touches on the
offensive end, UConn is a better
team. With 6'll Hilton Armstrong
and 6'lo Josh Boone along side
6'9 Gay in the starting lineup,
UConn will have a huge height
calling for Bowden to fire his
son and offensive coordinator,
Jeff Bowden. Some were even
talking about the elder Bowden
stepping down after 19 losses
in the last five seasons. Others
were already looking ahead and
guessing how many in a row the
team would lose; Florida State
hasn't lost four in a row since
1975, the year before Bowden
arrived.
The Seminoles may have
silenced those groans Saturday,
starting with Reid's return, which
sparked a 24-point third quarter
that broke a 3-3 tie.
Of course, they might have
returned in the fourth quarter as
the Seminoles conservatively
worked the clock while Virginia
Tech made a comeback.
Vick led the Hokies (10-2) to
consecutive touchdowns in the
fourth quarter, a 29-yard pass to
Josh Morgan and then a 4-yard
run, that cut the lead to 27-15. He
capped a 93-yard drive with a 1-
yard TD run with 1:45 to play that
made it 27-22.
But Tech, without any timeouts,
failed to recover the onside
kick. The Seminoles ran out the
clock from there, and celebrated
another ACC title.
Vick was much better than he
was against Miami last month,
when he threw two interceptions
and fumbled four times. He
advantage on their opponents.
When PG Marcus Williams
comes back from suspension, he
will team up with Denham Brown
to give UConn a good backcourt
to complement their height
advantage.
3.) Texas - Junior P.J. Tucker is
academically eligible, LaMarcus
Aldridge is healthy, senior PF
Brad Buckman will be a four year
starter, and sophomore Daniel
Gibson is one of best in the
nation. What does this equal? A
formidable Texas lineup that can
play with anybody.
4.) Gonzaga Anything but a
sleeper team this year. SF Adam
Morrison is one of the best players
in the nation. He is complemented
by a solid big man in J.P. Batista
and a very capable point guard in
Derek Raivio.
5.) Oklahoma Seniors Taj
Grey and Kevin Bookout are
two of the better forwards in the
country. Losing their star PG
Drew Lavender to a transfer to
Xavier would seem important,
but with last year's Big 12 powers
Oklahoma State and Kansas
rebuilding, look for Oklahoma to
pile up conference wins.
6.) Villanova They would have
been higher on this if star Curtis
De'Cody Fagg avoids a
finished 26-of-52 passing
yards, with a touchdown
interception. He also ran 1
Sports
Sumpter was healthy. With him
most likely out for the season,
Nova plans to start four guards
for the entire year. Normally this
would seem ridiculous, but as
good as shooters as they are,
watch out for Villanova come
tournament time.
7.) Memphis Senior SF Rodney
Carney is one of the more
explosive players in the country.
He will have to lead a very young
but very talented Memphis team
if they want to compete with the
best. With Louisville moving to
the Big East, Memphis will have
no problem winning Conference
USA.
8.) Kentucky —This is the surprise
of the list due to the fact that
Kentucky lost two of their stars
from last year, Kelenna Azubuike
and Chuck Hayes. However, I
feel that sophomore PG Rajon
Rondo is good enough to lead a
team that is still very talented.
9.) Boston College BC was
one of the surprises in college
basketball last year starting the
year 20-0. With two outstanding
forwards in senior Craig Smith
and junior Ricky Dudley, they
will make some more noise this
year in their new conference, the
ACC.
tackle after a first down catch in the Ist.
for 335 for 11 yards and two scores.
and an He certainly gave Florida State
7 times a scare, but it was too little, too
Photo courtesy of AP Sports
The Capital Times, December 9, 2005
10.) Louisville —Will have to adjust
to being in a power conference
after switching from Conference
USA to the Big East. A great
frontcourt with sophomores Juan
Palacios and Davis Padgett is
anchored by sharp shooting SG
Taquan Dean.
With the NBA establishing the
new age requirement, this year's
freshman class lacks the upper
echelon talent it is accustomed
to. Last year's top high school
players like Gerald Green, Andrew
Bynum and Martell Webster did
what typical high school phenoms
do these days by declaring for
the NBA draft and becoming first
round picks. But before this new
rule was announced and with
the rumor that the NBA would
implement a higher age limit,
several borderline high school
players declared for the draft.
It resulted in a record nine high
school players getting drafted.
But players like Monta Ellis, Louis
Williams, and Andray Blatche fell
to the second round denying the
guaranteed money they would
have received if they were first
rounders. While these players
are struggling to keep their roster
spots and fighting for minutes,
they could have been stars at
the college level. So while the
freshman class is weaker than in
The Seminoles did too much
damage in the decisive third
quarter. Virginia Tech went three
and-out to open the second half,
and Reid fielded the punt near
the sideline, sprinted ahead, cut
inside and then juked two players
and went nearly untouched into
the end zone. Punter Nic Schmitt
had a shot at Reid, but his diving,
one-armed attempt at a leg tackle
was futile.
Vick, who was sacked four times
in the first half and six times in
the game, threw an interception
on the ensuing possession.
Florida State's Drew Weatherford
completed consecutive passes to
Fred Rouse and De'Cody Fagg,
then Leon Washington sprinted
up the middle for a 14-yard
score.
The Seminoles had a 17-3 lead
and all the momentum. Players
were jumping up and down on the
sideline. Florida State's famed
War Chant resonated through
Alltel Stadium. This looked
much more like the confident,
borderline cocky, Seminoles who
used to run roughshod through
the conference.
That changed last year when
Virginia Tech and Miami joined
the league. The Hokies beat
Miami for the ACC title in 2004
and were a double-digit favorite
to repeat _ mostly because of the
past years, there are still several
super stars that will have an
instant impact with their teams.
My top 5 freshmen for the 2005-
06 season are:
1.) Josh Mcßoberts (PF Duke)
—At 6'lo and extremely versatile,
he could be the second coming
of Christian Laettner at Duke.
2.) Tyler Hansbrough (PF UNC)
He will put up huge numbers as
the go-to guy on a team that lost
4 players in the first 14 picks in
the 2005 draft.
3.) Tasmin Mitchell (SF LSU)
After losing Brandon Bass to
the NBA, Mitchell will instantly be
one of the best players in a weak
conference.
4.) Shawne Williams (PF
Memphis) Memphis coach
John Calipari compared his skills
to Magic Johnson's at the same
age. Although that had to be a
stretch, when a guy played guard
in high school at 6'9 and switches
to PF in college, you know he has
serious talent.
5.) Julian Wright (SF Kansas)
One of three McDonald's
High School All-American's on a
rebuilding team.
Seminoles' recent struggles
But Florida State's defense
returned to form, making Virginia
Tech look a step slow and as
helpless as Miami did in a 27-7
victory in Blacksburg last month.
The Hokies backed into the
championship game when
Georgia Tech upset Miami three
weeks ago.
Now, Virginia Tech will either
return to Jacksonville and face
Louisville in the Gator Bowl or play
in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta.
The Hokies might want to
avoid return to Alitel Stadium
_ especially with all the bad
memories.
Florida State piled on two more
scores in the third quarter, both of
which were set up by good field
position. After a 28-yard punt,
Weatherford hooked up with
Reid for a 41-yard gain that set
up a 41-yard field goal by Gary
Cismesia.
Receiver David Clowney
fumbled following a screen pass
on the ensuing drive, and Florida
State was in Virginia Tech territory
again. Weatherford completed a
22-yard pass to Greg Carr and
later hit Chris Davis on a slant
pass for a 6-yard score.
Weatherford finished 21-of-35
for 225 yards.