• It was great to see Bruce Pearl dress up in orange body paint to support Tennessee's women's basketball team. How beautiful to see the truly colorful Pearl, who would be a member of my all-wacko coaching team. Wouldn't it have been something if Coach K came running out in blue body paint to support Gail Goestenkors and her Duke squad! What a sight that would have been!
• In college hoops, nobody runs the fast break in transition taking advantage of mistakes better than North Carolina these days. When opponents turn it over, it is lights out, baby! North Carolina loves sharing the ball and averages around 20 assists a game.
• I can't wait to go to Columbus and see Greg Oden in person. When I called the Ohio State-North Carolina game earlier in the season, Oden was sidelined following wrist surgery. It has been a while since I have been in Columbus for a big hoops happening. Excitement is running rampant in Columbus and Oden has been brilliant at times, coming through big-time against Iowa (29 points while dominating in the lane). Ohio State faces Michigan State and the Spartans come in riding a four-game win streak. Tom Izzo's club has won their last four visits to Ohio State. This squad has overachieved this season after losing Paul Davis, Shannon Brown and Maurice Ager to the NBA. Izzo's kids are buying into his defensive philosophy, they rebound and defend well, and can be challenging. The last time the Buckeyes lost at home was to the Spartans in double overtime.
• I recently wrote about Kentucky's new $30 million practice facility. Good news for fans down the road in Louisville. The Cardinals will open their new practice facility on August 1st. That will be beautiful and Rick Pitino will be thrilled with that as an asset in recruiting. I wonder when the word will come to Michigan, which needs an upgrade in facilities. Athletic Director Bill Martin has stated how badly the Wolverines need to renovate their facility. Ann Arbor deserves that much.
• Isn't it great to see a super guy who can handle celebrity status like Peyton Manning competing in the Super Bowl? It is like Derek Jeter; they know how to treat people and respect superstardom. You see too many young athletes today making poor decisions – in college basketball recently, guys like Sean Williams, Derrick Caracter and Kyle McAlarney – need to grow up and realize life goes on with them or without them on the scene. The game is not bigger than any individual.
• How about a salute to Lon Kruger for the job he has done at UNLV! The Runnin Rebels are 17-4 and one of Kruger's biggest fans is ex-UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian. Tark is back in the program and he has stated to me how impressed he is with the current coach.
• I feel really bad for Jeff Ruland down at Iona. He works relentlessly and cares about kids and has a passion for his alma mater, Iona. I remember when he said no to all of the giants in the coaching world and decided to join Jimmy Valvano with the Gaels of New Rochelle, New York. He took them on an incredible journey, including a highlight win over a super Louisville team at Madison Square Garden. That wasn't the prelim my friends … it was a special main event. Ruland was a major factor. His kids are going through a tough time now at 0-19, but five of those losses came by seven points or less, and three were in overtime. Don't count them out because they could turn a negative into a positive.
• One coach who doesn't get enough credit is Vanderbilt's Kevin Stallings. He should get more notoriety because he does a good job. The SEC is the best conference in college basketball.
• Wow, the 25th anniversary of the Maui Invitational in 2008 should be special. Look at the field assembled for that event: North Carolina, Indiana, Notre Dame, Alabama, Oregon, Texas, St. Joseph's and host Chaminade. The 2007 field, announced previously, includes the likes of Duke, LSU, Marquette, Illinois and Oklahoma State.
• Even though Georgia Tech lost to North Carolina when I saw them in person last week, I really feel Javaris Crittenton and Thaddeus Young will be special star players. Crittenton had a rough night in Chapel Hill but he has had a productive season as a diaper dandy.
• Texas A&M-Corpus Christi has made an auspicious debut in the Southland Conference. Ronnie Arrow's squad is 5-0 in league play and 14-4 overall. All five conference wins have been by at least 12 points with the average margin of victory at 22.0 per game. Arrow has a big man on campus in 7-0 senior center Chris Daniels, who leads the team in scoring and rebounding. A&M-Corpus Christi beat Kent State earlier this season, and the school's four losses have all been on the road against quality competition (Oklahoma State, UNLV, Purdue, and Mississippi State).
• I love to see teams that attack pressure when opponents press in the backcourt. A lot of teams are content to get the ball up the court and set up their offense. When a squad attacks aggressively it can often get a three-on-two, leading to an easy hoop.
• Here's a call to all coaches out there. If you would like to join Mike Krzyzewski, Tom Izzo, Rick Pitino, John Calipari and several others, we need more members of the Presidents Club for the Jimmy V Foundation. If you feel financially able and can help, please get in contact with me. We need get 20 more members at $50,000 spread out over a five-year period to put together a $1 million grant to fight this dreaded disease. Some of my buddies have joined, like Digger Phelps, Steve Lavin and Rick Majerus. Remember, we are trying to save lives, people that need a helping hand.
Dick Vitale coached the Pistons and the University of Detroit before broadcasting ESPN's first college basketball game in December 1979. Send him a question for possible use on ESPNEWS.
