By Bill Doherty Special to ESPN.com The first thing that one notices about the Eastern sector of Bracketville is that it is overpopulated with old-school, Hall of Fame coaches. The East regional is home to the original Coach K (Bob Knight) and the sequel (Duke's Mike Krzyzewski). It has the man who embodies old school, Temple's John Chaney. How old school is Chaney? He lives in the same house that he purchased in the Mount Airy section of Philly for $11,000 and jokes that the satellite dish that he has connected to his house is bigger than the house itself. And then's there Oklahoma State's Eddie Sutton and Kansas' Roy Williams.
If a team from a power conference can possibly be a Cinderella, then Florida fits the bill. This 24-7 team is much better than its No. 5 seed would indicate. They've won six of their last eight, falling only to fellow NCAA tourney teams Kentucky and Auburn by single digits. Four of this team's five starters average in double figures, led by super sophs Mike Miller (14.3 ppg) and Udonis Haslem (11.3 ppg), and everybody on Billy Donovan's roster can shoot the ball. Don't be surprised at all if these young Gators are playing in Indianapolis on April 1. Don't believe the hype Penn's Michael Jordan. Yes, Jordan (16.3 ppg) is the best player in the Ivy League and has the same name as his Airness. But this guy always tries to do too much against the big-name teams and sometimes it causes him to put up Iverson-esque shooting numbers (check out this season's 2-for-14 shooting for five points against Kentucky and 5-for-15 shooting for 13 points vs. Temple). On a roll Take your pick here. Penn has won 16 straight. Butler (23-7) is on a 15-game win streak, but will be hard-pressed to beat Florida. Temple (26-5) has won 17 of its last 18. And of course, Duke (27-4) has proven quite Y2K compatible, having only lost twice since the ball dropped in Times Square. On life support Seton Hall (20-9) enters the NCAAs having lost five of its last seven games. Still, the Hall could be a dangerous No. 10 seed, led by guards Shaheen Holloway (13 ppg, 5.9 apg), Darius Lane (15.4 ppg) and Rimas Kaukenas (13 ppg). The Hall takes on seventh-seeded Oregon in the first round. West Coast teams that get shipped East generally leave their collective shooting touch in overhead compartments. Plus, all four No. 10 seeds won first round games last March. With a win over the Ducks, the Hall would get Temple. If long-range bombers Lane and Kaukenas are on, they could end Chaney's Final Four quest early. Hot hand Chris Carrawell, Duke. On this Tuesday morning's ACC conference call, Krzyzewski said that if he was putting together a team of all the guys that he coached at Duke that he'd want Carrawell on it, and believes that he'd be a heavy contributor on such a team. That's enough for us. Carrawell (18 ppg.) was the second leading scorer in the ACC and the school's fourth ACC Player of the Year in the last nine years. After never scoring 20 points in a game as a freshman, sophomore or junior, Carrawell reached that plateau in 28 regular-season games. Hero in waiting Quincy Wadley, Temple. You know all about Sanchez, the Owls' unflappable point guard and Karcher, the former McDonald's all-American who shed 20 pounds this offseason and is playing the best ball of his career. But in the coming weeks, Joe Snackchip will come to learn that the unsung hero on this year's Owls squad is the 6-4 Wadley. He is Temple's second-leading scorer (12.7 ppg) and is a tough-as-nails defender. Wadley (team-high 63 3-pointers), Karcher (62 3s) and sixth man Lynn Greer (57 3s) give Chaney something he has lacked in other failed Final Four bids: Proven 3-point bombers. Bill Doherty, a freelance writer from Bethlehem, Pa., is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. |
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