| | The Great Eight doesn't have to die, even if ESPN and the NCAA can't
come to an agreement on letting it have exempted status next season.
The two-day, four-game event has more name recognition than any
other non-conference event.
"I dreamed about the Great Eight when I was little," said
Cincinnati sophomore Steve Logan of the event, which started in 1994. "I never knew I
would be playing North Carolina in the Great Eight in Chicago. It's a
big-time name, Great Eight. Everybody knows about the Great Eight back
home."
|  | | Ed Cota has endured similar struggles with North Carolina. |
But the Great Eight may never get a chance to survive on its own
merit if it's deemed just another made-for-TV, neutral-court event.
The NCAA and ESPN are expected to meet on the topic in early 2000.
Next year, teams will only be allowed two exempted tournaments every four
years. For example, a team like Duke could only go to one tournament in Hawaii
and one in Alaska during a four-year span instead of Hawaii one season, Alaska the next,
Puerto Rico the third and the Preseason NIT in the fourth.
The Great Eight enjoyed a rare double exemption this season. All
eight teams in this year's event were in or will play in other exempted
tournaments. Elite teams usually like the three-game exempted tournaments
more than one neutral court game because they usually get one easier win,
one tough game and a high-profile matchup that could go either way in a tournament situation.
The Great Eight could never be a true eight-team, three-day
tournament because it's too tough a field. A top 10 team doesn't want to leave
Chicago with three losses, especially to three high-profile teams. And teams
that draw well (and make a lot of money) at home like Kansas, North
Carolina, Arizona and Kentucky aren't likely to give up a home game without
a return the next season.
"I don't know if we do it or not," North Carolina coach Bill
Guthridge said after the Tar Heels lost to Cincinnati on Wednesday at the
United Center. "It all depends on our schedule in a given year. It's a good
tournament but the fans didn't think so. It's ridiculous that there were
only 12,000 or 13,000 with four good teams playing."
Chicago and the United Center's ticket prices ($75 tickets for a
college doubleheader with or without a home team is too high) are to blame
for the poor showing.
While none of the games went down to the last shot, they were
invaluable in determining early-season progress for the eight teams. None of
them would have had the same read on their team by beating up on a low-major
opponent at home.
"I love playing in the Great Eight," North Carolina point guard Ed
Cota said. "You know that it's going to be one of the toughest games on the
schedule."
Cincinnati's coaches said they would play, even if it weren't exempted. Few teams want to play the Bearcats in non-conference games and this is a good way for the Bearcats to get a quality non-conference game. Michigan State might, considering it was only a few years ago that schools like Arizona weren't on the Spartans' schedule. Schools like Gonzaga would jump at the chance. Temple doesn't care if the game is exempted or not, just as long as its against high-quality competition.
"I would do it if the team is a top team," Temple coach John Chaney
said. "We want to play quality teams, wherever and whenever. A lot of
schools would rather play some (non-Division I-A) school and schedule their way
into the NCAA Tournament. All they want are the 'Ws.' "
But the mood among the conference commissioners is to start cutting
back on exempted tournaments. Too many random events have popped up on the schedule,
such as a four-team, two-day tournament in Stillwater, Okla.
(Oklahoma State, Oral Roberts, Idaho and Appalachian State).
The NCAA loosened the rule on exempted tournaments to allow more mid- and low-major
schools entrance. It has worked. Grambling wouldn't have gotten a sniff in a
tournament like the Great Alaska Shootout a few years ago. Mercer wouldn't
be in the Big Island Invitational, either.
The goodwill is backfiring and the NCAA may try to control more of
the non-conference scheduling. The proliferation of tournaments has lessened
the importance and even made a mockery of at least one big-name event -- the Tipoff
Classic in Springfield isn't a tipoff for college basketball, or for that
matter, the two teams involved. Temple and Indiana had already played one
game before they met at the Basketball Hall of Fame on Nov. 26.
A number of administrators don't want college basketball starting in early
November when football is still a dominant presence. Moving the start of the
season to Thanksgiving weekend is a strong possibility in the next few years
(it would still need approval by the NCAA's board of governors). If that
happens, the tournaments that can stand on their own like the Maui
Invitational and Great Alaska Shootout will survive. But they will likely go
back to being more exclusionary.
"If we can't get the exemption, it will be tough to get the top teams,"
said Dave Brown, ESPN's college basketball matchmaker. "But we need premier
events in the regular season."
Teams are scheduling up this season more than any other year. Michigan State (Texas, North Carolina, Kansas and Saturday at Arizona), Arizona (Kentucky, Texas, Connecticut, Michigan State) and North Carolina (Purdue, Michigan State, Cincinnati) have played more tough games already than some teams
will play in a season. The Tar Heels already have two losses. Kentucky has
three. No one is panicking. There seems to be an acceptance that it's
finally OK to play tough non-conference games (and even lose a few) before a
rugged conference season.
But the selection committee doesn't agree. And only a few conferences have a
league that provides enough quality competition. Eliminating events such as the
Great Eight would be a mistake and take college basketball back, instead of
continuing to move it forward.
Kentucky chaos?
The Wildcats stopped a three-game losing streak (their
longest since 1990) and saw their shooting fortunes take a turn for the better for one game against UNC
Asheville. But the problems will likely persist Saturday against Maryland,
against Michigan State on Dec. 23 and into the SEC unless someone becomes a consistent 3-point
threat and Jamaal Magloire can make a higher percentage of shots inside.
|
“ |
The shots just aren't falling for us. We're just a
young team and it's going to take longer. We've got shooters,
but they just haven't come of age yet. We're all still developing
our roles. ” |
|
|
— Kentucky's Jamaal
Magloire |
Kentucky could count on Jeff Sheppard and Scott Padgett to knock
down 3s in each of the past two seasons. The Wildcats don't have that this
season with Tayshaun Prince, Desmond Allison, Keith Bogans and Saul Smith
struggling to be consistent threats. The Wildcats are shooting 40.5 percent
overall (they led the SEC a year ago at 47.8 percent), but only 24.6 percent
on 3-pointers (they shot 34 percent last year).
Dayton and Arizona, two of the three teams that beat Kentucky during
its losing streak, knew they could take their chances with Kentucky's
perimeter shooting. Dayton switched defenses on Kentucky, tossing in
man-to-man and a zone. Bogans and Prince could eventually become certainties
on the perimeter, but neither is there yet.
"The shots just aren't falling for us," Magloire said. "We're just
a young team and it's going to take longer. We've got shooters, but they
just haven't come of age yet. We're all still developing our roles."
Kentucky would rather run the fast break than halfcourt offense.
Dayton, Arizona and Indiana prevented Kentucky from doing that by beating
them on transition points and keeping the Wildcats off the offensive
backboard.
In light of the shooting problems, Tubby Smith is looking at
shifting his lineup and starting Bogans over Allison on the wing. He
may also go with a bigger lineup: the 6-9 Prince at shooting guard, 6-11
Jules Camara at small forward, 6-10 freshman Marvin Stone at power forward
and 6-10 Magloire at center. Two years ago, the Wildcats could rely on Nazr
Mohammed for inside points. Last year, Michael Bradley shot 65.7 percent.
But he transferred to Villanova. Stone is shooting 58.8 percent while
Magloire is towing a brutal 36 percent a few feet from the basket.
"I feel I can help inside," Magloire said. "I worked awfully hard this summer."
Magloire, who declared for the NBA draft, went to the Chicago
pre-draft camp and then returned to school, may have only a few games left
before the Wildcats lean more on Stone. Regardless, Kentucky's shooting has
to improve soon or the Wildcats will find it hard to leap over Auburn,
Florida and Tennessee in the SEC.
Gonzaga goin' too many places
Mark Few is starting to second guess the 'Zags brutal non-conference
schedule this week. The Bulldogs lost to Cincinnati last Saturday in
Cleveland, shot themselves out of the game against Temple on Wednesday at the Great Eight in Chicago and travel to UCLA on Saturday. The four-game, nine-day road trip (with
two stops back in Spokane) ends Monday night against Washington in Seattle.
Gonzaga should be able to beat Washington, but the timing of the game will
put the Bulldogs in a perilous position.
"We lost twice so maybe we don't stack up too well," guard Matt Santangelo
said after the loss to Temple. "It's a tough road trip. We've got
to go to UCLA Saturday so we don't have a lot of time to hang our heads. As
a player, this is a tremendous experience, but the bottom line is getting
wins and we haven't done that."
Santangelo is physically ready for the challenge, even with the draining
schedule. Santangelo battled mononucleosis for most of the preseason, even
though he didn't know he was ill.
"They didn't detect mono until it was gone," Santangelo said. "But I'm
young and healthy. I'm playing a lot of minutes and my wind is fine."
Gonzaga gets a break with a home game against Montana on Dec. 19 (only its
third home game) before playing Cal in the Pete Newell Challenge in Oakland
on Dec. 21. They play in the tougher bracket in the Rainbow Classic in
Honolulu from Dec. 27-30, drawing Ohio in round one with Wake Forest and Oregon on the other side of Gonzaga's bracket.
Gonzaga can afford a few more losses, but only if the Bulldogs win the West
Coast Conference.
Weekly chatter
Dayton is expecting to get a ruling from the NCAA sometime
in February on the Brooks Hall case. The freshman wing was embroiled in
controversy when his father entered into a loan agreement with a school
trustee. Dayton self-reported the possible violation. The NCAA allowed Hall
to play this season, but a potential penalty could come down on the school.
Arizona will miss Luke Recker's presence on the bench and
on the practice floor. But the Wildcats aren't bitter that he left Arizona
for Iowa, especially in light of the difficult circumstances. Recker's
girlfriend Kelly Craig is paralyzed and rehabilitating in her Jasper, Ind.,
home after the July auto accident in Durango, Colo.
Clair Recker, Luke's father, said the transfer had nothing to do with potential
playing time in 2000-01. His one-semester teammates at Arizona concurred.
"Luke plays the two, and I play the three," Arizona sophomore
Richard Jefferson said. "He goes against Lamont (Frazier) and Ricky
(Anderson) in practice, not just me. Luke was great for practice and a smart
person and that's where it will hurt the most to lose him. We wish him the
best of luck at Iowa."
Meanwhile, departed Arizona guard Ruben Douglas is expected to visit New Mexico this weekend, the first of a few recruiting visits.
Brigham Young is off to a 4-1 start with the only loss at
Arizona. The Cougars finally got a healthy Silester Rivers to play inside
after he missed most of the preseason with ankle injuries. He scored 10
points and had three rebounds in 25 minutes while Mekeli Wesley scored 24
points and had nine rebounds in a 78-67 victory over Arizona State Tuesday.
Auburn will answer at least two questions this weekend:
its depth and Mamadou N'diaye's foul problems. How? The additions of
forward David Hamilton and freshman point guard Jamison Brewer.
Hamilton had a disastrous freshman season. He broke his leg when he
was playing a pickup game during Christmas break last year. During his
rehabilitation in March, his mother died. Hamilton's concentration
was obviously lost and he wasn't eligible this semester. But the 6-9,
225-pound forward will be ready for Saturday's game against Penn in
Birmingham, Ala. The game comes at the conclusion of the first semester,
allowing Hamilton to play.
Having Hamilton will give Cliff Ellis an option when N'diaye gets in
foul trouble, which happened in the Tigers' loss to Stanford. When the 7-foot
N'diaye goes out, the Tigers have gone with 6-7 Mack McGadney. Daymeon
Fishback, who has started next to Chris Porter and N'diaye, had struggled
before grabbing nine rebounds against Florida State.
The Tigers were giving up only 56 points defensively but were
struggling to score. Porter's statistics are close to last year at this point of the season (scoring
12.8 points to 12.2 a year ago) but his field-goal percentage is considerably
lower, dropping from 55.3 to 34.4 percent. The hard numbers show he was 26 of 47 through five games last year, compared to 22 of 64 this season.
Ellis said he can't expect too much out of Hamilton in his first
game but he will test him early and often in the game. Having Brewer as an
option to spell Doc Robinson gives the Tigers 10 players after surviving
with eight in a one-point win over Florida State. Penn will provide a test,
so too, will Bradley on Dec. 16 in Mobile, Ala., before the Tigers leave for
a pre-Christmas San Juan Shootout that they should win (Miami, Detroit,
Pepperdine and Virginia Tech are the other decent teams).
Wyoming junior Ugo Udezue, who went from averaging three points to 20
a game last season, will have surgery on his left knee Monday. But Wyoming
coach Steve McClain said he's not ready to put Udezue out for the season.
"It could be only six weeks or it could be six months," McClain
said.
McClain played Udezue a few minutes in the first and second half
against LSU and a few minutes against Southwest Missouri State in two losses
over Thanksgiving weekend in Honolulu at the Hawaii-Pacific Invitational.
"That's why we weren't any good in Hawaii," McClain said. "Our team
had the attitude that he was the guy we were going to ride. Not having him
definitely changes our team."
McClain said he won't drop his high-pressured system.
"I still believe our guys can score," McClain said. "But the bottom
line is someone has to score 20 or 25."
Josh Davis did against Mount St. Mary's on Tuesday, scoring 21 and grabbing 17 rebounds. McClain moved Davis to center (both Davis and Udezue
are 6-8), freshman Marc Bailey to small forward and kept LeDarion Jones at
power forward. Wyoming has already lost two games and is in jeopardy of
playing itself out of NCAA Tournament contention before the Mountain West
season begins.
"That's the hard part," McClain said. "We came in expecting big
things. A lot of programs like Kansas can lose a kid for a year. But teams
like Wyoming and Fresno State do it and they're a different team."
Add Rice to that list. The Owls were 2-0 before starting
forwards Shawn Tyndell and Eric Cooper were lost with broken feet. Cooper
went in for X-rays the day before Thanksgiving and he took Tyndell with him
after he had complained of soreness. The two came back with bad results. The
Owls are 1-2 without the starters, losing to Houston in overtime Tuesday
night. At one point in the game, Willis Wilson put five freshmen on the
floor. The best-case return for Tyndell is after Christmas while Cooper is
out until a trip to Southern Methodist on Jan. 8.
"I feel like Don Nelson must have felt when he had all those
injuries at Golden State," said Wilson, whose program has been plagued by
injuries. "I can't explain it. Maybe I should call him."
Utah has a critical game at Washington State on Saturday. The
Utes are without injured point guard Trent Whiting, who Rick Majerus now thinks
should redshirt. He already is redshirting freshman shooting guard Nick
Jacobson. The Utes have two losses after dropping a game at Weber State last week.
Trying to guess which Wisconsin team will show up at South
Florida isn't worth it. The Badgers were baaaaad at Wake Forest but then took
apart Rhode Island, Texas and UW Green Bay (the last two on consecutive
nights). Mike Kelley had a Big Ten record-tying 10 steals in the win over
Texas. The victory was the Badgers' 16th over a top 25 team in Dick
Bennett's four-plus seasons and the third time in four games the Badgers
have held a team to fewer than 50 points.
Syracuse center Etan Thomas didn't play against Albany because of a
sprained right ankle. He may not play in the Orangemen's exhibition game on
Dec. 18, or even against LaSalle on Dec. 22. He doesn't have to, as the
Orangemen are 3-0 without him in the lineup. They were 4-0 with him but he only played 11
minutes against St. Joseph's. In the four games, he's averaging 15 points,
eight rebounds and 4.5 blocks a game. When Thomas sits, Ryan Blackwell moves
to center, Preston Shumpert to small forward and Damone Brown to power
forward. Brown scored 20 points and had eight assists while Preston added 18
points and had seven steals against Albany.
Syracuse doesn't have a road trip until Jan.8 at Miami. That's its longest
road trip with a three-game jaunt to Miami, West Virginia and South
Carolina. The Orangemen's only other multiple-game trip is at the end of the year
when they go to Notre Dame and Connecticut on March 1 and 4, respectively.
Oklahoma ended Arkansas' 22-game non-conference win streak
at Bud Walton Arena on Tuesday. It was only the fourth non-conference
loss and 11th overall at Walton. The Sooners suffocated the Razorbacks'
undersized and thin inside game.
That might be a bit harder to do in the future to the Hogs, with the addition of at least one more forward. Freshman forward Larry Satchell qualified academically last week and will join the Razorbacks for the Dec. 18 game against Mercer. Freshman forward Joe Johnson didn't make it but he's
taking another test on Saturday. If he qualifies, Johnson could play against
Alcorn State on Dec. 28. While the inside game yearns for another body, the
perimeter got a boost from former walk-on Chris Walker. He scored 20 against
the Sooners.
Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com. His Weekly Word on college
basketball runs every Thursday during the season.
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