If college basketball was an edible treat that you would have to eat a whole lot of to get fat ...then, well, I'd be fat (Sorry but I had to delete the 'I'd be fatter than ...' punch-line. Fat jokes are for people with no material. If you need your fix, just find D.L. Hughley).
In fact I could live on a steady diet of ESPN's Big Monday's, Super Tuesday's and Whimsical Wednesday's (they actually haven't named Wednesday yet, but I like alliteration) where the top 25 teams play each other nightly in their quest for legitimacy'whether it is to be a legit Final Four contender or All-American candidate.
College games have no real significance in the scope of history. Nobody cares (name the 2002 Final Four. In half the time, you could name the last 15 NBA champions). But people follow the games to see if the top teams topple, if the underdogs come through and if any players will rise to the occasion and make their careers memorable. Since everybody loves March when the Madness sets in, I figured I should let you in on my expertise so you know what teams and players to bet on.
Duke and UConn are probably the equivalent of Florida State and Miami in football because they will always be awarded a top ten ranking even when they don't deserve it. They both recruit well and have great coaches but neither has what it takes to win this year's title.
Usually a team needs a 1-2 scoring punch, stellar defense and role players with a knack for making big plays. Either you have two superstars at forward and center positions or you need a NBA-caliber point guard to elevate the play of his teammates.
The last two champions, North Carolina and UConn, had talent at every position. This year there is no team that comes close to having the dimensions the previous two national champions had. This leaves 2006's dance card in the hands of the nation's best guards who will make the nation's best teams.
The most gifted guard in the country is sophomore Daniel Gibson with his ability to score and create for the three other proficient scorers on his Longhorn team'LaMarcus Aldridge, P.J. Tucker and Brad Buckman'will hand head coach Rick Barnes his first championship at Texas.
The Longhorns will be joined by Villanova which, following the lost of their standout forward Curtis Sumpter, will dare to start four guards and ride their prolific perimeter players to the Final Four. Even without the hot shooting that allowed them to advance in last year's tournament, the Wildcats will use pressure defense and a deep bench to blow through the Big East. Another Wildcat team will go deep in March as Kentucky guards Rajon Rondo and Patrick Sparks feed center Randolph Morris with the guidance of arguably the country's best coach'Tubby Smith. The fourth and final Final Four team is a mystery, but my money is on Boston College.
And while you can't, in fact, eat college basketball, you may have an appetite for players who emerge from anonymity and become NBA draft picks based on their body of collegiate work. Watch out for Arkansas' Ronnie Brewer who can score, Virginia's Sean Singletary who can (and WILL) take over a game and a young man from Wisconsin by the name of Alando Tucker. I don't know much about the last guy, but I've heard he's pretty good.
