From: david j warner <dwarner@silver.ucs.indiana.edu>
Subject: (none)
Organization: Indiana University
Date: Tue, 7 Apr 1992 18:04:22 -0500

Now that I've finally caught up on all these posts, I thought I'd add a few
of my own musings on this year's season....

	All of you Duke bashers out there can keep bashing, but the main shimmy
is that the Blue Devils are the best.  They have proven they are the best all
year.  They lost only twice on the road, both times when players were hurt
(Hurley's broken foot v. UNC & Hill getting hurt against Wake Forest), and
having been the number one team all year, everybody went gunning for them.
Even Maryland and Clemson gave them a run for their money, but in both cases,
the Blue Devils prevailed, and in both cases, players were out due to injury.
Very few teams have been able to stay on top all year - the 81-82 UNC team
did it, and that was without question Dean Smith's most talented team.  Mike
Krzyzewski doesn't have the most talented players on his team (one can argue
easily that Arkansas, Ohio State, UCLA, or even young Michigan has more raw
talent), but Coach K has the most talented *team*.  He gets these guys to work
together and play great basketball.  That's why Duke is the best.
	Not to say this team doesn't have the talent.  Grant Hill may be the
first legitimate superstar to come out of the Duke program under Krzyzewski.
Johnny Dawkins was a quality player in the NBA, but he has no mass appeal for
endorsements and such.  Danny Ferry was an NBA flop.  Others have not had the
talent to be true superstars on the next level.  Hill will.  Next season, Hill
will be the No. 1 man on that team.  Point blank, he is the best Duke has ever
had.
	Now, if Duke had the kind of talent of Michigan's 5X's every year, they
would never lose.  If these young guns made it to the Final Four as freshmen
this year, there's no telling where they could go.  They showed a lot of
inconsistency this year, but at the same time, they showed immense talent.
Unfortunately, they also have set themselves up for a big fall.  Arkansas had
some incredible talent the last three years (probably three or four NBA players
in that group), but after the 1990 Final Four, they never went back.  Steve
Fisher will have to prove he can coach these guys in the next three years,
making sure they can be more consistent and make adjustments when they get
down.  They managed to do that against Cincinnati, but not Duke.  I still do
not put a lot of faith in Fisher as a coach, despite his success.  He should
have started Eric Riley at center and let Webber and Howard be bookends, which
he will do next year.  Riley's too good to leave on the bench.  To sum it up,
if this team doesn't make the Final Four again, Fisher is history.
	Recruiting for Michigan won't be bad next year, either: "Obviously,
we have our starters set for the next two years, provided a few of them don't
go pro.  But after them, we have nobody.  If you would be willing to back up
this team for two years and contribute quality minutes, you will be our main
man by your junior year, and you will have lots of exposure in a major
conference.  Plus, you will have practiced and played with some of the best.
That wears off on a lot of kids...etc, etc."  He'll do okay.
	Pete Gillen would be a fool if he doesn't take the Villnova job. He's
been in relative obscurity in Xavier for a few years since the Tyrone Hill/
Derek Strong days.  A high profile job would do him a lot of good, and I can't
wait to see this guy on Letterman...
	As for the former VU coach, Massimmino is just what UNLV needs - a high
profile coach with a solid track record.  The lure of UNLV is still great to a
lot of players out there.  With Rollie's reord of graduating players, he
could add substance to that style and create a winner.  Glamball will continue
to flourish in Vegas, but without the NCAA hounding them.
	Will all the attention Toad Leery has been getting on this board (you
only think that's a typo), one of Indiana's best guards has been ignored -
Pat Graham.  Graham was redshirted this year because of injury, but he will
be back and will create an instant impact on this team.  Not only is he as
unconscious from the floor as Leery was in his 30 second of fame, but he can
also penetrate and play defense, which is why Leery has been on the bench all
year.  IU's outside game will be awesome - Chris Reynolds, Damon Bailey, and
Greg Graham have all grown up this year, and they will all play big roles
for IU.  Damon will also play more point guard to let the "Golden Grahams"
(ugh! don't credit me with creating that!) contribute more at off guard.
My only concern with the Hoosier is the inside game.  Cheaney is inside-out,
but he is no rival to Jimmy Jackson (which isn't to say he isn't great, but he
can be stopped a lot more easily).  Beyond Henderon and Nover, there isn't much
of anything.  Henderson will be a POTY candidate easily, because few players
play basketball as intelligently as he does.  Nover, meanwhile, has proven that
he is not the big, dumb white guy everyone thought he was.  Those two, however,
need someone to back them up, and Lindeman is not the answer -- he is the big,
dumb white guy everyone figured he was (and he lives in my dorm right now, so
I'm seen him play that role).  Brian Evans?  Maybe. We'll see...
	Teams to watch in the future:

	- Florida State.  Had it not been for Duke, the Seminoles would have
won two conference championships in two different conferences in a two year
span.  Pat Kennedy has built a great program, and they will continue to be
fan favorites in the ACC next year.  With most of their guys returning, they
could give Duke a real run for their money.

	- Arkansas.  Can they recover after the MayDay era in a tougher
conference?  Nolan Richardson got some recruits this year, but they'll be
losing a lot of talent.  This team could go either way.

	- UCLA.  The Bruin faithful still look at tradition and consider
anything less than a Final Four a disappointment.  If they run Jim Harrick out
of town as a result, that would be a shame.  UCLA will return some great 
talent, though, so another Pac-10 championship is not out of the question.

	- Cincinnati.  I've been hard on Bob Huggins.  The idea of bringing
in 10 juco recruits and molding a Final Four team reeks of job advancement to
me.  If Bob says he wants to build a program that will last for years to come,
though, he'll need a few more seasons like this one to gain the exposure and
blue chip recruits he'll need to live up to his goal.  If he ends up elsewhere
in two years, though, don't say I didn't warn you.

	- Tulane.  Will the posse stick around?  It should, because that would
be a big recruiting tool for Perry Clark, who should be coach of the year this
year.  If he keeps his system intact of having 5 solid starters, then bringing
in a quick, hustling team off the bench, he would have the most unique system
in college basketball.  Nobody does that on a regular basis and has more
success with it than Tulane, and it makes for some very exciting basketball.
Imagine a high school player dreaming about coming off the bench for the Green
Wave.  It could be a real glamball system...

	- Seton Hall.  With the Big East losing a lot of talent, the Pirates
could take the conference easily.  Maybe too easily...

	- Memphis State.  Just because it'll be fun to watch Anfernee Hardaway.
If Larry Finch adds a good supporting cast, they could march into the Final
Four.

	- Auburn.  They have a lot of young talent that got overlooked because
of probation this year.  If these guys develop, watch out SEC!

	- Vanderbilt.  Billy McCaffrey was stupid to leave Duke.  He could have
had his chance to play point guard there when Hurley was out, and the Devils
might have gone undefeated.  Nevertheless, he'll get his chance next year, and
he will show the world he's a good one.  Don't expect much from Chris Lawson,
though.

	- Oklahoma State.  Can Eddie Sutton continue to make this team a Big
Eight contender? Most likely.  Can he make them a champ? stay tuned for '95.

	- Brigham Young.  I can't wait until Shawn Bradley gets back from his
mission.  Then he'll have a new one -- rule the WAC (and the wack).

	- Everyone in the Big Ten except Northwestern.  This conference will be
***LOADED*** next season.  First there's IU and Michigan, then OSU if Jackson
stays one more year, then Iowa with Acie earl & co., Purdue with Glenn
Robinson & co., Wisconsin with Terry Webster & co., Michigan State with another
decent team and less mistakes by Steigenga, Minnesota with the surprise team of
this year, and the addition of Penn State and that incredible home court
advantage they have (the fans basically stand right on the baseline)...suffice
to say this will be the best conference next year, and this is coming from an
ACC lunatic.

	It's been a great season, and it just keeps getting better.  I won't be
back on this board until next fall, so any e-mail about any of this would be
appreciated.  Oh, and a word of advice to Final Four-goers next year -- forget
going to the games unless your team is in the finals.  My friends went to
Minneapolis this year, and they each came back with $800 and tons of souvenirs.
If you can get tickets through your applications, sell them when you get to
New Orleans.  They'll bring you a fortune.

Until next year, basketball fans...
-- 
- David J. Warner            - "Maybe (Montross) plays better after he gets   -
- dwarner@ucs.indiana.edu    -  hit on the head."                             -
- (One for all...            -                              - Dean Smith      -
-             BRAND NUBIAN!) -                                                -