Northwestern Will Make History This Year:

Northwestern is the only school not to make it to the NCAA Tournament coming out of one of the six major conferences.  But, this will be the year they do it.  Why do you ask?  Well, bear in mind that this team was 17-13 last year with big wins over Purdue and Michigan State on the road and defeated Wisconsin, Ohio State and Minnesota at home.  This team is deep and returns several key players which were part of their success last year.  The only player they lose is Kevin Coble their second leading scorer. 

Now, I’m not saying this team will win the Big Ten.  Nor, am I saying this team has the same talent level as the Kentucky Wildcats who have a beast in John Wall.  But, certainly, this team has veteran leadership, young talent in Crawford and Marcotullio.  This team has solid talent in John Shurma, Michael Thompson, Jeremy Nash and Craig Moore.  More importantly, this team has played together as a team.

This is the same team that defeated Florida State at home by a score of 73-59, lost to Butler by just four points on the road, beat Big East Depaul 63-36 at home and was essentially two conference wins away from going dancing.  This includes losing to Illinois by a combined total of a basket in two ballgames. Now, with their core stars back, I expect Northwestern to go under the radar in the early part of the season and rock the spread in the early going.  There is a lot of energy in Chicago this year, and it is indeed because this team is likely going dancing as everyone from the team, to the coaching staff, to long-time alumni finally feel like this is the team is ready to take the leap.   

The drought is over.  I wish Northwestern the best.  Coach Carmody, who is in his tenth year at Northwestern, said it best when he stated, "Everyone here is working as hard as in any other program. We have just a little bit more focus now. They don't ignore me as much when I tell them stuff. They're ready to go. They realize [the bid] is out there. They want to grab it, but we still have to do it.  I sort of like our chances."

I’d like to thank Andy Katz of ESPN for bringing this issue to light as I will be on Northwestern as the Big Ten kicks off its conference action. 

Alabama's Second Best Hire - Anthony Grant  

Alabama made one helluva hire for College Basketball this year.  They hired the coach that Florida Athletic Director Jeremy Foley stated he would have hired if Billy Donovan had not come back.  Grant is a winner.  He coached under Billy Donovan for nearly a decade prior to taking over at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU).  He led VCU to an outstanding 76-25 record where he won two conference championships and nearly defeated the Bruins in the conference tournament.  Heck, his team lost by one point and could have very well pulled that game out if his team could have hit some free throws late in that stretch.

Mal Moore (Athletic Director for the Tide, be proud of yourself).  You hired Nick Saban and got Alabama football back on track. Believe it or not, this hire is just as good as Grant is a great recruiter and he very well could compete against Kentucky in a matter of time for the Conference Championship.  Certainly, he can coach far better than Mark Gottfried who although did have an elite eight appearance with the Tide, ran a very simple and predictable offensive as well as defensive sets.  Alabama needed a spurt, they needed young blood, they needed a better recruiter and they needed someone who can get the most out of his players – Anthony Grant is all of this.

Here is the YouTube link to when Grant arrived in Tuscaloosa.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltSzx0hUEqg

Grant gets back great talent in McDonald’s All American JaMychal Green as he has a total of seven starters coming back.  He has a relationship with JaMychal when he worked with the eighteen and under team with Team USA Basketball. Alabama is expected to finish fourth in the SEC West this year behind Mississippi State, LSU, and Ole Miss.  I expect Bama’ to play a fast paced style of play and have a swarming defense very similar to Florida’s Championship teams played in 06’ and 07’. 

I look for the Tide to cover as big dogs in conference play and win some games as outright dogs at home.  Once again Mal, great hire, as Alabama basketball is back on the map.  More importantly, in three years, Alabama will be a staple in the NCAA tournament once again.  If Grant can accomplish all that he did at a little known basketball school such as VCU, imagine what he can do with the resources that are available to him at Alabama.