Elite 8 Weekend

The Elite 8 basketball games are over now. We have a great Final Four lined up for fans to watch. It is what everybody wants. Big name teams from big name conferences. Next weekend, we get to watch Wisconsin, Duke, Michigan State, and Kentucky battle it out for the National Championship on a Monday night in April. Watching Kentucky go after history, watching Wisconsin, Duke, and Michigan State trying to destroy that history will be fun to watch.


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Help Wanted: Arizona State Basketball Coach

It finally happened to Herb Sendek. After nine seasons at Arizona State as the head coach of it's men's basketball program he was fired. There are certain schools where it's just tough to succeed. In the recent past, ASU has turned into that kind of school. Why? There are multitude of reasons. Should there be issues recruiting to Tempe, AZ? There shouldn't be. I was not a Sendek fan, but I did feel for him in terms of what he had to deal with as coach of the Sun Devils.

Sendek compiled a better than .500 record in his nine seasons on the bench for ASU. His total record was 159-137 in those nine seasons. Sendek met with Sun Devil athletic director Ray Anderson this morning for a short time and the decision was obviously made during the meeting and the announcement came shortly after that. This kind of move by ASU should not come as a shock to anybody. To me, this was something that should have been done a few years ago. Sendek is a nice guy, a good coach, but he had an immense issue in recruiting. He just could not bring the talent to the Pac-12 school and if you can't do that, the result is simply a pink slip at some point. The only big talent he brought in was Jahi Carson, from Mesa High School. College athletics is about recruiting and if you have trouble doing that, you are not going to be employed for any period of time.

When you think of Arizona State, you think of a team in a power 5 conference, a huge school, sun, a decent talent base from which to recruit, and some very nice "surroundings". How quickly are they acting in terms of filling the position? Extremely quickly.

They already have had a couple of kids say that they are not coming to the Sun Devils anymore. They have had at least one kid on the roster already talk about the possibility of leaving the program. The program needs to stem the tide of kids saying that they want to transfer or decomit from the program otherwise the cupboard will be even barer for the incoming coach. Now, the cupboard was not full in the first place, but ASU can't allow anymore decomits or possible transfer to happen.

Speaking of the incoming coach, who do they go after? From all accounts, it sounds like it is Jeff Capel, assistant coach at Duke. They have contacted him through back channels and there seems to be interest from him as well. Is this the best guy for the job? Possibly. He does have head coaching experience at Oklahoma, it did end in some controversy for him, so there is a little bit of baggage that comes with him.

Who else comes to mind? Shaka Smart? Archie Miller? These are or would be solid hires, but I don't think they would take the job. Miller doesn't want to compete with his brother at Arizona, so he's not coming. I don't know if the Sun Devils are high enough profile for Shaka Smart, he seems like a guy that wants to take a UCLA or Louisville type of job at some point. I think the decision has been made to go with Capel, so it would take someone coming out of no where to take the job from Jeff Capel.
The other thing that Arizona State is obviously going to be ready to do is to step up in monetary sense for their next coach. They won't go into the 3 million dollar range, but they will have to be in the next tier down from that. Probably around the 1.5-2 million area. To attract the coach that will turn around this basketball program, the money dedication has to be there.

Just think of this Sun Devil fans. The football program is on the up tick, the baseball program is top-25 program, and if, just if, the basketball program can be turned around, imagine how big of an athletic monster that would be created in Tempe. It could turn into the place where athletes of all those three sports go to. If the monster is awoken, watch out Pac-12.

That awakening is far off though. For right now, ASU needs to concentrate on filling their men's basketball position. Let's see what happens in the next few days to a week. If it is Jeff Capel, lets hope he can awaken the monster at Arizona State. Forks Up!

Best and Worst of the NCAA Tournament: Weekend Games

The first week of the tournament always provides great drama and this week was no different. Once the weekend games hit, people were ready for more upsets. North Carolina State and UCLA provide a little bit of Cinderella going into the round of 16. The Pac-12 showed some fight with Arizona, UCLA, and Utah still alive after the weekend. Arizona looked phenomenal, UCLA got some good match ups for them, and Utah looked great. Oregon ran into Wisconsin, but gave them a game before losing...


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Best and Worst of the First Round of March Madness

The first round of the NCAA tournament always provides some surprises. 2015 was no different. I know my bracket and millions of other brackets were destroyed after the first day of play. Watching the higher seeds lose to the lower seeds is something special to watch. Everybody would almost agree with that because people like the little guy winning. Unless, your team is the bigger guy...


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March Madness Play-in Games

When is the Madness really supposed to happen? Certainly not with these play-in games. Now that the "First Four" games are over, we can FINALLY get to the real tournament games. Trying to figure out where I stand with these games is not supposed to be a hard thing to determine. Play-in games are just not needed.


In this culture of everybody gets a chance at something, everybody gets a trophy mentality, the NCAA in their ultimate wisdom (sarcasm) decided to give teams that were on the bubble a final chance at getting into the main NCAA tournament. They should have never done this in the first place. We know that NCAA is about money and only money, so four extra games puts a little more money into the coffers of the execs for the NCAA.


The other part of this that I have asked myself since they implemented these play in games is that, do people really care about these games? I, for one, don't. I could name a bunch of other people that do not as well. In the end, we enjoy upsets, Cinderella, and the Final Four. However, what we really like, whether we admit or not, is seeing the "Big Boys" battle it out for the National Championship. If Davidson and VCU were playing for the title it may be the lowest rated game of all time. You could stick any non-major 5 conference team in there and people would not care.  If that sounds a bit elite than I am fine with it. People want to watch Kentucky, Arizona, Kansas, Duke, Michigan State, Wisconsin, and Gonzaga battle it out for college basketball supremacy. They don't want to see schools that they don't even know exist until the NCAA tournament comes around.


I say get rid of the play in games and just go with the original 64 teams and if these teams on the bubble want to complain about it, then so be it. They need to play better during the regular season and to leave no doubt to the selection committee to put them into the tournament. Make the "eye test" easy for the committee.


For now, we have play in games and they do not appear to be going away any time soon. Those of us who don't like them will just have to deal with it. March Madness is here, lets enjoy the ride!

Sun Devils and Basketball

With all this March Madness going on around everybody and with the NCAA Tournament set to take off on Tuesday night, there are some fans that are obviously left out in the cold. Some of those fans reside in the Valley of the Sun. More specifically, at Arizona State University. This is a school that is one of the biggest in the country, a football program starting to be more of a force in the Pac-12, but a basketball program that has been stuck in neutral or not even getting off the line. Why? That's always been a question I have had with Arizona State.


First of all, relevancy plays a part in how successful a program can be. ASU is not really relevant in the college basketball world. It's not for a lack of trying though, but they just have not won on a consistent basis for an extended period of time. In recent history they have had a few players of note come through Wells Fargo arena, but not enough to keep those types of players coming through all the time. James Harden, Ike Diogu,and Jahii Carson, and Eddie House (a stretch for me there) have made names for themselves at Arizona State. I'm talking recently because high school kids now don't know necessarily the history of the program, what they see is what they see on television. Back in the day, there were players that have made some names for themselves and for the university, but they are not remembered by modern high school kids. If you said, Fat Lever, Lionel Hollins, Byron Scott, or Alton Lister to high school kids these days you probably would be met with some weird looks. If you were to have kids list players that came from the Devils rival to south in Tucson, many high school players would be able to rattle off names of former players because the consistency of winning has been there in the recent past and the way back past when Lute Olson took the program to the next level and Sean Miller has continued that dominance. Now some Sun Devil fans may say that they have beat the Wildcats a couple times in the past, but who's program would they want? Rhetorical question there.


Recruiting. Recruiting. Recruiting. It's the backbone of any kind of college program. When you have talent, you win more. It's as simple as that. How can this program not get kids to come here? When you are young kid, especially in Phoenix, you already know where you would want to play Division One basketball and it's not in Tempe. Games at Wells Fargo are rarely sold out. Rarely. Sometimes you can hear the echo in the building because of the very few fans that show up. That shows any recruit that the fan base is not supporting the program and who would want to show up and play for an empty arena? Not many big time recruits, and not having these big time recruits show up on campus has certainly hurt the winning at ASU. How do they get over this hurdle? It's going to be tough. Coach Sendek has to get recruits in there and those recruits have to translate into wins. After getting those wins, Sendek has to show the consistency in getting big recruits to keep coming to Tempe to keep the winning going. Once the winning happens, the fickle fan base will return to Wells Fargo Arena to make things difficult on the opponent. They won't have to rely on a shower curtain with a freakishly dressed person behind it trying to distract free throw shooters.


Herb Sendek. I'm not sure what to think of him as a major college basketball coach. He came from North Carolina State with a record that really wasn't that impressive, but he got the job. He hasn't done enough to keep the job at ASU, but he's done enough obviously to keep the fan base and alumni off his back. However, the issue I have with him is the ability to recruit players to Tempe. As previously stated, if you can't recruit well, you are not going to win as consistently. If I was an alumni or the AD I may want to explore other options in terms of coaching at Arizona State.


I'm not sure who would come here to coach, but that coach would have to be able to sell a program and a university to them. There are so many good things to sell the program on. The weather, a world class school, a big city, and lets just say some real nice "surroundings" on campus. I want ASU to get a program that can get to the NCAA tournament every year and challenge for the Pac-12 Conference as well. Lets see what happens in the next year or two with Herb Sendek and how long administration keep him on the payroll. Sun Devil fans want a winner, some say deserve a winner... Forks Up!

Arizona and March Madness

It's another March and that means crazy things happening on the college basketball court. The Pac-12 got four teams in this year. How UCLA got in, not really sure, but we will take as a conference. The one team from the Pac-12 that has a legit shot at doing some damage and possibly winning it all is of course the Arizona Wildcats...


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March Madness: Pac-12 Thoughts

It's that time of year again. March Madness. Where millions of people fill out tournament brackets at work, with friends, with family, and hope for the best with their respective teams. Some fans feel more confident than others (Kentucky), some are just happy to make "The Big Dance" (any small school). At the end of the day, if you are in, you have a chance, right Butler?! When the thoughts of mine turn to the Pac-12, they get a little sketchy after Arizona and Utah get in. On the whole, the Pac-12 Conference was down this year. Two very good teams (Arizona/Utah), and a bunch of average teams fighting to get noticed...


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Storm Woods: Diamond in the Rough

Sometimes talent can be hidden from view. So hidden that many people don't recognize it until they are right up against it. Storm Woods is that kind of talent. In 2015, Woods will more than likely be the "bell cow" for the Oregon State offense and that is something that he will relish. He has talent for certain. He has speed, good hands, a great work ethic, and a never say die mentality. Hopefully, he will translate that talent into leading the Beavers to some wins this upcoming year....


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All of the Pac 12 fight songs

Find your schools fight songs here you college football fans. I'm partial to a particular one. Enjoy...

Vernon Adams: The Story That Won't Go Away

Every so often there comes a story that appears on the radar of sports media that gets over talked, over played, and pretty much just over done by everybody. The story of Vernon Adams taking his talents from Eastern Washington to the University of Oregon is such a story. I'm tired of it.


Vernon Adams is certainly a talented guy. He has the stats to certainly back that up, but it's on a slightly lower level than what the Ducks play at, but nonetheless, still pretty impressive. He has over 10,000 yards passing, only 30 interceptions, and can extend plays with his feet. He is fast, not Marcus Mariota fast, but it will be something that opposing defenses will have to contend with for sure.


However, the rule that he is using to come to Oregon was not really made for how it is used now. It was originally thought of as a way for student-athletes to go to a different school for their Masters school if the school that they got their undergrad degree did not have that program. Russell Wilson has used the rule to go from North Carolina State to Wisconsin, now it's Vernon Adams turn to grab the headlines using this rule. I have no problem with him doing this, but what has made this story a national story was that Adams old coach said that rule needs to change and that he wasn't letting his former quarterback use the facilities at Eastern Washington or letting him throw to any of the Eagles receivers. Plus, Oregon plays Eastern Washington in their first game of the year, so there is a little competitive gamesmanship going on as well.


Beau Baldwin is the head coach at Eastern Washington creating all this fuss. He and the head coach at Montana State think the NCAA needs to change the rule. Why? That doesn't make sense to me. These players have done everything they have been asked to with their scholarships. Why restrict what they can do after fulfilling that? In my opinion, they should be allowed to go anywhere they want regardless of what program they are seeking to get their Masters in. Coach Baldwin is upset that his stud quarterback is leaving for a better opportunity and that he may not have someone ready to go at quarterback for this upcoming season. This just may be the ultimate hypocrisy with coaching. Coaches leave all the time for better opportunities. Why can't players do that once they finish their school requirements? Nothing wrong with that. College football coaches are control freaks and when they lose some of that control some of them don't know how to deal with that loss of control. Baldwin is showing me that he can't by his insistence of keeping the story alive.


Baldwin needs to stop talking. Adams is gone, he's not coming back. Ever. Instead whining about things like a five year old on the playground, get your team ready for the 2015 season. The rule is not going to change any time soon. What needs to happen as well is that the Athletic Director for Eastern Washington needs to shut his coaches mouth up for him. Tell him to stop talking, so the issue will go away. Otherwise it's just going to make the Eagles coach look even worse than he does right now.
Man up Beau Baldwin. Just coach, don't complain. Just saying...




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Sun Devils and The Next Step

What teams will be able to up their game and take that proverbial "next step"? There is a team out here in the desert that will have the talent on both sides of the ball that could be a sleeper team in terms of possibly getting to the college football playoff. That team is the Arizona State Sun Devils. Some of you might be saying "what?", yes the Sun Devils are certainly poised to make a move in the Pac-12 South division, the whole Pac-12, and maybe, just maybe the college football playoff. Lets delve into the possibilities here.


First of all, to win at any level you need direction. The Devils have plenty of that with their Head Coach Todd Graham. Coach Graham has slowly restored a lot of the discipline that was missing in the program under Dennis Erickson, who as we all know doesn't really instill to much personal discipline with his players. Ever since Graham stepped onto the grounds of ASU, he has taken a very disciplined approach with his staff and his players. The players know where they stand and what the consequences are when they are late to practice/meeting, they miss a class or miss an assignment on the field. When Coach Graham first came to the desert, I was very skeptical of him and his coaching abilities because of the way he came here. I was thinking he was using this job as "spring board" to another, bigger job. However, he has proved me wrong. He has awakened what is thought of as "sleeping giant" in Arizona State. He has got a lot talent to come to Tempe to play football and he has coached that talent up to perform at a high level on the field. He was one victory away from getting his team to the Pac-12 Championship game against the Oregon Ducks. He has plenty of talent returning for 2015 season and will be looking to that talent to make the next big step in terms of winning the Pac-12 Championship and maybe more.


Another thing that will help the Devils take that step to a championship is that they will have a great defense coming back in 2015. They will have nine guys returning on defense, and it'll be a still growing and meshing defense. All the game experience that they got last season will go a long way in helping them get that crucial stop that they needed in the Territorial Cup or against a team like the Oregon State Beavers, who ruined their playoff hopes with that huge upset win. The defense got much better after being humiliated by UCLA at home. The Bruins put 60 on the scoreboard against them and left many people wondering what the coaches were going to do after that Bruin game. What they did was turn a defense that was playing on it's heels, to a team that was playing aggressive, flying around to the ball and making things very difficult for the opposing offense. If the players can keep up the hard nosed attitude towards playing defense, things will turn up very well for the Sun Devils and their fans.


On the offensive side of the ball, they will be just as solid as they return eight guys. When a team has an experienced quarterback in college they will be in a great position to win every game that they play. ASU is no different. When Taylor Kelly went down, in steps Mike Bercovici and the wins keep coming. Now, as the Devils enjoyed how Kelly could run around, they won't get that from Bercovici because he's not a runner, but in my opinion, he is a more polished quarterback. He has a much better arm than his predecessor, better footwork, and has performed well on a big stage. DJ Foster will be coming back as well to give Bercovici a great weapon out of the backfield. He will also have a three returning offensive linemen coming back as well. They will have to replace two offensive tackles, so the depth of the team will be tested there. A quarterbacks best friend is always a good tight end. They have Kody Kohl coming back and he's a junior. On the outside you have Cameron Smith coming back to provide some leadership after the departure of Jaelen Strong to the NFL. Smith is also a junior, so his experience as a starter will be invaluable to the coaches and the offense.


All in all, for fans NOT to be excited about next fall, would be a crime. The Sun Devils have 17 returning starters on offense and defense. When you combine that with the leadership of Coach Graham things will be very exciting around Sun Devil Stadium. Forks Up!