NCAA Tourney: Day 1 in the Books

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Day one is done. Upsets abound. Hearts broken. Survive and advance, that's the motto at this time of year. If you win, you continue playing. Lose and you go home. Tough biz this NCAA tourney.

Some thought as I look over the action...

Morehead State: Now the country is aware of Kenneth Faried. The guy is an absolute beast on the boards, but he can score as well. He didn't have his best offensive effort (4-17 shooting) against Louisville, but the Eagles didn't need it. The game was won at the stripe believe it or not. Louisville only made 7 of 16. But they can reach the Sweet Sixteen.

Why? Read on...

Vanderbilt: Three straight bids, three straight round of 64 exits (or first round if you're used to calling it). I hope Kevin Stallings isn't waiting on a so-called big job. Oh, he'll get you to the tournament. You just won't play a second game. The Commodores were bitten by the Spiders from Richmond.

The biggest winner from those two outcomes was Kansas. No Louisville and no Vandy. If the Jayhawks get by Boston University, they will play a double digit seed (either a 12 or 13 seed). Their road just became a little easier.

Bulls (Again) Seeking Coach. Calipari?

Del Negro was a .500 coach in two seasons
for the Chicago Bulls.

The Chicago Bulls recently announced the firing of head coach Vinny Del Negro after two seasons in the Windy City.

There's nothing wrong with desiring the return of the Bulls to the former glory the city experienced during the Phil Jackson-Michael Jordan era. It's just not going to happen. There's not a single roster move, series of roster moves or any one coach that can revive the days of MJ, Scottie Pippen, Steve Kerr and John Paxson even though Paxson is viewed as the man in charge now. (I include Kerr and Paxson only because they hit two of the biggest shots in Bulls history.)

Despite the apparent rift between Paxson and Del Negro (for which Paxson has apologized), this move leaves me scratching my head. Del Negro's record wasn't overly successful (82-82 over two seasons), but he still guided Chicago to the playoffs in both seasons. Same can be said for Scott Skiles, now with the Milwaukee Bucks. Skiles coached for parts of two seasons and three full seasons. His record was 165-172 (.490) and three straight playoff spots. Both were escorted out of Chicago because they were deemed as failing to live up to over hyped expectations. But whoever said coaching is a fair occupation. No one.

Whoever Paxson decides as the next coach will have a nice core of young talent. Derrick Rose is a superstar in the making. Joakim Noah has evolved into a double-double machine and is also a budding star. Luol Deng, Taj Gibson, Kirk Hinrich, James Johnson, Hakim Warrick. Oh, the talent is there. Talent that can be developed. Can't think of a coach that wouldn't want to have the chance to work with all that young talent. And there's the fact that Chicago has the cap room to add a max contract.

More money for Coach Cal?

Yesterday, Yahoo! Sports reveled that Kentucky men's basketball coach John Calipari was interested in the Bulls post. Calipari, in turn, told Andy Katz of ESPN that he had no interest in the job. Calipari also stated he had not been contacted nor was he even pursuing it. Quickly, the UK masses pulled together and are ow set to offer Calipari a raise and contract extension. A lot of good that would do. Calipari is already the highest paid college coach. What will throwing more money and offering an extension really do? Remember what Calipari said before leaving Memphis before bolting to Lexington?

Calipari's NBA record is less than stellar. In his 2+ years with the New Jersey Nets, Coach Cal compiled a 72-122 record (.390 winning percentage). Yes, he's been through the rigors of a couple of NBA seasons, but the only link to the Bulls is Derrick Rose.

And even that won't be good enough for Chicago. The record speaks for itself. No question Calipari has enough charisma to get the players attention, but even at times during this past season at Kentucky, star freshman John Wall appeared to completely ignore him. That doesn't speak too highly of Coach Cal either.

For the next head coach of the Chicago Bulls, we must keep this mind. He won't be given a long time to improve the team. Ask Del Negro. Results will be expected, especially when it comes to the playoffs.

You get two years to make it past the second round. If not, look for another opening.

Exodus in Lexington?

The list of players declaring for entry for the NBA Draft is starting to build. Kansas center Cole Aldrich and Michigan guard Manny Harris are only two of the recent declarations. There's a couple yet to declare that wouldn't surprise anyone and they both come from the same school, Kentucky's frosh duo of John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins.

Did we all witness the final collegiate game of Wall's and Cousin's career? Most likely. Wall has already been tapped as the #1 overall and Cousins is a top 5 selection according to various projections.

So exactly what are the prospects that Wall and Cousins will return another season in Lexington?

Um, none. Wall did make a reference during the presser following UK's Saturday's loss about finishing the school year, but that is merely a smoke screen to fend off speculation of the inevitable. Kentucky was primed to win it all this year and this year alone. Wall, Cousins and Patrick Patterson developed the nucleus for the Wildcats and all will be gone to the NBA. Patterson returned for that reason. Imagine if Jodie Meeks had stayed.

For yet another season, UK head coach John Calipari finds himself in a position to reload because of the "one and done" rule. Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans, and now, Wall and Cousins.

Creates a bit of an issue for the Wildcat faithful. Calipari has put his worth into these freshman and they have performed well at the NCAA level. Rose and Evans have proven themselves at the NBA level and there's nothing to suggest that Wall and Cousins won't do the same. But I have a difficult time viewing these moves as building a program. It's more or less supplementing it and it has the feel of plugging gaps instead of fixing them.

Don't worry or feel sorry about the Wildcats future. It's fine. Others freshman will come forward as sophomores next season (Eric Bledsoe, Daniel Orton, Darius Miller) and keep UK in the mix. There's also that potential of wearing that jersey with "Kentucky" on it which appeals to recruits.

That and there's always a feeling that Calipari has yet another phenom squarely in his sights with Lexington as the destination.

Coach Cal sure has this bit down by now.

Monday: a night of milestones...and disappointments

Last night we witnessed, in some form, a number of milestones. We also witnessed some major disappointments.

A couple of major milestones were achieved.

1. New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur breaks shutout record.

It was a long standing record that Terry Sawchuck held. Forty years, in fact. Now, the record for most career shutouts belongs to future Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur. Brodeur stopped 35 Pittsburgh Pengins shots on his way to recording his 104th shutout. Of Brodeur's 104 career shutouts, it's only the fourth time he'd shutout the Pens.

On breaking Sawchuck's mark, Broduer offered his usual humility.

"This record was held for so long, when you do break records and see how long they lasted, it's cool," Brodeur said. "Tying it was amazing and surpassing him, was a great honor for me to be in that position."

Brodeur already holds the record for games by a goalie and wins.

As I look at the list of the top 5 for most shutouts in NHL history, one name is amazingly absent, Patrick Roy. Hmm.

2. University of Kentucky becomes first Mens basketball program to amass 2,000 wins.

I know it was against Drexel. I know the first recorded win was against Lexington YMCA. But no one can ever dispute the legacy of UK basketball. Just ask my oldest son, a huge UK fan.

Head coach John Calipari, who earlier in the week been somewhat admonished by Bobby Knight, made the following comment to the Rupp Arena faithful:

"We weren't a part of many of those 2,000 wins [but] we had a job to do and that was drag us across the line before that other blue team got there."

That was obviously a stab at North Carolina who had been gaining on the Wildcats due to a few down years. Eddie Sutton and Billy Gillespie were the main culprits in that.

The disappointments came from the Washington Redskins and the Chicago Bulls.