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Home > Mark Bradley > Archives > 2008 > June > 17 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USNCAA championship will end on Tobacco Road
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Officially, the next men’s NCAA basketball national champion will be crowned near midnight on April 6, 2009. Realistically, the title was won shortly before 5 p.m. Monday, when North Carolina announced that three players — Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green — had removed their names from the NBA draft.
National championships have essentially been decided on Signing Day before — by choosing UCLA over Michigan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vouchsafed three consecutive titles to Westwood — but this marks the first time Draft Deadline Day has left such a massive imprint. Yes, Kansas just benefited hugely from Brandon Rush choosing to stay in school another year, but Rush was one guy coming off knee surgery.
This is three guys.
This is the equivalent of signing the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class, only in this case you already know all three guys can really play and will fit your system.
This is the difference between Carolina finishing second to Duke in the ACC and maybe becoming the first undefeated national champ since Indiana in 1976.
The scrambling to find a preseason No. 1 just ceased. Carolina will be a unanimous choice. Louisville and Connecticut go from looking strong to paling by comparison. The Heels would have remained a force because of Tyler Hansbrough, and now the nation’s best player has the nation’s best supporting cast.
Along Tobacco Road, ACC watchers speak — sometimes glowingly, sometimes grudgingly — of “Carolina Luck.” Whether it’s a heralded recruit or an epic comeback or a fortuitous bit of officiating, the Heels have long seemed to get exactly what they need precisely when they need it. On Monday, that luck turned utterly outrageous. Three guys declare and not one leaves? Are you serious?
(Granted, Carolina did lose four non-seniors in one famous draft swoop — but only after winning the 2005 NCAA title. And Hansbrough arrived that fall.)
UCLA would have given the Heels a real run next winter had Kevin Love and Russell Westbrook and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute stayed on campus, but they left. (Josh Shipp did remove his name, for what that’s worth.) Memphis could have been good enough to blow another title had Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts hung around, but neither did. (Though Robert Dozier of Lithonia removed his name Monday.)
Paul Hewitt has seen four Georgia Tech players — Chris Bosh, Jarrett Jack, Javaris Crittenton and Thaddeus Young — declare for the NBA, and not one has recanted. “Once a guy gets caught up in [the process], it’s tough to turn back,” Hewitt said Tuesday. “They’re living the NBA lifestyle, putting on the gear, getting per diem.”
This was Hewitt’s reaction to the Heels’ non-exodus. “If you look at next year’s draft,” he said, “it’s a smart move on their part.”
Does he ever wonder why no Jacket has done a similar about-face? “We all work at different institutions. There’s a history of guys going pro at Georgia Tech. It’s been that way forever.”
Here’s another slice of reality: Tech must play Carolina in Chapel Hill next season, and the 2009 ACC tournament will be staged in the Georgia Dome. Asked if the Heels might be fairly decent when next he encounters them, Hewitt gave a little laugh. “Yeah,” he said. “They might be.”
Preseason Top 25
1. North Carolina: An even bigger favorite than Florida was in its second title run.
2. Louisville: Retained swingman Earl Clark and welcome forward Samardo Samuels.
3. Connecticut: Point guard A.J. Price must recover from a knee injury suffered in March.
4. Purdue: Baby Boilers nearly won the Big Ten last season and should do it this time.
5. Tennessee: Kept Tyler Smith, the best all-around Vol, and signed Scotty Hopson.
6. Pittsburgh: Toughness and defense galore, but is there enough finesse?
7. UCLA: Darren Collison didn’t leave, and another gifted recruiting class arrives
8. Texas:Lost one guard (D.J. Augustin) but retained another (A.J. Abrams).
9. Duke: Skilled on the perimeter but soft in the middle; same as it ever was.
10. Oklahoma: Power forward Blake Griffin is projected as the No. 1 pick in 2009.
11. Notre Dame 12. Gonzaga 13. Davidson 14. Memphis 15. Michigan State 16. Arizona 17. Florida 18. Arizona State 19. Wake Forest 20. Georgetown 21. Ohio State 22. Southern Cal 23. Minnesota 24. Ole Miss 25. Kansas.
Permalink | Comments (27) | Post your comment | Categories: Tech/ACC
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Comments
By Herschel Talker
June 17, 2008 4:37 PM | Link to this
Mark - are the Braves going to be in first place on July 4? Your prediction skills are uncanny.
By Barnack Frombama
June 17, 2008 5:03 PM | Link to this
CO-ECH HEWLITT IS AN AWSOME CO-ECH. TECH HAS GREAT TALENT ON THE BSKTBALL TEAM. ITS JUST THE FOOTBALL TEAM THAT STINKS,
By George
June 17, 2008 8:29 PM | Link to this
It’s simply too hot to be talking college basketball, Mark. Let’s instead concentrate on baseball, golf, beach volleyball, and how UGA will be crowned the national football champions in early January, 2009.
By Buzz29
June 17, 2008 11:21 PM | Link to this
Does UGAg play @ Vandy this year or @ home?
By Big Al
June 18, 2008 8:07 AM | Link to this
Wow. This is great. Now I can call Vegas and get in my bet early.
While you are at it, let me know how much it will snow in Vail this year. It it is a good year I can book my reservations now too.
By WFC
June 18, 2008 8:51 AM | Link to this
I’ll talk basketball any time of the year!
Carolina does indeed look strong. However, I’ll give you 5-1 odds for any amount up to $10,000 that they don’t go undefeated.
Too bad for Javaris Crittendon for being traded from LA to Memphis. Nobody cares! KARMA…hope your mom enjoys her house. It’s obscurity and the Bulgarian league for you down the road.
Hewitt took a talented but hardly dominant team to the championship game. Cut him some slack!
By WFC
June 18, 2008 8:51 AM | Link to this
I’ll talk basketball any time of the year!
Carolina does indeed look strong. However, I’ll give you 5-1 odds for any amount up to $10,000 that they don’t go undefeated.
Too bad for Javaris Crittendon for being traded from LA to Memphis. Nobody cares! KARMA…hope your mom enjoys her house. It’s obscurity and the Bulgarian league for you down the road.
Hewitt took a talented but hardly dominant team to the championship game. Cut him some slack!
By SavTechIE
June 18, 2008 9:10 AM | Link to this
Vote Bobby Dodd’s favorite white jersey outfit #3. He was so superstitious about wearing white jerseys in all game that when Duke showed up in Atlanta c1953 bringing only their customary visiting whites, Dodd made them use TECH navy blue jerseys - - the only time these blues were used by any team all year.
By Judi
June 18, 2008 9:27 AM | Link to this
With the three returnees and a great recruiting class, get used to seeing that baby blue cause Carolina is going all the way this year. Thanks, Mark, for confirming it. It’s never too early, George, to talk about basketball—especially the ACC kind. Go Heels!
By Cera
June 18, 2008 9:38 AM | Link to this
You can talk about tobacco road all you want but their is a super star in a little unknown college called Richmond that will be makin the news next year. This kid as a freshmen broke all kinds of school records. Please tune into the point guard at Richmond next year and you will know exactly who I am referring to, the young man is awesome, he is none other that Kevin Anderson!
By brewerfaninATL
June 18, 2008 12:17 PM | Link to this
Hey Mark,
I want to thank you very much for not putting Wisconsin in your Top 25. We always do better when nobody (such as you) gives us a chance. So, I guess you’ll seeing us in the Big Dance once again…and you’ll be sitting there stupified (as usual) for picking Minnesota (I’m assuming because your boy Tubby is coaching them and he can do no wrong) instead! Thanks again for proving you know absolutely zip about college basketball! Stick to your Braves predictions, you dip$hit!
By DukeSucks
June 18, 2008 1:28 PM | Link to this
Wow, Duke at 9? More like 109. Carolina will curb stomp them all over both Cameron and the Dean Smith Center next year, and Duke will get a generous 2-3 seed in the Tournament and go home at the end of the first weekend. I do like the comment “same as it ever was.” Coach K likes to have 3-happy teams with ZERO depth each and every year.
By Dante Marshall
June 18, 2008 1:52 PM | Link to this
Thanks for giving my beloved Louisville Cardinals some props. They’ll be in the tough Big East so it will be hard for them to stay in that # 2 slot. Hopefully by years end we’ll be knocking on that National Championship door. As for Carolina, let’s not play the tournament let’s just mail them the trophy. Will they have the regionals in their back yard again this year?
By Bucky
June 18, 2008 1:56 PM | Link to this
Wow…You sure our going out on a limb with this one…But I like the odds on this happening vs you picking UGA to win the BCS….
By Sports Fan
June 18, 2008 3:50 PM | Link to this
It’s June and you are writing about basketball?
By Mark Bradley
June 18, 2008 5:48 PM | Link to this
There’s no regional in North Carolina next year. There is a subregional in Greensboro, so you-know-who will be placed there.
Regional sites are Boston, Memphis, Indy and Phoenix. I’m guessing Carolina goes to Memphis, given that the Big East should again be strong enough to produce a No. 1 seed.
The Final Four is in Detroit, as you probably know.
By country boy
June 18, 2008 8:09 PM | Link to this
Mark, Gutsy prediction to pick an NCAA champion 5 months before the season begins. Yes UNC is loaded but maybe too deep. They have a very good class coming in and the frosh would certainly be promised playing time by Roy Williams. I am a UNC and ACC fan but team chemistry in a one game elimination tournament could make bold predictions falter. Duke will be good as they were not killed by early draft entries and lost only one productive starter ( Nelson). Coach K is slowly getting some size. Next season they will have a highly reguarded 6’ 10” player and already have a commit from a top five center in ‘09.
By jake
June 18, 2008 9:09 PM | Link to this
Wow…you’re picking UNC to “go all the way”. I applaud your willingness to go out on a limb.
I have some news for you…while the trio of Green, Ellington, and Lawson will help UNC, the Tarheels will a) play almost NOBODY in their non-conference schedule and b) play in a sneakily weak ACC. With the exception of Duke (who isn’t that good) there really is no Final Four caliber team in that conference. This will pose problems once again for UNC in the tournament. They’ll run into a faster, more athletic team (like Kansas in 08) and be exposed for what they are: A boring, set offense “Tobacco Road” team.
Let’s just hope that Ty Lawson stays healthy (and sober). And by “let’s” I mean “you should”.
By Jason
June 18, 2008 11:05 PM | Link to this
Coach Kennedy is quietly stacking Ole Miss with NCAA tournament talent. As long as he is there, they will keep getting better.
By captain Midnight
June 19, 2008 2:53 AM | Link to this
There is something about you that you like to make predictions so you cam look like a damn fool later.
By phil
June 19, 2008 2:13 PM | Link to this
Basketball is a year round sport in N.C. Keep talkin’!
By Kurt Baumberger
June 19, 2008 10:44 PM | Link to this
Mark-
For someone who can be so astute on some topics, you are an absolute idiot when it comes to Duke. I know you went to Kentucky and you’ll never get over Laettner’s shot or the kick in the groin he delivered to a prone Kentucky kid.
But to say Duke is “soft in the middle; same as it ever was” forgets NBA All-Stars Elton Brand, Carlos Boozer, and even ancient Mike Gminski. You can hate Duke with every fiber of your being and you can even trash Coach K with reckless abandon because he’s a man of depth and character who can withstand such assaults.
But don’t make ridiculous statements that a mere child could refute with a few simple facts.
By Jake Towson
June 20, 2008 7:06 PM | Link to this
Uh wasn’t UNC supposed to be the odds on favorite to win it last season? They look like a great team but that’s why they play the games. UNC may be the favorite but its not such a stone cold lock as this article makes it out to be.
By SouthGARules
July 4, 2008 1:49 PM | Link to this
Roy will find a way to screw this up. Carolina has so much talent but they find a way to choke. At least Roy won one like a man instead of backing in like Dean Smith did TWICE.
By TONY SHUMPERT
July 14, 2008 10:46 AM | Link to this
GT will be a sleeper this year, stay tuned. Iman will show you the light.
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