College Hoop Ramblings

No Super Bowl. No Patriots. No Tom Brady's ankle (it can't be that bad if he's shacking up with Giselle this week). It's all college hoops. One team that looks down right now that I think could sneak into the Sweet 16 is Kentucky. The Wildcats have started slow at 7-9 but this team could go on a tear. Freshman forward Patrick Patterson is a monster down low and new coach Billy Gillespie will have the 'Cats playing better come February and March. They have the guards in Ramel Bradley and Joe Crawford around Patterson to make a run. If they can survive the SEC, Kentucky will be a team to watch in March... I am a huge North Carolina fan but even at 18-1, I'm not sold on this Tar Heel club. They are at their best when they are running all over the court with speedy Ty Lawson at the point but NC's best player, Tyler Hansbrough, is at his best when the game slows down and they pump the ball to him inside. I don't see the Heels surviving that type of identity crisis in March... If the season ended right this second, a Memphis-Kansas -- the two best teams as of January 22 -- national championship game would be one of the best in NCAA history... UCLA's Kevin Love throws the best outlet pass of this generation. I never saw Wes Unseld or Bill Walton play so I won't go as far as trying to claim he could be the best ever (he has played just 18 collegiate games) but if you get the chance to watch him play, you won't be disappointed... My All-American Team right now is Chris Lofton and Eric Gordon in the backcourt with Hansbrough, Chris-Douglas Roberts and Roy Hibbert up front... My Final Four right now is Georgetown, Memphis, Kansas and Indiana... BC's Al Skinner never gets any credit. He brings in players who fit his sytem and then coaches them to play beyond their talent level. There is no way a team that runs the flex, isn't capable of full court pressure defense and is built around a streaky shooting 5'9 guard should compete in the ACC but Skinner always finds a way... Local product Corey Lowe of Newton North is scoring 18.6 points-per-game for Boston University. Charlestown alums Ridley Johnson (9.4 ppg at Toledo) and Tony Lee (14.3 ppg at Robert Morris) are making Jack O'Brien proud... I can't give Al Skinner love without mentioning the great job Travis Ford has done at UMass. At least BC is in the ACC, which helps Skinner bring players to Chestnut Hill. Ford is working his magic in the Atlantic-10. This stae should enjoy him while it can before he jumps to a bigger job... A year after Greg Oden and Kevin Durant stormed college basketball as freshman, names like Eric Gordon, O.J. Mayo, Derrick Rose, Patrick Patterson, Kevin Love are popping up this season...