Anti-Dookies rejoiced today as a long-hoped-for NCAA intervention dropped on the Duke program when the NCAA, in an emergency injunction, declared star forward Kyle Singler ineligible to play in the Final Four this weekend.  As a result of illegal benefits he took while playing in a summer league in the Research Triangle Park area last year, his collegiate career is now over.  We’re still piecing together the details, but reports from both parties (the NCAA and Duke) seem conclusive in the fact that Singler will not play.  Here’s the statement from Duke’s media relations representative:

Obviously, we’re very disappointed as to the allegations that the NCAA has made and the timing of this decision.  After a several-day internal investigation, however, we have decided to comply and not to appeal this decision as the student-athlete in question has indeed jeopardized his amateur eligibility by playing in the Bojangles RTP Pro-Am last summer and accepting unauthorized gifts while there.  Our understanding is that if we do not play him in the Final Four games, we will be in full compliance and will not be held accountable by the NCAA for playing him in previous games this season. 

Losing Singler is a Huge Blow to the Devils

This is obviously a huge blow to Duke’s chances to win the national championship this weekend, but how interesting is it that the NCAA has decided to not hold Duke accountable for the 38 other games Singler has already appeared in this year if they simply hold him out this weekend?  Would Memphis have gotten the same treatment with Derrick Rose on the eve of the Final Four in 2008?  Is the NCAA setting yet another precedent in how they handle ineligible players — i.e., if you discover it in time, we’ll cut you a deal on the games he’s already appeared in?   

Additionally, RTC has done some further investigation and discovered that the RTP Pro-Am is an annual event where many of the former and current players from the area convene for several weeks in July to work on their games in a structured environment — Jerry Stackhouse, Chris Paul and Grant Hill are but a few of the marquee names that appeared last summer.  Like any event of this nature, there are also bags of swag available to the players who agree to play, and the 2009 booty included coupons for free food to Bojangles (a local fast-food chain), new iPhones/iPods and various Nike-sponsored bags, shoes, hats and t-shirts (the shoe giant is one of the primary sponsors of the event).  The NCAA  has been clear in the past that such events are off limits to NCAA athletes such as Singler, but supposedly an enterprising UNC fan took cell phone photos of Singler playing in the games and holding a bag of the above gift items afterward.  Quite literally, holding the bag. 

Coach K faces a monumental task in preparing his team for their semifinal tilt against West Virginia in just over 48 hours without their versatile forward, but he’s performed miracles before on this stage, so we wouldn’t put it past him to find a way to overcome this major hurdle.  The AP has been the only media outlet to get through to him for an interview, and his quote on the matter was succinct but telling about his general feelings on the matter: “Happy April 1, everyone.” 

We asked writers from each of the four Final Four schools to provide us with a persuasive article on why their team will win it all this coming weekend.  Steven Peek of The Butler Collegian tells us that Butler isn’t satisfied with merely making the Final Four — they’re going all the way.

Many basketball programs use past national championships as an argument for why they are contenders in future seasons.  So would it be fair to say that Butler has a chance to win the 2010 NCAA Championship because they won the national titles in the 1923-24 and 1928-29 seasons?  No? OK then, let’s move beyond that fact.

The main reason why Butler could win the 2010 NCAA Tournament is because they are truly a unit, one single force moving past the competition. This can be seen in many facets of the game.  First, Butler’s mentality is team-based. Gordon Hayward confirms this in his hit single “Too Big Yo,” in which he raps how “it’s not about me / it’s about the team.”

Butler had no candidates for National Player of the Year remaining by the time the tournament began. While many may believe this to be a weakness, the bracket says otherwise.  Are the Ohio State Evan Turners still in the tournament? Nope.  Are the Kentucky John Walls still playing? Again, no.  How about the Syracuse Wes Johnsons? Butler took care of them.

Butler Can Beat Anybody (IndyStar/S. Riche)

Butler has had little national press coverage due to their lack of outspoken individuals. In fact, although they were ranked No. 10 nationally in the preseason polls, few people gave them credit as the 24-game winning streak built.  Butler should also be considered a legitimate title contender because of their defense.  In a press conference in San Jose, Calif., senior forward Willie Veasley talked about playing defense with the mindset of 5-on-1 (Butler versus the man with the ball). Using that mentality, Butler held its NCAA tournament opponents to a 56.5 points per game average, with all four teams being held to under 60 points.  Sophomore guard Ronald Nored has 12 steals this tournament, five of which came against No 1.-seeded Syracuse, a team that many analysts thought would tear through Butler.

But the Bulldogs have been no stranger to being underrated.  On this very subject, Nored has said, “It’s not an underestimation, it’s a misunderstanding.”  Being underrated makes the Bulldogs that much stronger.  Butler’s bench players have also been propelling the No. 5 seed through the tournament.  Butler’s bench has been big this tournament, granting new life to the court when the play of starters needed to be energized.

The scoring of juniors Zach Hahn and Shawn Vanzant has been important, as has the defense of senior Avery Jukes and freshman Andrew Smith. I personally watched Vanzant orchestrate three fast breaks in the first half against UTEP, who had Butler’s offense stagnant at first.  And because the bench is able to enter the game and continue or steal back momentum, diverse scoring is a part of the recent success.  When the pressure of the NCAA tournament rises, Butler has had someone to step up. In its four tournament games, Butler has had three different leading scorers—Gordon Hayward (twice), Shelvin Mack and Ronald Nored.  Also, Butler has had at least five players with at least four points in all four games.

And naturally, the home court factor should not be overlooked. Lucas Oil Stadium (a.k.a. Hinkle Fieldhouse South) is only a skip and a hop away from Butler’s campus.  That’s important because the Bulldogs went 15-0 at Hinkle this season. Those 15 wins include victories against NCAA tournament competitors Ohio State, Xavier and Siena.  The Bulldog bandwagon has been growing in number since other “underdogs” and Indiana teams dropped from the bracket.  The local crowd will certainly be supporting Butler and will likely outnumber any group of Michigan State, West Virginia or Duke fans.

Michigan State will surely be a tough opponent for Butler Saturday. Tom Izzo is a coaching legend and for good reason. Playing for him is essentially a guarantee to compete in at least one Final Four.  Nonetheless, the talents of Butler head coach Brad Stevens and his staff are not to be written off due to their youth. They are humble and dedicated, as reflected in the performance of their players.  All of the above is cause to count on Butler to not disappoint this weekend, whether it’s against the Spartans in the Final Four or against the next opponent in the national championship game.

We’ve been anxiously awaiting the next thirty days for the last eleven months.  You have too.  In fact, if this isn’t your favorite time of year by a healthy margin then you should probably click away from this site for a while.   Because we plan on waterboarding you with March Madness coverage.  Seriously, you’re going to feel like Dick Cheney himself is holding a Spalding-logoed towel over your face.  Your intake will be so voluminous that you’ll be drooling Gus Johnson and bracket residue in your sleep.  Or Seth Davis, if that’s more your style.  The point is that we’re all locked in and ready to go.  Are you?  To help us all get into the mood, we like to click around a fancy little website called YouTube for a daily dose of notable events, happenings, finishes, ups and downs relating to the next month.  We’re going to try to make this video compilation a little smarter, a little edgier, a little historical-er.  Or whatever.  Sure, you’ll see some old favorites that never lose their luster, but you’ll also see some that maybe you’ve forgotten or never knew to begin with.  That’s the hope, at least.  We’ll be matching the videos by the appropriate week, so all of this week we’re heading down memory lane at the Final Four.  Enjoy.

NCAA Final Four

Dateline: 1995 NCAA Final Four – Oklahoma State Open Practice Session

Context: In the buzz leading up to the 1995 Final Four, there was a lot of star power with UCLA’s NPOY Ed O’Bannon, North Carolina’s Jerry Stackhouse and Rasheed Wallace and Arkansas’ Corliss Williamson and Scottie Thurman.  But there was another all-american on the fourth team that the collected media in Seattle were fascinated with: Oklahoma State’s Bryant “Big Country” Reeves.  Nicknamed Big Country by teammate Byron Houston when Reeves was amazed at transcontinental air travel, the folksy player was a hit with good quotes and stories leading up to the game.  His legend was about to get bigger.  During the Friday open practice session at the Kingdome, Reeves caught a pass off the backboard and went in for the reverse dunk.  Here’s the result.

Each day this week during the regional rounds of the NCAA Tournament we’re asking some of our top correspondents to put together a collection of notes and interesting tidbits about each region.  If you know of something that we should include in tomorrow’s submission, hit us up at rushthecourt@yahoo.com.

Butler (Andrew Murawa)

• If you didn’t already have plenty of reasons to root for the Bulldogs this weekend, how about the fact that senior forward Avery Jukes has already formed a foundation dedicated to aiding poor children and helping them with their education.  I don’t know about you, but when I was 22 the foundation I was most interested in starting in my name likely had Beer Fund at the title.
• The question remains about how big of a home-court advantage Butler will have this weekend. The Horizon League commissioner Jon LeCrone thinks it will be, well, substantial.
• For those Bulldog fans that aren’t able to get inside Lucas Oil Stadium for the games, they can head over to Hinkle Fieldhouse for a viewing party, with donations supporting the Jukes Foundation.
• But if you do need tickets, don’t go trying to look up Brad Stevens, as he has already passed the “ticket business” on down the line.
• As great of an accomplishment as the Final Four is, Stevens claims that the Bulldogs going undefeated in the Horizon League was their biggest feat of the year. So what if he’s about the only one who thinks that?
• Not only is this Bulldog team in the Final Four, they are also a very young team, with only two contributing seniors on the squad and a trio of sophomores who were largely overlooked in the recruiting process.

West Virginia (Ryan Restivo of SienaSaintsBlog)

• A West Virginia fan had a very interesting fan experience early in March, but made sure to watch Villanova-West Virginia on March 6 before checking in to the hospital for a heart attack. USA Today notes, she got a surprise visit from Da’Sean Butler.
• It’s been a little over two years since Duke and WVU met in the NCAA Tournament, and both teams feel that they have matured in the interim.
• WVU Alum Bob Huggins has brought the Mountaineers to the top.
• Meanwhile The Philadelphia Inquirer notes the Mountaineers’ strength is rebounding and defense.
• Bucky Waters, who was head coach  at Duke and West Virginia, expects a good game.

Read the rest of this entry »

The biggest coaching news today had to do with a couple of extensions of existing contracts.  First, Louisville extended Rick Pitino’s deal through 2017, which would put the historically itinerant coach at 64 should he remain at the school through the life of the contract.  He’s already been at Louisville for nine seasons, which is his longest stay in any one place in his career.  He will also receive a $3.6M loyalty bonus on Friday as part of the new deal.  The other extension went to Pittsburgh’s Jamie Dixon, who had been rumored to have received an offer from Oregon earlier this week.  His extension will keep him at Pitt through the 2018 season, and we don’t see any chance he leaves the situation he has there short of one of the major players calling (Duke, Kentucky, UCLA, etc.).   Meanwhile, George Mason’s Jim Larranaga, riding a 12-year winning season streak, also received an extension from his school through the 2016 season.  The all-time leader in wins at GMU, he’ll have plenty of time to put together another opportunity for a run in the Tournament.

New St. John’s head coach Steve Lavin believes that the NCAA Tournament is in the near-future of his program with 94% of its offense returning next season from a team that was 17-16 and made the NIT.  He expects to recruit nationally and is hoping to hire an all-star staff of east coast guys to help with recruiting.  One name that he’s hoping to bring on board in an advisory capacity is former Purdue great Gene Keady, the coach who gave Lavin his first job.  At least one columnist believes that the reason Lavin (and UTEP’s Tim Floyd) are working again is because of their visibility.

Quick trigger in mid-majorville, as Holy Cross fired its head coach Sean Kearney after a single 9-22 season.  The AD said that the dismissal was an affirmation of how important basketball is to Holy Cross.  So… Billy Gillispie can get two years at Kentucky, but Kearney only one at HC?  Seems ridiculous, but there’s probably more behind the scenes to this than just wins and losses.

Two major names announced today for the NBA Draft: Virginia Tech’s Malcolm Delaney and Kentucky’s Daniel Orton.  Delaney, the ACC first-teamer who led the league in scoring this year at 20.2 PPG will test the waters to see what his options are.  As of now, he is not considered a serious prospect, but that may change based on his workouts.  Orton only averaged 3/3 in 13 minutes per game for the Wildcats playing behind DeMarcus Cousins, but scouts still like his 6’10, 255-lb frame and his ‘upside,’ whatever that means.