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NCAA Tournament Tidbits: 03.30.11

Throughout the NCAA Tournament, we’ll be providing you with the daily chatter from around the webosphere relating to what’s going on with the teams still playing.

Butler

Connecticut

  • Jim Calhoun warns that the shine will eventually wear off of prodigious coaches like Shaka Smart and Brad Stevens. One element both coaches will have to consider in potential moves to higher-profile schools down the line is whether they want to take on the balance of increased scrutiny and higher expectations.
  • The Huskies returned to campus for a couple days to recharge their batteries, but passers-by on campus are still as excited as they were on Saturday. The team arrives in Houston Wednesday night, and its rock star status can’t go to the players’ heads if they want to succeed.
  • Patrick Sellers, a former UConn assistant, left the staff in the wake of the NCAA’s investigation of the program last May. Now coaching in China, Sellers remains pumped for his former employer, and, cleared by the NCAA, can seek work at the Division-I level if he wishes.
  • Calhoun believes there are no great teams in college basketball this season, with which we agree, but gives a reason with which we disagree. Calhoun insists that the transience of college basketball’s top players hurts the game, but without those players, even if they only stay one season, the game would be far less interesting.

Kentucky

VCU

  • Real life was inserted back into Shaka Smart’s life in an unfortunate manner, as his grandfather passed away in a Chicago suburb at the age of 91. Smart and his grandfather, Walter King, shared a close bond and King held a male influence that was missing from his upbringing by Smart’s mother. RTC’s thoughts and prayers are with Shaka and his family.
  • A few Las Vegas sportsbook operators shudder at the thought of the Rams winning two games in Houston. According to Bloomberg News, one bettor placed $10 on VCU to win the national title with 5,000 to 1 odds. In the long run, the $50,000 hypothetical prize is only a small hit to any Vegas sportsbook, but it’s an impressive one nonetheless.
  • Earlier this week, we talked about Jamie Skeen‘s decision to transfer from Wake Forest to VCU paying off, but perhaps the most impactful move may have been the one that didn’t happen. Point guard Joey Rodriguez went as far as announcing a transfer to Division-II Rollins College near his home in Florida after former Rams coach Anthony Grant took over at Alabama, but his teammates, along with Smart, convinced him to stay in Richmond.
  • The incomparable Stewart Mandel puts forth a theory that schools like VCU should cash in and, instead of moving up to a power conference, create their own league of competitive programs to strike a blow to the “mid-major” stigma that holds them back on the recruiting trail and in the fight to keep coaching prospects on its sidelines.
  • A fascinating report reveals how interest in VCU has skyrocketed as reflected by alumni giving, free media exposure valued at $677 million (about one year’s worth of the NCAA’s Tournament broadcasting agreement with CBS and Turner) and research interests.
Brian Goodman (987 Posts)

Brian Goodman a Big 12 microsite writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BSGoodman.


Brian Goodman: Brian Goodman a Big 12 microsite writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BSGoodman.