mario chalmers – Rush The Court

NCAA March Madness 75-Year Celebration: Best Players, Teams, Moments From the Big 12

KoryCarpenter — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 15:15:27 +0000

The NCAA may be butchering another investigation, but they did something right on Tuesday. They are celebrating 75 years of March Madness with a list of all-time greats: the best players, teams, and moments in NCAA Tournament history. They aren’t ranked (wouldn’t that be a fun argument?) but there are plenty of arguments to be had by fans, and plenty of memories — good and bad — brought back to life in the lists. This note isn’t Big 12 related but I thought the same thing as our own editors said when I read the list for the first time:

“Shelvin [...]

Morning Five: 06.22.12 Edition

rtmsf — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 11:31:05 +0000

Last night marked the end of another season of basketball as the NBA crowned its newest champion, the Miami Heat, and we now head into a four-month dry spell without competitive hoops (the Summer Olympics next month will provide a brief respite). While the evening definitely belonged to LeBron James’ coronation as one of the all-time greats, a pair of his role player teammates joined the short list of players to have won both a national title in college as well as a world title in the NBA. With the Heat’s victory, Kansas’ Mario Chalmers (2008) and Duke’s Shane Battier [...]

NBA Finals Features Plenty of College Stars

EJacoby — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 23:42:11 +0000

The 2012 NBA Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Miami Heat begins tonight in a dream matchup of star-studded teams that is sure to draw huge viewer ratings. The major media narrative of the series centers around the two superstars — LeBron James and Kevin Durant — and all basketball fans should enjoy watching them battle at the highest level. But digging deeper, diehard college hoops supporters are in for a real treat as each team features veteran players that were once stars at the collegiate level for Final Four-bound squads. Thought the Fab Five was a distant memory? Juwan [...]

NCAA Tournament Tidbits: 03.22.12 Edition

rtmsf — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 16:33:43 +0000

The NCAA Tournament is here and there’s more news, commentary and analysis than any of us can possibly keep up with. To make things a little easier, we’ll bring you a list of daily links gathered about teams in each of the four regions all the way through the Final Four.

Midwest Region

Ohio University has seen its share of stars come through its program, but that has not translated into postseason success until this year. Cincinnati may be playing in Boston as part of the East Regional, but several individuals from the Cincinnati area have played key roles in the growth [...]

Big 12 Mount Rushmore

dnspewak — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 22:58:14 +0000

When Missouri and Texas A&M bolt for the SEC in July, the departure will mark the Big 12’s first shift since its inception in 1996. For the most part, the past 15 seasons have belonged to Kansas, which has captured the only National Championship during this time period and has also won or shared 11 regular-season championships. The Jayhawks’ dominance extends all the way through the old Big Eight’s history, too. Naturally, we’ve selected two Jayhawks as the most influential figures. Perhaps it’s unfair to place so much KU emphasis on our four Mount Rushmore selections, and yes, it’s probably unfair to [...]

Big 12 and Blooming Onions, Part One

cwilliams — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 16:20:15 +0000

Society loves comparisons. A strange statement, yes, but one that is undoubtedly true. Whenever we see a dominating center, we say, “oh wow, that guy’s dominance in the paint reminds me of Cole Aldrich.” And it’s not just in sports. It’s in everyday life, too. “Oh, Steve from IT? That guy gives me the creeps, he reminds me of Norman Bates.” We are lost without comparisons. We need them, especially when something new comes along. Today, I thought it would be fun to compare each of the Big 12 basketball programs to something. I needed these comparisons to be something [...]

Night Line: Tu Holloway States Early Case For Nation’s Best Point Guard

EJacoby — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 09:36:10 +0000

Evan Jacoby is an RTC columnist. You can find him @evanJacoby on Twitter. Night Line will run on weeknights during the season, highlighting a major storyline development from that day’s slate of games.

As is the case every year, guard play dominates college basketball. A lead guard’s responsibilities – facilitating offense, team leadership, and defensive execution – are essential to a team’s success. In Monday night’s exciting matchup between Xavier and Vanderbilt, the point guards essentially decided the outcome. In crunch time of a tight game, Vandy’s Brad Tinsley made poor decisions for his team; while Xavier’s Tu Holloway dominated on both ends [...]

20 Questions: What is the Best November Tournament This Season?

dnspewak — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 23:30:10 +0000

Danny Spewak is the RTC correspondent for the Sun Belt Conference and a Big 12 microsite writer.

Question: What is the Best November Tournament This Season?

The pick: Maui Invitational

Participants (with preseason rank): Island: Duke (#6), Memphis (#9), Kansas (#13), Michigan (#18), UCLA (#20), Tennessee, Georgetown, Chaminade; Regional: Belmont, Middle Tennessee, UNC Greensboro, Towson

The theme at the Maui Invitational this fall is history. Sure, it’s impressive that the field includes five teams ranked in the preseason Top 20 in the Coaches’ Poll, but the bracket will also provide us with all kinds of wonderful nostalgia. On one side of the bracket, Duke and Michigan might [...]

A Closer Look at the Texas/Kansas Rivalry

dnspewak — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 19:22:25 +0000

There’s just something about Kansas that spurs all kinds of rivalries. Although it has dominated the Border War with Missouri lately and has traditionally beaten up on Kansas State (until Michael Beasley came along), the Jayhawks have found a new bitter rival to tangle with: the Texas Longhorns. KU’s geographic rivalries will never be replaced, of course. But for now, the most bitter, cold-blooded rivalry in the league is between Bill Self and Rick Barnes‘ programs.

Rick Barnes Always Finds Himself in a Battle With Kansas

And there’s a simple reason for that. It’s all about the competition on the court. Kansas has [...]

Legion of Doom: Figuring the All-Villain Teams For Selected Schools

rtmsf — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 12:00:29 +0000

The ongoing NBA lockout is resulting in some unintended but interesting effects related to college basketball. This offseason has already produced a handful of ‘alumni games,’ featuring former players of recent vintage, including some at two of the most storied programs in the sport, Kansas and Kentucky, in addition to last week’s Jimmer All-Stars at BYU. Saturday night’s Legends of the Phog in Lawrence was a jam-packed extravaganza of KU hoops that ended in a 111-111 tie as Mario Chalmers nailed a trey at the buzzer (who else?).

You’ll recall that a team called the Kentucky Pros scrimmaged John Calipari‘s Dominican [...]

RTC Live: Kansas vs. Texas (Big 12 Championship)

Brian Goodman — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 21:30:53 +0000

Game #214. After going to town on a burnt end sandwich, we lick our fingers for the Big 12 Tournament Final in Kansas City.

Kansas and Texas have given us some of the most memorable games in Big 12 history. In 2003, KU beat the Longhorns behind 24 points and 23 rebounds from Nick Collison. In the 2006 Big 12 final, a young Kansas team starting three freshmen and two sophomores shut down LaMarcus Aldridge to capture tournament gold. The next year, Kevin Durant lit up Allen Fieldhouse for 25 first half points and followed it up a week [...]

The Knight/Self Matter: Your Move, General

jstevrtc — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 14:15:31 +0000

Sherron Collins‘ line after logging 16 minutes in the first half of Kansas’ eventual win at Texas A&M on Monday night: three points, 0-3 shooting from the floor, 3-4 from the free throw line, three turnovers, no assists.

Not exactly his best half, of course. Is it worth a benching?

Bob Knight thought so on Monday. Providing color commentary for ESPN’s broadcast, Knight proclaimed that he would have benched Collins to start the second half, presumably to send a message. What would that message be, exactly? We’re guessing something along the lines of, “Hey, Sherron. Play [...]

NCAA Closes Recruiting Loophole — Sort Of

jstevrtc — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 02:25:12 +0000

According to this report from CBS Sports, earlier today the NCAA passed legislation regarding a subject they’ve been talking about tackling for years, specifically that of basketball programs hiring “anyone associated with a basketball recruit for a two-year period before or after the player enrolls at the school.” Gone, therefore, are the days when a coach could entice a prized recruit to play at his program by also offering up a job as an assistant coach or administrative assistant (fill in whatever title you wish) to the recruit’s high school or AAU coach, or to a family member.

Backdoor Cuts: Vol. V

nvr1983 — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 05:28:18 +0000

Backdoor Cuts is a college basketball discussion between RTC correspondents Dave Zeitlin, Steve Moore and Mike Walsh. This week they each pick their favorite moment of the decade — and their answers may surprise you.

DAVE ZEITLIN: Guys, in life I only have two rules: 1) Don’t commit murder; and 2) When a decade is coming to an end, I need to categorize everything in “best of” formats. Seriously, I eat that stuff up like I’m Rick Majerus at a buffet table. I’ve already listed the top 10 Penn basketball moments of the decade [...]

Memo to Bill Self: Take Charge of the Situation

rtmsf — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 19:56:56 +0000

This Kansas thing just gets uglier. A report yesterday from the Lawrence Journal World & News associates two other criminal matters with the fights between KU football and basketball players on Sept. 22 and 23. Officials were quick to say that these crimes do not involve Jayhawk athletes, but from a public relations standpoint, the company you keep can be just as revealing as your own behavior (FB updates for all the world to read). It’s not fair, but it’s real. Footage released yesterday showed what appears to be a large crowd of people standing around outside the now-infamous Jayhawker Towers watching something go down (see full [...]