The ACC is limping towards another unremarkable finish in hoops

When defending national champ North Carolina started flaming out last month, I thought that was the first sign that all wasn’t well with ACC hoops.  When Georgetown beat Duke yesterday, it convinced me that the league is heading for another uninspiring March.

If you take away Carolina’s title run last season, you’ll find it’s been a pretty unremarkable last five years for the league perceived by many as having the nation’s best hoops.

In 2006 and 2007, the conference didn’t have any of its members make the Final Four.  That marked the first time since the Carter adminstration that the ACC had failed to put a team in college basketball’s championship weekend in back-to-back seasons.

When is the last time Gary Williams had a truly great team at Maryland?  Did Virginia basketball essentially take the last two decades off from being competitive?  And does NC State even try to put a decent basketball team on the court anymore?

While the league’s traditional powers have had some postseason issues in recent seasons, the middle tier teams in the ACC haven’t exactly lit it up, either.  Florida State hasn’t won an NCAA Tournament game since 1998 and Clemson hasn’t turned the trick since 1997.

Frankly, I don’t see a team in the ACC that’s capable of making the Elite Eight this year.  Hey, I’m not saying it’s outside the realm of possibility that Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech or Clemson could warm up and make a surprising run through March Madness.  Much stranger things have happened.

But it doesn’t appear that there’s a team in the ACC that could play a Big East schedule and be better than fifth or sixth in that conference right now.  If you’re an ACC loyalist, you’d better check your bias at the door before filling out your tourney bracket a month and change from now.

Heisman winner whips ass

Herschel Walker has accomplished four things that most of us can only dream about:

1. He’s won the Heisman
2. He’s made a ton of cash
3. He’s gotten paid to legally whip a dude’s ass
4. He’s never masturbated

Number three on the list occurred last night, here are the highlights:

Number four on the list is something he revealed on the January 15 edition of “The Howard Stern Show.” When asked by the King of All Media about his chicken choking habits, Walker revealed the following: “I don’t masturbate. I’d rather not play with myself.” In Tebowesque fashion, he also said that he’s never watched a porno before.  If only Tiger Woods had that kind of restraint.

Peanut Butter Kid vs. Cowboy: Who’s the bigger douchebag fan?

This is a tough call, one dude lathers himself up in peanut butter and thinks this is a good look to sport at Georgia sporting events while the other one lathers himself up in redneckedness and posts videos on YouTube.  Compare and decide:

Benny Moss switches jobs at UNCW

With about a month left in the regular season, word came down that UNC-Wilmington head coach Benny Moss has been “reassigned” within the athletic department. While the timing is a little curious it was obvious that Moss had worn out his welcome in Wilmington.

Between 1998 and 2006, the program made six postseason appearances, four of those being in the NCAA Tournament. But things went sour for Moss right out of the gate. His first Seahawk team finished 7-22 in 2006-07 and his overall record at the school ended up being 41-74.

At the press conference announcing the “reassignment,” UNCW Athletic Director Kelly Mehrtens was pretty doggone blunt. “Men’s basketball is the lifeblood of our department. It must, and will be, successful,” said Mehrtens.

While the program languished under Moss, a host of other Colonial teams have emerged as major players on the Mid-Major landscape. George Mason’s Final Four appearance in 2005-06 put them on the map, and the Patriots join three other Colonial schools (Old Dominion, Northeastern and William & Mary) in the current College Insider Mid-Major Top 25.

The fact that UNCW is not one of those teams really sticks in the craw of Mehrtens and the rest of Seahawk Nation. Brooks Lee, son of former Campbell coach Billy Lee, will finish out the season with the interim head coach tag, but it’s unclear whether or not Mehrtens views him as a viable candidate to fill the position permanently.

It hasn’t been a good month for current or former UNCW head coaches. Back on January 11, former Seahawk head coach Jerry Wainwright was fired by DePaul. It was Wainwright who led UNCW to its greatest hoops glory up this point, a 93-89 overtime win over fourth seeded Southern Cal in the 2002 NCAA Tournament.

Alabama to erect Saban statue? Already?!?

Jeff Schultz of the AJC nailed it with the following:

“All hail, Nick Saban.

After only three seasons, Alabama is building a statue for its football coach. Can’t imagine what he gets if the Crimson Tide wins another championship. Does the school attempt a hostile takeover of neighboring states and give him parts of Mississippi and south Georgia? Maybe some coastline, between Pensacola and Panama City? Or was that already included in his original contract?

Alabama, coming off its BCS title in Saban’s third season, confirmed that a bronze statue of the coach already is in the works. It is expected to be completed by April 17, the day of the annual “A Day” spring game, when all banks and Walmarts will be closed.”

Man, the meltdown in Tuscaloosa will be EPIC if Saban ever pulls a Lane Kiffin and takes off for another job.   How many layers of tobacco spit will cover Saban’s bronze statue if that happens?  Bama fans might chuckle at the notion of Saban ever leaving their beloved Capstone, but hey, he’s pulled up stakes four times before in the last 20 years.  The rest of Schultz’s column can be found here.

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