It is plain to see that the NFL is creating quite a mess for college football programs these days. NCAA investigations into schools like Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina – for allegations of improper contact – reveal that the problem of outside interference on college campuses is both very broad and very real.
Alabama head Nick Saban is taking matters into his own hands. He is currently refusing to allow NFL scouts to even attend practices. Other coaches like Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly don’t view scouts as the problem. Kelly has stated that the Irish won’t ban scouts, but will instead attempt to address the situation by better educating student athletes about the issue.
It seems logical that colleges would take steps to keep agents out. But scouts? These guys are not the ones offering cars and houses under the table to amateur athletes. They are the ones with clipboards and stopwatches sweating in the stands trying to earn a living by discovering the next big thing. Scouts help make college dreams of NFL success possible. Are these guys really to blame as well?
Loyal Homer believes scouts do share blame. He will argue that programs are well within their right to ban NFL scouts to preserve their programs. Bleacher Fan, on the other hand, believes scouts should be left to do their job.
One argument will prevail while the other will be shut out faster than a scout with a roll of hundreds at a Crimson Tide practice. Who has the right idea?
This is sure to be a popular topic with our friends in the Northeast!
Sports Geek poses the question in today’s debate about whether or not the Big East is still deserving of its guaranteed BCS bid. I most definitely say NO!
Let’s take a look at last year (2008).
West Virginia came into the season as the team to beat, despite the fact that head coach Rich Rodriguez left for the supposedly greener pastures in Michigan. However, with the momentum from the 48-28 trouncing of Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, and the return of Pat White, things were still looking up in Morgantown. (On a side note, does a victory over Oklahoma in a BCS game really mean anything these days?)
But the Mountaineers struggled all season, and limped to a 9-4 record with a loss to an 8-5 North Carolina team in the Meineke Car Care Bowl.
I will give Cincinnati credit. They won the Big East by going 11-3 – even with a loss to an average Virginia Tech team in the Orange Bowl – and finished the season ranked in the top 20. Head coach Brian Kelly has that team on the rise, and Sports Geek and I can stake claim to witnessing Kelly dominate Division II football earlier this decade when he was coaching Grand Valley State. But, winning the Big East in football is like Memphis winning Conference USA in basketball or like beating your two-year-old sister in a game of Madden on PlayStation 3. What have you really accomplished?
I would discuss Pittsburgh some, but year in and year out – especially since Dave Wannstedt came back to “save” the program – they have been inconsistent showing they are not yet ready for the big stage. They couldn’t even fill up Heinz Field for the season opener against Bowling Green (who they lost to, by the way). Only 45,063 showed up for the season opener. For the record, “Ketchup Field” has a capacity of 65,050.
Truth be told, I think the Big East is still living off of just one good performance this entire decade, the 2006 Sugar Bowl. West Virginia knocked off heavy favorite Georgia 38-35 in Atlanta (it wasn’t in New Orleans that year due to Hurricane Katrina) behind outstanding performances from White and running back Steve Slaton.
In 2007, West Virginia actually had a shot to play for the national championship. All the Mountaineers had to do was beat rival Pitt in the Backyard Brawl, at home in Morgantown, and it was likely they would play in the BCS Championship game. But, with all the pressure on them, West Virginia folded and lost 13-9. If WVU wins that game, and was able to win the championship that year, we would not be debating this issue.
The fact is that the Big East isn’t ready for prime time and that’s obvious from their recent history. I’m not even sure enough people in Big East country even care, outside of Morgantown. As far as attendance goes for the entire conference, the numbers don’t lie. The average attendance at a Big East game in 2008 was 42,995, with West Virginia averaging 58,085 to lead the conference. Four schools (Louisville, Connecticut, Syracuse, and Cincinnati) averaged less than 40,000 fans at each game. Folks, that’s terrible, and borderline embarrassing.
The Big East is undeserving of a BCS bid, and I think everyone outside of the Northeast agrees with me.
“We feel like Blake definitely is a sure thing.” – Mike Dunleavy current(ish) Los Angeles Clippers GM and Head Coach
Drafts are ALWAYS full of sure things, right? There has never been a high profile player in the history of sports drafts that turned out to be a bust. (sarcasm?)
I won’t insult everyone’s intelligence by publishing the litany of high draft mistakes that span all of sports. I will call out Dunleavy here, though, because he’s made a bold statement about something that couldn’t be further from a sure thing.
While I do think the majority of this draft class is weak – and that even “sure thing” Blake Griffin has many weaknesses in his game like outside shooting – there is one player who I feel will be a success in the NBA for many years to come, and it has as much to do with the team that drafted him as it does with the player himself, Tyler Hansbrough.
When I first started doing some research on Tyler Hansbrough and his pro prospects I was very skeptical. He’s undersized to play the 5 in the pro game (his college position), he won’t get foul calls in the NBA, his eyes are always opened to widely, and he’s really annoying. All of those legitimate criticisms are the first things that came rushing into my mind. Then I started to look at his stats, and was surprised by a few things.
He started on, and was a major factor for, the best team in arguably the best basketball conference for 4 consecutive, injury-free years. Four years. He averaged 30.9 minutes a game over his entire 142 game collegiate career. He’s durable.
He was dependable enough to average over 20 points a game (20.2, to be exact), over those 142 games, on 53.5% shooting. He’s a model of offensive efficiency. For a guy that was required to play at the 5 position during his career, he also shot a surprising 31.5% from 3-point-land over the course of career. Add on his 8.6 career rebounding mark, his .5 blocks per game as an undersized center, and his 1.3 steals per game – plus his intensity and proficiency on defense – and you have a projectable pro player. He’s multi-talented. He’s consistent.
Hansbrough has all the makings of a good pro, he just needed to be drafted by the right team – and he was. The Indiana Pacers are the perfect fit for him because their style will allow him to earn minutes (defense), and he’ll be able to play behind, and learn from, established veteran power forward Troy Murphy. In the end, I feel that Hansbrough will end his career with stats similar to Murphy’s totals from 2008-2009: 14.3 points and 11.8 rebounds per game.
Hansbrough has a good chance to be recognized as an important player in the NBA for years to come. He’ll retire wealthy because players who average those types of stats for a career always have a place to play. Sure, he has to improve his low post offense and get a quicker release on his jump shots, but those are skills that can be learned. Hustle, tenacity, and work ethic are much easier to draft than teach.
Hansbrough to the Pacers at pick #13, a move thought to be a reach by some, is the best move of draft day because of the short and long-term upside.
Posted by Babe Ruthless 
