In the grand scheme of the "Do you have to play college basketball?" debate, a very minimal point was revealed last night on TNT Sports. Apparently, you don't have to attend college to learn how to dunk with flair in a televised spectacle. The two finalists last night in the Slam Dunk contest, Gerald Green and Nate Robinson, had three combined years of college experience - and that's all from Robinson. Arguably the coolest dunk of the night - Dwight Howard's sticker-on-the-backboard 12'6 thinger - came from a guy without any college experience (a highlight of the night was Kenny Smith referring to Michael Jordan as "the Russian judge"). And the fourth participant, Tyrus Thomas, played college ball for a single year. All told, the four participants played four years of college basketball, or an average of 1 year per person.
UNC is good, but I don't think they will win it all (this, of course, is presupposing that anyone cares what I think). To run that close with a team that just lost - at home - to Duke, who was, in turn, a team that is .500 in conference AT BEST - is questionable.
Memphis' win over a depleted Gonzaga team probably means less to them, in the eyes of Tournament seeding, then the loss should mean to Gonzaga. Bear in mind that while this is the first time a Mark Few program has lost ten games in eight years, Gonzaga has still defeated FOUR teams this season who were, at the time, ranked in the Top 25. Then, with arguably their best rebounder suspended in a game where rebounding was important down the stretch (look at Joey Dorsey's role in the contest), they hang tough with a Top 10 squad.
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