Pre-Tournament Musings…

This is certainly not the place where one finds liturgical or theological enlightenment.  Nonetheless, this is the day of the year that might be termed the “Day of Wrath” (from Dies Irae) because this is the day following Selection Sunday.  Maybe we should name it the Monday of Mourning?  The main focus of the sports world today is a non-issue; far too much attention is paid to the teams that were snubbed by the Selection Committee and left out of the basketball tournament.  Big deal!  The team considered to be 69^th in the country and left out of the tournament field was not going to win the tournament anyway.

You will not find me weeping and gnashing my teeth over such nonsense.  Rather, I prefer to focus on the fact that the NCAA is going to try to pull off a full tournament field of 68 teams in a semi-bubbled environment in Indianapolis.  It will not be easy; and if it goes off without any sort of disruption, it will be a huge surprise.  Given the number of teams that had to interrupt their regular season schedules to accommodate COVID-19 infections, the odds of seeing 67 games go on without incident are not good.

One sort of positive thing to come out of this regular season is that players and coaches had to learn to adapt on the fly to new situations.  There were so many game cancellations and “schedule adjustments” that the normal regimented and orderly progression of a season was never maintained.  Maybe that can be a long-term benefit for many of these players in life…

The so-called mid-majors of college basketball may well have been disproportionately disadvantaged by all of the “schedule adjustments”.  The paucity of interconference games this year did not give some of the smaller basketball schools a chance to play a game or two against the basketball bluebloods; that deprived those smaller schools the opportunity to demonstrate their potential to be competitive at a higher level.  That circumstance did not come about through malicious intent – – unless you want to ascribe that intent to the coronavirus.

A positive thing to watch for in the tournament this year is Gonzaga’s quest to finish the season with a tournament championship plus an undefeated season.  The Zags are 26-0 in the regular season; they need to win 6 more games for a perfect season.  The last team to finish a regular season undefeated and then to cap it off with a tournament championship was Indiana in 1976.  Since then, three teams have arrived at the tournament with unblemished records but have lost in the tournament.  Those were:

• 1979 – – Indiana State lost in the Final Game
• 1991 – – UNLV lost in the Final Four round
• 2015 – – Kentucky lost in the Final Four round

Bob Molinaro had an interesting take on Gonzaga’s quest this year in the Hampton Roads Virginian-Pilot:

“Over: The abrupt end to Duke’s slim postseason hopes has a negligible national impact, but all hell would break loose within the sport if a positive test derailed Gonzaga or another serious contender. It gives new meaning to ‘survive and advance.’”

[Aside:  How many “bracketologists” back in December prognosticated that both Duke and Kentucky would fail to make the tournament?  Let that demonstrate the value of such soothsaying…]

For what it is worth, Rick Pitino’s Iona team is in the tournament this year; this is the fifth school he has led to the NCAA tournament.  Rick Pitino may not be the perfect role model for your kids, but he can coach basketball teams.

What I like to do with the tournament brackets is to have some fun with team mascots and players’ names.  Even in years when there is regularity, I do not have a great track record for picking brackets; so, I find other ways to amuse myself while waiting for the games to begin.  For example:

• We could have two Final Four games that are ‘Predator versus Prey”.  You could have the Michigan Wolverines against the Creighton Blue Jays and the Villanova Wildcats against the Oregon State Beavers.
• In Round 1, we have a game between the Ramblers (Loyola-Chicago) and the Ramblin’ Wreck (Georgia Tech).
• We might see a “reptilian” final game should it come down to the Maryland Terrapins and the Drexel Dragons.
• We could have a second-round game between Oklahoma St. (OSU) and Oregon State (OSU).  Moreover, one of those schools might possibly make it to the Final Four where it could face Ohio St. (OSU).
• The Final Game could be a contest between ethnic mascots – – the San Diego St. Aztecs versus the Iona Gaels.
• An Elite Eight game could pair the Michigan St. Spartans against the UNC-Greensboro Spartans.
• Perhaps the Final Game will be completely ursine matching the Baylor Bears and the UCLA Bruins.

In addition to mascot pairings, there are plenty of potential intrastate rivalry games to happen in the tournament.

• Florida and Florida St. could meet in the Final Game.
• Michigan and Michigan St. could meet in the Elite Eight.
• Ohio and Ohio St. could meet in the Final Game.
• Oklahoma and Oklahoma St. could meet in the Final Game.
• Oregon and Oregon St. could meet in the Final Game.
• Virginia and VCU could meet in the Elite Eight.
• Virginia and Va Tech could meet in the Final Game.

Player names have always been a part of my pre-tournament musings.  This year I will consider All-Tournament Teams made up of players based solely on the way their names fit into categories that I have concocted in my head.  This is just for fun.  Let me begin with players that have what I call Mirror-Image Names – you can reverse the order of their names and it still sounds like a player name:

• Bryan Antoine – – Villanova
• Carson Barrett – – Purdue
• Keller Casey – – Oklahoma
• Brandon Cyrus – – UC-Santa Barbara
• Tytist Dean – – Liberty
• Kent Gilbert – – Tennessee
• Ben Gregg – – Gonzaga
• Donovan Gregory – – Appalachian St.
• Blake Henry – – Colgate
• Jace Howard – – Michigan
• Jehloni James – – Georgia Tech
• Trey James – – Iona
• Jarod Lucas – – Oregon St.
• Chase Martin – – Purdue
• Cody Riley – – UCLA
• Demetrius Terry – – Cleveland St.
• Jalen Terry – – Oregon
• Aiden Terry – – Rutgers
• Cameron Thomas – – LSU

My next All Tournament Team is the Artist’s Palette Team:

• Leaky Black – – UNC
• Eugene Brown III – – Ohio St.
• Gabe Brown – – Michigan St.
• Greg Brown – – Texas
• Kobe Brown – – Missouri
• Xavion Brown – – Appalachian St.
• A.J. Gray – – Hartford
• Josh Gray – – LSU
• Raiquan Gray – – Florida State
• Bryant Greene – – Appalachian St.
• Tarik Silver – – Oregon St.
• Fabian White, Jr. – – Houston
• Isaiah White – – USC
• Jalen White – – Ohio

[Aside:  With five players named “Brown” here, it is a shame that Brown University is not in the tournament field this year.]

Next up is an All-Tournament team where player names have a Biblical Connotation:

• Immanuel Allen – – Abilene Christian
• Noah Baumann – – USC
• Christian Bishop – – Creighton
• Moses Flowers – – Hartford
• Weston Church – – Oklahoma St.
• Gideon George – – BYU
• Jonah Jackson – – Drake
• Isaac Likekele – – Oklahoma St.
• Noah Locke – – Florida
• Elijah Lufile – – Oral Roberts
• Isaiah Miller – – UNC-Greensboro
• Joshua Morgan – – USC
• Micah Peavy – – Texas Tech
• Ismael Plet – – Oral Roberts
• Malachi Rice – – Georgia Tech
• Jeremiah Robinson-Earl – – Villanova
• Samson Ruzhentsev – – Florida
• Jericho Sims – – Texas
• Moses Wright – – Georgia Tech

I always look for players with Alliterative Names.  This year, using names and schools, I found several “Trifectas” where the alliteration has three components.  I am still in search of a “Grand-slam alliteration” such as Tom Terrific from Texas Tech.  Maybe next year…

• Akok Akok – – UConn
• Angelo Allegri – – UNC Greensboro
• Alphonso Anderson – – Utah St.
• Avery Anderson III – – Oklahoma St.
• Adonis Arms – – Winthrop
• Aguek Arop – – San Deigo St.
• Austin Ash – – Iowa
• Buddy Boeheim – – Syracuse
• Bryceson Burns – – Drake
• Colton Cashaw – – Iona
• Colin Castleton – – Florida
• Cade Cunningham – – Oklahoma St.
• Deven Dahlke – – Drake – – Trifecta !
• Dain Dainja – – Baylor
• Damien Daniels – – Abilene Christian
• Davonte Davis – – Arkansas
• Devin Davis – – Creighton
• Darius Days – – LSU
• Dexter Dennis – – Wichita St.
• David Didenko – – Georgia Tech
• Drake Dobbs – Liberty
• Ferron Flavors, Jr. – – Oklahoma St.
• Gage Gomez – – UC-Santa Barbara
• Hakim Hart – – Maryland
• Kolton Kohl – – Abilene Christian
• Jalen Jackson – – North Texas
• Jaime Jaquez, Jr. – – UCLA – – Trifecta !
• Josiah-Jordan James – – Tennessee – –  Trifecta !
• Jason Jitoboh – – Florida
• John Jones – – Texas Southern
• Johnny Juzang – – UCLA
• Kuba Karwowski – – Utah St.
• Liam Lloyd – – Grand Canyon
• Mawot Mag – – Rutgers
• Marten Maide – – Liberty
• Montez Mathis – – Rutgers
• Mardrez McBride – – North Texas
• Mac McClung – – Texas Tech
• Mason McMurray – – Ohio
• Michael Meadows – – Eastern Washington
• Mahki Morris – – Abilene Christian
• Pearson Parker – – Colgate
• Reggie Raynor – – UNC Greensboro
• Sheldon Stevens – – Oral Roberts
• Townsend Triple – – BYU

I can concoct an All-Tournament Team with namesakes of US Presidents:

• Bryson Bush – – Wichita St.
• Jonathan Jackson – – Liberty
• Tray Jackson – – Seton Hall
• Damien Jefferson – – Creighton
• Jalen Jefferson – – Mount Saint Mary’s
• Malik Jefferson – – Mount Saint Mary’s
• Meechie Johnson, Jr.  Ohio St.
• Britton Johnson – – Alabama
• Jayden Nixon – – Virginia
• Rico Ozuna-Harrison – – Michigan
• Coletrane Washington – – Drexel
• Duane Washington Jr. – – Ohio St.

People go to college to prepare themselves for careers in life.  Here are some players in this year’s tournament where I wonder if their name indicates what they will do with the rest of their lives:

• Geo Baker – – Rutgers – – Pastry chef
• Adrian Baldwin, Jr. – – VCU – – Piano tuner
• Chudier Bile – – Georgetown – – Liver transplant surgeon
• Andre Bottoms – – Norfolk St. – – Scuba instructor
• Jalen Bridges – – W. Virginia – – Civil engineer
• Drew Buggs – – Missouri – – Entomologist
• DJ Burns, Jr. – – Winthrop – – Firefighter
• Nate Buss – – Winthrop – – Transportation specialist
• Lamont Butler – – San Diego St. – – Obviously…
• Jett Canfield – – Creighton – – Pilot
• Kofi Cockburn – – Illinois – – Barista
• Aaron Cook – – Gonzaga – – Celebrity chef
• Adrian Delph – – Appalachian St. – – Oracle?
• Abe Eagle – – Gonzaga – – Boy Scout Leader
• Aleem Ford – – Wisconsin – – New car sales
• Justin Forrest – – Appalachian St. – – Sawmill foreman
• Javion Hamlet – – North Texas – – Actor
• Royce Hamm, Jr. – – Texas – – Abattoir foreman
• Luke House – – Drexel – – Architect
• Kaleb Hunter – – UNC Greensboro – – Anything but a gatherer
• Julius Marble II – – Michigan St. – – Sculptor
• Miles McBride – – W. Virginia – – Wedding photographer
• Takal Molson – – Seton Hall – – Brewer
• Moses Moody – – Arkansas – – Bond trader
• Andrew Muse – – Appalachian St. – – Poet
• Justyn Mutts – – Va Tech – – Dog breeder
• Woody Newton – – Syracuse – – Carpenter
• Nana Opoku – – Mount Saint Mary’s – – Childcare specialist
• Eli Parquet – – Colorado – – Flooring installer
• Omar Payne – – Florida – – Chiropractor
• Jamorko Pickett – – Georgetown – – Fence installer
• Abel Porter – – Ohio St. – – Too easy…!
• Micah Potter – – Wisconsin – – Too easy again …!
• Joey Potts – – Oregon St. – – Chef
• Keegan Records – – Colgate – – Statistician
• Colton Reed – – Liberty – – Oboist
• Mason Robbins – – Oklahoma St. – – Bricklayer
• Brandon Slater – – Villanova – – Roofer
• Javonte Smart – – LSU – – Professor
• Camerohn Steele – – Abilene Christian – – Metallurgist
• Jayden Stone – – Grand Canyon – – Geologist
• Read Streller – – Oklahoma – – Librarian
• Seth Towns – – Ohio St. – – Urban planner?
• Sam Towns – – Oho – – Cartographer?
• Tyler Underwood – – Illinois – – Typewriter repairman
• Jordan Usher – – Georgia Tech – – Obviously …
• Franz Wagner – – Michigan – – Composer
• Rocket Watts – – Michigan St. – – NASA engineer
• Deshang Weaver – – Oral Roberts – – Fashion designer
• Tom Welch – – Loyola Chicago – – Jelly maker

I also like to create a Copy Editors’ Nightmare Team.  It can also be a challenge for play-by-play broadcasters too:

• Ochai Agbaji – – Kansas
• Chibuzo Agbo – – Texas Tech
• Max Agbonkpolo – – USC
• Warith Alatishe – – Oregon St.
• Rati Andronikashvili – – Creighton
• Martynas Arlauskas – – Gonzaga
• Giorgi Bezhanishvili – – Illinois
• Nyzaiah Chambers – – Norfolk St.
• Damian Chong Qui – – Mount Saint Mary’s
• Okay Djamgouz – – Drake
• Ayo Dosunmu – – Illinois
• Victor Iwuakor – – Oklahoma
• Abayomi Iyiola – – Arkansas
• Efstratios Kalogerias – – Norfolk St.
• Modestas Kancleris – – Creighton
• Balsa Koprivica – – Florida St.
• Sandro Mamukelashvili – – Seton Hall
• Asbjørn Midtgaard – – Grand Canyon
• Emeka Obukwelu – – Arkansas
• Eugene Omoruyi – – Oregon
• Osayi Osifo – – Florida
• Osun Osunniyi – – St. Bonaventure
• Victor Radocaj – – Eastern Washington
• Yahuza Rasas – – Texas Southern
• Ryan Tankelewicz – – UNC Greensboro
• Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua – – Baylor
• Aher Uguak – – Loyola-Chicago
• Paxson Wojcik – – Loyola-Chicago
• Szymon Zapala – – Utah St.

I found five names in my looking around that are interesting – – but do not fit on tournament teams.  So, I will just list them here:

1. Dajuan Harris, Jr. is a guard on the Kansas team.  Too bad he is not a twin; if he were, his brother could have been named “Da-udda-juan”.
2. The Drexel coach is named Zach Spiker.  How is he not the volleyball coach?
3. The Oregon St. coach is named Wayne Tinkle.  Moving on…
4. Tony Perkins is on the Iowa team.  I thought I saw him in the movies…
5. Reggie Miller is on the Abilene Christian team.  I did not realize he had any NCAA eligibility left…

Finally, let me close with a tournament overview by Dwight Perry in the Seattle Times :

“Virginia joined Duke on the sideline at the ACC basketball tournament after a positive COVID-19 test, and Kansas is similarly out of the Big 12 tourney.

“So can we just end the suspense early and proclaim the virus as this year’s national champion?”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………