The podcast is up and here’s some of what you’ll hear:
Starting Five: Beth tosses five questions at Debbie
1) What have you learned in last week in your travels?
Debbie:
I learned that Gary Blair passes out better, high quality candy than Van.
Speaking of Van, got my picture in the Van Wagon.
Highest scoring team w/out the three pointer? Gonzaga. Baylor. UConn third.
Danielle Robinson knows three Ws of point guard. Who to get when to deliver and where.
Amy Waugh, Xavier – made a major faux pax at championship game, never wear a skirt with a Championship on line
2) The Streak – first 10 minutes of Sports Center. Incredible how they’re doing it and how carrying themselves.
Debbie: Talk of lack of buzz ’cause it’s their record and the way they’re doing it.
Beth: I was there. Broke out the leather. Geno called me Muffet McGraw.
North Carolina, Rutgers, Utah – are they in?
Not unless Utah wins tourney — TCU in if they don’t win.
Carolina – bad loss, beat BC, USC, Princeton – lost to all teams that gave that would have given them a chance.
2) Favorites are winning conferences
A-10 getting 2 more after Xavier? Temple, Dayton.
American East – Hartford, Vermont both in? Hard with Hartford major injury to be considered.
Colonial – watching with more interest than ever cause two of best players in college players – Evans Delle Donne. And ODU has won regular season again after rough start. Don’t know if James Madison has a good enough resume.
5) Will Power Conference POYs be State Farm Coaches All Americans?
Debbie: Maybe not out of the SEC with Victoria Dunlap? Bjorklund and Kelley Cain bypass?
Jostens “Diamond in the Rough” Sarah Miles, West Virgina. Shooting guard, most improved. This year as point guard, defensive player of the years.
Werner Ladder “Rising above the Rest:” Maya Moore and Jantel Lavender join 2000pt club.
Discussion: Who’s in, who’s out from the Power Conferences?
ACC: Duke won tourney, NC State, Florida State, Virginia, Georgia Tech. Proud of Wolf Pack and staff. Got to play the blind resume game (ignore the school name.) Wake Forest makes it interesting
Big East: UConn, ND, Georgetown, St Johns, West Virginia. Not sure about Rutgers. DePaul might.
Big 10: Ohio St. and Michigan State. Wisconsin and Iowa St – compare RPI and total wins on Wisconsin side, but Iowa swept Wisconsin. Both in or out.
Big 12: Seven in. Top 5 seeds.
Pac-10: Stanford, UCLA – add Southern Cal. Cal might.
SEC: Tennessee, Kentucky, Vandy, Georgia, LSU. Mississippi St. on bubble. Here’s where we need an in-conference RPI.
If Fresno State loses conference tourney, do they deserve bid over Rutgers?
Beth: Was that a tinge of sympathy for a smaller league?
Debbie: Only if I can remind you Lehigh winning Patriot league.
Notes from the Cocktail Napkin:
1) First video podcast, Tuesday March 16th. One hour to chew bracket apart.
2) 30 win club this year is exclusive: UConn, TN, Ohio State. Will Nebraska add in?
3) Matt the Stat Guy: When the power conferences play each other in the Tourney, SEC, ACC, Big East, Pac 10, Big 10.. The Big 12 worst record in the last five years v. other conference teams. And we talk a lot about how they’re competitive against each other.
4) 12 added to USA Basketball pool for National team. Will have to pick 12 from 20. Thoughts? Geno criteria: tough and scorers.
5) Reading Beth Bass and Betty Jaynes “The Butterfly Experience: Healthy Transitions in Athletic Hirings.” The book details 10 high-profile, successful transitions in the collegiate sports arena, including the transition of Betty’s passing of the torch to Beth.
Comments? Questions: Shootaround@wbca.org
Also, if you’d like to be part of the Shootaround “So You Want to be a Sports Journalist” intern program, drop them a line: Shootaround@ wbca.org
Don’t forget: The podcast is up.