And back at blogging, as you can tell from our first two posts, including my spin on the Knicks hiring Mike D’Antoni.

We were hoping to get rolling last week but absolute exhaustion due to the return to work after a week spent kicking it on the beach in Mancora coupled with a horrific allergic reaction to something that has yet to be identified left me beat like a Kimbo Slice opponent.

Things are pretty much back to normal, which means the Eastern Conference playoffs blow and the Finals can’t some enough, and that we should be posting daily from now until the draft.

If you’re interested, I posted some pics and a few tales from Peru here.

It’s wife Gloria not the King, as the pic, of Gloria rushing to, well, I don’t know, smack Paul Pierce upside the head for wrestling LeBron out of bounds shows:

Gloria James stands by her man

Sparked by his wife’s display of pugilism, or not, the King came through with 21 points and 13 dimes, as the Cavs beat the Celtics 88-77 to knot their ugly-ass series at two games apiece.

That’s right, D’Antoni’s taking the Knicks job instead of the Chicago Bulls coaching gig is a stroke of absolute genius. And not just because he’s getting a fat $6 million per year to try to restore some semblance of luster to the Knickerbockers after the wreckage of the Isiah Thomas error. Taking Guitar Jimmy’s cash was a brilliant move for one reason: expectations.

Once word got out that D’Antoni took the Knicks job, a lot of NBA observers, both in the MSM and blogosphere, were flabbergasted. How could he turn up the chance to coach a team as young and talented as the Bulls the Sports Prof wondered? Pretty easily, if you ask me. If folks are already saying how talented the Bulls are and what a great fit they are for D’Antoni, what’s considered success? A Central Division title? A run to the Eastern Conference finals? A NBA Finals appearance? It’s all of the above depending on who you’re talking to.

No such glowing things were said about the Knicks. Mitch Laurence sums up what most people think about the Knicks roster when he called them, “…a cast of low-energy, low-basketball IQ misfits.” Harvey Araton of the Times, as reasonable a writer as Laurence is histrionic, referred to the Knicks current cast as “career underachievers.” The Toronto Globe and Mail’s Michael Grange got into the act calling the Knicks “a roster of tubbies,” and that:

The existing roster didn’t’ suit any of the styles used up to this point, so there can’t be much expectation that D’Antoni will be required to resurrect the Knicks on the backs of Eddie Curry, Zach Randolph and Jerome James, not to mention Stephon Marbury.

Which speaks to my point. How low is the bar for D’Antoni to have a successful first season in Gotham? Lower than the limbo pole in the video below:

Let’s think about this. Under the clueless Zeke, who ran his point guard off the team last season, the Knicks finished a miserable 23-59. Good for dead last in the awful Atlantic Division; 14th in the pedestrian Eastern Conference; and tied for 27th in the NBA with the LA Clippers.

Given that “performance” and the fact just about everybody’s saying D’Antoni can’t do shit with this roster, what constitutes a successful 2008-09 season for the Knickerbockers in the eyes of their fans?

My guess is that it’d take about 10 more wins and the teams playing competitive, entertaining ball for the vast majority of the season. Is that doable? Even with guys like Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph around? Fuck yeah, it’s doable.

If D’Antoni finds a consistent rotation, lets high-energy guys like Nate Robinson, David Lee, and Renaldo Balkman do their thing, instead of asking them to do things — block shots, play great individual defense — that they aren’t really capable of team then the Knicks, in an Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference that is a mediocre clusterfuck, have a better chance of winning 10 more games next season then the Sierra Nevadas in my fridge have of getting drank tonight.

Beyond that, if things go swimmingly, making the playoffs next season isn’t necessarily a bridge too far. Atlanta took the back door route to the East’s final playoff berth, losing their last three games in a row to edge out Indianapolis by one measly game with a second-rate record of 37-45. My guess is that it’ll probably take 35-to-38 wins to make the playoffs in the East next season. I wouldn’t bet so much as a buck on the Knicks to do so — actually, I would depending on the odds — but it’s possible if things go well.

Should that happen, D’Antoni’s Coach of the Year in a walk. Even if they don’t, an 8-to-10 game improvement marked by consistent effort will garner him plenty of votes in the Coach of the Year balloting.

Chicago’s got some nice players but taking the Knicks gig was the right move for D’Antoni and, in a sign that things are changing at MSG, the Knicks as well.

We’re finally over the pneumonia, which would normally mean that an onslaught of ill-conceived and misinformed posts on the state of the Knicks, Nets, and NBA would be forthcoming now that the 2007-08 college hoops season is over. However, the doctor has recommended that I get some fresh air to get over the failure of my lungs to properly work so I decided to get fresh air. In the Andes, Amazon, and Pacific coast of Peru.

I’ll be in the mysterious land of the Incas from April 17th through May 5th. Expect the blogging to amp up upon my return. In the meantime, if you’re bored out of your skull like I usually am at work, check out my Peru travel blog. Can’t promise too much other than daily counts of how many bottles of Cristal Lager I drained the previous night but the timeless tale of alcoholic vs. liver never gets old. Especially when it’s playing itself out in a land with as rich a history as Peru.

Otherwise, we’ll be back at it come May 5th or 6th.

Start with Caleb Peiffer’s preview at Basketball Prospectus — this is the first time teams that finished one and two in the Pomeroy Ratings met in the final — before motoring on over to Beyond The Arc, where Mike Miller sees some ‘Melo in Memphis’s frosh point guard Derrick Rose and finish it up by popping open a beer and settling down in front of your computer for the comprehensive and very well-informed breakdown of tonight’s championship scrap at March Madness All Season.

If you’re reading as slowly as I am today, lingering effects from the pneumonia, then that should take you right to tip-off.

There’s not a whole lot for members of the Mid-Major nation to get excited about it in tonight’s NCAA Championship game between Memphis and Kansas, the latter side being a true college hoops blueblood while the Tigers are an occasional Final Four interloper. Sure, the 38-1 Tigers may play in Conference USA, which is a Mid-Major league if I’ve ever seen one, but they are in no way, shape, or form a Mid-Major squad. Memphis is a power conference team that plays in a conference without any power. All that being said, any game is better when you can take sides and cheer for one team so we’re stuck with our yearly question of who to cheer for in the NCAA Championship game.

One way to pick a team to cheer for is to make a wager. We’ve down that, taking Memphis -3, which is our final pick of the day for the 2007-08 college basketball season. That’s one way to pick a team to cheer for if, like us here at NFABJ, you don’t really care who wins tonight’s game.

If you don’t gamble, then you’ve got to figure out a different way to choose between the Jayhawks and Tigers. Just looking at the two teams, I think you’ve got to cheer for Memphis. First of all, Memphis is a great city and an exciting place to visit. Been there a couple times myself and had great grub, booze —$1 happy hour beers at the Draught House downtown rocks —and listened to some terrific tunes each time. Can’t say that I, or anyone I can think for that matter, has ever said the same thing about Lawrence, Kansas, where Kansas University is located. Advantage: Memphis.

Looking at the hardwood, Memphis has the advantage once again. While both teams play appealing uptempo hoops the way Tigers coach John Calipari has approached the game this season is immensely appealing. Whereas most coaches of elite college hoops teams grasp the reins so tightly they strangle the life out of their squads, Calipari simply lets his incredibly talented squad “go out and play.” Calipari trusts his players to “…be unselfish, you have to count on your team being able to make great decisions on the run, and you have to understand that what makes it good is they can feel unleashed.” When you’ve got players like point guard Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts — CDR to those in the know — why not just let them go out and play?

We’ll be cheering for the Tigers to do more then go out and play tonight. We’ll be cheering for them to beat Kansas by at least four points.

Go Memphis!

Apologies for the lack of posts during the Sweet 16 - Elite 8 weekend but I’ve been battling a case of pneumonia as nasty as a Stephen Curry jumper. I’m on strict bed rest until next Monday and it’s unlikely I’ll find my way back to the computer before then.

Enjoy the Final Four!

Start with Basketball prospectus and then move on to Mike Miller’s spin at Beyond The Arc before checking out the outstanding post at CAA: Life as a Mid-Major, which makes a forceful argument for chucking the current way — RPI and all — of picking teams for the Big Dance. Something that I’m all for, by the way.

If you’re still thirsting for knowledge, the always-reliable Kyle Whelliston at Mid… umm.. I mean WKU Majority has a slew of entertaining and informative posts on the first weekend of March Madness.

Gotta love those kooky, nerdy Davidson supporters:

The second thing we want to deal is Stephen Curry and how jaw-droppingly amazing he was in the opening two rounds of the tourney. The second half he had against Gonzaga in the first round on Friday, where Curry went off for 30 of his 40 points as the Wildcats overcame an 11-point deficit, was one thing but to follow that up with an encore against second-seeded Georgetown yesterday is something else.

This game was over. The Hoyas were up 17 in the second half and their D —ranked 9th most efficient defense in the nation by Ken Pomeroy — had terrorized Curry into a miserable shooting day. At least up to a point that is. All of the sudden, the sophomore hit a triple and got fouled, converting the freebie, and it was game-on in Raleigh, as Curry went off for 25 second half points and Davidson moved onto the Sweet 16, upsetting the Hoyas 74-70 and officially ruining my bracket since I had Georgetown winning the whole thing.

I can’t remember ever seeing a shooter as sweet as Curry at the college level. With his quick release and tireless ability to keep moving on offense, there seems to be nothing a team can do to defend him once he gets going. He wasn’t getting open looks on Sunday and Friday. He had a hand or two or four or six in his face every time he shot. Didn’t matter. Curry was money.

Maybe watching Reggie Miller during his senior year at UCLA or watching Calvin Murphy shoot the lights out for Niagara in the late 1960s is the closest it comes to watching Curry work his magic. I only sort of remember watching Reggie during his career at UCLA since I was 14 when he graduated and I wasn’t but a vision in the smoke from one of my parents bong hits when Murphy was playing college ball. So, as far as I know, watching Stephen Curry shoot the rock is as good as it gets in college hoops.

And we might get a chance to enjoy the show a bit longer since beating Wisconsin is mission possible for Curry and Davidson.

Following the first four days of the Big Dance, I want to deal with a couple of things. Let’s start with the Butler Bulldogs, 76-71 losers to Tennessee yesterday in an overtime thriller.

As good as this game was — and it was one of the best games of the college basketball season — it should’ve never happened this early in the tourney. This game was played with the intensity and skill of a regional final not a fucking second round game. The Selection Committee treated Brad Stevens squad with disdain and disrespect when they gave them a 7-seed at the same end of the East Region bracket as a Tennessee squad that was the best 2-seed in the field. Once again, the Selection Committee failed the game and fans by slighting a great basketball team for no reason other than conference affiliation. Put Butler in a BCS league and they’re at worst a 4-seed. What bullshit.

All that being said, the Bulldogs did have plenty of chances to win yesterday and it’s a testament to very good Tennessee side that the Volunteers survived. StilI, that this game between 30-win teams both ranked in the Top 11 in polls and Top 20 in RPI took place in the second round is outrageous. The Selection Committee should be ashamed of itself. If I were Brad Stevens I’d want to beat the shit out of Selection Committee chair Tom O’Connor, who, ironically, is the AD at George Mason. Way to look out for fellow Mid-Majors, asshole.

Compared to yesterday’s games like the scintillating 101-99 shootout that was the Drake-Western Kentucky scrap, the action in the Big Dance today was less than exciting.

After the thrill ride that was the concluding day of the First Round of the Big Dance, today’s been kind of a drag. Sure, it was great watching Duke get sent packing by West Virginia and seeing my sleeper pick for the Final Four, Xavier, outlast Purdue in an exciting, uptempo affair won by the Musketeers 85-78 but otherwise today’s game were, just, well, kind of dull. Even if Stanford and Marquette went to overtime in a game won by the Cardinals 82-81 on a Brook Lopez bucket with 1.3 seconds left to play in OT.

For those of us that are members of the Mid-Major nation, today’s games are little more than filler, as we wait for tomorrow, when five Mid-Major teams — Butler, Davidson, San Diego, Siena, and Western Kentucky — will be in action. Since the Toreros and Hilltoppers are playing each other, we know that at least one Mid-Major team will be Sweet 16 bound. While our teams aren’t favored in the other contests, I’d have to say that Siena, after the ass-whupping they laid on Vanderbilt, has a very good chance at knocking off an exceedingly average Villanova squad. Butler, who plays Tennessee, and Davidson, squaring off with Georgetown, have their work cut out for them but both games are winnable.

The good news for me is that unlike today, when it took me until about 9 tonight to recover from a massive hangover brought on by the 10 or hours I spent drinking Six Point Brewery’s Bengali Tiger IPA and Jameson at 200 5th Avenue yesterday — the Notes From A Basketball Junkie sports bar of choice — and cheering on the Wildcats, Toreros, Saints, Hilltoppers, and Bulldogs, tomorrow I should be fresh and sober come tip-off between Siena and Villanova tomorrow at 12:10.

Obviously, that bit about sober is likely to change as the day progresses and I watch the Saints, Bulldogs, and Wildcats pull off upsets, which is just another reason today was just filler.

Early Games

Tennessee -19.5 over American
Gonzaga +2 over Davidson
St. Mary’s +1 over Miami
Drake -3.5 over Western Kentucky

Sort of Early Games

San Diego +11.5 over Connecticut
UMBC +17 over Georgetown
Texas -15.5 over Austin Peay
Butler -5 over South Alabama

Early Evening Games

Siena +6.5 over Vanderbilt
Mount St. Mary’s +25 over North Carolina
Mississippi State -2.5 over Oregon
St. Joe’s +1 over Oklahoma

Late Games

Clemson -6 over Villanova
Arkansas +2 over Indiana
Memphis -24.5 over Texas-Arlington
Boise State +13.5 over Louisville

UNLV spanks Kent State 71-58

Nothing good, that’s certain.

The main problems with the MAC that leave our squads unprepared for Big Dance play are the abyss in quality that are the bottom four or so teams in the league and the lack of atmosphere at gyms throughout the league, no matter where a team is. Combine the two and the result is toxic and leaves our champ unprepared for the NCAA Tournament.

According to Ken Pomeroy, the MAC had five teams with RPIs of 200 or worse as opposed to UNLV’s league, the Mountain West, which had only two sides — Wyoming (219) and Colorado State (265) — with RPIs greater then 200. Having nearly half the league with RPIs in the lowest tertile is problematic.

Every MAC Athletic Director knows attendance, particularly that of student sections, which are noisier and more disruptive than regular fan sections at other schools, is a problem. No gym in the MAC compares to gyms in the Atlantic 10, Missouri Valley, or Mountain West, when it comes to atmosphere.

I’m not saying that Kent State shitting the bed against UNLV can be blamed entirely on the bottom of the MAC being so abysmal or gyms being quieter than confessionals but it is a factor.

From our perspective at least.

Let’s start by saying that I’ve never been happier that I went to work on the opening day of the NCAA Tourney. With the exception of Duke barely surviving Belmont’s upset bid, this had to be one of the worst opening days of the Big Dance in history. And most of the blame for that has to sit with the Tourney Selection Committee, who matched the best Mid-Majors off with one another instead of giving teams like Western Kentucky, South Alabama, and Davidson shots at the big boys.

As much as I’d like to complain about how much the Selection Committee sucks ass — and they do — the fault for poor picks lies with me. See, I don’t watch any power conference teams once league play starts. The only two games I saw all season involving Big East sides were Canisius vs. Syracuse and Buffalo vs. Connecticut, both of which took place in November. While that’s the way I like it, it sure doesn’t help when it comes time to complete a March Madness bracket or do Picks of the Day.

All that being said, we soldier on in all of Mid-Major-induced cluelessness. We may have gone a disastrous 6-10 in Picks of the Day but that’s not going to stop us from doing Picks of the Day for Day Two of the Big Dance.

We may have put up an O-fer on Upset Specials but that’s not going to stop us from rooting for St. Mary’s, Siena, and St. Joe’s like crazy tomorrow. Not to mention Ray Barbosa and the UMBC Retrievers, who’s t-shirt will be rocking at 200 5th Avenue tomorrow from 12:15 PM on as we watch games.

If nothing else, we’re not afraid to put ourselves out there, even if we aren’t always right. At the end of the first day, we went 11-of-16 on the first day in our bracket challenge, which ain’t that great on a day when all the higher seeds won but, given that we tend to pick the lower seeds, it’s not all that bad either. Especially since picking St. Mary’s, St. Joe’s, and Siena to win tomorrow gives me three games up on my competition.