Sports Bard

…for the sports writer inside.

There are those who’ll tell you the conference tournaments are worthless. If their team is a lock to make the NCAA’s, they say, they’d rather it bow out in the first round so as to leave it rested and ready for the Big Dance, which is all that counts anyway.

By that line of reasoning, Villanova, Pitt, and Maryland, having lost in the first round of their post-season tourneys, are in better shape than Georgetown, which registered victories over South Florida, Syracuse and Marquette before succumbing to West Virginia 57-55 in the Big East Final Saturday night, and Georgia Tech, which defeated three teams before losing in the finals to Duke.

And it follows that Syracuse, a number one seed in the NCAA’s, is well situated to make a run in the tournament since it will have had eight days to rest between its loss to Georgetown Thursday and its first round game this Friday.

And if you believe any of this a) you didn’t watch any of the Big East Tournament last week; and 2) you have no sense of history.

On Thursday, during its quarterfinal round, Syracuse was pitted against Georgetown, Marquette faced Villanova, Pitt played Notre Dame, and West Virginia, the eventual winner, met Cincinnati. All eight teams had been voted into the nation’s top 25 at some point in the season. At tip-off, five were rated in the top 20, and three were in the top 10.

Each game was magnificent. Three of the four came down to the last seconds. Georgetown played arguably its best game of the season. Marquette displayed the tenacity and determination which has carried it well beyond its talent all season. Notre Dame befuddled Pitt with its new, slowdown pace. And Cincinnati, featuring three linebackers in its rotation, battled West Virginia to a standstill before losing on a buzzer bankshot by Da’Sean Butler.

The drama continued into the semifinals and finals, when West Virginia edged Georgetown in one of the best games of the season. Does anyone really doubt that Georgetown, West Virginia, Notre Dame, and Marquette are better off and better prepared for NCAA play by virtue of having played well and survived these crucial tournament tests?

During the era of post-season conference tournaments, which came into wide use in the early 80’s, no team has won an NCAA title without having won at least one conference tournament game. And eight of the last twelve NCAA champions won their conference tournament.

In no other sport do teams improve or regress more suddenly over the course of a season than in college basketball. An injury here, a dramatic improvement by a freshman there, and Miami can upend Virginia Tech or Minnesota can blast Purdue. Instead of discounting conference tournament results when evaluating NCAA contenders, it may be a good idea to view them as a prism though which we can evaluate the upcoming NCAA games.

By that measure, Syracuse, Villanova, Pitt, Purdue, Michigan State, Maryland, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Wake Forest, Clemson, and Florida State should be downgraded going into the Tournament. Each of these teams played uninspired ball during its conference tournament. The losses should be taken not as an aberration but as a reflection of the teams’ inconsistencies or vulnerabilities, or decline.

For instance, Georgetown, by shooting 58% against Syracuse, may have provided a template for attacking Syracuse’s vaunted 2-3 zone. Villanova and Pitt will both suffer for lack of a low post game. Purdue and Michigan State are ravaged by injuries. Maryland may be too dependent on Vasquez. Wake, Clemson, and Florida State, all first round ACC losers, are just not very good.

On the positive side, Georgetown, Kansas, Temple, West Virginia, and Ohio State all breed positive vibes, having won or played great in their conference tournaments; and Big Twelve members Baylor and Texas A&M loom as threats to advance to a round of eight matchup in Houston in the South region.

Kentucky and Duke were victors in their tourneys, but neither demonstrated the dominance which we would associate with a number one seed. West Virginia poses a very real threat to knock off Kentucky in the East and Duke may be shocked to play a good team for a change. Remember, the Devils were blown out by Georgetown at Verizon in late January.

The West bracket is wide open. Syracuse cannot be expected to parade through to the round of eight. They will need Onuaku to return from injury, which is uncertain. The feeling here is that Butler has an excellent chance to advance in the upper bracket, and that BYU could sneak through to a regionals date in Salt Lake City.

The Midwest has the greatest concentration of quality teams. And Kansas, the number one seed in the tournament, may have the toughest path to Indianapolis. Ohio State, Georgetown, and Maryland are a difficult two through four grouping. Michigan State is still dangerous at number five.

After six weeks of listening to Bracketologist Joe Lunardi tell us who’s in and who’s out, it’s a pleasure to get to the actual games. Lunardi teaches a course in “Fundamentals of Bracketology” at St. Joseph’s University. Bracketology is defined as the “art and science” of forecasting teams that will be selected for the annual NCAA men’s basketball championship. The course is open to the public and cost $249.00.

Lunardi had the chutzpah to project the entire field, game-by-game, seed-by-seed, in a one hour show on ESPN before the actual Selection Show on CBS. Not surprisingly, he registered misses all over the place, including transposing Syracuse and Duke, and rating Georgetown as a two seed over Villanova. If Lunardi were taking his own course, he would have registered no more than a B.

Of course, maybe the errors were by the Selection Committee, which clearly did not know what it was doing when it selected Florida over Mississippi State, Wake Forest over Virginia Tech, and Minnesota over Illinois. When intangible factors such as RPI and strength of schedule supersede conference records and head-to-head match-ups in importance, it’s time to reevaluate the selection process, or rework the definition of RPI.

This looks like the toughest year in years for the number ones to hold serve. It may be that none of the four makes it to Indianapolis. What is likely, though, is that there will be at least one game where each of the number ones is subjected to a severe test, where it needs a buzzer-beater or late-game rally to garner victory.

And the teams best equipped to pull it off will be the ones who survived a same or similar situation in their post-season conference tournament.

Vanderbilt University takes pride in its balanced view towards athletics. Winless in the SEC in 2009, the Commodores football team led the conference by placing 37 members on the SEC fall academic honor roll. Its athletes live among the general student population and take regular course loads.

But for just one week, this normally placid student body let its emotions for football and basketball take over.

On Wednesday, Rajaan Bennett, Vanderbilt’s top recruit for football, and by all accounts, a model citizen as well as the outstanding high school football player in Georgia, was shot and killed by the ex-boyfriend of his mother. Though not yet enrolled, Bennett had already ingratiated himself with the Vanderbilt community by his off the field charitable and community works.

Said Vandy coach Bobby Johnson, “We are devastated by news of Rajaan’s death. As we came to know him, we realized that he was a better person than he was an athlete. He was a leader, a young man who gained the respect of his entire community.”

Strong words for someone who had not yet donned the black and gold.

But there was little time to mourn. On Saturday, second-ranked Kentucky came to town to battle the Commodores for sole possession of first place in the SEC West. On paper, Kentucky appeared too strong, having already pasted the Commodores 85-72 January 30th in Lexington. But with due regard to Vanderbilt’s tenacity and the near-mystical powers of its home court, Memorial Gym, the game was a pick’em affair with the linesmaker.

Notwithstanding its limitations in football, where the budget and personnel requirements are vast, Vandy more than holds its own in the SEC in basketball. Its unique gym and rabid alumni fan base have created one of the great home court advantages. Over the last four years, Vandy is 26 and 4 at Memorial in SEC games, including wins over two no. 1 ranked teams, with three NCAA appearances, counting this year’s certain bid.

Memorial Gym was built in 1951. Instead of seats, there are benches. The individual seat assignments consist of about 24″ of bench. Don’t flex too far to either side or you’re likely to be called for a flagrant foul on your neighbor. Forget about armrests or places to store your drink. And more likely than not your sight line will be impeded by an overhanging deck.

But when you’re inside this arena, revisiting the 1950’s, feeling the momentum of the crowd, you don’t think twice about the amenities you’re missing. The cheerleaders and acrobats, sixty strong, look fresh out of Barnum and Bailey.
Following a rendition of the national anthem which made you want to enlist, the public address announcer requested a moment of silence for Bennett. The crowd complied, grudgingly, because it was ready to erupt.

Kentucky has three certain lottery picks among its starting five, including the best player in the country, freshman John Wall. Unemcumbered by gravity or speed limits, Wall can leap over you or dash around you. With a head of steam in the open court, there is no stopping him, even if opponents are back and waiting. Incredibly, he is almost as much of a presence on defense. He gets every loose ball, and routinely blocks jump shot attempts on the perimeter.

Despite his overriding talent, Wall’s first choice is to set up his teammates, which include Demarcus Cousins, a dominating low post center. Just a freshman, Cousins has been compared to Moses Malone. Most Kentucky half-court possessions begin with an entry pass by Wall to Cousins. All-American 6′10″ Junior Patrick Patterson is the third intimidating option.

Going in, Vanderbilt knew that it had to keep a man in front of Wall at all times and had to double team the post, where A.J. Ogilvy was no match for Cousins. Ogilvy, however, is active offensively and posed a threat to put the volatile Cousins in foul trouble.

The game started out according to form. Vandy went inside to Ogilvy for its first points, and Wall repeatedly fed Cousins in the post. Both centers quickly picked up a first foul. Kentucky coach John Calipari was the first to yank his centerpiece, replacing Cousins with backup center Daniel Orton on alternating possessions beginning two minutes into the game. The pattern continued as Cal, in his first game at Memorial Gym, tried desperately to preserve his asset. Commodore coach Kevin Stalling was equally protective of Ogilvy, replacing him several times throughout the contest with sub burlymen Steve Tchiengang and Festus Ezeli.

The defense on both sides was brutal. Jermaine Beal, Vanderbilt’s skilled senior point guard, glued himself to Wall and negated his penetration. He tirelessly ran around picks designed to free Wall. The rest of the Commodores played their men with similar ferocity. On the other end, the Wildcats were just as determined. They continually rebuffed Vandy efforts to get inside, Cousins and Patterson serving as human fly swatters to Vandy’s feeble attempts to reach the rim. Both teams were ice cold from the perimeter. The score at halftime - Kentucky 27, Vandy 25. This, from teams averaging 79 and 78 ppg, respectively.

Points were just as hard to come by in the second half. Ahead 49-45 with the ball inside five minutes, Vandy was poised to achieve a break-through, but four stalled possessions later, they trailed by four points with less than two minutes to go. Beal and Andre Walker made successive lay ups to tie it; but Wall scooped up a loose ball and laid it in, and his two foul shots stretched the lead to four with 19 ticks on the clock.

It is likely that the crowds at Kansas, Louisville, Duke or Kentucky are just as vocal as the Vanderbilt contingent, but within these crowded confines, in the midst of a Commodore run, the sound resonates, and the floor trembles. That is what happened when freshman John Jenkins’ 3-ball, over Wall brought the Commodores within one with .12 to go. After Kentucky freshman Bledsoe missed two fouls, Beal brought the ball up for the Commodores, down one, with a chance to win it.

John Wall stifles John Jenkins’ game-winning attempt

Wall, as usual, stepped up. When Beal’s rush to the hoop was interrupted, Beal dished to Jenkins beyond the stripe.
The freshman was open, but he faked, giving Wall time to close. Wall stuffed Jenkins’ attempt, ripped the ball away, and was fouled. Wall made one of two, but Calipari stupidly called a timeout when Vandy had none left, and the Commodores had one last ditch effort to tie with 2.5 seconds on the clock.

When Vandy sub Darnell McLendon launched a 3/4 court spiral to the leaping Ogivly, Wlldcat fans flashed back to 1992 when Christian Laettner made a similar catch en route to his famous game-winning shot against Kentucky in the round of 8. But Ogilvy is not Laettner, and his 14-foot floater clanked off the rim at the buzzer.

In defeat, Vandy had played its gutsiest game of the season, holding Goliath to a virtual standstill. Kentucky had demonstrated a defensive resolve and toughness for which it had not received credit.

In the aftermath of this epic battle, coaches and players and others sought consolation. Calipari, probably the only opposing coach in America with a winning record at Memorial, knew that he had dodged a bullet: “I thought Vandy’s game plan was perfect. They played physical, they held the ball on offense, controlled John Wall on defense, and played zone which made us attempt contested three-pointers. But bottom line is we shot 35.8% from the field, 18.8% on 3’s, and 56% from the foul line, and still won.”

Jeffery Taylor, who was the only Commodore in double figures with 17 points, collapsed on the floor after the game in frustration. “I’m disappointed because we had a chance to beat a really good team. I wanted to get it done for our fans and our student body. It hurts.”

In the rafters of the old hall, the ghosts and goblins who haunt the place gathered for a conference. ” We let one get away,” said their leader. “Yeah, but we’ll get them next time,” said another.

The Super Bowl is over. But for me the football season ended a couple of weeks ago.

It ended on a sultry night in New Orleans when an aging and gimpy Bret Favre threw across his body one last time into enemy hands. Those hands, belonging to Tracy Porter, also brought us to the end of yesterday’s Super Bowl, when the Saint defensive back grabbed hold of an errant toss from Peyton Manning and ran it back 74 yards for the clinching touchdown.

Sure, yesterday’s Super Bowl was exciting, and competitive, and was decided in the fourth quarter after a pitching duel between two of the best throwers the league has ever seen.

But after the interminable build-up, the Game itself had little juice. I can’t stand the two week delay. The Super Bowl hoopla annoys me. And I will be grateful if I never again read a human interest story about an NFL player doing community work, or view a commercial with men walking around in their underwear.

(Editor’s note: The Bard’s ennui was evidently not shared by the public at large. Yesterday’s Super Bowl was witnessed by more viewers than any television show in history.)

Two years ago, when the Giants were in it, I felt differently. But unless you were a Saint or Colts fan, did you really feel any intensity in advance of yesterday’s encounter? I know my mind was elsewhere.

It was in Verizon Center, where in the past week, the Georgetown Hoyas have defeated Duke, lost to lowly South Florida, and then on Saturday, before more than 10,000 who defied a record snowfall, torched the number two team in the land, Villanova, 103-90.

It was in College Park, where the unpredictability and reversals of fortune which have characterized this 2009-2010 college basketball season were no better typified than by Maryland’s trouncing of North Carolina, 92-71. Not only was this the worst loss of Roy Williams’ coaching career at UNC, but the outcome left the Terps at 6-2 in conference and the Tarheels at, gulp, 2-6.

It was in Cincinnati, where the most surprising team in the land, Syracuse, ranked number 9 pre-season in the Big East, stretched its record to 23-1 with a come from behind blow-out victory over the tough Bearcats, 71-54. The Orangemen returned less than 20 ppg from last year’s starting team, which surrendered three players to the pros.

It’s been on the road in the Big Ten, where number 5 Michigan State suffered consecutive conference losses after starting 9-0, and now faces its biggest game of the season vs. Purdue Wednesday possibly without its starting point guard, Kalin Lucas.

It’s been in Lexington, where Kentucky hopes to ride rookie John Wall to an NCAA championship.

And tonight, I’ll be drifting to Austin, Texas, where the Longhorns take the Big 12’s last best shot at inflicting Kansas with its first conference loss.

Many ardent sports fans will tell you that they can’t “get into” college basketball until the Super Bowl is over. Then, a couple of weeks before Selection Sunday, they begin to cram. They watch a bunch of games on ESPN or FSN, and they scan the rankings. They get really pumped for the conference tournaments. By Selection Sunday, they’re experts.

But if you’ve waited this long to get on board, you’ve missed about 75% of the regular season. The revealing early season non-conference games are a blur, and you’ve no feel for the ebb and flow of conference play, nor for the development of individual players over the course of the season.

You’ve missed the back story.

Hard core college basketball fans don’t wait until the Super Bowl to watch games. We’ve been following play since November. We’re not just interested in the year-end poll standings. We want to know how a team got there.

Were they improving at year’s end? …Do they have injured players back? …Do they feature improving freshmen?… Do they hit their foul shots?…… And most of all, do they play with character and poise at crunch time?

And after all the analysis, one is startled to find that there is no transitivity in college basketball. You would think that if Team A beats Team B, which owns a decisive victory over Team C, then Team A will beat Team C on its home court. Wrong. In the space of one Big East fortnight in January, Pitt beat Syracuse, which clubbed Georgetown, which beat Pitt decisively in Pittsburgh.

Because of the high turnover in rosters and the growth and maturation of young players, no other sport exhibits the potential for change in a team’s performance over the course of a season as does college basketball. Teams advance, or regress, weekly, or from game to game. Michigan State was last year’s example of a team coming together late. Davidson shined two years ago. This year, the breakout team may be Syracuse.. or Wisconsin..or Baylor.. or BYU.

But the good news is that you don’t have to be an expert to enjoy college hoops, where the fans are rabid and the players put out every night. In fact, the latecomers, les arrividistes, often do better in their brackets than do the self-proclaimed savants, such as this writer, who are inevitably victimized disproportionately by buzzer beaters, blown calls, unlikely comebacks, or just plain bad beats.

If that sounds like sour grapes, it is. But I must leave you now. Villanova tips off at West Virginia at 7:00, and I’ve got to do my research.

Normally the big newsmakers in sports do their work on the field, on the court, in the ring, or on the course. Now they do it in automobiles, in the locker room, in the bedroom, or with their mouths.

These days the sports news is not about athletic achievement; it’s about underachievement. It’s not about won-loss records; it’s about prison records. It’s not about winning titles…It’s about entitlement.

Don’t tell me about the exploits of Chris Johnson on his way to a 2000-yard rushing season. I want to hear about the sexploits of Tiger Woods.

Don’t tell me about the exquisite play of Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Dewayne Wade and Kevin Durant. I want to hear about the gunplay of Wild Gil Arenas.

Don’t tell me about Nick Saban’s attempt to become the first coach to win an NCAA football title at two colleges. I want to hear about Mike Leach’s “imprisonment” of Craig James’ son or Urban Meyer’s meltdown.

And don’t tell me about the undefeated records of Kansas, Texas, Kentucky and Purdue when I can read about the arrests of four University of Tennessee basketball players for gun and drug possession, or USC’s self-imposed probation for recruiting violations.

Certainly the Internet and the consuming presence of the media have contributed to this onslaught of negativity. Arenas accelerated his downfall, and made certain his suspension, by his senseless tweets following the disclosure by the New York Post that he kept guns in his locker room. And once the lid popped off Tiger Woods’ bottle, the smutsters couldn’t wait to disseminate word of his conquests throughout cyber space.

But you can’t explain the proliferation of negative news solely by the Internet. The problem runs much deeper than that. You cannot blame the indiscretions, misdeeds and arrogance of Woods, Arenas, Tim Donaghy, Plaxico Burress, Mike Vick, Stephon Marbury, Dan Snyder, Tim Floyd (USC), and every gun-toting and girl friend-beating player in the NBA and NFL strictly on the fact that bad news travels fast.

The root cause of these men behaving badly may be beyond the scope of this column but it certainly has something to do with athletes of limited education, and less common sense, being thrust prematurely into positions of great wealth and power. And it may have a lot to do with players associations (and player agents) which are more concerned with expanding their share of the revenue pie than educating their members and clients on what to do and say.

Arenas, for one, should have been advised to shut up, or to express remorse, when his gun possession was revealed. Instead, he shot himself in the foot, no less than Burress did in that nightclub incident in November, 2008, by making flippant comments about his gun possession and dismissing it as “no big deal.”

Then, on Tuesday night during a timeout in Philadelphia, he laughingly arranged his fingers in a gun-shooting pose which was caught by the cameras. This worked for Clint Eastwood in “Gran Torino,” but Gil’s finger pointing sealed his fate with NBA commish David Stern who promptly suspended him “indefinitely.”

If the estimate of some NBA players that more than fifty percent of the league owns guns is even close to accurate, the NBA players association is doing a horrible job of counseling its members. Arenas is one of the few players without an agent, but someone from the players association should have stepped in immediately.

I see a concurrent deterioration in civility and common sense in major league front offices and in the athletic administrations of some of our great universities, which pursue top-level programs without regard to the rules of the recruiting game.

Is there a more despicable owner than Dan Snyder, who treats his fan base with contempt and his employees with disdain? Snyder has implemented draconian rules for parking, has banned critical signage from the game premises, and filed lawsuits against ticket holders who canceled their subscriptions.

Snyder undermined Jim Zorn’s authority by allowing head case superstars Portis and Haynesworth to communicate directly with him rather than through Zorn. Then he hung Zorn out to dry for three months, first by stripping him of his play-calling duties mid-season and then by interviewing assistant Jerry Grey for the head coaching job while he was still working for Zorn. Snyder’s hiring of Bruce Allen as head of operations may change things; but the first ten years of the Little General’s reign have been a professional and public relations disaster.

I also take issue with Bill Pollian, the revered head of operations for the Indianapolis Colts, who summarily deprived his team and its fan base of the chance for an undefeated season by yanking Peyton Manning and other regulars during the second half of their game with the Jets December 27th.

When one weighs the likelihood of Manning being injured (perfect field conditions, no Jets pass rush, Manning never hurt in twelve years) against the possibility of a perfect season and the importance to the fans and the league of preserving the integrity of the NFL regular season, the folly of Pollian’s decision becomes clear.

What of the USC athletic department, which has been embroiled in a three-year NCAA investigation of payments to Reggie Bush and a one-year investigation of the recruitment of OJ Mayo? Ex-coach Tim Floyd admitted making a $1,000.00 payment to a Mayo enabler, but it is suspected that Mayo or his conduit received tens of thousands more to secure the star’s attendance at USC for one year.

To stop the bleeding, USC last week announced that it would prohibit its team from post-season play this year. This high and mighty ploy drew criticism from announcer Jay Bilas, who suggested that long-time Trojan athletic director Mike Garrett be fired. I do not disagree.

And no discussion of NCAA excesses would be complete without mention of the State of Kentucky’s basketball programs. In the past year, Kentucky’s Billy Gillespie was bounced for public drunkenness and cavorting with coeds (as well as a mediocre record); Louisville’s Rick Pitino revealed that he had bedded (or more appropriately,”tabled”) the girl friend of his assistant in the back room of a restaurant; and new Kentucky coach John Calipari left Memphis with a trail of recruiting violations and a depleted roster.

When the rule-bending and unsavory practices are rampant at the top, is it any wonder that the star athlete perceives that he can operate without limitations on his behavior and in defiance of gun laws?

The gun culture among professional athletes threatens the NBA more than the NFL. Already reeling from the Donaghy revelations about corruption among referees and the big brawl in Detroit four years ago, the NBA suffers from a reputation for thuggery and is experiencing sharp declines in attendance and television ratings. Football players are in full uniform, but the tattooed arms and legs of many NBA players are open to view, which contributes to their unsavory image.

With NBA individual game prices among the highest in sports, the fan has a right to expect committed play and tough defense all the time. As any fan of the Wizards knows, tough defense is not the norm with the ‘Zards. Flip Saunders struck a welcome tone last week when he declared that the Wizards “couldn’t guard him..” Mike D’Antoni of the Knicks has also lashed out at his tardy players, often sitting them down.

After the Arenas suspension, one 20-year Wizard partial season ticket holder lamented: “ I spend $550.00/game and go to eleven games a year. I’ve spent over $100,000.00 following this team. I won’t renew next year.”

If Abe Pollin were alive today to witness the suspension of his star player for gun possession, the news would kill him.

As things stand now, he’ll be joined in that mortal state by Gilbert Arenas’ career.

On Wednesday afternoon, at a press conference at Madison Square Garden to commemorate the 75th anniversary of college basketball, a panel of sportswriters and local basketball insiders presented its list of the ten (10) greatest moments in the long history of college basketball at the Garden. That evening, freshman phenom John Wall of Kentucky, in the course of leading the Wildcats to an exciting triumph over UConn, made a strong case for an addendum to the list.

At the top of the panel’s selections was City College’s unique double triumphs in the NIT and NCAA in 1950. That feat, of course, was later scarred by the indictment of seven of their key players for point shaving in the 1951 college basketball scandal. Other memorable moments were Syracuse’s 6-0T thriller over Connecticut in the 2009 Big East tourney (2); Bill Bradley’s 41-point outburst in a losing effort against Cazzie Russell and no 1-ranked Michigan in the 1964 Holiday Festival tournament (3); and Oscar Robertson’s 57 point Garden debut for Cincinnati in January, 1958, when the Big O outscored the entire Seton Hall team (6).

Here’s the rest of the list.

#4 Gerry McNamara’s Big East Heroics, March 2006. McNamara, a four year starter at point guard, in the midst of a disappointing season, sparked no. 9 seed Syracuse to four victories and a Big East championship

#5 Walter Berry’s Buzzer Block, March 1986 . Trailing 70-69, with seconds to go in the Big East tournament championship, Syracuse’s Pearl Washington, the greatest penetrator in the game, drove hard to the basket . Walter “the Truth” Berry, not known for his defense, swooped across the lane to block the Pearl’s shot as the game ended.

#7 Legendary St. John’s Coach Joe Lapchick ends his career with an NIT Championship, March, 1965.

#8 St. John’s defeats Michigan, January, 1965. Having survived Princeton and Bradley in the semi-finals, No. 1 Michigan squandered a late 16-point lead in the Holiday Festival championship

#9 “The Sweater Game,” February, 1985 . With their teams ranked nos. 1 and 2 in the country, GU coach John Thompson mimicked Lou Carnesecca’s lucky red sweater by unveiling a T-shirt replica as the game started. More to the point, the Hoyas thumped St. John’s in the first of three late-season pummelings.

#10 Stanford snaps LIU’s 43-game winning streak, December, 1936. It’s hard to believe, but in the early days, LIU (Long Island University), NYU, and CCNY were among the best teams in the country. Brandishing the one-hand shots of Hank Luisetti and a frenetic pace, the Cardinal stunned the locals, who were accustomed to a walk-it-up pace and two-handed set shots.

It’s unclear whether Wall’s performance Wednesday will evoke such sacrosanct memories in the long term; but he certainly stunned the Garden crowd from start to finish. Early on, he staked the Wildcats to a 12-0 lead with two steals, an alley-oop assist, and a medium-range jumper. Then, he scored 12 of the last 15 Kentucky points, including a 3-point play late in the game through four defenders to secure the victory. Already, he’s being hailed by some overeager pundits as the best freshman point guard in history, a category which includes Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas, Chris Paul, and Derrick Rose.

In the tradition of classic point guards, Wall looks to pass first, but takes over at critical junctures. Already in his short career, he has registered four game-deciding plays (to ensure victories over Miami of Ohio, Stanford, UNC and UConn ); but against Indiana yesterday, he scored only 11 points while registering eight assists and seven rebounds, as he let his teammates do the scoring in a blowout victory.

Wall was the lynchpin of a talented recruiting class which John Calipari re-routed from Memphis to Kentucky when he took the Wildcat heading coaching job in May. Kentucky finished 22-14 (8-8) last year, and failed to make the NCAA tournament for the first time in eighteen years.

That may have been sufficient grounds by itself to can Cal’s predecessor, Billy Gillispie; but the ultra slick Gillispie openly cavorted with college coeds, was often seen drunk in public, and paid little obeisance to Kentucky boosters, who demanded his ouster. Notwithstanding Calipari’s spotty past, he represented a significant character upgrade over Gillispie, and he brought Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, and Eric Bledsoe with him.

This talented threesome joins power stud Patrick Patterson to give Kentucky its best team in a decade. Three starters from last season now come off the bench. In the past week, they’ve registered wins over UNC, UConn, and Indiana, three storied franchises. Now, undefeated at 10-0, and ranked 3rd in the country, they’ve got some breathing room until their January 2 meeting with state rival Louisville, which is in the midst of a down season. The Wildcats are likely to remain undefeated at least until their home date with Florida January 12th.

Kentucky’s resurgence is joined by a revival of the SEC as a whole. Limited to three teams in the 2009 NCAA’S, the conference is poised to place six or seven teams in this year’s Dance. Tennessee, one of the most athletic teams in the country, will contend with Kentucky for the lead in the SEC East. Also in the East, Florida, with an early win over Michigan State and a dynamite backcourt, should win 25 games; and Vanderbilt, though starting slowly, has the talent to finish better than .500 in-conference, normally a guaranty of selection.

The surprise team in the conference will be Mississippi State, which features the nation’s top shot-blocker, Jarvis Varnado, and five starters in double figures. The Bulldogs should win the West, followed by Mississippi.

The Big East is also off to a fast start. Georgetown, Villanova, West Virginia and Syracuse are among the ten undefeated teams in the country. UConn is still UConn. Pitt, Louisville, and Marquette have taken a step back, but former doormats Cincinnati, St. John’s, and Seton Hall are much improved.

If history is an indicator, come Big East tournament time, someone among this group is likely to manufacture a Madison Square Garden moment comparable to the highlight reel produced by John Wall on this famous hardwood just a few days ago.