End of Summer Status

Just one week into September and football season, it already feels like the previous basketball season ended years ago.

Luckily a lull in groundbreaking Wisconsin basketball news came at a perfect time. It was a busy summer for me personally and changes are in the works regarding this blog as well. But when I rehash what people might have missed during the lazy summer, it turns out that a lot went down and most of it was good.

While the Big Ten collectively celebrated the return of many of its top players from the brink of the NBA Draft pool, other key pieces like Kevin Coble evaporated unexpectedly. Or in Chris Allen's case, not-so-unexpectedly. Meanwhile, UW said goodbye to two seniors and one non-contributor without any teeth-gnashing. That is especially great when you consider what was going on last year at this time.

Rather than the program kicking a couple kids off the team, recovering from a dramatic decommitment and sending Bo Ryan to coach Team USA, Wisconsin flew under the radar (except for this). A flurry of recruiting activity in June wrapped up nicely with Jarrod Uthoff's semi-surprising commitment in mid-July. What followed was a month of relative silence.

Though student-athletes typically get a couple of short breaks from class and teammates, an incredible amount of hard work is going on behind the scenes to prepare for the next season. Just ask the new freshmen. Or ask sophomore Ryan Evans if the hard work pays off. He was selected by Global Sports Academy for a team that toured Europe in August. Evans played well, even if it barely registered at all in the media.

However, one fellow who is no longer inconspicuous in any sense is Jon Leuer. A lot of praise was heaped on the 6'10" forward this summer as he impressed during his Team USA internship. That'll get you hyped as one of the top three players in your conference, although some draftniks over at Draft Express might be eating some crow based on how low they placed Leuer on their list of Big Ten draft prospects.

Leuer leads a six-man senior class heading into the fall semester as the program adjusts to one new assistant coach in light of Howard Moore's departure. But people forget that number could have doubled if Greg Gard had gotten the UW-Green Bay job in the spring (Ed. note: could have tripled really). Again, disaster averted.

So it's a good time to be optimistic about an even more enjoyable basketball season lurking behind the changing colors of the trees. We can even take a deep, relaxing breath knowing that the divisional realignment scare has passed ... I think.

Vote for Postseason Awards

Tuesday night was the Wisconsin men's basketball postseason reception. In particular, the season highlight video put together by Matt Ryan was very well done and is worth a look.

Along the same lines, online voting ends today for the 2009-10 men's basketball awards. When I watched the nominees for Play of the Year or Individual Performance of the Year, I got a renewed sense of appreciation for the great year this group of Badgers really had. Now that a few weeks have passed since the end of the season, it doesn't seem so bad that the team peaked earlier than you'd like -- the enjoyable part is that Wisconsin reached a significant peak, highlighted by three home wins over teams ranked in the Coaches' Top 5.

Voting is closed -- see the winners now!

Allow me to make a case in each category:

1. Best Game of the Season: 73-69 win over Duke
A no-brainer really. Duke is a combination college hoops royalty and the evil empire all in one, so this was a big hill to climb. A wire-to-wire win eradicated a bad memory from 2007 and this contest was close enough throughout that the outcome was truly up for grabs. A not-so-close second place goes to punishing Michigan State, 67-49, at the Kohl Center in February.

2. Greatest Individual Performance: Trevon Hughes vs. Duke
Several good options here, but Hughes played perhaps the finest game of his career against the Blue Devils. Not a stat-stuffer event (he added just 2 rebs, 2 assts, 1 blk & 1 stl), but Hughes was the one Badger who the team was counting on to athletically get his own shot that night. He delivered with 26 pts. And had zero turnovers to boot. The sheer variety of way in which he scored was dazzling.

I would be remiss if I didn't reiterate how much I enjoyed watching Keaton Nankivil hit 7-of-8 treys in the losing effort at Purdue. Just amazing, which is more than I can say about Jason Bohannon's barrage against Indiana I'm afraid. The Hoosiers are just terrible. But both Hughes' night on the road in Evanston and Jordan Taylor's performance against Penn State both received heavy consideration for my vote. I remember feeling resigned to Wisconsin dropping a home game to the Nittany Lions of all teams while listening to that game on the radio. Then Taylor became possessed ... and a minor miracle ensued. Good times!

3. Play of the Year: Hughes' steal and alley-oop to Nankivil vs. Iowa
Showtime at the Kohl Center showcased Pop's defense, ball handling and knack for the moment, as well as Nankivil's athleticism. Gave the crowd exactly what they wanted to punctuate a big win.

Note this wasn't called the "most important" play of the year or else I would have voted for Jon Leuer's winner against Wofford, which was incredibly clutch. And the prettiest has got to be Hughes' spin and rainbow J against Duke. That one is etched in my memory for good.

4. Greatest Team Accomplishment: Beating three Top 10 teams
This is one of those things that happens once in a generation really (at least for Wisconsin it had been 21 seasons). Kind of ties into the 16-1 home record also. Leading the nation in fewest turnovers looks nice on the résumé, but I'd trade it for a few more wins in a heartbeat.

5. Team MVP: Jon Leuer
This one was tough. I believe Leuer is the most talented player on the roster and he really came into this own this year. As the only legit post presence on the team, he was the single player most vital to UW's success. Wisconsin's success without Leuer was admirable, but the way Hughes reverted to his old ways at the season's end pretty much clinched this one in my mind. A close third to J-Bo, who really stepped up when Bo needed him most (during Leuer's injury).

6. Most Improved Player: Jordan Taylor
Just a sophomore, Taylor had basically become Wisconsin's true point guard even before he was inserted into the starting lineup. His mercurial assist-to-turnover ratio (3:1) stands out the most, along with his assists, but it was his confidence that took the biggest step. Perhaps that's why he improved his 3-point shooting from 19% to 32.5% and his overall FG% from 26% to nearly 40% (a 71% and 51% improvement, respectively!!).

This category was clearly a two-horse race between JT and Leuer. Leuer started the year as a bit player with potential to a potential NBA draft pick and one of the favorites for next year's Big Ten Player of the Year award.

7. Which non-starter are you most excited about: Ryan Evans
And of the four players, this was my order: Evans > Rob Wilson > Mike Bruesewitz > Jared Berggren. Wilson was my first thought, since I believe he will blossom with a bump up to more playing time as a junior. Love his aggressiveness. The more I thought about it though, aggressiveness is Evans' game too. And as a freshman, Evans played even more than Wilson did, despite still being such a raw prospect. His skill set is much different than anyone else on next year's team. Evans is a big x-factor -- I'd love to see that haircut in the starting five next year.

Red & White Scrimmage

Without the hoopla of a midnight madness event, this year's public Red & White Scrimmage was a relaxing, albeit brief, first look at the team.
The running clock made for a quick, low-scoring affair that the White squad won, 45-36. I was surprised because it seems like the more talented team usually loses. The White, in this case, consisted of Hughes, Bohannon, Nankivil, Gavinski, Evans, Bruesewitz and Smith, which seemed like a better bet than the Red's collection of Leuer, Jarmusz, Taylor, Wilson, Markolf, Berggren, Valentyn and Fahey.

General thoughts: Treys were dropping for both sides to start the game. It was encouraging until everyone started gunning and the percentage plummeted. A few bad passes were scattered throughout as well. I only counted a small handful of fastbreaks in the whole game. Defenders seemed to be switching on ball screens more often than usual, rather than trying to fight through the pick.

Since the only players I had not seen before were freshmen Bruesewitz and walk-on Dan Fahey, I did not watch anyone in particular. A few players -- Nankivil, Evans, Wilson, Berggren -- stood out anyway.

Seniors:
Trevon Hughes :: #3
Hughes had a couple assists and a couple turnovers, but looked totally in control as you might expect. What I really liked watching from Hughes was how he was crashing the boards. Pop swished a half-court shot on his first try to quickly end a post-game fan contest.

Jason Bohannon :: #12
Tried to get his midrange game going, with some success. Scored a quiet 10 points.

Juniors:
Keaton Nankivil :: #52
Nankivil performed well again this year and hopefully that confidence will carry over into the regular season. The Madison Memorial grad led all scorers with 13 points (5-of-8 FGs), including two 3-pointers. He got the White out to a good start early on, used his quickness to blow past Markolf for a reverse and did not hesitate to pop his jumper. Cleaned the glass decently; also noticed how low he made his center of gravity when guarding Leuer.

Jon Leuer :: #30
The big guy looks to be in great shape, but always seems to struggle in this showcase. This time, it was a 2-for-11 shooting performance. I think he should make his baseline turnaround jumper from 10 feet his go-to move. He did have a nifty pass to Fahey amongst the trees that resulted in a layup.

Tim Jarmusz :: #24
You know the story here: solid competitor, can stroke it from deep when he decides to shoot. Except this year he avoided dumb passes and the 3-pointer he nailed was right in Bruiser face with a quick release. I liked it.

J.P. Gavinski :: 44
Still just along for the ride. Got more minutes than Markolf, but showed me even less than last year.

Wquinton Smith :: #2
Another guy who looks more comfortable out there, but didn't do anything besides hit one 3-pointer.

Brett Valentyn :: #15
Only player who did not score. Showed some bounce on a warm-up dunk though!

Sophomores:
Jordan Taylor :: #11
I was a little disappointed in Taylor. His shot was off and he picked up a number of fouls, continuing last year's trend. Taylor was outplayed by the senior guards, thus the game's outcome.

Rob Wilson :: #33
Wilson's aggressiveness stood out in the game. I remember after making a 3-pointer, he then took Smith to the block and totally abused him for an easy lay in. His added weight will help him finish and absorb contact. True, he missed a lot of shots too, but he is what he is.

Ian Markolf :: #50
Markolf really does seem to be a decent athlete for such a giant. He showed real effort on his defensive positioning. I still hold out hope that he logs some meaningful minutes before he's done in Madison.

Freshmen:
Jared Berggren :: #40
Berggren was impressive in a couple ways. First, he knows how to put the ball in the hoop. He can score with a variety of moves in the paint. Secondly, we got confirmation that his footwork should be solid enough on the blocks to play defense for Bo Ryan. He was active in fronting the post. Needs work on going after rebounds from what I recall.

Ryan Evans :: #5
We learned the more about Evans than any other player, since he played so little in last year's scrimmage. Evans forced his way into the limelight with two second half dunks that were the high point of the night. The first was an alley oop from Hughes. A few seconds later, the second came a run out break where a bad outlet pass forced him to the far wing, allowing Leuer to catch up. No problem -- Evans flushed it over Jon's head with authority. Beyond that, he has the same nose for the ball that you see in Jarmusz, which resulted in a number of rebounds. His handle is still waaaay too sloppy, which might keep him from getting many minutes. Evans showed the potential to disrupt passing lanes and start a break off a turnover. Still, he forced too much offensively. His other highlight was making up for a moment of laziness in transition by hustling back on defense to block a Jarmusz jumper.

Mike Bruesewitz :: #31
Bruiser did not stand out too much, but then, I don't think that will ever be his role. He is a very smart player, twice using a reverse layup to keep bigger defenders at bay near the rim. Bruesewitz also blocked a fastbreak lay up by Wilson, though it might have been goaltending. But that play was a compliment to his hustle. He looked comfortable on the floor with everyone, willing to mix it up as we've all heard.

Dan Fahey :: #10
Slipped behind the defense to convert a great pass into a layup, but Fahey hardly played in the scrimmage.

Per Wisconsin's agreement with adidas, the team will wear updated uniforms this year. The baggier look is a net gain, in my opinion, mostly because of the sharp-looking dual piping down the side of both jersey and shorts. I was not a fan of the adidas stripes and motion W in the neck area, however, and I dislike the return of red (or white) patches on top of the shoulders.

Late Bloomer Chooses Red Shirt

Ryan Evans is the first and possibly the only Badger freshman to announce that he will be taking a redshirt season in 2008-09. A smart decision by Evans if you ask me and this move surprises no one.

The announcement does not rule out any further redshirts from one of the big men. Ian Markolf certainly has a college-ready build, so would not necessarily need the year to bulk up. Conversely, bulking up would be about the only reason I can see for Jared Berggren to redshirt, as he is more skilled at this point. Ultimately, the player makes that decision for himself.

I hope to revisit the topic of redshirting big men very soon ...

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Turning to the NBA for a few 'graphs, Yi Jianlian is lighting it up from the outside with the New Jersey Nets this season. And he's shooting over real people, not just chairs! This is the type of thing you have come to expect if you are a Milwaukee Bucks fans (see Nowitzki, Dirk). The grass is always greener in another town for many former Bucks. Will Milwaukee be more patient with Joe Alexander? I hope so.

Regardless, Milwaukee is probably fine with Jianlian's development. Milwaukee's record is only 4-5 right now, but New Jersey is a smelly mess at 2-5. Michael Redd has a legit running mate in Richard Jefferson, with Bogut anchoring the lineup down low. While the team still has serious depth issues in the frontcourt, LRMaM has supplanted Charlie Villanueva in the starting lineup at least temporarily. Mbah a Moute has shown signs of being an excellent defender, something the Bucks have lacked for years. It will be interesting to see how the traditionally lackadaisical Villanueva responds.
In the backcourt, Ramon Sessions slowly easing his way into his rightful place atop the muddled point guard heap in Cream City. It is only a matter of time before his potential outweighs Luke Ridnour's "heady, veteran leadership."

Speaking of the Nets ... since popping off for a career-high 38 points the other night (shooting a ridiculous 20-of-24 on free throws), former Badger great Devin Harris has missed several games because of a twisted ankle. Tough sleddin' for the Nets without him. In Phoenix, Alando Tucker is still waiting to make his season debut. He had his left knee scoped last Tuesday, so he will miss 2-3 more weeks of action.

Things That Go Clang In The Night

The Night of the Grateful Red returned for its second incarnation last night at the Kohl Center. From missed layups and dunks in the first warm-up drill to a painfully developing slam dunk contest, the session looked every bit like the "first practice of the year" that it is.

Every year, I know this going in. Yet I still get that occasional twinge in my stomach, thinking "shouldn't these guys be better at this?" That is, until I get home and see similar contests across the league via the Big Ten Network's Midnight Madness special [highlights]. The fact is that all of these dunk contests are hard to watch.

This year's event did not include a scrimmage, so I was disappointed that we did not get to see any of the new players in action for the first time.

So on to the recap ...

This year's dunk contest field grew to five participants, including newcomers Ryan Evans and Rob Wilson. Keaton Nankivil got a nice dunk in after a try or two, but it was Morris Cain leading the way in round one. Rumors persisted that Evans was freaky athletic and that proved true as he topped Cain in the finals and capped the night off with an East Bay Funk-style dunk between the legs (after three or four tries, admittedly).

Prior to that, the seven contestants in the 3-point shooting contest displayed their skills behind the new white 20'9" arc. Jon Leuer struggled and his form still looks incredibly goofy. Frosh point guard Jordan Taylor handled himself well in his first performance on the new floor of the "Herb Garden." It was a great move to put Joe Krabbenhoft in this contest and believe it or not, he won it! We can only hope that is a sign of things to come. Maybe that has been the problem all these years -- Krabby is just too strong for the shorter 3-point line. Yeah, that's it ... too strong.

There was no way for Bo Ryan to top last year's dance video and I think they knew that. They tried to spice it up this time with an old school vs. new school dance-off between Bo and Marcus Landry that fell flat.

Despite adding cheerleaders, the whole dance concept is a little tired. However, it does give some individual flavor to each player as they are introduced. For example, Wquinton Smith is by far the best dance man on the squad. He could do Dancing With The Stars easily. I thought Jared Berggren, Tim Jarmusz and Brett Valentyn were awful. But then I saw J-Bo attempt to dance. Not pretty. Too timid. He is going to get grief from Bo all year long for that.

Final thoughts: Nankivil still looks like he should be able to pack more muscle onto that big frame of his. But after two seasons of waiting, maybe it's not going to happen ... While Wquinton was the same height as his dance team partner, Ian Markolf showed he was a legit 7-footer by kneeling next to his cheerleader and still edging her height-wise ... The cowboy hat during player intros might become an annual tradition. Last year it was Trevon Hughes, this time it was Krabby.

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Links:
- This running the hill business has taken on a life of its own. At any rate, I look forward to seeing the Bo Ryan's best-conditioned team yet.
- Mike Wilkinson is out of action due to a knee injury, so back in town for the Penn State game, he explained how fanatic Greek basketball fans are compared to Wisconsin football fans. The craziest part of the article is wife Alexis telling how she used to get death threats from Michigan fans. Ah Wolverines ... stick to football.
- One of my favorite new blogs is Jerry Tarkanian's Shark Bytes for the Las Vegas Sun. If you followed college hoops in the late '80s or early '90s, this will be a hilarious retreat.

As One Era Begins, Another Era Closes

Wednesday officially signalled Ryan Evans' acceptance into the Wisconsin basketball family with a signed Letter of Intent, completing a diverse freshman class for next season. The Badgers will bring in five new players next fall without a single native Wisconsinite among them. Evans' uncle Dave, a former All-American wrestler at UW, might actually make Ryan the closest thing to home-grown talent that the staff has signed for 2008.

For the third year in a row, none of the incoming scholarship players will be from Milwaukee. How long will that continue now that the legendary Tom Diener has resigned from his post at Milwaukee Vincent?

If there is a scarcity of college-ready talent in the city, it is not Diener's fault. In his 15 years as head coach at Vincent, Diener sent a multitude of very skilled players off to various Division I college basketball programs. In fact, Wisconsin's last two scholarship players out of Milwaukee--Marcus Landry and Boo Wade--both played under Diener for powerhouse Vincent squads. Ray Nixon also started his career at Vincent. The coach was a pretty solid player himself at UW-Green Bay.

As Mark Miller notes, Diener's Vikings dominated the Milwaukee City Conference in recent years, not to mention winning the five state championships. Diener won more gold balls than any other Division 1 coach in WIAA history via a three-peat (1996-98) and additional back-to-back titles (2000-01), plus won two silver runner-up trophies (2005 & 2007).

Diener was impressive in molding the talent around him into winners through defensive intensity. In a lot of ways, Diener's top players were ideal Badgers, provided they could make the grades and stay out of trouble.

With scholarships accounted for in 2009 and offers already extended to other in 2010, it may be awhile before another Badger emerges from the state's largest city. It's too early to tell, but 2001 PG Larry Bradley from Vincent appears to be the only one out there. Perhaps the assistant who scours the Milwaukee area for Bo can take some much-needed vacation time.

We know conclusively that Howard Moore is hard at work all over the country. After Ryan Evans signed his LOI, Moore was finally able to comment on his third Badger recruiting success. Moore revealed some interesting comparisons, both physical and social, regarding Evans. Needless to say, Moore is excited about the Ryan Evans era.

I bet Evans appeared much different on Moore's highlight reel than he did on the game film I downloaded the other night. I felt pretty stupid that it took me almost the entire game to realize it was a game from Evans' junior season. That would seem to partially explain his slow defensive footwork and lack of aggression on the glass despite being one of the tallest players on the court. It is not surprising that it might take more than a year to adjust to growing six inches all of a sudden. In the clips I have seen elsewhere, Evans does look noticeably bigger nowadays.

I'm sure Diener would have loved coaching Evans this year. He could have gone out with another gold ball.

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Links:
- Brian Butch plays too soft for pro ball. Duh ... but hearing it from a French dude?! Ouch.
- Another duh: Bucks fire "the other" Coach K
- Marquette keeps Mbakwe and replaces a star recruit with another JUCO

Badgers Add To '08 Class: Ryan Evans

Rumor became reality tonight as Ryan Evans officially announced that he will become a Wisconsin Badger. Evans, a 6'6" wing out of Hamilton High School in Chandler, AZ, is the fifth player in the UW's incoming 2008 recruiting class.

The Wisconsin State Journal reports Evans was chomping at the bit to commit to Bo Ryan's team. He was finally rewarded with a full scholarship, according to Rivals.com. Evans is reportedly a bit raw offensively, but part of that can be attributed to his rapid growth spurt over the past two years.

According to MaxPreps.com, Evans averaged over 18 ppg & 7 rpg to lead Hamilton in both categories. The Huskies compiled a 21-11 record this past season, bowing to Phoenix St. Mary's in the AIA's Class 5A-Division 1 semifinals.

Allotting the last open schollie to Evans means a lot of talented players closer to home will not become Badgers. The complaints about not getting Jamil Wilson might continue on for years, but more disconcerting would be the extremely large class size next year. Signing five players for 2008 means the team will only have two scholarships to offer in 2010, which appears to be another very deep recruiting class. Evening the numbers out by using a few redshirts would only lock up those scholarships an additional year.

With the addition, however, UW could field an entire starting lineup down the road from the Class of 2008 alone.

Perhaps because of the sheer distance between Madison and the Phoenix area, Evans is the most obscure Badger recruit. His recruitment arc was similar to that of Mike Bruesewitz. He was an unknown commodity, until suddenly, a quiet but solid internet buzz grew to indicate an impending commitment.

Video | Photos (Recruiting Planet)

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Brian Butch finished with 9 points in the DiGiorno's College All-Star Game played last Friday at the Final Four, though he did not shoot particularly well. At least he was invited. He did nail a couple of 3-pointers. You can see one (sort of) in CBS' video highlights.

Prospect Profile: Ryan Evans

Ryan Evans, F
6'6" :: 185 lbs.
Class of 2008
Chandler (AZ) Hamilton HS

Rankings
Scout: 2 Stars * *
Rivals: NR
ESPN/Scouts Inc. grade: NR

Recent Press
5/5: Former DV guard Evans -- now of Hamilton -- en route to Wisconsin - Ahwautukee Foothills News
4/30: Evans Writes His Own Story - SportsBubbler.com
4/17: Arizona prep's potential impresses Badgers coaches - Cap Times
4/16: Basketball signs one more for 2008 - UWBadgers.com

The Verbal
Badgers power forward with Arizona standout - JSOnline (4/7/08)
Hamilton's Evans commits to Wisconsin - Arizona Republic (4/8/08)
Badgers add fifth recruit - WiSJ (4/7/08)

The Hype
Hamilton advances to semifinals for 1st time - East Valley Tribune (2/24/08)

Video
Highlights: Ryan Evans upload (2007-08) - Rivals
Game: Hamilton 65, Gilbert 61 (1/12/07)* - APN Sports
*ed note: preview - download free software to view full video

Stats
MaxPreps: 2007-08

Photos

On the Stove Top: Links (4/3)

As we delve into the off-season, content is harder to come by. Thus, a collection of links to catch up on the week's happenings ...

- If you have time, read Monday's article by Rob Hernandez on Jonte Flowers in the Wisconsin State Journal. The whole story was well done, but the Michael Flowers quote rehashed by Hernandez is what stuck out to me:

"Good leadership produces winners,'' Michael said. "But great leadership produces other great leaders. That's what I think of Jonte."

Some might have heard a variation of that quote at some point, but I had not. That shows a great level of respect was present in the Flowers household as all those brothers developed into great athletes ... no doubt fueled by some scrappy driveway pickup games. Now, Jonte finds himself with an opportunity to play basketball professionally, his first step being the Portsmouth Invitational. The same invite led Kam Taylor to a professional contract in Spain; let's see if Flowers can do better.

- The St. Paul Pioneer Press named Jordan Taylor its 2007-08 Player of the Year this week. Will Minnesota's Mr. Basketball be Taylor's next accolade? He cannot arrive in Madison soon enough.

- Speaking of next year's new comers, one rumor gaining steam this week is that Phoenix-area wing Ryan Evans will be joining the Badgers in 2008 as well. Evans, whose father played at UW, seems capable and willing to walk-on to the program, but the intriguing part of this rumor is exactly when and for how long Evans might be paying his own way. Would he in fact be given only a one-year free ride his freshman year, thereby "holding" a scholarship for Jamil Wilson starting in '09, or be a preferred walk-on for a few years with the possibility of earning a schollie down the line. An ArizonaPreps.com article referenced on the Wishoops.net message board seems to be the source of the speculation.

- The collegiate season will culminate this weekend, but the summer high school circuit is already underway. Wishoops.net is running a series of previews for some of the state's best amateur programs, including the following:
:: Wisconsin Playground Warriors 6U (feat. C Evan Anderson, Sussex Hamilton G Kameron Cerroni & Milw. Lutheran G T.J. Kadima)
:: DTA 16U (feat. Milwaukee-area talent like G Flavien Davis & Milw. Custer PF Calvin Godfrey)
:: Tosa Bandits 17U (feat. Wauwatosa East G Keondre Gholston & the Lawson brothers of Racine St. Catherine's)

-Snubbed by the NCAA Tournament committee, Ohio State marched through the NIT and dominated UMass in the second half to claim its own postseason title Thursday night. Small consolation for the Big Ten.

Assuming Kosta Koufos goes pro, Ohio State will be facing the loss of its three top scorers again this offseason. The Buckeyes do have a nice, young nucleus on the perimeter in David Lighty, Evan Turner and Jon Diebler. But Dallas Lauderdale and McDonald's All-American B.J. Mullens are no Greg Odens.

- If you are a glutton for punishment, take another gander at the numbers from Davidson's demolition of Wisconsin in the Sweet 16. From a defensive efficiency standpoint, the game was far and away UW's worst of the year, allowing 1.34+ points-per-possession. The 18-2 advantage for Davidson on fast breaks sheds some light on how that happened.

- Camp Lambeau came to the defense of the swing offense. I myself think the offense--as espoused by Bo Ryan--has some inherent shortcomings, but that discussion is for another day.