Quick Hits #3

V-C-told-U-so:  VCU has reached the Final Four as an 11 seed after upsetting "power conference" foes USC, Georgetown, Purdue, Florida State, and Kansas along the way.  VCU, George Mason (2006), and LSU (1986) are the only teams to ever advance to the Final Four as an 11 seed.  Incredible.  When the brackets were revealed on Selection Sunday, many experts questioned the Selection Committee's decision to include VCU and UAB in the 68-team field because they felt that many other teams were more deserving based upon their regular season and conference tournament performance.

VCU could be the national champion even though they
should have never been given a shot to get to the Final Four.

VCU's inclusion in the tournament was questioned because they had lost 7 conference games in a sub-par conference, including a home game to lowly James Madison, and had a much lower RPI than other teams that were left out of the tournament.  Many have suggested that because VCU has now made the Final Four, then they must have been deserving of being included in the tournament from the beginning.  I wholeheartedly disagree.  Such a rationale would make no sense given that the Selection Committee's job is to select the tournament teams based upon their resume and previous performance, not to project how a team would perform in the tournament.  Does VCU deserve to be in the tournament simply because they have won 5 games in a row?  Absolutely not.  If that is the case, then teams such as Louisville and Vanderbilt (who both lost their first games to lower-seeded teams) should not have been included in the tournament either.  Good for VCU, but saying that they have validated their inclusion in the tournament would be taking the easy way out.

Let The Jimmer Simmer:  Meanwhile, the debate continues about players that have already exited the tournament - will Jimmer be a good pro?  Many will continue to debate Jimmer's professional abilities leading up to the draft and even throughout Jimmer's career.  But why are so many people so adamant and passionate about this topic?  Because there is no debating the fact that he is one of the best collegiate basketball players in recent memory.  We should all stop being so concerned about how good a pro he may or may not be.

Jimmer Fredette excited the entire college basketball world
this year with his ability to score and lead BYU to wins.

Will his success or failure in the NBA take away from his outstanding college career and all the excitement he created not only at BYU but throughout college basketball?  It shouldn't.  Instead of being so focused on hypothetical situations and what he may not be, let's stop and appreciate some of the fantastic things he accomplished as a collegiate player: Fredette led the nation in scoring with 28.9 points per game, averaged 32.7 points per game in the NCAA tournament, led BYU with 4.3 assists per game, shot 40% from three-point "Jimmer" range, shot 89% from the free throw line, shattered the BYU career scoring mark after scoring a mind-boggling 1,068 points this season.  Even more important:  Jimmer is a winner.  He leaves BYU as the all-time leader in team wins as a player.  Certain writers in the media may not appreciate Jimmer, but he has already been selected by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association as the winner of the Oscar Robertson Trophy which is presented annually to the National Player of the Year as selected by the writers.  By the way, Rick Reilly is not considered a Basketball Writer by the USBWA or Dan Patrick.  That is worth a listen!


Ochocinco Soccer Situation:  With the NFL Lockout now in its third week with no end in sight, it appears that NFL players, including Chad Ochocinco, are bored and need something to do.  Chad Ochocinco, who has successfully kicked an extra point in a recent NFL game, recently went through a five-day tryout with the MLS team, Sporting Kansas City.  Ochocinco, who played soccer in high school, practiced with the team, played in a reserve game this weekend, and has been awarded an honorary reserve spot on the team.  Ochocinco will not be paid for practicing with the team (which is only a little less than what an MLS player actually gets paid), but he is excited about his new-found job:

Ochocinco is just kickin'
it during the NFL lockout.

"This is so awesome I'm an honorary member of SportingKC and can train with the reserve team as long as I want," Ochocinco said in a tweet. "Totally awesome ILuvKC."

Does anyone else now want to see David Beckham take a hit by Baltimore Ravens' linebacker, Ray Lewis, or is that just me?  At least Ochocinco is as they say "staying out of trouble", which is more than can be said for Dallas Cowboys' receiver Dez Bryant.