April 4th, 2005

Joel’s Monday Mailbag

Each Monday, Joel Welser will be bringing you his Monday Mailbag.  If you have a question which you'd like Joel to answer, email jwelser_chn@ameritech.net.  He’ll post and answer as many questions as possible.  Please include your first name and home state when contacting Joel. 

One question each week is chosen as the "Question of the Week", and is answered by a few CHN staffers.  At the end of each Monday Mailbag, Joel presents his "Team of the Week" and his "Thoughts of the Week."  Visit the Mailbag Archive for past installments.

Joel,

As a die hard Terps fan I need some questions answered. What do you predict for Maryland next year after such a disappointing season? Will Gilchrist declare for the NBA? What recruits/prospects does MD have coming in? Man, I'm so disappointed…

From Sean,

Maryland

When Mike Grinnon is the big loss, things have to be looking up for the Terps.  It does appear that John Gilchrist will enter the NBA draft though, but we shall see.  Even if Gilchrist doesn’t return, Sterling Ledbetter and D.J. Strawberry are sound replacements, but Gilchrist was the only player on the team who had a decent assist to turnover ratio last year.  Ledbetter would need to improve on his 2.0 assists and 1.9 turnovers per game for the Terps to be a serious contender.  The senior should improve during his second season in the ACC now that he is adjusted to the game speed.  If Gilchrist leaves, Sterling will have the entire off season knowing that he will be the guy.

Shane Clark is the big name coming in for the class of 2005.  The 6-7, 190 pound forward is very athletic and can fill in some minutes, but needs to bulk up a bit.  The class of ’06 is looking good already if we wanted to look further down the road.  Point guard Eric Hayes is a tremendous floor leader.  The future at the point looks great with such a smart player running the show. 

The formula looks good with four seniors (Gilchrist, Chris McCray, Nik Caner-Medley, Travis Garrison) projected to start along with Ekene Ibekwe.  The bench is deep and talented with Strawberry, Ledbetter (starting if Gilchrist leaves), Mike Jones and James Gist.  The expectations, once again, will be high…and rightfully so.  It’s tough to go unscathed within the ACC when so many teams can beat up on anybody.  And I’m pretty sure Clemson won’t be intimidated heading into the Comcast Center, but the Terps should be back in the NCAAs with or without Gilchrist.  I don’t think Maryland will win the ACC, or even contend with the top three or four teams in the league if Gilchrist is making the big bucks.  They should be a top 25 team most of the year with the increasingly slim chance that Gilchrist returns. 

Joel,

When all is said and done, what do you think this season will be remembered for? 

From Harold,

New York

Illinois, especially if they win tonight.  It’s a great story either way.  In a season of parity (which this season will also be remembered for), the Illini have dominated the top spot in the polls.  This was one of those seasons where everything worked out for Bruce Weber and Illinois and it’ll probably take another 100 years before the cards fall so nicely for the Illini.  Ohio State’s Matt Sylvester will go down in history as well if Illinois wins the National Championship.  Sylvester hit that big three to hand Illinois their only loss of the year on the final day of the regular season.  It wasn’t just one big shot for Sylvester either.  The junior scored a career high 25 points that game. 

The parity was an issue all year long, but for months and months fans have been clamoring over the potential Illinois and North Carolina match-up for the National Championship.  I never thought it would happen, but here we are.  If the game even comes close to living up to the hype it has generated over the last few months, the 2004-2005 season will only be remembered as the great final between the Illini and TarHeels.

Joel,

How about Bo Ryan for Big Ten Coach of the Year? If you said to a two-guard on ten months of an ACL recovery and a sophomore with limited first year minutes, "O.K., you guys are my ball handlers for the year. I'm going to show you two how to run a team. We might spell you a couple of minutes this year with this brave-hearted freshman here, but you two guys are going to have to go out there and make no mistakes, keep turnovers to the very minimum, against the top teams and point guards in the country this year. Then when the two guys with broken foot problems get back into the lineup, get up to speed, and the big guy recovers from mono, boy will we be ready to play in the NCAA tourney. But in the meantime, go out there and play the Big Ten, and make sure that you play Illinois tough twice, Michigan State tough twice, plus you have to win all the other league games."

In the meantime, what has Bruce Weber done at Illinois, other than keep the lineup given to him by Bill Self for two years in a row? Do you think that maybe the Big Ten gave the wrong coach its coach of the year award?

It shouldn't be that simple to hand it over to Bruce Weber, but the guy is 37-1 and in the national title game.  It's one thing to inherit a bunch of talent, but you still have to do something with it.  Last year the team was in distress at times while adjusting to Weber's system.  This year they performed it to near perfection day in and day out.  Would they be as successful under Bill Self?  They could hardly be any more successful.  I won't take anything away from Bo Ryan, who continues to do a masterful job in Madison, but this year, Coach Weber really does deserve the award.  Dan Monson at Minnesota would probably have taken the honors if it wasn't for the amazing run from Illinois.  The Gophers pretty much turned three roleplayers and a bunch of freshmen and transfers into an NCAA team.  That also deserves the Coach of the Year award in my book.  Three serious candidates does show that the Big Ten really is a good conference this year and we haven't even mentioned that Izzo fella who made it to the Final Four and went 13-3 in the conference. 

Have a question?  Email Joel at jwelser_chn@ameritech.net, and please include your first name and home state. We’ll post and answer as many as possible.  All questions may be published or edited unless requested otherwise.

Question of the Week

 - The question of the week is answered by multiple CHN staffers -

Joel,

What has been your most memorable moment of the 2004-2005 season?

From Peter,

California

Jon Teitel

Wow, great question…

I have several memorable moments, but if I had to pick just one, I guess it would be a sad moment: Arizona’s collapse down the stretch against Illinois in the Elite 8. The Wildcats were coming off of an amazing win over Oklahoma State, while the Illini were playing before a mostly orange-clad crowd in Chicago. Arizona played Illinois tight in the first half, and pulled away in the second half to go up 15 points with 4 minutes left, the largest lead any Illinois opponent has had all season. I was THIS close to buying a plane ticket for St. Louis, but figured I could wait a few minutes for the game to end: little did I know how fortunate I was to not jump the gun. The only way Arizona could blow their lead was to lose the ball a few times, miss a few shots, and have Illinois make several three-point shots…and that is exactly what happened. These kind of things happen to young and inexperienced teams, not teams with senior stars and a Hall of Fame coach. As you all know, Illinois’s furious comeback sent the game into overtime, and Arizona’s last-second miss sent Illinois to the Final Four. I honestly think that this was one of the epic collapses of all-time, but due to several factors (the other amazing games that weekend, deference to the outstanding quality of the Arizona program, the fact that Illinois had only lost one game all year, etc.), I believe that this game will just be remembered for a great comeback, rather than for one of the biggest choke jobs in recent memory.

Nick Meyer

Let me set the scene for you. Easter Sunday, about a dozen members of my family, all Michigan fans, watching one of the best NCAA Tournament games of all time and cheering for Michigan State all the way, a team we usually love to hate. And no, I do not recall any trips to the hypnotist leading up to this day.

The first round of the tournament is typically my favorite, because of the sheer volume of great games, all the different bracket-induced rooting interests I take up, and the ability to see teams I otherwise wouldn't get a chance to see take on the more well-known schools. But when you get a great game played by two teams with NBA-caliber athletes that goes into triple overtime? It doesn't get any better than that.

From Shannon Brown and Maurice Ager's coming out party to the amazing sequence that led to the Patrick Sparks miracle three to the final buzzer, this one had me captivated all the way to the

 end.

Add in the tremendous story of the Michigan State seniors finally getting over the hump and proving to all the harsh columnists that they were indeed winners and leaving a legacy of their own in East Lansing, and you have my most memorable game of the year, edging out the Illinois comeback against Arizona and the Wake-WVU game earlier in the week.

Joel Welser

All my moments have already blobbed together into one giant, confusing mess of watching too much basketball over the last five months.  But I’ll give it a shot anyway.  My most memorable moment was at a game I attended at Western Michigan University.  The Brocnos had just had their nation’s second longest home winning streak snapped at the hands of Ball State.  I’ve never seen such a solemn crowd shuffle out of an arena.  It’s like we all just watched a tear-jerking chick flick and the lights came on and thousands of people got up and quietly exited, mumbling “so what’d you think” while trying to hold back a tear. 

History will have other moments, like the Elite Eight weekend with all the comebacks and overtimes, but that one stuck out to me.

Have a question?  Email Joel at jwelser_chn@ameritech.net, and please include your first name and home state. We’ll post and answer as many as possible.  All questions may be published or edited unless requested otherwise.

Joel’s Team of the Week

South Carolina Gamecocks

Illinois and UNC are no big surprise to get a win this week.  South Carolina, now that surprises me a little bit.  Only eight teams played this week, so my options are limited anyway, but the Gamecocks slipped past Maryland in the NIT semifinals 75-67, which is an impressive victory.  Carlos Powell led the way for USC, scoring a team high 17 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.  Luckily for Dave Odom’s squad, Memphis, who had knocked the Gamecocks out of the post-season two of the previous three years, lost to St. Joe’s in the other semifinal. 

The NIT final against the Hawks was a thriller.  Pat Carroll hit a game tying three pointer in the waning seconds, to the delight of the crowd that was nearly all in favor of St. Joe’s.  Tarence Kinsey, who was only in the game to defend Carroll, found himself with the ball just seconds later as the clock wound down.  The junior put up a three-pointer and drained it, giving South Carolina the NIT Championship by a score of 60-57.  Powell was the only Gamecock in double figures, scoring a game high 16 points. 

Joel’s Thoughts of the Week

Kudos

-The Izzone and Orange Crush…for attempting to swap shirts to increase the size of the traveling student sections before the Final Four games.  I don’t think it really worked, but either way the same voices were heard supporting both Big Ten teams.  I took an Illinois fan to a Michigan State football game once and he didn’t make it out alive.  And that was football, where MSU feels no threat at all from Illinois.  Hold your hate mail Illini football fans, I know Illinois used to be good and I’m even giving them four wins this fall, so don’t yell at me too much. 

-Roger Powell…for receiving divine intervention in the second half to lead Illinois over Louisville.  Well, maybe it wasn’t divine intervention, but without the “Reverend” Illinois would have had trouble with the Cardinals.

-Kevin Pittsnogle…for being Kevin Pittsnogle and receiving my just made up award of most mentioned player in the Monday Mailbag.

Have a question?  Email Joel at jwelser_chn@ameritech.net, and please include your first name and home state. We’ll post and answer as many as possible.  All questions may be published or edited unless requested otherwise.