College Basketball: Weekly Mailbag

Each Monday, CHN college basketball expert Joel Welser opens up his mailbag to answer fan questions.  One question is chosen each week to be answered by a few college assistant or head coaches.  At the end, Joel also includes some timely college basketball tidbits.  If you'd like to ask Joel a question or if you'd like to read past editions, check out the Monday Mailbag archive.

Coaches Question

Why don't we see more teams pressing in college hoops? Not since Nolan Richardson's Arkansas teams have I seen a highly successful team that uses a full court press/trap. Is there a reason for this?

From D.J.,

Oceanside, California

Coach Darren Kohne – Stephen F. Austin University Assistant Coach

There are several reasons why I think there are fewer teams that use the full court press in college basketball.  I think there has been a watered down talent pool in recent years.  This is due to NBA draft entries, addition of more Division I programs, and an overall diminishment of fundamental players coming out of HS and JC.  As a result, teams have less depth and are not playing as many guys.  To full court press for 40 minutes like Arkansas did, you have to play a lot of bodies and get them in and out of the game often in order for it to be effective.  I also think that there are less tough kids who are willing to work hard day in and day out, which is vital to being able to play that style of defense.

Fan Emails

Joel,

After Randolph Morris completes his suspension and is eligible to play on
January 10th, how far do you think Kentucky will go in the SEC as well as the
NCAA tournament?

From Brian,

State College, Pennsylvania

Kentucky has some problems and Randolph Morris isn’t the answer, at least not entirely.  Yet, the Wildcats still have a decent record at 10-4 and have played a very tough schedule.  Even teams like Iona and Ohio are quality teams and are expected to win their conferences.  Sure, it’s not what Wildcat fans are used to, but this is still a good, dangerous tournament team.  Morris and Kentucky have a relatively easy road schedule throughout the month of January and if they can win those games, the confidence and record will be healthy heading into February and March. 

The minutes for the big men have been split between Rekalin Sims, Bobby Perry, Sheray Thomas, Shagari Alleyne and Lukasz Obrzut.  Adding a steady force like Morris will be very helpful and all those mentioned will now be ready to contribute when others run into foul trouble.  An injury or suspension always messes up the team chemistry, but it also allows other players to develop and that depth is never a bad thing. 

I see the Wildcats at least getting second place in SEC East with four or five losses, which is good enough for a decent seed come tourney time.  After that it is all about match-ups.  Right now Kentucky is on the outside looking in at the Sweet Sixteen.

Joel,

Does it get any better than hearing Jay Bilas and Bill Raftery desperately double teaming Sean McDonough for two hours? They cannot stop him. They can only hope to contain him. After all, he's just doing his job, you know, the whole PBP one. Am I wrong? Am I the only one hoping that McDonough will quickly rejoin them and replace Dave O'Brien?

From T.J.,

Columbus, Ohio

Ask and you shall receive, McDonough is back.  I absolutely agree.  The trio of Bilas, Raftery and McDonough are magical at times and amusing at worst.  I have no problem with O’Brien, but he doesn’t capture the mood with those two as well as McDonough.  The only beef I have with the old gang is that they can get totally sidetracked for plays at a time, albeit entertaining.  Usually that is fine, after all we are talking about television, not radio; however, for multi-tasking masters like myself, I can’t look at the TV constantly to see what is going on.  I have mailbags to write at the same time.

Joel,

It appears that Ben Howland (UCLA), Roy Williams (UNC) and Billy Donovan (Florida) have gotten their teams off to a great start (based upon their respective team's strengths; with UCLA's talent base being considered the highest in pre-season). What other teams and their respective coaches do you feel have done an outstanding performance so far this season?

From John,

Houston, Texas

There are quite a few from major conferences that are overachieving thus far based on most people’s preseason assessments.  Take a look at Jamie Dixon at Pitt, Herb Sendek at NC State and Bruce Pearl at Tennessee.  While I think all of these teams won’t be able to keep it up during conference play, they have all compiled a nice out of conference record and have themselves in position for an NCAA bid.  Pitt and NC State would have to slip a long way not to make the big dance, and I think they’ll both make it, but Tennessee is another story.  And we can add Andy Kennedy and the Bearcats to that group.  This team is 13-2 and has played a tougher schedule than the aforementioned teams.  Many, myself included, had UC on the dismal side of the bubble a few months ago, but they won’t even need a .500 record in conference play to be a part of the madness. 

Have a question?  Ask them on the easy form at the Monday Mailbag Homepage..  We’ll post and answer as many as possible.  Please include your first name and home state and put Monday Mailbag in the email title. 

Joel’s Thoughts of the Week

Wow, conference play is great.  When teams have to go on the road, they are going to lose.  It happened to Illinois, Ohio State, Michigan State (twice), Kentucky, Maryland and N.C. State. 

I’m very upset that I get to see provisional Big West squad UC Davis before I see contender California State University, Northridge on TV.  Speaking of the Big West, what is the deal with UC Riverside?  This is a team that went 0-10 in non-conference play, including giving up 115 points to Puget Sound.  It’s a new season when the conference begins and the Highlanders are 2-1 with victories over a solid UCSB squad and at Big West favorite Pacific.  Ironically, their loss was against Cal Poly, the only team they should have beaten all season. 

Kudos to Purdue and Northwestern for showing that the bottom of the Big Ten is not as bad as we all thought.  Purdue lost in a squeaker at Michigan and Northwestern knocked off the Gophers in Minnesota.  The Wildcats should be 3-0 in conference after hosting Penn State on Wednesday.  Unless, of course, Penn State wants to prove that the very bottom of the Big Ten isn’t that bad, but that won’t happen.  On the other hand, it is possible that the Wolverines and Gophers belong in the group with Penn State, Purdue and Northwestern.

Despite all the early pitfalls, Southern Illinois is 4-0 in a tough conference and 11-3 overall.  Two main points come out of this. 1) We all overreacted.  2) It will be a long time before a Saluki steps foot in Alaska again.

Check back each week for Joel Wesler's Monday Mailbag. If you'd like to ask Joel a question or if you'd like to read past editions, check out the Monday Mailbag Homepage.