I truly was blessed this past season and post-season to have had the opportunity to closely cover college basketball’s most decorated player in Ohio State’s Evan Turner. “His Royal Smoothness” as we like to call him, won the Wooden, the Naismith and pretty much every other national college basketball player of the year award.  We all know how good he is; he’ll likely be the first or second guy picked in this June’s NBA Draft after Kentucky’s John Wall goes first overall.

We’ve already heard all about his many strengths. And he could very well be the next Scottie Pippen, but he’s still far from perfect. As transcendent as his game seems at times, there are still some flaws.

At times his appearance on the court is less than ideal. And it has nothing to do with the fact that he sounds like Kermit the Frog, or looks like a dinosaur. I’ve even heard these opinions expressed working for THE Ohio State University. During the tournament’s first weekend his body language and overall composure were less than ideal.

A reporter questioned his collegiate coach Thad Matta about this. He answered by deflecting and changing the topic. “I thought that there was a couple of things that were happening. I was trying to get changed as well. But he’s just got to keep the composure and keep playing through it…Nobody pays attention to his defense. He did a tremendous job defending us well tonight and really using his length off their stack actions,” Matta said.

I had some off-the-record conversations with the teams that OSU eliminated in the NCAAs, and members of the opposing coaching staffs basically told me they were disappointed in how Evan looked in real time when compared against how he looked on film. They were disappointed in his demeanor, how they perceived his maturity, and how he acted on the court given his prestigious stature as a player.

And when opponents got physical with him, he didn’t seem to react well. Turner got rattled quite a bit during the first game of the NCAA Tournament, a blowout win over UC-Santa Barbara. And in the Big Ten Tournament, the trash talking Illini got in his head and under his skin. Here’s a video I shot of him in the locker room after the game. He’s voicing his frustration over the Illinois “front-runners.”

Of course, polarization is just the nature of the beast when you’re a big star. Turner has a lot of BFFs among big-time college basketball stars, but he’s also so hated by opponents that his teammates  call him “The Villain.” But like Chris Rock says: “don’t hate the player, hate the game.”

In March, I actually got tired of coaches and announcers making the “he almost had a quadruple double, if you count the TOs” joke every time Turner got a triple double, or close to it. The joke eventually got more annoying and played out than “Flo” and her Progressive insurance advertisements.

During March Madness a reporter questioned Matta about Turner’s tendency to turn the ball over, and again he deflected the question without really answering.

“I love him being out there — a lot of times just for the defense. I think everybody only watches him on offense. But he gets his hands on so many balls and 6?7? with his wing span, he was challenging shots at 24 feet that you really don’t notice. And then when that thing goes up, a lot of times he’s coming up with the rebound, and he does a great job in that regard,” Matta responded.

Of course in the grand scheme of things, his turnovers are not that big of a deal because he’s going to be playing the three in the NBA. He only played the point at OSU, because they had absolutely no other options. Their best alternative was P.J. Hill for crying out loud. Of course, in the NBA the small forward position is to talented athletes what Elisabeth Hasselbeck is to sounding idiotic, so “His Royal Smoothness” will have some TOUGH matchups on his hands when he gets into the league.

But when you look at his entire upside, his TOs aren’t really the end of the world. Matta summed it up best following the Buckeyes’ final victory of the season; a second round defeat over Georgia Tech where Turner had 24 points, 9 rebounds and also 9 of his team’s 18 turnovers.

“As long as he gets me 24 and 9 and 9, I’ll leave with it. Obviously, we’d like it to cut down. In that type of situation we’re going to put the ball in his hands a lot and he’s going to make decisions…I thought when the time was needed, he delivered for us,” Matta said.

For an in-depth scouting report on Turner go here

Paul M. Banks is Founder/President of The Sports Bank.net, an Upper Midwest sports webzine. He’s also a member of the Football Writers Association of America, the United States Basketball Writers Association and a sports writer for the Washington Times.com Communities and Walter Football.com

By Paul M. Banks is Founder/President of The Sports Bank.net

With the exception of his BFF Evan Turner, Illinois junior guard Demetri McCamey is perhaps the most written about individual athlete on The Sports Bank. Today “Baby Ben Gordon” announced his intentions to enter the NBA Draft sans agent.

So he will have a chance to return to college next season, and I think he will. Although this is a very weak point guard class, I don’t think he’ll end up a first round pick. So I’ll think he’ll back in Champaign next year. But I think he’s definitely doing the right thing by testing the waters.

Our good friends at Hail to the Orange found this exchange  on Illini HQ.com, it’s Bruce Weber discussing the reality of Cames’ possibly departure and how he’s preparing for it.

How concerned are you that he will leave?

I’m concerned. You know, if he’s a first-round pick, I’m happy for him. He’s got to go. Does it hurt us? Yeah, it hurts us. But a kid only has that window. If he’s not ready my concern is to make sure he does everything right, so he doesn’t get himself in trouble. Whether that’s the agents, taking care of his classroom stuff, so he doesn’t get himself in trouble. I don’t want him hurt for life because some guy on the street told him, “The NBA guys don’t know what they’re talking about, you’re a first-round pick.”

If you add another player in this (2010) class, what are you looking for?

One thing we’re looking for, obviously, is a backup point guard. Six weeks ago, or whenever it was that Demetri had that (good) stretch and his name popped up there, the first thing I said to the coaches was, “We better start looking ahead. Whether he’s a first-round pick or not, we have to look ahead.” We need to at least look around in case something happens. So a point guard. If we found somebody with a little toughness, I think we would look at that.

And here’s an interesting plea for him to stay on McCamey’s Facebook page. This was written on his wall

“1 more please 1 more we will have a chance at a championship richmond u griffey tisdale paul dj leonard bertrand please just 1 more year”

I’m sure Illini fans will agree. And just for s—ts and giggles, I felt it was time to re-publish my favorite Evan Turner quote ever. It’s about hit rivalry with McCamey and it’s from the first exclusive I ever had with Turner.

“We were just so competitive growing up, sometimes I’d be at the gym at night, leaving the gym and I say: ‘Yo fat boy I just put up 400 shots, I hope you’re doing the same thing, because when I see you I’m about to kill you.’ But you know he takes it all in fun. We take it all in fun. It’s about the need to push ourselves, back in high school it was like what did Evan do? What did Demetri do? How did he do? I’m gonna beat him. So it definitely helped us a lot,” Turner said about McCamey.

Paul M. Banks is Founder/President of The Sports Bank.net, an Upper Midwest sports webzine. He’s also a member of the Football Writers Association of America, the United States Basketball Writers Association and a sports writer for the Washington Times.com Communities and Walter Football.com

Jon Scheyer seems like a nice enough guy, my issues with Duke notwithstanding, but he never seemed like the sharpest knife in the drawer.  He grew up in Northbrook, a northern suburb of our fair city for those of you who don’t know.  I had a number of friends who had younger siblings that went to school with him and the consensus seemed to be” he can shoot the lights out, but boy is that guy an idiot”.  Hence my surprised reaction to his rather clever prank on an old high school buddy of his. although it did backfire a bit:

After Duke edged Butler for the NCAA basketball title Monday, Jon Scheyer celebrated with friends and family from Northbrook.

Scheyer played a prank on high school teammate Zach Kelly by tweeting Kelly’s cell phone number to his more than 6,700 followers, who assumed it was Scheyer’s number.

As of Wednesday, Kelly had received more than 2,000 text messages and several hundred calls. Scheyer’s latest tweet begs his fans to stop texting and calling his friend.

On second thought, it sounds like he didn’t exactly think this one through.  It would be a good prank to have a friend be inundated with thousands of texts like that, if you were expecting it.  I’m not sure what he thought would happen, but if anything my next tweet would have been begging people to keep it up, as opposed to stopping.

The movie “Hoosiers” made it famous, but Butler’s 2010 Tournament run made it a must-see for hoopheads.

The Sports Bank’s Paul M. Banks makes a pilgrimage to historic Hinkle Fieldhouse, and Butler players discuss seeing the movie with the media

INDIANAPOLIS- It’s historic Hinkle Fieldhouse, the sixth oldest college basketball arena still is use. Since 1928, it’s stood here, 6 miles north of downtown, an actual official U.S. historic landmark. Obviously, you heard a few hundred times about how the climactic final scene in the 1986 film “Hoosiers” was filmed here. And about how “Hoosiers” was based on the real life 1954 Indiana state high school championship, the “Milan Miracle” in which the tiny enrollment Milan high defeated the larger powerhouse Muncie Central.

In the film, it’s played by Hickory High and South Bend Central. When I arrived there about a hundred people exploring the fieldhouse, just to see it. Lucky for all of us, the University did not charge admission. They easily could have made a killing off their newly found tourist trap status. Butler’s run all the way to the national title game, conveniently hosted by their own University, is what turned this place into Indy’s Graceland.

You’ll probably recall the scene where Coach Norman Dale (played by Gene Hackman) has his players measure the distance from the free throw line to the baseline and the height of the rim? Because most of his Hickory Husker players had never seen a building over 2 stories tall and he didn’t want them to be intimidated by the size of the “big city’s large gym.”

When I first walked into the Final Four media room, and saw just how HUGE the press conference room was here at Lucas Oil Field, I was amazed by just how big it was. I’ve never seen so many chairs and such a huge stage, for a press conference room and I’ve done the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, NBA Playoffs, and some bowl games, but this is work room in BIG! I’ve never seen so many media guides, and stat sheets, and fast scripts, double or triple the thickness as usual.

But I wasn’t intimated, I remembered the lessons of Norman Dale. No need to measure the distance from microphone to chair. And if you were watching ESPN Saturday night- bam! You probably heard who got the second question in to Mike Kryzyzewski!

On Sunday, two reporters asked Butler Coach Brad Stevens if he copied Norman Dale and brought the measuring the tape out to the rim for his Butler Bulldogs team, because after all the leviathan Lucas Oil Field seats 80,000; which is about 10 times what the fieldhouse seats! Stevens’ did not play along, his answers were boring, cliche and nondescript; exactly like 99% of all his press conference answers.

Here were more Hoosiers related Q and A from Final Four week

Will you make Shelvin Mack watch Hoosiers?

COACH STEVENS: I’m not going to make them do anything out of the norm. We’re going to go over to another site, go through what our plans are offensively and defensively from a technical standpoint.

How many times have you each seen the movie Hoosiers and when was the last time?

GORDON HAYWARD: I can’t really tell you how many times I’ve watched that movie. I think everyone growing up in Indiana watches that movie. It’s always on TV, I feel like. So whenever it’s on, love basketball, love watching that movie.

SHELVIN MACK: I never seen the movie. I’m sorry (laughter).

RONALD NORED: I definitely can remember the last time I watched Hoosiers. Our annual, you know, Brad Stevens’ Butler Basketball Camp, we have the movie room. For some reason, every week we go four weeks straight, four days, every day for every week, kids want to watch Hoosiers. It’s the most annoying thing I’ve ever experienced in my life. I saw Hoosiers in July, was the last time and I saw it, you do the math, 16 times-ish.

Nored had the most interesting answer. But what makes Hinkle so special is that we never think about basketball arenas, or even football stadiums for that manner, in the same way we regard ballparks; like cathedrals of sport. In baseball, most home stadiums have their own unique quirks and dimensions that give it character. Thousands of people in this country go on quests each summer to see every ballpark on their bucket list. No one does that for football or basketball. And with good reason, football stadiums are designed and built for utility- maximing the largest space possible with minimal cost.

Just about every NBA arena is pretty much the same, walk through the food court at your local mall and you’ve experienced a NBA arena concourse.

But Hinkle’s charm comes from it’s distinctive traits. The bright sunlight shining in from the main west wall, the uneven overlapping tiers that fly in the face of modern, perfectly symmetrical layouts. And even though it’s located right on campus, there are regular everyday houses right across the street.

And the exterior is impressive too- old, subtle yet understated. One visit and you can understand why it was the model for the Indiana Pacers’ home Conseco Fieldhouse. I got to come back here next winter and cover a game here.

Paul M. Banks is Founder/President of The Sports Bank.net, an Upper Midwest sports webzine. He’s also a member of the Football Writers Association of America, the United States Basketball Writers Association and a sports writer for the Washington Times.com Communities and Walter Football.com

Paul M. Banks is Founder/President of The Sports Bank.net,

INDIANAPOLIS-For Duke, the most polarizing team in this Final Four, success hinges on the play of it’s too stars who are (you guessed it) love ‘em or hate ‘em guys- Junior Forward Kyle Singler and Senior Point Guard Jon Scheyer.

Duke fans love to talk about how everyone hates them because of their success, and the attention the program receives. Of course, they don’t bring up the “flopping” a lot of players do to draw charging fouls, all the favorable calls the team usually receives, preferential treatment by the World Wide Leader and the “private school” factor that turns off so many casual college basketball fans.

However, I’m at the point where Duke hatred seems like a waste of time, and a very tired cliche. (Or maybe I’ve just moved on to hating their bitter rival North Carolina more than any other team, so why bother having contempt for Duke? Besides Coach K. is extremely charming in person) Nevertheless, let’s move and get to know their star duo. We’ll start by profiling Singler, a projected 2011 second round NBA Draft pick.

The 6-9 forward from Oregon can play the three or the four, and is currently fifth all time at Duke in offensive rebounds. His game has been augmented by the fact he’s played together with the same core of players for several years:

“It’s definitely helped our team this season,”  Singler said. “We’ve won some close games because of the bond that we have. We’ve gone through a lot of experiences together. It’s more of a friendship. You’re willing to do extra to help the team win.”  Scheyer called him “the toughest player I’ve ever played with.”

And Coach Mike Kryzsewki talked about what makes Singler so special, even when he has his ups and downs.

“I think Kyle is a great player.  He’s not always gonna play great.  You know, a few games before that, Scheyer was 1-11 and we won.  In fact, he still played pretty well.  You can’t give knee-jerk reactions when a kid just doesn’t perform at a top level.  I mean, he’s trying to fight through it,” Coach K. said about Singler’s struggles in the last game.

“Kyle had two fouls in the first five minutes, and you tend not to be as aggressive as far as attacking the basket, going into the post.  You can get into a mode where you’re a little bit more conservative because, you know, on the court you’re a valuable asset even if it’s not at a hundred percent,” Kryzewski continued.

Northbrook, IL native (and potential late second round 2010 NBA Draft pick) Jon Scheyer is greatly unloved in his home area of Chicago for choosing to attend Duke over Illinois. That doesn’t seem like a very controversial decision at first, but when you consider the fact that he made his decision off the heels of Illinois’ best season ever in 2005 and his Head Coach at Glenbrook North, Dave Weber is the brother of Illinois’ leader Bruce Weber, you can see why he’s drawn some ire.

The 6-5 team captain moved over from shooting guard to point guard this season to help fill a void, and responded by having a unanimous all-conference, all-district and Wooden award finalist season. He holds the ACC single season record for minutes played in a season and he’s the second leading free throw shooter in Duke history.

Coach K talked about where Jon Scheyer ranks among the best leaders in Blue Devil history.

“He’s not just been a good leader; he’s been a beautiful young man to coach. I mean, Jon has never had a bad day where he hasn’t tried.  He has a perpetual great attitude.  That’s infectious with his teammates,” Coach K said.

“He’s been a 2,000 point scorer at Duke, while being very unselfish.  He’s been willing to accept any role, which I think is leading by example, whether it be coming off the bench at times as a younger player, or being an off guard, to now where he handles the ball.” Kryzsewski continued.

Scheyer talked about how this Duke team got to the Final Four despite suffering some tough seasons (by Duke standards) early in his career. “Being at this point and being able to look back, I don’t know if we’d be here without those moments, especially my freshman year,” Scheyer said.

Paul M. Banks is Founder/President of The Sports Bank.net, an Upper Midwest sports webzine. He’s also a member of the Football Writers Association of America, the United States Basketball Writers Association and a sports writer for the Washington Times.com Communities and Walter Football.com

By Paul M. Banks is Founder/President of The Sports Bank.net,

INDIANAPOLIS- Remember back to 1999, a time when Ricky Martin and really annoying “boy bands” were oppressively popular? Back then Michigan St. had a star point guard who had a monster junior season in leading his team to the Final Four. Mateen Cleaves, remember him? The guy who wore ugly Bill Cosby sweaters when injured on the bench, pondered jumping to the NBA before returning to East Lansing, and leading the Spartans to the Final Four. This year, another junior point guard is facing the same question.

MSU star Kalin Lucas projects as a late first round/early second round NBA Draft pick if he were to declare this season. Obviously, the unexpected run of his team has somewhat delayed his decision. “I’m still going to sit down with Izz, and my parents and make sure we make the best decision and work from there,” he said last Sunday.

This should come right after the season ends?

“I don’t know when, a week-week and a half (after the season completes),” Lucas responded when I asked him when his decision will be made. Lucas delayed his surgery in order accommodate traveling with the team to St. Louis. After the Spartans emerged as champions of the Midwest Regional, he came back home and had the procedure to repair his torn achilles performed. It was a complete success, and Lucas is expected to make a full recovery.

Obviously, suffering two major injuries this season could hurt his draft stock. But he will also have opportunities this summer, with combine and private workouts, to show scouts he’s 100%. This year Lucas has the benefit of an extremely weak point guard class, so there’s less competition. But next year’s draft will be like last June- loaded at the one.

Putting aside long term prospects, his injury has served as a short term rallying point for his teammates. It’s their “cause” to get to the Final Four and win, much like having the Final Four in their home state was the “cause” to fight for last season.

“And I think after Kalin went down, everybody just made that commitment to just join together, just try to make a run, And that’s what we’ve been doing,” Lucas’s replacement, another KL, Korie Lucious said.

Not only has Kalin’s injury served as inspiration for his team, his absence has thrust Michigan St. into the underdog role, and that’s served to bring the Spartans together; to prove critics wrong under the cliche, “us against the world” mentality.

ESPN’s Jay Bilas ranked State the weakest of the Final Four teams remaining, they were an underdog against lower seeded Tennessee last week and they won’t be favored against Butler, the fellow #5 seed that is America’s sentimental favorite right now.

I asked Kalin what he thought about opponents still taking State for granted, despite their phenomenal record in March during the past 12 years. “They don’t need to and I don’t know why they do it, cuz we got back to the Final Four. So if teams want to keep doing it, we’re just going to keep making runs,” he said.

So if Lucas comes back, what will his supporting cast be? The only notable senior gone in 2011 is Raymar Morgan, an all-conference honorable mention. He certainly is a key loss, but the Spartans will once again be locked and loaded next year. Their incoming freshmen class is very stellar- highlighted by consensus top 5 center Adreian Payne and Keith Appling, a top ten point guard. Durrell Summers and Draymond Green have NBA potential, but neither is ready to consider jumping at this point.

So once again the Spartans will be a force! Even more so if Kalin returns.

Paul M. Banks is Founder/President of The Sports Bank.net, an Upper Midwest sports webzine. He’s also a member of the Football Writers Association of America, the United States Basketball Writers Association and a sports writer for the Washington Times.com Communities and Walter Football.com

By Paul M. Banks is Founder/President of The Sports Bank.net,

INDIANAPOLIS- Now that Butler is back home to face Michigan State in the Final Four, a lot of people are describing the Butler Bulldogs, the first University to play in a Final Four they’re hosting since 1972, as “real life Hoosiers” or “this year’s Cinderella.”

Both are blatantly inaccurate.

These Bulldogs are much more like the 1979 Runner-up Indiana St. Sycamores, with Gordon Hayward playing the role of Larry Bird.

Coincidentally, it was Magic Johnson’s Michigan State squad that eliminated Bird’s team in that title game. Saturday, we’ll see if MSU once again ousts a powerful mid-major.

It’s easy to understand why Butler is being called the real life, collegiate version of “Hoosiers.” The movie’s major scene was filmed in their gym. The real life inspiration for the iconic basketball movie, “the Milan Miracle,” occurred there in 1954. And Butler University has the smallest enrollment of any Final Four participant since the tournament expanded to 64 teams.

“I can’t really tell you how many times I’ve watched that movie. I think everyone growing up in Indiana watches that movie. I’ve lost count. It’s always on TV, I feel like,” Hayward said Sunday when asked about the Gene Hackman film.

However, true underdogs, and for that matter legitimate Cinderellas, are double digit seeds who certainly DO NOT enter their national semifinal game as a 1.5 point favorites Yes, Vegas likes Butler in this battle of #5 seeds.

And a big reason why they’re favored is Hayward, a 6-9 sophomore who took home the Horizon League Player of the year award, as he helped his team go 18-0 in conference. (Again, Norman Dale lost a conference game or two, as did every real life upstart to make it this far.)

Our own David Kay describes why he thinks Hayward is a sure-fire first round pick.

“He has the range on his outside shot, can take defenders off the dribble, and finish at the rim due to his impressive athleticism.  The 6-9 Hayward more than held his own against physical, athletic opponents on Syracuse and Kansas State which was a concern of mine.

I didn’t think there was any chance Hayward would be turning pro this summer but with the Bulldogs on a run and Hayward playing at a high level, it seems more and more likely.  He still needs to get stronger, but there is no doubting his skill on the offensive end which pretty much ensures he will be a first round pick, possibly going as high as the mid-teens.”

David also mentioned how Hayward looks like a middle-schooler. I agree, and would like to add that when I found out Gordon Hayward was white back in November, I thought “he’s 1st-team Reggie Cleveland All-Stars easily.

But like Larry Legend, Hayward’s multiple skill sets are what makes him standout. After K-State Coach Frank Martin extolled the virtues of Hayward’s versatility, Gordon explained it’s origins:

“I was always shorter growing up. So I had to play guard. Kind of grew. My guard skills continue with me. Both my parents are 5’10″, so when you look at our family pictures, you’re kind of like, Who is that tall kid in the back and what’s he doing in that picture?” Hayward continued.

“If they need me to go in and play the four, I’ll play that, or if they need me to play the guard, I can play that as well.”

That’s why I regard Hayward and Butler itself as Bulldog, not underdog. However, one aspect to Gordon’s story has Horatio Alger properties- he was not a highly touted prospect in high school. Certainly not one thought to be who could possibly jump to “the league” after just two years.

His Coach, Brad Stevens described what he saw in Hayward.

“I saw Gordon during his junior year some when I was an assistant.  He was the first kid that actually visited campus when I was named the head coach. I was blown away with him.  And what really stuck out to our staff was no matter what he did in high school, it looked like it would translate right to the college level.  He could pass it, shoot it, make the right decisions, he’s tough, and he rebounds.  That was fairly obvious from the get go.”

Paul M. Banks is Founder/President of The Sports Bank.net, an Upper Midwest sports webzine. He’s also a member of the Football Writers Association of America, the United States Basketball Writers Association and a sports writer for the Washington Times.com Communities and Walter Football.com

By Paul M. Banks Founder/President of The Sports Bank.net

When Kalin Lucas went down, Michigan St. lost their best player and floor general. His replacement Korie Lucious, a 5-10 sophomore point guard from Milwaukee, did an admirable job in his place.

He didn’t have the flashiest game statistically, with 9 points on 3-9 shooting, but he played every minute but one, contributed 6 boards and only committed 2 turnovers.

“Watching ESPN this last week I’ve been hearing a lot of analysts saying I can’t run the team,” Lucious said. “They don’t think we can win because Kalin went down, but I just tried to show everybody that I’m a good point guard and can run the team to a win,” he continued.

Most importantly, Lucious hit the game’s most pivotal shot, a stunning turnaround jumper with the shot clock expiring on the game’s most crucial possession.

“I just think it’s from years of staying in the gym, just working out a lot with my dad and my friends and whoever else was in the gym with me, my teammates, just having the confidence in me to take that shot, Lucious said about the play.

“I mean just staying in the gym throughout all my years and just trying to perfect shots that may seem difficult or something like that,” he said. But I don’t know, I just try to take it with confidence and try to get an open shot. I saw the shot clock was going down and thank God it went in,” Korie stated.

“This guy did a heck of a job, Korie did. It’s not easy to run the point. It’s not easy to run the point at Michigan State,” MSU coach Tom Izzo said. “And, yes, down the stretch had enough confidence to go to them in a couple of those keys, including one of the incredible shots,” the King Leonidas of the MSU Spartans continued.

It’s true, running the point at Michigan St. requires living up to the legacy of Magic Johnson, Scott Skiles, Steve Smith, Drew Neitzel and now, Kalin Lucas. Big shoes to fill indeed.

“I didn’t mess with Korie much, because I knew he was cocky enough and I knew he was tough enough, so I felt like everyone else putting pressure on him, I said just go play your game within our system,” Izzo said.

Paul M. Banks is Founder/President of The Sports Bank.net, an Upper Midwest sports webzine. He’s also a member of the Football Writers Association of America, the United States Basketball Writers Association and a sports writer for the Washington Times.com Communities and Walter Football.com

Here’s more from Lucious in his own words (see video below)

Paul M. Banks, Founder/President of The Sports Bank.net, has an exclusive with NFL Network analyst/former San Francisco 49ers Coach Steve Mariucci in the Michigan St. locker room.

Iron Mountain, Michigan is a unique place. Rarely, does a small town like this produce two individuals who achieve such a high level of success in the such similar fields. And it’s even rarer that the two individuals maintain a close friendship for many decades. However, NFL Network’s Steve Mariucci and Michigan State Head Coach Tom Izzo, are certainly two unique, outstanding individuals. And during the 2010 NCAA Tournament, “Mooch” came to see his best friend when his star is shining brightest.

I caught up to Mariucci in the Spartans’ locker room following State’s win over Northern Iowa Friday night. I asked him about the message this game sent to everyone who doubted State’s chances without Kalin Lucas.

“It’s not easy. Kalin’s a really great player, and they’ve had some other injuries, Chris Allen had to suck it up,” Mariucci said. “But they’re gritty, they’re a tough team, and Tom likes to schedule tough games early in the season, to get them battle tested for this reason, and it usually pays dividends because they seem to peak at tournament time,” he continued.

He’s exactly right. Izzo has certainly become “Tournament Tom” over the course of his career, with 13 straight NCAA tournaments, nine Sweet Sixteens, seven Elite Eights, a 5-1 record in regional finals, 25-3 versus lower seeds, five Final Fours (including one for each player that he coached at Michigan St. for all four years) and a national title in 2000.

“It’s just fun to watch. Every year in my mind, I say maybe this is Tom’s best coaching job. And this coaching job is right up there because it’s been a tough year on a lot of different fronts, to try to hold it together and win enough games to win that Big Ten again- a very difficult conference,” Mariucci.

I asked “Mooch” how he’s able to keep up (text, Facebook, Twitter, etc) with Izzo given how busy both of them are. He gave me this answer, and also a light, friendly punch on the arm.

“I’m not as busy as he is. We just stay in touch, you stay in touch with your best friend, don’t you? You just do.”

The exchange made me realize how stupid my question was, even though it seemed to make perfect sense at the time. But I have no regrets.

Since being fired by the Detroit Lions in 2005, Mariucci, who now resides in Monte Sereno, California, has been rumored as a leading candidate for a series of college and NFL head coaching jobs; USC the most recent destination.

At the Saturday press conference, I asked Izzo what Steve said to him as he victoriously came off the court and about having his good buddy around for March madness.

Izzo’s response:

“Well, he’s just so excited to be here. I think when you’re in pro ball for so long and you get the college atmosphere, he loves all the NCAA tournament games, and he flew in all day from Iron Mountain. He was up visiting his dad and on his way back. And he was just proud of all of us. I think he loves the atmosphere. You know, it’s kind of different than the NFL in a lot of ways and pro ball in general, I guess.

So he loves being around the locker room. He loves being in the film room. Last night he watched film with us until wee hours of the morning. He kept telling me to run the fly pattern. I don’t know what the hell he was talking about. But other than that he’s pretty good.”

Paul M. Banks is Founder/President of The Sports Bank.net, an Upper Midwest sports webzine. He’s also a member of the Football Writers Association of America, the United States Basketball Writers Association and a sports writer for the Washington Times.com Communities and Walter Football.com

Katie Witham, Ohio State reporter for the Big Ten Network, discusses OSU potential with fellow Buckeye expert Paul M. Banks, Founder/President of The Sports Bank.net

(PMB) The Buckeyes have been placed into my regional each of the past 3 weekends, so after spending so much quality time with Thad Matta lately, (this following a season covering two Big Ten teams: Illinois and Northwestern) I sort of feel like I’ve earned my Master’s in OSU b-ball, and I may be a doctoral candidate if they reach Indy. I imagine, due to your work with the Big Ten Network, you’re maybe in the same place?

(KW) Definitely!  But we’re being paid to watch and talk about sports so can we really complain?! I consider myself extremely fortunate to be doing what I’m doing.  Ohio State is known for their excellence in all of their athletic programs and Thad Matta is one of most amiable and genuine coaches I have ever had the chance to interview.

(PMB) Agreed. We do have a dream job. Everyone knows all about Evan Turner; how great he is. You think he’ll win the Naismith and Wooden awards? Conversely, what flaws do you see in his game? Since OSU has no real options at point guard (P.J. Hill doesn’t get many minutes), Turner has had to set up the offense all year, and he’s made more than his share of turnovers. I’m actually getting tired of coaches and announcers making the “he almost had a quadruple double if you count the TOs” joke every time he gets close a triple double, or close to it. He’s appeared a bit rattled lately. Illinois got into his head with trash talk during the conference tournament, and UCSB seemed to fluster him by getting physical in their double teams.

(KW) Player of the Year is a huge accomplishment and no one deserved it more than Evan Turner this season.  He’s the type of player that is blessed with natural ability, but also works hard in developing it.  I think if he keeps at it, he wins the Naismith and Wooden.  If he has a weakness, it’s being too overconfident at times.  He’s a damn good player.  There’s no doubt about that…but there’s a difference in playing like a good player and playing like you know you’re a good player.

(PMB) A player of Turner’s stature needs a good nickname, so far I’ve heard “His Royal Smoothness,” “the Velociraptor” and as Mark Titus of Club Trillion calls him, “The Villain”. Heard any good ET nicknames? Care for any of these?

(KW) Actually, I haven’t heard any.  I like “His Royal Smoothness” though because he does make it look so easy.

(PMB) Let’s move on to the great players overshadowed by Turner: William “Slinky” Buford- arguably college basketball’s best second banana and the guy you’re interviewing in the introductory picture, David Lighty, and Dallas Lauderdale. (Readers: click on the highlighted names to read feature interviews on each player)

All of them have potential NBA skill sets and talents. And we can’t forget Jon Diebler, a deadly spot up shooter who gives this team another viable weapon. 

(KW) I know Diebler’s our 3′s man, but William Buford is shooting 43% from beyond the arc just in the last 2 games, and for me, Buford seems to come up with the big bucket right as Ohio State needs a swift kick in their butt.  That’s huge as a teammate.

David Lighty, the Buckeye’s unsung hero.  This guy can play and unfortunately is so overlooked most of the time because Evan Turner is that good.  Defensively, he’s my man and such a critical part of what holds this team together.

Dallas Lauderdale, the guy knows a good pair of shoes when he sees them!  Never fails to compliment me on my best pair of heels…and has come up with 11 blocks so far in the tournament.  Love it.

And the work ethic and just downright fight that Jon Diebler possess…The kid been battling a mean case of the flu throughout the NCAA’s, even had an IV (or two) before the Georgia Tech game and still knocks down four 3-pointers in the 2^nd half to keep OSU in the lead!  That’s impressive.

(PMB) Yep, Lauderdale led the Big Ten in blocks this season, and Lighty always does a great job disrupting passing opponents passing lanes with his long arms.  Just how far do you think this team of four guards and one center (who only play 6, or at most 7 guys in a game) can go? Their bracket certainly seems to breaking their way and they’ve looked really good when considering how uncharacteristically poor Turner has shot in the tourney so far. I think they’ll take the Midwest Regional this weekend.

(KW) I genuinely think they could go all the way.  I know all we’ve been talking about in the media lately is OSU’s lack of depth but you know as well as I do that’s more or less media hype.  There’s a funny thing that happens sometimes in sports…when you’re on a team that has a  group of players with a lot of ability and click together…anything can happen.  I think the biggest thing for the Buckeyes is coming out and playing an entire 40 minutes at the level they are capable of.  If Ohio State plays to their opponent’s level, they won’t make it much further.

Paul M. Banks is Founder/President of The Sports Bank.net, an Upper Midwest sports webzine. He’s also a member of the Football Writers Association of America, the United States Basketball Writers Association and a sports writer for the Washington Times.com Communities and Walter Football.com

By Paul M. Banks, Founder/President of The Sports Bank.net

As I’ve pointed out before, National Player of the Year Evan Turner is like the Hillary Clinton of college basketball: quite a polarizing figure. Fans of teams eliminated by Turner’s Ohio State Buckeyes HATE him. And as the tournament rolls on, this bandwagon will indeed pick up more steam.

But on the other side, he’s also Mr. Popularity. He told me after the Big Ten Tournament Michigan buzzer beater, he had 150 text messages waiting for him when he got back to the locker room. And of his many close friends, a few are college hoops stars.

In the past I profiled (click where highlighted to read more about Turner’s friendship with each player) Illinois Demetri McCamey, and Penn State’s Talor Battle. This week we add Georgia Tech’s native of Oak Park, IL Iman Shumpert. And if you had Turner himself to this team, we’ll just need a fifth to round out the All-Turner BFF team.

“You always want to see guys from your city do well, but we also want to win and be mentioned as better than the other one,” Shumpert said Saturday when asked about his upcoming match-up against Turner and the Buckeyes.

The two players were 8th grade teammates with Turner at the two, and Shumpert running the point. It’s a rare experience to have two players with high NBA first round draft potential on the same team middle school team. In high school, they played against each other multiple times. After Evan Almighty and Ohio State eliminated Shumpert’s Tech team, Evan talked about what the thought of Shumpert’s skills today versus back then. “You know, he’s definitely gotten stronger, defense has gotten a lot better,” Turner stated. “He’s always been a leader. But pretty much the same. He’s definitely a competitor and he’s coming out to win,” he continued.

His Royal Smoothness Evan Turner also talked about how much he keeps in touch with Shumpert. “Actually, me and Iman talk a lot away from basketball. We talk a lot on AIM and Skype and stuff on Facebook. So when we’re at home we usually see each other for the most part. We’re definitely friends,” he said.

I was more intrigued though by a soundbite from the previous day. A reporter asked Shumpert, “have you ever played against a guard who rebounds as well as Turner does? “Demetri McCamey. Demetri was actually a five man for MacArthur when we were all in 8th grade, and Evan and I went up against him, so he naturally rebounds as well as anybody,” he responded. Looking at where these three guys are now, and where they come from, it’s a very strong example of just how much basketball talent we have in the Chicago area.

Paul M. Banks is Founder/President of The Sports Bank.net, an Upper Midwest sports webzine. He’s also a member of the Football Writers Association of America, the United States Basketball Writers Association and a sports writer for the Washington Times.com Communities and Walter Football.com

By Paul M. Banks and Jeff Ghiringhelli, The Sports Bank.net

By now you all know that Michigan State’s Kalin Lucas will be out for the remainder of the tournament with a ruptured achilles tendon. Rehabilitation will last 4-6 months, but head coach Tom Izzo is confident that he will make a full recovery and be ready for next season.

Stepping into the spotlight for the second time this season will be backup point guard Korie Lucious. He filled in for Lucas earlier this season when the star point guard went down with a sprained ankle. Lucious did not fare very well, as the Spartans lost three games in a row against tough opposition with him at the point. Officially, MSU is 0-1 this year without Lucas

Things may be different this time however. Lucious hit the exciting, buzzer beating three pointer on Sunday to beat Maryland, and send the Spartans to the Sweet 16. His confidence should be sky high. Of course, even if Lucious does well the rest of the tournament, MSU will be missing their team leader.

Lucas led the Spartans in points, assists, field goals made and attempted, and minutes per game. Not to mention his abilities as the floor general and calming influence during the game. He didn’t earn the nickname “Too Easy” for nothing. “Leadership- that’s what my most important trait is,” Lucas told me after the Big ten tournament, “also what I’m focused on improving on the most,” he continued.

Lucas is easily one of the quickest players in basketball, if not THE quickest. His loss greatly hurts their transition game, so expect the Spartans to possibly play at a slower pace versus Northern Iowa than they did against Maryland. You won’t be hearing a game plan like this

“As far as us I think we are going to push the pace a little bit. That’s something we do well. We’re going to make sure we push the ball, make sure I push the ball at all times and we’re going to make sure we run,” Lucas said before Sunday’s game.

Of course, no player is perfect, and Lucas is no exception. After returning from his sprained ankle, Lucas went through a stretch where he only averaged nine points per game with a shooting percentage under 40 percent. The Spartans struggled as a result, finishing their last ten games at 5-5. He can also get frustrated on the court at times, and that can bring the entire team down.

Izzo knows the importance of Lucas to his team’s success, and has used some tough love this season to prove it. He threw Lucas out of a practice near the beginning of the season, saying that he needed to better realize and demonstrate his role as leader. Lucas responded well, but now that he is done, other players must fill this role.

Senior Raymar Morgan has been playing very well of late, and he must keep it up this weekend. Sophomore Draymond Green is expected to see an increase in minutes, and may even be asked to become the new vocal leader. Green fits the role well despite being an underclassman. He is not afraid to speak up and show emotions on the court, as he began doing so at the Final Four last year. This season, Izzo has clearly shown he’s frustrated with how State’s year has gone. Both Draymond and Kalin were asked what needs to be done to get this team back into Izzo’s good graces.

“I think we’re pretty much past that point where he’s frustrated. It’s one and done time. We have pretty much wiped our slate clean of everything that went on in the regular season. We’re all working together as a team now. Coaches, players, managers, everyone, because we all know that one loss and you’re done for the year. So it’s pretty much wiped clean and no more frustration for anyone,” Green responded.

Kalin’s response? “Pretty much agree with that answer.”

Regardless of who steps up statistically, Lucas’ shoes cannot be completely filled. He will obviously travel with the team this weekend, so his vocal leadership will be present on the bench. Of course, everyone on the team wishes he was in uniform instead. How the Spartans react and play on Friday will be very interesting to watch.

A good sign for State? They already beat a higher-seeded Maryland team without a 100% Kalin Lucas. They won despite playing without their star for much of the game, and when they did have him on Sunday, he really wasn’t himself again. Lucas tweaked his ankle again in the win over New Mexico St. on Friday.

“I wouldn’t say he’s a hundred percent. Because I think he’s a hundred percent in his mind because he knows what is on the line and that’s all that matters to me. But there’s no doubt he tweaked that ankle again and he did practice today, wanted to practice which speaks a little about him,” Izzo said on Saturday before the game.

Paul M. Banks is Founder/President of The Sports Bank.net, an Upper Midwest sports webzine. He’s also a member of the Football Writers Association of America, the United States Basketball Writers Association and a sports writer for the Washington Times.com Communities and Walter Football.com

By Paul M. Banks Founder/President of The Sports Bank.net

MILWAUKEE- Orlando “Tubby” Smith is entering his second NCAA Tournament (and third year) as the leader of the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Despite reaching the second round on 14 prior occasions during his career, he has to win a tourney game with the Gophs. Is this the year?

On Sunday a reporter asked how the team could do in the tourney this year, given how much they learned from making the big dance last year.

“…Not just the experience from last year’s NCAA Tournament, I think we’d play well in the NCAA Tournament. We’re never going to have to play four games in a row again, so right away I could see the fatigue on us, either mental, this is the second that I’ve coached in, one back at Kentucky, and it’s a challenge. That wall, it’ll hit you at a certain point in time, and you’re hoping that other guys will step up and make plays. I know Blake, he’s probably completely dead. His shot I don’t think was barely getting to the rim, stuff like that, because he’s having to work so hard,” he said.

Smith has the 8th highest winning percentage among active coaches, and he has a national championship, 4 elite eights and 10 sweet sixteens to his credit. However, Twin Cities tourney bids haven’t been all that common until Tubby showed up (especially with program naughtiness vacating those great seasons in the mid to late 90s). Expanding the field would get Minnesota, annual bubble dwellers into the big dance more often. And it would make things easier for coaches in general. Tubby gave the stock coach answer when asked about expansion.

“I’ve been in favor for a while. I think it’s a great — one of the greatest sporting events in the world, and certainly here, and I think I mentioned before, there was 340-some Division I schools, and that’s been expanded — we keep expanding there, but we haven’t expanded the tournament. Aggregate, make sure you expand and allow some more student-athletes to have a chance to experience this wonderful atmosphere of March Madness,” he said.

Since Tubby took over the team went from 8–22 in 2006–07 to 20–14 in 2007–08. Smith also led his Golden Gophers to the Big Ten Tournament semi-finals after defeating 2nd seeded Indiana that year. Coach Smith then netted a top 25 recruiting class, the best in MANY years for the program. Last year, Tubby led Minnesota to a record of 22–11, and a berth in the NCAA tournament.

Last week Tubby redeemed Minnesota’s mediocre, up and down season during the Big Ten Tournament, with 3 wins in 3 days (one in overtime over Michigan St.) to advance to Minnesota’s first ever appearance in the Big Ten championship game. Smith has a consecutive 20-win season streak of 17 going for him. But for him to show the University and the rest of the state that the rebuilding project he started is moving forward, he needs to win a tournament game. Now. In 2008, Smith had the highest salary of any state employee in Minnesota, and in this venture, ROI=wins in the big dance

.

Will his vast experience get him there?

“It can be useful, but it’s more important to have good players, and we have some pretty talented players. Colton and Ralph are very talented, big men that are proven now and starting to play their best basketball.

It helps because you’ve been through the wars and because of age, I guess, and longevity and experience in a number of different opportunities. But it’s all about preparation, whether it’s with your staff. That helps, also, because all the guys on the staff have coached in tournament play, and so we draw from all those resources, and it’s been helpful for I think the focus of the team and their mental concentration, probably all starting with — they talk about being a unit, one unit, team work, playing together, playing unselfishly, and those are the things as a coach you work for.” Tubby stated.

Personally, I think the Gophers are getting hot at the right time, and will upset #11 seeded Xavier tomorrow. What about #3 seeded Pittsburgh on the other side of the bracket? Should they get by Oakland of course…well, we’ll see.

And of course, I can’t write an interview feature profile without explaining how he got the name Tubby.

Smith, was born in Scotland, Maryland, the sixth of 17 children born to sharecroppers Guffrie and Parthenia Smith. His large family accounts for his unusual nickname. Of all the Smith children, Tubby was most fond of staying in the galvanized washtub where the children were bathed. Smith says he tried to shake the moniker several times, but it stuck incessantly. He recalls that a 10th grade teacher who didn’t tolerate nicknames was the last person to call him by his proper name, Orlando.

Paul M. Banks is Founder/President of The Sports Bank.net, an Upper Midwest sports webzine. He’s also a member of the Football Writers Association of America, the United States Basketball Writers Association and a sports writer for the Washington Times.com Communities and Walter Football.com

Look Selection Committee! Another away win against a quality opponent!

After hearing for weeks that the Fighting Illini only had to win one more game against a quality opponent to seal their NCAA tournament berth, it’s become a habit of mine to wonder how each successive game impacts their ability to move off the proverbial bubble.  Well surely their convincing 76-66 win over the Stony Brook Seawolves in a raucous Stony Brook Arena would have vaulted them ahead of say Florida or Utah State.

Who cares that Stony Brook’s RPI was a dismal 143? That took guts to get booted out of their own stadium by French Canadian clowns and hit the road as a #1 seed.

Next up on Monday:

Illinois @ Kent State, 22-9, 46 RPI. Must be a Monster Truck Rally at Assembly Hall that day.