For years, the NCAA basketball tournament has concluded with the playing of “One Shining Moment” as the national champion snips down the nets.
While the song blares over the public-address system, everyone in the building seems to be crying-the victorious players, the cheerleaders and the proud mamas in the grandstand.
Depending upon one’s taste, it’s a fitting close to one of America’s great sports spectacles . . . or it’s an exercise in cheap sentimentality.
Either way, it’s time for the tournament to find a new theme song.
One shining moment? Duke has had three since 1991-and the Blue Devils are favored to make it four on April 1 in Atlanta’s Georgia Dome.
No fooling: the Blue Devils are No. 1.
“It’s always an honor and very nice to be ranked No. 1,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “Experience means so much. Fortunately, this group has that.”
Duke lost the national Player of the Year, Shane Battier, but it has a decent returnee named Jason Williams, who might have been the nation’s second-best player last season. When Williams, a guard, decided to come back for his junior year, Duke became the team to beat again.
Whether anyone can do it remains to be seen.
There are 19 Monday nights between now and the only Monday night that matters-when some team will bask in its shining moment. A few themes to ponder on the road to Atlanta:
– Blessed be the seniors: With so much talent leaving early for the NBA, it’s easy to question the skills of anyone hanging around for his senior year.
It’s also a mistake. If you don’t think seniors matter, take a look at the last few NCAA tournaments. Without Battier’s fiery leadership, Duke may not have rallied from a huge deficit against Atlantic Coast Conference rival Maryland in the national semifinal.
A year earlier, Michigan State won the national title behind two stalwart seniors, Mateen Cleaves and Morris Peterson. In 1998, unheralded Kentucky senior Jeff Sheppard was named the Final Four MVP.
Seniors can make a difference on lesser teams too. A year ago, Penn State’s Joe Crispin, Titus Ivory and Gyasi Cline-Heard led a mediocre team to the Sweet 16, flooring North Carolina, the South Region’s second seed, on the way.
That’s why this may turn out to be Maryland’s year, despite a rather shocking loss to upstart Arizona in last week’s Coaches vs. Cancer tournament. The Terrapins return four starters from last year’s national semifinalist, and three of them are seniors: guards Juan Dixon and Byron Mouton and center Lonny Baxter.
“We’ve got four returning starters, guys who have been together for a long time,” junior point guard Steve Blake said. “We’ve already got a lot of plays in, so I think we do have a little advantage.”
Other teams with seniors in key roles include Kentucky, which will rely heavily on forward Tayshaun Prince; Cincinnati, where Steve Logan shifts to shooting guard from point guard; Southern Cal, which has a dominant front-court player in Sam Clancy; and Iowa, where swingman Luke Recker and forward Reggie Evans have the Hawkeyes in contention for their first Big Ten title since 1979.
– The fall semester counts: In December, Illinois kicked Arizona all over the United Center floor, almost literally. But when the two schools met again in San Antonio, with a Final Four trip at stake, Arizona proved to be the far superior outfit.
It would be simple to look at those two games and conclude that early-season games don’t mean anything.
In fact, they can mean a lot-but what they mean precisely sometimes isn’t clear until the NCAA tournament selection committee convenes in a hotel suite in Indianapolis. Games played before the holidays can have a heavy impact, for better or worse, on a team’s RPI. A strong showing against solid competition in November and December may persuade the committee to forgive a slide in February.
Besides, some early games are simply fun to watch. Think anyone in the Bluegrass State will be paying attention when former Kentucky coach Rick Pitino leads Louisville into Rupp Arena on Dec. 29?
– Familiar faces in new places: Pitino turned up at Louisville two months after walking out on the Boston Celtics in midseason. Bob Knight turned up at Texas Tech six months after he was fired at Indiana. And Charlie Spoonhour turned up at UNLV two years after his retirement from St. Louis.
All told, 1,435 Division I victories turned up on three campuses.
None of the three had to coach to pay the mortgage. But each was looking for a new challenge.
Sometimes a change of scenery can re-energize a veteran coach. Former Illinois coach Lou Henson took New Mexico State to the 1999 NCAA tournament and will contend for the Sun Belt Conference’s NCAA berth this year, and former Michigan coach Steve Fisher has turned once-woeful San Diego State into a comer in the Mountain West.
Those coaches buck a hiring trend in which potential has become more attractive than achievement. The most recent example came when Tommy Amaker turned an unimpressive stint at Seton Hall-he was 13 games over .500 in 4 years-into a $700,000-a-year job at Michigan.
Knight and Spoonhour are 61. Pitino is only 49, but he has been around.
“When I was 25, I probably would have said there were too many old guys,” Spoonhour said. “I don’t know if any of us [older coaches] are carrying banners, but at least I think there’s an ample number of people around who understand that experience can play a very important role. I’m still not going to be kicking sand in anyone’s face at the beach.”
Pitino, Knight and Spoonhour each had his own reasons for coming back to college.
Pitino, who won the 1996 national title at Kentucky, may have wanted to prove he still has the touch after bombing in Boston. Knight, who has 764 wins, may want to take a crack at Dean Smith’s career-record 879 victories, and Knight also is itching to show the Indiana administration it erred in holding him accountable for his behavior.
As for Spoonhour, he happens to like Las Vegas and had planned to retire there after his career. Now he won’t have to move.
“If it hadn’t been this job, in a place I wanted to live, I wouldn’t have come back,” Spoonhour said. “This is a good place for me. I enjoy getting up every morning and going to work. Most people can’t say that.”
Men’s Top 25
Andrew Bagnato’s preseason men’s basketball Top 25.
1. Duke
When someone beats the Blue Devils, we’ll be happy to remove them from this position. Until then, deal with it.
2. Maryland
The Terrapins shrugged off the underachiever label last spring, advancing to the Final Four, where they blew a big lead over the Blue Devils in the national semifinal. A year older, a year better.
3. UCLA
The Bruins’ potential is great, and so is the pressure on Lavin.
4. Illinois
Bill Self has put together a marvelous team down in Champaign. But the Fighting Illini will only go as far as Frank Williams can carry them, which may be all the way to Atlanta.
5. Kentucky
Tubby Smith’s decision to stay in Lexington bolstered the Big Blue.
6. Florida
The Gators keep losing talent but will be in the hunt at the end.
7. Kansas
The Jayhawks went 26-7 with Kirk Hinrich starting at point guard.
8. Iowa
Hawkeyes need to replace the court leadership of departed point guard Dean Oliver.
9. Missouri
The Tigers are accustomed to NCAA tourney appearances. Can they handle the pressure of heightened expectations?
10. Memphis
With apologies to baby Bulls Eddie Curry and Tyson Chandler, Dajuan Wagner might have been the best prep player in the nation a year ago, and now he’s a Tiger.
11. St. Joseph’s
Few schools can match the Hawks’ backcourt of Marvin O’Connor and Jameer Nelson.
12. Virginia
Pete Gillen won 53 games in his first three years in Charlottesville. He might win half again as many this season.
13. Stanford
With four starters gone from last year’s Elite Eight team, the Cardinal face a massive rebuilding, but Mike Montgomery has established a firm foundation in Palo Alto.
14. Cincinnati
Point guard Kenny Satterfield’s decision to leave early may be a blessing in disguise.
15. Connecticut
The Huskies won 20 games last year and everyone wanted to know what was wrong with Jim Calhoun’s team.
16. Temple
John Chaney has 656 career wins but is still looking for that first Final Four appearance. As the old coach turns 70, he hopes a senior-laden team can get him there.
17. Georgetown
No longer bearing the oppressive weight of John Thompson’s ego and outdated coaching style, the Hoyas are free to play modern-era basketball. A repeat of last year’s Sweet 16 appearance isn’t out of the question.
18. Oklahoma
Five first-round NCAA tourney losses in seven years. Look for a better performance from these Sooners, who are deeper than they’ve been in recent years.
19. North Carolina.
No, this is not a misprint. Beset by critical personnel losses, they will be known as the Down-at-Heels until further notice.
20. Indiana
Now that the circus has left town, the Hoosiers are free to enjoy the game again. Forward Jared Jeffries has All-America potential.
21. Syracuse
The Orangemen have won at least 25 games in three of the last four years. Make it four of the last five.
22. Arkansas
Joe Johnson’s departure will hurt, but the Razorbacks still send waves of quick, talented players at the opposition night after night.
23. Oklahoma State
The Cowboys look for more perimeter scoring from point guard Victor Williams, an Illinois State transfer.
24. Fresno State
The departure of point guard Tito Maddox rocked the Shark’s program, but the Bulldogs still have one of the nation’s better big men, Melvin Ely of Thornton Township High School.
25. Arizona
Four starters are gone from last year’s national finalist. But don’t weep for a program that recruits as well as any in the nation.
Marching to Atlanta
Andrew Bagnato picks the 2002 NCAA men’s basketball tournament field by conference.
(listed in order of projected berths)
Field of 65
AMERICA EAST
Boston U.
ATLANTIC COAST
Duke
Maryland
Virginia
North Carolina
Wake Forest
ATLANTIC SUN
Georgia State
ATLANTIC 10
St. Joseph’s
Temple
Xavier
BIG EAST
Connecticut
Georgetown
Syracuse
Boston College
Providence
BIG SKY
Northern Arizona
BIG SOUTH
Winthrop
BIG TEN
Illinois
Iowa
Indiana
Michigan State
Ohio State
Purdue
BIG 12
Kansas
Missouri
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
Texas
Iowa State
BIG WEST
UC-Santa Barbara
COLONIAL
Hofstra
CONFERENCE USA
Memphis
Cincinnati
South Florida
HORIZON
Butler
IVY
Yale
METRO ATLANTIC
Iona
MID-AMERICAN
Central Michigan
MID-CONTINENT
Valparaiso
MID-EASTERN ATHLETIC
South Carolina State.
MISSOURI VALLEY
Creighton
Illinois State
MOUNTAIN WEST
Utah
Wyoming
NORTHEAST
Monmouth
OHIO VALLEY
Murray State
PAC-10
UCLA
Stanford
Arizona
California
Southern California
PATRIOT
Navy
SOUTHEASTERN
Kentucky
Florida
Arkansas
Tennessee
Alabama
Mississippi
SOUTHERN
North Carolina-Greensboro
SOUTHLAND
Texas-San Antonio
SOUTHWESTERN ATHLETIC
Alabama State
SUN BELT
New Mexico State
WEST COAST
Gonzaga
WESTERN ATHLETIC
Fresno State
Tulsa
Field of 32
Arizona
Arkansas
Boston College
Butler
Cincinnati
Connecticut
Duke
Florida
Fresno State
Georgia State
Georgetown
Indiana
Illinois
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Maryland
Memphis
Missouri
Michigan State
North Carolina
North Carolina-Greensboro
Northern Arizona
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
St. Joseph’s
Stanford
Syracuse
Temple
UCLA
Utah
Virginia
Sweet 16
Cincinnati
Connecticut
Duke
Illinois
Iowa
Florida
Kansas
Kentucky
Maryland
Memphis
Missouri
St. Joseph’s
Stanford
Temple
UCLA
Virginia
Elite 8
Duke
Illinois
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Florida
Maryland
UCLA
Final 4
Duke
Illinois
Maryland
UCLA
National championship game
DUKE vs. MARYLAND
National champion
Duke Blue Devils
