College Basketball

Good morning -- College basketball players -- Sure, you're about to get millions, but could you keep going to class?

ONE OF the most refreshing college basketball stories in many years is the recent announcement that Tamir Goodman, an Orthodox Jewish high school basketball star from Pikesville, has promised to play for the University of Maryland.The idea that big-time college basketball, which has been marred by scandal in recent years, would agree to be challenged by Tamir's value system is a notable development.However, some religion-related issues will arise from this union. For example, there is a question of whether Tamir could play basketball on the Jewish Sabbath.

Shane Battier came to Duke two years ago as a member of college basketball's top-rated recruiting class. By the time he leaves, most likely after his senior year, his memories of playing with Elton Brand, William Avery and Chris Burgess will be distant -- and a bit disappointing.The disappointment doesn't come only in the fact that the Blue Devils fell short of their ultimate goal the past two years, losing to Kentucky in the NCAA tournament South Regional final when Battier and the others were freshmen, and falling to Connecticut in the tournament's championship game last season.

Just about everything CBS Sports president Sean McManus has touched in 2 1/2 years at the helm has turned to gold, but it's time that he made one more change: getting college basketball analyst Billy Packer some help.As college basketball ratings have slipped over the past few years, CBS officials have pointed to a variety of factors, from the glut of games on the air, to stronger competition, to a large viewing of games at bars and in college dorms.But, sooner or later, CBS is going to have to acknowledge that its presentation has something to do with the drop and act accordingly.

NEW YORK -- As we approach the annual college basketball carnival known as the Final Four, it's hard to believe that it's barely been a generation since the event had a kind of also-ran status attached.As recently as the early 1970s, highly ranked teams would pass up berths in the NCAA tournament to play in the National Invitation Tournament."It wasn't even a happening in San Diego," said CBS analyst Billy Packer, who called his first Final Four there 24 years ago. "It was a happening for the four teams that finally got there and back in their hometowns, but it wasn't a national deal."

NEW YORK -- Every year, usually about 10 or so days before the NCAA men's basketball tournament begins, CBS gathers the 16 announcers who will work the proceedings to discuss how the network will bring the grand spectacle to an unsuspecting public.Then, the announcers are turned loose on a group of reporters, and some rather predictable things happen. Like lead analyst Billy Packer unloading a torrent of criticism on the NBA and what it has done to basketball. Or Packer's former partner, Al McGuire, bringing down the room with some bit of inspired wackiness.

The NCAA yesterday announced dozens of proposed reforms designed to clean up college basketball. Linking scholarship allotments to graduation rates and lessening the importance of AAU tournaments in the recruiting process were among the recommendations of a 27-person committee, which spent 10 months studying the game and its ills.Some of the committee's recommendations could become NCAA rules as early as the 2000-2001 school year."We asked these folks to be `practical idealists,' " said Kenneth Shaw, the Syracuse chancellor who chaired the Division I Working Group to Study Basketball Issues.

Sure, there was no harm intended, but Trajan Langdon was still hurt.He had just sat out three straight easy Duke wins -- the last two games of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament and the opening round of the NCAA tourney -- with a foot injury when a reporter suggested maybe the services of the team's only senior regular weren't needed for the school's run at a championship."

Making freshmen ineligible? Tying scholarships to graduation rates? Denying coaches the right to reassign the scholarships of players who lose their academic eligibility?Only in a fantasy world, you'd think, would the NCAA consider adopting such radical measures to return a semblance of academic integrity to men's college basketball.But it's happening now.The ideas are still lodged in various panels and committees, a long way from becoming a reality, but it's a good sign they're even on the table.

STORRS, Conn. -- Normally, it takes maybe decades of hard-fought competition, played out on grand stages, for a rivalry to build to the level that the Connecticut-Tennessee women's basketball series has reached in just four years.And though the Lady Vols-Huskies matchup doesn't have the long-lasting cachet of, say, Duke-North Carolina on the men's college front or the Lakers-Celtics dramas of the NBA of old, these two teams have pushed each other to impressive heights in only eight meetings.

Who will be the Adam Morrison of this version of March Madness? The Joakim Noah? The Sean May, the Emeka Okafor, the J.J. Redick, the Shane Battier ... You get the point. Some player in the NCAA tournament will either elevate himself into the heavens or ride a wave of adulation that was built pre-tournament - and by the time he lands, he will be not only a college legend, but also the talk of the run-up to the NBA draft. Except the landing will come far short of the same level of pro stardom that he enjoyed in college.

When college basketball adopted the three-point shot for the 1986-87 season, the impact was immediate - and not necessarily for the better. The number of shots teams took went up, and the percentage of shots made went down. "I think idiots put in the rule," former La Salle coach Speedy Morris said at the time. Dr. Edward Steitz, the athletic director at Springfield College who was chairman of the NCAA rules committee, thought otherwise, saying that it was the game's most important change in 50 years.

Hey, is it warm in here? (Five coaches on the hot seat) Billy Gillispie, Kentucky: : Anyone who signs a contract in Lexington knows what's in store. Win a national championship early on, as Rick Pitino and Tubby Smith did, and you're playing with house money. If not, you're on borrowed time. Sidney Lowe, North Carolina State: : The Wolfpack finished 11th in the Atlantic Coast Conference last year after being picked third, and J.J. Hickson left after only one season. Lowe's 1983 championship ring will get him only so far. Pat Knight, Texas Tech: : Folks in Lubbock might not be paying attention to basketball for a while, but The General's son should heed what happened to Sean Sutton at Oklahoma State after replacing his Hall of Fame father.

COLLEGE PARK - The forecasts for the season have been discouraging. His critics have gained strength, in their numbers and their intensity. Is this really a good way to celebrate a 20th anniversary? At age 63, Gary Williams doesn't think it is fair for a coach who has won a national championship and 604 games to be put into this uncomfortable position of having to defend his record. Yet there he is, doing just that. "We've won on a consistent basis. I'm proud of that. I'm proud of building this place - men's basketball built this place," Williams said, sitting in his office at the 6-year-old Comcast Center.

Don't come looking here for any angry condemnations of Congress for sticking its nose into steroids and Spygate. Our elected national representatives are not only entitled, but also obligated, to do what they can to clean up whichever multibillion-dollar, taxpayer-supported sports business proves incapable of cleaning itself up. Congress just needs to take it further. Think you need to be a watchdog for the public against drug cheats and coaching cheats? You really need to be a watchdog for all of the lives wrecked by the crooked system that dominates basketball in this country.

The Buffalo Bills will receive $78 million -- more than double their calculated 2006 operating income -- to play eight games in Toronto over the next five years. The payment to the Bills was disclosed for the first time in Rogers Communications' 2008 first-quarter report released yesterday. The Toronto-based company is part of a consortium that negotiated a deal with the Bills to have them play five regular-season and three preseason games, starting this year, at the downtown Rogers Centre.

All-America junior guard Chris Douglas-Roberts of Memphis will enter the NBA draft, joining teammate Derrick Rose in leaving early for the pros. The school announced the decision yesterday. Douglas-Roberts led Memphis with 18.1 points a game last season. Also entering the draft is UCLA junior forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute. More college basketball -- Pat Flannery retired after 14 years as Bucknell's coach. He led the small Patriot League school to two NCAA tournaments, highlighted by a victory over Kansas in 2005.

So which college basketball team would you rather be a fan of today, Davidson or Memphis? OK, it's something of a trick question. Or, at least, deciding on the answer can be tricky. Davidson, a 10th seed from the Southern Conference, was eliminated Sunday night from the NCAA men's tournament by Kansas in a two-point game, 59-57, in which the underdog Wildcats had the ball for the last shot. Just didn't work out. Meanwhile, Memphis, a No. 1 seed, rolled over Texas, 85-67, on Sunday and stormed into the Final Four with a chalk field that includes fellow No. 1 seeds, Kansas, UCLA and North Carolina.

College basketball Men's NCAA tournament 2 P.M. [CHS. 13, 9] You ready for the second round? Nine hours of March Madness. The first game will be No. 7 seed West Virginia against No. 2 seed Duke. It'll be interesting to see how the Blue Devils respond after seeing their tournament lives flash in front of their eyes in a one-point win over Belmont on Thursday. And a quick reminder for tomorrow: The Maryland women start their NCAA tournament at home against Coppin State (2:30 p.m., ESPN)

College basketball Men's NCAA tournament NOON, 7 P.M. [CHS. 13, 9] More madness. Today's 16-game first-round slate features our two local teams, with No. 15 seed UMBC facing No. 2 seed Georgetown at 2:55 p.m. (approximately), and No. 16 seed Mount St. Mary's tipping off against No. 1 seed North Carolina at 7:10.