Here’s a look at the remaining five players that are in training camp for the Erie BayHawks that includes Georgia Tech big man Alade Aminu, who the D-League got in a draft day trade with Fort Wayne.
Check out a previous post on a look at guards Rod Wilmont, Donell Taylor, Ryan Troutman, Cedric Jackson and center John Bryant and continually check back here for training camp updates.
“He’s extremely passionate. When I go to games, I just love to watch him and his intensity and that’s obviously one of the characteristics of his team.” – Pitt baseball coach Joe Jordano on Pitt basketball coach Jamie Dixon.
Jamie Dixon won national coach of the year honors in leading Pitt to a school-record 31 wins.
Jamie Dixon can relax, too.
On Tuesday, I caught with the Pittsburgh head coach after he had played golf in Erie in conjunction with an Pittsburgh alumni banquet.
“It was good to be with (Pitt athletic director Steve Pederson) and (Pitt baseball coach and Erie native, Joe Jordano),” Dixon said Tuesday. “I’m not a big golfer. I do a few outings when I feel they’re necessary (smiling).”
In today’s Erie Times-News, I mainly wrote about what he had to said about college coaches having to pass a recruiting test before being allowed to recruit. Very interesting stuff, but Dixon and I also talked about DeJuan Blair leaving early for the NBA draft, coaching the 19-under national team and much more.
Villanova. Michigan State. North Carolina. Connecticut.
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo shared a magical moment with former Spartan All-American, Magic Johnson, following a 64-52 win against top-seeded Louisville in the Midwest Regional final to earn a spot in next week's Final Four in Detroit.
I didn’t pick any of those teams to make it to the Final Four.
Dang.
Oh well. Guess I can watch Saturday’s games without rooting for any one particular team and just enjoy the games.
Just for a quick recap, I picked Washington (What was I thinking?), Pittsburgh (Scottie Reynolds, why didn’t you give Pitt at least 1.5 seconds to win the game at the buzzer?), Louisville (What were the Cardinals thinking?) and Oklahoma (Ty Lawson, how did get so healthy so fast?).
Maybe I’ll have better luck next year.
Then again, maybe not.
After hitting the game-winning shot to beat Pittsburgh, Scottie Reynolds (center with black glove) celebrated with his Villanova teammates as the third-seeded Wildcats are headed to the Final Four after upsetting the top-seeded Panthers, 78-76, Saturday night.
As Scottie Reynolds’ game-winning shot trickled down through the nets Saturday night, my NCAA Tournament bracket was set ablaze.
Not literally, of course, but Villanova knocked out the team I picked to win the national title – Pittsburgh.
The Wildcats won, 78-76, on a driving Reynolds’ layup with 0.5 seconds remaining. Levance Fields flung a near full-court heave that had a good chance to go in, but it banged off the backboard at the buzzer.
Got to feel for the Panthers. They get past the Sweet 16, finally, and then fall to Villanova, but their style of play leaves little margin for error.
So going 21-of-29 from the free-throw line cost them the game. Villanova was nearly perfect from the charity stripe: 22-of-23.
Only two of my Final Four predictions are alive: Louisville and Oklahoma.
