This is the end (for now)

Yes, blog buddies, the blog is going to go on hiatus for a little while.  I know, I know, you are all upset and ready to riot, but I urge you to keep your emotions in check.  We will be back before you know it.  With the school year coming to end, and the college hoops season long over, there isn't much else to right about at the moment.  Plus, I have to concentrate on finals and trying to graduate eventually and not finding a job in this awesomely awful job market.  If I come up with some interesting things to say, I will put them here.  Otherwise, enjoy the summer, good luck on finals, and I will get with you all in the fall.

Looking Ahead

Now that the college hoops season is over, it is time to start looking ahead to what is in store for Syracuse next year.  Rick Jackson will probably be the only major contributor to leave since he is a senior, so the team should have their core group intact for a run next year.  Kris Joseph is in line to become the next senior leader on the team, with Scoop and Brandon Triche also needing to play bigger roles.  With a year of high-level competition under his belt, Fab Melo now knows what is expected of him if he wants to see the floor more, and hopefully he will show up in shape and ready to work next season.  The player I am going to be keeping my eyes on is C.J. Fair.  That dude went hard every minute he was on the floor and is a scrapper who is freaky athletic for his size and crashes the boards with reckless abandon.  I am sure coach Boeheim was impressed with his play and will increase his minutes.  The team has an exciting freshman class coming in, with the highly touted and number 1 rated center Rakeem Christmas headlining the class.  Christmas is a talented shot-blocker who, along with Melo, should be able to cause problems at the rim for just about any team.  I would say things are looking up for the team, and with the NFL lockout already in full swing and an NBA lockout looming, all eyes might be on the campus hardwood come next season.

An Abysmal Finish

Wow, what an end to the college basketball season.  That title game was atrocious wasn't it?  I guess congratulations to UConn for beating a team in Butler that didn't even shoot 20% for the game.  That is supposed to be our national champion?  They barely got to 50 points and they are supposed to be considered the best team this year.  What a farce.  Both women's teams in the title game the next night scored over 70 points.  This is the nature of college basketball now.  It is just a diluted product with all of the one-and-done players heading for the NBA.  It isn't any team or coach's fault, there aren't many great players around the country since they all leave so early.  It doesn't make me like the sport any less, I just accept that be basketball isn't going to be as good.  It is still way more exciting than the pro game though because they players are all playing for pride instead of paychecks.  Don't get me wrong, I still will root my ass off for Syracuse, but if I want to see great basketball, I will tune into the NBA, where the playoffs will be starting in about a week.