Bill Neal: It’s March… Bring on the Madness!!! 

BILL RUSSELL, as a San Francisco Don in the ‘50s.

by Bill Neal, For New Pittsburgh Courier

:10—March is here…but first, let me school you once again. I know you don’t want it… but I know you need it. The following b-ball  information will get you ready for the “Big Dance.”

:09—Let’s get it started with the top nine NCAA basketball teams of all-time: – #1 – 1972 UCLA Bruins (30-0, Bill Walton, average margin of victory; 32 points)  #2 – 1996 Kentucky Wildcats (five 1st-round draft picks & 4 other players that played in the NBA)  #3 – 1968 UCLA Bruins (47-game win streak, 1 loss, and some guy named Lew Alcindor)  #4 – 1976 Indiana Hoosiers (last team to go undefeated, coached by the master, Bobby Knight)  #5 – 1992 Duke Blue Devils (Grant Hill, Bobby Hurley, Christian Laettner & company and of course “Coach K”)  #6 – 1956 San Francisco Dons (29-0 undefeated season, Bill Russell & KC Jones, Russell averages 20 points and 21 rebounds a game, Russell back-to-back Finals MVP)  #7 – 1982 NC Tar Heels (Sam Perkins, James Worthy and a skinny freshman by the name of Michael Jordan)  #8 – 1974 NC State Wolfpack (30-1 and led by the magnificent David Thompson and 7’4” Tom Burleson)  #9 – 1985 Georgetown Hoyas (the greatest collection of ballers ever, led by the great Patrick Ewing and coached by the legend John Thompson)

:08—Who are the top NCAA players of all-time? According to most, it’s…1) Lew Alcindor – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – UCLA. 2) – Bill Russell SF Dons.  3) – Pete Maravich – LSU.  4) – Bill Walton – UCLA.  5) – Oscar Robertson – Cincinnati.  6) – Elvin Hayes – Houston.  7) – Jerry Lucas – Ohio State. 8) David Thompson – NC State.  9) – Tom Gola – LaSalle.  10) – Christian Laettner – Duke

:07—Of course you want to question that Top 10 college player list, just know it’s not my list. Clearly you have to have Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, Sam Bowie, James Worthy, Patrick Ewing…  but you also have to keep in mind the teams they were on, the era and the need to show quality White players…  hey, hey, hey, don’t kill the messenger. I am just saying!

:06—While we’re back in the gym please let me tell you again – Please, please, please do your history on “Pistol” Pete Maravich and you’ll see why he’s #3 on the list.

:05—For those of you from another planet or new to the dance…68 teams go into the Men’s NCAA Bracket. After automatic conference winners, a committee completes the lineup. The same goes for the Women’s Tournament with the women now also placing 68 teams in their tournament.

:04—The Sweet 16 will take place on March 24-25 with the Elite 8 March 26-27. The Final Four will be held in New Orleans on Saturday, April 2 and the National Championship game on Monday, April 4. The Final Four and championship will be on TBS (not CBS).

:03—The women’s Final Four is on April 1 and the title game is Sunday, April 3.

:02—To be sure, and for what it’s worth, of course we suffered through an unusual and insane basketball season for the local teams. But rest assured Pitt, Duquesne, Robert Morris and West Virginia will never collectively be this bad again in the same season. Truly.

:01—As you know, I am a Pitt man and I know the Pitt Panthers will roar again. Give Coach Jeff Capel a few years and he’ll get it done. And the legendary BB Flenory says the same about Coach Keith Dambrot – the Dukes will never see the likes of this season again!

:00—GAME OVER.

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