Wash U is Division III Champ

You've got to love Division III basketball. A bunch of white guys who were no way near good enough to start at a state school, but still have skills and happen to have above average intelligence. It's remarkable how a group of guys who have no hope for a career in basketball and not much of a fan base can play with such drive and energy. The stage may be small, but as of March 22, 2008 the Wash U Bears are the kings of that stage. My Alma Mater has taken the crown.

After I don't even know how many drunken trips to the Athletic Complex, after god knows how many offensive and terrible things screamed at the opponents and the refs, after.... hell, who cares. We won the damn thing. And though I may be sad that I wasn't there to witness it, I'm glad Troy Ruths got a ring and some major props as D3 player of the year (which he can add to his First Team All American and NCAA Championship MVP).

Division III: where Troy Ruths happens.

I totally said hi to him once at a Thai restaurant on Delmar Street. Oh god. I sound like a 15 year-old girl. Let's move on.

The Wash U men's and women's teams have actually been very good in the past few years (last season we became only the second school to send both of its teams to the final four... but then both teams lost in the finals). So congrats to the crew: to Tyler Nading, to Aaron Thompson, to Danny O'Boyle, to Troy Ruths, and to Coach Edwards. Job well done, guys. I knew Mike, Sam, and I hadn't consumed all of that bourbon in vain.

(You probably don't care, but here's a recap and a box score.)

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And now for something relevant to the title of this blog.

The Hornets just polished off the Cavaliers in a nail biter of a game Final score: 100 to 99. LeBron was able to keep it close (actually he had a little help from Big Z in the form of 29 points), but in the end, D.West would hit the winning jumper with 0.6 seconds left in the fourth. Tag it and bag it. Despite the Hornet's win completing the "sweep" of the Cavs in the regular season, LeBron ranks (to this committee of me) as the team I'd least like to to play if we make it to the finals. I saw him beat the Pistons last year. And he's better this year. And he probably hasn't reached his ceiling yet. Terrifying.

Oh yeah... we beat the Pacers last night as well. The spread wasn't as much as I thought it'd be, but a "W" is a "W". Plus David dropped 35 points and grabbed 16 boards. And after tonight's performance of 20 points, he's averaging 31 since returning from injury (over 3 games).

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One final thought before I leave you. Since most of you probably frequent espn.com more than this blog, you've probably seen the David Thorpe article advising rookies on who they should study to reach their potential. I don't care if you've read it. I'm still going to link the entry for JuJu. You'll just have to follow the link if you want to know who his "mentor" should be.

See you this weekend for a recap of the second encounter with the Celtics.

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Oh wait. This is the first entry where I didn't say Chris Paul. Or CP3. Oh wait. Damn.