Twenty Years After: A New Zeroed Out DDS:CB Story

Izulde · 06-04-2008, 04:15 PM

College basketball in the modern sense of the sport did not begin until 1900, when the NCAA, its member conferences and schools and, of course, the NCAA and NIT tournaments were established.

Although not all universities were equal in practice facilities or academic reputation, this new sport provided a fresh start, an opportunity for colleges to make their mark and impress themselves upon the national consciousness.

Naturally, as with any fledgling venture, the beginning was dominated by chaos and confusion. With no prior record to fall back on, no real assessment of the players involved, there could, at least at season's start, be no certain judgement as to who the best teams were.

Instead, an infrastructure sprang up that concentrated on the recruits to come. It would not be the inaugural players who would capture the hearts of the country and determine the fates of the basketball programs--it would be those who came after those first pioneers.

At the start of the summer, these were the top 5 players:
PG Jared Mapp - Ellisville, MS
PF John Barlow - Chicago, IL
SF Karim Baker - Orrville, OH
SF T.J. Gentry - Louisville, KY
SF Robert Harris - Mountain Pine, AR

The top SG was ranked #6, Jason Emery from Rock Springs, WY and the top C was all the way down to #12, Larry Cole of Plainville, CT.

Clearly, it looked to be a bad class for the big men, at least from first glance at the elite levels. Another trend noticed was that many of the top recruits were Midwesterners, where the sport had caught on like a prairie wildfire.

But these were summertime impressions, as fleeting and brief as the short, sweet romances so common in that season. It would be fall and winter that would strip away the sun's softenings and reveal the stark reality of who was #1, both in terms of the class and the colleges competing for that inaugural championship.

For although the future belonged to the recruits, the path to dynastic glory would be easiest for these universities who jump-started to success in the first year.

Izulde · 06-05-2008, 12:36 AM

1900 In Review

Although there was a Top 25 teams released before the start of the first season, nobody paid much attention to it, save for the dimwitted, who will always take everything they read as divine truth.

November proved to be of considerable assistance in sorting out the top teams and establishing some legitimacy to the Top 25, which had five undefeated teams in its ranks: #4 Pepperdine (8-0), #10 Montana State (5-0), #11 Buffalo (6-0), #15 Drake (4-0) and #18 USC (5-0).

The top five teams were Army, Duke, Virginia Tech, Pepperdine and North Carolina State and SG Adam Williams (SR) of the #2 Blue Devils was the scoring star after a handful of games, averaging 20.1 points. In fact, he was the lone player of the Top 5 teams of whom it could be legitimately said that he was a star player, something that made observers a touch nervous, though it was early in the year.

On the recruiting front, none of the Top 10 prospects were signed in the early period or had even so much as given a verbal, signaling a long and protracted recruiting fight in the months to come.

No undefeated teams remained in the Top 25 after December, but there'd been some shuffling among the first five, who were now #1 Duke (12-3, 1-0), #2 Tulane (13-2, 2-0), #3 St. Bonaventure (12-2), #4 Pepperdine (12-1) and #5 Buffalo (11-1, 1-0). While it was good for drawing interest in those programs, none of them had a player even in the Top 50 in scoring and so there was no star power to hook the early elite teams to.

More worrying for the state of college basketball's future, the highest rated recruit who even had so much as a verbal was the 428th ranked player, PF Malik Dotson, who'd signed a Letter of Intent with Clemson.

January was a tumultous month and by Febrary, it was Buffalo at #1 with an astounding 19-2 record, followed by #2 Pepperdine, #3 Charleston Southern, #4 Virginia Tech and #5 Duke. Although the teams still had no players in the top 50 in scoring, the top-ranked Bulls leading scorer was PG Brian Larry, a freshman averaging 15.3 points a game. His freshman status and the NCAA's declaration that all players must stay in school all four years meant that there was a potential star to build a brand around.

Despite this burgeoning marketing hope, the recruits were still weighing their options, with Dotson still the highest ranked prospect to have made his decision.

Buffalo held serve during February's short span and the Bulls were still #1 at the start of March and the conference tournaments with a superlative 25-3 mark. St. Joseph's was the new #2, followed by holdovers #3 Virginia Tech and #4 Pepperdine, newcomer #5 Long Island rounding out the top five.

The first NCAA tournament was not without controversy in its top seedings. Buffalo, Xavier, and St. Joseph's were all awarded #1 seeds to no complaints, as they were the top 3 teams in the Top 25, but Long Island, ranked 4th in the country, was passed over in favor of Pepperdine, who despite having been in the top 5 for much of the year, had stumbled down the stretch and was 10th in the Top 25 at tournament's start.

Not that this mattered much to most people, who predicted that Buffalo would have an easy time of winning the first-ever national championship.

The NCAA Tournament being a one and done affair, it was only natural that upsets would occur and they happened immediately in the first round.

NCAA First Round Upsets (Excl. 9 over 8)
(13) Alabama over (4) USC
(10) San Diego over (7) Niagra
(11) Sacred Heart over (6) Temple
(14) Northwestern over (3) UT-Chattanooga
(10) Miami (OH) over (7) Presbyterian
(14) Florida A&M over (3) Arkansas-Little Rock
(12) Kentucky over (5) TCU
(13) Albany over (4) Troy
(15) North Carolina over (2) Charleston Southern
(10) Georgia over (7) Auburn
(11) Villanova over (6) Louisville
(15) Alcorn State over (2) UC-Riverside
(11) Marist over (6) Maine

The biggest stunner was, of course, North Carolina over Charleston Southern. UC-Riverside was considered a very weak #2 seed, so their fall was not as shocking as the Buccaneers' 85-78 loss to Alcorn State.

The upsets kept right on coming in the second round.

NCAA Tournament Second Round Upsets (Excl. one a part ie 13 over 12)
(9) Cornell over (1) Buffalo
(10) Miami (OH) over (2) Virginia Tech
(11) Villanova over (3) North Carolina State
(8) BYU over (1) Pepperdine

The ouster of the Pepperdine Waves and Buffalo Bulls decimated brackets everywhere. No one could believe that the country's two most consistent teams were gone before the Sweet 16, but they were. Now all eyes turned to Xavier, St. Joseph's and Long Island to preserve the integrity of the pollsters.

Sweet 16 Matchups
(9) Cornell vs (5) South Dakota State
The Big Red were powered by PG Mike Slane (JR), who'd destroyed Buffalo with 23 points and PF Keyon Delzell (SR), who picked just the right time to get hot, scoring 18 and 11 points to help Cornell to the Sweet 16. And that was without lead scorer SG Jeramy White (SO) having a good tournament.

South Dakota State lived and died by SG Lataryl Sanders (JR), the team leader with 13.5 ppg average and who had 18 points a piece in the Jackrabbits' first two wins. They'd struggled against inferior competition, however and looked to be upset candidates.

(2) Long Island vs (11) Sacred Heart
The Blackbirds rode strong backcourt play from 5'8" PG Rod Miller (SR), the team's leading scorer in the regular season with 14.4 points a game and SG Carson Mouton (SR), who was having a breakout tournament to get this far. With both players graduating, it looked to be Long Island's only chance for a few years to gun for it all.

Sacred Heart had the greatest scorer in the country, SG Keith Harris (SR), who'd lived up to his nation-leading 27.1 points a game with 23 points and 31 points in the tournament's opening rounds. If the Pioneers were going to beat their conference foes, they would need another superlative night from the first year's biggest star.

(1) St. Joseph's vs (4) Florida
St. Joe's boasted one of the strongest, deepest offensive units in the country. In fact, they were so balanced that there was no one legitimate star, as any one of them could at any moment develop a hot hand.

The Gators were, like the Hawks, a balanced star-free outfit, but their strength was on defense rather than offense. It promised to be potentially the most exciting of the Sweet 16 matchups.

(10) Miami (OH) vs (6) UW-Milwaukee
C Eric Jackson (SR) led the Redhawks in scoring in both of their tournament upsets, with 14 and 21 points respectively, which made sense as he was the team's leading scorer in the regular season.

The Panthers played suffocating defense in the Florida style and had a legit star player in SG Robert Tenys (JR), who'd scored 16 points in both of Milwaukee's first victories. An upset didn't look likely.

(1) Xavier vs (13) Albany
Sophomore C Dwayne Arnold was the Musketeers' best shooter, with 24 points in the first round and 10 in the second, but by and large, Xavier was a tough-nosed team that won on the rock of its defense.

Albany's triumphs were the result of Great Danes captain PG Derrick Moore (SR), the team's leading scorer in the regular season with 15.6 points a game and in the tournament, with 29 and 19 points in the first two rounds to bring the 13 seed into the biggest mismatch of the Sweet 16.

(10) Georgia vs (11) Villanova
The Bulldogs benefited from some timely upsets to give them easy competition and took advantage, the Cinderella charge led by SF Luke Altman (SR), who woke up to brilliance and 18 and 17 points in the first two rounds.

The Wildcats, in counterpoint, earned their glass slipper the hard way, with tenacious defense against quality opposition. Villanova doesn't appear to have the offensive firepower to stop Georgia, however.

(8) BYU vs (5) Duke
SG Ivan Nash (SR) is the biggest reason the Cougars made it to the Sweet 16, with 19 and 17 points. BYU has a deadly backcourt, always dangerous to have.

SG Adam Williams (SR) served notice that he should rightfully be regarded as a star for one of the nation's top teams by scoring 39 in the opening round and followed it up with 21 points in the second. The Blue Devils should destroy the Cougars, as Duke feels slighted to only be a 5 seed.

(7) Pacific vs (3) Dartmouth
The Tigers boasted a headache-inducing 1-2 punch in PG Marcus Richards (SO) and C Erik Coffey (SR), who averaged 13+ points in the regular season and who each took turns in dismantling Pacific's first two opponents. Coffey crushed Alcorn State in particular with 35 points.

Dartmouth was very much an under the radar team and no one could understand why the Big Green had a 3 seed or why they were ranked #18, as they just didn't seem to be that good, Sweet 16 appearance and 22-8 record notwithstanding.

Sweet 16 Results
(5) South Dakota St. def. (9) Cornell 79-69
(2) Long Island def. (11) Sacred Heart 78-73
(4) Florida def. (1) St. Joseph's 89-74
(6) UW-Milwaukee def. (10) Miami (OH) 63-56
(1) Xavier def. (13) Albany 77-59
(11) Villanova def. (10) Georgia 83-59
(8) BYU def. (5) Duke 83-68
(3) Dartmouth def. (7) Pacific 59-46

Xavier and Long Island became even bigger favorites than ever before following the Sweet 16 and many hoped for a Musketeers/Blackbirds championship.

Elite 8 Results
(5) South Dakota State def. (2) Long Island 79-61
(4) Florida def. (6) UW-Milwaukee 84-69
(11) Villanova def. (1) Xavier 86-57
(3) Dartmouth def. (8) BYU 71-68

Final Four Matchups
(5) South Dakota State vs. (4) Florida
(11) Villanova vs. (3) Dartmouth

This was the worst of all possible Final Fours in the eyes of the NCAA, the pollsters, the fans and the networks. Low on star power, low on national following, and an overrated 3 seed and a double-digit Cinderella playing for a guaranteed spot in the national title game.

Fortunately, there was a marquee matchup in South Dakota State vs Florida, as SG Lataryl Sanders of the Jackrabbits and SF Donny Fisher of the Gators were both averaging 17 points a game in the tournament. Better yet, Sanders was only a junior, so there was marketing potential there for the next season.

Conversely, there was nothing and nobody to get excited about in Dartmouth vs Villanova and everyone quietly prayed that the Big Green would win and that whoever won the South Dakota State/Florida matchup would win it all.

But the joke was on everyone on April Fool's Day, as the Wildcats took down Dartmouth 64-55 in a brutally boring game. The Gators bounced the Jackrabbits 80-72. Donny Fisher scored 17 points, but the big hero was PG Stevie Daniels, a freshman who came through with a big 24 points to carry the day and place himself in immortality.

National Championship
(4) Florida vs (11) Villanova

If the Wildcats won, it would destroy the legitimacy of the entire polling and seeding system and chaos would ensue. A Gators victory was absolutely critical.

Donny Fisher and Stevie Daniels saved the day.

Fisher scored 16 points and graduated a happy man, with the first-ever national college basketball championship the perfect capstone and Daniels set himself up with huge expectations for his sophomore year with another clutch 20 points.

Florida 75 Villanova 61 - Final

1900 Awards

Norton Award
PG Terence King (SR) - South Carolina Gamecocks - 17.5 ppg, 3.5 apg, 2.7 rpg, 0.5 spg, 0.7 bpg
Player of the Year
SG Keith Harris (SR) - Sacred Heart Pioneers - 27.1 ppg, 1.3 apg, 4.4 rpg, 0.8 spg, 0.6 bpg
NCAA Tournament MVP
SF Donny Fisher (SR) - Florida Gators
Freshman of the Year
C Josh Williams - Alabama A&M Bulldogs - 15.4 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 1.3 apg, 0.8 spg, 0.6 bpg
Defensive Player of the Year
SF Greg Wheeler (SR) - Long Island Blackbirds - 10.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.9 apg, 4.0 spg, 0.3 bpg
Coach of the Year
DuJuan Rowland - Buffalo Bulls
1st Team All-Americans
PG Terence King (SR) - South Carolina Gamecocks
PF Craig Edwards (SR) - Elon Flames
PG Earl Walter (SR) - Connecticut Huskies
PG Aubrey Barnes (SR) - Creighton Blue Jays
PG Tim Deren (SR) - Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
2nd Team All-Americans
PF Billy Vining (JR) - Louisville Cardinals
SF Alton Walker (SR) - Clemson Tigers
PF Mike Flick (SR) - James Madison
PG Jonathan Adams (SR) - UNC-Charlotte 49ers
SF Matthew Omara (SR) - Texas-Arlington

Nobody took any of the awards but Coach of the Year, Tournament MVP, MVP and Defensive Player of the Year seriously, because none of the All-Americans deserved their spot and neither did the Norton Award winner.

Idaho won the NIT over North Carolina Central, but no one particularly noticed or cared.

06-05-2008, 12:36 AM	#2
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	1900 In Review Although there was a Top 25 teams released before the start of the first season, nobody paid much attention to it, save for the dimwitted, who will always take everything they read as divine truth. November proved to be of considerable assistance in sorting out the top teams and establishing some legitimacy to the Top 25, which had five undefeated teams in its ranks: #4 Pepperdine (8-0), #10 Montana State (5-0), #11 Buffalo (6-0), #15 Drake (4-0) and #18 USC (5-0). The top five teams were Army, Duke, Virginia Tech, Pepperdine and North Carolina State and SG Adam Williams (SR) of the #2 Blue Devils was the scoring star after a handful of games, averaging 20.1 points. In fact, he was the lone player of the Top 5 teams of whom it could be legitimately said that he was a star player, something that made observers a touch nervous, though it was early in the year. On the recruiting front, none of the Top 10 prospects were signed in the early period or had even so much as given a verbal, signaling a long and protracted recruiting fight in the months to come. No undefeated teams remained in the Top 25 after December, but there'd been some shuffling among the first five, who were now #1 Duke (12-3, 1-0), #2 Tulane (13-2, 2-0), #3 St. Bonaventure (12-2), #4 Pepperdine (12-1) and #5 Buffalo (11-1, 1-0). While it was good for drawing interest in those programs, none of them had a player even in the Top 50 in scoring and so there was no star power to hook the early elite teams to. More worrying for the state of college basketball's future, the highest rated recruit who even had so much as a verbal was the 428th ranked player, PF Malik Dotson, who'd signed a Letter of Intent with Clemson. January was a tumultous month and by Febrary, it was Buffalo at #1 with an astounding 19-2 record, followed by #2 Pepperdine, #3 Charleston Southern, #4 Virginia Tech and #5 Duke. Although the teams still had no players in the top 50 in scoring, the top-ranked Bulls leading scorer was PG Brian Larry, a freshman averaging 15.3 points a game. His freshman status and the NCAA's declaration that all players must stay in school all four years meant that there was a potential star to build a brand around. Despite this burgeoning marketing hope, the recruits were still weighing their options, with Dotson still the highest ranked prospect to have made his decision. Buffalo held serve during February's short span and the Bulls were still #1 at the start of March and the conference tournaments with a superlative 25-3 mark. St. Joseph's was the new #2, followed by holdovers #3 Virginia Tech and #4 Pepperdine, newcomer #5 Long Island rounding out the top five. The first NCAA tournament was not without controversy in its top seedings. Buffalo, Xavier, and St. Joseph's were all awarded #1 seeds to no complaints, as they were the top 3 teams in the Top 25, but Long Island, ranked 4th in the country, was passed over in favor of Pepperdine, who despite having been in the top 5 for much of the year, had stumbled down the stretch and was 10th in the Top 25 at tournament's start. Not that this mattered much to most people, who predicted that Buffalo would have an easy time of winning the first-ever national championship. The NCAA Tournament being a one and done affair, it was only natural that upsets would occur and they happened immediately in the first round. NCAA First Round Upsets (Excl. 9 over 8) (13) Alabama over (4) USC (10) San Diego over (7) Niagra (11) Sacred Heart over (6) Temple (14) Northwestern over (3) UT-Chattanooga (10) Miami (OH) over (7) Presbyterian (14) Florida A&M over (3) Arkansas-Little Rock (12) Kentucky over (5) TCU (13) Albany over (4) Troy (15) North Carolina over (2) Charleston Southern (10) Georgia over (7) Auburn (11) Villanova over (6) Louisville (15) Alcorn State over (2) UC-Riverside (11) Marist over (6) Maine The biggest stunner was, of course, North Carolina over Charleston Southern. UC-Riverside was considered a very weak #2 seed, so their fall was not as shocking as the Buccaneers' 85-78 loss to Alcorn State. The upsets kept right on coming in the second round. NCAA Tournament Second Round Upsets (Excl. one a part ie 13 over 12) (9) Cornell over (1) Buffalo (10) Miami (OH) over (2) Virginia Tech (11) Villanova over (3) North Carolina State (8) BYU over (1) Pepperdine The ouster of the Pepperdine Waves and Buffalo Bulls decimated brackets everywhere. No one could believe that the country's two most consistent teams were gone before the Sweet 16, but they were. Now all eyes turned to Xavier, St. Joseph's and Long Island to preserve the integrity of the pollsters. Sweet 16 Matchups (9) Cornell vs (5) South Dakota State The Big Red were powered by PG Mike Slane (JR), who'd destroyed Buffalo with 23 points and PF Keyon Delzell (SR), who picked just the right time to get hot, scoring 18 and 11 points to help Cornell to the Sweet 16. And that was without lead scorer SG Jeramy White (SO) having a good tournament. South Dakota State lived and died by SG Lataryl Sanders (JR), the team leader with 13.5 ppg average and who had 18 points a piece in the Jackrabbits' first two wins. They'd struggled against inferior competition, however and looked to be upset candidates. (2) Long Island vs (11) Sacred Heart The Blackbirds rode strong backcourt play from 5'8" PG Rod Miller (SR), the team's leading scorer in the regular season with 14.4 points a game and SG Carson Mouton (SR), who was having a breakout tournament to get this far. With both players graduating, it looked to be Long Island's only chance for a few years to gun for it all. Sacred Heart had the greatest scorer in the country, SG Keith Harris (SR), who'd lived up to his nation-leading 27.1 points a game with 23 points and 31 points in the tournament's opening rounds. If the Pioneers were going to beat their conference foes, they would need another superlative night from the first year's biggest star. (1) St. Joseph's vs (4) Florida St. Joe's boasted one of the strongest, deepest offensive units in the country. In fact, they were so balanced that there was no one legitimate star, as any one of them could at any moment develop a hot hand. The Gators were, like the Hawks, a balanced star-free outfit, but their strength was on defense rather than offense. It promised to be potentially the most exciting of the Sweet 16 matchups. (10) Miami (OH) vs (6) UW-Milwaukee C Eric Jackson (SR) led the Redhawks in scoring in both of their tournament upsets, with 14 and 21 points respectively, which made sense as he was the team's leading scorer in the regular season. The Panthers played suffocating defense in the Florida style and had a legit star player in SG Robert Tenys (JR), who'd scored 16 points in both of Milwaukee's first victories. An upset didn't look likely. (1) Xavier vs (13) Albany Sophomore C Dwayne Arnold was the Musketeers' best shooter, with 24 points in the first round and 10 in the second, but by and large, Xavier was a tough-nosed team that won on the rock of its defense. Albany's triumphs were the result of Great Danes captain PG Derrick Moore (SR), the team's leading scorer in the regular season with 15.6 points a game and in the tournament, with 29 and 19 points in the first two rounds to bring the 13 seed into the biggest mismatch of the Sweet 16. (10) Georgia vs (11) Villanova The Bulldogs benefited from some timely upsets to give them easy competition and took advantage, the Cinderella charge led by SF Luke Altman (SR), who woke up to brilliance and 18 and 17 points in the first two rounds. The Wildcats, in counterpoint, earned their glass slipper the hard way, with tenacious defense against quality opposition. Villanova doesn't appear to have the offensive firepower to stop Georgia, however. (8) BYU vs (5) Duke SG Ivan Nash (SR) is the biggest reason the Cougars made it to the Sweet 16, with 19 and 17 points. BYU has a deadly backcourt, always dangerous to have. SG Adam Williams (SR) served notice that he should rightfully be regarded as a star for one of the nation's top teams by scoring 39 in the opening round and followed it up with 21 points in the second. The Blue Devils should destroy the Cougars, as Duke feels slighted to only be a 5 seed. (7) Pacific vs (3) Dartmouth The Tigers boasted a headache-inducing 1-2 punch in PG Marcus Richards (SO) and C Erik Coffey (SR), who averaged 13+ points in the regular season and who each took turns in dismantling Pacific's first two opponents. Coffey crushed Alcorn State in particular with 35 points. Dartmouth was very much an under the radar team and no one could understand why the Big Green had a 3 seed or why they were ranked #18, as they just didn't seem to be that good, Sweet 16 appearance and 22-8 record notwithstanding. Sweet 16 Results (5) South Dakota St. def. (9) Cornell 79-69 (2) Long Island def. (11) Sacred Heart 78-73 (4) Florida def. (1) St. Joseph's 89-74 (6) UW-Milwaukee def. (10) Miami (OH) 63-56 (1) Xavier def. (13) Albany 77-59 (11) Villanova def. (10) Georgia 83-59 (8) BYU def. (5) Duke 83-68 (3) Dartmouth def. (7) Pacific 59-46 Xavier and Long Island became even bigger favorites than ever before following the Sweet 16 and many hoped for a Musketeers/Blackbirds championship. Elite 8 Results (5) South Dakota State def. (2) Long Island 79-61 (4) Florida def. (6) UW-Milwaukee 84-69 (11) Villanova def. (1) Xavier 86-57 (3) Dartmouth def. (8) BYU 71-68 Final Four Matchups (5) South Dakota State vs. (4) Florida (11) Villanova vs. (3) Dartmouth This was the worst of all possible Final Fours in the eyes of the NCAA, the pollsters, the fans and the networks. Low on star power, low on national following, and an overrated 3 seed and a double-digit Cinderella playing for a guaranteed spot in the national title game. Fortunately, there was a marquee matchup in South Dakota State vs Florida, as SG Lataryl Sanders of the Jackrabbits and SF Donny Fisher of the Gators were both averaging 17 points a game in the tournament. Better yet, Sanders was only a junior, so there was marketing potential there for the next season. Conversely, there was nothing and nobody to get excited about in Dartmouth vs Villanova and everyone quietly prayed that the Big Green would win and that whoever won the South Dakota State/Florida matchup would win it all. But the joke was on everyone on April Fool's Day, as the Wildcats took down Dartmouth 64-55 in a brutally boring game. The Gators bounced the Jackrabbits 80-72. Donny Fisher scored 17 points, but the big hero was PG Stevie Daniels, a freshman who came through with a big 24 points to carry the day and place himself in immortality. National Championship (4) Florida vs (11) Villanova If the Wildcats won, it would destroy the legitimacy of the entire polling and seeding system and chaos would ensue. A Gators victory was absolutely critical. Donny Fisher and Stevie Daniels saved the day. Fisher scored 16 points and graduated a happy man, with the first-ever national college basketball championship the perfect capstone and Daniels set himself up with huge expectations for his sophomore year with another clutch 20 points. Florida 75 Villanova 61 - Final 1900 Awards Norton Award PG Terence King (SR) - South Carolina Gamecocks - 17.5 ppg, 3.5 apg, 2.7 rpg, 0.5 spg, 0.7 bpg Player of the Year SG Keith Harris (SR) - Sacred Heart Pioneers - 27.1 ppg, 1.3 apg, 4.4 rpg, 0.8 spg, 0.6 bpg NCAA Tournament MVP SF Donny Fisher (SR) - Florida Gators Freshman of the Year C Josh Williams - Alabama A&M Bulldogs - 15.4 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 1.3 apg, 0.8 spg, 0.6 bpg Defensive Player of the Year SF Greg Wheeler (SR) - Long Island Blackbirds - 10.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.9 apg, 4.0 spg, 0.3 bpg Coach of the Year DuJuan Rowland - Buffalo Bulls 1st Team All-Americans PG Terence King (SR) - South Carolina Gamecocks PF Craig Edwards (SR) - Elon Flames PG Earl Walter (SR) - Connecticut Huskies PG Aubrey Barnes (SR) - Creighton Blue Jays PG Tim Deren (SR) - Coastal Carolina Chanticleers 2nd Team All-Americans PF Billy Vining (JR) - Louisville Cardinals SF Alton Walker (SR) - Clemson Tigers PF Mike Flick (SR) - James Madison PG Jonathan Adams (SR) - UNC-Charlotte 49ers SF Matthew Omara (SR) - Texas-Arlington Nobody took any of the awards but Coach of the Year, Tournament MVP, MVP and Defensive Player of the Year seriously, because none of the All-Americans deserved their spot and neither did the Norton Award winner. Idaho won the NIT over North Carolina Central, but no one particularly noticed or cared. __________________ 2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty)

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