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Updated Oct. 19
This mailbag is all over the place.
We have one guy questioning my credentials. Another questioning North Carolina's credentials. Another who thinks midgets would make suitable basketball players. And another who is completely uninformed and unable to express his thoughts in the form of sentences ... or with the use of correctly spelled words.
And, oh yeah, I got a note from an Illinois fan.
It was sweet.
And I’m expecting more just like it soon.
Anyway, here's the latest Dear Gary.
From: Mark
How can you say North Carolina can win a national title? UNC lost too many players. They can't contend for the national title. They may be strong, but they do NOT have a realistic chance at the title.
North Carolina did not lose too many players. It lost TWO players (Brandan Wright and Reyshawn Terry), and one of the replacements (Deon Thompson) is a pro. So not only do the Tar Heels have a realistic chance at the national title, they have a great chance at the national title. For proof, take a look at the odds in Vegas, where the favorites are (in order) UCLA (4-to-1), Memphis (9-to-2) and North Carolina (5-to-1).
From: Jimbo
You are probably right on most of your picks as All-Americans. But I have to say that you are totally wrong on Tyler Hansbrough. This is not just player-hating. I'm pretty sure that there is a good reason why he did not bolt to the NBA after last season. It's because most scouts see what you obviously cannot see as far as his skill level and play. And when he has teammates around him who have potential NBA skills it just makes him look even better.
First things first. I'm DEFINTELY right on ALL of my picks for All-Americans, except for perhaps Brook Lopez, who is proving to be a flake. Second, I'm not wrong about Hansbrough. You're wondering what I see in Hansbrough, Jimbo? I see 18 points and eight rebounds for a winning team, almost every night. And your but-he-plays-beside-NBA-prospects reasoning might make sense if Hansbrough didn't spend his freshman season averaging 18.9 points and 7.8 rebounds while playing beside nobody better than Reyshawn Terry and David Noel. And finally -- and I can't stress this enough -- being a great COLLEGE player has nothing to do with being a great NBA player. Hansbrough's dominant in college, but he's a 6-9 center, which doesn't typically translate well to the NBA. That's why he's back in college. But not being an ideal NBA prospect doesn't make Hansbrough any less of a COLLEGE player.
From: David
James Gist will be the best player in the ACC this year.
Only if Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Kyle Singler, Sean Singletary, Brandon Costner and about two or three other guys quit basketball between now and the start of the season. Otherwise, no.
From: Jim
D.J. White is overrated. You guys in the media are just in love with Indiana, for some reason.
Why do you think we in the media are in love with Indiana? It's because the Hoosiers coach is very easy to get in touch with! Ahh, I'm just kidding. And for the record, I plan to cease with the Kelvin Sampson stuff by the end of the month. I promise. But until then ...
From: Steve
Is it just me or does Kelvin Sampson seem to get cut slack because of his Native American background?
It's just you.
From: Don
You have forgotten about a freshman who will knock your socks off: J.J. Hickson of N.C. State.
I rarely wear socks and hardly ever wear shoes. So if Hickson is going to knock something off of me, it'd have to be something other than socks.
From: Paul
Kelvin Sampson needs to be fired and fired today. He broke the NCAA rules and ran from Oklahoma. Indiana issued a zero tolerance on him when they hired him and he again broke the rules, knowingly. If you believe he didn't know, you're a complete idiot. They gave a coaching legend of 30 years at that school a zero tolerance policy and fired him after one so-called infraction not involving the NCAA rules. Why not fire this a--hole of a coach who couldn't hold Bob Knight's briefs?
OK. I got it. Let's have J.J. Hickson be so good that he knocks the briefs off Bob Knight. That way I can just stay out of it.
From: Joe
Louisville is No. 6 in your Preseason Top 25 (and one), but you don't feel that they have one of the top 25 players in the country? Edgar Sosa is fearless. Terrence Williams is explosive on offense and one of the best defensive guards I've seen in years. Earl Clark? Watch out world is all that can be said about this guy. Derrick Caracter is the beast of the east. The only person who can keep him from owning the glass is Rick Pitino. And David Padgett is easily the No. 2 big man in the Big East, which would have to make him a top 25 player. Come on Gary...Where are you at on this one!?!
I'm in the real world, Joe. You should join us when you get a chance. This note is too stupid to pick apart piece by piece. So I'll just tell you that I disagree on every point except for those pertaining to Sosa and Williams. You say Sosa is fearless, I agree. But Chris Angel is also fearless. It's a nice quality, but it doesn't necessarily make you an All-American guard. And as for Williams, well, I'll just say that I do like his talent. That's why I ranked him 13th on my list of shooters and wings. But you were more correct than you realized, Joe, when you claimed Williams is explosive. He's very explosive, and not in good ways all the time. So even with a gun stuck to my head, I'd still have to take any of the wings I mentioned in the All-America column -- Brandon Rush, Chris Douglas-Roberts, etc. -- ahead of Williams, though I freely acknowledge he's a talented dude.
From: Adam
I don't care if a team has 15 homeless midgets playing for them, if that team, like Florida, won the past two national championships it should make the Preseason Top 25 (and one).
Spoken like a man who has never seen a homeless midget try to rebound.
From: Chris
Respect what Thad Matta does with his teams and come to your senses, man! Actually I like a lot of what you wrote. But not even giving Ohio State a Top 25 (and one) ranking seems like a bit of a stretch. You'll look back and have a what-was-I-thinking moment in about three or four months.
I have one of those moments about every 45 minutes.
From: Billy
You seemed to contradict yourself. You ranked Arkansas higher than Kentucky in the Top 25 (and one) and then said that Kentucky was the second-best team in the SEC behind Tennessee. I just don't understand the comment by you.
Clearly, you don't. Because that's not what I wrote. What I wrote was, "This is supposed to be a down year by Kentucky's own lofty standards, but how many SEC teams are clearly better than the Wildcats? Tennessee is the only one, I think." Again, how many are CLEARLY better. Tennessee is, I think. But I'm not sure about Arkansas. Is Arkansas better? Yeah, I think so. That's why I have the Hogs 16th and the Wildcats 25th. But I wouldn't say Arkansas is CLEARLY better than Kentucky, point being I won't be surprised if Billy Gillispie ends up with the second-best team in the SEC.
From: James
You'll like this one, Gary: I ordered four Big Blue Madness tickets for Kentucky's Midnight Madness, but they didn't come in the mail. So I talked to my mailman and he said he had already delivered them. The best we can figure out is that someone stole four free tickets for Madness out of my mailbox. God bless Kentucky fans.
That reminds me of a story. I was checking into a hotel the other day and the lady at the desk recognized the 'CBS' on my American Express. She asked if I worked for CBS. I said I did. She asked what I did. I told her I write about college basketball. She asked if I went to Big Blue Madness. I told her I did indeed. And then she told me her brother had four tickets but ended up not going. So I asked why and she said, "He sold them for $150 each." That's right. Some guy had four free tickets to a glorified pep rally and managed to turn it into a $600 profit. So I'm with you, James. God bless Kentucky fans.
From: Jack
Do you have any basketball credentials?
I have tons of basketball credentials. And football. And everything. At this point, I can pretty much get any credential whenever I want. It's nice.
From: Andrew
You failed to quote a single NBA scout or GM in the column about the Pac-10 possibly breaking the record for first-round draft picks. ... Not disagreeing with your conclusion, but some primary sources would be nice.
I'm the primary source, Andrew. Didn't you hear? I'm an expert. I have credentials!
From: James
I know the Pac-10 will be tough. But do you think UCLA has a decent chance to go undefeated?
Nobody in that league has a decent chance to go undefeated. In fact, undefeated two-game road trips will usually be unlikely.
From: Andy
You want to know what shocks me, Gary? It's the fact that your stupid readers are astounded by the fact that freshman are on your lists of the best players in the nation. It's almost like they have been living in a cave for the last 40 years and forgot that, yes, freshmen are eligible and do make a huge impact. Do you want to know why, Gary's stupid readers? It's because the NBA has an age limit, so kids can't go from high school to the NBA, which in turn forces the best high school kids to -- say it with me -- go to college. Yes, I know it is weird. But that happened last year. Also, normally 30 of the best 45 players that play in the NCAA regardless of there remaining eligibility happen to go pro. So the combination of those two factors tends to mean that some freshmen also happen to be some of the best players in college basketball. Now please sit back and watch Eric Gordon lead the Hoosiers to the national championship.
Well said, Andy. And speaking of stupid readers ...
From: Zach
you got it all wrong i dont even have memphis in my top three.heres how my top 8 goes1.KANSAS-with brandon rusch you can never go wrong.2.NORTH CARAOLINA-they are going to miss brandon wright but as long as big tyler's there there alright.3.Tennesse picking up tyler smith bruce pearl is going to have another dominate option along side lofton.4.UCLA-they proved them self last year beating kansas whos says they cant go to the final four again.5. Finally Memphis they havve made it to the elite eight the last to years they will yet again but will be knocked out after that. 6.Georgetown- Roy hibberts an animal plus jeff green along side him and lets not forget dajun summers who dropped a season high 20 points to knock out north carolina in the tournament last year.7.Oregon- probably a surprise but Oregon has dajun porter an out standing guard who will lead the way.8.Michigan State- Drew neitzel will lead michigan state to the final four and be happy with it.
I usually edit the notes, mostly for spelling. But I wanted to leave this one as it arrived so the rest of you can understand what I deal with on a daily basis. He barely got a single name correct, and I can't wait until he finds out that Jeff Green no longer plays beside Roy Hibbert. At any rate, Zach, if you're reading, I do have one question: If you think Michigan State is going to the Final Four -- and that's not an absurd opinion -- shouldn't you have the Spartans ranked, oh, I don't know, in the top four? Just asking.
From: Page
Didn't Bill Self take the Jayhawks to the Final Four last year?
Ask any Jayhawk fan. They'll be glad to answer.
From: Coony
With all due respect, those three coaches (who voted Saint Mary's to finish first in the West Coast Conference) have a better handle on this than you do, which is natural. Do you have any idea how good Patrick Mills really is? You guys won't put him there because he didn't go to a BCS school, but he belongs with Michael Beasley and the other one-and-done names. If you doubt me, just ask someone who was in Serbia and saw both, e.g., DePaul's Wainwright or GW's Karl Hobbs. Naturally we hope he isn't one-and-done, but he will star for Australia at the Olympics next summer. Do you know that Diamon Simpson has added an outside shot making him a relatively sure NBA'er? These two names plus Josh Heytvelt have a shot at WCC player of the year honors. No one else will be in serious contention. The supporting cast is not bad - Samhan, Hughes, O'Leary and McConnell will all be pretty familiar names when the season winds down. All that being said, I can't quarrel with listing Gonzaga No. 1, but only if Heytvelt plays to potential and the newcomers are as good as advertised.
You Saint Mary's folks are loopy. Seriously, if you "can't quarrel" with me listing Gonzaga No. 1, what the hell are you so mad about? All I did was pick the team that has won the WCC the past seven years -- and that probably has two (and maybe three) pros on its roster -- to win the WCC for an eighth straight year, and then I put Saint Mary's second. And that makes me an idiot? Really? And I understand Patrick Mills is good. But do you know how many 6-foot guards are one-and-done prospects? Almost none. So comparing him to Michael Beasley -- a 6-9 forward who I think will be the top pick in next June's NBA Draft -- is probably silly. If I were you, I'd just hope Mills is as good as Aaron Bruce, another celebrated Australian point guard. In case you forgot, Bruce once led Australia with 25 points in 106-85 upset of a Team USA squad featuring Dee Brown and J.J. Redick. Now, he's a senior at Baylor with no guarantee to ever play in the NBA. So I'd settle down a bit, Coony. You're the one way out on a limb here, not me. But if the Gaels do win the WCC instead of Gonzaga, trust me, I'll enjoy writing about being wrong. I don't have a problem being proved wrong, but that's probably because I'm almost always right.
From: James
This is a pre-emptive email. Not nearly as evil and ill-advised as a pre-emptive invasion of a foreign country, but still frowned upon, I know. If you have anyone other than the Big East as No. 1 in your conference rankings, then in the words of the great Gregg Doyel, you're just trying to be cute. He said it in reference to having anyone other than Florida as a preseason No. 1 last year. I forwarded it to Dick Vitale when he had UNC. He didn't respond.
I love it when people claim Doyel is a genius by referencing something he wrote, particularly when it was actually something I wrote. In fact, if I remember correctly, Doyel wanted to put North Carolina No. 1 last preseason, but I exercised my veto power. In other words, I'm the great one. Doyel is the angry one. And I hope you're not disappointed when I get around to ranking the Big East.
From: Harrison
An Illinois devotee, I started reading your columns during the Eric Gordon fiasco when you seemed to take a side against some admittedly moronic Illini fans. Sometimes it felt like you were bashing Bruce Weber, sometimes you appeared to admonish Kelvin Sampson's extremely shady tactics, and sometimes you seemed to pick fights with our fans just because it was fun. I refused to read your stuff for quite some time because it just made me mad. However, when I recently came across your blog which praised Weber's 2009 recruiting class and reviled Sampson's repeated rule breakings, I realized something important. You might write with an attitude and you might chase any available angle of a story, but that's your job. I read through some of your old columns and, to be honest, you're a good writer who has interesting things to say and isn't afraid to have an opinion. It's a breath of fresh air in a world of spineless columnists afraid to ruffle any feathers. Just because you didn't agree with me last year doesn't mean your opinions aren't valid. And just because I liked your (Oct. 14 and Oct. 16) blogs doesn't mean I have to like the next two. But I'll read your columns and hope you can maintain your edge. Keep up the good work.
Wow, that was really nice. I knew there were reasonable Illinois fans out there, and I'm pleased to finally hear from one. Now if the other million of you would follow Harrison's lead we could all live happily ever after.
