OK... the Final Four comes down to KU and Memphis (like I had predicted)...
Sorry to all my beloved Bruin fans (one of whom who actually blackberry'd me
from San Antonio minutes before the tip-off and threatened that I cheer for
Love & Co.), but Memphis just had too much motor on the defensive front, I thought,
along with a phenom PG named Rose...
As for the Carolina "blues", I knew it was over when I saw Roy Williams'
tie had all those funky colors instead of his proud school color he always
seem to wear for the big games...Why did he choose that tie??
Did he not want to make an emphatic statement to his old KU pals that
he is NOW as Carolina Blue as one can get?? No matter how you cut it,
that game must have been a bigger distraction for Williams than to Self.
No doubt...
For the Monday night finale, my heart is with KU but my mind is going with
Memphis. Oddly enough, had it not been for the USF's offer at the 11th hour
in the spring of 2006, I would have gone to teach at either of these two
schools as my first teaching gig. USF had been my first choice all along, but
it just took damn long for me to wait to hear from them. Meanwhile,
KU gave me the first job interview
in the academia and was equally swift in giving me the first offer in January, 2006.
I absolutely LOVED the people at KU! They were class acts all the way.
It is an impossibility for any organization to put the job offer on the table and
wait for more than a month until the candidate makes the decision.
KU let me do that and eventually lost me to USF...
The Department Chair at KU, Dr. Bob Frederick, was a patient, persistent, and honest man.
And I probably would have gone to KU if USF took another week to decide on the offer.
Dr.Frederick was THAT impressive of a human being.
Not until last week did I discover that Bob was a key figure on Roy Williams' decision to
bolt for Carolina. Turns out that Dr.Frederick had been one of the longest-tenured
and successful AD's at KU outside the legendary "Phog" Allen. Dr. Frederick chaired the NCAA
Tournament Selection Committee at one point and was the guy
who hired then relatively less-know UNC Assistant Roy Williams
to replace Larry Brown. When Bob decided to resign from
the post and it was accepted by KU, Roy knew that he had one less reason to
stay at KU - Read about Frederick and Williams on ESPN...
Here's an interesting email from Dr. Frederick earlier in the week and how he felt about
the KU-UNC match-up. I am sure Williams' sentiment could not have been so
different from Bob's...
"Hi Andrew,
It was great to hear from you. I have thought about you many
times, particularly when I'm preparing for my Sport Marketing class. I have the
practical experience and a lot of stories but I definitely could use your
theoretical marketing expertise.
I hope you and your family are doing well
and enjoying San Francisco. SF is my favorite city and when we left Stanford to
come back to Kansas it was hard to leave the City by the Bay.
I am not going
to the Final Four this year and with the match-up of KU and UNC I'm glad I won't
be there. Coach Williams' family and the Frederick family are close yet I've
been involved with KU for 38 of the last 50 years so it seems as if KU loses I'm
going to feel terribly but happy for Roy and vice-versa. I wish they weren't
playing each other.
I am happy you got your green cards and that you will be able to visit your
families in Korea this summer. Have a great time!
One marketing question: Are
you familiar with the 3rd Edition of Mullin, Hardy and Sutton's Sport Marketing?
If not, check it out and let me know what you think. I'm using it this semester
and think it's really good.
Thanks for contacting me. I will stay in touch.
If you see my friend on your faculty, Chris Thompson, please give him my
best.
Respectfully,
Bob"
(Dr.Bob Frederick's Bio )
Frankly, I was pulling for KU big-time last night...Actually, I was pulling for the good people at KU. By beating the hottest team in Davidson, I knew they had sustained the "near-death situation" and that could be an invaluable experience during a short-term tournament like this one. Also, I've been glad that the media was revering so much of Tyler Hansbrough for the last 2-3 weeks as the next White Basketball Messiah that I knew KU must have felt they had little to lose...(Personally, Hansbrough's game is so monotone that he will have no chance at the next level - David Lee at best in my opinion. I will give him the competitive fire but competitive fire of an undersized big man won't stop the Duncan's, Garnett's, and Amare's of the world.) The value of KU's "near-death experience" was evident in the 2nd half last night when the Heels made that improbable comeback to cut the lead to 5 points. That was it though. KU was able to withstand the pounding, get the 2nd wind of sort, and pull away for the victory.
I felt good for Bill Self and Dr. Frederick...good people don't have to finish second all the time...
As for Memphis, here's another school that I could have gone to worked for and I love the Beale Street
in downtown Memphis ("The Flying Saucers" is one of the livelier and fun bars there!! :-)
Again, I have a lot of good friends and colleagues teaching at the Memphis Sport Management, but
I didn't need all that personal ties to get going for this team. I think Calipari is due
for a ring and Derrick Rose will get that ring for him. Rose seems like the real deal -
probably the most impressive young college PG I've seen since maybe Magic or Dwayne "Pearl"
Washington. (Call me crazy but Pat Riley had better pick this guy over the Beasley beast in the draft.)
This group is so collectively athletic on both ends of the floor!! KU will probably match up better than most with this team, but Rose will find a way to win, I think...
I'll be more than elated if KU wins on Monday and I will cheer hard for them, but will be real surprised if they do... Memphis will be the next National Champs!!!
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