Tim Floyd Whistles Past The Graveyard

Over in the LA Times this morning, USC head basketball coach Tim Floyd gave his take on the downside of opting to play in Europe for a few years instead of playing NCAA basketball:

Asked if he could understand the allure of playing in Europe for a year, Floyd said, "Not necessarily, no. Being away from your family, speaking another language, playing against 30-year-old men versus 18- to 22-year-old players. . . . Until this doesn't work for the young people who have come in, I can't see the appeal of wanting my child to go over there unless we were in dire financial straits or I couldn't get in [to college].

Excuse me, but I thought the purpose of college was to educate young people, not to serve as some sort of 4-year holding tank to cosset them from the demands of the real world. And if I recall correctly, America traditionally sends literally thousands of its college students overseas every year in order for them to experience a semester abroad in another culture, claiming that it's a "learning experience" that broadens one's perspective on the world and America's place in it.

I know one thing: Holding a job in a foreign country and learning to interact with adults as a professional while playing basketball for FC Barcelona is probably a superior learning experience to spending a junior year abroad in the same city, partying and pretending to attend class. That's especially the case for elite basketball recruits who normally don't spend a whole lot of time in the classroom anyway. And as I recall, one of the reasons we see increasing numbers of Euros coming to the NBA, is because they seem to possess better fundamental skills than their stateside counterparts. If that's the case, then what could be better than spending a year in Europe where coaches will spend the time and effort drilling their charges in just those same fundamentals.

Welcome to global competition. It's a good thing, unless of course all you want to do is grouse about it.

Who Doesn't "Love" A Big Man Who Can Hit From Downtown?

Anyone who has a tv has probably seen the commercials of LeBron James hitting jumpers from the other end of the court. They looked amazing, and were possible with a little digital wizardry. Well it just so happens that there's a guy with NBA-level skills that can do that for real (click for video).

During warmups UCLA's Kevin Love hit a halfcourt shot, a 3/4 court shot, and a full court shot, all of which was caught on tape. LeBron better watch his back...

Arkansas Bends Under Pressure Of Photo Policy

Drop by OffWing Photo to get the latest news on Arkansas Activities Association's (AAA) rule that they own the copyright to all media (photo, video, audio) taken at state championships and to charge fees ranging from $35-$50 for press credentials to events. This policy as written would also apply to parents and fans taking pictures in the stands.The AAA is the sponsoring organization of championship games for public and private schools in Arkansas.

Check out the latest photos from OffWing photographers by visiting our Photoshelter gallery.

Also stop by our new sister website OffWing Photo where we focus on photography, especially sports photography.

LeBron's Feat

There are moments that help define a player's career, such as Curt Shilling and his bloody sock, Bobby's Orr's "The Goal", or Bobby Baun scoring the overtime goal in Game 6 of the '64 Cup after leaving the game earlier with a broken ankle. With these epic, clutch moments in mind, LeBron James has joined in with his 25 point finish to lead the Cavs back over the Pistons in Game 5 of the Eastern Finals.

Said Yahoo! Sports' Dan Wetzel,

One on five, and the one willed the win. Through the last minutes of regulation and all of two playoff overtimes, in the loneliest of basketball moments on the road amid the roar of the crowd against veteran defenders, and with the series about to swing, LeBron James willed all right – willed it like maybe no one else ever has.

This point is echoed by the AP's Tom Withers, who noted that;

The 48 points were spectacular, but hardly tell the whole story. He scored them in the biggest game of his four-year career. He scored them in the most important game in Cleveland's 37-year history. He scored them on the road, against the Pistons, one of the league's toughest defensive teams.

So there you have it, LeBron stepped up in a hostile arena against the toughest defense there is, while still being only 22. It only adds to the wonder when you stop and realize how the game of basketball is played, and how it differs from other sports. While most sports can have a key player, the whole team must be involved to come out with the win. In no other sport, with the exception of home runs in baseball, can a team back off and let one player dominate on offense. But that's precisely what happened last night. The Cavs got LeBron the ball and spread out, letting him go up against the Pistons on his own. And where most other heroes are known for single, clutch plays, James hit shot after shot after shot, regardless of where he was on the floor or who was guarding him.

Brian Windhorst was at the game, and said that;

Never have [I] seen a performance like that from him and never have I seen him be so calm. He wasn't demonstrative and making all those primal faces, he was just coldly killing the Pistons. It isn't often you know you are experiencing history at the moment it is happening. It doesn't matter which team you cover as a journalist or which team you root for as a fan, there was no way you could watch LeBron score 25 straight points and think you weren't being given a gift of an experience.

The deadly accuracy and consistency combined with the cold, calculating intensity that LeBron exibited makes him a dangerous player, even more so than he was before. He's carried the Cavs on his shoulders, and shows no signs of stumbling.

For a recap of LeBron's final 25 points, click here.

Maybe We're More Alike Than We'd Like To Admit

I'm sure this passage that ran on ESPN.com earlier today will have a lot of hockey fans nodding in agreement:

Once upon a time, these guys had a code of honor. They played hard, respected the game, defended their teammates, and if anyone stepped out of line, there was always someone that would take care of them -- whether it was another player, a referee, a coach or whatever. When fights or altercations happened, they were considered natural side effects of a physical sport. When two players talked smack, it was considered a good thing, a sign that the game was heating up, that we were potentially headed for a more competitive place.

Too bad that was Bill Simmons talking about the NBA.

A Brief Defense Of David Stern

Over at Battle of Alberta -- was it only a year ago that I was there seemingly every day of the week -- Matt Fenwick has a very thought-provoking post on why he believes that the NHL's system of supplementary discipline is superior to the NBA's.

In the main, Matt is entirely correct. He notes that while plenty of folks might take issue with Colin Campbell's decisions...

I think Colin Campbell could be better at his job, but I wouldn't want it myself, and don't envy him. If there's two things I hope readers take away, these are them:

1. It is just and proper that NHL supplementary discipline is evaluated case-by-case and takes everything into account: the act, the injury (if any), the situation. While the NHL VP's best judgement seems crappy sometimes, the alternatives are worse.

2. Next time you're reacting to a light suspension for a dangerous hit, and are tempted to say, "It shouldn't matter that the guy wasn't injured", ask yourself if you honestly believe that (say) paralyzing someone isn't grounds for more severe punishment.

Which leads us to NBA Commissioner David Stern, who handed out a pair of one game suspensions to Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw of the Phoenix Suns because they left the bench in the wake of a body check that Robert Horry laid on Steve Nash during Game Four of the NBA Playoff series between the Suns and the San Antonio Spurs. Horry, nothing more than a role player who can still hit an open three at this point in his career, will sit for two games.

This isn't the first time Stern has laid down the law like this, as I can remember feeling a lot of the same righteous indignation 10 years ago when he suspended seemingly half of the New York Knicks during a similar playoff incident involving the Miami Heat.

But if Stern seems inflexible, hewing so closely to the letter of the law that it seems the concept of justice in this case has been bent like a pretzel, it's only because justice for the players isn't an end in itself when it comes to the NBA.

What is paramount, however, is the best interest of the league as a whole. Don't forget, Stern has been around the game for a very long while, and can easily recall the bad old days of rampant drug public drug abuse and on-court violence -- factors that combined to exile the NBA Finals to late night tape delay on CBS until as late as 1981.

Stern knows what that world looks like, knows what the NBA has become, and he's not going to let it go one step backward. My guess is that in his mind, administering some rough and unforgiving justice to players who merely dare to leave the bench will make it that much more less likely that a bench clearing brawl of the type that nearly killed Rudy Tomjanovich in 1977 will ever happen again.

So yes, the decision is unfair to Stoudemire, Diaw and their teammates. It's unfair to the Suns, their fans, and every fan of the game of basketball who was hoping to be able to watch an exciting and competitive series. But whether or not the Spurs go on to win the series, the NBA will go on being the massive international cash machine that it is, and this incident will go down in history as nothing more than another footnote in Stern's tenure, justice be damned.

One thing Stern knows for sure: Any video zipping around the world of a group of predominantly African-American men brawling on a basketball court will be judged harshly and unjustly by the league's sponsors.

So, in a way, Stern is committing a minor injustice today in order to avoid seeing the league's sponsors and advertisers inflict a greater injustice upon the NBA and all of its players tomorrow.

When you look at it that way, it's a little easier to see why Stern is probably sleeping easy tonight.

Thanks to J.P. for the pointer to Matt's BOA post.

Bill Simmons vs. Chris Lynch

Bill Simmons doesn't like the fact that his alma mater, Holy Cross, hasn't won an NCAA tournament game in 40 years. He wants to change things.

Chris Lynch tells him to stuff it.

NCAA Men's Basketball Salary Survey

Thanks to Jason Anastasopoulos for passing along this salary comparison of Division I coaches.

The highlights:

Highest Paid: Tubby Smith, Kentucky, $2,193,150/year

Lowest Paid: Mike McConathy, Northwestern State, $104,300/year

Most Overpaid: Jim Calhoun, Connecticut (17W 14L, Annual Pay: $1,500,000)

Most Underpaid: Villy Kennedy, Nevada (28W 2L, Annual Pay: $170,000)

Most $/Game: Tubby Smith, Kentucky, $68,535.94/game

Least $/Game: Mike McConathy, Northwestern State, $3259.38/game

Most $/Win: Jeff Ruland, Iona, $176,497/win (2W 28L, Annual Pay: $352,994)

Least $/Win: Scott Sutton , Oral Roberts, $5037.83/win (23W 10L, Annual Pay: $115,870)

I don't know how you could call a coach who's won two NCAA titles overpaid, but there it is.