Suns fans show Nash love in possible finale
PHOENIX — A season that encouraged Phoenix Suns fans to absorb constant reminders regarding the proper time to rise and put on their game faces concluded Wednesday night with an unsanctioned recommendation.
Despite the lack of official billing, it was easy to consider the otherwise meaningless — but brutally ironic — date with the San Antonio Spurs as an appropriate time to rise and put on your just-in-case face.
Just in the case the star of this event — and the eight-year star of this city — is working elsewhere next season.
Perhaps taking his final curtain call as a Sun was two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Steve Nash, whose pending free agency provoked a standing and commanding U.S. Airways Center chant of “We Want Steve!” as the final minutes ticked down in the fourth quarter. We’re pretty sure the words were directed at Coach Alvin Gentry, but they also could be considered an indirect request aimed at team owner Robert Sarver.
Sarver and his basketball-ops unit must choose between using cap space in a dicey free-agent season to upgrade their roster to Nash-acceptable limits, or a painful move into a future without, perhaps, the most popular Sun in history.
Anyway, with the chanting at playoff level, Gentry relented. Nash peeled off the warm-up suit, re-entered the game (which ended in a 110-106 Spurs victory) to another roar, and promptly threw the ball away. Then he left — for now, but possibly for good — on the next dead ball.
“Obviously, it was amazing to get that type of reaction and support,” Nash said. “It’s very special because it’s not something that I asked for or imagined to get that type of spontaneous reaction.
“It’s authentic … the relationship that I thought we had, so it’s great. It really feels special and the fans have been phenomenal. It meant a lot to me to play in a city like this for as long as I have and to feel important to the fans and the community. And I just feel like a very lucky guy.”
As Suns fans await another late-lottery draft selection and the highly-anticipated free-agent skirmishes, national opinion-makers continue to urge a parting of the ways. Nash, it’s often reasoned, deserves an opportunity to play for a team with at least more potential for a postseason run than the Suns — who finished this season at 33-33 — seem capable of mustering.
And the helpful talking heads also believe the best long-term planning for the Suns should include moving forward without Nash. No less an expert than Suns Ring-Of-Honor resident Charles Barkley has claimed that re-hiring the eventual Hall-of-Fame point guard would be less than wise.
As basketball watchdogs debate each side of this issue, Nash will prepare for a decision that will coax a rising tide of scrutiny.
“I’m in no rush,” the 38-year-old Nash said in regard to next his course of action. “I’m going to have to sit down and consider my options. There’s a lot of factors involved.
“I honestly have no clue. I don’t know what the future holds and I’m OK with that.”
By the way Nash scored 8 points — making 4 of 7 shots from the field — and handed out 7 assists in the 17:27 he played in what might have been his last home performance on Planet Orange. Also potentially suiting up as Suns for the final time were Robin Lopez, Michael Redd, Sebastian Telfair (20 points), Shannon Brown (21 points) and Ronnie Price. Grant Hill, who was playing on a one-year contract, rested his recently-repaired knee in what could have been his last night as a Sun.
“I’m not the most sentimental person in the world,” Nash said. “But if this were to be my last game, it would be a night to remember.”
Suns fans will remember the assists — sensational and functional — along with the deadly, off-balance 3-pointers and out-of-harm’s ways scoop layups. They’ll remember the bumps, bruises and bandages, the Robert Horry hip check and the sensational seasons that ended on the opening note of a Spurs celebration.
Although many acknowledge the efficacy of parting company with Nash, most Suns fans still want Steve.
On Wednesday, they realized that he may never pass this way again … at least not in a Suns uniform.
And it’s a good bet that no future Sun will, either.
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Larry Brown to SMU: Why Mustangs Fans Shouldn’t Get Their Hopes Up
Yesterday, SMU introduced the biggest hire in its benighted basketball history: Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown will be taking over the Mustangs hoops program next season. The 71-year-old Brown is being asked to turn around a team that hasn’t appeared in the NCAA tournament since 1993—before many of its current players were even born.
Although Brown’s signing provides a welcome PR splash for the beleaguered Mustangs, fans shouldn’t expect much from their new coach. Brown’s success has rarely come with long-term improvement, especially at the college level.
In the first place, any recruits (or their parents) who have even a passing familiarity with Brown’s career know that he can’t be expected to stay in Dallas for long. Based on his track record, the most well-traveled coach in NBA history will be a long shot to stay more than four seasons, meaning that any players he recruits should be ready for a possible regime change soon.
SMU has been trying to stave off such concerns by hiring an official “coach-in-waiting” to pair with Brown, but at present, no such addition has been made.
A far more dangerous worry with Brown is the way his last two collegiate jobs ended. After he left UCLA, the Bruins had their 1980 Final Four trip vacated, and after he left Kansas following the 1988 national title run, the Jayhawks were hit with sanctions that included a ban from the 1989 tournament.
There’s certainly no guarantee that Brown will repeat those particular mistakes (involving both player eligibility and improper benefits), but it’s hardly a resume that inspires confidence in the future long-term health of SMU athletics, a program already synonymous with player scandal.
There’s also the simple fact that Brown hasn’t coached a college team since leaving Lawrence over 20 years ago. The nature of the game has changed, most crucially when it comes to the ages of the key contributors.
Brown, notorious at the NBA level for keeping talented rookies rotting on his bench, won the 1988 national title at Kansas with a rotation whose top six players included three seniors, two juniors and a sophomore. If he can’t get over his obsession with rewarding experience over talent, he’ll never be able to recruit the kind of high-level freshmen that SMU must court in order to survive in the Big East.
And that, of course, brings us to the biggest problem Brown faces: he’s being asked to lead the Mustangs from Conference USA (where they were already an also-ran at best) into the nation’s toughest basketball league. There isn’t a coach in the country who wouldn’t struggle with bringing this school and this team into the Big East, and Brown—especially given some of the baggage he brings—is certainly no exception.
Assuming that Brown has learned from his previous run-ins with the NCAA rulebooks, his hiring isn’t going to make SMU any worse off than they already were. On the other hand, anyone looking for him to rescue a team facing one of the country’s toughest uphill battles is set to be sorely disappointed.
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2012 NBA Playoffs: What Do They Mean for Los Angeles Clippers Fans?
The Los Angeles Clippers are going to the playoffs for the first time in six years, and few can resist weighing in on that fact. It is hard to resist talking about how a team once called “the worst franchise in sports history”—on the cover of Sports Illustrated, no less—has qualified for postseason play and could take first place in the Pacific Division.
Just what does going to the playoffs mean to the fans—especially the long-term fans—who have stuck with the team through losing seasons and bad jokes? Let me put it in perspective for you.
In their 40 years as a franchise, the Clippers have qualified for postseason play eight times, counting this year. Three of those were as the Buffalo Braves in the mid ’70s.
Of the seven past playoff appearances, only four included the Clippers getting out of the first round. The Clippers have never gotten out of the semifinals in the playoffs.
Never.
They haven’t even won a division title—in 40 years.
Fans are loving the fact that there is a chance to get that elusive division title. They are thrilled their team gets another try at erasing all of those nevers.
But it is more than that. At the moment, the Clippers are looking at their best finish ever. They have eight previous winning seasons—where their final percentage was .500 or better—but this season tops them all, with a percentage of .619, as it now stands.
Add that to the team’s most recent win against the Denver Nuggets—on the road, against a win-hungry team—and fans not only see the chance, but reason to hope that this is the best chance they have ever had to see their team win a trophy.
For some of us, The fact that we are in the playoffs and so close to winning our division is thrill enough, at the moment.
However, it is hard not to dream of higher achievements and rings of gold. Despite all the obstacles that may stand in the way, Clipper fans are eternal optimists when it comes to winning.
As a fan, I say let everyone underestimate us, guided by past performances. It will only make our victories sweeter when they come—as in 2006 when, against all odds, the Clippers made it to the semi-finals.
Maybe we can even get a few of those bad jokes aimed in a new direction. Can you say Bobcats?
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LeBron wins new fans as Heat top Nets
During the waning moments of Monday night’s 101-98 win over the New Jersey Nets, Miami Heat forward LeBron James couldn’t help but take it all in, pausing to appreciate the absurdity of everything going on around him.
Here he was, in Newark, N.J., tucked away in the shadows of the Big Apple, holding an entire arena one that hates him with the type of venom that only New Yorkers can spew in the palm of his hand.
“At one point last year, I never thought I’d be on someone else’s floor hearing, ‘Let’s go Heat,’ (or) on someone else’s floor hearing ‘M-V-P,’ with what we’ve been though the last year,” James said. “I’m happy to be a part of it, and I give all the thanks to the fans that were here. It was a great night.”
And a great night it was.
LeBron was stellar during an otherwise lackluster mid-April game between two teams moving in opposite directions, the type of meaningless match-up no one from the players, to the fans, to even the reporters really wants to be a part of.
James scored 37 points, just four off his season high, on 11-of-19 shooting to lead the Heat to the come-from-behind victory. But it was the way two-time MVP finished the game, not the manner in which he started it, that made the most headlines and even gave Nets fans devotees bred to hate every fiber in beings like James a reason to stand and cheer.
James hit five of six shots during the fourth quarter, scoring Miami’s final 17 points as they rallied to steal the three-point win and complete Miami’s third straight season sweep of the lowly Nets.
“That guy, No. 6, I guess he was pretty good down the stretch,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said shortly after the win. “He was sensational. He made every big play offensively. That’s what an MVP does, and we needed it at both ends.”
And what makes James’ improbable rally even more impressive is the fact that he should have never been a part of it to begin with. LeBron checked out at the end of the third quarter Monday, with his team trailing 79-70, and truth be told, he never expected to check back in.
After all, at this point of the season as Miami turns down the home stretch of a grueling, compressed schedule, with its eyes on the playoffs and a potential first-round series with the resurgent Knicks long-term health almost seems paramount to short-term results.
Dwyane Wade, Shane Battier and Ronny Turiaf had already been listed as inactive Monday night, and starters Mario Chalmers and Udonis Haslem saw their minutes reduced in a game the Heat didn’t really need to win.
With the Bulls, at the time, holding a 3-12 game lead in the East this was before Chicago inexplicably lost at home to Washington and Miami holding a 4-12 game lead over Indiana with six games to play after Monday, the Heat were practically locked into the East’s No. 2 seed.
So there was little incentive, if any, to expend more energy than was necessary for a meaningless victory on the tail end of a back-to-back this late in the season. But then things got interesting and better judgment took a backseat to James’ unquestionable competitive spirit.
“When we tied the game they took the timeout, it got under six (minutes) and coach hadn’t looked at me,” James said after the game, speaking of Joel Anthony’s two free throws, which knotted the game up at 84-84 with 6:05 to play. “That’s usually my point to go back in. I didn’t know if he would put me back in or not.”
But then Spoelstra a coach who, like his star player, is probably too up-tight and sometimes too driven for his own good indicated that it was James’ time to take over.
“When he looked down, gave me the nod,” James said, “I was ready to go and do my best to help us win the game.”
So that’s just what he did. LeBron checked back in with 5:35 left and the Heat trailing 86-84, and at first he was disappointingly passive allowing rookie Norris Cole to miss three shots over the next two minutes. But eventually, he decided enough was enough. This was his show.
With Miami down 95-88 with 2:28 to go, James called for the ball, and he only begrudgingly relinquished it, allowing just one shot from a teammate the rest of the way.
Over the final two minutes, James hit all seven of his free throw attempts a welcome sight after LeBron choked away a win at the free throw line Thursday in Chicago and made his final four shots to seal the win, including a layup that gave his team the lead for good with 51 seconds left.
“On a night like this, you can come up with a lot of excuses to not bring that type of performances,” Spoelstra said. “That’s not the type of DNA he has inside of him.”
As LeBron dazzled a decidedly bi-partisan crowd at the Prudential Center, you couldn’t help but relive the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals, when James, then with Cleveland, scored 25 straight points and 29 of the Cavs’ final 30, during a Game 5 road win over the Detroit Pistons.
James’ Cavs would later go on to be swept in the Finals that year, the first of the Chosen One’s many postseason shortcomings, and now the key for LeBron and the Heat is harnessing the aggression on display Monday and taking the masterful effort and applying it when they need it most.
When a title is on the line.
When he failed epically less than a year ago.
The Heat will, undeniably, need that kind of play from LeBron going forward. Their championship aspirations ones that they promised to deliver on during a premature victory celebration two summers ago rely on it.
They rely on LeBron developing into the type of player who embraces the moment and thrives late in games, not one who shies away from the spotlight and withers under the immense pressure of the season’s most crucial moments.
If Miami is going to deliver on their championship promises, they need James to be the best player on the court, as he was Monday night. They need LeBron to be LeBron, not only when it’s easy or convenient, but also when it’s necessary and when his team needs him most.
Follow Sam Gardner on Twitter: @sam_gardner
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LeBron rolls ankle on fan’s foot
LeBron James of the Miami Heat has had awful luck with people sitting courtside at basketball games. On Sunday, LeBron nailed a jumper against the New York Knicks and took a couple steps backwards. He then stepped on a courtside foot and twisted ankle. James went down for a possession, but has continued to play.
This is not the first time that this happened this season. In a game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Lebron had the same exact thing happen. He stepped on a courtside foot and twisted his ankle. LeBron was also able to play over that injury.
This is one of my biggest pet peeves in sports. I hate courtside seats. Yes, you get to show off your money. However, people sitting between the bench and the scorer’s table is just insane. Now people are becoming part of the game in accidentally causing ankle injuries. What if LeBron happened to do something more serious? Could you imagine the outrage that fans everywhere would have.
The Knicks and the Heat are enga…
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With Playoffs Clinched, Now Is the Time for Indiana Pacers Fans to Celebrate
2004.
That was the last time fans were excited about an Indiana Pacers squad.
Since then, we have had to deal with trying to rebuild on the fly. Trying to rebuild with youth. Trying to rebuild with small ball.
Finally, after many painful seasons where the Indiana Pacers hovered around 35 wins, the Indiana Pacers have clinched a playoff spot.
Unlike last year when the Indiana Pacers sneaked into the eigth seed in the Eastern Conference with a 37-45 record, Pacers fans have every reason to be optimistic heading into the postseason. Larry Bird and Frank Vogel have completely changed the roster and culture of the Indiana Pacers.
In one season, Larry Bird has turned Mike Dunleavy Jr., Josh McRoberts, T.J. Ford, Solomon Jones, James Posey and Brandon Rush into George Hill, Leandro Barbosa, David West, Lou Amundson, Jeff Pendergraph and Kyrylo Fesenko. All that was given up to acquire the new players? A second-round pick for Barbosa, Brandon Rush for Lou Amundson and a first-round pick, second-nd round pick and a European who was never going to come over for George Hill.
In one season, fans have gone from questioning whether Larry Bird should continue to be the President of Basketball Operations for the Indiana Pacers to thinking Larry Bird should be Executive of the Year for the NBA. Quite the one season turn around.
As much credit as Larry Bird deserves, Frank Vogel has done an incredible job coaching this young team. In 2010-2011 under Jim O’Brien and then interim coach Frank Vogel, the Indiana Pacers had 13 different starting lineups. A constant complaint among many was the starting lineup never being set from game to game. Under Frank Vogel this year? Three different starting lineups.
Not only has Vogel stuck with a solid starting lineup for the entire year, he has also made sure guys know what role they have . Tyler Hansbrough and George Hill are set to come in around the five-minute mark of the first quarter every game. Last year? Tyler Hansbrough could play well one game, then not play again for 10 more games. By midseason each year since Jim O’Brien became coach, the players were beaten down. By January, any optimism in the building was completely gone. It almost became hard to watch the Indiana Pacers.
Now though, with Frank Vogel at the helm and with a young roster full of LIKABLE players, the Indiana Pacers are finally a fun team to watch again. Last season, there were multiple players on the roster I didn’t care for. Dunleavy, Ford, Posey and Rush. Fast forward one season, and there is not one player on the roster that I do not enjoy watching. Honestly, how many fans around the league can say that about their roster?
No matter what happens in the playoffs, this has been a turn-around season for the Indiana Pacers. A reason to celebrate. Is this team a championship contender? We will find out, but this is the first season of a process. A process that will be fun to watch for the fans that have stuck around through thick and thin since November 19, 2004 and then the day Reggie Miller retired.
Finally.
Be sure to follow me on Twitter @PacersCenter and at PacersCenter.com
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Derrick Rose Gives Chicago Bulls Fans Yet Another Reason to Love Him
Derrick Rose suffered through one the worst individual performances of his career in Thursday’s crucial victory over Miami.
Rose’s outing could be described in one word: rusty.
He went 1-13 from the field, consistently looking out of sync with his jump shot on his road to a career-low two points.
Because Rose couldn’t shake the rust, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau, who tends to ride whoever is playing well on a given night, made the bold decision to sit Rose late in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Thibodeau’s decision undoubtedly paid off, as backup point guard C.J. Watson was the spark that led the Bulls to what was arguably their biggest win of the year.
But any NBA or sports fan in general couldn’t overlook what took place at the end of Thursday’s game. Rose, the reigning MVP, was benched. While he has been battling injuries and there was perhaps some reason in playing him less minutes, it was definitely not foreseen that the reigning MVP would be riding the pine at the game’s most pivotal moments.
This was not foreseen because this is not how modern professional sports work. In a sports world full of egos and pride, you just don’t see superstars being benched because of all the potential negative hoopla that could follow. We all know that superstar athletes tend to grow displeased in such situations, and many aren’t afraid to voice it.
But Derrick Rose is different. He actually affirmed his benching, Yes, affirmed.
Think of all the routes D-Rose could’ve taken in addressing this.
He could’ve boldly questioned it, citing that he’s the league MVP and is always deserving to be on the floor late in ball games.
He could’ve mildly questioned it, voicing vague displeasure over the decision.
He could’ve declined to comment, and thus skirted around the topic which inevitably hints at displeasure.
He could’ve even solemnly commended his teammates while exhibiting a posture that is undeniably distraught.
But he did none of those things.
According to ESPN Chicago, he declared this after the game,
I’m fine, man, Rose said of coach Tom Thibodeau’s decision to sit him down the stretch. Anything to win. Where he felt that lineup was going to win the game, it won the game, and I can’t complain about anything.
In stating this, affirming his benching and magnifying the win over his individual play, Rose defies the egotistic logic that is so often prevalent in pro sports. He embodies humility and sees himself in proper perspective. He grasped this his game was not up to par last night and that the “Bench Mob” was better suited to grind out the victory.
What’s more, Rose’s overall mentality and support of his teammates fuels the Bulls.
Joakim Noah, who was also on the bench late in the game, praised Rose for how he handled the situation (via ESPN): “When your leader is a team-first guy, it trickles down to everybody. It shows what kind of character he has. We’re trying to win here. It was a great team effort.”
Rose’s refreshing humility has a way of unifying and driving this team all the more, and you can’t argue with the results. The Bulls now sit at 45-14 and will very likely snag home-court advantage throughout the entire playoffs.
Expect D-Rose to return to his usual self very soon, after the rust wears off and he regains his timing. But even in his lowly performance on Thursday, there was still something monumental to take away from who he is.
He’s simply a humble leader and possesses the exact type of character that brings out the best in himself and his teammates. Chicago fans, the character and humility of D-Rose is yet another reason to love this guy.
He’s legitimately the total package.
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Miami Heat Fans Shouldn’t Worry Because Everything Will Be Alright
The Miami Heat are either cringing thinking of facing the Chicago Bulls again in the Eastern Conference Finals if the rematch everyone wants occurs, or they’re trying to make the Bulls overconfident.
They lost to the Bulls the last time they played with Derrick Rose in street clothes and John Lucas lll starring, and this time succumbed with Rose going 1-13 and scoring a career-low two points.
Before LeBron James missed a free throw and C.J. Watson drained the tying three, my thoughts were that Miami winning had nothing to do with what will happen in the playoffs if the Heat and Bulls meet.
The sudden game-change didn’t alter my thoughts on the subject, unless Miami is mentally fragile enough to let these losses sink into their psyche and affect the outcome when it really matters.
The Bulls won Thursday because of their bench, and no one questions them having one of the best in the league. It’s certainly better than Miami’s, which was outscored 47-7, but the Bulls’ advantage won’t play as great a role in the playoffs as it does during the regular season.
That should be music to the ears of Heat fans.
Kyle Korver scored 17 points in 18 minutes, including 5-6 from the three-point line, and Watson hit the big shot to send it to overtime filling the Rose role. He scored 16 points and added nine assists as Rose watched from the bench on the final play of regulation.
The playoffs is when the stars come out to play, and the Heat have the stars, at least on paper. LeBron has had a great year and is the likely MVP, but he still plays second fiddle to Dwyane Wade when the game is on the line.
Whether it’s because he still thinks it’s Wade’s team or he’s afraid to take the final shot doesn’t matter. When the going gets tough, LeBron often gets going (as in nowhere to be found).
Wade is like a Timex. He takes a beating and keeps on ticking, but the wear and tear has taken a toll on him. He’s still a star, but he doesn’t shine as bright as in the past.
Bosh is the mystery man. You don’t know what to expect from him. People are already calling for him to be traded if the Heat don’t win it this year.
In the playoffs against the Bulls last year, he stepped up and you could say he was the star of the series for Miami. He’s going to need to outplay his counterpart, Carlos Boozer, again this year if the Heat are to come out on top.
Miami was supposed to be deeper this year, adding Shane Battier and Norris Cole, along with Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller back for another go at it. Battier has added defense and not much else. Cole started out well, but has disappeared since, and Miller can’t seem to overcome that injury bug. Haslem has just been a disappointment.
The excuse last season was it took time for them to understand how to blend their games with each other. What’s the excuse this year? They still look the same. At times they look like world-beaters, and other times like the Charlotte Bobcats (I exaggerate), especially against good teams.
Are they head cases? Is their coach in over his head? Do they even listen to him?
People were asking the same questions last year. Then Miami turned it on in the playoffs, at least until they ran into Dallas. They beat the teams they had trouble with during the season when it counted.
Last year the Bulls swept them in the season series, but you know what happened in the playoffs.
Have the Bulls learned the secret to beating Miami? Do they have the pieces in place?
What’s happened during the season has nothing to do with what will happen in the playoffs. People can use stats or whatever they want to determine who’s going to win the series, but it will be decided on the court. Don’t let anyone tell you anything different.
The Heat are a team that can turn it on when they are motivated to do so. It might say something about them that they don’t play like that all the time, but the Bulls have to play with intensity every night to succeed.
If everything aligns, we’ll find out which team will come out on top, but I’ll give you a sneak peek into my crystal ball. I see the Heat in six, and just so you know, I’m a Bulls fan.
So quit your sniveling, Miami fans. I hope I’m wrong, but I believe otherwise.
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Uconn Men’s Basketball: A Fan’s Cry for Help
It’s all we have in Connecticut.
Sure we can say we’re Yankee fans. Maybe it was the first game we attended as a tee-balling, germ-crawling toddler.
Go Cowboys! They’re America’s team and are just as much our team as Dallas’. The cheerleaders are also very nice.
We can reminisce about the Whalers and talk about games at the Civic Center with Brendan Shanahan, Geoff Sanderson and Adam Burke. Although we may never watch hockey now (or even back then) the Whalers are the last professional team linked to the Nutmeg State. We pretend we were fans even if we never really were.
But right now, and forever, Husky basketball is Connecticut. And fresh off a 2011 National Championship, the Uconn program seems to be in a state of disarray.
Last year was a bitter disappointment. The team sorely missed the leadership and determination of Kemba Walker, a guy who scored a Big East Tournament record 130 points in five games. He also won the NCAA Tournament MVP in 2011, graduated college in three years and was drafted to the Charlotte Bobcats ninth overall in the NBA draft. He even made three appearances on Showtime at the Apollo as a child. A true champion.
Without Kemba, the Huskies were lost. They were inconsistent. They lacked the passion and urgency that is so critical to success in the college basketball world. Now, as Jeremy Lamb, Uconn’s leading point scorer last season, declares for the NBA draft along with 2011 top recruit Andre Drummond, next year looks even more bleak. Alex Oriachi has transferred. Jim Calhoun’s health problems continue to wane and with each passing season the Hall of Fame coach looks more and more like the guy from Tales from the Crypt. Can we trade Ollie, Calhoun and Blaney for Shaka Smart? We’ll even throw in Niels Giffey for good measure.
To add insult to injury, the Huskies are suspended from possible NCAA Tournament play next season due to recruiting violations committed back in 2010.
A program that was on top of the world just two seasons ago is without a true scorer, leader, healthy coach and desire to win. What happened to hard-nosed players like Kevin Freeman? The pinpoint shooters like Ray Allen or Rashad Anderson? The days of Khalid-El Amin screaming out plays from atop the key, Rip Hamilton swishing baseline jumpers or even Kemba Walker fearlessly driving down the lane seem a distant memory.
Connecticut needs you Uconn. Please sort it out.
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Bruce Weber uses full-page ad to thank Illinois fans
Kansas State coach Bruce Weber took out a full-page ad to thank Illinois fans for their support over the years.
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