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Tidbits To Consume As The College Season Ends

What A March

Congratulations to the Bullets. The finished the month of March at 11-4, with a 4-game winning streak and winning 8 of their last 10 games. They were competitive in every game they played (except for the disheartening home loss to Philadelphia).

This also marks the first time the Bullets have been at or above .500 at the end of March since 1987. That's 10 years of futility, folks. Is it over?

With the cohesion this team is finally developing under coach Bernie Bickerstaff (they're 14-9 since Bickerstaff has taken over), they could be a threat for a while. There's more movement, they're playing better defense, and the ball almost always starts in the point guard's hands. Also, Cheaney and Muresan are finally getting involved in the offense, and Murray is looking good off the bench. Those are good positives for this team.

They still have a ways to go. But March looked like the start of something big. We can only hope for that.

Two Power Forwards, Once Again

This issue won't go away, will it? Because people like me won't let go of it. Actually, it doesn't matter much to me, because both are playing well together right now (after they took a little time adjusting to coach Bernie Bickerstaff's demands). Still, it does nag you some that both seem best suited to play power forward, doesn't it?

I first saw this quote in the 31 March 1997 edition of The Sporting News, although I've seen it elsewhere since then. Here's what TSN (by David Moore?) had to say, in a blurb titled, Too Much Power?

With the Bullets facing the possibility of missing the playoffs for the ninth consecutive season, there is speculation the team may be willing to part with Chris Webber or Juwan Howard in the offseason. ... Webber says the team would be foolish to break up the two and cites multiple personnel changes -- particularly the fact Rod Strickland is the team's fourth point guard since Webber joined the team during the 1994-95 season -- as a reason the club has underachieved. "I think they could justify the move," he says. "But I don't think for our city and our team, that would be the smartest thing."

Is that a veiled threat I see beneath the surface? Would Webber make things difficult if Juwan were traded? Yes, I could definitely see that. However, Juwan's contract makes him difficult to trade and get good value in return.

Would Juwan look at things the same way? He walked away from the Bullets once (albeit over a large discrepancy in dollars). Still, I'm not sure he'd look at it the same as CWebb, and CWebb has a more cap-friendly salary structure.

But with the way these two have been playing down the stretch, I don't see a trade of either of these players as being likely. Now, other players (in particular, Cheaney and Muresan) could be strong trade bait in the off-season. Still, pay attention this off-season, because a lot of names will be mentioned, and you favorite player may be the one moving.

The College Season Comes To A Close

Sorry to get outside of the NBA, but I wanted to comment briefly on the NCAA Tournament that is currently going on. Were those semi-final games on Saturday ugly or what? Nobody seems to be able to shoot straight in college any more, especially when the opposing team is playing any type of decent defense. (There are rumors that it was especially windy inside the dome in Indianapolis, but they were bricking it from in close, too.)

Still, I like tonight's matchup. In part because it should be competitive, and I like rooting for true underdogs. Of course, Arizona nearly wasn't here, especially in nearly losing in the first round to #13-seeded South Alabama (down by 11 points with about 5 minutes left, Arizona stormed away in the end of that low-scoring affair).

Obviously, the Wildcats are going to win this game (both teams are named the Wildcats). Skillwise, I would say that Kentucky has the edge, especially with Ron Mercer on the floor. But one thing about Kentucky I noticed on Saturday was how tired they seemed at the end. Arizona did the same thing to UNC on Saturday, and that could be their advantage.

My head says Kentucky, my heart says Arizona. I'll be rooting for Arizona. To be honest, look for an ugly offensive showing by both sides, despite both teams' penchant to run. Still, Arizona has shown character late in games, sometimes good, sometimes bad, so don't tune out of this one until the very end. Arizona 69, Kentucky 65.

wtf 31 March 1997

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