I Will Be Watching Closely

With the start of the NCAA basketball season a little over a month away, there are many things to look at for this coming season, as always it should be an exciting year and for west coast fans here are a few of my thoughts on what I will be watching closely.

1. How will the UCLA Bruins do playing every game on the road? The history of sports is that teams that play out of their buildings do not fair well and of course the Bruins are out of cozy Pauley Pavilion because of its remodel for the entire season. Major challenge for Ben Howland. 

2. Will Jim Hayford have any shot of turning what for the most part has been a dismal program at Eastern Washington around? It was a gutsy athletic director move to hire Hayford, who had huge success at D-3 Whitworth, but the jump from D-3 basketball to D-1 is a huge step, especially when it comes to recruiting. Do not bet against Hayford.

3. Can Arizona win the national championship? They are my choice to do as such, they have the talent to go all the way, they have a great coach and a coach who right now in Sean Miller has become the best recruiter in the country, end of story.

4. Will Johnny Dawkins be able to prove at Stanford that he is a D-1 head coach that can win. Dawkins received a contract extension over the summer, a move that shocked everyone, because so far he has been a major disappointment for the Cardinal. It is time for him to step up, otherwise you might be seeing the head coach at Stanford with the name Eric Reveno.

5. Can anyone challenge Utah State in the Western Athletic Conference? I do not see it happen, they just have the dominant program right now and no end in site, despite the fact that this year's team at least on paper is one of the  "weaker" Utah State teams in some years.

6. Can Craig Robinson show us he can coach in the Pac-12? He has some nice talent this year at Oregon State, but to say he has had success with the Beavers would be a huge false premise. Like Dawkins, so far Robinson has been a major disappointment, this year is critical for the Beavers.

7. Is Dana Altman for real? This guy had a great first year at Oregon, he had some real talent this year that has the potential to not only get to March Madness, but also win some games. Do not bet against Altman taking his Ducks to the Sweet 16 this year, they are that good and he is that good as a coach.

8. Can the Portland State Vikings honor my prediction? I have them winning the Big Sky regular season championship and hosting the post season tournament. Chehales Tapscott should be the best player in the league and one player in the Big Sky can take you to the championship.

9. How will New Mexico fair this year? Steve Alford is a very good coach, outstanding recruiter and I am waiting for his Lobos at some point in Alford's tenure to sneak up on everyone and be a final four team. That is right,  final four team, once again can anyone spell BUTLER.

10. Will BYU be BYU? Can anyone break one of the greatest regular season dominance in the history of sports and I am talking about the strangle hold that Gonzaga has on the West Coast Conference. BYU is a threat to challenge the Bulldogs, many have tried and all have failed. I would never bet against Mark Few in regular season and always bet against him in post season.

11. Will west coast teams ever learn how to market their basketball teams? Marketing of college basketball teams is pathetic for the most part and please never tell me it is money and constant change of employees. It comes down to thinking outside the box and being a little creative, the days of opening the doors and they will come are over. Here is my free tip to all athletic departments, just go and buy your staff a copy of Jon Spoelstra's new book, "Marketing Outrageously, Redux". It will be the best investment you ever make.

emails to crawscorner@gmail.com,  twitter @wchoops

It Has Been One Fun Run

As we I head into the sixth month of writing this blog, I will be transitioning more about the upcoming season as it rapidly approaches after today, but I thought it might be a little bit of fun to talk about some of the highlights of the last five months, of which many of you might consider low-lights, which is fine as well.

Before the highlights, I must add writing this blog has been a fun experience, especially the 100s of comments I get back from people, whether it be some proofreading errors, telling me I am all wet, or praising my thoughts. I would also be remiss in not taking a little shot about some people in the media who think it is funny to keep using the tired line about "most bloggers are people who write from their mother's basement". Most bloggers take their work seriously, at least I do, they care about putting out a quality product, they often do it for therapy for themselves and last but most important, writing on any subject has been a large part of the culture of the world, so as the kids of today say, "deal with it."

Five month highlights or low-lights.

1. I have had lots of fun writing about the great accomplishments of Danny Miles, head basketball coach at Oregon Tech. I have even gone so far as to promote him for the basketball hall of fame, heck if anyone ever deserved to be in there it is Miles. And I can tell you this, when I write about him, it is still the highest read column in the history of this blog. It is heartwarming for myself to hear from so many people whose life has been touched by Danny Miles, both on and off the court. His time to go in the Hall is now, not later, I hope he is in the class of 2012.

2. When you write a blog, if you want it to be worth reading you have to do your homework, that was why I was stunned to find out that free throw shooting in the NCAA has basically not improved since 1965, maybe the most stunning statistic in all of sports. Is it technique, is it mental, is it lack of practice? I know one thing for sure, if I was an NCAA coach I would bring in the great Brian Levenson, from Core Mental Training to make my team better. Brian is awesome and one of the best mental sports coaches in the world.

3. It was fun, it actually was not written as a lark, but instead it was what I thought was a pretty darn good idea. But did I think it would gain any traction, no way. When I wrote about no second overtimes in games, instead going to a free throw shootout for many reasons, the idea has actually gained some steam and I had at least one member of the NCAA rules committee give me call. Now will it go anywhere, I doubt it, but it will not be because of lack of trying.  I plan to continue to pursue the idea with basketball people.

4. Also lots of fun to find out that David Stern, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson did not save the NBA. What saved the NBA was the fact that Bill Russell felt dissed by Harlem Globetrotter owner Abe Saperstein and instead of signing with Globbies, he signed with the Celtics, thus creating the start of one of the greatest dynasties in sports and bringing credibility to the NBA. Sticking with the Globetrotter theme, they played a big role in another NBA dynasty when at the last minute in 1975, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar decided to sign with the Lakers, rather than go to the Trotters, thus creating "Showtime" with the Lakers and bringing so much attention to NBA basketball worldwide.

Well, I am going to stop right there, enough, you can always read my previous stories and quite frankly, all of my work should be a highlight, otherwise I should not be doing this.

Finally, big, big thank you to Kevin, who runs the great blog, http://parsingthewac.blogspot.com, for linking several of my articles in his Sunday column. It was nice to be treated greatly by such a pro and someone who is so respected in the basketball world.

All I can say to everyone is a BIG THANK YOU and you have my commitment to keep this blog as fresh, informative and entertaining as I can possibly make it.

emails to crawscorner@gmail.com,  please follow myself on twitter @wchoops

CRAWSCORNER 9/11 TRIBUTE

ALL I CAN SAY AS WE APPROACH THE 10 TH ANNIVERSARY OF SEPTEMBER 11TH IS

WE SHOULD NEVER FORGET, ALWAYS RESPECT THOSE WHO SUFFERED SO MUCH ON

THIS DAY IN OUR HISTORY THAT WAS HORRIBLE AND HONOR THOSE WHOSE LIVES

WERE LOST AND THOSE WHO TRIED TO SAVE THOSE LIVES.

IN THE BIG SCHEME OF THINGS, SPORTS PLAYS A SMALL PART IN OUR LIVES AND IN

CONCLUSION, MY SMALL TRIBUTE IS TO SAY:

GOD BLESS AMERICA AND GO USA, GO USA, GO USA

THANKS TO ALL FOR MAKING THIS THE BEST COUNTRY EVER.


CRAWSCORNER

We Could Lose Whole Generation

If you are a regular reader of this blog or if joining, welcome, but on occasion I do write about something different than college basketball. Please allow me to do so today.

Of course my two passions in sports are basketball and golf. I do not play basketball, when I do get the rare occasion to play golf anymore, it is evident right away I play poorly. But it never deters my love of both games. I love the business side of both, sometimes as much as the action itself.

And speaking of golf, I am worried about its future. And I mean really worried.

Never to be one for heavy stats, there is one telling statistic about golf that everyone needs to know.

For every golfer who enters the game, there is 1.8 people leaving. A telling story about the state of the game.

The two major reasons that people quit golf, 1) Play is too slow and it takes up too much time 2) There are not that many places where a person can learn to play the game (learning centers, driving ranges and par 3s).

With all this said, I personally have been saying, screaming and telling anyone on a street corner that will listen, THERE IS NO TRUE SPOKESPERSON FOR GOLF THAT ALL PEOPLE CAN RELATE TOO. It it is that simple.

It might surprise people, while Tiger Woods brought lots of new eyeballs to golf, he barely made a dent in people wanting to play the game. And that is ok, it is not Woods' responsibility to do as such.

So who is responsible for promoting the game? You would have to think that the United State Golf Association would be the leaders. An organization that everyone use to respect and even revere, has now turned into a political machine, which seems to be headed into the wrong direction under its present leadership. (I need to give no greater example of what I just said, than the USGA choice to give their premier event, the US OPEN to Chambers Bay, passing over Pumpkin Ridge. A complete political decision, which also is a complete joke).

The PGA of America tries, but they are a stale organization which seems to be stuck in mud, kind like "we have done things for 50 years like this and we are not going to change" theory.

So where does this leave us. It in my opinion leaves us in dire straits and more importantly we are in danger of losing a whole generation of golf players of which we will never be able to recover.

Perhaps I and a handful of others are the only ones that care, but I am never going to stop trying to tell people what a great game golf is and what fun everyone will have playing the game. It is a game you can easily play at 7 years of age and at 90 years of age. And as I often preach, it is truly a game of honor. What other sport can you think of that the player polices their own game, as you do in golf, often calling penalties on yourself, when no one else would even know you broke the rules.

Do I have solutions? I do have one. If you are a golfer, take someone out course or driving range, even if they just watch who has never played before. Keep talking about the game to your friends when you get a chance and keep promoting it every chance you can get.

To save the game, it is going to take the players who love the game to do it on an individual basis, it for sure it not going to come from organizations that are suppose to do this work, they have failed in this area and just do not get it. Sometimes it takes a block by block operation to make things better and this is how we have to look at golf, if it is going to survive as a sport.

Note to golf courses as well. Put some teeth into policing slow play, which has been an ongoing issue with golf for years. Quit worrying about alienating one player, who is affecting many. Do not be afraid to challenge the slow player, tell them to get moving and if they object, tell them they are not welcome back on your property. It is all about fun and business.

Finally, with all this said, there is hope. It is not too late. There is a reason that more endangered species are being taken off the list than, one coming on the list. That has happened do to some great work by individuals, not organizations or governing bodies. I am sick of hearing about golf summits, slogans, groups who say they want to promote the game. They are not getting the job done.

The job needs to get done by individuals. We still can save this precious game, but time is running out. We need to move now, not tomorrow. I am never going to give up and if you are a golfer, please do not give up and start promoting the game, to everyone you see and know. We can change the culture and feeling about golf, it just is going to take work. START TODAY.

emails to crawscorner@gmail.com, please follow on twitter @wchoops

Can Anyone Step UP???

1999 seemed to be a decent year, as best as I can remember.

If I am not mistaken Bill Clinton was winding down his presidency, we had no clue as to what was to hit the greatest country in the world in 2001 and there was not one person in the country who new what a "hanging chad" is/was.

1999, also started what is the greatest run in the history of NCAA regular season college basketball, might not ever be duplicated and even bigger it might not end for awhile.

Since 1999, the Gonzaga Bulldogs in men's basketball the have won the West Coast Conference regular season conference title, they have appeared in the big dance every year since then and all but two of those years, won the conference post season tournament, that being done with the post season conference tournament only once in that time being held on their home court.

When you sit back and look at it, you just have to go WOW.  In fact the Bulldogs have been so dominant, unlike other leagues, there is no rivalry games for Gonzaga. You can say all you want about St Mary's being a rival, they are not and will not be until they can win the regular season conference title or consistently beat the Zags in the league tournament.

And what about the future? We will know much about Gonzaga for this year during the pre-season. Just a small example of their schedule in November and December, on November 30th Notre Dame pays its first visit ever to Spokane, the same for Michigan State on the 10th of December, then the really big test in pre-season comes in Seattle, when the Zags will play Arizona in their annual "battle of Seattle". It actually should be called the battle against the future NCAA champ, as the Wildcats will either win the title in 2012 or at the very least 2013.

It has been said that as coach of the Bulldogs, Mark Few lost much when his top assistant Leon Rice left to take the head position at Boise State, this year we might know even more how much that loss hurts in the second year of Rice being gone. I doubt if it affects the Bulldogs much, they still have a very good coaching staff.

So who is going to step up and challenge the Bulldogs in the WCC? Maybe the answer is in the question, UP. We will know early as University of Portland visits Gonzaga in the league opener on December 28th. (Going on record right now, that game will be won by Portland).

St. Mary's has had their chance as documented. Randy Bennett, who appears now that he might be a lifer St. Mary's as head coach, has yet to show me his program is in the same "league" as Gonzaga, until he does, I will not waste your time writing about it. Could it possibly be Santa Clara or San Francisco? Both of those teams have outstanding young coaches in Kerry Keating and Rex Walters, but still are not at the level of Gonzaga when it comes to depth and talent. I am also excited to see what Marty Wilson can do with Pepperdine.

Reality does tell us that the only hope to unseat Gonzaga for the near future more than likely rests with Brigham Young University. With the return of Brandon Davis from suspension, the Cougars got much better and do have a legitimate chance to finally unseat the Zags for the regular season title, we all know BYU under Dave Rose will be good every year. Once again for the schedule watchers, the first ever meeting in WCC league play will take place on February 2nd in Provo, with the rematch coming late in February in Spokane.

Full disclosure, I really do hope someone can topple the kings of West Coast Conference basketball. Gonzaga has some of the most arrogant fans around, Mark Few is an overrated coach (he has done literally nothing in the NCAA tournament, that is why I say overrated and can anyone spell BUTLER),  so please do not tell me just getting there means something. Getting back to the fans, sometimes you do have the right to be arrogant when it comes to WCC play, but get back to me when once again you do something in the NCAA tournament.

The WCC is a league with average players and outstanding head coaches. It is also a league that has become somewhat boring because of the regular season domination of Gonzaga. Here is one guy that hopes it changes, but I am not holding my breath. Hats off to Gonzaga for great regular season play, hats crushed for shameful NCAA play.

Sometimes things never do change, such is the case in the WCC, but as the greatest pro wrestler of all time Lonnie Mayne use to say, "just perhaps there is excitement in the air".

As they say at your local neighborhood court, the rest of the WCC, "just bring it" for a change, for actually a literal change.

please follow on twitter @wchoops or emails always welcome to crawscorner@gmail.com

CRAWFACTS, EDITION 11

Well it is almost Labor Day, actually will we be celebrating Labor Day in years to come, since by real stats, 45 percent of America's labor force does not have full time jobs, seems like the holiday has run its course to myself, but for those who do have a job, enjoy the day off if you have it off.

Crawfacts, is news, notes and whatever else you wish to call it, go right ahead.

WCC---In the West Coast Conference, as I have pointed out has the best group of mens basketball coaches for a league its size in the country, just remember you heard it here first, we might have another good one joining the group. Marty Wilson the new coach at Pepperdine, in my opinion given a little time, might have an impact on the league. The basketball people I know, who understand the college game tell me Wilsonis really good and can get the job done at Pepperdine, which it has been a long time for success on the gorgeous campus. I have had some brief communication with Coach Wilson in the past couple of days, so I really am hoping for a good year for him and I am impressed.

Reveno---Sticking in the WCC, as I have mentioned before, Eric Reveno is a gem of a coach at U of Portland. He is so good that I recently asked a top NBA executive to give me five coaches he liked as people to watch in the coaching ranks, both college and NBA, Reveno was in the top five. Now true that is just one person's opinion, but I am sure it is shared by many other people that know the game. I truly admire the great job he had done with the Pilots to turn a stale program into a winner, the big issue like all rising coaching stars is that U. of Portland will never be able to keep him around long enough to win the WCC championship. Too many quality programs will come calling when they see the job he has done at a school that had fallen deep into woods and didn't appear to have a way out, until Reveno arrive. He is one of the best in the business right now.

Oregon State---The Beavers just picked up recently another top flight recruit in Jarmal Reid. Reid is a versatile player, out of Georgia, who will be able to help the Beavers greatly when he arrives in the 2012-13 season. It is obvious, Craig Robinson can recruit, now that has to translate becoming a good bench coach, something I have yet to see out of him. Full disclosure, I kind of grew up as far back as the 50s, yes in the 50s, liking Oregon State basketball, so it has been so sad to see how far it has fallen. As a matter of fact, not the case anymore, but at one time the Beavers had more wins than any team in college basketball, west of the Mississippi. So sad they have not been to the NCAA tournament since 1990, you talk about a program that has fallen on hard times, as well as attendance is at an all time low.

I actually do root for any teams, but at least I can pull for the Beavers to rebound. It is time for the all the talk that comes out of Corvallis to end and action on the floor needs to take place. Do I dare say, "Go Beavs".

Interesting---Good question to think about on holiday weekend. Of the basketball players, not that you know, but you can actually call friends, what is your all-time starting five of those friends. I would really be interested in you sending me your all time friends basketball team, I will even do a column on that subject. Remember, not players you see or know of, these have to be actual friends of yours, send me the top five. which will be tough decisions for many.

Twitter---Have to admit, I resisted for long time to set up a twitter account. Now I can't do without it, great tool for communication and for people who want to improve their life and improve their business dealings it is a must. It took me way too long to come around, I am really kicking myself why it took me so long and why I was so stubborn. Shame on me. By the way, follow me @wchoops.

Golf----Getting a little tired of all the jerks who are attacking Jack Nicklaus for his ideas about how to grow the game, which has sadly lost so many players due to the economy in the past few years. Nicklaus has suggested and is promoting, golf courses that have 12 holes and making the hole much bigger that it is at present, so people will make more putts. I love any ideas to grow the game and get people interested in golf. It is a tremendous game, you can play it until your 100 and please tell me, is there another sport in the world (I am sure there might be), where you call penalties on yourself? Yau, sure, I can just see the mouthy Coach K, calling a technical foul on himself. You bet.

So Jack, you still are the greatest player ever in the game and my hat is off to you for thinking outside the box, creating a buzz and hopefully more players. But in fairness, it was my good friend Gordon Kiyokawa, who first told me there should be 7 hole golf courses available to people, so Jack, even though you were late to the party, the party is still rolling.

Lastly---Please on this holiday weekend, do not forget all the people on the east coast who are still suffering from hurricane damage, the state of Lousiana, which is soaked, the state of Texas that is baked and the heros who are fighting the wildland fires on the west coast. Many people are suffering, please, please never forget these people. While many other countries are now hiding under rocks, Americans always will and always have reached out to help our fellow Americans in a time of great hardship. Thank you for reading, greatly appreciated.

Do not forget to check out http://parsingthewac.blogspot.com and www.bigskybball.com

email me your best friend five please at crawscorner@gmail.com, follow on twitter @wchoops

Everyone Wants Them, Who Gets Them

If you can keep constant track of all the conference changes, then your the best and will get mentioned in Craw's Corner, as a big time person.

For sure it makes for great banter and great for sports fans everywhere with all the changes, it is just hard to keep track of.

The latest big news just in case you haven't not been following is what will Brigham Young University do. Will they stay with the West Coast Conference? Will they move to the Big-12, bolting the WCC after a short stint, or will they join the Big East, yes the Big East, which has been talked about.

Of course this coming season, BYU will play in the West Coast Conference, with the exception of football, where the Cougars will play as an independent, much like Notre Dame has done for years, with the backing of a huge TV contract by NBC for the Irish.

Since this column is all about basketball, it intrigues me greatly as to where BYU will wind up, if they wind up somewhere else at all and decide to leave the WCC.

I know one thing for sure, no matter where BYU basketball goes, they are a huge draw, they are always good and they have a fan base that is worldwide. As matter of fact, I have to think that outside of Gonzaga, St. Mary's and Santa Clara, every team in the WCC can hardly wait for the Cougars to visit their buildings, as it is almost a guaranteed sellout, with the following they have.

My take on this is that if BYU can get an guarantee that Texas will stay in the Big-12, that is where they will eventually end up. The advantages to them are just too great, much better than being an independent in football and playing all the other sports in the WCC.

It never seemed to makes sense to myself that BYU joined the WCC, but boy was it fun to think that in men's basketball, Gonzaga and St. Mary's would have another strong challenger, plus the way San Francisco, Portland and Santa Clara, have benefited from great young coaches it is an exciting league to watch in basketball and very competitive.

I have to chuckle about the comments of some that it would hurt the image and brand of BYU if they were to leave the WCC so soon after joining. Note to everyone, even at BYU it is all about the finances and it did not seem to matter that BYU left the Mountain West, loyalty ends quickly, where money starts and flashes.

There is some tough decisions to make by lots of schools as the conference shake-ups continue and everyone postures for a great financial future. I even have to think that if BYU does leave the WCC, it might cause the WCC to re-think their postiion on Seattle University and perhaps they would bolt the Western Athletic Conference, if offered a spot in the WCC, which is a much better fit and situation than being in the WAC for the Redhawks.

As I often say it will be fun to watch, it will be tension filled for lots of people and the WCC will be dealt a big blow if BYU ups and leaves.

Stay tuned.

emails to crawscorner@gmail.com or please follow on twitter @wchoops