From the Bleachers

Well, it is March, and that could only mean one thing: March Madness. 64 of the best teams, in college make the run at the National Title. Last year, Duke was victorious, and many people could see that happened again, but personally I disagree.
My pick is Maryland. First of all, you have one of the best backcourts with Steve Blake and Juan Dixon. Both Blake and Dixon can either play point guard or shooting guard. Blake, a junior, has been more of a point guard out of the two, while Dixon has become the shooting guard. Blake will be back after this season, but Dixon will not because he is a senior.
Blake is playing great this year in leading the Terrapins. He is averaging eight points and eight assists a game to lead the Terrapin offense. Dixon, a quiet guy, is also putting up some nice numbers, while making a few NBA scouts turn their heads. For the season, Dixon is averaging 20 points, five rebounds and three steals a game.
Lonnie Baxter, who is also a senior, is making the most of his final year. This year he is averaging 15.4 points per game while also grabbing eight and a half rebounds a contest. Byron Mouton, another senior, is enjoying a good season. Averaging 12 points and five rebounds makes Mouton a quiet threat the Terrapins have used all season long.
Finally, sophomore Chris Wilcox is playing well for someone my age, putting up 12 points a game and, more importantly, grabbing eight rebounds a game.
The Terrapins look to have all the necessities for winning a national championship. The only question is will each of the starting five be ready to play day-in and day-out without any problems? If you are a college basketball fan, then you know that in March Madness if you lose once then you are out.
I have been hearing talk about Kansas also. But that has not happeed since Roy Williams became the coach. Williams never wins the big games. Back when he had Raul LaFrentz and Jacque Vaughn, two of the best players in the nation, he could do nothing with them and only made it to the sweet-16.
Duke is always one of the best teams in college basketball, but I do not think this team is good enough to win a national championship. True, they have the best player in all of college, Jason Williams (no arguement from me), but he is not enough. You cannot count on Carlos Boozer and Mike Dunleavy, Jr. to win a championship. Boozer is inconsistent and does not show a lot of potential for someone who is heading into the NBA Draft. Dunleavy, Jr. is still improving has game and needs one more year to fully compete, so I feel that Duke will make it to the great-8 and then lose. Maybe Duke makes it to the Final Four but after that no more.
I like Maryland and have the entire season. The only thing left now is to watch the Terrapins do what they do best, which is win.
Tell me what you think, as March Madness is set to begin. So, if you see me on campus, stop me and give me your opinion.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Mar 8 2002. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry