— I can’t put my finger on why, maybe it is because I’m getting older, but if I was an NFL team with a high draft pick, no way in hell would we draft USC QB Caleb Williams. Just a feeling in my gut that he ain’t worth the trouble.
I’m not a big fan of starting QB’s who transfer; he bolted from Oklahoma to USC, then USC lost five of its last six games last year, Williams skipped the Trojans bowl game (they won 42-28). Too much drama; after a loss to Washington; he was sobbing in the stands with his parents after the game.
By the way, I feel the same way about Wake Forest/Notre Dame QB Sam Hartman; you don’t start at QB for a team for four years, then jump ship to another college. You want to jump ship, go to the NFL; that would’ve made a lot more sense.
Now this week in Indianapolis, Williams isn’t working out, and he declined the medical exams, which are considered to be one of the most essential elements of the combine.
An NFL source thinks Williams is the first player to attend the NFL Combine after declining the medical exam. He isn’t doing any passing at the Combine, either.
NFL Draft is April 25; it should be interesting.
— Old Dominion is hiring Maryland assistant Mike Jones as its new basketball coach; Jones is an Old Dominion alum who led the Monarchs to NCAA tournaments as a player in 1992, 1995. He’s also worked as an assistant coach at Virginia Tech.
— There was a lot of complaining about court storming after the Duke-Wake Forest debacle the other night, when Kyle Filipowski limped off the floor while the Wake Forest students ran on the court to celebrate the Deacons’ win.
Four nights later, after a lot of complaining on TV, Filipowski played 30:00, had 9 points, 10 rebounds, six assists in an easy win over Louisville, so he survived the incident.
For the record, there is a way to have court storming while making sure the visiting team gets off the floor safely; set the clock at 1:00 or 1:30 when the game ends, get the visitors off the floor, then the fans can run on the court when the clock hits 0:00.
— One of the cool parts of spring training is that some teams bring in retired players to mentor the younger players on skills. Mets had Darryl Strawberry in camp this week; Reds had former big league OF Brett Butler teaching their players how to bunt for base hits.
— Time flies, man; Atlantic Sun basketball tournament starts Monday; three other conference tournaments start Tuesday. One of the best times of the year is almost here.
— Word of the Day: Quirk- an unusual habit or way of behaving.
— Of the fifteen teams in the Atlantic 10 (Atlantic 15???), three of them have Rams as their mascot; Fordham, Rhode Island, Virginia Commonwealth.
— People who run college sports should keep the NCAA Tournament the way it is; it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
— 41 years ago this week, the last episode of M*A*S*H aired on CBS; 105.9M people watched it, the end of one of the best TV shows ever.
— Utah State is 8-0 this season in games decided by 5 or less points; four of their five losses were by 13+ points. Aggies are 23-5 this season, despite not having any players on their team who scored a point for Utah State last year.
— In his last 11 games, Edmonton Oilers’ star Connor McDavid has 26 points, but only one goal- he scored the game-winner in overtime against St Louis Wednesday night.
— Famous people with birthdays on March 1st:
Roger Daltrey, 79
Ron Howard, 70
Chris Webber, 51
Trevor Cahill, 36
Michael Conforto, 31
Tyreek Hill, 30
Justin Bieber, 30
— Charleston 96, Campbell 73
Cougars win the CAA regular season title for the first time.
Charleston has won 8 in a row; they still need to win CAA tourney to get in the field of 68.
— Ohio State 78, Nebraska 69
Buckeyes are 3-1 since they fired their coach, including a win over Purdue.
Ohio State was 24-28 on foul line, Nebraska 7-8.
— South Dakota State 72, North Dakota 62
Jackrabbits were down 3 at half; they shot 12-26 on the arc.
South Dakota State clinches the Summit League regular season title.
— Saint Mary’s 83, Pepperdine 57
On December 2, Saint Mary’s was 3-5, a very, very disappointing start.
On March 1, Saint Mary’s is 24-6, 15-0 in WCC; they’re the ONLY team in the country that hasn’t lost a conference game this season.
— Gonzaga 86, San Francisco 68
Zags outscored USF 51-34 in the second half.
Gonzaga shot 71.1% inside the arc.
Gonzaga hasn’t lost to the Dons since 2012.
USF made some extra $$$; this game was in the Warriors’ arena.
— Washington 94, UCLA 77
Huskies shot 15-24 on the arc.
UCLA lost its last three games, they’re 14-14, 9-8 in Pac-12.
Bruins have the #334 eFG% in the country.
— Eastern Washington 89, Montana 79
Eagles lost their first six D-I games this season, but they’re 18-4 in last 22 games.
EWU will be the #1-seed in Big Sky Tournament; they’ve got #8 eFG% in country.
