Carolina NCAA teams Part 1

Davidson College/Stephan Curry videos from this year.

Davidson gets in, once again winning the Southern conference. The last 3 times there they dropped their opening game so we won’t dance the victory dance yet. While participating in the big dance is nice, a realist must consider that the company of great teams does not make a great team. Davidson has played well, much thanks to son of ex-NBA star Dell Curry; Stephen Curry for Davidson dropped 20, 30 and 29 in the conference tournament to power Davidson over the other wanna-be George Mason’s of the world.

Davidson College makes one, UNC is a lock of course for a one or two seed, Duke should be around a 5-7 seed which is sure to haunt so poor at large bid in the 9-11 slot that has to play them first.

Duke may be a tough win for anybody drawing them at such a low spot as perhaps a 5,6 or 7 seed but they can be beat by the right team. There is a reason they sit that low and its not just a bad run of luck. In all Duke losses I have watched this year (4 of them), Duke was simply beat in the paint or faced foul trouble compounded by lack of depth. An athletic team with strong defensive rebounding and interior defense could definitely overwhelm the Duke team; they might not be a bad draw for the right competition.

Winthrop from Rock Hill, SC which is as good as a home team is on their way back again to the tourney as well. I was lucky enough to watch this final game against the Virginia Military Institute or VMI. I have to say that I naturally pull for the military academies in all sporting events. The fact that they survive on being well trained and in great physical condition against a field of scholarship athletes is something to be proud of. I also pull for teams like VMI and eventually Air Force when they get their at large bid, because our services deserve to be proud of their schools, and deserve the brief glory of competing in such an esteemed tournament as the NCAA.

VMI was a very impressive opponent for the perennial winner Winthrop. Winthrop repeatedly pulled away with 6 or 8 point leads just to have VMI hit yet another 30 ft shot. It felt like the juggler with chainsaws, as every moment it seemed just one flinch away from getting away from them, but VMI never flinched.

I am happy for all of Carolina, happy for the local teams and hope to see Winthrop survive a few rounds, but I must also take a second to commend VMI on a great game, great determination and my great respect for what they do off the court. In games like this I hope in victory Winthrop shook their hands with sincerity, as this kind of team is much more than just your competition in the larger picture.