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The Chat House
With Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon
Washington Post Sports Columnists
Tuesday, April 2, 2002; 1:30 p.m. ET
Will Jordan come back for another year? What about the Redskins? How about those O's?
It's time for another edition of The Chat House! Join Wilbon and Kornheiser LIVE to talk about the NCAA Tournament and anything else that strikes your fancy.
The transcript follows.
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Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: Good afternoon everyone and welcome back to The Chat House. Wilbon will be joining us by cell phone for part of the chat b/c he is in transit on his way back from Atlanta. Tony is here and will jump in as soon as he gets out of his dressing room. Mike is literally walking into his house w/his bags so he'll be with us very shortly. Hang tight. --Mary
Springfield, Va.:
Congrats to the Terps but how does Gary Williams replace Dixon, Baxter, Mouton, and probably Wilcox who will turn pro. Terp fans should enjoy while it lasts.
Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: You don't replace people in college basketball. You think Dean Smith and Coach K sat around and wondered about replacing anyone? Gary has got 5 kids who have logged major minutes for a championship team: Blake, Nicholas, Holden, Randle and Wilcox if he returns. You tell me who else who has got that many people coming back from such an experience? Four of those kids will be coming back from two appearances in the Final Four. --Mike
Washington, D.C.:
Congrats to the Terps! In light of graduating three top players, how much will Travis Garrison be able to contribute to the Terps next season?
Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: If Wilcox comes back, not much should be asked of him....which is the ideal situation. Why would you want a freshman to have to do much when you have a team full of juniors and seniors? --Mike
Washington, D.C.:
It's funny how Gary Williams is suddenly "Gar" to everyone.
You guys know Chris Webber. Do you think he's lying about not getting any money, or what? He didn't leave much wiggle room; if he's lying he's more audacious than, say, Bud Selig.
No, really, say Bud Selig.
Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: Time will tell. It will all come out won't it? Chris has misrepresented parts of his life before... the parts about growing up poor and missing meals never happened. So, I hope he's telling the truth this time. --Mike
State College, Pa.:
Mike, what was your favorite moment of the Final Four? I envy you having been there, not least of all because you didn't have to listen to Greg Gumbel and Clark Kellogg spout meaningless drivel to fill the time.
Does it say anything that the last few national hoops champions were led by players who stayed for their senior season (back to Arizona in '97 which was mostly underclassmen)? Or is it just coincidence?
Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: First of all I LOVE both Gumbel and Kellogg and think they do a great job. My favorite thing about the Final Four? Watching Juan Dixon. To watch this kid's story unfold. That's one of the best college stories you'll ever see in your life. Can't say enough about the kid. When he hit the 3 pointer to put Maryland ahead in the fade away to increase the lead.... he just took over the game. It was a joy to watch. --Mike
Annapolis, Md.:
Guys, was it and is it a blunder on Mike Davis part to talk about his NBA aspirations while his team was in the thick of things? Talk about self-promotion unfair toward his players.
Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: You have to understand the context the Sunday of the Final Four. Coaches and players are seated before the media for 90 minutes, first in a group and then individually. What do you want Mike Davis or Gary Williams and all the players to do, issue no comment for 90 minutes? Then you'd be complaining how rude they were. He answered questions about his life. That's it. Don't read anymore into it than that. And w/the way he's been treated at Indiana, I hope he does go to the pros... if that's what he wants... good for him. --Mike
Vienna Va.:
In my opinion, neither team deserved to be the NCAA champion. This was the worse basketball game I ever saw, with three errant passes in the first minute.
Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: What are you talking about? Did you just turn on your first basketball game? You're not really that naive are you? --Mike
Washington, D.C.:
Mike, there's no doubt that Dixon is the MVP, and Blake played a terrible game, but in your editorial today, you made Dixon seem like he did no wrong. He bailed the terps out at the end, but he also had seven turnovers, which contributed to their shoddy play early on.
Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: I mentioned the 7 turnovers in the column today. First of all, he didn't have 7, just like Blake didn't have only 4. Blake had by my count, at least 6 and Dixon had 4 or 5. But that doesn't matter anymore. Dixon also had 5 steals. Dixon was there for his team every minute the moment the calendar turned to March. --Mike
Washington, D.C.:
Yesterday was a good day for Maryland sports fans. First the Orioles beat the hated Yankees and Roger Clemens, to boot. Also they did a nice thing in bringing Johnny Oates back to throw out the first pitch. After watching a good game on a lovely day, the fan could go home, have dinner, and watch Maryland beat Indiana. Granted it was a sloppy game, but a victory counts whether is a pretty one or an ugly one. And the trophy looks good regardless. So, congratulations to the O's, the Terps players (especially Juan Dixon for that lovely 3-pointer), Gary Williams and his coaching staff, Debbie Yow, and good luck to Johnny Oates. All in all a lovely day.
No question, just those comments.
Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: Thanks for the comment. --The Chat House
Alexandria, Va.:
I am trying to understand the mentality of a U-MD students whose response to a basketball victory is to riot. Can you explain what is going on in these children's minds?
Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: They are idiots. --Mary
Here is what should happen: As soon as a riot leaves the campus, real police should be called in and they should be filming the actions of these rioters who should then be arrested, expelled from school, sent to jail and later tried and when convicted sent to prison. That's it. There is no constitutional guarantee for students whose parents pay good money to send them to college to riot. The moment any property is destroyed, these dopes should be arrested. --Tony
Silver Spring, Md.:
Was the Indiana defense that tough, or was Maryland dangerously close to melting down in the latter part of the first half and the first part of the second? The turnover numbers were awful, and the shot selection was pretty bad. Packer and Vance were commenting on the poor play, and I thought the Kentucky, UConn, and Kansas games were more attractive (at least those parts I saw).
I don't mean to take anything away from Maryland, which was clearly the better team and deservedly won the championship.
Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: Let me say this. The game was sloppy and Maryland certainly did not distinguish itself offensively. I thought they should have been up by a minimum of 20 ptos by the end of the first half. But having said that, Maryland is a thoroughly deserving champion. They had the hardest road to go of any #1 seed ever to reach the finals. They played the highest possible seeds in every round until the Championship game and if nothing else their defense against Indiana was terrific. I find it hard to fault anything Maryland did. And yes, their previous games were more attractive, but in the most important game Maryland ever played, they won. What more do you want? --Tony
Alexandria, Va.:
Now that it's all over, how much do you think that Bobby Knight is "smarting" over the fact that Indiana's basketball program went so far without him, so soon?
Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: My guess is --- in fact I know this -- that Knight wanted desperately to stay at Indiana last year b/c he thought this team was capable of getting to the Final Four. So, I guess, he is smarting somewhat. But for what he did at Texas Tech this year, going from 9 wins to 23, he ought to be Coach of the year. Remember this in your zeal to praise Mike Davis (who has no national titles, and Knight has 3), you don't have to slam Knight. Davis' coaching speaks for itself. --Tony
Ex-Rockville, Md.:
Michael,
Why did you come back? You should have just taken a week off and stayed in Georgia for the Masters!
How many of the underclassmen that you think will go pro should enter the draft? Prince, Jeffries, Wilcox don't seem ready to lots of "experts."
Where's TK?
Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: I'm here. Where are you? --Tony
Crofton, Md.:
Hi Guys,
Pardon the Interruption... but I was wondering if anyone else thought that the secondary savior for the Terps last night was Mouton? Seems that all he does is put himself in the right place all of the time. Dixon is certainly deserving of the MVP but I think that the Terps may be in mourning today if Mouton wasn't there!
Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: Mouton is one of the guys who does the dirty work. But, the secondary savior is certainly not Mouton and certainly is Lonnie Baxter. What game were you watching? Baxter had his season high in rebounds in the freakin' NCAA title game. How could you possibly rate Mouton over him? Mouton made 2 great hussle plays, but w/out Baxter on offense and defense, Maryland would have surely lost that game. And not only that, but against UCONN to get the Final Four, Baxter had his season high in scoring, 29. Baxter and Dixon are the most important players. Seriously, don't overlook the obvious in your zeal to find the obscure. --Tony
Drop the puck:
Mike,
I know, I know -- the Terps are the talk of the town, but can we chat about the Caps? They may sneak into the playoffs. Do you think they can make some noise?
Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: I guess you wanted Mike and not me. --Tony
Oh well. --Mary
Washington, D.C.:
Hi Tony and Mike,
First, I was rooting for the Hoosiers last night because I am an alum. That said, I was actually happy for the Terps.
My question is this, I was at IU during the Knight years. Besides the fact that there are way to many in Indiana that worship at the altar of the cult of Bobby Knight. Why do you think Mike Davis has been treated so poorly at IU? Because he replaced BK, because no on had faith in his ability? Because he is not one of their own like Alford? Because there is still a bit of racism in Southern Indiana?
What is your call? I think Mike Davis did a great job and the folks in Bloomington and the rest of the state should accept the fact that no matter what happens with Maryland, Bobby is not coming back.
Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: I don't know how poorly Davis has been treated at IU. Obviously, it's terribly difficult to follow a legend like Knight, especially one as controversial as Knight. But Davis, went to the championship game in his 2nd year. And if the people at Indiana don't appreciate that, then they don't know as much about basketball as I thought they did. --Tony
Germantown, Md.:
Do you think Jared Jeffries is ready for the NBA? I have a hard time seeing what position he would play at the next level, especially after the way he went AWOL during the Final Four.
Full disclosure -- I'm an Indiana alum and would hate to see him go, but I realize the world isn't like that any more.
Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: Jeffries disappeared in the Final Four. He completely disappeared. He is not ready for the NBA. Caron Butler, on the other hand, was great during the tournament. He is ready and it appears Chris Wilcox is ready too, considering how he ate up Drew Gooden and Jeffries. Sad for Maryland that Wilcox would go, but if he's a top 5 pick, how can you stop him? --Tony
Women's NCAA Final:
Generally I'm not a fan of the women's (basketball) game, but I was very impressed by UCONN. I thought they had a great game plan (get it inside) and they stuck to it. The passing was fabulous. What did you think?
Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: Yeah, that was actually fun to watch. UConn is 39-0. That's great. And the women generally understand the fundamentals of basketball and the geometry of basketball better than men. They are no where as near as good as the men, of course, but that's a different issue. On the women's level, UConn is great. They are the '27 Yankees. --Tony
Arlington, Va.:
Mike and Tony:
Maybe both of you have mentioned this on the air or in your columns before, but one of the things that impressed me most about the Terps throughout the tournament was their ability to adjust when things weren't going there way -- Gary Williams has a knack for mixing things up and his players one for executing those changes. I thought he clearly outcouched Calhoun and UConn and especially Roy Williams and Kansas.
Do you agree?
Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: I don't know who outcoaches who. I'm just really happy for Gary Williams, whom I've known and liked for over 20 years. I've said this 100 times before, but, I shouldn't ever allow myself to become friends w/people that I cover. I made that mistake w/Gary. But, he is my friend and I'm happy he won. Now, finally, maybe, the Terps fans will get off his back. --Tony
Portland, Ore.:
Gentlemen,
I need to say this. My dad used to take me to Maryland games as a little kid. I remember crying when Buck Willimas and Albert King lost in the ACC final to Duke. Maryland winning the title last night is one of the greatest sports moments of my life. I don't care if the Capitals, Wizards, Redskins, or Orioles ever win another title. This is amazing. It has taken so long to get over Len Bias's death! I'm still in shock.
Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: Thanks for the comment Oregon. --The Chat House
Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: I have to go. See you later. --Tony
Mike had to drop out a while ago b/c he's in transit from Atlanta. There is no show next week because I'm on vacation. So, tune in on the 15th!! --Mary
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