Washingtonpost.com: Live Online

Can the Texas Longhorns keep the dream alive with a win over Syracuse? How has Marquette managed to get to the Final Four? Can they beat the Kansas Jayhawks? Who do you think will win the championship?

Washington Post College Sports Editor Matt Rennie was online to discuss the NCAA tournament and college basketball.

The transcript follows.

Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.

Matt Rennie: Hello again, hoops fans. The man who a week ago brought you such wisdom as "Texas is the weak link among the No. 1 seeds" is back again to share his, um, blind guesses. Nice to be with you, though I wish I could do this outside today.

Two good matchups on tap, so on with the show.

Mt. Lebanon, Pa.: Four teams from the Big East made it to the Sweet 16. One made it to the Final Four. Tonight, the NIT championship game will be between two teams from the.. Big East. About time for better judgement by the NCAA selection committee for the Big Dance, don't you think? And yes, it is a sad day in Pittsburgh today -- but we'll get over it. Bon voyage, Ben, and thanks for all you've done. Thanks much.

Matt Rennie: The Big East fans come out in force for these chats. Yes, this has been a nice postseason for the league. But as I've mentioned in past chats, aside from Boston College, I don't think the Big East was short-changed by the selection committee. Alabama didn't deserve to get in, but did. Seton Hall and St. John's didn't deserve to get in, either, and didn't.

It will be interesting to see how Pittsburgh fills its vacancy. It's often tough to maintain a program's momentum through a coaching change.

Washington, D.C.: Why is Marquette in the final four and Georgetown has missed the NCAAs for the fifth time in six years? Both are private, urban schools with a history of past success. Neither receive any significant revenue from football programs. Both boast an all-American caliber player who would be an NBA lottery pick should they leave this season. Yet MU is on the upswing, and Georgetown is probably going in the opposite direction. What are the reasons for this? Coaching? Administrative commitment? School priorities?

Matt Rennie: Well, there's a whole lot of factors that are different here but the one thing to remember is that programs have ebbs and flows. When georgetown was going to Final Fours in the 1980s, Marquette was trolling around for a decent conference to play in.

The only bad thing Dwyane Wade's standout performance against Kentucky did was obscure just how good his teammates are. Give Mike Sweetney a point guard like Travis Diener and the Hoyas are in a different postseason tournament.

Annandale, Va.: Who will end up as North Carolina's coach? Everybody's choices seem to be Larry Brown or Roy Williams, but there must be some other candidates going through the mind of the A. D. Have you heard anything?

Matt Rennie: I've heard most of the usual suspects and I don't think the Heels can afford to take a chance with this hire so you'll see a proven commodity get the job. George Karl's name often comes up around UNC, and Rick Majerus's name comes up around any high-proifle vacancy, but I don't see either in this case.
The most curious aspect of the Doherty firing to me was the timing -- a slow sports news day (so it would get big play on the air and in the papers) and with the apparent leading candidate still playing. If UNC really wants Roy Williams, why give him this firestorm to deal with on one of the biggest weeks of his career?

Dupont, Washington, D.C.: Give it to me straight: if Marquette and Syracuse advance, I win my office pool for the second year in a row. What are my chances?

Matt Rennie: Better than mine and most other folks. Two in a row? Perhaps a trip to Vegas is in order for next March.

Arlington, Va.: There are four excellent point guards in the Final Four -- McNamara, Diener, Hinrich, and Ford. Why is it that Ford (the worst shooter) gets the most recognition from the sports media? Is there a racial bias in basketball coverage?

Matt Rennie: I think what you're observing is more a product of national media, for the most part, latching on to one player per team. Ford is clearly Texas's star, but Syracuse has Carmelo Anthony, Marquette has Dwyane Wade and Kansas has Nick Collison. Plus Ford was one of those players who has star status before he even plays a college game.

Washington, D.C.: If Carmelo Anthony, Nick Collison, T.J. Ford, and Dwayne Wade all leave for the NBA after the tourney, who will have the most immediate success in your opinion?

Matt Rennie: Immediate success? I'd say Wade or Collison just because they have a little more maturity physically and otherwise. But Anthony would likely be chosen the highest, because the NBA draft has become like the futures market, people looking for a big return and willing to take a chance.

Burke, Va.: This has been a monster post season for the Big East and Big 12. The Big 12 has two entries in the Final Four and Texas Tech went to the Final Four in the NIT. The Big East probably would have had two Final Four teams had Texas not had a home game in the regional final. The last two teams standing in the NIT are St. Johns and Georgetown. Does Maryland have teams from either conference on its schedule for next season?

Matt Rennie: Whoa, Syracuse had just as much of an advantage playing in Albany as Texas did in San Antonio so let's be equitable in that regard. And only the truly desperate are going to hang their hats on a successful NIT.

As for the second part of your question, I don't believe Maryland has released its schedule for next season, but the Terps have played a competitive nonconference slate in the past.

Silver Spring, Md.: Didn't Matt Doherty's firing/resignation sound like a "code red" from "A Few Good Men" to anybody out there? I watched the press conference and the AD, Dick Baddour almost sounded like Kiefer Sutherland and Lt. Kendrick: "Matt Doherty is gone and that is a tragedy. But he is gone because he had no bench, he had no superstars. And Dean was watching..."

Matt Rennie: None of my co-workers will believe this is a real question, because I regularly quote the courtroom scene from that movie in the office.

"You weep for Doherty and you curse the administration. You have that luxury. You don't know what they know. That Doherty's firing, while tragic, probably saves wins. And Dean Smith's existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, wins game. "

OK, enough of that.

The Other side of the Building: Hey Rennie, didn't I always tell you that 'CUSE IS IN THE HOUSE! Now, will you believe me?

Matt Rennie: Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Matt Bonesteel (or another Orangeman joining his refrain).

Washington, D.C.: Syracuse will win it all! All the other teams got lucky the whole season!

Matt Rennie: this is the kind of astute analysis college basketball needs more of.

Fairfax, Va.: Mr. Rennie, why has the Post ingnored the Frozen Four? Will there be any coverage of the final 3 games of this important college tourney?

Matt Rennie: I'm a little sensitive to this question, because I'm actually a big college hockey fan (as the Red Berenson bobblehead on my desk nods to attest). We had planned to do wire roundups from the regional finals this past weekend and our wires moved nothing but scores. We were able to get a small mention in the paper from info we got off various Web sites. We will have a writer in Buffalo for the final three games, rest assured.

Washington, D.C.: How many previous second time final four teams have come back to win the championship? By the way, Roy is staying in Lawrence! Michael Jordan will need something to do next year.

Matt Rennie: I don't have any precise figures in front of me, but I'm sure we can all think of the last one. And I think that illustrates what an advantage it is. Two seasons ago, Maryland was so happy to be there that when Duke began its second-half comeback, the Terps had trouble regaining their focus. Last season, they expected to be there and played that way. It's a tough balance to strike, between playing with emotion and remaining in control.

As for Roy Williams, I tend to agree with you, but as I mentioned, the whole situation -- the way it was handled, not the firing itself -- is a little puzzling. After Roy turned it down three years ago, why go now, when the program appears to be in worse shape, when his former assistant in Doherty has just been run off and when players and parents seemed to have considerable sway in the matter (Williams has spent the past two weeks praising the loyalty of Collison and Hinrich, who returned for their senior seasons at KU).
The only appeal I can see working is if Dean himself reaches out and says, "Hey, we're really hurting here and we need you to rescue us, both in terms of public image and in terms of wins and losses."

Annandale, Va.: How about some talk about women's college basketball? What gives? Why is it every year there are only a few schools at the top? is there such a shortage of great players? it seems like there are quite a few at the high school level, but what happens to them later. The gap between the best and the next level is so great, the games aren't even fun to watch. Your thoughts?

Matt Rennie: We'll be lookign at this issue in a story in Saturday's paper. On the one hand, you hear a lot of people say "Call me when it's Tennessee and U-Conn. in the final." On the other hand, you hear people in other sports say it's good to have a dominant team because it gives casual fans something to identify with.
I think what you're seeing in women's basketball is that the game is in an earlier stage of development and those two schools have been ahead of the curve in terms of commitments to their programs. Was the men's game less fun to watch when UCLA was winning all those titles? Answers differ, but as the talent pool got deeper, more teams started playing at a higher level.

Windowless cubicle in Rosslyn, Va.: Why is everyone criticizing the UNC AD for firing Doherty after meeting with the players? Shouldn't earning the respect of players and being able to motivate them be #1 and #2 of a head coach's job description? If good players are consistently underachieving and threatening to leave a program in waves for the second year in a row, it's clear that the head coach is ineffective. The AD has every reason to do something about it -- in fact, he has a responsibility to the program to do something about it. I hardly think the input of a few frustrated players is what sealed Doherty's fate.

Matt Rennie: Not everyone is criticizing the AD. Michael Wilbon wrote essentially wrote that the Heels were correcting a mistake they made three years ago when they hired the wrong guy for the job.
I think the perception that the inmates are running the asylum comes from people with less familiarity with the situation there.

New Orleans, La.: Matt -- I think the coverage this month has been sensational. Clearly, your leadership has been pivotal and I hope everyone realizes it. Who do you think wins this weekend?

Matt Rennie: The true winners will be the readers who get to enjoy the wise-ass writers from the Washington Post. Must be slow news day in the Big Easy.

Annapolis, Md.: Big Orange is really BIG BURNT ORANGE! Hook-em horns! How's that for real insight?!

Matt Rennie: Much better. I love this game.

Washington, D.C.: Matt --

Of my All-Jesuit Final Four, only Marquette, who I picked to win it all, is left. What are their chances?

Matt Rennie: As a graduate of a Jesuit high school (lots of love to all fellow products of Michigan's finest, U of D Jesuit), I applaud your thinking (but who did you have out of the East?). I think the Golden Eagles are great to watch, but I think they face a tough road in Kansas.
My predictions were so terrible last week that I don't want to jinx anyone this week. My brother is a Marquette grad, I sit between two Jayhawks, former Postie Richard Justice is 'Horn, and the syracuse mafia is out in force, if this chat is any indication.

Silver Spring, Md.: Why are we talking about Georgetown? (I'm a Georgetown fan, and I can't even inject them into the conversation.) The reason Georgetown is struggling is that guard play is awful: they can't shoot consistently and they expose the big men by consistently allowing guards to drive to the basket which put Sweetney in foul trouble all year. Now that I've put that to rest, I'll go out on a limb and say that Syracuse will win the whole shebang. Boehim is WAY overdue as is Roy Williams at Kansas. If either team won, I'd be happy. Barnes and Crean will have other opportunities. Call me sentimental, but I always like to see the lifetime achievement award given out like it was last year for Gary and the Terps.

Matt Rennie: OK, no more Hoyas. Boeheim and Williams are natural sentimental choices, and I understand why. But to me should be about the athletes. College sports are so wrapped up in the identities of coaches, which is understandable because the player turnover is so high, particularly in college basketball where players leave after a year or two.
Last season was about Juan Dixon and Lonny Baxter reaching the pinnacle after four years in school, but I understand where all the Gary tributes come from.

Matt Rennie: Thanks for stopping by, folks. Enjoy the games. And then the summer!

| |



	<img SRC="washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/liveonline/redesign/adv_discusssion.htm" width=125 height=110 border=0>