Your Sweet Sixteen-Centric Thursday Night Open Thread

There will be some intense ball played this evening and that’s always fantastic. But here comes the tricky part-Duke vs St. John’s. You know the why’s so I won’t bother but I will say that I almost always cheer for the dog so that’s what I’m doing. Let’s get the rundown going, with bonus players that I’ve liked from years past.

#5 St. John’s vs Duke:

I did say at the outset that the Red Storm (who calls them that?) was under-seeded and that turned out to be true but now it’s the big boy tonight.

Walter Berry: He played at St. John’s for just two years and the team was 62-9 then. He was a back-to-the-basket 6’8″ dude and was a leftie. He gave the hated Pat Ewing all kinds of fits because he was a bit awkward but in a good way. No opposing teams in that Georgetown era could expect points out of the center spot-he was one of the few.

David Cain: Remember when dudes would sit on the bench and wait their turn to start? Cain averaged 5 minutes a game his first three years in New York and blew up his senior year, playing 36 minutes and finishing first in the the Big East in steals and assists. And he was so slight you’d think he could be knocked over with a feather.

Gene Banks: I’ll come clean-I liked the early Coach K Duke teams because he was showing up the hated Dean Smith on the semi-regular. Banks was a freshman phenom that could do everything from the wing.

Alabama vs Michigan:

Seems like the end of the road for Tide.

Latrell Sprewell: Damn, that guy was insanely quick and could get his shot off against anyone-would have loved to see him play in the Eastern Conference vs Jordan but I touched myself quite a bit back then.

Glen Rice: Played for the Wolverines and had such a sweet jumper. The rumor mill insists that he banged Sarah Palin during a tourney held in Anchorage, which was a thing back then.

Michigan State vs UCONN:

Our beloved Horatio feels that his Huskies are doing a Jeckell and Hyde thing and will fall eventually but will it be to Izzo? Speaking of, Tom is the Midwest’s Jim Boeheim, plenty of success but just the one National Title. I can’t see him getting one this year.

Shawn Respert: His senior season he scored any time he wanted at a clip of 25 per tilt. But the NBA world was not his oyster.

Nadav Henefield: He was quite the anomaly-a 6′ 7″ fella from Israel that only played a freshman season. That team was 31-6 and he was the glue guy that did all kinds of everything.

Tennessee vs Iowa State:

I ruminated on Ioway for the longest time but then I eventually said, “Basketball? Corn? These things don’t mix” I stand corrected, I think they get through.

Bernard King: Goddamn, what a player. Player of the Year his first season for the Vols, he was offense personified-a ridiculous amount of moves for every occasion. He could post you up or take you off the dribble. If he played against a taller defender he shot his jumper on the way up to throw off the shot-blocker’s timing. He overcame an addiction and was the very first guy to come all the way back from a destroyed knee.

Jeff Hornacek: This guy worked at his game so hard. He wasn’t the leading scorer on his team as a senior but carved out a 14(!) year career in the big leagues and played meaningful minutes at the age of 36.

Go get it.