Welcome to another edition of "From the Sports Gutter." This week, the topic is NCAA basketball. Outstanding freshmen have helped make college basketball more exciting in the past couple years. Meanwhile, here in Albuquerque, the UNM men's basketball team has been on fire lately and is making a late-season push to the top of the Mountain West Conference and trying to earn an NCAA Tournament bid. But what does Kelvin Sampson's resignation from Indiana mean for UNM head coach Steve Alford? Would he really leave the Lobos after just one season? To find out what the sports desk thinks, read on.
Steve Alford says he loves NM, but his roots in Indiana run far deeper
by Steven Fernandez
As one of the most exciting Lobo basketball seasons starts to wind down, there may be a dark cloud looming for the men's team.
In his first year as Lobo head coach, Steve Alford has helped UNM make a tremendous turnaround.
However, Kelvin Sampson's resignation from Indiana has sparked speculation that Alford may leave Albuquerque after just one season with the Lobos.
Alford has not commented specifically about the Indiana situation. And it may be hard for some people to imagine him leaving after such a successful year, but there are too many connections to simply ignore.
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Alford has said from the beginning of his UNM tenure that he loves New Mexico.
The weather, the golf and The Pit are reasons for his adoration of Albuquerque.
But it doesn't take a lot of investigating to see how deep Alford's roots are in Indiana.
He was born and raised in Franklin, Ind., and was named Indiana's "Mr. Basketball" in 1983 for his high school playing days. He stayed home for college, winning a national championship while playing for Indiana under Bobby Knight from 1984-87.
And adding fuel to the fire is Knight's son, Pat, who has suggested that Indiana should hire Alford to take the reigns.
"What I wish would happen at Indiana is that they would go after Steve Alford," the Texas Tech head coach told the Mike North Morning Show on Feb. 15. "He's a Bob Knight guy, and that's the only way. If you want to get all of the fans back and the players, he's a guy that's going to try and do the right thing. There's a lot of people there that won't."
UNM has certainly seen the impact Alford can have on a program. After struggling to a 15-17 season under Ritchie McKay last season, the Lobos are 22-7 so far this season with a shot at earning an NCAA Tournament appearance.
Not only has Alford provided a better record, but he has livened up the culture of UNM basketball. The Pit has been more packed and a whole lot louder under Alford. He took star guard J.R. Giddens - who has seen his share of controversy - and has helped turn him into an even more tremendous player who has stayed out of trouble.
And Alford is having this success despite losing Tony Danridge - one of the best players on the team - for the season.
Clearly, UNM fans do not want him to go and would probably feel spurned if he were to leave.
But would it be completely out of the question for Alford to go? As much as he has began to turn UNM's fortunes around, it's still not on par with a program like Indiana, historically speaking. Plus, it's his hometown and his alma mater.
Of course, there are reasons he could stay. At $975,000 a year, Alford is taken care of financially at UNM. With Sampson's actions at Indiana, there is the possibility that Alford would be walking into a mess that he doesn't want.
And if he loves Albuquerque and The Pit as much as he says he does, coaching the Lobos may be enough to keep him here.
Obviously, Alford is the one who could clear up all the questions. But until then, fans will be left wondering about his fate.
It has been a great ride so far, and Lobo fans are probably hoping it isn't a short one.
With more freshmen playing in NCAA games, the competition level has risen
by Adrian Doerfler
David Stern's decision to make high school athletes play at least one year of college basketball has proven to be great for NCAA fans.
Teams will probably rise fast and fall hard year by year, depending on the quality of freshmen brought into the program.
For example, Ohio State is on the tournament bubble watch after dominating with freshmen Greg Oden and Mike Conley Jr. last season. Both made the immediate jump to the NBA, but Buckeye fans probably didn't complain about the year they had with them.
With the rule, there now seems to be two ways a big program can go about winning a national championship. A coach can recruit one of the top players in the country and hope he pulls a Carmelo Anthony - which is to win a championship before leaping to the lavish NBA, leaving the program in shambles the next half decade.
And then there's the more traditional way, where a coach can recruit players who will have to develop and have players who stay at least three years to build a chemistry that can win multiple national championships.
Case in point: Florida, who won back-to-back national championships with the same starting five.
Now, the reason the rule makes college basketball more entertaining is because the competition level has been raised. College basketball won't miss out on dominating players any more. It won't change the game. For traditionalists and purists of the game, the Princeton offense will always be in effect somewhere in the country.
It is certainly not a guarantee to have a dominating player and be a successful team.
Michael Beasley - this year's top player who is outscoring and outrebounding last year's best player, Kevin Durant - and his Kansas State team have been in and out of the top 25 the whole season.
The rule also gives stars more identity. March Madness is arguably the most compelling time of year for sports fans.
Even if it would have been just for a year, one can't help but think it would've been amazing to see Kobe Bryant or Kevin Garnett in the NCAAs. Bryant and current Indiana Pacer Jermaine O'Neal could've faced off in college, which would have been a great battle.
Of course, some of them really didn't need college.
Amare Stoudemire was the rookie of the year, Garnett and Dwight Howard both averaged double figures in points and LeBron James averaged 21 points per game upon arrival into the league.
Memphis star Derrick Rose is a player who could be out of the NCAAs after one season but is good enough to potentially help Memphis win it all.
Rose will probably be the second pick in the draft and soon compete with Chris Paul and Deron Williams as the league's top young point guard. The team with the best chance to win it all with experienced players is North Carolina, led by junior Tyler Hansbrough.
