I've seen them a few times. Hoosiers is a very accurate account of perhaps the biggest Cinderella basketball story ever.

The high school basketball tournament in Indiana had only one classification when I was in high school which meant that every school, no matter how big or small, were all together in one big tournament. That's how such a small school like Milan ended up beating the big, perennial powerhouse, Muncie Central for the State Championship in 1954. They also beat Indianapolis Crispus Attucks, led by Oscar Robertson, in the semis. Bobby Plump, who hit the shot as time expired to beat Muncie Central, is an Indiana legend.

I'm not sure when the single classification tournament ended but now, like most states, the Indiana high school basketball tournament has several championships based on school size. We'll never see a miraculous run like Milan had in Indiana ever again.

Edit note: Indiana ended the single championship tournament in 1997 amidst much controversy. Many Hoosier basketball fans loved the traditional format because it allowed for the possibilities of Davis vs Goliath upsets. Now only two states have a single tournament format in which everyone competes against each other: Kentucky and Delaware.

I grew up in Indiana and still have Hoosier hysteria in my veins. My mother and sister are IU alums and my sister lived in Bloomington for many years. Despite all of his championship accomplishments, Bob Knight nearly ruined Indiana basketball with his outrageous, juvenile, anger tantrums and, believe me, what you saw on the court was only the tip of the iceberg.

The worst part was that IU administrators and many fans turned a blind eye to his shameful behavior as if the ends justified the means. Finally, after he assaulted a player by grabbing him by the throat, the university knew they couldn't let him continue and gave him the boot, but a lot of damage was already done.

Knight left Indiana pouting, angry and loudly crying foul. The man was a genius about the game and demanded unquestionable accountability and total commitment from his players but he was to blind to his own boorish behavior. It left a stain on IU basketball for quite some time and the ability to recruit at the highest level fell off. IU basketball is finally back up to an elite level under Tom Crean. Crean is very intense but he always maintains a respectable demeanor.

Pathetic! What a wonderful role model for his players on how to handle their emotions in the heat of the game...! If this man can erupt like that on national tv, just imagine what he's like when he's behind closed doors or when the cameras are off. Uncontrolled outbursts of anger should not be tolerated and justified just because it takes place in a sporting event. It sends a terrible message especially to young men.

Saban may be a football guru but the incident during the game with Washington where he goes berzerk on Kiffin shows that he is a first class jerk also.

Great to hear about how well the Ags played from your perspective on the floor. I was able to watch the game on Big West TV while still getting my 'honey do" list done. I think you summed up what I was seeing as well.

The defensive intensity has been there most of the year but the offense has not been as reliable. I think Les really has the team taking pride in being good defenders. If we can bring solid defense each game and shoot a decent percentage, we are going to be a tough out in conference.

The conference will probably be a topsy-turvy affair as usual. I'd like to see us hold home court advantage and then steal a few on the road.

Some folks over on the Big West Boards think that Moneke could be the POY in the Big West. If he keeps up with those double doubles they just might be right.

I'm looking forward to UCSB and Poly next week.

I would like to say that your experience would be shocking but, unfortunately, it's the sad truth too often in big time college athletics. When college athletics become a huge business with deep corporate dollars feeding the university kitty, the only things that are going to ultimately matter are the number of W's and championship banners.

You're correct, 72Aggie, some players form the biggest of the big power programs will go on to make big bucks in the pros, but what happens to many of the other players (their supporting cast) who may leave school without the ability to read at a middle school level?

I remember the fairly recent North Carolina scandal where some basketball players were reading at something like the 3rd grade level but were "magically" passing their college courses with a "little help from some supportive counselors." Those athletes were just being used to bring W's and $$$ to the university and the pockets of the coaching staff.

I think it is disgraceful and a travesty to college athletics when that kind of stuff happens and, honestly, I think there may be more of it taking place among the "elites of the elite programs" than any of us would like to think. Maybe I've become too skeptical and cynical in my old age but big money talks loudly at the top of the elite programs and, unfortunately, often times to the detriment of the well being of the athletes.

Sorry...end of rant!!! 8-)

Evidently the Chancellor search is down to 11 candidates and 3 of them are currently employed at UCD:

http://www.davisenterprise.com/local-news/dunning/bob-dunning-transparent-chancellor-search-not-so-much/

That's interesting 69aggie. I've been wondering about what a coach can do to improve rebounding. Sure, you can demonstrate boxing out and positioning but it really comes down to determination and desire to just go hard for the ball. I have seen drills were coaches use pads to bump and push players around to get them used to being banged about and still getting to the ball or finishing a shot while being fouled but I've never seen a contraption you say that Ham had. It was probably something his wild basketball mind just came up with. He was a special character for sure!

I can appreciate the level of talent and execution that a program like Alabama has but I have a hard time being a fan of a college football program that has a budget and facilities that rivals some NFL teams. I find it hard to believe that they care at all about academics and the overall well-being of the players. They seem more like a professional team and the players are there to play football first and foremost and academics are pretty much just an annoyance at best.

Yes, SB had Seattle down by 15 with 9+ left and ended up getting beat by 4 at home. Seattle made a similar comeback against the Aggies when the we had a 16 point lead with 9+ left and they cut it to 4 but we hung on and got the win in Seattle. Looks like the Ags and UCSB will be a toss up next Wednesday.

Ags get a good win over Utah Valley 83-69. They now have 2 nice wins heading into league next week.

Ags lead by 10 at the half 39-29.

No problem, PA. Thanks for keeping us running smoothly!

Haha...I have been accused of having selective short term memory! But, I blame it on my declining hearing! ;)

Yup...I o'k with them...but do we need to start worrying about the list 3 or 4 days in advance...? :-}

The basement was called the Rathskeller. The Davis Larry Blake's was a sister establishment to the Larry Blake's Rathskeller in Berkeley which was a famous hangout for college students on Telegraph Avenue. They closed their doors after 71 years in 2011.

The building that the Davis Blakes was in was torn down when the block was redeveloped but I'm not sure what year it was that it actually closed its doors. The basement was always packed wall-to-wall during Happy Hour on Thursday nights. Good times & memories...

Bring us some luck, DrMike. I'm going to miss this one. I've got a big "honey do" list tomorrow since we host a New Years Eve dinner party each year. Too bad since the only other two home games were against Holy Names and William Jessop. How's that for some exciting scheduling?!!

For sure, 6th. I hope I'm not coming across as being hard on this team. That's not the case at all. This team has a big up side and it's frustrating to watch them get out played by a team that just forced their will on them. That problem has been showing up again and again when it comes to rebounding.

We have decent size but we don't handle physical players well. Bertsch is a wonderful player but she is very slight and gets bounced around underneath. Her strength is her quick spin moves and her nice touch from mid-range. Last year we had Alyson Doherty and Celia Marfone and both of them had a more solid physical presence inside. The year before that we had Sydnee Fipps who was a blue collar type player who played aggressively and imposed her will on defenders. We are lacking the type of toughness that Fipps, Doherty and Marfone brought to each game.

It's almost like we're just playing a little bit too nice. The talent is there but we need someone step up and be the emotional leader of this team and really bring some fire and aggressive play. That's usually contagious and can help elevate everyone to a higher level of effort and dogged determination to win.

The box score tells the story. After blistering the nets with 62% shooting in the first half the Aggies went ice cold in the second half and shot 20% but, the absolute killer, was allowing 20 offensive boards. This was after allowing 18 offensive rebounds against Central Florida.

You simply can't allow an opponent to shoot over and over again until the ball finally drops through the hoop. The Ags have to find a way to do a better job on the boards on both ends of the court and establish a physical presence so teams don't just push them around. 20 offensive rebounds by the opponent is a recipe for disaster.

It's interesting that in basketball, the team that is the aggressor on offense and the boards is usually the team that gets the benefit of the foul calls against the opponent. That was the case in the second half of today's game. When JU started crashing the boards, it was the Ags who got whistled for reaching and bumping. You can not rebound or play good defense well when you are a step late and on your heels.