Final 4 Heads into the Home Stretch

ALEXANDRIA, VA. -  Regarding the Men's NCAA Basketball Tournament, 61 of the 65 schools have gone home and only Duke (top-seed in the South), West Virginia (second-seed in the East), Butler (fifth-seed in the West) and Michigan State (fifth-seed in the Midwest) remain.

Unfortunately for Alexandria fans, Syracuse University was toppled by Butler in the "Round of 16" which meant that the current season has just recently concluded for former Episcopal H.S. standout Arinze Onuaku.

Onuaku (Episcopal class of '05) was hurt in early/mid March and did not see any time in the Orange's NCAA opening "Round of 64" 79-56 win versus Vermont (March 19).

The 6'9" post also did not see action in Syracuse's "Round of 32" 87-65 win versus Gonzaga (March 21) - also due to his leg injury.

Heading into the "Round of 16" contest versus Butler, the March 25 issue of The Washington Post reported the following - "Orange coach Jim Boeheim says the 6-foot-9 center is doing better but will not be available for the Butler game. Onuaku has an injured right quadriceps.

Boeheim didn't speculate on whether Onuaku would be able to play Saturday (March 27th) if the team advances."

As it turned out, Syracuse did not advance as they dropped the "Sweet 16"/"Round of 16" contest (March 25)to the Butler Bulldogs 63-59, with Onuaku sidelined and sitting on the bench.

The March 26th Post reported on page D-8 the following:  "With center Arinze Onuaku, the linchpin in the back of Syracuse's zone, out with a right quadriceps injury, the Orange had some difficulties. Forward Rick Jackson [fellow Syracuse front court teammate] got into foul trouble early."

"We haven't had Onuaku," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. "There's nothing I'm going to say about that. We don't make excuses" stated the veteran Orange head coach.

Thus with the loss to Butler, Syracuse and Onuaku headed home earlier than they would have preferred with a 2-1 Tournament record.

In addition, Potomac H.S./Dumfries, Va. alumnus Eric Hayes ('06) and the Maryland Terrapins also headed home earlier than they would have preferred with a 1-1 Tournament record (an 89-77 win versus Houston and a 85-83 loss to Michigan State).

In addition, Mount Vernon alumnus Marquel De Lancey ('08) and the Old Dominion Monarchs also headed home earlier than they would have preferred with a 1-1 Tournament record (a 51-50 win versus Notre Dame and a 76-68 loss to Baylor).

In addition, Herndon alumnus Scottie Reynolds ('06) and the Villanova Wildcats also headed home earlier than they would have preferred with a 1-1 Tournament record (a 73-70 overtime win versus Robert Morris and a 75-68 loss to St. Mary's, California).

In addition, O'Connell alumnus Jason Clark ('08) and the Georgetown Hoyas also headed home earlier than they would have preferred with an 0-1 Tournament record (a 97-83 loss to Ohio University).

T.C. Williams alumnus Anthony Wimbush ('08) and the Loyola Greyhounds (Baltimore, Md.) did not qualify for the Tournament.

That being said, former Alexandria resident Marcus Ginyard and the North Carolina Tarheels did not qualify for the NCAA Tournament but they were selected for the 32-team NIT.

Ginyard played his high school ball in Arlington at O'Connell.

Thus far in NIT action, North Carolina has defeated: William and Mary 80-72 in the "Round of 32", Mississippi State 76-74 in the "Round of 16" and UAB [University of Alabama - Birmingham] 60-55 in the "Round of 8"/Quarterfinals.

On March 30, the Tarheels will square off with the Rhode Island Rams in the semi-finals of the NIT from Madison Square Garden - NYC (too late for this edition).

Should UNC advance, Ginyard (a 6'5 wing) and the Heels will meet the winner of the Ole Miss/Dayton contest for the 2010 NIT Championship (April 1st).

Irregardless of the outcome, North Carolina extended their season longer than Virginia Tech did.

The Hokies also qualified for the NIT Tournament and they proceeded to defeat Quinnipiac by the score of 81-61 in the "Round of 32". Virginia Tech then defeated Connecticut 65-63 in the "Round of 16". However, in the "Round of 8"/Quarterfinals, the Hokies dropped a 79-72 contest to Rhode Island to end their season one game short of making the trip to Madison Square Garden.

Eric Green (Paul VI, Fairfax - class of '09) is a backup guard for the Hokies and has three more seasons of eligibility remaining.

Thus, in summing up - the NCAA Champion will either be the winner of the Duke/West Virginia contest or the winner of the Butler/Michigan State contest.

The Blue Devils/Mountaineers will meet one another in the NCAA semi-finals April 3rd and the Bulldogs/Spartans will also meet one another in the NCAA semi-finals April 3rd.

The winner of those two contests will square off April 5th, from Indianapolis, for the '09/'10 NCAA Mens Title.

Duke may or may not capture this years title, but the book LAST DANCE - Behind the Scenes at the Final Four was written by Duke alumnus John Feinstein (with a foreword by Mike Krzyzewski) - published in 2006.

Feinstein writes: "The three Basketball Games that decide the National Championship are only a small part of what goes on during a Final Four. The event has evolved into a weeklong gathering of the entire basketball world. For years, the National Association of Basketball Coaches has held its annual convention during the Final Four, meaning that coaches gather from all over the country. The famous ones come and so do the not-so-famous. Retired coaches come and so do fired coaches. Coaches looking for work come and so do those who haven't worked for a while but still, deep down, wish they were.

The coaches - almost 2,000 of them when you include all the college and high school coaches who gather at the Final Four site - are only one of the groups that show up.

Because the Final Four has become one of the events in the cult of American sports - ranking only behind the Super Bowl as a gathering place for the sports world - thousands of people pour into the City where the Final Four is being held. More than 1,400 accredited media cover the event - and that doesn't include the 375 people sent by CBS or those who are turned down by the NCAA when they request credentials.

Almost anyone with something to sell, from movie stars to shoe-company hucksters to ticket scalpers, shows up. Fans of the four teams show up and so do corporate high rollers willing to pay almost anything to get a ticket so they can say they were in the building when the National Championship was decided."

Feinstein's book covers 369 pages and is a most interesting read.


With spring break in effect for the area high schools (March 29 - April 2), perhaps we can catch up on where certain high school football seniors from the local area have committed to for the upcoming school year.

In Greater Alexandria, St. Stephens/St. Agnes tight end Laith Wallschleger has signed with Delaware.

Three Edison seniors: running back Angus Harper, offensive lineman E.J. Rogers and offensive lineman James Sherrill have signed with Old Dominion, Norfolk State and Norfolk State respectively.

West Potomac offensive lineman Matt Cunningham has signed with James Madison.

O'Connell offensive linemen Nick Appell has signed with North Carolina.