Some Final Four thoughts

Well, I'll admit it...my basketball prognostications this season sucked. I'm finishing last in both of my tournament brackets. And last month, I even dissed Cinderella, George Mason. Heck, I even agreed with Jim Nantz and Billy Packer on the mid-majors. I thought the RPI's were out of whack, but that's the great thing about the tournament. In the end, you have the capability to silence your critics, even if they are the guys calling the games. Last month, Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tried to prove the Missouri Valley's worthiness, but ended up proving Nantz' and Packer's point instead. When seeded #6 or lower, the MVC had a lower winning percentage than any of the "big time conferences". The only conference that was even close was the SEC...and the SEC put 2 teams in the Final 4...

The rumor mill has Barry Collier interested in the Ball State head coaching job. Although it's being denied, I can't help but wonder if this isn't really part of a plan to get a coaching change in place without Pederson having to drop the hammer. Collier leaves with his head held high, and Nebraska gets a new coach. It's not heard of before...remember how Dana Altman left Kansas State for a woeful Creighton program?

I see Harrison Beck is now moonlighting as a rock singer in Lincoln now. Just saw some "highlights" on channel 3, and he sings worse than some of those passes he threw against Kansas State last November. (Just ask the guy in the West Stadium who caught one of Beck's errent throws!) A couple of weeks ago, Sean Callahan of Huskers Illustrated and Kevin Kugler of KOZN radio were discussing Beck, and the stat of a 40% completion percentage in practice was discussed. 40%? We might shake our heads at the idea of an Eric Crouch or Jammal Lord completing less than 50% of their passes, but Crouch and Lord made plays with their feet. 40%??? Even Mickey Joseph could do better than that. (I used to scream "Run Mickey Run" whenever Joseph dropped back to pass...) There is some concern that Beck needs to start establishing himself as the heir apparent to Zac Taylor, or Bill Callahan and Jay Norvell will dip back into the JuCo ranks for a quarterback. Beck may have the physical tools to be a great quarterback, but time and time again, I wonder about the mental makeup of Beck. Whether it's some of his comments when he was a senior (remember his blog?), or his sideline antics (dancing with the Cornhusker Marching Band during the Oklahoma game or oggling the Kansas dance squad), I really wonder about Beck.