I wanted to comment on this weekend's games but hadn't had time to. Let me get the disappointment out of the way first.
I really thought Gonzaga had enough this year to make the final 4 and beat Duke. Duke is a very good team, but I think if Gonzaga played like they are capable of, they would have won. They played poorly. The senior guards Pangos and Bell did nothing. The team as a whole only made 2 three pointers on 20% shooting. They also didn't get to the free throw line nearly enough. Granted, some of that could be placed on the refs for not giving the Bulldogs some calls but overall they needed to play better. It's frustrating because I've watched them enough to know they can.
The other, and lesser, disappointment was ND losing. ND exceeded expectation all year, including winning the ACC tournament. They have nothing to be ashamed of as they gave Kentucky all they could handle. Connaughton and especially Vasturia played well in the NCAA tourney. Grant unfortunately got all the attention which made this team annoying. In all honesty, I'm happy to see the Wisconsin vs Kentucky rematch. I want to see the Badgers end their magic run. Which leads me to the good.
Wisconsin and especially Sam Dekker have been a joy to watch. The Dekker we've seen against NC and Arizona is a revelation and the culmination of his vast talents that he'd been having trouble putting together all year. Simply put, when Sam is aggressive, playing physical, taking the ball to the hoop and hitting his outside shot, he is unstoppable. IMO he's better and more dynamic than even Kaminsky when he's playing at his best level. During the game against NC, they talked about how Dekker was the standout at last summer's LeBron James Skills Academy. They said LeBron would ask the players who he needed to play against and guard and the overwhelming response was Dekker. They then said Dekker more than held is own against James. It's ironic they said this as I was thinking he reminded me of LBJ the way he was taking guys off the dribble with his handle and long stride and then bullying guys near the rim with his size. Dekker is 6'-9" and James is 6'-8". Now you will never hear anyone in the media compare Dekker to James but that's who his game reminds me of, albeit a poor man's version. Of course, that's if Sam reaches his "upside".
The Badgers will need Big Frank and Dekker to keep rolling but also need Hayes and Dukan to step up against Kentucky's bigs. Wisconsin is better than last year but so is Kentucky. It should be another epic game and hopefully the Badgers prevail this time.
