Here's my first region, the East. I'll put my other one up today or tomorrow morning.
East Region
#1 North Carolina – Again, I think I’ll just use Jimmy Chitwood’s old quote from two years ago to describe this ball club: “the Tar babies are very aptly named. Oh, how head coach Roy Williams has fallen since his days of Kansas and Tyler Hansbrough! The only White athlete who occasionally sees the floor is power forward [Luke Maye], and that only happens when the magical negroes on the roster get in foul trouble.” The one change is that Luke Maye is now the white power forward who comes in when the super athletes get in foul trouble. This team is talented though, and has a chance to cut down the nets.
#16 Florida Gulf Coast/Farleigh Dickinson – If you’ll recall, FGCU (aka Dunk City) made their Sweet 16 run with a white friendly team, featuring white guys making plays all over the place. New coach Joe Dooley (a former Kansas assistant…) has really blackened up Dunk City, and now only two white athletes even see the floor for them. Christian Terrell is a dynamic guard that can score, while forward Filip Cvjeticanin provides a boost off the bench, and has been playing 20+ MPG the last couple of games for them. Farleigh Dickinson only has two white players on the whole team, and only one sees any time off the bench. Go Dunk City.
#8 USC Trojans – USC is back in the Big Dance with former Dunk City coach Andy Enfield at the helm. The Trojans feature two white athletes, with one of them starting as of late. Power forward Nikola Jovanovic is a key cog for USC, averaging 12 PPG. He also leads the team in rebounding with 7 per game. UNLV transfer Katin Reinhardt (who’s started about half of their games) plays starters minutes off the bench for the Trojans, and gives them a scoring spark.
#9 Providence Friars – The Friars have two good players in Ben Bentil and Kris Dunn, but besides that, there’s no reason to watch these guys. Ed Cooley has never been a friend of white athletes, and that doesn’t change this year. The only white athlete who sees any time is 3 point sniper Ryan Fazekas, and he’s barely seen the floor as of late. Providence is a very loathsome team, and I’m hoping they have an early exit.
#5 Indiana Hoosiers – Tom Crean’s Hoosiers surprised many this year by winning the Big Ten regular season title. Although not the teams of a couple seasons ago, this Indiana team is still more white-friendly than last year’s version. Forward Collin Hartman starts for the Hoosiers; he’s pretty much a glue guy in for defense and rebounds; he doesn’t seem to score too much. Part time starter Nick Zeisloft usually plays a lot of minutes at the two guard spot; he’s one of the team’s best three point shooters, hitting nearly 43% of his shots behind the arc. Off the bench, senior forward Max Bielfeldt has been one of the Hoosiers’ better posts down low; he provides instant offense. Walk-on freshman point guard Harrison Niego sees a few minutes behind Yogi Ferrell here and there. Overall, this team shoots the three really well and can run; I think they could be a sleeper team.
#12 Chattanooga – The autobid out of the Southern Conference is one of those racist teams who deem that no white athlete is worthy of regular playing time. The white players at the end of the bench are purely there for team GPA reasons. Hopefully, Indiana knocks them out.
#4 Kentucky – The Wildcats are surging at the right team, storming through the SEC tournament before knocking off Texas A&M in overtime. Normally filled with high-upside talent, with no room for white players, Kentucky actually plays two this year. One of them, stretch forward Derek Willis, was actually allowed to start a few games. Not surprisingly, Willis took this opportunity and ran with it, having some great games and becoming a key cog, leading the team in 3 point field goal percentage. However, he was hurt for a few games, and he’s back on the bench, but still plays 20+ minutes per game. The other white athlete who sees a few minutes per game is 7’0 foot Aussie freshman Isaac Humphries. He had his choice of elite programs, but decided to attend Kentucky for reasons unknown to sit on the bench behind one Calipari’s prized recruits. He’ll be a good player one day if Calipari doesn’t over-recruit him. Other than those two, not much to see with this team.
#13 Stony Brook – Stony Brook is dancing for the first time in their history after beating Vermont in the America East title game. They are led by forward Jameel Werney, who is actually really good, and is fun to watch. In terms of white players, junior Lucas Woodhouse is the starting point guard. He’s a great distributor of the ball, and a 3 assist to turnover ratio, easily the best on the team. Backup combo guard Kameron Mitchell is the only other white player who sees the floor for the Sea Wolves. They would’ve had one more, but starting forward Bryan Sekunda was ruled out for the season in February. As usual, I’m hoping Calipari and his high-upside team loses in the first round.
#6 Notre Dame – A year removed from their impressive Elite Eight run, Mike Brey has the Irish back in the tournament. They have one regular white starter in combo guard Steve Vasturia, who’s been a very good player for them this year. He does everything for the Irish, defends well, is able to score in a variety of ways, and can dish out some nice assists. Vasturia is 3rd on the team in scoring at 12 PPG and basically plays the entire game. Freshman sharpshooter Matt Ryan has started a few games this year, but will get a nice run off the bench. He’s been a deadly weapon for them this year, and will only get better. Another freshman, bouncy shooting guard Rex Pflueger, and sophomore point guard Matt Farrell also come off the bench for decent minutes. Overall, a good team to support, as they’ll have 2-3 white guys on the floor for some stretches of the game.
#11 Michigan/Tulsa – Tulsa is probably the most undeserving team that’s been in the NCAA Tournament in a long time. They’re coached by racist Frank Haith, who’s never been a fan of white athletes. Only one white player sees any time. This team should be going home early, as I don’t think they’re that good. Michigan is a much better alternative. Under Jon Beilien, the Wolverines have always been fairly white friendly, and this year is no different. Michigan features two white starters, forward Mark Donnal, who’s made some strides in his game this year, and Duncan Robinson, one of the best three point shooters in the country. Robinson transferred in from a Division III school, and after sitting out a year, took hold of a starting job, and has ran with it. He’s expanded his game inside a bit, and can make some nice cuts around the basket. Off the bench, forwards Ricky Doyle, and Moritiz Wagner (who I think will be a player in a year or two) come off the bench, mostly in a rotation with Donnal. Walk-on point guard Andrew Dakich also comes in at the end of the rotation sometimes. The Wolverines shouldn’t have a problem in the play-in game.
#3 West Virginia – The Mountaineers are a squad the loves to run. They’ll press you and play a very physical game. Of course, under Bob Huggins, they’re nearly all black, with just one white starter. If a white-friendly team like Davidson or BYU decided to play this physical, pressing style, half the team would foul out in the first 10 minutes. Junior forward Nathan Adrian is that white starter. He’s rather unremarkable. He’s not that athletic, and barely gets to touch the ball in his 10-15 minutes per game. However, if a team is able to slow the tempo down and avoid turnovers, West Virginia is likely done.
#14 Stephen F. Austin – The Lumberjacks are dancing again for the 3rd time in three years. Like the last couple of years, their best player is a white man. That would be 2 time Southland Conference player of the year Thomas Walkup. He is the engine that makes the Lumberjacks go. He’s a great athlete that leads the team in scoring (18 PPG), rebounding (7 per game), FG percentage (60%), and steals (2.1 per game). As you can see, Walkup is literally the complete package of offense and defense. You’d think the success of Walkup would lead the team to recruit more players like him right? Wrong. Walkup is now the only white player who sees significant minutes. I hope Brad Underwood enjoys mediocrity again after Walkup is done carrying the team after this season.
#7 Wisconsin – A perennial CF favorite, the Badgers aren’t as good as last year, but are still a dangerous team. New coach Greg Gard has done a remarkable job turning the Badgers’ season around after Bo Ryan retired mid-year. They start 3 white players, the most established of which is point guard Bronson Koenig. Koenig is a good point guard who’s 2nd on the team in scoring, and can really shoot it from behind the arc. He’s also a good defender as well. Starting at the 2 is junior Zak Showalter, who’s taken over from Josh Gasser as the guy who does the dirty work. He’s a good athlete; his numbers don’t pop out at you, but he does everything very well. Perhaps the next big star on the team is freshman center Ethan Happ. Happ is great on the blocks, and if he can stay out of foul trouble, he’ll be a handful for any team in the tournament. He’s 3rd on the team in scoring at over 12 PPG and 1st on the team in rebounding at 8 per game. The only white player who gets burn off the bench is freshman forward Alex Illikainen. With Nigel Hayes, this is a very dangerous team, and could potentially make a run.
#10 Pittsburgh – Jamie Dixon is back in the Dance, and in an upset, his normally all-black Pitt team actually has a white starter this year in Brown transfer Rafael Maia. In another upset, forward Collin Luther even comes in off the bench! Neither does too much in terms of scoring. A controversial bubble team pick, their only noteworthy wins are against Notre Dame and Duke. Don’t expect them to last very long.
#2 Xavier – The nearly all-black Musketeers have had a pretty good year under Chris Mack. Xavier plays two white players in their nine man rotation. Part-time starter JP Macura has played great this year, and usually plays between 20-30 minutes per game. Big man Sean O’Mara doesn’t play much, but he’ll get in for a few minutes each game. I despise this team of cocky, showboating thugs; even DWFs can see how bad they are. I sincerely hope Wisconsin upsets them.
#15 Weber State – Once again, we have a case of a team that used to play white guys playing next to 0 this year. The only white starter is freshman guard McKay Cannon, and he’s not in for more than 15 minutes. Dusty Baker gets in at the back end of the rotation sometimes. They won’t trouble Xavier.
As with Phall's region, this one isn't much better. At least most teams in the East have at least one white starter/big contributor. Teams to cheer for: Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Michigan, SFA (with Walkup), and maybe Indiana. I think North Carolina will be a tough out in this region, as long as they can keep their focus. I do think Wisconsin may be able to make a Sweet 16/Elite Eight run.
