LAST DANCE WITH DIII HOOPS
We saw our last Stagg Bowl in December, and next weekend we’ll have our last NCAA Division III basketball tournament at the Salem Civic Center. Next season the NCAA Division III Final Four moves to Fort Wayne, Indiana.
The D-III hoops tournament has been in Salem since 1996, when Rowan beat Hope in the championship game. This will be the 23rd season it will be held at the Salem Civic Center, and I’m really going to miss it. I’ve been to all 22 of the tournaments to date, never missing one of the 66 games played here, counting two semifinals and a championship game each year.
This year’s tournament started last week and the field has been pared to 16 teams. After Friday it will be down to eight and after Saturday’s four regional finals the four teams coming to Salem will be determined. Emory & Henry, the ODAC representative, was eliminated by Franklin & Marshall last weekend in the opening round of play, 73-59.
Some familiar names are still alive, including John Carroll, Augustana, Wisconsin-Oshkosh, MIT, Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Wisconsin-Platteville and 10 others hoping to make the last trip to Salem.
The Reese’s All-Star Game for Division III players also will be held in Salem for the last time on Saturday afternoon. That’s been a popular event for the kids, put on by the National Association of Basketball Coaches, of which former RC coach Page Moir is a member and past president.
Beginning in 2019, the next four NCAA Division III tournaments will be held at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
On a brighter note, the Division III women’s basketball championship comes to Salem next year, hosted by the Old Dominion Athletic Conference and the City of Salem. It will be held at the Roanoke College Cregger Center.
NFL COMBINE
Did you watch any of the NFL Combine on the NFL channel in the past week? Some people call it the “Underwear Olympics” as players work out for pro coaches and front office personnel in preparation for the coming NFL draft.
Every year, players earn and lose money during these workouts. Players who do better than expected raise their stock and others, who don’t run as fast or lift as much, see their draft ranking fall and with it, a smaller rookie contract.
There’s no exact science to this. As an Eagles fan, I’ve seen the Birds draft plenty of guys in the past who did great at the combine but couldn’t play once they put on the pads. Anyone remember Jon Harris, who played for the University of Virginia? He was the Eagles first round pick in 1997, going 25th overall. You’d have to be a big Wahoo fan of Doug Doughty to remember this guy, because I don’t think he ever started a game for the Eagles.
Two years prior they drafted Mike Mamula seventh overall out of Boston College. He wasn’t that highly regarded until he had a great combine. Then, once he started actually playing football, he wasn’t highly regarded again. I have a “Mamula” Eagles jersey in my closet that reminds me of his undistinguished career.
Do you remember when the first pick of the draft was often a running back? From 1960 to 1986, a total of 27 drafts, a runningback was selected first overall 11 times, including stars like Earl Campbell, Bo Jackson and O.J. Simpson. I know, I know; but he was a heck of a football player before he killed anyone.
From 1987 to the present, a total of 31 drafts, only one runningback has gone first overall, Ki-Jana Carter of Penn State by the Bengals in 1995. In those same 31 years quarterbacks were taken first overall 18 times. There were some good ones, like Vick and Peyton Manning, but you also had Tim Couch, David Carr, and who could forget DeMarcus Russell? Probably you, unless you bought his jersey.
At some point in the past 30 years it was decided you can get a good runningback any time, and “gurus” like Mel Kiper decided it was foolish to take a runningback in the first round. That started to change a little when the Cowboys took Ezekiel Elliott with a high first round pick and he had a great rookie year, all but leading the Cowboys to the division title and playoffs. Granted he had a good offensive line, but he had a lot to do with his success as well.
Todd Gurley was also a high pick, and he was arguably the Rams’ best player last year as they made the playoffs for the first time years. And last spring Leonard Fournette was a high pick by Jacksonville, and the Jaguars made the playoffs. You could argue their defense was most of the reason, but Fournette certainly added more to the offense than Blake Bortles, the third overall pick in the 2014 draft.
This year Saquan Barkley of Penn State was all the rage at the combine. He jumped, ran and lifted his way into number one pick consideration after a highlight reel year of actual football in the Big Ten.
The Browns have the number one overall pick, but they desperately need a quarterback. Of course, they also have the fourth pick, so they could gamble on taking Barkley first and still get a highly touted quarterback at number four. If they don’t take Barkley first, it’s almost certain the Giants will jump on him with the second pick.
Is it a gamble? Well, are any of these guys a sure thing? Mel Kiper might not be in favor of taking a runningback that high, but are there any quarterbacks who “can’t miss?” Can you get a good one later?
Look at the Redskins, for a perfect example. It looked like Robert Griffin III was the best thing since Michael Vick, but he’s no longer employed. Griffin was selected with the second pick in the 2012 NFL draft. Exactly 100 picks later, at selection 102 in the fourth round, the Redskins also selected Kirk Cousins, who very easily could become the highest paid football player in the world in the next few weeks. Go figure.
It’s all a crap-shoot, but it’s fun to speculate. I always watch the draft, and this year I have to sit through the whole first round before the Eagles get the 32nd pick.
Yes, life is good.
CORRECTION
Last week I mistakenly reported Salem’s Janae Blakeney was third in the state 55 meter and 300 meter dashes. I actually meant to say she PLACED in three events. She won the state championship in the long jump and was SECOND in both the 55 and 300 meters.
GREAT BEGINNINGS
Ed Green’s “Great Beginnings” program for Soccer will begin this week and run for five weeks through April 15.
The program, which is aimed at giving young kids a head start to competitive sports, will be held at West Salem Elementary School on Sundays from 2-3 pm. Parents are encouraged to participate and cost for each parent/child combo is $70 total.
This year former Salem High standout Mike Benne will be one of the instructors. To sign up or for more information call Ed Green at 387-9516.
