Give and Go

What's up ya'll.

Time to kick this thing off.

I can't wait to chat, debate and dissect all things basketbal with you.

I'll be primarily talking about the Erie BayHawks, our D-League expansion franchise, but we'll spend time discussing the NBA and college basketball as well. We're going to come out with some cool stuff for you all to dig your thoughts into so stay tuned.

Who knows how he'll play at the next level, but right now, Stephen Curry is the best player in the country in my opinion.

A year after leading mid-major Davidson to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament before barely losing to eventual national champion Kansas, he comes out this year and puts up a career-high 44 points in a 4-point loss at No. 14-ranked Oklahoma.

Remember when Michigan and Duke used to go at it back in the 1990s. Michigan had Fab Five with the bald heads, baggy shorts, black socks and all kinds of attitude going up against the perfect model of college basketball, Duke.

Coach K. Clean cut. Confident. Passionate. The Blue Devils were the nation's best team and had they had some great games against Michigan. In the 1991-92 season, the Fab Five were freshmen and took Duke, the defending national champions, to the wire in an overtime loss.

Months later, they met again in the national title game. Duke won by 20 points, but the Wolverines became the first school to make to the title game with five freshmen starting.

Almost 20 years later, the two teams are going to meet tonight in Madison Square Garden for a tournament championship.

The Big Ten did its thing today.

First off, Michigan stunned No. 4-ranked and previously unbeaten Duke, 81-73, at home. This is the second Top 5 team the Wolverines have beaten this season. Earlier this season, Duke beat Michigan by 15 points.

When Michigan upset UCLA last month, the Bruins were ironically ranked fourth in the country.

Then Ohio State put it on No. 7 Notre Dame, 67-62, in Indianapolis, Ind. That was essentially a home game for the Irish, who came into the game with one loss to top-ranked North Carolina.

Last month, Dick "It's awesome baby with a capital 'A,'" Vitale said Florida and Oklahoma will end up playing in the BCS title game to decide this year's national champion in Division I-A college football.

I'm sitting here and watching No. 2 Oklahoma put the smack down on Missouri in the Big 12 title game. Earlier today, Florida knocked off No. 1 Alabama in the SEC title game.

So even though Texas is third in the BCS rankings, the No. 4 Gators will likely leap frog the Longhorns and play Oklahoma for all the marbles.

And Dickie V called it a month ago.

He's awesome baby.

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Did ya'll see Stephen Curry tonight against West Virginia?

I did.

I love watching this guy play. Like I said before, he can take every shot for Davidson and I wouldn't care. The guy came up money tonight in Davidson's 68-65 win against the Mountaineers at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Check the numbers

Looking at the Erie BayHawks' roster, many of these guys came from big-time college programs.

You've got Jackie Manuel, who went to North Carolina and won a national title. You've got Erik Daniels, who played at Kentucky, but Mike Cook has the most to smile about these days.

Cook played at Pittsburgh and the Panthers are ranked No. 1 in both national polls. They are 14-0 and to think Cook might be there now had he been granted that extra year of eligibility after having a season-ending knee injury.

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That's Cook while in college at Pitt.

Ya'll know I'm part of the Stephen Curry fan club. Just watched Davidson's game against No. 2 Duke in Durham.

Of course Davidson lost, but Curry finished with 29 points. He got better as the game went on.

What was interesting about the game was ESPN switched commentators and had its pro crew of Mike Tirico, Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson do the college game while Dick Vitale is doing an NBA for the first time in over 20 years.

Van Gundy and Jackson were debating how well Curry will play in the NBA. Jackson thinks higher of Curry than Van Gundy, but this is what I think.

Talking with Erie BayHawks guard Mike Cook this afternoon, the former Pittsburgh guard is taking much pride in the Panthers earning the No. 1 ranking in all of college basketball in both national polls.

This is the first time Pitt has ever been ranked No. 1 in the nation.

"I was excited for them," Cook said. "I know how hard they worked in the offseason. To have this opportunity and to finally get it. I texted everybody as soon as it happened. I was just really excited for the team and excited for the coaches. I know the amount of hard work that everybody puts in. That's really a special thing. Especially since it's the first time it's happened in school history. They've been playing for 100 years or something like that so it's good. It's good for the team. I'm happy for them."

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Cook back at Pitt

Just finally got a moment to talk about that kid out of Kentucky.

You know.

The one who's wearing No. 23. Now he's not Jordan or LeBron James, but Jodie Meeks is doing his thing for the Kentucky Wildcats.

First off, he's got his own Web site. Needs some upgrades, but hey, he's probably hasn't had time to fix it up.

Too busy scoring at will for the Wildcats.

I watched the game against Tennessee when he just went coo coo for coa cao puffs in Kentucky's 90-72 win against the Volunteers earlier this month.

A 6-foot 4-inch junior guard out of Norcross, Ga., Meeks scored 54 POINTS, making 10 shots from 3-point range AT Tennessee.

Safe to say this established a school record for points in a game. At one point late in that game, he was laughing.

I was too, Jodie. He put a hurtin' on those Volunteers.

1,000 wins and counting.

Pat Summitt became the first Division I coach, male or female, to win 1,000 games in a career.

Not Bobby Knight. Not Mike Krzyzewski. Not Dean Smith. Not Adolph Rupp.

Pat Summitt.

The amazing thing about all this is if she coached another 10 years and averages say 25 wins a season, we're talking 250 more wins.

She just signed a new contract by the way.

Summitt is only 56 years old. Looks good. Has her health. Has that fire still burning inside. Is a great coach and can still recruit great talent.

So there is no telling how many wins she'll have when she decides to call it quits.

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My goodness.

Make room for the big fella.

If you don't, Pittsburgh sophomore forward DeJuan Blair is going to carve out some without permission. He just did so for 22 points and 23 rebounds in the No. 4-ranked Panthers' 76-68 upset win at top-ranked UConn on Monday night.

It was Pitt's first win ever against a top-ranked team and Blair (45) played a major role in it.

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It's not even March yet and I can't keep up with this men's college basketball madness.

Since the latest AP poll, the nation's top three teams lost.

On Tuesday, No. 4 Pittsburgh won at top-ranked Connecticut, 76-68. Pitt's wide interior warrior, DeJuan Blair, played like a man possessed and just overwhelmed UConn's shot block specialist, 7-foot-3 center Hasheem Thabeet.

On Saturday, No. 2 Oklahoma lost at Texas, 73-68, and No. 3 North Carolina lost in overtime at Maryland, 88-85.

Not having Blake Griffin due to a concussion was too much for the Sooners to overcome while the Tar Heels had no answer for Greivis Vasquez, who had 35 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, three blocks and two steals against UNC.

So who has the nation's best team?

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Pittsburgh. North Carolina. Oklahoma. Memphis

We know these teams.

Radford. Arizona State. Texas A&M. Auburn.

Better get to know these teams, too, because they could do some damage in the NCAA Tournament.

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Radford ready for March Madness.

43 points.

That's right.

Stephen Curry is back.

He had been hobbled with an ankle injury, but exploded for 43 points in leading the Wildcats to an 84-68 win against Appalachian State on Saturday night.

The boy is bad.

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