Hi Neue! I'm good, just super busy these days. Working at home today so I can post.
As you can tell I REALLY hated that UCon team. Bunch of criminals and paid players. And one of my best friends went to George Mason so I was over the moon when they won that regional (thanks for the correction). I'm sure you appreciated Mason taking out UNC in the second round that year. ;-)
I wasn't a huge fan of that Florida team and thought they fluked their way to the championship, but now you can see how good those guys really were, three of them are still playing in the NBA.
Good to hear things are going good. Hey you and I were on the same boat when it comes to that UCONN team. I was disgusted beyond disgusted when they survived that Washington game in overtime and I was very animated throughout that George Mason game. That one went back and forth forever before UCONN finally missed a final shot in the overtime and Mason pulled it out 86-84. Like you I just couldn't stand the Huskies, everyone knows the shenanigans Calhoun did to land Rudy Gay, even Gary Williams complained publicly about it and then you had the criminal stuff with Marcus Williams and the stolen computers. They had just won the title in 2004 and here they were two years later with another loaded team that most of the pundits were picking as the Champ before the NCAA Tournament. I was certainly concerned that Jimmy was going to get # 3 in eight seasons. Fortunately it didn't happen. Also with regards to Florida, they also proved it not a fluke by coming back again in 2007 and winning it.
Kind of mind blowing to think all that was a decade ago. Really?? 10 years ago?? geez...
BTW here is a little more on that Calhoun/Gary Williams rift over Rudy Gay
http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2003-11-26/sports/0311260231_1_calhoun-lewis-rudy-gay
EXCERPT:
Williams, Calhoun trade some shots
College basketball: Rudy Gay's decision to choose Connecticut over Maryland has touched off some sparring between two respected coaches.
College Basketball
November 26, 2003|By Don Markus | Don Markus,SUN STAFF
The recruiting battle between Maryland and Connecticut for Archbishop Spalding basketball star Rudy Gay was won last month by the Huskies, but the reverberations and accusations over how the decision was made are still swirling from College Park to Storrs and back to Baltimore.
Last week, after an exhibition loss to an NBA minor league team at Comcast Center, Terps coach Gary Williams made an off-the-cuff remark seemingly pointed at Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun.
"We could have scheduled an AAU [Amateur Athletic Union] team and given them $25,000 like some schools I know," said Williams.
Calhoun had scheduled an exhibition for his top-ranked Huskies against the Beltway Ballers, a team composed of players once coached by Anthony Lewis, the director of the Cecil-Kirk Recreation Center in Baltimore and Gay's AAU coach.
The Beltway Ballers were made up of ex-college players with local ties, including former Lake Clifton and Miami star Kevin Norris, who coached the team and played in the game the Huskies won, 102-44, on Nov. 13 in Hartford.
When made aware of Williams' remark earlier this week, Calhoun told The Hartford Courant: "I like Gary. But I just think that he is taking this a step beyond. We all lose players. I was disappointed that Gary felt he needed to say something."
Neither Calhoun nor Lewis would comment on how much the team, which is funded by a nonprofit organization in Baltimore, was paid for its trip to Hartford, but CBS.SportsLine.com reported the figure was about $25,000.
"That's not my team," Lewis said. "There are some of my ex-players that play different scrimmages. It's not my teams. They're playing all over."
NCAA rules allow payment to exhibition opponents.
Calhoun told the Courant he set up the game with Lewis. "Tony Lewis didn't ask me to play a game, nor did he ask Gary," Calhoun said. "It was me that initiated that. I've had nine of his players. I thought it would be a great idea to play the game."
The relationship between Calhoun and Lewis dates back more than 20 years to when Calhoun was coaching at Northeastern University in Boston and recruited several Baltimore-area players who were associated with Lewis, including the late Reggie Lewis (no relation).
Calhoun and Williams have been coaching nearly as long, since Williams was at Boston College in the mid-1980s.
Their current teams have squared off twice in the NCAA tournament, with the Huskies winning in the Sweet 16 of the 1995 West Regional and the Terrapins winning in the Elite Eight of the 2002 East Regional en route to their first national championship.
"I respect Gary, I like Gary," Calhoun told the Courant. "I'm not telling Gary what to do, but you win some in recruiting and you lose some, and usually it's because the other guy did a better job or the kid wanted to go away."
