FORDE MINUTEMEN
This is The Minutes’ inaugural team of guys who are simply a pleasure to watch play basketball. The only requirement for making the Minutemen squad is that the players not lead their teams in scoring:
Dee Brown, Illinois (21) – Luther Head scores more and Deron Williams is the straw boss of the Illini, but nobody plays with a more apparent joy than Brown, and nobody has a greater knack for rising to the occasion when his team needs it. His brassy 3-pointer put away Iowa on Saturday, and his three successive steals bailed Illinois out of a second-half hole at Michigan.
Josh Pace, Syracuse (22) – Pace has an amazing knack for getting into the paint and getting onto the offensive glass. While everyone fixates on Hakim Warrick and Gerry McNamara, Pace pops up routinely to make big plays.
Chuck Hayes, Kentucky (23) – Tubby Smith has coached plenty of great players, but none he’s enjoyed more than the hard-working Hayes. All he’s done for four years is everything: He has more than 1,000 career points, 500 rebounds, 250 assists, 140 steals and 100 blocks.
Ellis Myles, Louisville (24) – The walking definition of a college success story. When Myles arrived from Compton, Calif., he was a portly punk with bad work habits and a bad attitude. Rick Pitino transformed his body and Myles adjusted his outlook to become the Cardinals’ hard-edged team leader.
Eddie Basden, Charlotte (25) – Can literally do anything on the court, from scoring (15.6 points per game) to rebounding (8.5) to assists (3.7) to steals (3.3). Will probably be the Defensive Player of the Year in Conference USA.
We decided to get you a little closer to Ashley this week.
Sixth (wo)man: Ashley Judd (26). What, you were expecting someone else?
COACH WHO EARNED HIS COURTESY CAR THIS WEEK:
Karl Hobbs (27) has George Washington back on track after a midseason bobble. The Colonials have won five straight by an average margin of 15 points to reassert themselves as the best team in the Atlantic 10.
COACH WHO SHOULD TAKE THE BUS TO WORK THIS WEEK:
The entire Division I triumvirate in Kansas (28). Bill Self’s Kansas team has lost two straight overtime games. Jim Wooldridge’s Kansas State team has dropped six straight, losing on a prayer of a shot by Oklahoma’s Drew Lavender on Saturday. Wichita State has gone from one of the hottest mid-majors in the land to a team shaken by its own three-game losing streak. For the love of Toto, somebody win a game in that state, will ya?
LAST LEAGUE UNBEATEN UPDATE
With Penn, Kansas and Kentucky biting the dust, we’re down to four: Illinois (29) is 13-0 in the Big Ten; Utah (30) is 11-0 in the Mountain West; Pacific (31) is 15-0 in the Big West; and previously noted Davidson is 14-0 in the SoCon.
THE OTHER UNBEATEN
And you thought Illinois had the only perfect record in the land. Don’t forget about mighty St. John Fisher (32), a Division III outfit that finished its regular season 25-0 Saturday. The Cardinals had to sweat it out, nipping Utica 60-59. Jeff Sidney made the winning shot with 1:27 left. Congrats to the Cardinals.
FANTASY 3-POINT SHOOTOUT, WEEK THREE
This week The Minutes has matched Pat Carroll (33) of St. Joseph’s, who is making 3.7 3-pointers per game, against Will Whittington (34) of Marist, who nails 3.6 per game. Let the sharpest shooter win.
To recap: Week One winner was Charlotte’s Brendan Plavich. Week Two winner was Duke’s J.J. Redick, who defeated Louisville’s Taquan Dean in a shootout that went into Sunday night to decide. Redick’s six 3s against Wake Forest gave him nine for the week, trumping Dean’s six for the Cardinals.