NCAA Tournament Twitter Dump

By: Justin Cates | Managing Editor

The Internet was tailor-made for March Madness so it seems only fair to highlight some of the best odds and ends from social media in the past few days. It’s an exciting time for the programs and alumni invited to the dance, but even those whose season’s have ended are excited for the annual basketball bacchanal.

 

Syracuse

While the Orange will miss the postseason, they certainly aren’t missing the news cycle this week. Athletic director Daryl Gross has resigned to take another position at the university and men’s head basketball coach Jim Boeheim plans to retire from coaching in three years.

This comes in the wake of the fallout from the men’s basketball program being placed on serious probation by the NCAA that includes the loss of scholarships and forfeiture of wins. Boeheim’s lead assistant Mike Hopkins has long been thought to be Boeheim’s successor, though Daryl Gross claimed no official decision had been made when the story came out that a formal agreement had been reached in 2007.

 

Notre Dame

After winning the ACC Tournament the Irish are very excited about their prospects of making a run in the NCAA’s.

That excitement is thanks largely to Jerian Grant’s outstanding play. Grant scored 16.8 PPG and dished out 6.6 assists per contest this season while leading Notre Dame to a 29-5 overall record and the ACC Tournament championship.

Under head coach Mike Brey, the Irish have made nine NCAA Tournament appearances but they’ve made it past the second round just once back in 2002-03 when they reached the Sweet Sixteen.

 

Duke

Jay Bilas likes to have fun and he doesn’t take himself terribly seriously. I’ve enjoyed having him step into the role this season of ESPN’s primary color-guy in place of Dick Vitale. Vitale can be fun (especially for UNC-Duke) but his time has passed. He didn’t make any friends using ESPN’s airwaves to defend Jim Boeheim a few weeks ago either.

The Christian Laettner 30 for 30 was okay. They spent far too much time talking to bitter Carolina fans for my tastes. Roy Williams was hilarious yet he got less airtime than some YouTube “celebrity”. I think they talked to Coach K’s wife Mickie more than they did the legendary coach. Just some strange choices.

As an aside, I still find it terribly unnerving that Krzyzewski refuses to age. I’m more convinced with each day that he’s some kind of sorcerer.

Understandably, the Blue Devils are excited to be the number one seed in the South region for the NCAA Tournament.

 

NC State

There’s no argument that Mark Gottfried has had loads of success in Raleigh since he arrived after a short stint in television. His five NCAA tournament appearances at Alabama look even better now too after the Crimson Tide fired the coach who replaced Gottfried, Anthony Grant. Grant was once considered a rising star in the coaching world at VCU but he couldn’t come close to repeating Gottfried’s success at football first Alabama.

Meanwhile the team is in Pittsburgh ready for its first round match up with LSU. The 8 vs. 9 seeds always make for exciting games and this one could be the best. Actually, it occurs to me that this is probably a “second round” game or some nonsense brought to you by a flashy corporate sponsor.

 

Virginia

The Governor of the Commonwealth certainly doesn’t think UVA plays boring basketball, of course few hoops connoisseurs do.

Tony Bennett’s program has impressed the last couple seasons and he hopes he has another crew capable of making a deep run in March. Justin Anderson is back, but he isn’t fully healthy and it remains to be seen how much help he’ll be in the NCAA Tournament. He’s a crucial part of the Cavaliers and the while the defense has stayed strong without him, the offense has taken a significant step back.

 

North Carolina

As someone who edits things, that really makes me cringe. #oops. Carolina had a strong showing in the ACC Tournament and silenced at least a handful of critics who have been hard on the Tar Heels down the stretch.

There seems to be a quiet confidence and a pervasive feeling that this is what they expect. Duke and UNC generally seem to be less excited (probably unfair) and more businesslike because making the tournament is the bare minimum for these programs.

 

Everyone Else

There was other assorted business from non-tournament participants but only Syracuse earned top billing.

Buzz Williams is a strange man and an engaging personality so it’s no surprise that he’ll be doing some TV work now that his first season in Blacksburg is over. You’ll be watching anyway (even at work) so it’s a good chance to hear Buzz in his element breaking down film and discussing strange unrelated topics.

Georgia Tech has decided to retain head coach Brian Gregory despite another underwhelming season. Gregory is 55-71 in his four seasons in Atlanta. He got a vote of confidence of sorts from the administration when AD Mike Bobinski said they seriously considered a change and could have afforded to make one, but Gregory deserved a chance to turn things around.

Also of note, Miami won a close contest in their first round NIT game while Pittsburgh lost at home to George Washington putting an end to an unusual down year for Jamie Dixon’s crew.

Follow me on Twitter @BestCates. Like us on Facebook and check out @InsideTheACC.

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