Frumpzilla

Now that the first of a new decade of newly formated NCAA tournament fields has been set, Frump figured it’s as good a time as any to examine the best of the previous decade.

Some of you may recall Frumpzilla’s Top 25 College Football Programs of the Decade – it was a pretty big hit for us.

This undertaking, while in a similar vein, isn’t necessarily intended as a definitive ranking of select college basketball programs from ‘00/’01 – ‘09/’10. We basically just thought it would be interesting to see how college basketball programs would stack up when plotting out each’s NCAA Tournament performance over the course of a decade.

More than anything, we wanted this to be fun. If nothing else, you might learn a thing or two about NCAA Tournament history from 2000 through 2010 – at least quantitatively — so make the jump to see how the NCAA Tournament of the 2000′s plays out…

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Yes, the entire ACC Championship-determining contest — including pregame warmups and post-game “Parade of Pomposity” — crammed into just under five minutes of footage.

Kind of makes it easier for the neutral fan to swallow, I suppose.

I’m not gonna name names, or incidents, but let’s just say I know a small handful of folks that may or may not think The Worldwide Leader’s love for University of North Carolina athletics is a tad fervent at times.

Now, to be fair, no one could accuse ESPN of being the only media outlet that was high on UNC freshman “sensation” Harrison Barnes coming out of high school. No qualms there.

The problem is, halfway through the season, Barnes has yet to be anything but sensationally mediocre, at least relative to expectations.

Still, as the above graphic from ESPN’s 2nd half coverage of the Tar Heels’ 64-61 win over Virginia Tech highlights , it’s clearly very important to remember one thing: If Harrison Barnes were just a little bit better — like, even just one shot a game better — well, he’d be fairly solid. And don’t you forget it.

Barnes — the nation’s first freshman to make a Preseason All-American team — was 5/11 from the floor, good for 12 points against the Hokies, by the way. That’s  6/12 for either 14 or 15 points, if you want to consider what might have been.

Heh, and I bet  you thought preseason polls were the greatest threat to the integrity of college athletics…

Thanks to The Admiral for the photo…

Ahhh. It seems like only yesterday that Frumpzilla was busy writing its first ever UNC-Duke themed post. 2 1/2 years (and several unplanned, unannounced sabbaticals) later, do you think those Blue Devils over in Durham would pass up an opportunity to stick it to their powder blue nemeses? Of course not!

I’d heard about the Dukies starting the above chant during their win over Colgate, but — thanks to Fromthebarn.org — the above clip is the first chance I’ve had to actually see it. If only Friday’s loss to Minnesota had ended the Heels’ weekend woes.

Saturday saw things go from bad to worse in Chapel Hill as Carolina dropped a heartbreaker to bitter rival N.C. State. Fortunately, this particular game was played with that pesky oblong ball so many UNC faithful seem to find passion for at only the most opportune times. No big deal. After all, at least the 8th ranked basketball team was there to redeem an otherwise pitiful 72-hour stretch by beating Vanderbilt on Sunday, right?

Wrong. On the heels of all-world Freshman Harrison Barnes now going 4 of 24 from the floor in his last two games, the Commodores topped Carolina 72-65 Sunday night in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. The trip home from San Juan will surely be a long one for Roy’s boys, but hosting UNC-Asheville on Tuesday should help restore some semblance of hope on the Hill prior to the Heels’ next encounter with that oblong ball — Duke, in Durham, on Saturday.

Ironically, something tells me there won’t be much — if any — video evidence of a classic fan rivalry sourced from that encounter.

Is it basketball season yet?

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ACC Basketball fans are by now well aware of Wake Forest’s graduating Center, Chas McFarland.  His, as our own GingerHead Man once put it, “peacocking around, flapping gums, chest bumping, and flopping at the slightest hint of contact” was never acceptable, despite its entertainment value, and the fact that Chas simply wasn’t very good just made matters worse.  He won’t be missed.

Obviously, the same couldn’t be said for former Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser, who passed away unexpectedly back in July of 2007.  Prosser recruited McFarland, coached him during his Freshman season, and now, as you can see above, has been honored by this rather curious tattoo that Chas apparently shared on his Facebook page the other day.

Why curious?  Well, for one, I’m wondering why the word “Coach” is in quotes, and whether or not Skip’s image is on that cross being hoisted out of the sky by those hands with the cloud sleeves, but I’m sure there are plausible explanations for that. 

Moreover, given that this appears to be a back tat, and the fact that Chas checks in at about 7’1″, 235, I imagine this is also taking up quite a bit of real estate for a coach that had a hand in maybe just 25% of McFarland’s college basketball career, but then who’s to say what kind of impact Prosser had on Chas’ life.

What might be the most curious bit, however, is the timing.  Just seems odd to get a massive, permanent memorial to Coach Prosser inked on your back nearly three years after the fact, not to mention pretty much simultaneously with the firing of his successor (Dino Gaudio) and subsequent hiring, however puzzling, of new coach Jeff Bzdelik.

Is someone trying to tell us something?  Chas?  Coach Prosser?  Anyone?

This promotion poster looks rather innocent at first, doesn’t it?  Let alone the enticing value presented by the 4-4-4 deal, how could one not be drawn in by the inescapable psychological comfort something called “Mascot Night” induces?  Well, that’s how they get you.

As you’ll see (after the jump), there’s something quite ominous about this year’s ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament…

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It was a UNC love fest all afternoon during Saturday’s N.C. State-North Carolina match-up, and Elmore made sure nobody questioned the slight appearance of the next honored jersey at UNC…

Elmore made the observation, verbatim, “what John Henson lacks in girth, he makes up for in length.”

Insecure Elmore?

I should hope so Len.

Lengthy John Henson

Though I’ve yet to be convinced that paying someone for such services is warranted, losing 6 of 7 may very well be worth a trip to the massage therapist. I’ll take Williams’ word for it.

However, comparing the Tar Heels’ recent run of form to the disaster down in Haiti, even anecdotally, makes me think Roy should probably hire that masseuse to do more than just rub him down.

You know, maybe, like, script his press conferences; a little PR work on the side, or something (perverts).

(The video takes a few seconds to load)

UPDATE: With the Heels losing, at home, to Duke last night, we’re now giving 3:1 odds that Roy will be Pat Robertson’s next guest on the 700 club.

Many larger (arguable) sites have run stories on Mr. McBowling Pin already.  Consider this supplemental.  And a bit traitorous considering my special lady got her papers from there.

More opinion after the jump.

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I played HORSE with my dad when I was a kid.  It was fun.  We were usually done in 30 minutes tops.  Something tells me that sufficiently similar father-son bonding experiences are completely foreign to Dell and Stephen Curry.

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