I know I should be in the cold, bland, flatlands of Sioux Falls, S.D., instead of enjoying this lovely Cedar City snow, but my chance to cover The Summit League tournament was eliminated when my flight was cancelled Friday.
Lame.
So now I find myself sitting on a couch, watching The Summit League Championship Finals and writing this. Of course I’m studying too … just kidding.
Anyway, for those who know me as well as I do, know I love keeping in touch with teams within the T-Birds’ conference — The Summit League.
This year, Oakland junior center Keith Benson has not played many games without an NBA scout in attendance.
Benson led Oakland, which was picked to win the conference, with 17 points and 10 rebounds per game.
The Golden Grizzlies won the conference tournament convincingly on Tuesday against everyone’s favorite collegiate palindrome — IUPUI 76-64 on ESPN 2.
After missing their first nine shots from the field, the Golden Grizzlies exploded to take a 35-27 lead into the break.
Although the Jaguars made things close for Oakland, nothing was going to stop Oakland from “dancing” next week.
I, for one, will admit my constant criticism of the Golden Grizzlies, often calling them “overrated,” but I have to congratulate them. Any team that concluded its season 20-1 in conference play deserves all the respect in the world — well, at least within The Summit League.
I see Oakland sliding up as high as even a No. 12 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but will probably land at No. 13 or No. 14 and play against a team like New Mexico.
You should even consider penciling the Golden Grizzlies as an “upset special” in your office pool.
Oakland has the size and speed to compete with some quality teams, but it’s up to the team’s outside shooting.
On the women’s side, South Dakota State will enter the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, representing The Summit League for the second consecutive season.
The Jackrabbits defeated Oral Roberts in overtime 79-75 Tuesday afternoon in a thrilling matchup between the No. 1 and No. 3 seeds. The game was shown on ESPN U and espn360.com.
For those of you that have forgotten what happened last season, let me recap.
SDSU became eligible to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time after having its provisional status. It was previously a Division II powerhouse.
The Jackrabbits then became the consensus “feel good” story of Division I women’s basketball.
In its first year of eligibility, SDSU found itself seeded No. 7 on “selection Monday” because the team had the second-best record in America at 31-2 heading into the tournament.
ESPN featured cameras on SDSU’s team to show the team’s reaction as they were announced.
Out of little Brookings, S.D., the Jackrabbits even ended the regulation season ranked No. 14 in the country.
This season, SDSU has lost some of its star power. Jenn Warkenthien, the team’s leader last season, graduated and moved on. Warkenthien was even featured in USA Today and on ESPN’s “Outside the Lines.”
However, the Jackrabbits continued success this season with a strong core of players. Even when they were up against ORU on Tuesday, they didn’t flinch.
ORU came in with the most points per game in the country, which they held throughout the majority of the year and held them 20 points under its season average for 40 minutes.
SDSU then hit its free throws to win the game.
The Jackrabbits nearly cracked the Sweet 16 last season and have the talent and coaching to do it for a second consecutive season.
Watch for SDSU to land a No. 11 or No. 12 seed and face a team much like Kansas.
But, for you ORU fans out there — don’t worry. The Golden Eagles will be in the Women’s NIT Tournament. The Golden Eagles clinched postseason play with a regular season titleand a 20-win season.
However, if you have the chance, watch out for The Summit League teams. There is a lot of talent featured from the teams.
Let’s start with my infamous Facebook profile picture with ORU women’s star freshman guard Kevi Luper. She is perfect proof of this.
However, I can explain.
She was picked Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year within the conference — it’s safe to say she’s pretty dang good.
Oh, not to mention she was named a candidate for a spot on the nation’s All-American squad. I guess she’s a pretty good Summit League player if she’s the fourth highest scorer in the country and leads Division I in steals.
Yet, The Summit League is full of more talent and athleticism. If you don’t believe me, look at Benson from Oakland, like I touched on earlier.
There are many NBA scouts saying he may leave the Golden Grizzlies early for the professional league. Senior guard Johnathon Jones, who has led the country in assists per game the last two seasons, also has had rumors of NBA potential.
They wouldn’t be the first Summit League alumnus in the NBA.
The Summit League broke through in the NBA with guard George Hill out of IUPUI. Hill came to Cedar City for four seasons as the enemy, and to a lot of Utah Jazz fans, he still is.
Hill was drafted No. 26 overall in the 2008 NBA Draft by the San Antonio Spurs and now is a key contributor and starter for the Spurs.
However, his IUPUI team will not make the NCAA Tournament. They will most likely make the NIT though.
So, watch out for these two players: senior forward Robert Glenn and sophomore guard Alex Young.
Young is the second coming of George Hill. As a sophomore, he is much more advanced in his game than Hill was, and Young is still growing.
I may even dare to say he has the potential to be an NBA lottery pick within the next two years.
Then there’s Glenn.
He had six or seven highlight dunks in the conference tournament games, some of them even made SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays.
Of course, it was expected by anyone that remembers his beastly two handed slam in the second half inside the Centrum Arena on Jan. 21.
I still remember chatting with some the T-Bird hoops players after the game and we still couldn’t believe the height of Glenn’s dunk. We were in complete awe.
So when you begin your religious viewing next week for “March Madness,” keep a vigilant eye for The Summit League teams. They may surprise you.
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