Frank Burlison

LAGUNA NIGUEL, CA – There were four major high school club/travel ball events on tap in Southern California this past weekend.

Time and travel – and scheduling; naturally, there was a whole lot of overlap – meaning, unfortunately, that I could only attend two of them.

But I’m sure I’ll see most of the teams and players that participated in the Muscle Milk Shootout (at Redondo High in Redondo Beach) and the Compton Magic/Hall of Fame of Fame Classic (at the Players’ Edge facility in Corona) multiple times during the rest of the spring.

[Click to continue reading]

ATLANTA – Early last summer – for Lindy’s Preseason Magazine – I picked Rick Pitino’s Louisville squad to win the 2013 national championship.

I did so for a variety of reasons, including – of course – Pitino’s Hall of Fame-caliber coaching and a roster that included five of the top seven players from a team that lost to eventual national champion Kentucky in a semifinal of the 2012 Final Four in New Orleans.

But those reasons didn’t include the expectation that a transfer from George Mason, who was redshirt a year ago, would be the Cardinals’ best player during two come-from-12 points-behind victories in the Georgia Dome.

[Click to continue reading]

Louisville 82, Michigan 76

Why Louisville won: The Cardinals turned in a much better offensive performance than did Michigan’s last two opponents (Florida and Syracuse) and crushed the Wolverines with 15 offensive rebounds.

The Turning Point: With his team trailing by 12 points, Luke Hancock hit four 3s in a stretch of two minutes late in the first half.

The Star: Luke Hancock came off the bench to score a team-high 22 points to go with three assists and two steals.

The X Factor: Sophomore forward Chane Behanan scored 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds – seven of those on the offensive end.

[Click to continue reading]

Frank looks at Monday night’s championship game:

No. 4 (South) Michigan (31-7) vs. No.1 (Midwest) Louisville (34-5), 9:23 p.m., CBS

Records vs. NCAA tournament field: Michigan 13-6, Louisville 16-5.

Records vs. common opponents: Michigan State beat Pittsburgh (67-62) and Syracuse (61-56); Louisville won two of three with Syracuse (winning 58-53 and 78-61 and losing 70-68) and beat Pittsburgh (64-61).

Best individual matchups: Trey Burke (6-0, So., Michigan) vs. Peyton Siva (6-0, Sr., Louisville) when Louisville is in man-to-man; Mitch McGary (6-9, Fr., Michigan) vs. Gorgui Dieng (6-10, Jr.,

[Click to continue reading]

ATLANTA – What bails a basketball team on a night when its best offensive players are struggling to score?

Uh . . . that’s a rhetorical question.

A team can always rely on its defense to get it out of the stickiest of jams:

It’s the oldest and most reliable of the staples of Hoops Coaching 101.

Of course, a few other offensive options can always come in handy, too.

Both NCAA Championship semifinal winners illustrated that perspective Saturday night in the Georgia Dome.

Russ Smith, Gorgui Dieng and Peyton Siva – who have combined to average 39 points this season as their team’s three-best scorers – missed 21 of 28 shots from the floor Saturday night for Louisville.

[Click to continue reading]