Dan Steinberg Started a Celebrity NCAA Pool...

March, 16, 2007
Mar 16
3:31
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...so that he could make a bunch of celebrities eat his dust.



One day in, the DC Sports Bogger is alone at the top of the standings. Antawn Jamison is one point behind. Steinberg picked everything yesterday except Butler and Boston College.



I'm very much in the middle of the pack (trailing Sun Ming Ming), asking Bobby Knight what happened?



Somewhat related, there's a great bit of NCAA insight from Rick Pitino in Pat Forde's column today:

"You've got to take more chances in the NCAA Tournament," Pitino told his team before the game. "Some teams will come out tight, and we can't do that. Don't play tight. Play very loose. … Don't be afraid to fail.



"Everything has to change. I change my whole disposition, my whole attitude, come tournament time. … It's a positive attitude that you have to deliver. It's not a time to overcoach and overcriticize. It's time to share the ball, time to play great defense, a time to have fun because this is a very special time."
On that note, my friend Randy made a good, and somewhat similar, point yesterday too. If you're Penn, or a similarly low seed, why would you NOT try an experimental defense like that 1-3-1 that worked so well for a period against Texas A&M? Don't you have to experiment somewhat? You might be playing against players who are more talented, more athletic, and bigger--but they're also very young. Show them something they aren't used to and you might induce indecision or even a little panic here and there. It probably isn't a great tactic for the long haul, but when your whole goal is just to win one more game, to me it's time to try new stuff. Getting the opponent out of their comfort zone, even for a spell, can do wonders for the score and your team's confidence.

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