It was a special occasion for us the possibility to make some questions to John Gasaway, and now we present to our special readers his interview with a particular pleasure.
Hi John and thank you so much for joyning us.
After two months of games, which is your opinion on the last general realignment and for the new AAC?
Realignment concentrates its benefits and drawbacks to a very high degree, doesn’t it? The ACC will, eventually, benefit immensely (even though the league below Syracuse hasn’t looked terribly impressive thus far), and West Virginia will apparently be trapped in a league where everyone else is three states away for the foreseeable future. But across whole great swaths of Division I, realignment has had little impact. In terms of the new American Athletic Conference, the league will watch with keen interest to see whether Kevin Ollie can follow a legend at Connecticut. If UConn can be a consistent Final Four threat as its been in years past, the American as a whole will benefit.
Best defense over talent. Some teams, like Cincinnati, Sant Louis, Virginia, with great defense and not good offense, impressed us. Especially Cincinnati won with Memphis. Which is your opinion on them and do you expect them to be protagonists also considering the big talent in their Conferences (especially Cincinnati/Virginia)?
That profile — great defense, little interest in the team from NBA scouts — is always tough to play against, but it’s rare to see such teams make it to the Final Four, much less win it all. Obviously Wichita State last season and Butler (especially in 2011) fit that description pretty well. But the best results tend to be recorded by teams with defense AND talent, like Kentucky in 2012, or Kansas in 2008. As far as Virginia and Cincinnati in particular, I think the Cavaliers can be very strong if they just make shots at the same rate they did last season. Tony Bennett’s team has certainly looked better since that awful loss to Tennessee, and I’ll be really interested to see what they do at Cameron Indoor Stadium against Duke. As for the Bearcats, they — and not Louisville — may end up having the best defense in the American. Mick Cronin’s men will make a lot of opposing offenses make bad.
Waiting for Louisville…Do you see a great key for reading how ACC can evolve in the next weeks (Duke, general favorites, surprises..)?
Syracuse is in a great position to win the league in the Orange’s first season, but I will be watching very closely to see if Jim Boeheim’s men can score points consistently. Duke will be very entertaining and We should enjoy Jabari Parker while we can, but this Blue Devil defense just isn’t going to be good enough for Mike Krzyzewski’s team to be a legit Final Four threat. Pittsburgh is a mystery for a second consecutive year. On paper they’re great, but I saw their loss to Cincinnati in person and I’m having trouble getting that out of my head. And Virginia clearly belongs in this discussion as well, as I mentioned above.
Searching for a good story, Wisconsin appears to be a great one. Your opinion about this team?
I think they’re one of the best teams in the country, and when their threes are falling Bo Ryan’s men are very, very tough to beat. Think about it. They never turn the ball over (of course) and they never foul. They’re fairly tough to shoot over, and they’ve proven they can win at just about any speed (and not just going slow). When you face Frank Kaminsky, Sam Dekker, Ben Brust, Josh Gasser and Traevon Jackson, your margin for error is very small.
Statistically speaking, what is the ceiling for Joel Embiid and Cameron Bairstow?
Embiid is simply a monster, but he does need to learn not to foul. When he does, everything else is already there. He rebounds at both ends, he scores, and he blocks shots. He’ll be drafted very high in the lottery in 2014, if he leaves. Bairstow is more of a pure scorer and at the moment he has a bigger impact on offense than Embiid. But his ceiling is lower simply because he’s a senior and Embiid’s a freshman.
Which is your opinion about the best story in the mid-majors?
Wichita State: Can they run the table? And by that I mean arrive at the NCAA tournament undefeated, not win the national championship without a loss like Indiana in 1976. I think the Shockers may go 18-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Statistically speaking, which is the best backcourt in the nation?
As of this moment — and this can change — I’d say Gary Harris and Keith Appling at Michigan State. Outstanding efficiency on offense plus, in Harris, a degree of backcourt defense that people seem to think can only come from a certain someone at Ohio State.
Last year you picked up your favorites (Kentucky, Michigan State, Arizona, Harward) for the Final Four. After last two months would you change that pick and with a jolly (an extra team) available which one would you choose?
If I could pick now I’d go with Arizona, Michigan State, Wisconsin and Kansas. If I get a jolly I’ll take Iowa State.
Note: I express my gratitude to John Gasaway for the special time he dedicated us.
