NCAA notes: A good number to save to your contacts
The phone call came without warning.
Vice President Joe Biden was on the line Saturday as Delaware coach Monté Ross and the Blue Hens prepared for the Colonial Athletic Association championship game against William & Mary.
“I never answer my phone on game day,” Ross said. “I looked down and it was a 202 number, so I just pressed ignore.”
Ross did take the time to listen to the jaw-dropping voice mail. “Bad move to ignore the vice president,” Ross said while shaking his head during Wednesday’s NCAA press conference.
Biden, a Delaware alumnus and big Blue Hen supporter, didn’t go away mutely. Even during a trip to Chile for the inauguration of that country’s new president, Biden called back immediately with a few words of encouragement.
“We talked for 5 or 10 minutes,” said Ross, who describes Biden as “Delaware through and through … and it’s great to have somebody like that to support you and to be out in the forefront and tweeting about you and the whole 9 yards.”
While still in Chile, Biden called Ross on Sunday with his congratulations on the Blue Hens’ 75-74 win in the CAA title game.
“When I was in my office the next day I saw that same 202 number and you can guess I picked it up right away.”
Overheard
P.J. Carlesimo, a head coach at five stops in the NBA, is in Spokane to do radio broadcasts at the NCAA tournament.
As he watched Oklahoma practice, a fan on the front row behind the media section asked if he’d be interested in coaching at Washington State.
Carlesimo smiled and then laughed.
“They’re looking for a good coach, not me,” Carlesimo said.
No distraction
Harvard was traveling on Tuesday when Boston College fired coach Steve Donahue and Crimson coach Tommy Amaker was mentioned as a potential replacement.
Amaker said, “I can certainly appreciate the question, being from the Boston area, but our focus certainly is on our team. That’s only fair for our kids and our program and our school. I don’t ever comment on other jobs or positions.”
Apparently the Crimson players are ignoring social media. Harvard, the 12th-seed in the East Regional, is a trendy pick over fifth-seeded Cincinnati for a 12-5 upset. “I actually wasn’t really aware of that,” guard Laurent Rivard said.
Bracketolgist in Chief
President Barack Obama’s bracket was the talk throughout the news conferences.
Especially regarding the 5-12 matchups between Oklahoma and North Dakota State and Cincinnati and Harvard. The president picks upsets in both.
“It changed our entire practice this morning,” quipped Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger when he learned of the president’s pick.
And try as they might, the Michigan State players and coaches couldn’t ignore the news when the president picked the Spartans to win the entire tournament.
Said MSU guard Branden Dawson, “I’m always watching basketball, so when I saw that, it was just bizarre that Barack Obama picked us. … I think it was great.”