A lap around the Final Four court

During halftime of the NC State vs. Purdue game, I made the walk around the court. After being honored with induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame, Doug Collins walked off the stage. Doug lives in Scottsdale. At one time in our lives, we were rehabbing knees and hips together and got to know one another. A great basketball mind. It was great to catch up. A minute later, it’s Jerry Colangelo and Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne chopping it up. As I walk over to them, I wonder if they’re arranging a GCU vs. Alabama home and home(Dreamin” is free). Greg wore a brilliant Crimson jacket, much like the blazers he sported at Arizona. Jerry and I agreed to meet in the coming months. It was good to see him. From those two over to Charles Barkley, walking off the TBS set, we chopped it up and agreed to golf at a Valley location. He looked and sounded great.  GCU President Brian Mueller was courtside and reminded me how his ‘Lopes could’ve taken Alabama had they just made their free throws(they missed 14 from the charity stripe and lost by 11). You never know who you’ll run into in the small circle of sports…

We all wanted UConn vs Purdue. We all wanted Clingan vs Edey. When I was a teenager it was Bird vs Magic, Olajuwon vs Ewing. It feels like Monday night will be a classic…

Give a Hurley resources, and they can win big. I’m sure the president of Arizona State would disagree. 

Dan Hurley said on Thursday if Bobby Hurley had the right resources, “he’ll be up on this dais” at a Final Four.

From NIL to stadium upgrades to university support, what ground needs to be made up by ASU leadership to make this brother’s claim a reality?https://t.co/UMd05ytwiL pic.twitter.com/4ekYHSWYlC

— Jordan Hamm (@JordyHamm) April 5, 2024

I miss Bill Walton…

The Purdue fan base was far more significant in numbers. The Boilermakers student section was overflowing behind the south basket…

Drew Brees elicited the most giant roar from the Purdue crowd when he popped up on the big screens…

“Sweet Home Alabama” brought the Tide fans to their feet during the 1st half…

The ratings for the Women’s Final Four aren’t the biggest story. Record numbers are tuning in to watch high-level basketball. This isn’t just about Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes.

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Friday night’s 2024 #WFinalFour matchup between No. 1 @IowaWBB & No. 3 @UConnWBB was the MOST-WATCHED #NCAAWBB game EVER 🎉

🏀 Peak 17M viewers
🏀 Highest audience for ANY BASKETBALL GAME on record
🏀 Iowa-UConn was the most-viewed college event ever on ESPN+#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/P8BUtRyUxH

— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) April 6, 2024

Happy trails to Arizona Republic sports editor Mark Faller, who’s punching out next week…