It’s that time of year, when DANCING IN THE SPOTLIGHT is prevalent for several sports. Let’s start with the obvious one…NCAA Mens Basketball.

….It’s still 7-10 days away from the brackets but…keep in mind that U Conn won its 2^nd consecutive national championship last when they knocked off Purdue 75-60. This doesn’t happen often. The last team to do it was Florida in 2007 & 2006 under HC Billy Donovan. Donovan led NCAA teams to Four Final Four Appearances–2000, 2006, 2007, & 2014.

…Unlike many other successful college basketball coaches, Donovan moved up to the professional ranks as a coach. His 1^st pro job was as Oklahoma City Thunder 2015-20. He immediately showed that he could DANCE at that level as the posted a 243-157  and led the Thunder to 5 consecutive playoff season.

…Of course the Coach who “Danced the Most @ NCAA Tournaments Finals” was John Wooden. Wooden’s UCLA teams won the title 7 straight years and a total of 10 NCAA titles!! His 1^st Championshp team used a  whole court press the entire game and was guard oriented. After winning, he was able to recruit outstanding centers- Lew Alcindor (now he’s adopted the name Kareem Abdul-Jabbar)  & Bill Walton. They were head & shoulders above everyone else. No one could DANCE WITH THOSE UCLA TEAMS… they were in the SPOTLIGHT for a complete decade!!! You might think that Wooden had “inherited” a strong program @ UCLA.  Not so quick Big Boy!  UCLA had won only 2 conference championships in its previous 18 years before Wooden’s arrival.

…There have been some other magical DANCING IN THE Men’s Basketball SPOTLIGHT.  Not all of them won the championship, but they “came out of nowhere” to DANCE IN THE SPOTLIGHT.

…..the 1^st picture that comes to my mind  of a Coach DANCING IN THE SPOTLIGHT is Jimmy Valvano. I can still see him racing across the court and jumping for joy as his Villanova team (seeded as a #8 team) in 1985 didn’t win any for their first 3 games in the NCAA Tourney by more than 5 points. They went up against a heavily favored Georgetown team led by Patrick Ewing.  Somehow, Villanova shocked the Hoyas 66-64 and Valvano began his famous race across the court to cut down the net!

…There have been some other DANCING IN THE SPOTLIGHT in the NCAA.  Not at the Championship game level but in the 1^st round of the tournament. For example you might still be remembering this unbelievable1st round loss in 2012 when Mizzou(30-5 for the season), a #2 seed & a 21.5 favorite, was upset by Norfolk State 86-84.ugh!!

…ahead of their time as they DANCED IN THE SPOTLIGHT in 1990 of the NCAA Tourney, Loyola Marymount was seeded #11 despite their 122.4 ppg average! They upended #6 seed, New Mexico St, in round 1—111-92 (remember this was in 1990- 35 years ago); in round 2 outgunned Michigan in a wild 149-115 win! Can you imagine 264 points in 1 game? In round 3 Loyola edged Alabama 62-60. Their DANCING IN THE SPOTLIGHT  was in the elite 8 round as UNLV edged them 69-67. Loyola Marymount may be given the “credit” for introducing then bringing into “fashion” the run/gun, 3 pt shooting game of today.

…Inching closer to DANCING …oops… SKATING IN THE SPOTLIGHT are the Blues. Winners of 5 of their last 6 games, the Blues have worked their way up closer to the playoff bound teams. …However, the Blues No. 1 defenseman Colton Parayko is expected to miss the rest of the regular season after injuring his left knee in the team’s shootout victory at the Los Angeles Kings. He won’t be DANCING IN THE SPOTLIGHT OR SKATING SOON…Parayko, who plays more ice time than anyone else on the Blues roster– almost 24 minutes/game. He has recorded 35 points this season. The Blues have just about 6 weeks remaining in their schedule. Without Parayko, the Blues, who are skating up the hill to reach the playoffs, will have an even tougher challenge.

…the Cardinals have made it clear that they are in a “reset”. That’s a nice word for saying we’re going to lose this year, and a few more years, then we hope to develop some future starters. They won’t be DANCING IN THE PLAYOFF SPOTLIGHT for a few years…maybe many years. The “Cardinal Way”—to draft, develop and keep their players (for at least 6 years—when they may become a free agent) will be emphasized. It’s been “their” style for just about 100 years (since the 1920’s). But…things have slipped.  This can be seen in the fact that they have had only 4 top 30 prospects since 2019: Alex Reyes, Dylan Carlson, Nolan Gorman and Jordan Walker. Between the four of them, there has only been ONE all-star appearance. Reyes & Carlson have been shipped out. Gorman & Walker have 2025 to become an every-day starting player. Let’s hope that this pair, and other young players elevate their play. They are “expected” to be leaders.

… Is it coincidental that after the 2011 season, Jeff Lunhow left the Cardinals organization to become the Astros GM? Since that time, the Astros have been DANCING IN THE SPOTLIGHT. They’ve been in the playoffs 9 (nine) seasons. They’ve been in 4 World Series (won 2, lost 2), lost 3 AL Championship games, lost the 1^st round of AL Divisional series once. They only missed completely the playoffs in 2016.  Hmmm…just a coincidence”?  I doubt it.

….College Football has increasingly been DANCING IN THE SPOTLIGHT. It’s the primary revenue generator for the D-1 colleges.  There are a group of SUPER powers currently in the NCAA who feel like they deserve more of the “money pot”. There is rumbling that some of these super powers may “break off” from the NCAA so that they can bargain for their own television rights & other income sources. I understand that not all schools are created equal…or spend equally. If this elite group of teams do “break away” and form their own league, there will be other issues. Like what about the other sports? If this premier “league” actually does evolve (which I hope it doesn’t), college sports will not be the same.

…Thanks for you read! Please feel free to comment on any part of the Buzz. I appreciate ou spreading the word about the Buzz to family, friends, @ work, wherever. Thanks!  Bob