Pac - 10的男子篮球比赛需要一个改头换面
LOS ANGELES -- Thank you, Kevin O'Neill, for supplying the comic relief for a
tournament that should go straight to video.
The Pac-10's postseason event lacks what other conference tournaments flaunt: a
personality. Staples Center is sterile. Fan support is shaky. National interest is
tepid.
Other than that . . .
It became painfully clear Friday night that the Pac-10 Tournament needs an extreme
makeover.
A game between Arizona and USC had fantastic reality show-like billing. The head coach
of one school - USC's Kevin "The Situation" O'Neill - argued with a booster of another
on the eve of a game. A wife was involved, a security guard was called and suddenly we
have must-see TV.
Yet the early atmosphere of the game reflected none of this. No signs poking fun at
O'Neill's foibles, no over-the-top school spirit.
Only the players delivered with a great mano-a-mano that went to the wire before
Arizona won 67-62 to advance to Saturday's final. Not until the final minutes did we
hear the voices of USC fans, many whom go to classes just a few miles from here.
Madison Square Garden, where the Big East plays its tournament, it isn't.
It was perfectly fitting that four of the best seats in the house, on the floor near
center court, were filled early in the game by a well-dressed mom and three young boys
dressed in prep-school gear: ties, blue blazers and khakis.
Nothing wrong with that but where's the face paint? The school sweatshirt? Give me
Robert Sarver's foam finger. Something!
I was happy to see former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, a big basketball fan,
sitting courtside, but I also knew we weren't getting any Spike Lee trash talk from
her.
Darn it all.
Some want this tournament to go away but I disagree. I love this event. It just needs
fixing.
Please, Larry Scott, work your magic.
The tournament used to rotate sites. Why not try that route again?
"That's always a thought," Scott told media earlier this week. "It is certainly
something that I have heard people would want us to look at. It's tied to our TV
contract, so we are here for sure next year as well, and as part of our TV
negotiations, it's a topic we will be discussing."
Scott said he also will revisit start times - Friday's second game between Washington
and Oregon tipped off at approximately 11:40 p.m. East Coast time. Not many setting
their alarm for that one.
"We're definitely looking at the overarching issue, which is how do we get more
national exposure for basketball and football in particular," he said. "I think it's a
complex set of issues. I don't think it's just about start time.
"It's got a lot to do with what broadcasters are on, having national clearance vs.
regional clearance, start times to some extent, nights we play. We're the most rigid of
any conference out there, so there's a whole set of issues, but that topic is something
I've been razor focused on."
There's no reason to doubt Scott. He already has demonstrated a willingness to shake up
things and the addition of two conference teams to the mix is proof. It will be
interesting to see if those teams, Utah and Colorado, bring more fans to this event.
Even though competition was lousy early in this tournament, it became increasingly
better, from the slugfest between Washington and Washington State on Thursday night to
the spirited meeting Friday between the Wildcats and Trojans.
And plenty of great players were there to see, such as Arizona's Derrick Williams, who
ended the first half with a dunk to give the Wildcats a 33-28 lead and ended the game
by taking it over. In the final 1:48, he had an alley-oop dunk and sank 4 of 4 key free
throws. He finished with 20 points and six rebounds.
"Great players close out games," Wildcats coach Sean Miller said.
They also make conference tournaments fun to watch.
Hope Scott finds a way to make this one better.
