Schagren Says: Early March Madness Edition

Schagren Says: is a collection of random thoughts and predictions from the most random person in Knoxville, TN.

Turner is Player of the Year: Ohio State’s Evan Turner is having one of the best seasons that I have seen in my lifetime, but can he win the award from the hype machine that has followed Kentucky’s John Wall all season? Look at Turner’s stats: 19.7 pts, 9.3 rebs and 5.9 asts. Turner reminds me of a healthy Grant Hill. The former Duke star averaged 17 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists as a senior at Duke. In a very weak NBA draft, Turner is the most complete NBA-ready player and it is a joke if Wall wins the award over Turner.

Cheer hard for Notre Dame tonight: Why do I care so much about the UConn-Notre Dame women’s basketball game tonight? The reason is simple: The Huskies have won 68 consecutive games and are only 20 away from tying UCLA’s winning streak of 88 games. Most people realize that John Wooden’s streak is a lot more impressive than UConn’s streak in women’s basketball, but I just know there is going to be one idiot that will rank the Huskies over the Bruins if they pass UCLA’s streak. Here’s to hoping that the Fighting Irish pull off the upset. Remember that Digger Phelps’ Notre Dame stopped UCLA’s streak.

Hockey has won me over: My name is Jamey Schagren and I pledge to become obsessed with a hockey team. This past Winter Olympics had some of the best hockey that has ever been played and I am absolutely hooked. The problem is that I am from Atlanta, so I have to cheer for the Thrashers. They are only two points away from being the eighth seed and maybe this new fan in Knoxville will help pull them to victory. All Americans should be very proud of the job that Ryan Miller and the U.S. team did at the Winter Olympics.

Let the Eric Berry hype begin on Tuesday: The Tennessee safety is set to run the 40-yard-dash at the NFL Combine on Tuesday and some have hinted that he could possible run below a 4.40. We will believe it once we see it, but the media will fall in love with Berry’s talent tomorrow. If Sam Bradford is the guaranteed first overall pick, Berry could slip out of the top-five. That would mean five teams are making a huge mistake.

My Final Four: The NCAA brackets will be released in less than two weeks. There is plenty of basketball left, but some teams have already started showing us that they are nowhere near a Final Four team. With less than two weeks until we start filling out our brackets, here is my Final Four on the first day of March: Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse and Ohio State.