star-telegram.com: Wendell Barnhouse

Savvy coaches know how the game is played

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 04:36 CDT

By WENDELL BARNHOUSE

Like jumbo shrimp, parking on a driveway and driving on a parkway, spring football is an oxymoron.

There are examples (the United States Football League being one) that football is a sport meant to be played in the fall and winter. (Never mind the college schedule cranks up before Labor Day.)

"Spring games are awful," Florida coach Urban Meyer said. "I shouldn't say that word, but it's not the best of the best playing against each other.... If you came out to see a well-executed SEC football game in the spring, you're not going to see that."

The glorified scrimmages that signal the end of 15 days of spring practice are becoming an event, a marketing method and a recruiting tool for the major programs. ESPNU televised Florida's spring game and the athletic department turned it into an all-sports festival.

"At first I didn't want to [televise the game], but recruiting is such a major player," Meyer said. "It's the bloodline of our program, and if they're not here, they are going to be somewhere else, and we want people to see this great campus."

Programs with a national profile such as Florida can enhance already strong profiles by welcoming the coverage of the World Wide Leader.

Last year, Alabama officials were stunned when 92,000 showed up at Bryant-Denny Stadium for Nick Saban's first spring game. Saban credited the crowd with helping the Crimson Tide sign the top-ranked recruiting class last February.

(Alabama had "just" 78,200 for this year's spring game. Early prediction: Alabama's recruiting class next February will be in the top 10 but not No. 1; blame the spring game attendance.)

MSL Sports and Entertainment hoped to capitalize on the spring football fever.

Before being postponed because of NCAA rules interpretations, MSL had a "Gridiron Bash" scheduled at 16 schools. The night before the spring game, a Midnight Madness type party was to be held featuring musical groups (ZZ Top was scheduled to play at Texas A&M).

Ohio State hoped to beat Alabama's spring game record but rainy weather limited the attendance to 76,346.

"The more excitement and festive atmosphere you have on campus can have an impact on recruits to some degree," Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said.

Nebraska's spring game drew a sellout crowd to Memorial Stadium. Fans were paying scalpers $95 for a ticket worth $8. The excitement over the "debut" of new coach Bo Pelini had the Huskers faithful fully engaged for a game they knew that Nebraska would win.

There were a few dozen high school recruits at Memorial Stadium, including Frisco Centennial quarterback Ryan Mossakowski. They spent some time on the field before the game.

"It was crazy," he told Rivals.com. "They had [more than 80,000] people in the stands. People who I didn't even know were coming up to us saying 'Hi' and making conversation. It was awesome, getting to experience what the players do every Saturday."

Comments like that are making more coaches realize the casual spring football game of the past has now become another recruiting tool.

Wendell Barnhouse: Lawmakers seeking government probe of BCS are offsides

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:18 CDT

By WENDELL BARNHOUSE

Three separate news items last week again illustrated the convoluted and cockeyed nature of college football’s postseason.

Story No. 1: Three members of Congress — one each from Hawaii, Georgia and Idaho — want the Justice Department’s antitrust division to investigate whether the Bowl Championship Series is an illegal restriction on trade.

Story No. 2: Hawaii’s payday from participating in the BCS Sugar Bowl was $4.4 million. Boise State, which played in the BCS’ 2007 Fiesta Bowl received $4.3 million.

Story No. 3: When the NCAA’s bowl certification committee meets next week, it will hear pitches from three new bowl games. If all three are approved, there will be 35 bowl games for the upcoming season.

So three members of Congress — representing states whose football teams’ fans believe got the shaft from the system the last two seasons — want the Justice Department to spend our tax dollars and waste its valuable investigatory time targeting the BCS.

(Had the lawmakers asked the Defense department to fire a couple of cruise missiles at the BCS, I would say, “You go, guys.”)

One must assume that everything in the good ol’ U.S. of A. is just peachy keen hunky dory if our elected officials and our judicial branch have nothing better to do than investigate a sport.

Two words: Mitchell Report.

Story No. 1 is silly enough. The last two seasons, Hawaii and Boise State have benefitted from enlarged BCS access that came about after testimony before Congress in 2005.

When you mix in Stories No. 2 and No. 3, Story No. 1 could be the lead item on The Daily Show.

(Side note: Georgia Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, one of The Three Unwise Men, already has been skewered on The Daily Show. After being quizzed about sponsoring legislation to have The Ten Commandments posted in Congress he could name only three of the ten.)

How exactly is Hawaii pocketing $4.4 million from a bowl game considered restricting trade? And can there be a better example of free enterprise and free market than the yearly proliferation of bowl games?

Note to politicians: If you’re going to talk about something not in your field of expertise, try and educate yourself so you don’t sound like a blithering idiot — which is a tough task for any elected official.

“Who elected these NCAA people? Who are they to decide who competes for the championship?” Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) asked at least week’s news conference announcing the BCS probe.

Answer to Question One: “NCAA people” aren’t elected.

Answer to Question Two: The NCAA doesn’t decide who competes for the Division I-A championship. It hasn’t had any control over postseason football since the 1984 Supreme Court’s antitrust ruling ended the NCAA’s control of football telecasts.

If a football coach tried to make a point analogous to the one Abercrombie made, he’d be asking Congress to make Canada stop sending all those cold fronts into the United States.

Division I-A college football’s postseason has been, is and will be unsound. The BCS is a contrived invention that works half the time.

We don’t need congressional confirmation of those facts. And we don’t want a postseason “fixed” by know-nothing, grandstanding politicians.

College Basketball Insider: Which title fits? National champ or $6 million man?

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 07:45 CDT

By WENDELL BARNHOUSE

SAN ANTONIO -- Thanks to the game's outcome and CBS' choice of talent, Monday night's postgame interviews didn't turn blue.

The last time Kansas played in a national championship game, the Jayhawks lost when they missed 18 of 30 free throws. Their coach, Roy Williams, was rumored to be headed to North Carolina.

After a gut-punch defeat, Williams was asked by Bonnie Bernstein about the Tar Heels' job. Ol' Roy, whose strongest language for public consumption resides in the dad-gum category, said he "didn't give a [expletive] about North Carolina."

Bill Self's Kansas team won the national championship in stunning, comeback fashion in the Alamodome. Amidst confetti falling, Self was interviewed by Jim Nantz and Billy Packer about The Game, not The Job.

Whether Self cares about Oklahoma State the way Williams said he cared about North Carolina has yet to be determined. Like Williams, Self will be courted by his alma mater and his native state.

Unlike Williams, Self must decide whether to take the money and run to a basketball program where national championships are ancient history.

Oklahoma State's No. 1 benefactor is T. Boone Pickens.

His contributions have bought him the power to make and/or approve decisions made by Mike Holder, the (in name only) athletic director.

Pickens' money is the reason Sean Sutton is job hunting after two seasons as the Cowboys' coach.

And Pickens' money is the reason Self will at least listen to Oklahoma State if and when his alma mater calls.

The reported contract numbers: a $6 million signing bonus and $3.5 million per year.

That deal, if Self takes it, would make him the Nick Saban of college basketball.

That is not a compliment.

After his team's 75-68 overtime victory over Memphis, Self effectively covered all the bases.

He said you "never say never" then repeated that Oklahoma State should "look in a different direction."

Tuesday morning, working on one hour's sleep, Self said he wanted "security" and that "I've got the best job, so I'm not evaluating anything else."

Then he said if Oklahoma State calls, "I would answer the phone."

It's clear that Kansas won't give up its national championship coach without a fight.

"I want to visit with my athletic director," Self said Monday night. "To be real honest with you, I love Kansas. I love my job here and hopefully it will be a situation where I can spend a long time here.

"I'm certainly not looking to leave, but [athletic director] Lew [Perkins] and I got to visit. I'm sure that'll happen in the next couple of days."

Rules ensure power, not parity at the top

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 04:40 CDT

By WENDELL BARNHOUSE

John Calipari, who spent four mediocre seasons as a boss and assistant coach in the play-for-pay league, says the letters "NBA" aren't an acronym for National Basketball Association. The Memphis coach says it stands for, "No Boys Allowed."

We're in Year Two of college basketball's One-And-Done Era. Thanks to the NBA's collective bargaining agreement with its players association, 19 is the minimum age for players who wish to enter the NBA Draft.

That means that college hoops has become a way station, a halfway house, a prep school for the NBA.

The best high school players can no longer attend their proms and then declare themselves eligible for a can't-lose version of Deal Or No Deal, where every metal briefcase contains million-dollar deals.

Two of the Final Four teams feature freshmen - UCLA's Kevin Love and Memphis' Derrick Rose - who no doubt would be living the high life of a pro 'baller if not for the inconvenience of attending classes and playing for a %national championship.

This weekend's Final Four in San Antonio is historic because all four participants are No. 1 seeds.

But neither the Bruins nor the Tigers would have made it to the last weekend without Love and Rose. And Ohio State wouldn't have reached last year's national championship game without freshmen Greg Oden and Mike Conley Jr.

As long as the NBA's age rule remains in effect, the odds are high that college basketball could see more power and less parity at the top.

A George Mason can make a Final Four run, a Davidson can come within a missed 3-pointer of joining three No. 1 seeds ... but the chances of the smaller schools winning a national title are reduced even more by the NBA age rule.

The players now spending a freshman year in college %instead of going straight to the NBA are going to pick the programs where they can maximize their draft value and, sure, maybe experience some March Madness.

Eric Gordon at Indiana, O.J. Mayo at Southern Cal, Patrick Patterson at Kentucky, Rose, Love ... those caliber of players aren't going to select Butler, Xavier or Davidson for their college experience.

Tyreke Evans, a 6-foot-5 guard who is the best of this year's high school seniors yet to sign a letter of intent, is considering Texas, Memphis, Villanova and Connecticut. Two of ESPN's top 10 high school players have signed with North Carolina; another with UCLA.

Through this season, 18 of the past 40 Final Four berths have gone to top seeds. The four No. 1 seeds in San Antonio are simply the rich continuing to get richer.

Little things knock out little school

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 04:35 CDT

By WENDELL BARNHOUSE

DETROIT -- Take this page and rub it between your thumb and forefinger. That's the thinness of the margin, the infinitesimal difference in victory and defeat in games such as Sunday's Midwest Regional final.

Davidson, the 10th seed and the fan favorite, came within a made 3-pointer of upsetting No. 1 seed Kansas at Ford Field. The Jayhawks' 59-57 victory was sealed when Jason Richards' shot was wide left.

Kansas swarmed Stephen Curry, the Wildcats' sensational sophomore, who brought the ball upcourt on his team's last possession. The final play, which started with 16.8 seconds remaining, was designed for Curry to operate off a flat screen at the top of the key.

"They switched and defeated the purpose of the play," Curry said. "I was off balance and saw Jason was open. I wish it had gone in."

Davidson coach Bob McKillop said that Richards had made similar shots during game simulations.

"He's a guy you want with the ball in his hands in that situation," McKillop said.

A guy. Not the guy.

Richards said he wasn't going to play the "what if" game about the Wildcats missing 7 of 12 free throws, of Curry's cold streak or of other shots that did teasing dances on the rim before falling off.

"A lot of things have to go your way," Kansas coach Bill Self said after winning a regional final for the first time in five tries. "We caught a couple of breaks."

Breaks. Bounces. Fortune. It's all been said before, but the NCAA Tournament -- especially the Saturday and Sunday of the regional finals -- is where the small things become huge.

Kansas at times appeared to be the elephant flailing at the gnat. An offensive rebound led to two missed free throws. Davidson missed two free throws, but then Kansas turned it over, an unforced error.

Brandon Rush had a pull-up jumper bounce in and out; Darrell Arthur got the offensive rebound, was fouled and made just one of two free throws.

"Davidson muddied up the game very, very well," Self said. "There was a five-minute span of the first half where there was some offensive flow, but that was about it."

Kansas' 30-28 halftime lead disappeared when Curry scored the first five points of the second half. He had scored 71 points in the second half of Davidson's three NCAA victories.

Watching Curry was hypnotic, like watching the odometer on a cross-country trip. But his timing and accuracy that would make a Swiss watch envious broke down over the last 15 minutes.

Curry missed 9 of 10 shots and eight consecutive 3-pointers before his 3-pointer with 54.5 seconds provided the final points.

Davidson's what-might-have-beens included a short jump hook from Andrew Lovedale that went 'round-the-world on the rim. And, with just over a minute to play, Richards made a steal and found an open Curry flaring to the left side.

It was a play reminiscent of Friday night against Wisconsin when Curry and Richards combined on a similar play during a spurt that won the game.

On Sunday, Curry's 3-pointer to halve a six-point lead bounced away.

Self said he couldn't believe the game was over.

Kansas did just enough to advance

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 22:14 CDT

By WENDELL BARNHOUSE

DETROIT — Take a page and rub it between your thumb and forefinger. That’s the thinness of the margin, the infinitesimal difference in victory and defeat in games such as Sunday’s Midwest Regional final.

Davidson, the 10th seed and the fan favorite, came within a made 3-pointer of upsetting No. 1 seed Kansas at Ford Field. The Jayhawks’ 59-57 victory was sealed when Jason Richards’ shot was wide left.

Kansas swarmed Stephen Curry, the Wildcats’ sensational sophomore, who brought the ball up court on his team’s last possession. The final play that started with 16.8 seconds remaining was designed for Curry to operate off a flat screen at the top of the key.

“They switched and defeated the purpose of the play,” Curry said. “I was off balance and saw Jason was open. I wish it had gone in.”

Davidson coach Bob McKillop said that Richards had made similar shots during game simulations.

“He’s a guy you want with the ball in his hands in that situation,” McKillop said.

A guy. Not the guy.

Richards said he wasn’t going to play the “what if” game about the Wildcats missing seven of 12 free throws, of Curry’s cold streak (nine of 10 misses) or of other shots that did teasing dances on the rim before falling off.

“A lot of things have to go your way,” Kansas coach Bill Self said after winning his first regional final in five tries. “We caught a couple of breaks.”

Breaks. Bounces. Fortune. It’s all been said before but the NCAA Tournament — especially the Saturday and Sunday of the regional finals — is where the small things become huge.

Kansas at times appeared to be the elephant flailing at the gnat. An offensive rebound led to two missed free throws. Davidson missed two free throws but then Kansas turned it over, an unforced error.

Brandon Rush had a pull-up jumper bounce in and out; Darrell Arthur got the offensive rebound, was fouled and made just one of two free throws.

“Davidson muddied up the game very, very well,” Self said. “There was a five-minute span of the first half where there was some offensive flow, but that was about it.”

Kansas’ 30-28 halftime lead disappeared when Curry scored the first five points of the second half. He had scored 71 points in the second half of Davidson’s three NCAA victories.

Watching Curry was hypnotic, like watching the odometer on a cross-country trip. But his timing and accuracy that would make a Swiss watch envious broke down over the last 15 minutes.

Curry missed nine of 10 shots and eight consecutive 3-pointers before his 3-pointer at 54.5 provided the final points.

Davidson’s what-might-have-beens included a short jump hook from Andrew Lovedale that went ‘round-the-world on the rim. And with just over a minute to play, Richards made a steal and found an open Curry flaring to the left side.

It was a play reminiscent of Friday night against Wisconsin when Curry and Richards combined on a similar play during a spurt that won the game. Curry’s 3-pointer to halve a six-point lead, bounced away.

Self said he couldn’t believe the game was over. “I made sure to shake hands quick and get out of there before the officials put time back on the clock,” he said.

Davidson has lost three regional finals — two to North Carolina and one to Kansas — by a total of eight points.

K-State grounded to halt by Wisconsin

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 04:37 CDT

By Wendell Barnhouse

OMAHA, Neb. -- What Kansas State needed was a Southeastern Conference-style weather day. Had the Wildcats been able to play twice Thursday, maybe they would still be playing.

The magic of Kansas State's first-round upset of USC disappeared in the 40 hours between final buzzer and opening tip. There was no gang rebounding, no smothering defense. And no victory.

Third-seeded Wisconsin played with cold-blooded efficiency Saturday. The Badgers badgered the 11th-seeded Wildcats on both ends of the floor for a 72-55 second-round victory in the Midwest Regional.

The Big Ten Conference champions are headed to Detroit for a Sweet 16 semifinal against the winner of today's Davidson-Georgetown game.

Wisconsin is a grinding team. It runs its swing offense until the shot clock reaches single digits. Kansas State, a team that likes to play at a fast pace, was frustrated at how the game unfolded. The game clock seemed to tick at a fast pace.

The Badgers' defense can squeeze the life out of a team like an anaconda. Wisconsin held the Kiddy Cats to a season low in points. K-State missed all 13 of its 3-point shots. It was the first time in 347 games the Wildcats did not hit a 3.

"That's not a team you want to play on a night you don't make jump shots," Kansas State coach Frank Martin said.

Wisconsin averages 16 3-point attempts and just under six 3-point baskets per game. In the first half, the Badgers hit 7 of 15 3-pointers.

On Wisconsin was more than just the fight song.

The Badgers made 9 of 22 3-pointers. Even second-graders can cipher that as a 27-0 scoring edge in the 3-point column of the box score.

"We got lost a couple of times defensively," Kansas State senior guard Clent Stewart said. "You can't get lost on your guy this time of year if you want to win."

It's also the time of year when an unknown player has a career game or a starter matches a career high. Wisconsin benefitted from both.

Sophomore guard Trevon Hughes matched his career high with 25. He was one of those players Stewart said the Wildcats lost.

Hughes and senior center Brian Butch hit 3-pointers to boost Wisconsin's lead to 26-16 with 7:17 remaining in the first half. A 10-point lead for the Badgers is like a 20-point lead for another team.

"They get you in that slowdown tempo, a grind-it-out game," Martin said. "You guard them for 32 seconds and then they score on you."

Senior guard Michael Flowers, the team's defensive specialist, had 15 points. He and Hughes combined to make 7 of 12 3-pointers, and the Badgers had a 40-4 edge in backcourt scoring.

Greg Stiemsma, a senior reserve "polar bear," had a career-high 14 points in 14 minutes.

All that was more than enough to offset KSU freshman Michael Beasley's typical effort -- 23 points, 13 rebounds -- in what might be his last collegiate game.

"As of right now, I'm still a college student," Beasley said. "You're asking me these questions right after a big loss. I've had no time at all to think about my decision."

Beasley and redshirt freshman Bill Walker (18 points) probably played their last game in a Kansas State uniform. NBA millions are calling. At least they got to play in two NCAA Tournament games.

UNLV, like its coach, has a fighting heart

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 04:36 CDT

By WENDELL BARNHOUSE

Lon Kruger's heart underwent sextuple bypass surgery last summer.

Look at this way: The Nevada-Las Vegas coach had one more clogged artery repaired than players he lost from last year's Sweet 16 team.

After a stress test confirmed he might be about to lose his eligibility, the 55-year-old Kruger thought he was to undergo an angioplasty.

"I thought I'd be back in the office the next day," he said Friday. "I'm sitting there, watching it with the doctor. He says, 'There's a blockage, there's another.' There were six.

"There were no symptoms, no damage at all, haven't had any pain since. So they must have done a good job."

No big deal. The sextuple on your valentine, and it's no big deal.

UNLV players remember their coach telling them he was going to have "a procedure" done on his heart. Cracking your chest open, roto rootering your heart... yeah, that's a procedure.

How a team plays is supposed to reflect its coach. The eighth-seeded Runnin' Rebels (27-7) destroy that theory. Their effort is as high-octane as their coach is low key.

UNLV has no choice. The Rebels lost five of the top six players from last year's Sweet 16 team. Three players who were being counted on left for various reasons. UNLV has 10 players on its roster with the tallest being 6-foot-8. Two are former walk-ons.

Today's opponent in the Midwest Regional second round here is top-seeded Kansas. The Jayhawks have four post players who are taller than UNLV's biggest player.

"It's kind of a makeshift team," Kansas coach Bill Self said of UNLV. "I'd like to know where they get their walk-ons because those guys can play with anyone. You look at that team and say how do they do it? The guy on the sideline is a master."

Kruger has coached at UT-Pan American, Kansas State, Florida (with a Final Four trip) and Illinois (where Self was his successor).

Under Kruger, UNLV is a Mountain West Conference team that can win in the NCAA Tournament. This season's edition has a 6-7 "power forward" who is third on the team in 3-point attempts and a former small forward/shooting guard who is now the point guard.

"To be undersized, to have five guards on the floor all the time, we have to play hard and scrap on every possession," said senior Curtis Terry, one of two former walk-ons who starts. "We understand that we can't take any possessions off. We don't have a 7-footer who's going to bail us out with a rebound or a blocked shot."

Terry is the half-brother of Dallas Mavericks guard Jason Terry. Jason is hoping to fast-break out of practice today and make it here for the game.

(Based on how the Mavericks have fared in the first two of their Big Games this week, Curtis and his teammates might want to hope that The Jet winds up grounded.)

"We have a lot of confidence in ourselves and in our abilities," said Curtis Terry, who like Jason, favors the knee-high socks look. "We also heard a lot of people say we were going to struggle this year because of all the players we lost.

"When someone says you can't do something, the first thing you want to do is jump up there and prove them wrong. This shows we're dedicated, and we've put our hearts into it."

The play was much better than the key actors

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 04:37 CDT

By WENDELL BARNHOUSE

OMAHA, Neb. -- Like Fourth of July fireworks, there were occasional flashes worth of an exclamation point.

Michael Beasley's first basket, a one-dribble drive and finish from the free-throw line for Kansas State. As Bill Raftery would say, "with alacrity."

USC's O.J. Mayo hitting a 3-pointer at the end of the first half, then his childhood buddy matching him with a 3.

Mayo giving his team the lead and the apparent momentum with a steal and a hidden-ball trick layup that drew a foul for a three-point play.

But this pregame hype, the Mayo vs. Beasley and Walker story line... that usually gets lost in something called The Game.

And No. 11 Kansas State, folding, spindling and mutilating No. 6 seed USC 80-67 Thursday night in the first round of the Midwest Regional was far more compelling than individual matchups.

The Wildcats (21-11) are one victory into what they hope is a six-game Shock The World Tour. If Kansas State keeps playing like it did against the Trojans, second-round opponent Wisconsin and the rest of the bracket had better take notice.

"They're a team that's got a chance to advance to the regional final," USC coach Tim Floyd said. "They've got great, great talent. When they rebound and play defense like that, they can play with anybody in the country."

It was a stunning and breathtaking performance from a team with a rookie coach who has seven freshmen on his roster.

K-State's Frank "Laser Stare" Martin managed the game like a veteran. Beasley got his second foul just over four minutes into the game.

For the rest of the first half, Martin yo-yoed Beasley in and out, offense for defense. A dead ball when the Wildcats would get possession, in came Beasley. A break with KSU going to defense, out he went.

"Coach is a smart guy," said Beasley who finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds, game highs. "He never steers us wrong. I was just doing what he told me to do."

While Martin was preserving Beasley, USC's twin posts of Davon Jefferson and Taj Gibson fouled out.

Kansas State swarmed on defense and gang-rebounded. USC shot 42 percent and the Wildcats had a 44-27 rebounding edge on a team that had outboarded its past eight opponents. That led to a 22-3 edge in second-chance points.

Walker scored 17 of his 22 points in the first half.

"I had to keep the production up once Mike was in foul trouble," said Walker, who made six of his first eight shots and both of his 3-point attempts. "That's been our problem all year, not picking it up when Mike isn't doing it."

There's a Sunflower State vibe here. Kansas faces UNLV -- coached by K-State alum Lon Kruger -- in the second round. The Jayhawks won the national title 20 years ago, beating K-State (coached by Kruger) in the regional final.

Kansas State's defeat of USC was the school's first in the NCAA Tournament since... 1988.

"We're happy to get the first win in 20 years," Beasley said. "But it doesn't stop here."

FRESHMAN SHOWDOWN

Trio is what's good, bad about college basketball

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 10:21 CDT

By WENDELL BARNHOUSE

OMAHA, Neb. — Here in fly-over country, home of red states and red meat, Midwesterners admire qualities like integrity, humility, longevity and commitment.

So it’s odd and ironic that Omaha’s Qwest Center will host a first-round NCAA Tournament game Thursday that is more three-ring circus than collegiate contest.

The three rings -- they’re destined for NBA championships, don’tcha know? -- are O.J. Mayo, Michael Beasley and Bill Walker.

Mayo is the freshman star for No. 6 seed USC.

Beasley is the 6-10 freshman double-double machine for Kansas State. Walker, Mayo’s friend and teammate since they were 4-year-olds in Huntington, W.Va., is a redshirt freshman and Kansas State’s second-leading scorer.

If you believe the USC-Kansas State game, CBS’ prime-time lead-off hitter for Thursday night’s lineup, is the product of bracketology serendipity, then you’ll be looking out the window for the Easter bunny this weekend.

This game jumped off the page when the bracket was announced Sunday. Mayo, in fact, predicted the matchup when he called his buddy Walker Sunday afternoon.

“Omaha seemed like a good place to play,’’ Mayo said. “At the same time, it’s all about the money.’’

O.J. Mayo, Rhodes Scholar candidate.

Whether the NCAA men’s basketball tournament committee intentionally bracketed USC and Kansas State in the first round, this much is certain: It’s a celebration and a condemnation of college/amateur basketball.

Mayo has been The Chosen One since he became a teenager. He has been the Next Big Thing, the next K.G./Kobe/LeBron since the hype machine started when he was a 6-1 point guard just out of grade school.

Mayo and Walker left their hometown when they became seventh-graders and have been chasing the game ever since.

Rules prevented them from playing varsity basketball in West Virginia until they were in ninth grade. So they moved to Rose Hill Academy in Ashland, Ky.

But the coach’s style grated, so they bolted for North College Hill High School in Cincinnati. Starting as freshmen, they led that school to three state titles.

Walker was declared to have exhausted his high school eligibility before last season so he attended Kansas State (his season was shortened to six games by a knee injury).

Mayo returned to Huntington and won another state championship. But his prep career was littered with “incidents.”

“Did he make a mistake or two when he was a sophomore or junior in high school? Yeah, but I did, too,’’ said USC coach Tim Floyd, who didn’t recruit Mayo but was recruited by Mayo’s advisers. “Most everybody made mistakes at that age.

“He didn’t have an opportunity to the media in junior high and high school. I can tell you he’s been misrepresented and mis-portrayed. He’s unselfish, polite, respectful, dependable, accountable.’’

Beasley attended five high schools in four years. He won state championships at four of the schools.

He is at Kansas State because Dalonte Hill, his AAU coach, was hired as an assistant by previous coach Bob Huggins. Until Huggy reached out, Beasley was headed to Charlotte because Hill was on the staff there.