BEVERLY HILLS (MI) — As the Flyers get ready to tip-off for what should (but probably won’t) be their last appearance at UD Arena this year, let’s tip our caps to the four UD seniors. Each guy — Luke, PW, CJ and Josh — has thrilled the Flyer Faithful in their own unique way during their time in the Red and Blue. And they have each gone about their roles with quiet determination, devoid of temper tantrums or dancing on the scorer’s table. And all four will graduate on time this spring.

Well done, gentlemen.

Meanwhile, I got a whole lotta links for ya:

— Nobody ever talks about the Sagarin Ratings anymore. It’s always RPI this and SOS that. Poor Jeff. Here’s a link to his latest:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/bkt1112.htm

— I used to spend a lot of time perusing the ChicagoHoops website, especially when BG was here. Now not so much, not because BG is gone but because of this:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/bkt1112.htm

$199 per annum for something that used to be gratis? How about no?

— Boy, I wish that I coulda been there to see the CJ/Franklin HS game last week. UD recruiting targets Luke Kennard (class of ’15) and Justin Bibbs (class of ’14) put on quite a display of hoops talent from everything that I’ve read:

http://www.daytonsportsbeat.com/?p=807

— CW seems to be getting a bit more PT with the GSW these days. The fact that the Warriors are getting blown out fairly often might have something to do with it, I suppose. Nevertheless, here is a familiar sight: Chris scoring on an alley-oop:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XO8U7JHZXmM&feature=player_embedded

And another one of CW with the block:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfUFqnO2vco&feature=related

— Does past NCAA experience lead to March success? Here comes the science, complete with Rorschach ink blots:

http://www.teamrankings.com/blog/ncaa-basketball/does-past-ncaa-tournament-experience-lead-to-march-success-the-data-says

— Need more stats? Here is Basketball Prospectus with their take on top players transferring. It seems the higher ranked the recruiting class, the more likely that guys are going to ship out:

http://basketballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=2104

— Traditional HS hoops powerhouse St. Patrick’s in NJ is closing its doors at the end of the school year:

http://www.zagsblog.com/2012/02/26/with-st-pats-closing-hurley-says-its-end-of-an-era/#more-68266

— Exhibit A on why fans should never rush the court prematurely until the buzzer sounds, courtesy of Delaware State:

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/50339/delaware-state-loses-in-worst-possible-way

— Speaking of Delaware, the U of D Blue Hens women are ripping it up, led by my old pick-up hoops pal Elena Delle Donne:

http://thequad.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/28/next-goal-for-the-blue-hens-undefeated-conference-season/?ref=ncaabasketball

— Hard to believe that it’s been 50 years since Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in an NBA game in Hershey, PA:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204653604577249501078192724.html

— Bob Ryan of The Boston Globe with a profile of ESPN’s Doris Burke, that rare on-air talent who is able to adeptly cover men’s and women’s college hoops as well as the NBA:

http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/articles/2012/03/01/espn_analyst_doris_burke_knows_whereof_she_speaks/

— Politically speaking, he may not be your cup of tea, but Bill Simmons does a pretty good job talking sports with the current POTUS:

http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/18690/b-s-report-transcript-barack-obama

— And in another piece from Grantland, a tale of some great pick-up hoops at the NBA All-Star Game:

http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/18422/the-best-pick-up-game-at-all-star-weekend

— Behold the awesome power of the Cupcake ATM!

http://la.eater.com/archives/2012/02/29/sprinkles_launching_24hour_cupcake_atm_machine_sprinkles_ice_cream_confirmed.php

That’s it “From the Swamp.”
You can email me at: [email protected]