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Like
a faithful, brave St. Bernard trudging through a snowy Alps blizzard
with a flask of brandy, the Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook
comes to the rescue of those dedicated college hoops bettors who
must gather information on many of the 3l8 Division I teams that
are bettable in 2000-2001. The annual, originally founded and compiled
by Chris Wallace, who literally sold it out of the trunk of his
West Virginia-based car in the l980s, is again, a wonder to behold
at 384 pages, selling for $19.95.
Edited again
by the most-talented Chris Dortch and his sharp national crew of
scouts, analysts and compilers, this mountain of useful material,
from Air Force to Youngstown State, has been compiled to isolate
this year's "sleepers," powerhouses and late bloomers--all of whom
are hoping to make it to the Big Dance in March.
You'll find
no pointspreads or totals or references to "home dogs" or such in
this book. It details players-who's bound to star; who's over-rated;
who's NBA-bound; who the leaders are in shooting, assists; in being
a "sparkplug off the bench," and how well teams recruited or hope
to utilize junior college transfers. And it includes Ivy League
teams; little-knowns like Coppin State, Drexel, Elon, Samford, Wofford
and Wright State. Thirty-two conferences are covered, included the
Colonial, Mid-American, Patriot League, Trans America and later,
the Independents.
Notre Dame's
Troy Murphy is projected as Player of the Year, with Kentucky's
Jason Parker seen as Newcomer of the Year. The Blue Ribbon crew
also offers it's 20th Anniversary All-Blue Ribbon Team and the Top
20 Events in the book's history. It includes a list of all Division
I coaching changes for the upcoming season; picks its top 40 for
the upcoming season (UNLV doesn't make the list); then covers the
top 40 in deep analysis. Here you'll find who's back from last season;
who's not; what the coach might be thinking and his philosophy toward
winning is (new recruiting tactics; a different offense or more
emphasis on defense; more run and gun or less, etc.).
In addition
you'll be able to see a projected starting lineup; key reserves;
other newcomers; and key questions about each team-how they'll fill
in gaps; solve problems or what they hope to do differently this
season compared to last
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 season.
The Blue Ribbon crew analyzes and rates the backcourt, bench depth,
front court and "intangibles" using a letter grade. (Duke is simply
loaded and ranked number one, with virtually all "A" grades.)
Schedules are there for all teams (of course they're always subject
to change for TV purposes), with indications of tournaments and
location, when known.
You'll see
some minor omissions in this edition-junior colleges, high school
players who may be future college superstars and women's basketball
didn't make the cut (not enough room). The editors promise to
include that material in the December update edition. One minor
error-you'd have to be nutty nitpicker to care-but Niagara was
listed as Niagra. But again, this has been the year of Viagra.
The error is in the index only -the in-depth material on the team
has the name spelled correctly throughout.
The book arrived
at Gambler's Book Shop on a Tuesday. By Thursday, sports service
operators, bettors, fans, talk show hosts and those who buy it
for a gift, had picked them up five and six at a time-guarding
them like fullbacks diving for the end zone on fourth and one
with time running out. You'll need time to read this marvelous
compilation-buy a highlighter and go at it. It's once again, the
book of the year for basketball bettors.
The Blue Ribbon
book is available at Gambler's Book Shop, 630 South 11th St.,
Las Vegas, NV 89101 for $19.95 plus $5.50 postage. You may order
by calling 1-800-522-1777 from 9 to 5 Pacific Time, Mon.-Sat.
using a MasterCard, VISA or Discover card only. You may send a
check or money order to the store and the book will be shipped
the next working day. You may order via the store's web site at
www.gamblersbook.com anytime.
You may also fax your order in to the store at 702-382-7594 anytime,
and include your credit card number and expiration date. Ask for
the store's free 80-page catalog of software, books and videos,
sent first class.
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