North Carolina-Asheville Basketball

Sure, it flew in the face of the one piece of refined bracketology fact—never choose a 16 seed to upset a one seed—but I don’t regret picking UNC-Asheville to upset Syracuse in the Round of 64.

I know, by the time I’ve finished writing this article No. 1 seeds will have a 110-0 record against No. 16 seeds, and that record will be 112-0 tomorrow.

But did you see the game? It was close. Very close.

It was a reasonable upset call to make. UNC-A was one of the most solid 16-seeds in the last decade, and Syracuse was missing their starting center, who just happened to be the Big East Defensive Player of the Year. The fact that the game was close legitimizes my call, but I would have been fine with my pick even if Syracuse had looked a bit more like the team that they were supposed to be and won by a fair margin.

It’s fine that I can be mocked for making a rookie mistake with my bracket. I was seven points and three refs away from looking like a veritable genius.

Put aside, for the moment, even the dubious turn that the game took in the last few minutes to seal the close win for the Orange. Forget the fact that the Bulldogs played a great game against one of the better teams in college basketball.

Think, instead, about the reason that we call this wonderful season of sports insanity by the name of “March Madness.” Crazy things happen, legends are made and unprecedented events take place. It would have fulfilled all three of these benchmarks for UNC-A to upset Syracuse.

That kind of thing is the reason that we watch. It would have been worth ruining my entire bracket to see a 16-1 upset, and I wouldn’t have batted an eye. Picking the upset didn’t hurt me in the long run, either, because I would have chosen Kansas State over either team in that game.

I knew it was a bad idea, statistically speaking, but I went with my gut feeling, a premonition that this game would be close. I made the pick with the most upside. I chose the team that would lead me to March Madness glory instead of the team that would leave my bracket sitting in the mediocrity of probability.

And I was wrong. So what? I’m happy with my choice, and I’d make that pick again every time. It’s fun to have a winning bracket, but sometimes it’s better to just sit back, realize that you’ll never get it right and bask in the craziness of the NCAA Tournament.

The Shakedown

It's the beginning to be the best story in college athletics, the cinderella story.

The Big South Conference has been nothing more than a doormat in the NCAA tournament the past few years but this year things could be different.

With conference tournament season right around the corner, its time to take a look at this year's pretenders and contenders in the Big South.

Who will wear the slipper, can anyone challenge Asheville, and what lower-seeded team has a chance to dance? Lets find out!

The Breakdown

1. UNC-Asheville 21-9 (16-2 Big South)

UNC-Asheville comes in to the Big South tournament as the overwhelming favorite. Asheville poses a major scoring threat lead by Matt Dickey (17.1 PPG) and J.P. Primm (14.9 PPG).

The Bulldogs are sixth in the NCAA with their average of 81.2 PPG. Despite being the favorite however, Asheville has been challenged throughout  conference play this year.

The Bulldogs lost to Charleston Southern on January 19th at home and have seven conference wins that were by single digits.  

2. Coastal Carolina 19-10 (12-6 Big South)

What looked to be a promising season in the Big South took a turn for the worse in February.

Coastal Carolina won just three games throughout February but has managed to grab the second seed. After being a favorite the past few years in the Big South, the Chanticleers will play a bit of the underdog role in this year's tournament.

Inconsistent conference play has most wondering if they can put together three wins in a row for a chance to dance. 

3. Campbell 17-14 (11-7 Big South)

The Campbell Fighting Camels may be the big challenge for the Bulldogs in the conference tournament. With a potential championship matchup looming, the Camels have plenty of confidence heading to Asheville for a chance to dance.

Campbell does have a road win at Iowa earlier this season that proves they can play with some pretty good competition. Campbell did lose the last three games, but have been working on resting players down the stretch.

I expect that Campbell will be ready in the Big South tournament. Campbell's last NCAA tournament appearance was 1992, where they lost to Duke 82-56.

4. Charleston Southern 18-11 (11-7 Big South)

Charleston Southern earned the fourth seed in the Big South tournament. The Bucs have won four out of their last five and seem to be putting things together at the right time. Charleston Southern also has impressive conference wins over Asheville and Campbell earlier this season.

If the Bucs can get past a scorching Liberty team, they could give Asheville fits in the semifinals.

5. Liberty 14-17 (9-9 Big South)

The Flames of Liberty sneak into the Big South conference tournament with the fifth seed. Led in scoring by seniors David Manaya and Jesse Sanders (12.8 PPG each), the Flames have the senior leadership to make some noise.

Despite a slow start in conference play Liberty has won seven of its last nine games and looks to carry that momentum into the tournament.

6. Winthrop 11-19 (8-10 Big South)

Winthrop is the most decorated team in the Big South. The Eagles made eight NCAA tournament appearances from 2000-2010. 2012, however, has been somewhat of a rebuilding year for Winthrop.

The Eagles have great upside and potential but have not proven that they can string together several wins at a time. It will be tough sledding for the Eagles if they have any hopes of getting past the quarterfinals of their conference tournament. 

7. Virginia Military 14-16 (8-10 Big South)

The VMI Keydets locked up the seventh seed for the Big South conference tournament. The Keydets' inability to win on the road will most certainly be their struggle in this tournament. VMI is 1-12 on the road this season.

The Keydets would likely have to win three road games in a row if they wanted to make the NCAA tournament, something that I can almost guarantee will not happen.

8. High Point 12-17 (8-10 Big South)

The High Point Panthers have a major theme to their 2011-2012 season:  inconsistency. High Point has impressive wins over Coastal Carolina, Charleston Southern and Winthrop, but has lost to Radford, Gardner Webb and Presbyterian.

While that kind of play may give them an edge for an upset or two, it hurts their chances at a deep run in the Big South tournament.

9. Gardner-Webb 12-19 (6-12 Big South)

Gardner-Webb comes into the Big South tournament as the ninth seed. The Bulldogs have been surprisingly competitive this year within the Big South but haven't been able to lock up wins. Eight of the Bulldogs' t12 conference losses have been by six points or less.

If they can figure out their late-game execution, Gardner-Webb may find a way to make this tournament interesting. 

10. Radford 6-25 (2-16 Big South)

Radford owes a big thank you to Presbyterian for being the newcomer. A team that would not regularly be eligible for the tournament will grab 10th seed due to Presbyterian's eligibility in the Big South tournament.

I wouldn't count it as much a favor though, as Radford's road the NCAA tournament will more than likely end on the first night of the tournament. 

*Presbyterian 14-15 (8-10 Big South)

Not eligible for postseason play due to transfer to Division I.

The Takedown

First Round

No. 7 VMI over No. 10 Radford

No. 9 Gardner Webb over No. 8 High Point

Quarterfinals

No. 1 UNC-Asheville over No. 9 Gardner-Webb

No. 2 Coastal Carolina over No. 7 VMI

No. 6 Winthrop over No. 3 Campbell

No. 5 Liberty over No. 4 Charleston Southern

Semis

No. 1 UNC-Asheville over No. 5 Liberty

No. 2 Coastal Carolina over No. 6 Winthrop

Championship

No. 1 UNC-Asheville over No. 2 Coastal Carolina

Big South Tournament Champions: UNC-Asheville (24-9, No. 16 Seed in NCAA tournament) 

The Final Buzzer

Joe Lunardi has Asheville as a potential 16-seed in the NCAA tournament. One seeds beware, as this Asheville team has no fear taking on the top dogs. Asheville has been competitive against the likes of North Carolina State, UNC, UCONN and Tennessee this year.

While it is highly unlikely they would actually pull the upset, my prediction is that regardless who they are matched up with, it will be a 10-point game at the most.  

No. 1 NORTH CAROLINA 116, UNC-Asheville (Bulldogs, 3,609 students, Asheville, NC) 48

The final score would indicate two things: 1) UNC is really good, but we already knew that; and 2) that there is a really big hole in the middle of UNC-Asheville’s lineup.

The Bulldogs won 20 games last year and got within a dozen of UNC and 13 of Tennessee before heading off the NIT where they lost to Ohio State.

This season they are picked to finish ninth out of 10 teams in the Big South, and have started the season 3-3 with wins over non-powers Montreat, Belmont Abbey, and Liberty. Their losses have been to the Tar Heels last night and at the hands of Campbell, 94-57, and Wofford, 74-69. Hmmm.

So what’s missing?

Senior Kenny George, that’s what missing—all 7’7” of him.

George made news last year because he was really tall and a steady player in the middle for the Bulldogs. While you wouldn’t confuse George for a younger Shaq as he ambled up and down the court, he did lead the NCAA in field-goal percentage last year (70.6 percent).

Add to that, the big fella was the Big South defensive player of the year. The would-be senior averaged 12.4 points and seven rebounds last season while averaging only 20 minutes of playing time. George's listed height of 7'7", according to UNC Asheville's official roster, puts him in the Shawn Bradley and Neil Fingleton category of one of the “tallest players in NCAA history.”

Most importantly, George had 93 blocked shots last season, ranking him eighth in the nation. That shot-blocking ability and his pure size (he's also 375 pounds) made it possible that he might find a place on an NBA roster.

While it was unlikely that he would be picked in the NBA’s short two-round draft, as a free agent he could probably find work just plugging up the middle for a few minutes or stopping an NBA big on a scoring rampage every now and then.

All of that, plus his senior year at UNC-Asheville, has gone out the window for now thanks to an infection that led to a partial amputation of his right foot. That’s tough when you consider the simple fact that George has endured a lifetime of stares and size-related inconveniences with an ever-diminishing chance of a payoff.

Back in August, George was diagnosed with MRSA (a difficult-to-treat staph infection) in his right foot. Hospitalized, doctors conducted several surgeries in an attempt to save his foot and his life. In October, doctors amputated part of the infected foot.

Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, life was never easy for Kenny George. At the age of two, his parents separated. As an adolescent, a doctor discovered that George had an overactive pituitary gland, which leads to abnormal growth—this condition is not life-threatening, but George needs to get the gland checked by an endocrinologist once a month.

Now a senior at UNC-Asheville, George stands at 7'7". With his customized size 26 shoes on, the top of George's head is seven feet and nine inches off the ground. 

George's father, Ken Sr., claims that he never intended for his son to pursue a career in basketball. However, his son was 6'11" as a sophomore at Chicago Latin High School, and the varsity basketball coach recognized that George, even at 6'11," had very steady control of his body. It was then that George really began to pursue playing basketball at a higher level.

As a senior at Chicago Latin, George nearly averaged a triple double with eight points, 10 rebounds, and nine blocks per game. He dislocated his right kneecap and missed eight weeks, but he was still able to lead his team to the sectional playoffs.

Despite the risk of injury that comes with someone of George's height, Eddie Biedenbach of UNC-Asheville wanted to ink the 7'7" blocking machine for four years at his program. 

All 370 pounds of Kenny George arrived at UNC-Asheville in the fall of 2004, but he was not allowed to play for the basketball team due to academic ineligibility. George planned to debut for the Bulldogs at the start of the 2005-06 season, but he needed major surgery to repair another dislocated knee. He was redshirted because of the injury. 

After battling sore knees in the preseason, George finally made his debut as a UNC-Asheville Bulldog on November 22, 2006 against Virginia. He was able to block five shots in 15 minutes, but his knees became too swollen and sore for him to play in any of the next five games. 

Knee injuries don't come as a surprise when you are 7'7" and 370 pounds. George's knees had to support a lot of weight, so the center saw limited action to avoid leaving all 370 pounds on his knees for too long. 

Despite the pain, George played through the 2006-07 season, averaging 5.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and two blocks in just 10.5 minutes per game. Towards the beginning of the season, there were multiple games where George saw less than five minutes of action, but he played at least 13 minutes in each of his final six games. 

Last season, George averaged 12.4 points, seven rebounds, and 3.3 blocks in nearly 20 minutes per game. He gained national attention when his Bulldogs squared off against Tyler Hansbrough's North Carolina squad. George came off the bench to score 14 points and pull down a game-high 11 boards in 24 minutes of action.

Hansbrough didn't have much trouble against UNC-Asheville's big man, as the former executed a thunderous dunk on the latter, but George showed Hansbrough up by completing a dunk without leaving the ground.

George completed a triple-double against Campbell for the first time in school history when he scored 20 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, and blocked 10 shots. 

Overall, George was very impressive in 2007-08 and was key to the Bulldogs' appearance in the NIT. 

Saddening the college basketball world, news broke out this week that George recently had part of his right foot amputated due to Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. MRSA is a bacterium that is responsible for difficult-to-treat infections in humans.

Although Biedenbach would not reveal the specifics of George's condition, MRSA is a staph infection that generally spreads through open wound or skin-to-skin contact. It can be inferred that the partial amputation was necessary to prevent further spreading of the infection. 

At the big man's size, it is hard to fit through doorways. Riding New York's subway is nearly impossible because of the low ceiling at the entrance to the car. He needs customized sneakers, and he can't drive because his body cannot safely fit in the driver's seat. 

Add the amputation to the mix, and it is very likely that George will never play basketball again.

However, UNC-Asheville looks forward to seeing George complete his senior year of college. 

Luckily for the big fella, there are things other than basketball that George finds interesting. The center has written several short stories and is also deeply interested in graphic design, animation, cartoons, and comic books. 

Hopefully for Kenny, he will find a way to lead his life in the direction of his non-athletic interests. 

For now, our prayers are with you, Kenny George. 

Everyday I will give a new reason to be pumped for the upcoming college basketball season. We are about 78 days from the start of meaningful college basketball.

Today's reason to be pumped for basketball season: 7'8'' UNC-Asheville Center Kenny George.

Reason number 78 goes straight to the man who is well seven feet eight inches. Kenny George quickly became a national celebrity among sports fans for his gigantic size.

George is the tallest player to compete in an NCAA game and wears a size 28 shoe which is believed to be the largest shoe of any basketball player in the world.

Kenny George also has one of the weirdest stat lines in college basketball. He plays just under half the game, but accumulates impressive numbers. Extrapolate his numbers over 40 minutes and George would average 25 points, 14 rebounds and 6.5 blocks per game, but his large frame keeps him to just 20 minutes a game.

When using Ken Pomeroy statistics, Kenny George is third in the nation block percentage at 17.3%. This means George blocks more than one of every six two-point shots the opposing team takes when he's on the floor. His presence on the floor forces teams into more three point shots.

George is also seventh in the country in pulling down the highest percentage of defensive rebounds. When the gigantic center is on the floor, 30% of the opposing teams misses end up in his hands.

George burst onto the scene January 9th, 2008 when his unknown UNC-Asheville Bulldogs challenged heavyweight North Carolina. Asheville was coming off a win over another BCS conference team at South Carolina.

The Asheville-North Carolina game represented one of the best story-lines of the year in sports: David vs. Golaith. Kenny George had the size of Golaith but the standing of David.

Asheville and the very slow to get up-court, George couldn't keep up with the Tar Heels pace falling behind by 13 at half. George still had a solid game, playing about five more minutes than average and recording a double-double.

George did record a lowlight in that game when as Kenny George claims, Tyler Hansbrough became the first player to ever dunk on George.

But that was the past and George will be back for one more season. He'll have one more season to show off his 93 inch wingspan. He'll have one more season to wow college basketball fans across the country, but he won't have much help.

Three of the top four Bulldogs (Bryan Smithson, K.J. Garland, and Vincent James) in percentage of minutes played during season graduated and accounted for 40 points a game.

It will be tough for Kenny George and his teammates to repeat their 2008 success which saw UNC-Asheville receive their first NIT berth ever.

While the Bulldogs may struggle in 2008-2009, they will still have several shots to slay the giants of the game.

Kenny George will get his rematch with Tyler Hansbrough on November 30th and another shot at Tennessee who defeated Asheville by 13 last year on December 3rd. Later in December, Asheville take on perennial powers Duke and Ohio State.

So reason number 78 you should be pumped for basketball season is when 7'8'' Kenny George gets four shots to taken down four giants of the game.