Georges Niang Decides Loyalty To Iowa State's Program Is Important, and He Didn't Want To Leave After 3 Seasons and a Sub-Par NCAA Tournament Game Against UAB. So He'll Stay With the Cyclones for His Senior Year, and Not Make Himself Available for the June 25 NBA Draft

By RON MALY

By Georges, Niang is staying.

No NBA yet for the talented Cyclone.

I gave you some of my thoughts six days ago  about Iowa State basketball player Georges Niang. 

Georges Niang

I wrote that the 6-8 forward owed it to himself to explore the wisdom of leaving collegiate basketball after his junior season, and making himself available for the June 25 National Basketball Association draft.

Niang did some thinking, and has decided to return to Iowa State for his senior season.

 "I was weighing [leaving for the NBA], but I want to be loyal to the [Iowa State] program and didn't want to go out this way," Niang told Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. "I didn't want to leave my mark like that."

 "Go out this way" meant Niang didn't want to  make an exit following Iowa State's unexpectedly quick loss in the NCAA tournament, and he didn't want to be known as the guy who left after having a sub-par performance in his final game of the 2014-2015 season. 

He scored 11 points [connecting on only four of 15 field goal tries] and had seven rebounds in the Cyclones' 60-59 loss in their opening game of the Big Dance.  

Niang averaged 15.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists as a junior. 

Draft experts had projected Niang as a second-round choice if he declared for the NBA draft.

Goodman wrote that the Cyclones will likely be a national  top-10 preseason in 2015-2016, "with Niang, junior point guard Monte Morris, athletic big man Jameel McKay and shooter Naz Long. 

"They will also add transfers Hallice Cooke [Oregon State] and Deonte Burton [Marquette]." 

Niang told Goodman, "I think we have a really good core coming back."

The Big Ten Stands Up for Itself

By RON MALY

Hey, not bad for a basketball league that lots of people said wasn't up there with the big boys during the regular season.

The Big Ten, I mean. 

There was plenty of conversation making the rounds, of course, in January and February about the Big 12 and the Atlantic Coast Conference being the best collegiate conferences in America.

There's certainly nothing wrong with the ball they play in the Big 12 and the ACC.

But look who's really doing some talking now? 

The Big Ten, which has two teams in the Final Four. 

Both will be underdogs in next Saturday's semifinal round at Indianapolis, but the important thing is that Wisconsin and Michigan State are in the field--which means they have a chance, and that's much more than a ton of other teams around the U.S. can say. 

Wisconsin, clearly the power of the Big Ten, matches muscle with No. 1-ranked and unbeaten Kentucky, and suddenly that game doesn't seem like the mismatch it may have appeared to be a couple of weeks ago. 

Notre Dame, certainly not as strong as Wisconsin, gave Kentucky all it could handle before losing by a basket Saturday. 

I'm sure you won't hear any of the Badgers say they can't upset Kentucky at Indy. 

And Michigan State's players obviously feel

Przemek Karnowski

they can defeat Duke.  

[Actually, I was hoping Gonzaga would beat Duke today. I wanted to see Przemek Karnowski, the 7-1 Gonzaga player from Poland, play another game or two].

Still, it looks like an excellent Final Four to me. 

I just wish they could get the ridiculous Charles Barkley off of those pregame, halftime and postgame TV discussion groups, and I wish confused announcer Vern Lundquist would retire in the next 24 hours. 

Finally, while on the subject of TV, I guess the NCAA tournament isn't as important to national television giant CBS as you'd think.

I just can't believe that Saturday's games won't be televised by CBS.

Instead, both of the semifinal round games are on TBS, which--in my estimation--is a second-rate network.

The same thing happened when yesterday's Elite Eight games were televised by TBS, not CBS.

I couldn't believe that either.

Evidently, CBS didn't want to give up its lightweight Saturday programming schedule to make way for The Big Dance.

The championship game Monday, April 6, will be on CBS.

THE SCHEDULE

Saturday, April 4

Duke (33-4) vs. Michigan State (27-11), 5:09 p.m., TBS

Wisconsin (34-3) vs. Kentucky (38-0), approximately 7:49 p.m., TBS

Monday, April 6

Semifinal winners, 8 p.m., CBS

*
A maly, too ITEM--If Wisconsin and Michigan State should happen to win their semifinal round games, it would set up a classic all-Big Ten championship game.

Johnny Orr

It wouldn't be the first time that has happened. In 1976 at Philadelphia, Bobby Knight's Indiana team defeated Johnny Orr's Michigan squad, 86-68,  for the title. Four years later, Orr was coaching at Iowa State. I covered many NCAA basketball tournaments, including Final Four championships, for my newspaper in that wonderful time of my life, and the Knight-Orr matchup at Philly was about as classic as things could get.

It Was a Shame Notre Dame Lost

By RON MALY

I'm not much of a Notre Dame fan. 

Never have been. 

But I sure wanted the Fighting Irish to win that basketball game tonight against No. 1-ranked and unbeaten Kentucky in the NCAA tournament Elite Eight.  

I was rooting for the Fighting Irish the entire 40 minutes against the best collegiate team that money can buy. 

Mike Brey, a guy I always thought was a lightweight in the coaching business, and his Notre Dame players did a wonderful job in their courageous upset bid. 

It was a shame the Irish lost, 68-66.

A real shame. 

Now I'll have to hope Wisconsin sends Kentucky packing in the semifinal round of the Final Four at Indianapolis.

I've never been much of a Wisconsin fan either.

But I will be next Saturday.

If I'm Georges Niang, I Need To Do Plenty Of Research So I Can Find Out Where I Might Be Picked In the June 25 NBA Draft. Then I'll Have To Decide Whether I Should Come Back for My Senior Season At Iowa State

By RON MALY

I'm pretending to be Georges Niang today.

I'm a 6-foot 8-inch Iowa State basketball player, and people say I'm one of the best collegiate forwards in the nation.

Georges Niang

I've already played three seasons for the Cyclones, and I've really enjoyed myself in Hilton Coliseum, other basketball arenas around the country, and on the Iowa State campus.

I play in the Big 12 Conference, which--at least until the NCAA tournament began--was regarded as the best collegiate league in America.

I'm a very friendly guy, and people like me. 

Reporters enjoy interviewing me, and I do the best I can to give them intelligent answers.

Like my teammates, I love playing at Hilton Coliseum, which historically has been one of the best arenas in the nation.

I enjoy the "Hilton Magic" atmosphere in our building as much as anyone. I think it helps me play better.

I've already had a very good career at Iowa State, if I say so myself.

I led our team in scoring with a 15.3-point average in my junior season, and my 184 rebounds ranked below only Jameel McKay's 190.

People expect me to play for Iowa State next season, but I know I have a decision to make--and I hope our fans know it, too.

Like most other collegiate basketball players, my goal has always been to play in the National Basketball Association.

Some talented players pass up their senior seasons, and make themselves eligible for the NBA draft.

I plan to do plenty of research on that matter.  

I owe that to myself.

I plan to check with Fred Hoiberg, my Iowa State coach, and others about where I might be drafted.

A lot of our games are televised by ESPN, and I've heard that the TV analysts give me rave reviews all the time.

I know they say I can pretty much do it all--score, rebound and play defense.

They like it that I'm just as dangerous with the jump shot as I am under the basket.

I guess that's call versatility.

People say I have a high basketball IQ, which is something that doesn't hurt any player when it comes to the NBA draft and the professional career that follows.

But I'm not perfect.

I've heard it said by a few know-it-alls, like at Draft Express, that I'm not the fastest player in America, that I don't play well above the rim, and that maybe my rebounding ability needs to improve if I want to be a success in the NBA.

I can't do much about the speed except to not put on any weight. I lost 25 pounds after the 2013-2014 season, and I thought playing at 230 this season helped.

But becoming more of a rebounding force, and playing better above the rim is something I maybe can improve.

One reason I came to Iowa State was because I knew Coach Hoiberg was a standout player here, and also did well in the NBA.

I know he'll help me make the big decisions that are facing me.

Our season ended earlier than all of us wanted it to end. We finished with a 25-9 record, but lost our opening NCAA tournament game to UAB, 60-59.

I didn't play particularly well against UAB.  I launched 15 shots, but made only four of them, and scored just 11 points. I had seven rebounds.

That shows you that I can have off-games. But that occasionally happens to all players at this level.

I feel badly that we lost so early in the tournament, and it's tough watching the Big Dance move along without us in it.

All of us thought we'd still be playing.

Anyway, I'll be doing my research to see if it would be a smart thing for me to make myself eligible for the NBA draft.

Some people think I'd be picked somewhere between high in the second round to the middle of the second round.

If that's the case, I'd probably decide to come back to Iowa State for my senior season.

Top guys at our level of competition are always gunning to be first-round selections.

That's where the money is.

Do the draft experts think I can become a first-round pick in the future? 

I plan to find out.

The draft is June 25.

Stay tuned.

Swan Song On the Dance Floor

By RON MALY

Spring football, anyone?

I know I'm not ready for that. And maybe you aren't either.

The Big Dance

But what choice do we have now that Northern Iowa, Iowa and Iowa State have been eliminated from the NCAA basketball tournament?

I guess we can pop some corn and look at videotape of the defeats.

Count me out of that, too.

The end came rather quickly for the three Iowa teams, especially for the Cyclones, who were embarrassed by unheralded UAB, 60-59, in Louisville on Thursday--the first day of the Big Dance.

UNI and Iowa stayed on the dance floor a little longer, but now they've said goodbye to the 2014-2015 season, too. 

Both teams won their opening games in Seattle easily, but the Sweet Sixteen dreams they had turned out to be pure fantasy.

Iowa's defense went on spring break at a very inopportune time against 34-game winner Gonzaga.  

Consequently, the Hawkeyes were demolished, 87-68, in their round-of-32 matchup.

In the last game of the opening week of the tournament, UNI was no match for Louisville's quickness in a 66-53 loss.

Louisville coach Rick Pitino called it his team's best game of 2014-2015 after ending UNI's season at 31-4.

The Cardinals' zone defense left  UNI standout Seth Tuttle little room to operate, and held him to 14 points and just seven field goal attempts.

"We got off to a good start and found some openings against Louisville's zone," Jacobson told reporters. "But they made some adjustments, and I didn't adjust soon enough to find some different ways to get Tuttle the ball."

Iowa's defense was nowhere to be found against Gonzaga, and the Hawkeyes paid a huge price for the disappearing act. 

I wrote that Iowa was capable of winning, but it needed to bring its "A" game. 

Unfortunately, that didn't happen. 

It was more like a D-minus game that the Hawkeyes brought to the building.

Gonzaga [34-2] had far too much firepower for the Hawkeyes, whose season ended with a 22-12 record. 

Gonzaga shot a blistering 61.5 percent from the field, drilling 13 of 15 uncontested shots, including 6 of 6 three-pointers.

Obviously, Buzz Williams Has No Future In TV

By RON MALY

Buzz Williams has been on TV a lot this week.

Indeed, he's been on the air far too much.

Kurt Warner, front left,. Photo courtesy of AP/Waterloo Courier

Williams has been appearing on those NCAA tournament pregame, halftime and postgame shows that feature broadcasters, ex-players and coaches who either have already lost their jobs, or are on their way to losing  their jobs.

Williams recently completed his first season as the coach at Virginia Tech.

It was a season he'd like to forget.

It was a nightmare.

His overall record was 11-22, and he was 2-16 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Williams not only didn't coach his basketball team very well in the 2014-2015 season, he also doesn't appear to be a very intelligent man.

He and TV viewers were watching yesterday when videotape of Kurt Warner, who had a standout career as a National Football League quarterback, addressing Northern Iowa's players was shown.

Warner, a former quarterback at UNI, was shown in the crowd [photo at the top of this column] and in the Panthers' locker room.

UNI advanced to Sunday night's game against Louisville by rolling past Wyoming, 71-54, in a second round game at Seattle.

Buzz Williams

"I didn't know Warner played football at Northern Iowa," Williams said. "In fact, I didn't even know Northern Iowa had a football team."

Obviously, Buzz Williams is not the sharpest guy sitting at the table.

*

Too bad Steve Alford and his UCLA team advanced to the NCAA's Sweet Sixteen today with a 92-75 victory over Alabama-Birmingham [aka UAB, the team that eliminated Iowa State on Thursday].

Steve Alford

That means Alford and his Bruins will be around to clutter up the tournament for one more game.

UCLA will play the winner of Sunday's Iowa-Gonzaga winner next Friday in the South Regional semifinal at Houston.

Obviously, I'm hoping it will be the Hawkeyes who knock UCLA out of the tournament, not Gonzaga.

Alford, of course, spent eight forgettable seasons [1999-2000 through 2006-2007] as the Hawkeyes' coach before being run out of town. His records at Iowa were 152–106 overall and 61-67 in the Big Ten. * TV viewers in eastern Iowa are caught in a mess with station KCRG in Cedar Rapids and DirecTV. DirecTV hasn't been offering KCRG to viewers for a couple of months because the station has refused to pay some sort of rights fee. Evidently, KCRG doesn't want to pay the same fee that competing stations KGAN of Cedar Rapids and KWWL of Waterloo are paying. Plenty of people in eastern Iowa are calling KCRG a cheapskate outfit, and I don't blame them. An Iowa resident made me aware of this situation, and forwarded this email to me that he has sent officials at KCRG: To KCRG-TV: I am informed that a member of my family with a DirecTV account in Iowa cannot receive KCRG-TV  because of a conflict between the station and DirecTV. This distresses me very much and it distresses my family very much. This has been an ongoing problem, and it is my opinion that the matter should be solved immediately. It is horrible business being conducted by KCRG-TV to deny people in your viewing area of your services. How long do you think television viewers should have to put up with this type of business? I would like to know if you unwilling to pay DirecTV the same amount being charged to KGAN and KWWL, competing stations int he viewing area. Why should you people think that you should not pay your fair share, similar to what KGAN and KWWL pay? If I lived in your viewing area, I would give strong thought to dropping your station, which has proven it is not acting in good faith. It is my hope that you come to terms with DirecTV immediately. By the way, I live in an area where DirecTV and the ABC-TV outlet get along very well. Service is not, and has not, been interrupted by the same problems that are interfering with the service in eastern Iowa. The TV viewers in this area are very happy. It is a shame the same cannot be said for the KCRG-TV viewing area.

What a Fabulous Friday It Was In the State Of Washington for the Panthers and Hawkeyes.The 2 Teams Gave Seattle Their Best Basketball Shot. It Was Called Total Domination. UNI Overpowered Wyoming, 71-54, and Iowa Steamrolled Davidson, 83-52, In the NCAA Tournament

  By RON MALY

It doesn't get much easier, or much better, than this. 

For the Panthers and Hawkeyes, I mean. 

The Big Dance

No doubt about it, the state of Iowa pretty much took over Seattle today and tonight.

At least the collegiate basketball aspect.

Both teams were at the top of their game in the NCAA tournament. 

Northern Iowa improved its record to 31-3 by overpowering Wyoming, 71-54, early in the day, and Iowa [22-11] played its best game of the season while steamrolling Davidson, 83-52, tonight.   

The 31-point difference marked the biggest victory in a No. 7 [Iowa] vs. No. 10 [Davidson] game in NCAA tournament history.  

There was certainly no case of either UNI or

Meg Ryan

Iowa being sleepless in Seattle [Hollywood's Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, who both are longtime readers of my columns, probably knew I'd get that line in].  

UNI was playing in the Big Dance for the first time since upsetting Kansas and reaching the Sweet Sixteen in 2010, and made it a whopping team effort in a game that began at 10:40 a.m., Pacific Time. 

I mean, the players who came off the Panthers' bench outscored Wyoming by a whopping 41-2. 

That's how overpowering UNI was. 

Speaking of overpowering, Iowa was just that in its spectacular assault against Davidson. 

The Hawkeyes smothered Davidson with a defense that was significant throughout the Big Ten season, and they scored at will against an opponent that looked bewildered throughout the entire game. 

Getting back to that sleepless in Seattle stuff, I think it would be a good idea for the players from both UNI and Iowa to not overdo it when it comes to celebrating tonight and tomorrow. 

The competition Sunday for both teams figures to be considerably tougher. 

UNI is matched against tradition-rich Louisville, and Iowa plays Gonzaga, which is well-known in collegiate basketball circles.

  Gonzaga has been on the verge of becoming a national basketball power in recent years, but always seems to be one key player or two away from getting to the high level in the postseason for which it is striving.

Gonzaga is a small Catholic university in  Spokane, Wash., and the team is usually ranked very high in the national polls throughout the regular season.

It is a No. 2 seed in this tournament. The campus is about 250 miles from Seattle, which means it will have plenty of fans in the arena for the game against Iowa.

Nonetheless, it's my feeling that both UNI and Iowa can win Sunday, but both had better bring their "A" game. 

  Consequently, my advice to the Panthers and Hawkeyes is this:

Do what your mothers have always told you, boys, and get plenty of rest.

Sunday will be here before you know it. 

One good thing is that fans planning to watch the games on TV in Iowa won't have to hurry through anything Sunday to get their game faces on.

The UNI and Iowa games will be among the last to be played Sunday.

The Hawkeyes play Gonzaga at 6:10 p.m., and the UNI-Louisville matchup is at 8:40 p.m.  The Panthers' game is the entire tournament's last one of the night.

Both games will be shown on the TBS network.