J-W sports editor Tom Keegan each week will observe and analyze the national college basketball scene.
Here are his thoughts for last week:
Player of the week: Keydren Clark, St. Peter’s
Clark won’t lead the nation in scoring, as he did the past two years, but he did score 19, 22 and 29 points to lead the Peacocks into tonight’s MAAC tournament title game. Over the summer, Clark awakened to find his best friend, teammate and roommate, George Jefferson, on the floor of their room. He never woke up, dying of a heart malfunction. The 5-foot-10 Clark dedicated his senior season to Jefferson.
Team of the week: UCLA
Led by 6-5 Arron Afflalo, who averaged 20.5 points and played his normal strong defense, UCLA scored road victories against California and Stanford to win the Pac-10 title outright, its first in nine years. Afflalo made eight of 14 three-point shots in the two wins in Northern California.
Bust of the week: Duke
In his latest magazine ad for a certain credit card company, the sainted Mike Krzyzewski prints the finishes to sentences started in type. To finish a sentence that started, “My life,” Coach K wrote, “isn’t about winning games.” Good thing, because Blue Devils lost to Florida State and UNC.
Game to watch: Iona vs. St. Peter’s
Jeff Ruland’s Iona Gaels defeated the Peacocks on the road and lost to them at home. Game features high-scoring, undersized guards Clark and Iona’s Steve Burtt Jr., son of Iona’s all-time scorer.
8 tonight, ESPN2
(Sunflower Broadband Channel 34)