No labored and tendentious linking devices here, just good honest hoops insights. Virginia's under-hyped, the Big 12's over-balanced, and the Gonzaga-Saint Mary's game is finally here.
Seeing Garrick Sherman go nuts for Notre Dame across five overtimes got John to thinking of players who could be given bigger roles. Like, say, Alex Oriakhi, Sam Dekker, and Pierce Hornung.
In his feature for ESPN Insider John says Russ Smith, Gorgui Dieng and company are better than the Cardinal team that reached the Final Four last season -- and also better than their current ranking.