Duke prepped for Houston 3 years ago

SAN ANTONIO — I’ve been waiting all winter to write that dateline. And here I am in the media work room deep inside the Alamodome. Duke coach Jon Scheyer has just finished up the final press conference of the day. I’ve visited a few locker rooms, caught up with lots of old colleagues and spent some time talking to these guys:

Those are, of course, the four Final Four coaches. I interviewed Bruce Pearl and Todd Golden together for CBS, while my TV colleague Jay Wright interviewed Scheyer and Kelvin Sampson. I’ve done those joint coaching interviews for some 20 years now and I’m always struck by the camaraderie between guys who are about to face off against one another in one of the biggest, if not the biggest, game of their careers.

That’s the spirit of the Final Four. Because the national coaches’ convention is also taking place in San Antonio this weekend, almost every head coach and assistant will make his way through the city. In fact, almost everyone connected to the sport will be here. It’s like a big family reunion. But make no mistake, at the end of the day, we’ve got three very important games to watch and cover. It’s the best taking on the best, and the best time to be in this crazy, wonderful business.

Several of our Hoops HQ colleagues are with me in San Antonio as well, in particular our Staff Writer Alex Squadron. Eden Laase is down in Tampa, where she will be covering the women’s Final Four games tonight. You’ll want to check out her preview (and picks!) for those games as well as her outstanding feature on UCLA point guard Kiki Rice.

And not to worry, even while we cover the respective Final Fours, our partners at The Portal Report are all over the transfer news for us. Tristan Freeman has also penned his Top 10 Sleepers in the men’s portal. If you’re really into the nitty gritty portal news, I strongly recommend subscribing to The Portal Report’s coverage for fans. If you’re a college basketball coach, it’s imperative that you also subscribe to get access to their data.

And for all the coverage around men’s and women’s college basketball (including the WNBA draft, which is coming up on April 14), I hope you’ll take advantage of our Sweet 16 sale, where you get your first year’s coverage for just $16. This sale is just about over so if you want all of our great content at that ridiculously low rate, jump on it!

Have a great Friday, and thanks as always for your support of Hoops HQ. —Seth

Duke’s “Secret” Scrimmage With Houston Set the Stage for the Final Four

By Brett Friedlander

Jon Scheyer had just taken over for his mentor, Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski, and he wanted to make sure his team was as prepared as possible for his first season as Duke’s head coach.

So he scheduled a “secret” scrimmage against the toughest team he could think of.

Houston. On the road in Texas.

And it didn’t go well.

Playing without eventual first-round NBA Draft picks Dereck Lively and Dariq Whitehead, who were injured, the Blue Devils shot just 36.6 percent from the floor and made only 2-of-17 three-pointers in a 61-50 loss.

“I just believed Houston would be the toughest test,” Scheyer said during Thursday’s Final Four media day in San Antonio. “Their coach (Kelvin Sampson) is as good as it gets in college basketball. I just admired from afar the way they defended, how they were building their culture. We had such a new group. I wanted our guys to be exposed at the highest level and we were.”

On Saturday, Scheyer’s Blue Devils and Sampson’s Cougars will meet again. In Texas.

This time, on the biggest stage in college basketball, Duke….

"100 Percent" Healthy — Johni Broome Brushes Off Injury, Ready for Final Four

By Brett Friedlander

Auburn star Johni Broome returned to practice Thursday and has declared himself fit and ready to lead the Tigers in Saturday’s national semifinal against Florida.

“I’m going to be 100 percent, for sure,” he said during a Final Four media day session in San Antonio.

Broome, a 6-foot-10 senior who leads Auburn in scoring and rebounding, had not practiced since injuring his right elbow during the second half of Sunday’s Elite Eight victory against Michigan State.

He said the decision to hold him out of action Tuesday and Wednesday was a precautionary measure, and that there were no limitations on his participation once he returned to the court.

That’s good news for an Auburn team that will need its best player to be at or near full capacity to beat its SEC rival and advance to Monday’s national championship game. Even with a healthy Broome in the lineup, the Gators beat the host Tigers 90-81 in their regular-season meeting Feb. 8.