House(d) on Hoops: 2001 Edition

The last time we heard from Conrad "Hoopie" Housed was after UConn's mid-season win over Cincinnati - a win that may have turned around their season and a post that was the fifth most viewed in DomeSite history. Hoopie has been too busy to lay down the basketball truths lately - the man manages to work several jobs each year in between interviews. That was not always the case as this classic conversation from 2001 with fellow DomeSite legend T-Panic demonstrates:

It was actually really nice to see Duke win last night. they have shown the country how to win with class. UConn fans need to stop with the Duke resentment and appreciate the Blue Devils as a team that UConn should strive to be. There is a reason why the best recruits go there. They develop as players and people. They will continue on next year and probably be a contender again. There was no stupid dancing in a circle, yelling acting like they are hanging out in the projects listening to JayZ like UConn did after winning it in 99. I hope Calhoun was taking notes. Now they have kids like Jason Williams, Duhon who are great players, but will also win and lose with class and keep the tradition rolling. You never hear about Duke kids getting arrested for possession of pot, taking plane tickets from agents or complaining that they do not play enough or score enough. For every Rickey Moore, who sacrifices for the team, Duke has 4-5 of those guys on their team every year. UConn fans should quit with the envy and realize that the UConn program is not a legit Top 10 program like everyone thought after being lucky enough to win it in 99.

I did not realize you had become such a big Duke fan.

How Does He Do It? Amazing:
http://www.sportsline.com/u/ce/multi/0,1329,4360291_55,00.html

This is why I keep telling you guys Duke is the best program in all college sports, not just hoops. I only wish UConn conducted business like Duke. A program all should be modeled after. Here's an excerpt:

"Shavlick Randolph is the fifth recruit who ranks among BlueChipHoops.com's top 30 players to commit to the defending national champions. Also in the fold are 6-9 Shelden Williams of Oklahoma (No. 5 nationally), 6-4 J.J. Redick of Virginia (No. 14), 6-10 Michael Thompson of Illinois (No. 17) and 6-2 Sean Dockery of Illinois (No. 30). Duke will also have 6-6 Lee Melchionni of Pennsylvania, a borderline top 100 player, pay his own way to the school and walk on next season."

A top 100 player will walk on??? Amazing. What is Coach K doing to get these guys? This looks like a dynasty in the making. Like the Fab5, except these kids are Duke student-athletes and will always respect the game and play with class. No wonder Coach K is about to be enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA.

Your second favorite team UConn isn't doing too bad either. Commitment from SF Denham Brown (usually rated within or near the top 50) and expecting any day now a verbal from SG Rashad Anderson (top 30 in all publications). Now we're going after big men.

Those two guys are supposed to be OK, but could cause a problem since both play the same position. Calhoun has not been able to keep kids happy with playing time in recent years and if you have two somewhat big recruits playing same position there is bound to be a problem. Somehow Coach K manages to get the type of kids who will accept a lesser role in exchange for team success. I am afraid that one of these two kids will be overhyped or a Doug Wrenn type. You just do not see thoise type of problems at Duke.
All of the impact big guys are gone already.

Looks like we have a good shot at Emeka Okafor.

Duke has four recruits (Randolph, Thompson, Redick and Williams) rated higher than him. Too little too late. Uconn just can't compete with Duke.

Stay tuned to the DomeSite for Hoopie's take on this years tournament. His track record shows that he's a man with hoop knowledge that demands respect.

The Week That Was - 7 Years Ago

Let's go back a few years and see what was happening, Bridgeport Post-Style:

Upper West Side Stalker Sought: "A Menace," Police Say

(AP) MARCH 10, 2001 NEW YORK, NEW YORK - City police are looking for a man who they claim went on a stalking rampage last Saturday night and early Sunday morning, victimizing several women in the bars that line Amsterdam Avenue. The suspect has been described as a tall, thin, white male and police are working with a sketch artist to produce fliers that will be distributed to local residents.

"At this time, we're looking for a caucasian male, late 20s to early 30s, short dark hair, possibly with a serious drinking problem," Detective Luis Alfonseca stated at a 20th Precinct news conference. "There are indications that the perpetrator of these alleged incidents is not a resident of Manhattan. His lack of drinking sophistication and reports of his wearing some sort of Mormon-style short sleeve dress shirt in mid-winter seem to indicate that the suspect may reside in another locale, but we're certainly not dealing with a native here." Police officials have also indicated that they are seeking a second man in connection with the incidents, though they refuse to label him a suspect. "We just want to talk to him, to see if he knew this guy or knows where this guy is from. At this time, there are no indications that he committed any crimes, but we would like him to come down and talk to us."

The incidents began around 11:30 p.m.. One of the complainants, a Columbia University coed who refused to identify herself for this story reported that the lanky suspect accosted her and her friends. "He said something like, 'My friend Rob is thirty,' and we were like, 'OK,' then he told my friend Sarah that he had 'access' to an aerobed. The guy was real creepy and real tall, and he kept leaning in and touching me and my friends on the shoulder." Several other complainants describe similar "lean-ins" as well as close-talking and inappropriate tactile advances.

Thomas Kendale, a doorman at Bourbon Street, confronted the man. "I told him that if he didn't stop touching the girls, I was going to have to ask him to leave. He said something like, 'What about my pain?' This guy was completely out of control. Then this other guy came over and said, 'Don't worry, dog, I'm on the job.' I don't know if they were together or not." Doorman Leroy McKinney from the nearby Gin Mill had a similar story. "This tall skinny guy comes up to the door and he's swaying like crazy. Then he leans in to the woman in front of him in line and asks her something like, 'Do you know my friend Bill. He lives in Manhattan.' Then the guy starts howling like that was really funny. I told him he couldn't come in because he was too drunk. He said, 'Rejection tastes like pain,' or something like that. Then this other guy came up and was like, 'Yo, dog, it's OK, I'm on the job.' I told him I didn't care, his friend wasn't coming in." The pair were later seen arguing on 86th street.

Police would not confirm reports that the assailant's companion was wearing carpenter pants.

The assailant's rampage continued for several hours, and by Wednesday morning, police had received 24 complaints. "This guy is a one man Puerto Rican Day parade," one anonymous police official confided to the New York Post.

Det. Alfonseca said that police were looking into several leads. He would not confirm reports that police were looking in the New Hampshire and Maine areas for the suspect. "There are indications that we're dealing with a New Englander, but there are also indications that the suspect may be merely mentally impaired, autistic, or even Canadian. I can't compromise our investigation by going into any further details. If you see this suspect, my best advice is to just get away from him as quickly as possible."