Ø      Antonio Anderson is the man because he understands he’s not the man. Yes Anderson is the man, but not just because he plays more minutes than anyone, nor because he’s the team’s co-captain and has the respect of all of his teammates. And although he stays out of trouble on a team that has had it’s off the court issues, that's not the reason either. And not because he’s the Tigers’ Bruce Bowen, Horace Grant, Derek Fisher (you know, the players who don’t get as much attention but put in the work). But because he’s all those things and he knows it. Michael Jordan was the best thing that every happened to the Chicago Bulls basketball team. Scottie Pippen was probably the second best. Why? Because Pippen, like Anderson understood that he was not Jordan. And by accepting that he maximized his potential. Anderson is not Derrick Rose, nor is he Chris Douglas-Roberts. He can’t score at will, his outside shot is shaky, and he’s not the fastest player on the court. But he’s okay with that. If he didn’t score a point and won the game, he would be just as happy for his team. But take him off the team, and the Tigers would still make the NCAA Tournament, but no way they would be playing in a Final Four game.

Ø      Derrick Rose is the man, now it’s time that he understands that.. CDR has game and the Tigers would not be where they are without him, but Rose is on another level and people are certainly taking notice. He missed a shot during the second half of the Michigan State game then aggressively rushed the basket for a rebound. He was undercut as he skied for the ball and the silence could not have been any louder at Reliant Stadium as it appeared he was in danger of a bad landing. He somehow maintained his balance and then continued to punish the Spartans guards afterwards. His athleticism and court vision is unbelievable. More impressive is his temperament, the guy is as cool as they come. But now he has to realize that this is his team, he’s the catalyst and if the Tigers want to win it all, they’ll need him to understand that during the Final Four.

Ø      John Calipari cares what you think. He says he doesn’t, but he does. He’s tired of all the criticism and it’s easy to tell. He’ll tell you he doesn’t read the negative stuff, but it’s quite ironic that he can quote it. Any time people volunteer to you that they don’t care, chances are they do. If they didn’t there would be no need to even make the statement. And there’s nothing wrong with him caring. Those guys hustling all over the court are his players, and that’s his program, so of course he would want both to have the best image possible. Like it or not, some of the criticism is fair, but any objective person would only have to look at his record and understand that he’s a winner.

Ø      The Tigers are united. I figured this one out when I heard CDR quoting Cal several times while being interviewed. “We are creating our own happiness,” he stated. If I didn’t know, I would have thought we were interviewing coach. But that’s what a great team needs, guys who buy into what their coach is saying, and the more success they have the more they will be willing to invest in it.