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Loe

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Kielpinski

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Syracuse is here. The Syracuse women.

The Player of the Year is here. The Big Sky Conference Player of the Year. All 5-foot-6 of him.

Must be Shootout time. Time for a little whine with our Thanksgiving dinner.

Basketball fans again are mourning the demise of the old-school Shootout. The marquee teams, the Hall of Fame coaches and the All-America players who once were staples of the tournament don't show up at Sullivan Arena like they used to.

They've got better places to be, or at least they think they do. Places like Madison Square Garden and Maui. Places like their home arenas, where they can schedule a cupcake, pocket an extra game's worth of revenue from TV and ticket sales, and call it a win-win even before tip-off.

Gone are the days when the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout was the magnificently carved bird at the center of the holiday buffet. These days, the Shootout is the relish tray, a tempting treat for a city that goes hungry for Division I basketball 51 weeks of the year, but nothing worth gorging on.

So goes the familiar lament, at least.

But in the spirit of the season, we've found 10 things to be thankful for about this year's edition of the Shootout, the 31st on record.

1 At least there's still a tournament

Fairbanks can't the say the same. UAF's Top of the World Classic, which enjoyed a 12-year run highlighted by the Nanooks' thrilling championship in the 2002 tournament, went out of business this year.

Recently relaxed NCAA rules opened the door to a bounty of early season tournaments, meaning premier teams have their choice of venues. The Top of the World folded when officials decided they couldn't compete for teams against all those other tournaments.

UAA athletic director Steve Cobb thinks the Shootout can avoid a similar fate, but he's also thinking realistically.

"Every tournament is vulnerable, because there's so many of them," he said. "The competition's so fierce. I do think we're not as vulnerable (as the Top of the World) because of our tradition and how long we've been around."

He hints that fans should not despair. Next year's field isn't yet complete, he said, but it includes a men's team from one of the BCS conferences (ACC, SEC, Big East, Big 12, Big 10 and Pac 10).

2 UAA could win

No ESPN this year, meaning no potentially embarrassing behavior from fans trying to get their nanosecond of prime-time fame.

ESPN dumped the Shootout this year after a loving relationship that dated back to 1985. It was a painful breakup, costing UAA a shot at national exposure, which is priceless, as well as considerable cash.

The network paid UAA more than $500,000 in TV rights fees over the last six years, but this year ESPN is a competitor, not a partner. It puts on its own tournament and still has deals with other tournaments, so it doesn't need the Shootout.

Losing the money and the limelight is tough. But there's an upside.

You know how fans like to incorporate the letters "ESPN" into the slogans they write on signs in the hope they'll get on TV? Just imagine how a year like this might inspire Alaskans:

Entering Sarah Palin Nation

Ew! Sarah's Pardon Nauseates

Elect Sarah Palin? Never!

3 UAA could win

Winners of the last two women's championships, the Seawolves have a legitimate chance to three-peat. They return star center Rebecca Kielpinski from last year's 30-5 team that made it to the NCAA Division II semifinals and they boast a deep bench that allows them to run, press and trap the length of the court.

They also feature a number of new players. Coach Tim Moser thinks the team has as much or more talent than in his two previous seasons (during which UAA was 53-11). He just isn't sure if everything will come together in time for the Seawolves to deliver another Shootout title, something that's almost expected.

"The bar is set pretty high right now, and there's no doubt we want to win right now," Moser said. "People just have to be a little patient with these kids. They're still trying to find themselves. They're not together yet."

4 UAA could win

We're talking about the men now.

The Seawolves have never won a Shootout title -- in fact, they've never finished higher than fourth in the eight-team tournament.

But if there was ever a time for UAA to make a run at the championship gold pan, it's now. None of the seven Division I teams come from major conferences. Two won just six games each last year; another won 10.

Unfortunately for Rusty Osborne's Seawolves, only one of those teams is on the same side of the bracket as UAA. The Seawolves face Hampton (18-12 last season) in the first round and if they win, they're likely to face Portland State (23-10 last season and possibly the team to beat this week) in the semifinals.

Those opponents may have been manageable for last season's 29-6 team, which like the women made it all the way to the national semifinals. Whether this season's team can measure up against Division I competition is less certain. All-America picks Carl Arts and Luke Cooper are gone, leaving gaping holes to fill.

Like Moser, Osborne thinks the Seawolves need time to re-invent themselves.

"This is such a new team," he said.

5 One last chance to see Kielpinski

UAA's 6-2 All-America center can be deceptive. At first she might look like an above-average post player who relies mainly on her size to rebound and get position to shoot two-footers.

Then she does something extraordinary, like block a shot without even leaving her feet, thanks to long arms, quick hands and an ability to anticipate. Or she whips a pinpoint pass through traffic from the low post to an open perimeter shooter. Or she tires out an opponent by playing never-stop-moving defense.

Kielpinski is UAA's career leader in rebounds, blocks and double-doubles. She's a two-time Shootout MVP. Catch her now, because the only time you'll see No. 54 at the gym after this season is when UAA retires Kielpinski's jersey, something that's certain to happen.

6 It's reunion week

Seems like every Shootout marks a homecoming for someone. In 2003, former high school coaches Chuck Martin and Randy Dunton returned as coaches for the Liberty men's team. Last season, Wasilla's Chandice Cronk and her Santa Clara team lost to the Seawolves in the women's title game. And then there's the most famous homecoming of all -- Trajan Langdon's return with Duke in 1998 and the title-game loss to Cincinnati in a game considered the best in Shootout history.

This year is no different. Back in the state they once lived are Scott Stevens (director of basketball operations at Northern Illinois; UAA player from 2002-04;); Cory O'Dell of Talkeetna (Cal State Northridge women's assistant; former UAA women's assistant); James Loe (Louisiana Tech senior; formerly of the Valley) and Marc Lowe (Jackson State women's assistant/UAA player from 1984-86 and former UAA assistant).

7 Arrive in junker, leave in new ride

The Million Dollar Shot marks its 12th anniversary as the tournament's most entertaining -- and rewarding -- promotion. So far no one has hit the three-quarters-court-length shot worth $1 million. But someone almost always wins a car, and among this year's "consolation" prizes is a new car and a used car.

8 Lots of good seats still available

And how.

The diminished quality of this year's field is reflected in ticket sales. As of Friday morning, more than 3,000 seats were available for each of the tournament's eight sessions, and almost 4,000 remained for Thursday's two games -- this for an arena that holds 8,700 for basketball.

Less than 2,000 all-session tournament packages had been sold. And a meager 73 single-session tickets had been sold for Thursday's session.

The bulk of the dispersed tickets -- 2,723 for each session -- belong to the Shootout's corporate sponsors, who get tickets in exchange for their donations. Many of those tickets are never used.

9 Treys are farther away than ever

The 3-point line moves back one foot for men this season, from 19 feet, 9 inches to 20 feet, 9 inches. That's deeper than the international game (20-6) but shorter than the NBA (23-0, 22 in the corner).

Plenty of shooters launch bombs from well beyond the arc anyway. Kenny Barker, a top shooter for the Seawolves, doesn't think the extra foot will make a big difference.

"Most guys make shots without their toes on the line," he said. "It's not going to make that much of a difference."

10 Surprisingly good basketball

Those Syracuse women? Don't be surprised if March Madness has an orange tint to it. The Orange return four starters from last season's 22-9 team. And that Big Sky Conference Player of the Year? Jeremiah Dominguez of Portland State might be a small guy who plays in a mid-major conference, but his game is huge. He's the only Big Sky pick on collegeinsider.com's preseason list of the nation's top 25 mid-major players, a guy who can hit from long-range shots, force turnovers and drive the lane despite his size.

Find Beth Bragg online at adn.com/contact/bbragg or call 257-4309.

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