So how’s your bracket?
Mutilated? Covered in red? Garbage? Forgotten?
Kenny Knowles of Lava Hot Springs sent the Journal a copy of his handwritten, filled-out 2014 NCAA Tournament bracket and he went chalk with his picks.
With Florida, Virginia, Wisconsin and Michigan, Knowles tabbed a couple No. 1 seeds and two No. 2’s to claw their way to the Final Four. Knowles had three upsets in the second round, 10th-seeded Stanford over seventh-seeded New Mexico (nailed it), Pittsburgh over Colorado (right on) but he whiffed on Nebraska over Baylor. Knowles was hot on Stanford to start but he didn’t pull the trigger for the Cardinals to beat Kansas. But, hey, I didn’t even have Stanford beating New Mexico to start with.
This year’s tournament was a departure from what I had done in 2013 when I refused to fill out a bracket because I always end up rooting for my picks rather than stunning upsets. Example No. 1: Mercer 78, Duke 71. I harbor no love for Duke, Jabari Parker or the ageless Mike Krzyzewski, but with Duke in my Elite 8, the Mercer upset had me feeling blue.
Knowles had Duke in the Sweet 16 and, of course, he’s pulling for his bracket, too, but he wasn’t too down that Parker scored 14 points in the loss. “It didn’t upset me,” he said, “because I’m not that fond of Duke.”
Even if Knowles did blunder on a few picks (like every other person on the planet) he’ll continue watching today when the tourney ramps back up. He’s got eight teams left and his Final Four remains intact, including the tournament favorite and Knowles’ pick to win the entire thing, the Florida Gators.
How confident is Knowles in his championship pick? Eh, sort of down the middle. Arizona has looked mighty impressive, he says. Besides, Knowles is too smart to just assume the favorite is going to win the whole thing anyway. He knows from personal experience.
In 1957, he was a 6-foot-1 forward playing for the North Gem Cowboys. The Cowboys from Bancroft were District 5 champions and jetted off to the class B state tournament with a 13-5 record. They weren’t the favorites. The media liked the undefeated Rathdrum Pirates from up north. Rathdrum was 16-0, tall, athletic and had a first-round bye after taking District 1.
Held in Reed Gym for the first time in its history, North Gem romped to a 57-40 victory over what the Idaho State Journal wrote was a “lethargic Notus team in the nearest thing to a tournament upset.” In the semifinal, the Cowboys whipped Mackay 71-48. Knowles poured in 10 points.
In the title tilt, Rathdrum, the heavy favorite, wasn’t waiting. It was District 5 rival American Falls, who had upset Rathdrum 45-37.
So 2,500 fans — most either a Cowboy or a Beaver — crammed into Reed to watch North Gem hold off American Falls 43-38 for the championship. Guard Monte Charles ripped the Beavers for 19 points. The same day, Pocatello High won the Class A title, its first since 1942.
Since high school, Knowles worked construction, moved to Lava with his wife and now spends part of his retirement watching his granddaughters play for North Gem. He doesn’t miss a game.
And Knowles checks out as much of the NCAA Tournament as he can. The drama never gets old. He’s hoping Florida lives up to its hype. Knowles has the Gators taking down Michigan 78-64 in the final.
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