March 14
With the NCAA field for the Big Dance almost set, it's time to give out my awards and name my top three All-America teams.

My coach of the year is Kentucky's Tubby Smith. Think about all of the pressure he faces. The Wildcat fans are as intense and knowledgeable as any in America. You see Big Blue fans everywhere, including one of my favorites, Ashley Judd!

Tubby Smith was criticized by talk shows and media in Kentucky after the Wildcats lost to Rick Pitino and Louisville. What Smith did after that loss was simple ... he went to work, baby! Kentucky won its last 20 games of the regular season and went undefeated in the SEC. Think about how amazing it is to post a perfect record in that league!

My player of the year is T.J. Ford of Texas. Pound-for-pound, he's the best player in college basketball. Ford makes his teammates better with his presence, court sense and passing ability. The Longhorn sophomore isn't afraid to take the big shot in crunch time, either. Ford came up big in the Texas win at Oklahoma, snapping the Sooners' 37-game home- court win streak.

My diaper dandy of the year is Syracuse forward Carmelo Anthony. He's a man on the court -- scoring, rebounding and making a difference for Jim Boeheim's squad. Anthony showed he was going to be a star in the first minute of his first game against Memphis at Madison Square Garden. Unfortunately, I think it will be one and done for Anthony. He'll probably be in the NBA next season.

Finally, here are my three All-America teams. Enjoy March Madness, baby!

FIRST TEAM ALL-AMERICA
Ron Slay, Tennessee
Dwyane Wade, Marquette
Nick Collison, Kansas
T.J. Ford, Texas
Hollis Price, Oklahoma

SECOND TEAM ALL-AMERICA
Josh Howard, Wake Forest
Carmelo Anthony, Syracuse
David West, Xavier
Jarvis Hayes, Georgia
Kirk Hinrich, Kansas

THIRD TEAM ALL-AMERICA
Kyle Korver, Creighton
Brian Cook, Illinois
Emeka Okafor, Connecticut
Jason Gardner, Arizona
Keith Bogans, Kentucky