DEGREES AND PEDIGREES

Evolution is a curious thing to observe. I wonder how many generations it'll take until more than 50% of the starters in D-I hoops and football are the offspring of former D-I or professional athletes. It's like Gattaca meets SportsCenter.

Take this afternoon's games, for example. Davidson star Stephen Curry is the son of former NBA stalwart Dell Curry. His teammate, Jason Richards, is the son of former Pitt point guard Tom Richards. The dad led the Panthers in assists in '74 (mom Mary Beth was also a standout), while Jason leads the nation in assists right now. On the other side, Gonzaga forward Austin Daye is the son of former UCLA guard Darrin Daye, who helped the Bruins to the Final Four in 1980. (He is no relation to Otis Day, however, nor any of the Knights).

And in another game taking place concurrently, American's 5-11 guard Garrison Carr is giving the Vols all kinds of headaches with 13 points. Carr's dad, Gary, played cornerback for the University of Washington.

All of which is to say that I predict the offspring of Shelden Williams and Candace Parker will win at least two Naismith awards (male or female) about two decades from now.

Josh Heytvelt just made a terrific play, but his on-court skills have been well-documented, so there's no need for me to describe it here.