Is college hoops going backwards?

hiphopopotamus at RockChalkTalk.com offers some interesting insights on college and professional basketball. Here are a few cut-n-pastes from his piece:

''The overall talent level has increased, but the level of play doesn't even compare..."

"...Just look at the last two Final Fours. Of the 8 teams included, you can't convince me that even 1 was national title worthy in any other season over the past decade..."

"...We're at a point now where the best teams still get the best talent, but they never become a team..."

I actually fully agree with just one of these statements -- the latter entity but go take a read.

Thursday's northern California junior college basketball report

Mark Godi reports on San Joaquin Delta's playoff win over Hartnell.

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Butte took down Monterey Peninsula College by six, per John Devine.

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In Cabrillo College basketball news:

FOUR SEAHAWKS HONORED, DURAN NAMED CONFERENCE MVP

Cabrillo College sophomore guard Markus Duran was voted MVP of the Coast Conference South. Duran becomes only the second player in Cabrillo College history to be voted as MVP -- Aaron Patterson won the award in 2007. 

The 6-foot-3 Duran averaged 19.8 points per game, shothot 35% from three-point range and 85% from the free throw line. He lead the state the last two years in three point field goals made for the season.

6-foot-5 sophomore center Bert Hall was selected to the 2nd team All-Coast Conference South. Hall averaged 10 points and nearly 8 rebounds a game for the Seahawks. More impressively, Hall was one of the keys for the Seahawks defensively as Hall took 32 charges in 27 games.

Also, freshman point guard Tyler Velasquez and freshman forward Aaron Short were both named Honorable Mention. 

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In Las Positas College basketball news:

LPC gets bid to NorCal playoffs, faces Yuba

For the second time in their five-year history, the Hawks have been selected to play in the Northern California playoffs.

LPC, which finished the regular season with a 16-12 record, was named the regional bracket's 10th seed Monday and will face No. 7 Yuba at 7 p.m. Friday in Marysville.

Buoyed by a stong schedule and some key non-conference victories, LPC was seeded higher than five teams with better overall records. City College of San Francisco, the Coast Conference North Division champion, earned the top seed. Fresno, a likely opponent of the LPC-Yuba winner, is the second seed.

The Hawks are hoping for a better outcome than their only other playoff a

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ppearance, a 20-point loss to Chabot in 2008. To beat Yuba, LPC will need a strong defensive effort against a 49ers team that averages 84.9 points a game.

Yuba (24-5) won the Bay Valley Conference with an 11-0 record and enters the postseason on a 13-game winning streak.