Tony’s Take  | Dontonio | Uh What? | CFP | Super 6 + 1

By Tony Duckworth, [email protected]

Dontonio.  I had the pleasure of attending the groundbreaking of Henderson Gymnasium in south Albany on Tuesday.  Mayor Dorough and city leadership should be commended for making this investment in our community.  The south Albany community will greatly benefit when this new palace is completed. 

I enjoyed hearing a story from the Mayor about Cordele native and Atlanta Hawks great Tree Rollins, but Dontonio’s stories had my attention.   

Albany native and NBA veteran Dontonio Wingfield was unable to attend, but Wingfield’s mom was present.  Dontonio credits his time as a youth and how hooping in Henderson Gymnasium played a major role in his life, and his investment later in life into the youth at the facility helped shape the man he is today. 

I have never met Dontonio, but I remember watching him in Macon multiple times while he and his teammates won 4 consecutive state championships at Westover High School.  I officiated a basketball game at Westover last season, and I can only imagine how the game environment was during the four seasons of state championships. 

While I was evaluating talent as a college basketball coach, I knew Dontonio was well beyond being recruited to a small college.  As a native of Macon, I enjoyed watching Don Richardson’s incredible Southwest High School program.  In fact, in my graduation year (1987), the SW Macon team started five D-I signees, which included Eric Manuel (Kentucky) and Aubry Boyd (FSU).  The Saturday night games at SWHS were unmatched.  That being said, I will go to my grave saying that Dontonio Wingfield was the most physically imposing high school basketball player I ever had the pleasure of watching in person. 

Well done, Albany and Steven Belk (Parks and Recreation), for your vision.  Maybe Henderson will produce another Dontonio Wingfield for the basketball world to enjoy.   

Thank you for the memories, Dontonio. 

Uh What?  This past week reinforced why I don’t gamble on sports.  I felt good about last week’s Super 6 + 1 picks based on the oddsmakers and the history of the teams I selected. My record came in at 2 – 5, and I shake my head at the outcomes of my selections.  Imagine if several years ago, I had told you I lost picks the same week by selecting UGA, Ohio State, while selecting Indiana over Alabama, and Texas Tech over Oregon.   

Not only did Indiana take down Alabama, but the Hoosiers rolled the Tide 38-3.  The Dawgs lost to Ole Miss, who had the best player on the field.  The Rebels’ starting QB was watching the CFP last season after leading D-II Ferris State to a national championship. That’s not a knock-on D-II football; it simply shows that CFB is a different game than it was several years ago, prior to what the leveler NIL and the transfer portal has brought to the game.   

Granted, the CFP quarterfinals were collectively a disappointment, but the UGA and Ole Miss game kept you on the edge of your seats to the very end.  Going into the game, I felt UGA would separate in the 4th quarter, primarily by wearing the Rebels down based on their physicality.  I also felt the absence of Lane Kiffin’s offensive in-game adjustments would limit Ole Miss throughout the game.  Credit to Ole Miss and their resilience for advancing to the CFP version of the Final Four. 

CFP.  The semis match Indiana against Oregon in a Big10 rematch, while Ole Miss will face Miami. 

Vegas has Indiana picked to win the national championship, followed by Oregon, Miami, and Ole Miss.   

My order of finish would be Indiana, Ole Miss, Miami, and Oregon.   

The only hesitation I have in selecting the Hoosiers is, in my mind, the difficulty of finishing a season undefeated.  Then I conducted a quick search to find out that undefeated teams are not uncommon in recent seasons.   My dad and I were talking about this recently, and we could not recall an undefeated national champion.  Clearly, our memory is not up to par.  For example, Indiana seeks to be the sixth undefeated national champion since 2018.  Here are the most recent teams who have accomplished this feat: 2023 Michigan (15-0) | 2022 Georgia (15-0) | 2020 Alabama (13-0) | 2019 LSU (15-0) | 2018 Clemson (15-0). 

I chose Cingetti’s Indiana Hoosiers to win the next two games and capture their first national championship.  The Hoosiers are the only team in two seasons of the CFP to win a game coming off the bye week.  It’s hard to believe the other seven teams have lost (UGA 2x’s), and this will move the tournament to 16 teams, soon eliminating the bye.  

P.S. I would take Joe Burrow’s 2019 LSU Tigers over the other four listed above.  

Super 6 + 1 (2).  OLE MISS v Miami | INDIANA v Oregon | RAMS @ Panthers | Packers @ BEARS | BILLS @ Jags | 49ers @ EAGLES | Chargers @ PATRIOTS | TEXANS @ Steelers | Record 78 – 52  

Follow Tony Duckworth on the X platform at @tonyduckworthsr.  Duckworth is a native of Macon and is the President and CEO of the Albany Area YMCA.  Tony worked in intercollegiate athletics for thirty-one years.  He was an NCAA Division II Director of Athletics at three universities, including Albany State, following ten years as a head men’s basketball coach at two colleges