The last time a men's college basketball player averaged at least 30 points per game for an entire season, the only dribbling in Marcus Keene's life was the drool down his 2-year-old chin.
But after the awe subsided from Keene's recent 40-point game against Green Bay -- his fifth consecutive game with at least 31 points and his eighth time reaching 30 in just 10 games -- college basketball fans are left wondering whether Central Michigan's 5-9 guard can do something which was last done in the 1996-97 season when Long Island's Charles Jones averaged 30.1 a contest.
It's painfully easy to dismiss Keene's scoring as an early anomaly. Even CMU Coach Keno Davis thinks it's unlikely he keeps it up.
"He is going to see more and more attention," Davis said. "We don't expect his numbers to be able to sustain where they're at, but we do expect him to still have the same impact on the game as we go throughout the year."
Keene is the most impactful player in the nation, and it's not close, writes college basketball national analyst Kerry Miller.
"He's averaging 31.4 points, and he isn't even shooting as much as he could, as he's also doling out 5.1 assists per game," wrote Miller. "He plays a ton of minutes [38.2 over his last five] and never gets into foul trouble [1.1 per game]. He's an efficient scorer in a high-scoring offense, but his shooting percentages -- 43.8 percent from three, 52.5 percent from the field, 83.8 percent from the line -- aren't outlandish to the point of inevitable regression to the mean.
"Keene has the freedom from his coach to keep this going, and he's the best chance Central Michigan has to keep winning games."
Still in uniform
A former Major League Baseball pitcher has hung up his jersey and become a police officer.
Anthony Varvaro graduated from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Academy on Friday.
He was a relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, Atlanta Braves and Seattle Mariners from 2010 to 2015. He went 7-9 in six seasons before an arm injury sidelined him for most of 2015.
Varvaro, 32, from New York graduated along with 79 others.
The Port Authority Police Department patrols the New York region's airports, tunnels, bridges and a transit system.
Friday's graduating class included 46 New Yorkers, 33 from New Jersey and one moving from Florida. Nine of the recruits have served in the military.
Late night
From Dwight Perry of The Seattle Times:
"Boise State and Baylor, in case you missed it, will be paired in the Motel 6 Cactus Bowl on Dec. 27.
"And they will keep a light on for ya: The game doesn't kick off until 9:15 p.m. CST."
Sports on 12/11/2016