Samhan, Carter Will Bring Color to Houston

If I had to pick one NCAA Tournament regional to attend next weekend, it would have to be the South Region in Houston. It's mostly because Omar Samhan, a garrulous giant who is already on the media's all-quote team, will be there. Here's a collection of the St. Mary's big man's quotes in a New York Times piece celebrating the Gaels' "upset" of Villanova:

“Hey, you impressed me tonight,” Samhan said to (Villanova's Corey) Stokes. “Did I impress you?”

Stokes could only muster a smirk, which prompted Samhan to say, “I’ll take your silence as a yes.”

Samhan did not hesitate when summing up where the victory ranked.

“You’re supposed to be diplomatic with questions like this,” he said, smiling. “No. 1. Best win ever. Quote it, Omar Samhan said best win ever.”

“I get it,” he said. “I’m a slow white guy, and I’m overweight. So maybe you don’t respect me because I have good numbers. But after I kill you the first half, what are you waiting for. I don’t know what he wanted. Did he want me to have 40?”

“We’re so old school,” Samhan said. “I’m in low tops. Our star point guard is named Mickey. Enough said.”

Samhan's actually the only person quoted in the Times story, which would be unbalanced if the man who's nicknamed Beast and has it inked on his inner lip weren't the most entertaining interview in this tournament. (The piece's author, Pete Thamel, called Samham "the best post-game interview EVER" on Twitter.)

Then there's his blog, and his creatively named YouTube account, and his underused Twitter account. I don't think Samhan's ever lacking for things to say, and I hope he uses all those avenues to say those things this week.

But he may competition for the funniest story of the tournament in his Sweet Sixteen matchup. 

That's because Tweety Carter, Baylor's fade-sporting point guard, made a bet with an Old Dominion band member: with a Baylor win, the band member would have to get the Lil Boosie lookalike's, and with a loss, Carter would buzz his signature 'do.

Of course, Baylor won, and Carter told the media about the bet afterward, which means that Old Dominion's Chris Hayes better be sporting a fresh fade this week. (UPDATE: Yes, the haircut bet was completed. Evidence over at The Dagger.)

So am I excited for the Baylor-St. Mary's matchup? You bet. I'm just sad we have to lose one of the two teams.

(HTs: SB Nation and The Dagger.)

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.