Posts tagged basketball
april madness 1
Apr 4th
a recap of the semifinals. Oh. I almost didn’t watch because The Outlaw Josey Wales was on another channel but I figured what the heck.
how cool
How cool would it be to play horse with the president of the United States? (pretty cool) I have been fortunate enough to be in the same room on two different occasions with two different presidents and whether you voted for them or not it is pretty intimidating (awe inspiring) to be in the same room. So. Try to make a shot with a president ragging on you? (and all those secret service guys eyeing you) Okay. I would be willing to bet George Washington had a shitty jump shot but Obama has some game. He was correct that Clark Kellogg gave him a couple of misses in the middle and I loved when the president said “hey, I have had some other things on my mind” but it would be very cool to play horse with the president. And I think it was kinda cool he won (although it was POTUS – president of the united states instead of HORSE).
Butler on to final.
I will say upfront I didn’t care who won this game. I will also say there was nothing about the style of this game I liked. It just isn’t the kind f basketball game I prefer. It was plodding. Ugly. And bruising. I did think Michigan state was going to pull it out of only because maybe midway through the second half they were down by 5 and it seemed like they hadn’t made a shot in an hour, hadn’t got a call yet in the game, turned it over every other time they touched it and acted like when they did get to the free throw line that they were blindfolded. Boy. I thought butler played a smart game. Boy. I don’t think Michigan State didn’t get a call the entire game (and half their team had 4 fouls) and I did think Tom Izzo’s head was going t explode a couple of times begging for a call. But. Butler in the finals is pretty cool. Plus. A couple of their players look older than their coach which has to count for something.
De’ Shaun and Huggins.
I was impressed with De’shaun Butler when he won some award for being a great player and his scholastics and his community work and how he handled the questions and discussion. A well spoken young man. Any kid who stays in school for four years and is that good a player and does that much good deserves a lot of credit these days when players half as good as him leave after one or two years. Then. When he hurt his knee (which you don’t like to see happen to anyone), Bob Huggins (who I have already noted I am not fond of) stepped up. I may reconsider. When he came out on the floor and hugged his player on the floor and tried to console his player. Well. I don’t know. I don’t know that I have ever seen a top level coach get on his knees and cradle one of his players on the court. It was touching. It made me remember why coaches never leave the college ranks for the pros.
Duke to finals.
Well. This game was a lot prettier to watch then the first one. That’s for sure. I think even before Butler went down with an injury you could feel that West Virginia wasn’t going to be able to find a way back from the hole they were in. Duke has won ugly all tournament long. Not today. Today was one of those days that showcases what it looks like when Duke is looking good. For all the poor shooting in the first game Duke made up for it all in spades the way they shot in their game. Whether you like Duke or not they were a pretty team to watch today. I am mostly pleased to have watched it and they don’t have a JJ Redick or a Christian Laettner type player to hate.
NCAA Musing Part 3
Mar 24th
Syracuse
From the first time I saw Syracuse play on TV early in the year I felt like they were a monster team. I have always felt like they were the best team in the nation (sometimes we get fooled by the ups & downs of a season). Anyway. Through the first two rounds (playing without their center) they did what they had to do and demolished who they played. Their 2-3 zone is stifling. They are deep. They are mature. And they are by far the best front runner in a game team in the conference (Boeheim seems to teach that killer instinct well). And they get their center back from here on out. Doesn’t mean someone on a given day couldn’t beat them. But they are very very good. Big East has 2 teams left. Both very different. West Virginia is a ‘banger’ team. Loose refs and they could shove their way into Final Four with Syracuse.
Refereeing
This isn’t a gripe about referees (because in general I believe they do a great job). Nowhere do you have the opportunity to do referee comparison than you do during the tournament. Because there are so many games being played at exactly the same time you can watch a game where the teams are pounding the shit out of each other and its like they forgot to give out whistles before the game and then they switch to another game and some team had gone to the foul line 40 plus times (and it seems like they miss about half of them). If a coach isn’t careful and they don’t realize they are in a “non physical referee game” fast enough they can have some of their best players rack up some fouls very quickly.
Cornell, Northern Iowa, Butler, St. Mary’s
How awesome is it to be able to type these names after the first weekend of the tournament. (I would like to also point out how awesome it was that I typed pretty much these same names in my first college basketball post in January). How good are they really? Heck. I don’t know. But we are sure gonna find out by the end of next weekend that’s for sure. I am not sure any of them have an ice cube’s chance in hell (especially Cornell against KY). But. All I know is I have a Cornell baseball hat and win or lose I am gonna wear it.
The Young Faces
Holy cow. When they get interviewed some of these kids are … well … kids. For the most part they are amazingly well spoken but that isn’t really the point. They are kids. And the top tier teams who have these kids on camera all the time? Their kids are calm and mature. The Cornells, Northern Iowas and Old Dominions … well … they are so excited and so happy it reminds you why everyone should love college basketball. They mumble. They smile. They say goofy things. But, damn, they love the moment. Awesome.
Game Endings
Maybe it’s just me but I cannot remember more close game endings than this year. The end of the Michigan State – Maryland game was funny and amazing. While it certainly wasn’t the closest buzzer beater win there is a moment when a pass goes cross the top of the key where the big man has to duck so he doesn’t get smacked in the head as it goes from one guard to the other. And even if he would have caught it I am not sure he would have had enough time to get it back to someone who could make a shot. But beyond that funny moment the clutch shooting to win games has been amazing. You have to give those teams a boatload of credit because in almost every case every team found “their guy” had the ball at the right time in the right place to even give themselves a shot at the win.
The Most Interesting team Left that can Win It (to me)
Duke. Year in and year out they play beyond their capabilities. I personally believe Krzyzewski is one of those rare special coaches who gets lots of very good players to his program and gets them to play on occasion like really great players (and their record outstrips their true abilities). C’mon. This is the coach who made Bobby Hurley, Mike Gminski, Danny Ferry and Christian Laettner high round NBA draft picks. That’s why they are my most interesting team. They shouldn’t win the entire thing. But. There’s that but.
The Team that Should Have Made the Madness
Connecticut. Women’s team. In case you haven’t paid any attention once again they are playing the role of the Harlem Globetrotters while everyone else gets to be the Generals. They would have made it out of the first weekend of the men’s tournament. I also hear they beat the Canadian hockey team in an exhibition game (hockey, not bball) before the olympics which shows their athletic talent. oh. They celebrated with beer on the ice afterwards. Canadian beer.
March Madness Part 2
Mar 20th
I love college sports. And this time of the year is awesome. It’s not just the basketball tournament but also the NFL draft and spring break (oops. different post). It’s the time of the year when we have mock drafts, mock brackets and mockingbirds.
My pool got thrown a loop when I picked Tim Tebow to beat New Mexico State but other than that things are rocking along. Here are some things I am lovin’ about this year’s March madness:
Freaks of nature
Taylor Mays. Height: 6’3″, weight: 230 lbs., 40 yard dash: 4.43 (4.24 unofficial was one of the highlights of the combine), Bench Reps of 225 pounds: 24
I am not sure I need to say anything more other than maybe don’t let him get a 40 yard head of steam before he runs into you.
Bruce Campbell. Height: 6’6″, weight: 314 lbs., 40 yard dash: 4.85, Bench Reps of 225 pounds: 34
Look. This 314 lb guy who looked like he didn’t have an ounce of fat on his 6’6” frame ran a fucking 4.85 40. Oh. And he benched a tremendous 34 reps of 225 pounds. No matter how drunk you are I recommend not picking a fight with him if he asks to dance with your date.
The Big East
One of the things I love about the tournament is it becomes conference put up or shut up time. For years we have always heard “ACC is the best tournament” and it seems every other year their middle tier teams get crushed too early in the tournament. This year it looks like it’s the Big East conference’s turn. Doesn’t mean their top teams won’t end up in the final four just that maybe the rest of their teams weren’t as good as we thought. Oh. And maybe the Pac10 teams weren’t as bad as everyone thought.
The state of New Mexico
Whoda thunk New Mexico had two universities let alone two basketball teams worthy of making the NCAA tournament (and winning). The only thing I know about New Mexico teams are one is the Lobos (which is an awesome nickname), one of them must play in Albuquerque (the only city I know in New Mexico) and I love that city and Geronimo had an awesome crossover move but couldn’t keep his grades up and lost his eligibility. I also love the fact one of the teams figured out how to beat Montana who cheated by having two huge rock trolls (Lord of the Rings reference) who trundled up and down the court bashing everyone out of the way and missing layups.
Tim Tebow
Tim Tebow this. Tim Tebow that. He shouldn’t even be drafted in the first 3 rounds (despite the fact he is a first round media story every frickin day). But. The NFL draft is so tough to predict because there are just way too many stupid teams in the league. I guarantee two things. 1. Someone will be stupid enough to draft him in the first 2 rounds. 2. That same someone will look 2 years from now at someone they passed on they should have picked playing in the Pro Bowl.
Bob Huggins
I don’t know Bob Huggins personally but for some reason I haven’t really liked him. His style of coaching or his attitude or maybe just how he handles himself when he actually has an opportunity to talk. Anyway. The guy can coach. Doesn’t matter where he is and what kind of team he has he figures out how to coach them to win. And he makes his teams tough. That I appreciate.
Baseball
The University of Texas is the favorite to capture the 2010 College World Series. Look. Their pitching staff had a team ERA of 2.95 last year. That is good enough for Cy Young consideration. And this is college baseball. And this is the ENTIRE staff ERA. They have a bunch of other players but that is gonna make them tough to beat.
A look at the current poll:
- Texas
- LSU
- Virginia
- Cal. St. Fullerton
- Arizona St.
Oh. Just in case you weren’t paying attention. Something to note. The ACC. 6 teams in top 16. Doesn’t seem that long ago the west coast had a stranglehold on college baseball. No more.
Lastly. Two names for you. South Dakota State and Dallas Baptist. They are predicted to be in the college baseball 64 team tournament. Awesome. Where else would that happen?
The West Coast
Finally. Finally I have found the true benefit of moving to the West Coast. An extra 2 to 3 hours of NCAA tournament. 9 a.m. and there is a game on. Awesome.
Some Brief Thoughts on the NCAA Tournament
Mar 19th
The first four days of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament have always been like a mini-holiday for me; as a huge fan of the sport, it’s something I look forward to for months. I love the shear overload of games going on simultaneously, the matchups of powerful programs against unknown mid-majors, the chances for upsets, hell, even the camaraderie of a bunch of people hanging out in a sports bar taking a “long lunch” and playing hooky from work(I remember skipping some classes my senior year of high school to watch the early games on a Thursday afternoon).
I have to admit that due to the extremely disappointing season for my team, the UNC Tar Heels, I didn’t think I would be as in to the tournament this year. I didn’t even fill out a bracket, which felt strange. And before you say it, yes, I know they won the National Championship last year, and I couldn’t be happier about that. I don’t want to sound ungrateful for such a successful program, but maybe it’s that success that makes years when they don’t make the tournament that much harder. Anyway, I decided to head to a local sports bar for lunch yesterday just to see if I could feel that spark again.
After about 5 minutes of watching three games simultaneously, I quickly regained that excitement(the ice cold Fat Tires I had didn’t hurt either). In fact, in those three games I remembered exactly what I love about this tournament:
- The “One Fan from the underdog team”: Sixth seed Notre Dame was playing #11 seed Old Dominion. Sitting by himself at the bar, a gentleman in an ODU t-shirt, focused intently on the TV above his head. Unfortunately, the bar’s speaker system was switched to another game, so he just sat there in silence, clapping and cheering quietly under his breath every time his team pulled even or ahead of the Irish. When the Monarchs pulled off the first upset of the day, several of us at the bar applauded, congratulating the guy sitting by himself in his ODU t-shirt. As he left he told us, “I’ve got to get back to work, but I’m wearing my shirt at the office the rest of the day!” You gotta love that.
- The “Almost Upset”: With Robert Morris on the verge of knocking off #2 seed Villanova, you could almost feel the excitement running through the bar as everyone considered the implications of such a huge upset. The general consensus was “it might really screw up my bracket, but I’d still love to see it happen.”
- The “I hate that team so I hope they lose”: Ok, this one might sound a little petty, but c’mon, we all do it. We all have that team or teams we hate and love to see lose. Well, for me one of those teams is Florida, and they were locked in a fairly awesome battle with #7 seed BYU. By the time the second OT ended with BYU victorious, I was almost ready to move to Utah and become a Mormon. Now, if The Golden Lions of Arkansas-Pine Bluff could only pull off a miracle against Dook later today…
Well, after three games (and a couple of beers), my love for the NCAA Tournament was reaffirmed. So the Heels aren’t in it this year…I can live with that. And in fact, my alma mater is in the tournament for only the fourth time ever. Yes, the UVM Catamounts will be trying to become the first 16 seed to ever knock off a 1 seed when they face Syracuse tonight, so history is not on their side…or is it? In 2005 UVM pulled off a shocking upset of then #4 Syracuse. I remember that well, as I was the guy sitting there in a UVM shirt, much like my buddy from ODU yesterday. Well, at least I know what I’m wearing when I’m watching the games tonight.
Ok. Time for Random College Basketball Thoughts.
Feb 13th
This is the time of the year I start paying attention to college basketball. Most teams have worked out all the kinks and the kids are starting to get tired transitioning from high school to college and the coaches have figured out how to juggle what they have and don’t have. In addition, I believe the NCAA has become incredibly good at encouraging teams to schedule those awesome interconference games on occasion which college football season begs for. So. Here you go. Not everything I am thinking, just some highlights.
The Big B’east’
Big East. This conference is a beast. I think it is consistently the toughest and best conference (sorry ACC) top to bottom. I don’t know that I particularly care for the conference style (a little rough & tumble) but boy they are good. And they have an elite group of coaches on top of it all. Figure Connecticut is a fucking good team and they cannot even crack the top 8 teams in the conference. And their top 6 will pound or run with anyone (where the heck do all these 6’6” to 6’8” greyhounds come from?):
Lately Georgetown is kicking the crap out of everyone. And it isn’t even the best team in the Big East, let alone the country. Like all the top teams this year, Georgetown runs into problems on the road.
In the end I believe Syracuse and Villanova will be the only two who keep it going because they have coaches who can figure out how to get their teams to win on the road. But. Don’t count Connecticut out. If Calhoun comes back, like him or not, the guy can coach and bring out the best in a team. And if push comes to shove maybe they could borrow Gino from the women’s team for the tournament (he doesn’t lose either).
Those random little guys you gotta love
New Mexico, Rhode Island, Siena, Butler and Northern Iowa just to name a few (thank you ESPN 2 for showing some of their games). I still tend to believe if they were in conferences with bigger more talented teams they would get worn down and lose some more games.
But. One game. One day. Can get one win.
Sustainable? Nope. But put them on the big stage for a game and this is one of those games you love to watch. Come the Big Dance they make it out of first weekend and get knocked out weekend two. Except for one. And, no, I won’t tell you who I think that one is gonna be (mostly because I have no clue).
The Ivy League
Cornell. Princeton. Harvard. All three will end up with over 20 wins at the end of the season. Sure. No one truly believes they can knock off any of the big boys (let alone any of the top notch mid majors) but it sure is fun to see them playing “smart basketball” as everyone inevitably says when talking about one of these schools. I always chuckle about that. Look. They don’t play any smarter than say a Duke team or a Carolina team or a Gonzaga team. They are talented teams. Period. It is impossible in this league to sustain over a period of years but I truly hope Cornell’s ‘Big Red’ (the best of them) steps up and wins some games in the Big Dance.
They’re Kids
I had a fun conversation with a buddy of mine after Texas beat the crap out of Carolina. I simply pointed out that Texas’ kids just manned up better. Well. Let’s remember. Freshmen are maybe 17 years old. They are kids. They may look like men but they are not. All the top level teams dependent on a youngster or two in their lineup are gonna run into some problems at some point. John Wall. Awesome. Can still look like a freshman every once in awhile. And UK is still very young and continues to make mistakes. Turnovers and the inability to maintain intensity with a lead are the big problems. And Kentucky is just one example (throw in Texas, Syracuse, Connecticut, etc.). Great coaches, a Tom Izzo or a Rick Pitino or whomever, always figure out how to rattle a kid at the time they need to do it. When in doubt, for a long run in the Dance I still bet on a mediocre great team that has a very good senior tandem than a great team dependent upon a freshman superstar.
But. When in doubt (should your team be dependent on a ‘diaper dandy.’) Remember Kevin Durant. I think he weighed 100 pounds at 6’ 8” when he left Texas after his freshman year. I was relatively confident he would turn out to be another one of those college greyhounds who got killed in the NBA. Wrong wrong wrong. Cool as a cucumber in college. Ain’t disappointing in pros. So. It can happen.
The Mysterious Big Guys
Texas, Duke, Gonzaga … they tease us. Almost every year in fact. Just my opinion but some of these team are coached over their true ability. Works to a point. A point where they rack up a boatload of wins and everyone overlooks who and what they really are. And then they run into a reality buzzsaw in the form of a team that has talent.
So. How do I tell them apart? Less talented teams overachieve in big games. And surprise you upwards. The truly talented teams surprise you downwards sometimes. They underachieve when not focused. The great coaches make talent focus when it counts (the NCAA tournament).
