When it comes to wrapping up a college basketball season, I have a hard time doing an All-American team, because, for one, it just seems hard to narrow down four and a half months of basketball to just five names (or even ten or 15 if I add a second or third team – although, I’ll probably do that too). Instead, what I’ll do here today is take all 37 possible uniform numbers (only digits zero through five are possible uniform numbers in NCAA basketball, to aid referees in calling fouls and the foulers) and pick one player for each number.
Note that I am not always going to pick just the best player here. My own prejudices and likes/dislikes will factor in here, plus I want to be able to pick a guy that I will most remember from this season. And, in the case of a tie, a senior will get the nod, although I think you’ll find this team heavily weighted towards juniors. Anyway, without further delay, here it is:
00 – Rick Jackson, Jr, Syracuse – compared to his frontcourt mates, Jackson gets the least pub, but as the Orange push on towards Indianapolis, he has been a key contributor all year long.
0 – Jacob Pullen, Jr, Kansas State – fear the beard, Pullen and his backcourt partner Denis Clemente have been a fearsome duo for all opponents all year long.
1 – Da’Sean Butler, Sr, West Virginia – a strong number, with guys like Darington Hobson, Scottie Reynolds, Al-Farouq Aminu and Andy Rautins all throwing their name in the ring, but it is Butler with his numerous clutch plays that takes down the #1 jersey for the 09-10 season.
2 – Landry Fields, Sr, Stanford – awful tough to leave behind guys like Devan Downey, Ryan Brooks and, perhaps most egregiously, Nolan Smith, but Fields was a do-everything guy for a bad Cardinal team this year.
3 – Randy Culpepper, Jr, UTEP – Culpepper led the Miners to the regular season Conference USA title and was just an exciting blur in doing so. He takes home this award over guys like Devin Ebanks, Trevon Hughes, Manny Harris and Jerome Randle.
4 – Wesley Johnson, Jr, Syracuse – the transfer from Iowa State dropped jaws early in the season in front of a Madison Square Garden crowd, and was perhaps the most vital component in the Orange’s stellar season.
5 – Ali Farokmanesh, Sr, Northern Iowa – okay, without a doubt, a week ago this probably would have gone to Damion James, or even Kevin Jones. Maybe Deonta Vaughn. And even after Farokmanesh hit the game winner in the first round against UNLV, he probably was only going to be in the “also-considered” category here. But that “no-no-no-YES!” three against Kansas sealed the deal, and then some.
10 – Greg Monroe, So, Georgetown – when I watched the Hoyas play Temple way back in November, I got so frustrated watching a major talent like Monroe repeatedly defer to teammates and fail to take control down the stretch (even though he did hit the game winner on a jump hook in the lane). But, to Monroe’s credit, even though the Hoyas went out in disappointing and surprising fashion in the Tournament, it was not due to any timidity on Monroe’s part.
11 – John Wall, Fr, Kentucky – Wall has been the most electric player all season long. He may not have been the best (and in fact, some would say that he was the most over-rated), but he has certainly been must-see TV.
12 – Aubrey Coleman, Sr, Houston – a tough battle at #12, with Kyle Singler and Ashton Gibbs coming up short, when the leading scorer in Division I led his team through four days on the Conference USA tournament to steal a bid with the tournament championship.
13 – Ekpe Udoh, Jr, Baylor – the transfer from Michigan gave the perimeter-oriented Bears a legitimate and versatile inside threat, transforming them from a bubble-type team at best to a threat in March.
14 – Kevin Anderson, Jr, Richmond – Anderson was such a solid, do-everything guy for the Spiders this season, getting to the hoop, knocking down outside shots, running the offense, playing great defense and stepping up to make the big play time after time in clutch situations.
15 – Austin Freeman, Jr, Georgetown – this was one of the toughest decisions at any number. Guys like DeMarcus Cousins, Donald Sloan, Kawhi Leonard and Matt Bouldin, however, wound up getting left behind to give this to Freeman. While Freeman was diagnosed with diabetes in February, he continued to make big, clutch plays for the Hoyas, leading furious second-half comebacks on more than one occasion. But the game I’ll remember from Freeman came in early January when he scored 28 points in the second half to come back from a 15-point deficit against Connecticut and save the Hoyas from losing back-to-back games. Not that his 24-point second half outburst at Louisville to bring the Hoyas back from a six-point halftime deficit after having already lost consecutive games was anything too shabby either. I can just say I’m very much looking forward to getting to watch this guy play as a senior.
20 – Dominique Jones, Jr, South Florida – if you never saw Jones play for South Florida, just look at the list of guys he beat out at this number and you might get some idea how good he is: Gordon Hayward, Quincy Pondexter, Elias Harris and Jordan Williams just to name four. Jones was the leading scorer in the Big East and is probably more likely to be playing for a Bulls team in Chicago next season than a Bulls team in Tampa.
21 – Evan Turner, Jr, Ohio State – Turner is my pick for best player in the land, so anyone else that wears that #21 uniform is fighting for second place. Sorry Greivis Vasquez.
22 – Marcus Morris, So, Kansas – sometimes there is just a number that doesn’t have as many great numbers as others. Perhaps there is a more deserving candidate than the better of the Morris twins, but I couldn’t find one.
23 – James Anderson, Jr, Oklahoma State – Anderson was just a deadly scorer, capable of creating points off the dribble or on a catch-and-shoot, on an offensive stickback or off a post move.
24 – LaceDarius Dunn, Jr, Baylor – I would guess that Dunn’s game would drive a coach up the wall from time to time, as he is known to put up a bad shot on a fairly regular basis, and he can definitely fall in love with his jumper, but in Scott Drew’s offense Dunn is a streaky offensive weapon who can light up the scoreboard like few others. Eric Bledsoe? You’ll have to settle for runner-up at the 24 spot.
25 – JaJuan Johnson, Jr, Purdue – Johnson’s offensive game has improved every year, but this year he began to add more strength to his silky-smooth post play. Siena’s point Ronald Moore is a close runner-up at this spot.
30 – Jon Scheyer, Sr, Duke – Scheyer took over the point guard spot for Coach K about halfway through last season, and he has never looked back, running the offense smoothly and getting the rest of Duke’s weapons involved while still being able to get his when necessary.
31 – Gani Lawal, Jr, Georgia Tech – just an amazing physical specimen, big, long arms, major-league hops, skills with both hands and the ability to run the floor like a guard. How did these Yellow Jackets finish under .500 in a weak ACC?
32 – Jimmer Fredette, Jr, BYU – I had an awful hard time leaving Lazar Hayward on the sideline, not to mention Jarvis Varnado, but Fredette was a fun, explosive offensive player playing for a fun, explosive offense. Although I still feel ripped off that Fredette was sick for the second half of the showdown with New Mexico for the MWC regular season title.
33 – E’Twaun Moore, Jr, Purdue – Moore combined with our #25 on this list to keep the Boilermakers alive after the season-ending injury to Robbie Hummel, combining a seemingly effortless offensive game with tough perimeter defense, although fellow juniors Tre’Von Willis and Jon Diebler are at least in the conversation somewhere here.
34 – Adam Koch, Sr, Northern Iowa – the MVC Player of the Year and a versatile offensive big man for the Panthers, one of three UNI seniors on this list.
35 – Trevor Booker, Sr, Clemson – it seems like Booker has been at Clemson forever, and he has certainly provided plenty of “WOW” moments over his time as a Tiger: spectacular dunks, ferocious blocks and plenty of skill packed into a 6-foot-7 and 215 pound frame.
40 – Kelvin Davis, Sr, San Diego State – not the best player in an Aztec uniform, maybe not even the leader on the squad despite being the only senior, but SDSU only lost once when he was in the starting lineup (their opening round Tournament loss to Tennessee), and the inspiration others took from his recovery from Hodgkin’s Lymphoma was reason enough for his inclusion at this spot.
41 – Anthony Jones, So, Baylor – for some reason, kids in college generally aren’t big on the numbers in the 40s and 50s. There are certainly exceptions, but I’m not finding a ton of great players at this number, so the nod goes to Jones and his exciting athleticism and upside.
42 – Tai Wesley, Jr, Utah State – a crafty veteran around the hoop, Wesley is just one on a handful of excellent Aggie juniors who should make USU a tough out next year too. Guys like Jamelle Horne, Ivan Aska and L.D. Williams come up a little short here.
43 – Tony Easley, Sr, Murray State – one of two veteran leaders for the Racers (the one who didn’t get his 15 minutes for hitting a game winning buzzer beater in the Tournament), Easley was a beast in the paint in the OVC this season. He sneaks it out at #43 over Portland’s Luke Sikma.
44 – Luke Harangody, Sr, Notre Dame – while Harangody’s ended with a poor performance in an opening-round Tournament loss to Old Dominion, leaving ‘Gody without a Tournament win in his career, he still had four productive years of great stats and will be a presence not easily replaced around South Bend.
45 – Tweeny Carter, Sr, Baylor – the tie goes to the senior, and Kansas’ junior Cole Aldrich gets left behind here. Carter teams with Dunn (our # 24) to give the Bears a prolific backcourt, and does a great job of keeping an offense that could easily careen out of control on the tracks.
50 – Omar Samhan, Sr, St. Mary’s – Samhan went from little more than a warm body four years ago to one of the best post-players in the country in his senior year, and is in the midst of pushing his Gael team through a March NCAA Tournament run.
51 – David Foster, So, Utah – Foster is a 7-foot-3 gangly behemoth in the middle for the Utes. While his offensive game is still a work in progress (and that is a kind estimation), he controls the paint on the defensive end and blocked about four shots a game this season.
52 – Terrell Holloway, So, Xavier – Holloway took a big step forward this season for the Musketeers, improving from an inconsistent freshman to a rock-solid presence in an excellent XU backcourt.
53 – Jordan Egleseder, Sr, Northern Iowa – Eglseder doesn’t look like much more than a fairly immobile 7-foot-1 mountain in the middle for the Panthers, but he has developed a pretty skilled offensive game and is a key cog in UNI’s Tournament run.
54 – Matt Howard,Jr, Butler – Howard earns this one by a hair over Kentucky’s Patrick Patterson due to the vital role he plays in the Bulldogs offense. As the only true interior player on an undersized Butler team, Howard has a vast responsibility, but always seems to take care of business.
55 – Jordan Crawford, So, Xavier – part of me wanted to go with a senior and give this one to Duke’s Brian Zoubek, who’s improved physical presence in the middle for the Blue Devils is probably most responsible for their emergence as a legit national championship contender. But Crawford is such a fun player to watch, whether it be bombing from deep or gliding to the hole and finishing with a twisting, turning, swooping scoop shot. Along with Holloway (our #52), Crawford gives the Muskies one of the handful of best backcourts in the country, and if he can withstand the lures of the NBA draft for another year, Xavier may be knocking on the door of the Final Four again next year.
Oh, and while I'm on numbers, I've got another one:
65 - NCAA Tournament teams - it's fine the way it is. 64 would likely be better, but that horse done left the barn already. 68 is acceptable, but let's not screw up a great thing.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
All-Murawa Awards, NFL Edition
With the NFL season wrapping up, its time to hand out some of the least sought-after awards of the NFL season, the All-Murawa awards. While most will have no idea that they won these awards (thus saving me the trouble of having to get the trophies engraved and the prize money sent out), they are no less prestigious. Well, actually, on second thought, they probably are significantly less prestigious, by definition, but we can just gloss over that and get to handing these things out anyway.
Most Outstanding Player: Chris Johnson, RB, Tennessee – 2006 yards rushing, a new NFL record of 2509 total yards from scrimmage, 16 touchdowns. It’s hard to argue with those numbers. But perhaps the most impressive feat was rushing for 134 yards in week 17 against a Seattle defense stacking eight, nine and sometimes even ten guys in the box.
Most Valuable Player: Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans – led his Saints to a 13-3 record while posting the highest QB rating in the league (109.6), the most TD passes in the league (34, compared to only 11 INTs), averaged over 8.5 yards per pass attempt, and threw for an average of over 290 yards a game. Yup. That’ll work.
While the above may seem both repetitive and contradictory, we here at the All-Murawa team like to award both, the first to the best player in the league on any team, and the second to the best player in the league on a good team. While some years, this could be the same player (and frankly, Brees could have won both, and Peyton Manning and Philip Rivers got some consideration for both as well), Johnson was the most dominant player in the league on an average (at best) team, while Brees led his team through a strong season to a first-round playoff bye.
Defensive Player of the Year: Darrelle Revis, CB, New York Jets – The Jets had the best defense in the league this year, allowed the fewest yards per game and allowed the fewest points, and part of the reason for their success was their ability to put Revis on an island against the other team’s best receiver and allow the rest of the players to forget about that section of the field. He wound up with six interceptions, and an NFL-leading 37 passes defended, while continually shutting down his man.
Rookie of the Year: Brian Cushing, LB, Houston – Cushing was fifth in the league in tackles and added five sacks and four interceptions, becoming an instantaneous leader for the Texan defense.
All-NFL Team – nevermind the fact that both my offense and defense feature 12 players on each team. They’re good enough that they don’t need all 11, but deserve 12.
New Orleans, Philadelphia and the Jets all wound up with three players on the first team (and each added a player on the second team). Indy and Minnesota wound up with four players on the two teams combined.
And, to make up for leaving the following players off of this list, I’ll mention Peyton Manning, Larry Fitzgerald, and Kris Dielman as the three players I had the hardest time omitting.
Anyway, without further ado, here is two teams worth of my All-NFL team.
All-NFL First Team
QB Drew Brees, New Orleans
RB Chris Johnson, Tennessee
RB Ray Rice, Baltimore
FB Leonard Weaver, Philadelphia
WR Andre Johnson, Houston
WR Reggie Wayne, Indianapolis
TE Dallas Clark, Indianapolis
C Nick Mangold, New York Jets
G Ryan Lilja, Indianapolis
G Jahri Evans, New Orleans
T Ryan Clady, Denver
T Michael Roos, Tennessee
DT Jay Ratliff, Dallas
DT Haloti Ngata, Baltimore
DE Jared Allen, Minnesota
DE Trent Cole, Philadelphia
ILB Patrick Willis, San Francisco
ILB David Harris, New York Jets
OLB Elvis Dumervil, Denver
OLB Brian Cushing, Houston
CB Charles Woodson, Green Bay
CB Darrelle Revis, New York Jets
SS Adrian Wilson, Arizona
FS Darren Sharper, New Orleans
K Sebastian Janikowski, Oakland
P Shane Lechler, Oakland
KR DeSean Jackson, Philadelphia
All-NFL Second Team
QB Philip Rivers, San Diego
RB Adrian Peterson, Minnesota
RB Steven Jackson, St. Louis
FB Ahmard Hall, Tennessee
WR Wes Welker, New England
WR Randy Moss, New England
TE Antonio Gates, San Diego
C Ryan Kalil, Carolina
G Steve Hutchinson, Minnesota
G Alan Faneca, New York Jets
T Jake Long, Miami
T Jon Stinchcomb, New Orleans
DT Kevin Williams, Minnesota
DT Jonathan Babineaux, Atlanta
DE Dwight Freeney, Indianapolis
DE Julius Peppers, Carolina
ILB Jon Beason, Carolina
ILB James Laurinaitis, St. Louis
OLB DeMarcus Ware, Dallas
OLB Clay Matthews, Green Bay
CB Leon Hall, Cincinnati
CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Arizona
SS Brian Dawkins, Denver
FS Antoine Bethea, Indianapolis
K David Akers, Philadelphia
P Andy Lee, San Francisco
KR Josh Cribbs, Cleveland
Most Outstanding Player: Chris Johnson, RB, Tennessee – 2006 yards rushing, a new NFL record of 2509 total yards from scrimmage, 16 touchdowns. It’s hard to argue with those numbers. But perhaps the most impressive feat was rushing for 134 yards in week 17 against a Seattle defense stacking eight, nine and sometimes even ten guys in the box.
Most Valuable Player: Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans – led his Saints to a 13-3 record while posting the highest QB rating in the league (109.6), the most TD passes in the league (34, compared to only 11 INTs), averaged over 8.5 yards per pass attempt, and threw for an average of over 290 yards a game. Yup. That’ll work.
While the above may seem both repetitive and contradictory, we here at the All-Murawa team like to award both, the first to the best player in the league on any team, and the second to the best player in the league on a good team. While some years, this could be the same player (and frankly, Brees could have won both, and Peyton Manning and Philip Rivers got some consideration for both as well), Johnson was the most dominant player in the league on an average (at best) team, while Brees led his team through a strong season to a first-round playoff bye.
Defensive Player of the Year: Darrelle Revis, CB, New York Jets – The Jets had the best defense in the league this year, allowed the fewest yards per game and allowed the fewest points, and part of the reason for their success was their ability to put Revis on an island against the other team’s best receiver and allow the rest of the players to forget about that section of the field. He wound up with six interceptions, and an NFL-leading 37 passes defended, while continually shutting down his man.
Rookie of the Year: Brian Cushing, LB, Houston – Cushing was fifth in the league in tackles and added five sacks and four interceptions, becoming an instantaneous leader for the Texan defense.
All-NFL Team – nevermind the fact that both my offense and defense feature 12 players on each team. They’re good enough that they don’t need all 11, but deserve 12.
New Orleans, Philadelphia and the Jets all wound up with three players on the first team (and each added a player on the second team). Indy and Minnesota wound up with four players on the two teams combined.
And, to make up for leaving the following players off of this list, I’ll mention Peyton Manning, Larry Fitzgerald, and Kris Dielman as the three players I had the hardest time omitting.
Anyway, without further ado, here is two teams worth of my All-NFL team.
All-NFL First Team
QB Drew Brees, New Orleans
RB Chris Johnson, Tennessee
RB Ray Rice, Baltimore
FB Leonard Weaver, Philadelphia
WR Andre Johnson, Houston
WR Reggie Wayne, Indianapolis
TE Dallas Clark, Indianapolis
C Nick Mangold, New York Jets
G Ryan Lilja, Indianapolis
G Jahri Evans, New Orleans
T Ryan Clady, Denver
T Michael Roos, Tennessee
DT Jay Ratliff, Dallas
DT Haloti Ngata, Baltimore
DE Jared Allen, Minnesota
DE Trent Cole, Philadelphia
ILB Patrick Willis, San Francisco
ILB David Harris, New York Jets
OLB Elvis Dumervil, Denver
OLB Brian Cushing, Houston
CB Charles Woodson, Green Bay
CB Darrelle Revis, New York Jets
SS Adrian Wilson, Arizona
FS Darren Sharper, New Orleans
K Sebastian Janikowski, Oakland
P Shane Lechler, Oakland
KR DeSean Jackson, Philadelphia
All-NFL Second Team
QB Philip Rivers, San Diego
RB Adrian Peterson, Minnesota
RB Steven Jackson, St. Louis
FB Ahmard Hall, Tennessee
WR Wes Welker, New England
WR Randy Moss, New England
TE Antonio Gates, San Diego
C Ryan Kalil, Carolina
G Steve Hutchinson, Minnesota
G Alan Faneca, New York Jets
T Jake Long, Miami
T Jon Stinchcomb, New Orleans
DT Kevin Williams, Minnesota
DT Jonathan Babineaux, Atlanta
DE Dwight Freeney, Indianapolis
DE Julius Peppers, Carolina
ILB Jon Beason, Carolina
ILB James Laurinaitis, St. Louis
OLB DeMarcus Ware, Dallas
OLB Clay Matthews, Green Bay
CB Leon Hall, Cincinnati
CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Arizona
SS Brian Dawkins, Denver
FS Antoine Bethea, Indianapolis
K David Akers, Philadelphia
P Andy Lee, San Francisco
KR Josh Cribbs, Cleveland
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
"The U"
I've been very much enjoying ESPN's "30 For 30" series so far, in which 30 different directors take a shot at documenting a major sports story over the 30 years of ESPN's existence. There was Kirk Fraser's take on the death of Len Bias, which transported me back to 11 years old and having one of my childhood heroes throw his life away. There was Mike Tollin's documentary on the life and death of the USFL, casting an evil eye on Donald Trump. Barry Levinson took a story that I knew quite a bit about and shed a new light on it as he chronicled the Baltimore Colt marching band and the departure of the Colts from Baltimore. Throw in shows on the Wayne Gretzky trade, the Ali/Holmes fight and the life and times of Jimmy the Greek and these are some compelling documentaries on sports.
Which brings me to the most recent film, "The U" by Billy Corben about the University of Miami's football program. Now, without a doubt, this is a great topic for this series: a team rising from irrelevance to become the best college football program in the nation during the 80s and beyond, but not without its share of controversy. Unfortunately, Corben's thesis for this film appeared to be something along the lines of "Miami was a very good football team, so that gives them a complete pass everywhere else." Part of the reason that "The U" was such a great topic for a documentary was the fact that there were two very distinct sides to this story: the amazing success the 'Canes had on the football field and the abysmal way in which they acted while gaining such success. But, while Corben certainly went so far as to admit that there was some controversy surrounding the 'Canes, he went out of his way to avoid voicing some of those concerns in a coherent way, instead focusing on the 'Canes players and coaches and apologists making excuses.
It wasn't the Miami players fault that there was a long litany of legal problems in the program, but it was certainly Sports Illustrated's fault for publishing a sidebar about it. Racists!
It wasn't Jimmy Johnson's fault that they ran up the score on overmatched opponents, it was the fault of the opposing team for failing to stop them. And 'Canes players dancing over fallen opponents? That's just kids having fun.
The Miami-cheap-shot-fueled onfield brawls? Certainly not the 'Canes fault. But the university president being concerned that this painted the university in a bad light? What a stooge that guy was. Didn't he know how much money the football team was generating? Money forgives all sins, right?
According to Steve Walsh, Miami dominated Penn State in every facet of the game in the '87 Fiesta Bowl. (Wait for it, wait for it.) Except for turnovers. Hey, I got one more for you Steve. Um, the score. (Somewhere around this point I briefly considered the idea that Corben was a genius in the field of satire, spending a couple hours making fun of Miami while pretending to fawn over them. I threw that idea away a couple seconds later.)
Who cares that Miami players were being paid in violation of NCAA regulations? Those rules were dumb anyway. Besides, Bennie Blades had a kid at the time! And if they hadn't been getting paid, they would have been forced to go out and steal car stereos and sell drugs in order to survive. Oh. Wait. They did that too.
And, as Randal Hill took pains to point out (albeit with tongue firmly in cheek), it wasn't his fault that he ran up the Cotton Bowl tunnel after scoring a TD and came back with imaginary guns ablazing. It was everybody else's fault but his. (Note that for some reason, the Miami AD called this something like the most egregious offense one of his players ever committed, a truly disgusting act. Maybe it's just me, but I saw like 15 things over the course of the two hours that were far, far worse than this.)
Don't get me wrong, if the entire documentary had been anti-Miami, focusing on all the controversy while just glossing over the successes, it would have been just as bad, but this film could have been so much more. Credit Corben for at least mentioning the dark side, but it would have nice to hear a perspective on the story from someone other than Miami players, coaches, writers and supporters.
One last complaint, perhaps minor compared to the above. At some point in the film, (and it might have been on a bumper coming back in from a commercial break) Corben says something like "Beano Cook once called Miami football the greatest dynasty since Julius Caesar." Which, if you know Beano is just a great line and admittedly overstatement. No problem with that. But then Corben follows it up by saying: "And he was right." Well, no. No, he wasn't right. Miami was the best college football team from the early 80s to the early 90s. In no way do their accomplishments compare with those of Caesar (which is such an obvious thing that I'm not even going to follow that comparison and bring in other world leaders into the conversation), let alone the Lakers or Celtics or Canadiens or Bruins or Yankees or... The Hurricanes were dominant, won four national championships in nine years and were clearly the most successful program in college football for a decade or so. Leave it at that. There is no need to take a great line like Beano's and take it seriously.
All in all, I still enjoyed the film and would still recommend it, but compared to earlier episodes in this series, this was clearly subpar.
Which brings me to the most recent film, "The U" by Billy Corben about the University of Miami's football program. Now, without a doubt, this is a great topic for this series: a team rising from irrelevance to become the best college football program in the nation during the 80s and beyond, but not without its share of controversy. Unfortunately, Corben's thesis for this film appeared to be something along the lines of "Miami was a very good football team, so that gives them a complete pass everywhere else." Part of the reason that "The U" was such a great topic for a documentary was the fact that there were two very distinct sides to this story: the amazing success the 'Canes had on the football field and the abysmal way in which they acted while gaining such success. But, while Corben certainly went so far as to admit that there was some controversy surrounding the 'Canes, he went out of his way to avoid voicing some of those concerns in a coherent way, instead focusing on the 'Canes players and coaches and apologists making excuses.
It wasn't the Miami players fault that there was a long litany of legal problems in the program, but it was certainly Sports Illustrated's fault for publishing a sidebar about it. Racists!
It wasn't Jimmy Johnson's fault that they ran up the score on overmatched opponents, it was the fault of the opposing team for failing to stop them. And 'Canes players dancing over fallen opponents? That's just kids having fun.
The Miami-cheap-shot-fueled onfield brawls? Certainly not the 'Canes fault. But the university president being concerned that this painted the university in a bad light? What a stooge that guy was. Didn't he know how much money the football team was generating? Money forgives all sins, right?
According to Steve Walsh, Miami dominated Penn State in every facet of the game in the '87 Fiesta Bowl. (Wait for it, wait for it.) Except for turnovers. Hey, I got one more for you Steve. Um, the score. (Somewhere around this point I briefly considered the idea that Corben was a genius in the field of satire, spending a couple hours making fun of Miami while pretending to fawn over them. I threw that idea away a couple seconds later.)
Who cares that Miami players were being paid in violation of NCAA regulations? Those rules were dumb anyway. Besides, Bennie Blades had a kid at the time! And if they hadn't been getting paid, they would have been forced to go out and steal car stereos and sell drugs in order to survive. Oh. Wait. They did that too.
And, as Randal Hill took pains to point out (albeit with tongue firmly in cheek), it wasn't his fault that he ran up the Cotton Bowl tunnel after scoring a TD and came back with imaginary guns ablazing. It was everybody else's fault but his. (Note that for some reason, the Miami AD called this something like the most egregious offense one of his players ever committed, a truly disgusting act. Maybe it's just me, but I saw like 15 things over the course of the two hours that were far, far worse than this.)
Don't get me wrong, if the entire documentary had been anti-Miami, focusing on all the controversy while just glossing over the successes, it would have been just as bad, but this film could have been so much more. Credit Corben for at least mentioning the dark side, but it would have nice to hear a perspective on the story from someone other than Miami players, coaches, writers and supporters.
One last complaint, perhaps minor compared to the above. At some point in the film, (and it might have been on a bumper coming back in from a commercial break) Corben says something like "Beano Cook once called Miami football the greatest dynasty since Julius Caesar." Which, if you know Beano is just a great line and admittedly overstatement. No problem with that. But then Corben follows it up by saying: "And he was right." Well, no. No, he wasn't right. Miami was the best college football team from the early 80s to the early 90s. In no way do their accomplishments compare with those of Caesar (which is such an obvious thing that I'm not even going to follow that comparison and bring in other world leaders into the conversation), let alone the Lakers or Celtics or Canadiens or Bruins or Yankees or... The Hurricanes were dominant, won four national championships in nine years and were clearly the most successful program in college football for a decade or so. Leave it at that. There is no need to take a great line like Beano's and take it seriously.
All in all, I still enjoyed the film and would still recommend it, but compared to earlier episodes in this series, this was clearly subpar.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
2009 College Football All-American Team
With the season all but over, it is time for the annual meaningless game of putting together All-American teams. I know, we’ve got the Army/Navy game still to go to wrap up the regular season – and I’m certainly interested in the game (go Middies! Get the Bruins in a bowl game!) – but frankly, none of the players in the game are on my radar as far as All-Americans go (nothing against Ricky Dobbs, who is fun to watch), so here goes nothing.
I actually put a lot of time into coming up with this list, and I’m fairly happy with it, with the possible exception of my choices for center (I really wasn’t in love with any of the candidates) and the disturbing realization that I put three Bruins on the squad (well, two and a half - kickers don’t really count) and only one Trojan. Also, I think C.J. Spiller probably deserves one of the RB slots on the second team, but given that I had already put him on the first team as a kick returner, and given that I really wanted to put Ryan Matthews and Dion Lewis on the team, I felt okay leaving him off despite the fact that he is on my (imaginary) Heisman ballot.
Speaking of the Heisman, I gotta say this: if either Tim Tebow or Colt McCoy wins the Heisman this year, that award is dead to me. Both have been great college quarterbacks and have had great careers, but there just ain’t a chance that either has been the most outstanding college football player this year. My picks: 1) Toby Gerhart, 2) Ndamakong Suh, 3) C.J. Spiller. I had a hard time deciding between Gerhart and Suh for the first spot, but I’ll admit I let the Heisman’s overall bias towards players who touch the ball get to me and gave Gerhart the nod. I also had a hard time with picking Spiller over Mark Ingram for the third slot, but gave it to Spiller as a result of Ingram’s weak game against Auburn and Spiller’s monster of a game in the ACC Championship. Nevermind the fact that I ignored Spiller’s much weaker game the same weekend against South Carolina or the fact that Ingram pummeled that same South Carolina defense to the tune of 246 yards; the imaginary ballot has been imaginarily submitted.
On to the All-American’s listed below, some highlights:
Alabama leads the list with four players on the first team (okay, three and a half, kickers don’t count), plus another three on the second team (okay, two, since Javier Arenas makes it as both a corner and a kick returner). And, while I’m mentioning Arenas, I’ll also mention that perhaps the hardest pick I made was choosing Perrish Cox over Arenas for the second corner spot on the first team.
Texas is a deserving opponent in the BCS Championship game, but I could only find room for two Longhorns on my team.
Florida is right there with three on the first team and another one on the second team, and I’ve got four Iowa Hawkeyes on my second team defense to go along with first-teamer Brian Bulaga.
And, again, on the UCLA front: two and a half Bruins on my second team? That can’t be right. Although I try to avoid being biased here, I’m a Bruin fan at heart, so I’ll throw out an honorable mention to, say, Marvin Austin of North Carolina as a guy who might have made it in place of Brian Price, and Chad Jones of LSU as a possible replacement for Rahim Moore. Although I stand by the fact that Price and Moore are deserving of their spots. As to Kai Forbath? Who really cares? He’s just a kicker.
Anyway, without further ado, here’s my 2009 College Football All-American Team:
First Team
QB Kellen Moore, So, Boise State
RB Mark Ingram, So, Alabama
RB Toby Gerhart, Sr, Stanford
WR Mardy Gilyard, Sr, Cincinnati
WR Golden Tate, Jr, Notre Dame
TE Aaron Hernandez, Sr, Florida
C Chris Hall, Sr, Texas
G Mike Johnson, Sr, Alabama
G Sergio Render, Sr, Virginia Tech
T Brian Bulaga, Jr, Iowa
T Russell Okung, Sr, Oklahoma State
DT Ndamakong Suh, Sr, Nebraska
DT Gerald McCoy, Jr, Oklahoma
DE Jerry Hughes, Sr, TCU
DE Greg Romeus, Jr, Pitt
LB Bruce Carter, Jr, North Carolina
LB Rolando McClain, Sr, Alabama
LB Brandon Spikes, Sr, Florida
CB Joe Haden, Jr, Florida
CB Perrish Cox, Sr, Oklahoma State
SS Erik Berry, Jr, Tennessee
FS Earl Thomas, So, Texas
K Leigh Tiffin, Sr, Alabama
P Zoltan Mesko, Sr, Michigan
KR C.J. Spiller, Sr, Clemson
Second Team
QB Case Keenum, Jr, Houston
RB Ryan Matthews, Jr, Fresno State
RB Dion Lewis, Fr, Pitt
WR A.J. Green, So, Georgia
WR Titus Young, Jr, Boise State
TE Anthony McCoy, Sr, USC
C Maurkice Pouncey, Jr, Florida
G Brandon Carter, Sr, Texas Tech
G Cord Howard, Sr, Georgia Tech
T Anthony Davis, Jr, Rutgers
T Ciron Black, Sr, LSU
DT Terrance Cody, Sr, Alabama
DT Brian Price, Jr, UCLA
DE Brandon Graham, Sr, Michigan
DE Adrian Clayborn, Jr Iowa
LB Sean Weatherspoon, Sr, Missouri
LB Pat Angerer, Sr, Iowa
LB Keaton Kristick, Sr, Oregon State
CB Amari Spievey, Jr, Iowa
CB Javier Arenas, Sr, Alabama
SS Tyler Sash, So, Iowa
FS Rahim Moore, So, UCLA
K Kai Forbath, Jr, UCLA
P Drew Butler, So, Georgia
KR Javier Arenas, Sr, Alabama
I actually put a lot of time into coming up with this list, and I’m fairly happy with it, with the possible exception of my choices for center (I really wasn’t in love with any of the candidates) and the disturbing realization that I put three Bruins on the squad (well, two and a half - kickers don’t really count) and only one Trojan. Also, I think C.J. Spiller probably deserves one of the RB slots on the second team, but given that I had already put him on the first team as a kick returner, and given that I really wanted to put Ryan Matthews and Dion Lewis on the team, I felt okay leaving him off despite the fact that he is on my (imaginary) Heisman ballot.
Speaking of the Heisman, I gotta say this: if either Tim Tebow or Colt McCoy wins the Heisman this year, that award is dead to me. Both have been great college quarterbacks and have had great careers, but there just ain’t a chance that either has been the most outstanding college football player this year. My picks: 1) Toby Gerhart, 2) Ndamakong Suh, 3) C.J. Spiller. I had a hard time deciding between Gerhart and Suh for the first spot, but I’ll admit I let the Heisman’s overall bias towards players who touch the ball get to me and gave Gerhart the nod. I also had a hard time with picking Spiller over Mark Ingram for the third slot, but gave it to Spiller as a result of Ingram’s weak game against Auburn and Spiller’s monster of a game in the ACC Championship. Nevermind the fact that I ignored Spiller’s much weaker game the same weekend against South Carolina or the fact that Ingram pummeled that same South Carolina defense to the tune of 246 yards; the imaginary ballot has been imaginarily submitted.
On to the All-American’s listed below, some highlights:
Alabama leads the list with four players on the first team (okay, three and a half, kickers don’t count), plus another three on the second team (okay, two, since Javier Arenas makes it as both a corner and a kick returner). And, while I’m mentioning Arenas, I’ll also mention that perhaps the hardest pick I made was choosing Perrish Cox over Arenas for the second corner spot on the first team.
Texas is a deserving opponent in the BCS Championship game, but I could only find room for two Longhorns on my team.
Florida is right there with three on the first team and another one on the second team, and I’ve got four Iowa Hawkeyes on my second team defense to go along with first-teamer Brian Bulaga.
And, again, on the UCLA front: two and a half Bruins on my second team? That can’t be right. Although I try to avoid being biased here, I’m a Bruin fan at heart, so I’ll throw out an honorable mention to, say, Marvin Austin of North Carolina as a guy who might have made it in place of Brian Price, and Chad Jones of LSU as a possible replacement for Rahim Moore. Although I stand by the fact that Price and Moore are deserving of their spots. As to Kai Forbath? Who really cares? He’s just a kicker.
Anyway, without further ado, here’s my 2009 College Football All-American Team:
First Team
QB Kellen Moore, So, Boise State
RB Mark Ingram, So, Alabama
RB Toby Gerhart, Sr, Stanford
WR Mardy Gilyard, Sr, Cincinnati
WR Golden Tate, Jr, Notre Dame
TE Aaron Hernandez, Sr, Florida
C Chris Hall, Sr, Texas
G Mike Johnson, Sr, Alabama
G Sergio Render, Sr, Virginia Tech
T Brian Bulaga, Jr, Iowa
T Russell Okung, Sr, Oklahoma State
DT Ndamakong Suh, Sr, Nebraska
DT Gerald McCoy, Jr, Oklahoma
DE Jerry Hughes, Sr, TCU
DE Greg Romeus, Jr, Pitt
LB Bruce Carter, Jr, North Carolina
LB Rolando McClain, Sr, Alabama
LB Brandon Spikes, Sr, Florida
CB Joe Haden, Jr, Florida
CB Perrish Cox, Sr, Oklahoma State
SS Erik Berry, Jr, Tennessee
FS Earl Thomas, So, Texas
K Leigh Tiffin, Sr, Alabama
P Zoltan Mesko, Sr, Michigan
KR C.J. Spiller, Sr, Clemson
Second Team
QB Case Keenum, Jr, Houston
RB Ryan Matthews, Jr, Fresno State
RB Dion Lewis, Fr, Pitt
WR A.J. Green, So, Georgia
WR Titus Young, Jr, Boise State
TE Anthony McCoy, Sr, USC
C Maurkice Pouncey, Jr, Florida
G Brandon Carter, Sr, Texas Tech
G Cord Howard, Sr, Georgia Tech
T Anthony Davis, Jr, Rutgers
T Ciron Black, Sr, LSU
DT Terrance Cody, Sr, Alabama
DT Brian Price, Jr, UCLA
DE Brandon Graham, Sr, Michigan
DE Adrian Clayborn, Jr Iowa
LB Sean Weatherspoon, Sr, Missouri
LB Pat Angerer, Sr, Iowa
LB Keaton Kristick, Sr, Oregon State
CB Amari Spievey, Jr, Iowa
CB Javier Arenas, Sr, Alabama
SS Tyler Sash, So, Iowa
FS Rahim Moore, So, UCLA
K Kai Forbath, Jr, UCLA
P Drew Butler, So, Georgia
KR Javier Arenas, Sr, Alabama
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
2009 76 Classic Roundup
Year three of the 76 Classic featured the strongest field in the brief history of the tournament, and arguably the strongest field of any of the early season tournaments this season, boasting four ranked teams plus a couple of mid-majors who figure to be right in the thick of things in their conference. The tournament, which was played in front of a somewhat sparse crowd at the Anaheim Convention Center, was captured by West Virginia, who dominated upset-minded Portland in the final Sunday night. While the season has only just begun, and there is a lot to shake out between now and Selection Sunday, we did get to find out a little about what to expect from these teams over the coming months.
Before I get into a breakdown of each team’s weekend, here is my all-tournament team:
Da’Sean Butler, Sr, West Virginia
T.J. Campbell, Sr, Portland
B.J. Holmes, Jr, Texas A&M
Shelvin Mack, Soph, Butler
T.J. Robinson, Soph, Long Beach State
1. West Virginia wrapped blowout wins over Long Beach State and Portland around a tough battle with Texas A&M to capture the 76 Classic title. Behind strong performances by senior Da’Sean Butler, who averaged almost 19 points per game over the tournament, including a spectacular 26 in the final, and sophomore Kevin Jones (13 ppg over the tournament), the Mountaineers looked long, athletic and deep. Sophomore Devin Ebanks made his season debut for Coach Bob Huggins in the second game of the tournament, after sitting out the first three games of the season due to “personal reasons.” Ebanks looked especially strong in the A&M game, tallying 14 points and grabbing nine rebounds to help the Mountaineers advance. If there is a concern for West Virginia at this point, it may be on the glass, as they were outrebounded by Texas A&M, the opponent that was similar in terms of athleticism and size. However, the Mountaineers have to be pretty pleased with their play over the weekend, routinely going ten men deep on their bench and getting good production out of everyone. West Virginia certainly looks to have the makings of a strong contender for the Big East title.
2. Portland was the surprise of the tournament, advancing to the final upon the strength of an opening round demolition of UCLA and a semifinal that they almost let slip away against Minnesota. Senior point guard T.J. Campbell was huge in the semi for the Pilots, scoring 23 (including four three-pointers) en route to the upset. While Portland ran into a buzzsaw in the finals, this weekend has to be considered a huge success for the Pilots, with the win over Minnesota giving them a signature win upon which to hang their hat. They’ll have a chance to add another key win this week when they visit Washington. While Portland didn’t have the athletes to hang with West Virginia in the final, they are a well-coached team who can cause problems for quality opponents with their ability to knock down open threes (Campbell and junior guard Jared Stohl each had nine threes over the tournament) and to get opposing offenses out of sync with their 2-3 zone, which was instrumental in their two victories this weekend. While they may not have the athletes that Gonzaga has, they could cause the Zags problems with their style of play.
3. Texas A&M came into this tournament as a bit of an afterthought. Most of the pre-tourney talk centered around the ranked teams (Butler, Minnesota, West Virginia and Clemson) or struggling UCLA, or even the two upset-minded teams (Long Beach State and Portland. But the Aggies came out of this weekend with wins over two of the ranked teams (despite their best efforts to give Minnesota third place – missing their last nine free throws and 12 of their last 15) and a strong showing against the eventual champion. Senior guards Derrick Roland and Ronald Sloan impressed with their athleticism and all-around games, and senior forward Bryan Davis was impressive defending the post and hitting the glass, but it was diminutive junior B.J. Holmes who was the spark for the Aggies, knocking down threes, playing tough man defense and taking several charges throughout the tournament. While A&M probably doesn’t have the depth or size to challenge Texas or Kansas for Big 12 supremacy, they look to be a solid tournament team and an upper-division finisher in the Big 12.
4. Minnesota got their tournament off to a good start with a win over Butler in a game played at a very high level. The Golden Gophers got strong play from senior forward Damian Johnson (18 points, four assists, four steals, three rebounds, a block and a three, all on seven-of-eight shooting), sophomore center Colton Iverson (13 points, 11 rebounds, two blocks) and sophomore point guard Devoe Joseph (14 points, three rebounds, three assists, two threes) and significant contributions from a deep bench. However, the rest of the tournament had to be disappointing for Tubby Smith’s squad as they dropped two tough games to close the tournament. Against Portland, they never really figured out the Pilot zone, shooting only 33% from the field for the game, and in the third place game, fell behind in the first half (during which neither senior guard Lawrence Westbrook nor junior guard Al Nolen played due to disciplinary reasons), and were never able to get all the way back, despite Texas A&M’s best efforts to let them back in. Nevertheless, the Gophers look to have a deep and talented team that should be improved over last season. Iverson and fellow sophomore center Ralph Sampson III seem to have a better grasp of what is expected of them and Johnson has stepped forward as a team leader. Throw in a tough backcourt trio of Nolen, Westbrook and Joseph and the Gophers look to be a well-rounded squad, even with the future of currently suspended recruits Trevor Mbakwe and Royce White still in doubt.
5. Clemson walks away from Anaheim with a 2-1 record for the weekend, and they have to be feeling better about themselves than they did after a first-round struggle against Texas A&M and perhaps more of a battle than they expected from Long Beach State. Clemson struggled at times over the tournament with their half-court offense and got uneven performances from several players up and down their roster. Head coach Oliver Purnell even left junior forward Jerai Grant (a starter in Clemson’s first-round game) on the bench for the entirety of their second game. But, in the end, the Tigers showed great determination in battling back against Butler and pulling out a tight win in a game where they were down double figures in the second half. While Clemson still lacks a traditional low-post threat (despite senior forward Trevor Booker’s impressive abilities), and is prone to bog down in the half-court offense, their speed and athleticism can still give opponents trouble and they look to be a solid middle-of-the-pack ACC team with legitimate NCAA tournament hopes.
6. Butler has to be licking their wounds a little after a disappointing one-point loss in the Consolation Final, leaving Anaheim with only a tight victory over a bad UCLA team. The Bulldogs relinquished a double-digit second half lead against Clemson, despite strong performances from sophomore guard Shelvin Mack (15 points, eight rebounds, four assists) and sophomore forward Gordon Hayward (20 points and 12 rebounds). And really, it was Butler’s perimeter defense (usually a strength) that let them down, allowing Clemson’s Demontez Stitt and Andre Young to combine for 31 points, 23 of which came in the second half. Junior forward Matt Howard seemed to be in foul trouble the entire tournament, yet still managed to scrape together 13 points per game over the tournament. It was Mack, however, who shone most brightly for the Bulldogs, averaging 19 ppg over the tournament on a combination of perimeter shots and penetration. While Butler will most certainly be the team to beat in the Horizon, Coach Brad Stevens has to be somewhat concerned that his team left a good-looking win over Clemson on the table. However, Butler will have more chances to score quality non-conference wins (games against Georgetown, Ohio State and Xavier remain) before Horizon play begins.
7. Long Beach State winds up leaving the tournament with a 1-2 record, and yet they still have to be feeling pretty good about themselves. Despite getting blown off the court by eventual champion West Virginia on Thanksgiving, the 49ers rebounded to give Clemson all it could handle in their second game, before handling the dominant Southern California program, UCLA, pretty easily on Sunday. The 49ers had some problems with West Virginia’s length (much like everyone in the tournament did), but they have enough size and athleticism to more than matchup to the Big West standards. They’ll need it before they ever reach conference play though, with trips to Texas, Kentucky and Duke all looming. Sophomore forward T.J. Robinson was the big man for the Niners in Anaheim with games of 25 points and 15 rebounds against Clemson and 25 points and 13 rebounds against UCLA, but sophomore point guard Casper Ware, junior guard Greg Plater and senior guard Stephan Gilling also made strong contributions.
8. UCLA came into this tournament having bounced back somewhat from their opening game loss to Cal State Fullerton with wins over Cal State Bakersfield and Pepperdine. But while the Bruins gave a strong effort in their second round loss to Butler, the whole weekend was a shocking disappointment. While it is no secret that UCLA is way down this year, the extent to which they are down was made stunningly apparent with huge and unimpressive losses to Portland and Long Beach State sandwiched around a solid performance against Butler (a game in which they made it interesting in the second half, despite being down as much as 14 early in the game). There is a lack of talent in Westwood, especially in the backcourt, and while Ben Howland will eventually get things going in the right direction, the rest of this season could devolve into a mere exploration of the younger players on this team, to see if guys like freshmen Reeves Nelson, Brendan Lane, Mike Moser and sophomore J’mison Morgan are going to be capable of contributing to future teams. And, again, it cannot be understated just how bad the Bruins looked: lack of coherent offensive structure, no talent able to improvise outside of the offense, and perhaps most disturbing, limited effort defensively. The whole program, from head coach on down to the last player off the bench, had to be embarrassed by their performance.
Before I get into a breakdown of each team’s weekend, here is my all-tournament team:
Da’Sean Butler, Sr, West Virginia
T.J. Campbell, Sr, Portland
B.J. Holmes, Jr, Texas A&M
Shelvin Mack, Soph, Butler
T.J. Robinson, Soph, Long Beach State
1. West Virginia wrapped blowout wins over Long Beach State and Portland around a tough battle with Texas A&M to capture the 76 Classic title. Behind strong performances by senior Da’Sean Butler, who averaged almost 19 points per game over the tournament, including a spectacular 26 in the final, and sophomore Kevin Jones (13 ppg over the tournament), the Mountaineers looked long, athletic and deep. Sophomore Devin Ebanks made his season debut for Coach Bob Huggins in the second game of the tournament, after sitting out the first three games of the season due to “personal reasons.” Ebanks looked especially strong in the A&M game, tallying 14 points and grabbing nine rebounds to help the Mountaineers advance. If there is a concern for West Virginia at this point, it may be on the glass, as they were outrebounded by Texas A&M, the opponent that was similar in terms of athleticism and size. However, the Mountaineers have to be pretty pleased with their play over the weekend, routinely going ten men deep on their bench and getting good production out of everyone. West Virginia certainly looks to have the makings of a strong contender for the Big East title.
2. Portland was the surprise of the tournament, advancing to the final upon the strength of an opening round demolition of UCLA and a semifinal that they almost let slip away against Minnesota. Senior point guard T.J. Campbell was huge in the semi for the Pilots, scoring 23 (including four three-pointers) en route to the upset. While Portland ran into a buzzsaw in the finals, this weekend has to be considered a huge success for the Pilots, with the win over Minnesota giving them a signature win upon which to hang their hat. They’ll have a chance to add another key win this week when they visit Washington. While Portland didn’t have the athletes to hang with West Virginia in the final, they are a well-coached team who can cause problems for quality opponents with their ability to knock down open threes (Campbell and junior guard Jared Stohl each had nine threes over the tournament) and to get opposing offenses out of sync with their 2-3 zone, which was instrumental in their two victories this weekend. While they may not have the athletes that Gonzaga has, they could cause the Zags problems with their style of play.
3. Texas A&M came into this tournament as a bit of an afterthought. Most of the pre-tourney talk centered around the ranked teams (Butler, Minnesota, West Virginia and Clemson) or struggling UCLA, or even the two upset-minded teams (Long Beach State and Portland. But the Aggies came out of this weekend with wins over two of the ranked teams (despite their best efforts to give Minnesota third place – missing their last nine free throws and 12 of their last 15) and a strong showing against the eventual champion. Senior guards Derrick Roland and Ronald Sloan impressed with their athleticism and all-around games, and senior forward Bryan Davis was impressive defending the post and hitting the glass, but it was diminutive junior B.J. Holmes who was the spark for the Aggies, knocking down threes, playing tough man defense and taking several charges throughout the tournament. While A&M probably doesn’t have the depth or size to challenge Texas or Kansas for Big 12 supremacy, they look to be a solid tournament team and an upper-division finisher in the Big 12.
4. Minnesota got their tournament off to a good start with a win over Butler in a game played at a very high level. The Golden Gophers got strong play from senior forward Damian Johnson (18 points, four assists, four steals, three rebounds, a block and a three, all on seven-of-eight shooting), sophomore center Colton Iverson (13 points, 11 rebounds, two blocks) and sophomore point guard Devoe Joseph (14 points, three rebounds, three assists, two threes) and significant contributions from a deep bench. However, the rest of the tournament had to be disappointing for Tubby Smith’s squad as they dropped two tough games to close the tournament. Against Portland, they never really figured out the Pilot zone, shooting only 33% from the field for the game, and in the third place game, fell behind in the first half (during which neither senior guard Lawrence Westbrook nor junior guard Al Nolen played due to disciplinary reasons), and were never able to get all the way back, despite Texas A&M’s best efforts to let them back in. Nevertheless, the Gophers look to have a deep and talented team that should be improved over last season. Iverson and fellow sophomore center Ralph Sampson III seem to have a better grasp of what is expected of them and Johnson has stepped forward as a team leader. Throw in a tough backcourt trio of Nolen, Westbrook and Joseph and the Gophers look to be a well-rounded squad, even with the future of currently suspended recruits Trevor Mbakwe and Royce White still in doubt.
5. Clemson walks away from Anaheim with a 2-1 record for the weekend, and they have to be feeling better about themselves than they did after a first-round struggle against Texas A&M and perhaps more of a battle than they expected from Long Beach State. Clemson struggled at times over the tournament with their half-court offense and got uneven performances from several players up and down their roster. Head coach Oliver Purnell even left junior forward Jerai Grant (a starter in Clemson’s first-round game) on the bench for the entirety of their second game. But, in the end, the Tigers showed great determination in battling back against Butler and pulling out a tight win in a game where they were down double figures in the second half. While Clemson still lacks a traditional low-post threat (despite senior forward Trevor Booker’s impressive abilities), and is prone to bog down in the half-court offense, their speed and athleticism can still give opponents trouble and they look to be a solid middle-of-the-pack ACC team with legitimate NCAA tournament hopes.
6. Butler has to be licking their wounds a little after a disappointing one-point loss in the Consolation Final, leaving Anaheim with only a tight victory over a bad UCLA team. The Bulldogs relinquished a double-digit second half lead against Clemson, despite strong performances from sophomore guard Shelvin Mack (15 points, eight rebounds, four assists) and sophomore forward Gordon Hayward (20 points and 12 rebounds). And really, it was Butler’s perimeter defense (usually a strength) that let them down, allowing Clemson’s Demontez Stitt and Andre Young to combine for 31 points, 23 of which came in the second half. Junior forward Matt Howard seemed to be in foul trouble the entire tournament, yet still managed to scrape together 13 points per game over the tournament. It was Mack, however, who shone most brightly for the Bulldogs, averaging 19 ppg over the tournament on a combination of perimeter shots and penetration. While Butler will most certainly be the team to beat in the Horizon, Coach Brad Stevens has to be somewhat concerned that his team left a good-looking win over Clemson on the table. However, Butler will have more chances to score quality non-conference wins (games against Georgetown, Ohio State and Xavier remain) before Horizon play begins.
7. Long Beach State winds up leaving the tournament with a 1-2 record, and yet they still have to be feeling pretty good about themselves. Despite getting blown off the court by eventual champion West Virginia on Thanksgiving, the 49ers rebounded to give Clemson all it could handle in their second game, before handling the dominant Southern California program, UCLA, pretty easily on Sunday. The 49ers had some problems with West Virginia’s length (much like everyone in the tournament did), but they have enough size and athleticism to more than matchup to the Big West standards. They’ll need it before they ever reach conference play though, with trips to Texas, Kentucky and Duke all looming. Sophomore forward T.J. Robinson was the big man for the Niners in Anaheim with games of 25 points and 15 rebounds against Clemson and 25 points and 13 rebounds against UCLA, but sophomore point guard Casper Ware, junior guard Greg Plater and senior guard Stephan Gilling also made strong contributions.
8. UCLA came into this tournament having bounced back somewhat from their opening game loss to Cal State Fullerton with wins over Cal State Bakersfield and Pepperdine. But while the Bruins gave a strong effort in their second round loss to Butler, the whole weekend was a shocking disappointment. While it is no secret that UCLA is way down this year, the extent to which they are down was made stunningly apparent with huge and unimpressive losses to Portland and Long Beach State sandwiched around a solid performance against Butler (a game in which they made it interesting in the second half, despite being down as much as 14 early in the game). There is a lack of talent in Westwood, especially in the backcourt, and while Ben Howland will eventually get things going in the right direction, the rest of this season could devolve into a mere exploration of the younger players on this team, to see if guys like freshmen Reeves Nelson, Brendan Lane, Mike Moser and sophomore J’mison Morgan are going to be capable of contributing to future teams. And, again, it cannot be understated just how bad the Bruins looked: lack of coherent offensive structure, no talent able to improvise outside of the offense, and perhaps most disturbing, limited effort defensively. The whole program, from head coach on down to the last player off the bench, had to be embarrassed by their performance.
Friday, November 20, 2009
ESPN's College Hoops Marathon
Now, I’m no long distance runner by any stretch of the imagination, but I know this much: if you’re gonna run a marathon, you gotta work up to it. You don’t just take, say, seven months off and then one day decide to wake up and run a marathon. And, if you do, I’m guessing you’re gonna be hurting pretty bad about halfway through that thing. Yeah, you may get a second wind. Maybe even a third. Either way, you are going to be wrecked the day after.
Well, after taking seven months off from college hoops, I took a bit of a chance to watch some rather uninteresting games last week, and all of a sudden ESPN springs 24 (more like 30 or 32 or something, I dunno, I still haven’t even recovered enough to begin counting by twos coherently) straight hours of some pretty darn good college hoops on me. And, given that I had a day off and all those games and a desire to get acquainted with some of the squads who are going to be renting some space between my ears for the next few months, I dove (apparently this is the point where I am going to leave the marathon metaphor behind) right in.
Now, ESPN’s marathon officially started with the UCLA/CS Fullerton game, but there were three pre-season NIT games prior to that to dig into a bit, so I’ll include those here. I got home from work at about 8pm, had some dinner with the ol’ lady, watched a episode of Mad Men, and by the time I was done, I already had three full games sitting on the TiVo waiting to be watched, so I poured myself a Rum and Coke (I would need some caffeine, and a little liquor never hurt anything) and got down to business. Here’s what I learned from watching these games:
Game 1: Coastal Carolina @ Duke
--Luckily for my hopes of finishing this marathon, these first few games weren’t all that compelling. And, I’ll make no bones about the fact that I never meant to watch every minute of all of these games (and good god, if anyone did, they are insane). Record ‘em, watch enough of the first half to get a feel for the teams (10 min or so), jump ahead a bit, if the game is still close watch some more. Skip ahead until early in the 2nd half and watch the remainder of the game, or at least until the game is no longer competitive.
--That being said, I was interested to get a good first look at Duke, and they looked good. There isn’t a true point on the team, but there is a ton of size and there is plenty of skill. I had looked at this roster over the summer and thought that they would struggle due to their lack of backcourt depth, but one look (even against an overmatched Coastal Carolina squad) at the way Coach K is going to play this made me reconsider those thoughts. Scheyer is capable of playing most of the minutes at the point, certainly Smith (who did not play in this game due to suspension) can cover the remaining minutes, and Singler and Dawkins are capable of aiding in bringing the ball up and initiating the offense. The Devils may still run into trouble against high-pressure defensive teams like Clemson, but Duke will be right in the thick of things in the ACC.
Game 2: Colgate @ Connecticut
--Dyson will have to be the go-to guy offensively for the Huskies, and either Robinson or Walker will have to step up to be the secondary offensive option on this team. And, to this point, neither has shown the ability to be a consistent offensive threat in the half-court, despite their obvious talents. It will be interesting to see if either can develop their game over the course of the season.
--While Dyson will need to be the go-to guy, it remains to be seen if he has the instincts necessary to be that guy.
Game 3: Texas State @ Arizona State
--The obvious question for the Sun Devils is who can replace James Harden. Easy answer: no one can completely replace him. Harder answer: freshman James Lockett certainly showed flashes of the ability to created offense (in many of the same ways Harden did) in the half-court. But. He is still a freshman and still makes you painfully aware of that from time to time throughout the game. It is going to be fun to see him progress over the season and over his career.
Game 4: Cal State Fullerton @ UCLA
--So, by now I’m moving along, passed by Rum and Cokes onto some scotch and finally beer. And I needed plenty of it for this game. Good god. My eyes still haven’t fully recovered from watching this mess of a game. And, let’s be clear here. I mean no disrespect to Fullerton who played well and will likely make some noise in the Big West, but turning to the Bruins for a second, how can a team who repeatedly hauls in top-rated recruiting classes, regardless of the early defections to the NBA be this bad? In the interest of giving a guy who has taken three of his last four teams to the Final Four the well-deserved benefit of the doubt, I will give Ben Howland a bit of a pass here. I’ll also throw in a bit of an excuse for him as well, given that he has had a large amount of injuries in the early part of this season, and that coupled with a very young team means that these guys haven’t had much of a chance to build up a rapport with each other (not that any of that explains the ineptitude of seniors Roll, Dragovic and Keefe in this game). But, that being said, Howland won’t get a pass for long around Westwood, and in order to avoid any uncomfortable questions, he might want to find a way to get some kind of offense going, even if that means stepping outside of his comfort zone on that end of the floor.
Now, after watching UCLA finally succumb after two overtimes (it’s not bad enough they made me watch 40 minutes of that damn thing, I had to watch two extra periods), I decided it was time to get some sleep and in the hopes that by the time I awoke in the morning my eyes would have stopped bleeding. Unfortunately, and in hindsight, that UCLA performance is just something you can’t unsee. My father’s generation had the horrors of war to keep them up at night, I have the UCLA offense.
Game 5: San Diego State @ Saint Mary’s
--After a good night’s sleep, I wake up somewhat refreshed (even those I still get a nervous twitch and feel the urge to hide under the couch any time the images of the previous night come back to me), and at least a couple of hours behind schedule. In this season of Thanksgiving, it only seems right to be very grateful for my TiVo. I started watching this game somewhere around 9:30 am, 10 or so hours behind schedule with a full lineup of enticing games in front of me. It was time to get to work.
--By the time that UCLA game finally ended and ESPN switched over to Moraga, this game was already a blowout with Saint Mary’s up 20 or so behind Mickey McConnell’s multiple threes early in the game. I wound up only watching enough of this to get a feel for both teams, and certainly San Diego State did improve in the second half (not coincidentally matching up pretty well with about the time the Aztecs began to get consistent effort from their entire five), but the game never really got interesting.
--I’m one of those who, while respecting the job Steve Fisher has done in building the program in San Diego, believes the guy is not a very good X’s-and-O’s coach. San Diego State over the past four years or so has been one of the more talented mid-major programs in the country, and all they have to show for it is three NIT appearances and a flame-out in the first round three years back against Indiana, in a game where they were easily the better team for about 37 minutes or so. Once again, this Aztec team has oodles of talent, but it will be interesting to see if Fisher can get the talent to perform.
Game 6: Northern Colorado @ Hawaii
--For my money, this was easily the least promising game on the schedule, two programs that weren’t really on my radar. In the end, however, this turned out to be a fairly interesting game with Northern Colorado building up a big lead only to have Hawaii make a run at the end.
--Hawaii seems to have trouble at point, with their options being Dwain Williams (who wants to pound the ball into the ground for 20 seconds and then hoist a 3) and Jeremy Lay (who is capable of getting into the lane and dishing, but is far too prone to taking abysmally bad shots, even if he can make them). In the end, there’s probably not enough talent on the Rainbow Warrior roster to matter.
--Northern Colorado, on the other hand, could potentially make some noise in the Big West this season. Led by Yohosh Bonner, they’ve got some strong guards and enough serviceable interior players to give themselves a shooting chance come March.
Game 7: Monmouth @ Saint Peter’s
--6AM on the east coast, middle of night my time, but I’m watching it over a late breakfast (bacon and eggs, if you must know).
--Monmouth never seemed to get anybody beyond sophomore post Travis Taylor to wake up in this game and struggled their way to 34 points for the game. Obviously, they’ll need to improve to be able to compete this season, but there are some good parts there. James Hett is a scrappy point. Ed Waite is an athletic freshman frontcourt player. Justin Sofman can knock down some shots. And Whitney Coleman is a talented guard who is still working his way back into playing shape after missing last season with an ACL injury.
--Saint Peter’s plays tough man-to-man defense (strongly displayed here) and has some talent in the frontcourt (Ryan Bacon and Jeron Belin) to pair with solid point Nick Leon.
Game 8: Drexel @ Niagara
--An 8AM game is a little more reasonable, but the first half seemed a little sluggish still. Things definitely picked up in the second in a very entertaining game between two solid mid-majors. Drexel made a couple strong runs in the second half, including a finishing flurry to get back within 3 at the end, but Niagara hung on down the stretch,
--Niagara is a fun team to watch. Not a whole lot of size, but a ton of skilled perimeter players and undersized interior competitors.
--Drexel guards have some excellent potential but need to shore up their decision-making in order for the Dragons to compete in the Colonial. But, if the guards can get there, they are surrounded by enough talent in the frontcourt and some depth of the bench, to make a real run at the postseason.
Game 9: Clemson @ Liberty
--Give credit to Clemson for going to Liberty. Give them even more credit for utterly destroying them. The SMC/SDSU game was previously the most one-sided of the marathon, but this game put that one to shame. Clemson led 17-1 before Liberty scored their first basket, and 42-19 at the half.
--Clemson lost some key players in the offseason, but this freshman class brings a lot to the table. It is going to be interesting to see Clemson in the 76 Classic next week to see what they can do against quality competition, but this looks to be a strong Tiger team that may have the best chance of a deep March run of any of the recent Clemson teams. Or will this just be another Oliver Purnell team that looks great in November and December but falls back when it is time to buy a new calendar.
Game 10: Northeastern @ Siena
--I gotta say, ESPN sure picked some nice mid-major games to show off during this marathon. SMC/SDSU, Monmouth/St. Pete, Drexel/Niagara and this one all were interesting matchups on paper, and a couple of those, including this one, even turned out to be interesting on the court.
--This was a game of runs, with Northeastern off to a strong start in the first half and Siena making their big push at the start of the second. Northeastern made another run at the end to tighten things up, but overall the whole game was very entertaining.
--Neither of these teams has a lot of depth, both with really only six players they can count on at this point. Hopefully both coaches will have some chances to develop their bench a little before conference play.
--Ryan Rossiter is significantly improved. Not too long ago he was thrown out there with little more requested of him than to work hard. Well, clearly he has continued working hard over the offseasons and added a bit of a mid-range jumper (with occasional range out to the 3-point line), something of a face-up game and the strength necessary to be an effective rebounder.
Game 11: Arkansas Little-Rock @ Tulsa
--By this time, the morning had turned into late afternoon/early evening, and what had started as an enjoyable run through the college basketball landscape had turned into a grueling day. And I think that’s only mile-marker 14 we just passed. Eyes starting to burn, back starting to ache, eyelids starting to sag. Time to pump back up with a little jaunt on the exercise bike while I take in Jerome Jordan and Ben Uzoh.
--Little Rock kept this a tight game for about the first 10 minutes, but they really had no answer for Jerome Jordan, who has improved steadily over his career.
--Apparently Doug Wojcik wants to give Ben Uzoh some run at the point, since he suspects that to be the position Uzoh will play if he gets to the next level. My suggestion to Wojcik would worry about what is best for this team, a team that is certainly capable of winning the Conference USA title, instead of worrying about the pro prospects of one of his players. Uzoh is a very nice player, but this team runs most effectively when freshman Donte Medder is running the point and Uzoh is manning the wing. Perhaps Uzoh will have to take over the point when Medder is on the bench, but he should not be the starter at the point. I suspect that as the season goes on, Wojcik will go in this direction, especially as he becomes more comfortable with Medder.
Game 12: Temple @ Georgetown
--Continue pounding away on the exercise bike through the first half here, but I think the exertion combined with the ineptitude of both teams offensively here leads to some pretty severe flashbacks to the UCLA game. I think some calming is needed to quiet the demons, and since I’m clean out of black-tar heroin today, alcohol will have to suffice. 200 cc’s of scotch, stat!
--I still believe Greg Monroe to be one of the most astounding combinations of athletic talent and size in the game of college basketball today. What I’ve got to figure out now is if he either has no instincts for the game or if John Thompson III’s offense stifles his abilities. So far, I’m leaning towards the first option. Until he proves otherwise, I’ll assume Monroe doesn’t have the killer instinct and that guards Austin Freeman and Chris Wright aren’t good enough to provide him with easy opportunities.
--JT3’s situation is similar to Howland’s in a way. Neither is very far removed from some pretty remarkable success, and yet there have got to be some serious questions about the long term feasibility of their offensive choices to maintain their respective programs among the country’s elite. I don’t want to ask those questions too loudly this early in the season out of respect for what both of these coaches have done, but should their respective teams fail to show significant improvement (especially on the offensive side of the ball) before the semester ends, you can expect those whispers to turn into roars.
--Neither team was even remotely impressive in this game, but Temple probably feels a bit better about this game than Georgetown, despite the loss. I don’t think Temple is often going to go 3-23 from 3-point land or 6-13 from the charity stripe, and if they improve those areas, this is the type of game the Owls win by 10.
Game 13: Binghamton @ Pittsburgh
--Binghamton’s program has gone to hell over the last month or so, and there just wasn’t enough talent left in the cupboard to give the Bearcats a chance to keep this close.
--I can’t say enough good things about Jamie Dixon and the direction he has taken this program in since Ben Howland left. Despite losing DeJuan Blair and Sam Young and Lavance Fields to graduation, I fully expect Pittsburgh’s name to be called on CBS somewhere in the 3pm PST hour on Selection Sunday. Further, given the young talent on this squad, the Panthers have an even brighter future ahead of them in the next couple of years.
Game 14: Charlotte @ Duke
--At this point, I’m behind schedule. I took a little break to grab some dinner with the ol’ lady and it’s 9pm and I’ve got at least 4 more games I want to take a look at before bed, so I’m in need of a blowout so I can write off the second half of one of these games and get back near schedule. And, while I suspected that might be the case here, I suspected that Charlotte would be able to keep in touch for 10 or 15 minutes. Not so much. About five minutes in here, I gave up and moved on to greener pastures. Hopefully I can catch the 49ers somewhere else down the line, because I learned absolutely nothing new about them in the few minutes I gave them today.
Game 15: Arkansas @ Louisville
--At first glance, I thought this might be another game where I could duck out a little early, given the number of players missing from the Razorback roster due to suspension, but they impressed me with their fire and hung tough for almost 30 entertaining minutes before the Cardinals put away the overmatched Arkansas squad.
--Arkansas had plenty of talent out on the floor. Rotnei Clarke is a three to shoot from the minute he steps off the bus, Michael Washington is a skilled, athletic post-player, and there are some other pieces lying around, but this team can’t really be a threat to the big boys until and unless Fortson, Welsh and Britt return.
--I’m not sure Louisville has a consistent go-to guy yet, especially in the half court game. Worst case scenario is that the Cardinals devolve into a live-by-the-three/die-by-the-three team.
Game 16: Gonzaga @ Michigan State
--Here it is: the first honest-to-goodness great game of this marathon, and the first great game of the college basketball season.
--And a little note to Tom Izzo and Mark Few: hey, maybe you guys could make this happen every year? You both consistently field great college basketball teams. You make your fans, alumni and boosters proud of the way you run your programs. You may not be obvious natural rivals, but you sure put on a good show. Make this happen.
--I think everybody assumed that this would be a down year for the Zags. Pargo, Daye, Heytvelt, Downs, all gone. Prognosticators started picking St. Mary’s and Portland to finish ahead of the perennial WCC champions. Then Gonzaga had to ruin it all by showing up and playing a game. Robert Sacre and Elias Harris were both revelations, showing not only good athleticism, but good command of basketball fundamentals. Stephen Gray and Matt Bouldin both helped run the offense smoothly, even if the supposed next Zag point, Demetri Goodson, was largely invisible. There are still some potential weaknesses on this team, lack of depth being foremost among them, but until further notice, the Zags need to be the favorite in the WCC.
--All that on the losing team requires that I say something about the victors. About the only real revelation about the Spartans was the play of widebody freshman Derrick Nix, who looks to be an immediate serious contributor on this glass and defensively. Elsewhere, what more needs to be said? There is tons of talent at every position and more where that came from off the bench.
Game 17: Memphis @ Kansas
--After the previous game, and with the clock winding past the 1am hour, and with my state of inebriation increasing by the game, I suppose I didn’t get as good of a look at this game as it maybe deserved, a rematch of one of the classic Finals of all-time, a look at a title-contender and a chance to see what Josh Pastner has planned for the Tigers.
--I like Eliot Williams a lot. I like Eliot Williams as a point guard a lot less. Unfortunately for the Tigers, there don’t seem to be a ton of candidates stepping up to take over that role from him, and I suspect the battle to get good point play will be an ongoing theme in the Memphis season. Ideally, Willie Kemp would be that guy, allowing Williams to slide over and play the attacking wing, but we’ll see how this shakes out over the season.
--Bill Self certainly has a lot of toys to play with, and I suspect that there will be nights throughout the season where Xavier Henry or Tyshawn Taylor or either of the Morrises or other players will step up and have big games, but when all is said and done, KU is going to lean on Collins and Aldrich to provide the majority of the offense, and they will likely have very good success doing so.
At this point, it was bed time, and me still a mile short of the finish line. But no matter, I would finish out the marathon come hell or high water the next night, and that I did.
Game 18: TCU @ Arizona
--The final game of a true marathon of college basketball, taking up three nights and one whole day of my life, was a very tough loss by TCU, who led by 8 with under 4 minutes remaining, and thanks to a couple really bad turnovers, could not hold on and win.
--The story of the game for Arizona State was senior center Eric Boateng who showed a drive and ability that had been decidedly absent in the rest of his college career. He showed excellent rebounding, vastly improved footwork, coherent post moves and a desire to have the ball in his hands when the game counted. It’s only one game, but if that continues, the Sun Devils will be in business.
Of course, that little marathon is only part of a bigger, more satisfying marathon that is the entire college basketball season. After finishing the TCU/Arizona game, I moved on to Butler/Northwestern, Utah/Utah State and UNLV/Nevada, and more from there, and next week alone will be a brutal (yet fun) journey through several different pre-season tournaments that make up, for my money, the 6th best week of college basketball (you know, after the three weeks of the tournament, and the two weeks of conference tournaments – and really, Thanksgiving week may give one or both of those conference tournament weeks a run for their money).
Now, back to the bottle again, as I just had another flash of James Keefe firing a pass off the back of a teammate.
Well, after taking seven months off from college hoops, I took a bit of a chance to watch some rather uninteresting games last week, and all of a sudden ESPN springs 24 (more like 30 or 32 or something, I dunno, I still haven’t even recovered enough to begin counting by twos coherently) straight hours of some pretty darn good college hoops on me. And, given that I had a day off and all those games and a desire to get acquainted with some of the squads who are going to be renting some space between my ears for the next few months, I dove (apparently this is the point where I am going to leave the marathon metaphor behind) right in.
Now, ESPN’s marathon officially started with the UCLA/CS Fullerton game, but there were three pre-season NIT games prior to that to dig into a bit, so I’ll include those here. I got home from work at about 8pm, had some dinner with the ol’ lady, watched a episode of Mad Men, and by the time I was done, I already had three full games sitting on the TiVo waiting to be watched, so I poured myself a Rum and Coke (I would need some caffeine, and a little liquor never hurt anything) and got down to business. Here’s what I learned from watching these games:
Game 1: Coastal Carolina @ Duke
--Luckily for my hopes of finishing this marathon, these first few games weren’t all that compelling. And, I’ll make no bones about the fact that I never meant to watch every minute of all of these games (and good god, if anyone did, they are insane). Record ‘em, watch enough of the first half to get a feel for the teams (10 min or so), jump ahead a bit, if the game is still close watch some more. Skip ahead until early in the 2nd half and watch the remainder of the game, or at least until the game is no longer competitive.
--That being said, I was interested to get a good first look at Duke, and they looked good. There isn’t a true point on the team, but there is a ton of size and there is plenty of skill. I had looked at this roster over the summer and thought that they would struggle due to their lack of backcourt depth, but one look (even against an overmatched Coastal Carolina squad) at the way Coach K is going to play this made me reconsider those thoughts. Scheyer is capable of playing most of the minutes at the point, certainly Smith (who did not play in this game due to suspension) can cover the remaining minutes, and Singler and Dawkins are capable of aiding in bringing the ball up and initiating the offense. The Devils may still run into trouble against high-pressure defensive teams like Clemson, but Duke will be right in the thick of things in the ACC.
Game 2: Colgate @ Connecticut
--Dyson will have to be the go-to guy offensively for the Huskies, and either Robinson or Walker will have to step up to be the secondary offensive option on this team. And, to this point, neither has shown the ability to be a consistent offensive threat in the half-court, despite their obvious talents. It will be interesting to see if either can develop their game over the course of the season.
--While Dyson will need to be the go-to guy, it remains to be seen if he has the instincts necessary to be that guy.
Game 3: Texas State @ Arizona State
--The obvious question for the Sun Devils is who can replace James Harden. Easy answer: no one can completely replace him. Harder answer: freshman James Lockett certainly showed flashes of the ability to created offense (in many of the same ways Harden did) in the half-court. But. He is still a freshman and still makes you painfully aware of that from time to time throughout the game. It is going to be fun to see him progress over the season and over his career.
Game 4: Cal State Fullerton @ UCLA
--So, by now I’m moving along, passed by Rum and Cokes onto some scotch and finally beer. And I needed plenty of it for this game. Good god. My eyes still haven’t fully recovered from watching this mess of a game. And, let’s be clear here. I mean no disrespect to Fullerton who played well and will likely make some noise in the Big West, but turning to the Bruins for a second, how can a team who repeatedly hauls in top-rated recruiting classes, regardless of the early defections to the NBA be this bad? In the interest of giving a guy who has taken three of his last four teams to the Final Four the well-deserved benefit of the doubt, I will give Ben Howland a bit of a pass here. I’ll also throw in a bit of an excuse for him as well, given that he has had a large amount of injuries in the early part of this season, and that coupled with a very young team means that these guys haven’t had much of a chance to build up a rapport with each other (not that any of that explains the ineptitude of seniors Roll, Dragovic and Keefe in this game). But, that being said, Howland won’t get a pass for long around Westwood, and in order to avoid any uncomfortable questions, he might want to find a way to get some kind of offense going, even if that means stepping outside of his comfort zone on that end of the floor.
Now, after watching UCLA finally succumb after two overtimes (it’s not bad enough they made me watch 40 minutes of that damn thing, I had to watch two extra periods), I decided it was time to get some sleep and in the hopes that by the time I awoke in the morning my eyes would have stopped bleeding. Unfortunately, and in hindsight, that UCLA performance is just something you can’t unsee. My father’s generation had the horrors of war to keep them up at night, I have the UCLA offense.
Game 5: San Diego State @ Saint Mary’s
--After a good night’s sleep, I wake up somewhat refreshed (even those I still get a nervous twitch and feel the urge to hide under the couch any time the images of the previous night come back to me), and at least a couple of hours behind schedule. In this season of Thanksgiving, it only seems right to be very grateful for my TiVo. I started watching this game somewhere around 9:30 am, 10 or so hours behind schedule with a full lineup of enticing games in front of me. It was time to get to work.
--By the time that UCLA game finally ended and ESPN switched over to Moraga, this game was already a blowout with Saint Mary’s up 20 or so behind Mickey McConnell’s multiple threes early in the game. I wound up only watching enough of this to get a feel for both teams, and certainly San Diego State did improve in the second half (not coincidentally matching up pretty well with about the time the Aztecs began to get consistent effort from their entire five), but the game never really got interesting.
--I’m one of those who, while respecting the job Steve Fisher has done in building the program in San Diego, believes the guy is not a very good X’s-and-O’s coach. San Diego State over the past four years or so has been one of the more talented mid-major programs in the country, and all they have to show for it is three NIT appearances and a flame-out in the first round three years back against Indiana, in a game where they were easily the better team for about 37 minutes or so. Once again, this Aztec team has oodles of talent, but it will be interesting to see if Fisher can get the talent to perform.
Game 6: Northern Colorado @ Hawaii
--For my money, this was easily the least promising game on the schedule, two programs that weren’t really on my radar. In the end, however, this turned out to be a fairly interesting game with Northern Colorado building up a big lead only to have Hawaii make a run at the end.
--Hawaii seems to have trouble at point, with their options being Dwain Williams (who wants to pound the ball into the ground for 20 seconds and then hoist a 3) and Jeremy Lay (who is capable of getting into the lane and dishing, but is far too prone to taking abysmally bad shots, even if he can make them). In the end, there’s probably not enough talent on the Rainbow Warrior roster to matter.
--Northern Colorado, on the other hand, could potentially make some noise in the Big West this season. Led by Yohosh Bonner, they’ve got some strong guards and enough serviceable interior players to give themselves a shooting chance come March.
Game 7: Monmouth @ Saint Peter’s
--6AM on the east coast, middle of night my time, but I’m watching it over a late breakfast (bacon and eggs, if you must know).
--Monmouth never seemed to get anybody beyond sophomore post Travis Taylor to wake up in this game and struggled their way to 34 points for the game. Obviously, they’ll need to improve to be able to compete this season, but there are some good parts there. James Hett is a scrappy point. Ed Waite is an athletic freshman frontcourt player. Justin Sofman can knock down some shots. And Whitney Coleman is a talented guard who is still working his way back into playing shape after missing last season with an ACL injury.
--Saint Peter’s plays tough man-to-man defense (strongly displayed here) and has some talent in the frontcourt (Ryan Bacon and Jeron Belin) to pair with solid point Nick Leon.
Game 8: Drexel @ Niagara
--An 8AM game is a little more reasonable, but the first half seemed a little sluggish still. Things definitely picked up in the second in a very entertaining game between two solid mid-majors. Drexel made a couple strong runs in the second half, including a finishing flurry to get back within 3 at the end, but Niagara hung on down the stretch,
--Niagara is a fun team to watch. Not a whole lot of size, but a ton of skilled perimeter players and undersized interior competitors.
--Drexel guards have some excellent potential but need to shore up their decision-making in order for the Dragons to compete in the Colonial. But, if the guards can get there, they are surrounded by enough talent in the frontcourt and some depth of the bench, to make a real run at the postseason.
Game 9: Clemson @ Liberty
--Give credit to Clemson for going to Liberty. Give them even more credit for utterly destroying them. The SMC/SDSU game was previously the most one-sided of the marathon, but this game put that one to shame. Clemson led 17-1 before Liberty scored their first basket, and 42-19 at the half.
--Clemson lost some key players in the offseason, but this freshman class brings a lot to the table. It is going to be interesting to see Clemson in the 76 Classic next week to see what they can do against quality competition, but this looks to be a strong Tiger team that may have the best chance of a deep March run of any of the recent Clemson teams. Or will this just be another Oliver Purnell team that looks great in November and December but falls back when it is time to buy a new calendar.
Game 10: Northeastern @ Siena
--I gotta say, ESPN sure picked some nice mid-major games to show off during this marathon. SMC/SDSU, Monmouth/St. Pete, Drexel/Niagara and this one all were interesting matchups on paper, and a couple of those, including this one, even turned out to be interesting on the court.
--This was a game of runs, with Northeastern off to a strong start in the first half and Siena making their big push at the start of the second. Northeastern made another run at the end to tighten things up, but overall the whole game was very entertaining.
--Neither of these teams has a lot of depth, both with really only six players they can count on at this point. Hopefully both coaches will have some chances to develop their bench a little before conference play.
--Ryan Rossiter is significantly improved. Not too long ago he was thrown out there with little more requested of him than to work hard. Well, clearly he has continued working hard over the offseasons and added a bit of a mid-range jumper (with occasional range out to the 3-point line), something of a face-up game and the strength necessary to be an effective rebounder.
Game 11: Arkansas Little-Rock @ Tulsa
--By this time, the morning had turned into late afternoon/early evening, and what had started as an enjoyable run through the college basketball landscape had turned into a grueling day. And I think that’s only mile-marker 14 we just passed. Eyes starting to burn, back starting to ache, eyelids starting to sag. Time to pump back up with a little jaunt on the exercise bike while I take in Jerome Jordan and Ben Uzoh.
--Little Rock kept this a tight game for about the first 10 minutes, but they really had no answer for Jerome Jordan, who has improved steadily over his career.
--Apparently Doug Wojcik wants to give Ben Uzoh some run at the point, since he suspects that to be the position Uzoh will play if he gets to the next level. My suggestion to Wojcik would worry about what is best for this team, a team that is certainly capable of winning the Conference USA title, instead of worrying about the pro prospects of one of his players. Uzoh is a very nice player, but this team runs most effectively when freshman Donte Medder is running the point and Uzoh is manning the wing. Perhaps Uzoh will have to take over the point when Medder is on the bench, but he should not be the starter at the point. I suspect that as the season goes on, Wojcik will go in this direction, especially as he becomes more comfortable with Medder.
Game 12: Temple @ Georgetown
--Continue pounding away on the exercise bike through the first half here, but I think the exertion combined with the ineptitude of both teams offensively here leads to some pretty severe flashbacks to the UCLA game. I think some calming is needed to quiet the demons, and since I’m clean out of black-tar heroin today, alcohol will have to suffice. 200 cc’s of scotch, stat!
--I still believe Greg Monroe to be one of the most astounding combinations of athletic talent and size in the game of college basketball today. What I’ve got to figure out now is if he either has no instincts for the game or if John Thompson III’s offense stifles his abilities. So far, I’m leaning towards the first option. Until he proves otherwise, I’ll assume Monroe doesn’t have the killer instinct and that guards Austin Freeman and Chris Wright aren’t good enough to provide him with easy opportunities.
--JT3’s situation is similar to Howland’s in a way. Neither is very far removed from some pretty remarkable success, and yet there have got to be some serious questions about the long term feasibility of their offensive choices to maintain their respective programs among the country’s elite. I don’t want to ask those questions too loudly this early in the season out of respect for what both of these coaches have done, but should their respective teams fail to show significant improvement (especially on the offensive side of the ball) before the semester ends, you can expect those whispers to turn into roars.
--Neither team was even remotely impressive in this game, but Temple probably feels a bit better about this game than Georgetown, despite the loss. I don’t think Temple is often going to go 3-23 from 3-point land or 6-13 from the charity stripe, and if they improve those areas, this is the type of game the Owls win by 10.
Game 13: Binghamton @ Pittsburgh
--Binghamton’s program has gone to hell over the last month or so, and there just wasn’t enough talent left in the cupboard to give the Bearcats a chance to keep this close.
--I can’t say enough good things about Jamie Dixon and the direction he has taken this program in since Ben Howland left. Despite losing DeJuan Blair and Sam Young and Lavance Fields to graduation, I fully expect Pittsburgh’s name to be called on CBS somewhere in the 3pm PST hour on Selection Sunday. Further, given the young talent on this squad, the Panthers have an even brighter future ahead of them in the next couple of years.
Game 14: Charlotte @ Duke
--At this point, I’m behind schedule. I took a little break to grab some dinner with the ol’ lady and it’s 9pm and I’ve got at least 4 more games I want to take a look at before bed, so I’m in need of a blowout so I can write off the second half of one of these games and get back near schedule. And, while I suspected that might be the case here, I suspected that Charlotte would be able to keep in touch for 10 or 15 minutes. Not so much. About five minutes in here, I gave up and moved on to greener pastures. Hopefully I can catch the 49ers somewhere else down the line, because I learned absolutely nothing new about them in the few minutes I gave them today.
Game 15: Arkansas @ Louisville
--At first glance, I thought this might be another game where I could duck out a little early, given the number of players missing from the Razorback roster due to suspension, but they impressed me with their fire and hung tough for almost 30 entertaining minutes before the Cardinals put away the overmatched Arkansas squad.
--Arkansas had plenty of talent out on the floor. Rotnei Clarke is a three to shoot from the minute he steps off the bus, Michael Washington is a skilled, athletic post-player, and there are some other pieces lying around, but this team can’t really be a threat to the big boys until and unless Fortson, Welsh and Britt return.
--I’m not sure Louisville has a consistent go-to guy yet, especially in the half court game. Worst case scenario is that the Cardinals devolve into a live-by-the-three/die-by-the-three team.
Game 16: Gonzaga @ Michigan State
--Here it is: the first honest-to-goodness great game of this marathon, and the first great game of the college basketball season.
--And a little note to Tom Izzo and Mark Few: hey, maybe you guys could make this happen every year? You both consistently field great college basketball teams. You make your fans, alumni and boosters proud of the way you run your programs. You may not be obvious natural rivals, but you sure put on a good show. Make this happen.
--I think everybody assumed that this would be a down year for the Zags. Pargo, Daye, Heytvelt, Downs, all gone. Prognosticators started picking St. Mary’s and Portland to finish ahead of the perennial WCC champions. Then Gonzaga had to ruin it all by showing up and playing a game. Robert Sacre and Elias Harris were both revelations, showing not only good athleticism, but good command of basketball fundamentals. Stephen Gray and Matt Bouldin both helped run the offense smoothly, even if the supposed next Zag point, Demetri Goodson, was largely invisible. There are still some potential weaknesses on this team, lack of depth being foremost among them, but until further notice, the Zags need to be the favorite in the WCC.
--All that on the losing team requires that I say something about the victors. About the only real revelation about the Spartans was the play of widebody freshman Derrick Nix, who looks to be an immediate serious contributor on this glass and defensively. Elsewhere, what more needs to be said? There is tons of talent at every position and more where that came from off the bench.
Game 17: Memphis @ Kansas
--After the previous game, and with the clock winding past the 1am hour, and with my state of inebriation increasing by the game, I suppose I didn’t get as good of a look at this game as it maybe deserved, a rematch of one of the classic Finals of all-time, a look at a title-contender and a chance to see what Josh Pastner has planned for the Tigers.
--I like Eliot Williams a lot. I like Eliot Williams as a point guard a lot less. Unfortunately for the Tigers, there don’t seem to be a ton of candidates stepping up to take over that role from him, and I suspect the battle to get good point play will be an ongoing theme in the Memphis season. Ideally, Willie Kemp would be that guy, allowing Williams to slide over and play the attacking wing, but we’ll see how this shakes out over the season.
--Bill Self certainly has a lot of toys to play with, and I suspect that there will be nights throughout the season where Xavier Henry or Tyshawn Taylor or either of the Morrises or other players will step up and have big games, but when all is said and done, KU is going to lean on Collins and Aldrich to provide the majority of the offense, and they will likely have very good success doing so.
At this point, it was bed time, and me still a mile short of the finish line. But no matter, I would finish out the marathon come hell or high water the next night, and that I did.
Game 18: TCU @ Arizona
--The final game of a true marathon of college basketball, taking up three nights and one whole day of my life, was a very tough loss by TCU, who led by 8 with under 4 minutes remaining, and thanks to a couple really bad turnovers, could not hold on and win.
--The story of the game for Arizona State was senior center Eric Boateng who showed a drive and ability that had been decidedly absent in the rest of his college career. He showed excellent rebounding, vastly improved footwork, coherent post moves and a desire to have the ball in his hands when the game counted. It’s only one game, but if that continues, the Sun Devils will be in business.
Of course, that little marathon is only part of a bigger, more satisfying marathon that is the entire college basketball season. After finishing the TCU/Arizona game, I moved on to Butler/Northwestern, Utah/Utah State and UNLV/Nevada, and more from there, and next week alone will be a brutal (yet fun) journey through several different pre-season tournaments that make up, for my money, the 6th best week of college basketball (you know, after the three weeks of the tournament, and the two weeks of conference tournaments – and really, Thanksgiving week may give one or both of those conference tournament weeks a run for their money).
Now, back to the bottle again, as I just had another flash of James Keefe firing a pass off the back of a teammate.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Iowa/Ohio State
I've posted twice already this season on Iowa, so I figure on the heels of their make-or-break game against Ohio State today, I need to weigh in.
To begin, let me be clear with my relationship to Iowa football and this team specifically. If there is one team that I root for above all others in college sports, it is UCLA. But, I was born in Toledo, Ohio and spent a chunk of my life there, and still have some roots there. Generally speaking, if Ohio State is playing anyone but UCLA in any sport, I am rooting for Ohio State. But, for some reason I fell for this year's version of the Iowa Hawkeyes. Some combination of the uphill struggles they faced all season, with key injuries at key times all over the roster, and the way they handled those struggles put me squarely behind the Hawkeyes in the handful of times I watched them this year. And so, today, without every really making a decision that I was going to do so, I found myself rooting against the Buckeyes and for the Hawkeyes. Hard.
With junior quarterback Ricky Stanzi injured in a key play early in last week's loss to Northwestern (a play call that I severely question, even if Stanzi didn't get hurt on the play - how exactly do you call a naked rollout to the side of an All-American-type defensive end while trying to throw out of your own end zone?), the reigns of the Iowa offense fell to redshirt freshman James Vandernberg, who, frankly, looked completely unable to handle the pressure of the situation last week. How would he be able to handle it playing in the Horseshoe instead of in front of a friendly home crowd? How could he handle it playing against a strong Ohio State defense instead of a more forgiving Northwestern defense?
Add to that problem, the fact that freshman running back (about their only quality healthy back in the last two weeks) Brandon Wegher fell ill before this game and would be held out the entire game, leaving the rushing load to fall to redshirt freshman Adam Robinson, just back from an ankle injury that had held him out of the previous two weeks. The Hawkeyes didn't figure to have a chance.
And, yet, they hung in there. Robinson gutted out a strong performance and kept the Ohio State defense from being able to pin their ears back and attack the quarterback. Vandenberg played well beyond his years and experience (despite a couple INTs), and were it not for a few dropped balls, may have led his squad to a win and a Rose Bowl bid. In fact, some time around the 5:03 mark of the 4th quarter, when Vanderberg threw one of his few mistakes of the game, a duck into double coverage that was somehow tipped up and brought down by senior tight end Tony Moeaki, it seemed like Iowa might be destined to win this game.
However, Ohio State's defense was able to regain control in the overtime period, holding Iowa without a score on their possession, and an Ohio State field goal clinched the win and the BCS bowl spot.
And yet, when I look back on this college football season, the Iowa Hawkeyes will be one of my earliest and favorite memories. They overcame key injuries from the start of training camp through November games. They made the most of a somewhat limited roster, getting huge contributions from freshmen like Vandenberg, Robinson, Wegher, and guard Riley Reiff all the way up to seniors like Tony Moeaki, Pat Angerer and Dace Richardson.
While there are a couple of guys who could potentially flirt with leaving early for the NFL draft (Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, Adrian Clayborn and Amari Spievey), there will be enough talent and experience on this team to once again make a run at the Big Ten title next season. And, maybe next season, they won't have to fight the injury bug quite so much.
Hats off to the 2009 Iowa Hawkeyes, quite frankly, a far more enjoyable team to root for than perennial overdog and unimaginative Ohio State.
To begin, let me be clear with my relationship to Iowa football and this team specifically. If there is one team that I root for above all others in college sports, it is UCLA. But, I was born in Toledo, Ohio and spent a chunk of my life there, and still have some roots there. Generally speaking, if Ohio State is playing anyone but UCLA in any sport, I am rooting for Ohio State. But, for some reason I fell for this year's version of the Iowa Hawkeyes. Some combination of the uphill struggles they faced all season, with key injuries at key times all over the roster, and the way they handled those struggles put me squarely behind the Hawkeyes in the handful of times I watched them this year. And so, today, without every really making a decision that I was going to do so, I found myself rooting against the Buckeyes and for the Hawkeyes. Hard.
With junior quarterback Ricky Stanzi injured in a key play early in last week's loss to Northwestern (a play call that I severely question, even if Stanzi didn't get hurt on the play - how exactly do you call a naked rollout to the side of an All-American-type defensive end while trying to throw out of your own end zone?), the reigns of the Iowa offense fell to redshirt freshman James Vandernberg, who, frankly, looked completely unable to handle the pressure of the situation last week. How would he be able to handle it playing in the Horseshoe instead of in front of a friendly home crowd? How could he handle it playing against a strong Ohio State defense instead of a more forgiving Northwestern defense?
Add to that problem, the fact that freshman running back (about their only quality healthy back in the last two weeks) Brandon Wegher fell ill before this game and would be held out the entire game, leaving the rushing load to fall to redshirt freshman Adam Robinson, just back from an ankle injury that had held him out of the previous two weeks. The Hawkeyes didn't figure to have a chance.
And, yet, they hung in there. Robinson gutted out a strong performance and kept the Ohio State defense from being able to pin their ears back and attack the quarterback. Vandenberg played well beyond his years and experience (despite a couple INTs), and were it not for a few dropped balls, may have led his squad to a win and a Rose Bowl bid. In fact, some time around the 5:03 mark of the 4th quarter, when Vanderberg threw one of his few mistakes of the game, a duck into double coverage that was somehow tipped up and brought down by senior tight end Tony Moeaki, it seemed like Iowa might be destined to win this game.
However, Ohio State's defense was able to regain control in the overtime period, holding Iowa without a score on their possession, and an Ohio State field goal clinched the win and the BCS bowl spot.
And yet, when I look back on this college football season, the Iowa Hawkeyes will be one of my earliest and favorite memories. They overcame key injuries from the start of training camp through November games. They made the most of a somewhat limited roster, getting huge contributions from freshmen like Vandenberg, Robinson, Wegher, and guard Riley Reiff all the way up to seniors like Tony Moeaki, Pat Angerer and Dace Richardson.
While there are a couple of guys who could potentially flirt with leaving early for the NFL draft (Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, Adrian Clayborn and Amari Spievey), there will be enough talent and experience on this team to once again make a run at the Big Ten title next season. And, maybe next season, they won't have to fight the injury bug quite so much.
Hats off to the 2009 Iowa Hawkeyes, quite frankly, a far more enjoyable team to root for than perennial overdog and unimaginative Ohio State.
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