This was a long day. I flew to New Mexico today, which included a 4-hour layover in Denver. I finally get to my room, and see the Gophers are actually leading at halftime and have scored 50 points, which was weird. Then I look and see Charles Buggs had 11 of them. Even weirder. I tried to watch some of the game on the btn2go thing but the internet here sucks. Then I had tickets to the New Mexico/Utah State game at The Pit and we had to leave, and since the Pit is underground there's no cell service really and last I saw the Gophers were up 6 with 2:30 or so left, a perfect place to blow a game. Not until after we left did I get to find out they actually won. Shocker.
Thoughts on the game, looking only at the box score since I barely saw any of it:
- Obviously the Buggs thing is like WTF. More important than the 13 points is he didn't turn it over. This Buggs thing is something I'm going to have to go back and watch the first half. I also see Oto didn't see the floor, and I have no clue if this was expected or an injury or if he was just straight benched (twitter tells me it was a knee injury), but it sounds like Buggs looked great so that's pretty odd but excellent news.
- Obviously it's great to see the much maligned Austin Hollins have a breakout game (and not just because he's on my Big 10 Fantasy team and we're in the playoffs). 8-10 from the floor overall and 4-6 from three are great, and maybe even better was the 7-7 from the line. The offense must have been clicking like crazy looking at their shooting numbers of 61%/58%/83%. The 1.32 points per possession have to be a season high for this team, and with assists on 63% of their made buckets it must have looked awfully good. Bummed to have missed it.
- The defense, of course, was brutal again, allowing 1.24 points per possession. Iowa is at 1.21 for the season, so even playing a great offense like the Hawkeyes the Gophers still managed to make them look better than normal. Turnovers were ugly again as well at 19.4% of possessions, but you know what? In the end, it only really matters if you outscore your opponent, and the Gophers did, so I'm happy. I haven't stopped to think what this means for their NCAA hopes, but it most certainly is a nice boost.
- So anyway I got to see The Pit today and it was awesome. It goes straight down from street level to where the playing surface is actually way underground, thus the nickname. It's about as loud as I've ever heard any place. The Barn can certainly get there at its peak, but the New Mexico fans are just loud the entire game. If things are going well, they're loud. If things are going poorly, they're louder. The only place I can remember watching a game that kept that constant level of noise was Iowa State's Hilton Coliseum and that was back when I went when they were playing #1 Kansas, this was just against Utah State. The seats are really packed low to the ground and it has a really low ceiling so it just amplifies the noise. The other noticeable thing was everybody, I mean everybdoy, was in Lobo gear. Every old person, every kid, and I think every little girl was in a Lobo cheerleader outfit. It was pretty neat. The only place I remember seeing it like that was when I went to a game at Utah State. Really, really cool place to see a game and I'm glad I got to go in my lifetime.
- As for the team, New Mexico won by 9 and I was impressed by them. They won 67-58 despite shooting just 11-21 from the free throw line and they're going to be tough in March. They have this inside combo of Cameron Bairstow (6-9, 250 lbs) and Alex Kirk (7-0, 245 lbs) who just dominate their offense. Both can step out and hit a mid-range jumper and both are really good passers from the high post and they just play really well together. They are also both exceptionally good at screening off their man when a guard drives. Like if they're being fronted in the post and a guard drives baseline they'll just box their man out to give the guard an easy lay-up. Really underrated skill. Oh, and they also have Kendall Williams who averages 17pts and 5 assists per game, plus a bunch of shooters to surround those guys with. They can't defend the three for shit and Preston Medlin went 4-5 tonight because those bigs don't come out far enough on a pick and roll, but I'm a Lobo fan. Probably because it was so fun and they actually aren't very good but whatevs.
- So yeah I had a four hour layover at the Denver airport today. You know what they have in Denver? A shit load of really great beer. My favorites were the Upslope Brown Ale and the Oskar Blues Imperial Red, but really they were all good. They were also really strong, so yada yada yada, I slept the entire flight into Albuquerque.
- There was this one lady having lunch with her friend and they were sitting next to me at the airport bar and I couldn't help but notice how much I wanted to murder her. First she wanted to order one of their fancy cocktails, but didn't want any alcohol. So the server said they could use coke or something and she turned that down and then something else and she turned that down until finally they agreed on Sprite. Then she wanted a small. They only come in one size, but she haggled and begged and harassed until she got a smaller one. Then she ordered the veggie burger with nothing on it and wanted a plain bun instead of a pretzel bun, which she asked her friend, "what's a pretzel bun." Everything about her enraged me. Then when she got up to leave, of course she had brought a pillow for the plane. Oof. Good luck with all that some guy probably.
- Shabazz Muhammad had 20 points tonight? I told you dorks he was awesome.
- Since the hotel is so close to the University of New Mexico they had a free shuttle to go to the game. The guy started talking basketball with me and mentioned how The Mountain West had the son of the first NBA dunk contest winner. I said, "Yeah Larry Nance right?" And he said "yes" and then I said, "he just blew out his knee didn't he" and the guy was like "wow you much really watch a lot of college basketball" and I was both embarrassed and proud. But it made him like me so on the way back from the game I was able to get him to stop at a store for me so I could grab a six pack (went with Bud Light Platinum - don't judge me I've had a lot of heavy beer today and don't have a bottle opener - not all that bad, actually) so that was cool. Pretty sure they aren't supposed to do that or at least that's what I'm telling myself so I feel cool.
- Dinner tonight sucked. We got back to the hotel so late and it was such a long day I just went with room service. Decided to go with the New York strip encrusted with red chile since that's supposed to be a New Mexico specialty, and also because their best known for their Mexican and I'm pretty sure we'll be eating a lot of that the next two days and I don't want to overload because of my tum tum. Anyway it was horrible. Fatty steak, over cooked, and the chile sauce was pretty tasteless with very little spice. The herbed fingerling potatoes were mushy and I think the only herb they used was butter, and the spinach was just blech. I know I shouldn't expect much at a hotel, but I didn't expect total crap. Looking forward to crushing some good meals the next two days - you know I'll tell you about it.
- One thing that never ceases to baffle me is how guys who were terrible shooters/scorers in college can suddenly thrive in the NBA. Kendall Marshall is averaging 10.1ppg this year for the Lakers and shooting 47% from three. He never broke 9ppg or 40% shooting in his two years at North Carolina. It's not like he's been around forever either, it's just his second year in the NBA. Michael Carter-Williams is averaging 17ppg for the Sixers this year, and he was a terrible scorer for Syracuse. I guess he's actually a terrible shooter still as his percentages still suck, but it's just weird to see him scoring that much. I just saw Kendall Marshall on ESPN doing a fancy swoopy woopy lay-up thing and there's no way he could have pulled that off at UNC and that's why I wrote this part. Thank you for asking.
- I really need some sort of locking device on my computer that keeps me from playing online craps. Anyway, I'm pretty wiped out from the long day so I'm done here now. Hopefully I get really drunk at least once in the next two days and write some stupid crap.
Showing posts with label Kendall Marshall. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kendall Marshall. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Week in Review - 11/14/2011 (+ mini South Dakota State preview)
Hey thanks internet. You are supposed to be there to let me watch the Pacquiao/Marquez fight without having to pay a dime. Instead I had to watch 3 seconds at a time and then stare at a god damn hour glass. You failed me internet. You failed me. We are totally fighting.
WHO WAS AWESOME.
1. Gopher hoops. Click here for a proper recap, but to put it short, that was a solid win against a solid team, and the fact that they were able to actually manage to come back from down 5 with six minutes to go, against said solid team, just really impresses me. I guess I have a low impress threshold. I suppose it's just one more thing Gopher basketball has stolen from me. And yet I can't stop going back. I'm like a beaten woman, aren't I. Oh my god I'm Aaliyah and the Gophers are Chris Brown.
2. Royce White. God mother hell shit fart. This sucks. Royce with 25 and 11 in his ISU debut, with 3 blocks and a couple assists to go with it. And here's you, sitting there in your Laz-E-Boy watching Cops and swirling your brandy around even though it's fucking Korbel and making snide comments about how you wonder how many security guards he's pushed down or how many laptops he's stolen. It's people like you that will always hold the Gopher basketball program down with your judging judgement. What about the bible, fella? Doesn't it say "don't be a pompous judgmental ass or I'll turn you into a pillar of salt" or something? I think it's in Leviticus.
3. Utah State. There were better wins this weekend - UNC's over Michigan State for one - but between pure emotion and actual effect on an NCAA bid Utah's State's win over BYU might end up being the biggest. In terms of NCAA Tournament implications, Utah State always needs quality wins since they're in the WAC where quality wins are basically impossible to come by and this was only one of three games against quality opponents for USU. Huge win in the RPI sense. Also a huge win in the "i hate these fuckin' guys" sense, because Utah Staties hate BYU, mostly because they're a bunch of prissy dickheads. Here is a video of Utah State students welcoming BYU to their arena. Solid effort.
4. Kendall Marshall. You know how sometimes thing don't live up to the hype like Terra Nova, every Hannibal Lecter movie after Silence of the Lambs, flavored Mountain Dew (other than Live Wire), the last two George R.R. Martin novels, or having kids? Well I finally got a good chance to watch Kendall Marshall on Sunday against UNC-Asheville and this dude is straight legit. The stats are crazy - he had 15 assists - but just watching him it's clear he's the best point guard UNC has had since Ed Cota and he might even be better. He's got that smooth playability about him where he doesn't really look like he's moving quickly or even really trying (like Evan Turner) but continually gets past people and his court vision is off the charts. Whether it's a simple entry pass, running the break, or getting the ball up the court as fast as possible by passing it ahead, he's a legit point guard and as far as pure points go I'm thinking he might be the best in the country. Outside of Justin Cobbs, of course.
5. Mark Sanchez. Actually he sucks and couldn't get the Jets in the end zone with four plays inside the 10 at the end of the game, but he's awesome because as part of a teaser I had Jets/Pats under 54 and so boom. The final leg is Vikes/Pack over 43, and there's almost no way the Pack doesn't even get there by themself, am I right?
WHO SUCKED
1. UCLA. You know how the Pac-10 has been in shambles for a few years and getting even two NCAA bids was kind of an accomplishment? Well it's probably going to happen again. Arizona looks like a sloppy mess right now, but at least they managed to not eff it up so badly that they actually lost, unlike the Bruins. Yes, UCLA managed to lose their opener. Not only did they lose, they lost to a mid-tier WCC team in Loyola-Marymount. At home. By 11. The first time LMU beat UCLA since 1941. Ouch. Particularly impressive was point guard Lazeric Jones going 1-11 from the field for the Bruins, but they'll get some help at the point next game when Jerime Anderson is back, who was suspended one game for stealing a laptop this summer. Huh? A one game suspension for stealing a laptop. How interesting. Personally I would have run him right off campus and made sure he transferred out, probably going to a school in a neighboring state where he'd have a right smashing debut. It's the proper way to handle it.
2. Butler. I know Butler lost to Evansville last year early and still made the Nat Champ Game, and I know that losing Shelvin Mack and Matt Howard would be pretty tough for anybody so dropping a game to Evansville (in Evansville) is probably not that big a deal. Then again, last year at 9-9 was the first time Evansville reached .500 in conference (MVC) play since 2000 so losing to them is not exactly excusable. Let me put it this way, outside the Aces two wins over Butler the last two years their only notable non-conference win dating back to 2001 was over Purdue in 2005. This ain't exactly a giant killing program. Maybe Evansville just has Butler's number, or maybe it's going to take a while to adjust to no Howard and no Mack, but maybe Butler just flat sucks this year. They're going to struggle there's no doubt, because there's some quality Horizon opponents this year. And speaking of......
3. Vanderbilt. You know how every time Vandy has a supposed good team they get bounced early in the NCAA Tournament? Well apparently this year's version decided just to go out and start disappointing people right away because they lost on Sunday to Cleveland State 71-58. Now in reality losing to Cleveland State isn't that bad of a loss because Cleveland State is one of the best teams in one of the best mid-major conferences in the country, and they will likely be in the running for an at-large bid come end of the year if they don't win the Horizon tournament. But still, this was at Vanderbilt and the Commodores supposedly have their best team of all time and are ranked 7th in the country, so due to those circumstances this is a pretty crappy loss. Vandy sucked, you might even say.
4. Kansas City Chiefs. Actually there were so many NFL teams who embarrassed themselves this week it was hard to pick just one. The Chiefs lost (at home) to Denver despite the Broncos completing just two passes the entire game. The Ravens lost to the T-Jax led Seahawks while passing 53 times and only giving Ray Rice eight carries. The Lions got smoked by the Bears by something like 50 points, the Eagles continued their unstoppable march to mediocrity by losing at home to a terrible Eagles team, and Buffalo reminded everyone they are Buffalo by getting crushed by Dallas. Just a bizarre week in the NFL with a lot of really ugly games by ugly teams. I'd say at this rate the Vikings actually have a chance to beat the Pack tonight.
5. Cain Velasquez. I don't know why I keep trying to get back into these fighting sports. First Mayweather/Ortiz which ends in Floyd knocking out Ortiz while Ortiz is defenseless (his own fault but still), then Hopkins/Dawson which ended with an essential body slam and/or an old man looking to quit. Now Saturday night I decide to check in on UFC and I get to see Velasquez, the "champion" (quotes should be read as air quotes), get hit in the face once, fall down, and then cry. Seriously, pros should be able to take a punch, if I wanted to watch someone get knocked out I'd just ask someone to hit me (although the one time it actually happened after Dawger pickd a fight with some gang member and some other dude sucker punched me in the face and I was all like I will kill you mother fucker but he knocked my glasses off so I couldn't see shit and had no idea what was going on but I asked some other gang member dude to help me find my glasses since it was bullshit that the dude sucker punched me and he actually helped me look for them). So yeah, I could beat up Cain Velasquez. FACT.
As far as the Gophers go, they keep it going by taking on South Dakota State tonight. The Jackrabbits are on a very similar plane as Bucknell as far as talent level goes - a good team from a terrible conference - and it should be a similar story to the Bucknell game - they have some good players and can be dangerous if the Gophers either don't play well or take them too lightly, but the Gophers really have no excuse for losing this game.
SDSU is another team that shoots the ball very well from three (41% last year) and they have a player in Nate Wolters who can take over a game and who many people who are stupid think should be a Gopher. Wolters has a shot at winning Summit League Player of the Year this season, averaged 19 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists per game last year, and opened up this year by dropping 32 (with 11 assists) in the Jackrabbits' win over Western Michigan. Wolters is also from St. Cloud, which means people in this state are needlessly in love with him and also means he'll have a bit of extra motivation. Him coming out and scoring 30+ is a very real possibility.
There are a couple of other decent players here (Jordan Dykstra in the post and SG Griffen Callahan both have the ability to score 20), but, like on Friday, the Gophers have more size, athleticism, ability, talent, and depth. I expect SDSU to come out with a burst of emotion and grittiness and keep this one tight in the first half, but the Gophers should pull this one out by 10+ by the time it's over. Of course, I say should, but once again this isn't a cupcake opponent and if the Gophers let them get hot from the perimeter and nobody's making shots for the Gophers isn't going to be tough. Mbakwe and Sampson will probably be doubled again all day, so somebody else is going to have to help.
Or Mbakwe just grabs 20 boards and scores on putbacks all game because SDSU has absolutely nobody who can keep him off the glass.
Minnesota 72, South Dakota State 62
(If you're looking for something a little more in-depth, I'd assume From the Barn has got you covered)
WHO WAS AWESOME.
1. Gopher hoops. Click here for a proper recap, but to put it short, that was a solid win against a solid team, and the fact that they were able to actually manage to come back from down 5 with six minutes to go, against said solid team, just really impresses me. I guess I have a low impress threshold. I suppose it's just one more thing Gopher basketball has stolen from me. And yet I can't stop going back. I'm like a beaten woman, aren't I. Oh my god I'm Aaliyah and the Gophers are Chris Brown.
2. Royce White. God mother hell shit fart. This sucks. Royce with 25 and 11 in his ISU debut, with 3 blocks and a couple assists to go with it. And here's you, sitting there in your Laz-E-Boy watching Cops and swirling your brandy around even though it's fucking Korbel and making snide comments about how you wonder how many security guards he's pushed down or how many laptops he's stolen. It's people like you that will always hold the Gopher basketball program down with your judging judgement. What about the bible, fella? Doesn't it say "don't be a pompous judgmental ass or I'll turn you into a pillar of salt" or something? I think it's in Leviticus.
3. Utah State. There were better wins this weekend - UNC's over Michigan State for one - but between pure emotion and actual effect on an NCAA bid Utah's State's win over BYU might end up being the biggest. In terms of NCAA Tournament implications, Utah State always needs quality wins since they're in the WAC where quality wins are basically impossible to come by and this was only one of three games against quality opponents for USU. Huge win in the RPI sense. Also a huge win in the "i hate these fuckin' guys" sense, because Utah Staties hate BYU, mostly because they're a bunch of prissy dickheads. Here is a video of Utah State students welcoming BYU to their arena. Solid effort.
4. Kendall Marshall. You know how sometimes thing don't live up to the hype like Terra Nova, every Hannibal Lecter movie after Silence of the Lambs, flavored Mountain Dew (other than Live Wire), the last two George R.R. Martin novels, or having kids? Well I finally got a good chance to watch Kendall Marshall on Sunday against UNC-Asheville and this dude is straight legit. The stats are crazy - he had 15 assists - but just watching him it's clear he's the best point guard UNC has had since Ed Cota and he might even be better. He's got that smooth playability about him where he doesn't really look like he's moving quickly or even really trying (like Evan Turner) but continually gets past people and his court vision is off the charts. Whether it's a simple entry pass, running the break, or getting the ball up the court as fast as possible by passing it ahead, he's a legit point guard and as far as pure points go I'm thinking he might be the best in the country. Outside of Justin Cobbs, of course.
5. Mark Sanchez. Actually he sucks and couldn't get the Jets in the end zone with four plays inside the 10 at the end of the game, but he's awesome because as part of a teaser I had Jets/Pats under 54 and so boom. The final leg is Vikes/Pack over 43, and there's almost no way the Pack doesn't even get there by themself, am I right?
WHO SUCKED
1. UCLA. You know how the Pac-10 has been in shambles for a few years and getting even two NCAA bids was kind of an accomplishment? Well it's probably going to happen again. Arizona looks like a sloppy mess right now, but at least they managed to not eff it up so badly that they actually lost, unlike the Bruins. Yes, UCLA managed to lose their opener. Not only did they lose, they lost to a mid-tier WCC team in Loyola-Marymount. At home. By 11. The first time LMU beat UCLA since 1941. Ouch. Particularly impressive was point guard Lazeric Jones going 1-11 from the field for the Bruins, but they'll get some help at the point next game when Jerime Anderson is back, who was suspended one game for stealing a laptop this summer. Huh? A one game suspension for stealing a laptop. How interesting. Personally I would have run him right off campus and made sure he transferred out, probably going to a school in a neighboring state where he'd have a right smashing debut. It's the proper way to handle it.
2. Butler. I know Butler lost to Evansville last year early and still made the Nat Champ Game, and I know that losing Shelvin Mack and Matt Howard would be pretty tough for anybody so dropping a game to Evansville (in Evansville) is probably not that big a deal. Then again, last year at 9-9 was the first time Evansville reached .500 in conference (MVC) play since 2000 so losing to them is not exactly excusable. Let me put it this way, outside the Aces two wins over Butler the last two years their only notable non-conference win dating back to 2001 was over Purdue in 2005. This ain't exactly a giant killing program. Maybe Evansville just has Butler's number, or maybe it's going to take a while to adjust to no Howard and no Mack, but maybe Butler just flat sucks this year. They're going to struggle there's no doubt, because there's some quality Horizon opponents this year. And speaking of......
3. Vanderbilt. You know how every time Vandy has a supposed good team they get bounced early in the NCAA Tournament? Well apparently this year's version decided just to go out and start disappointing people right away because they lost on Sunday to Cleveland State 71-58. Now in reality losing to Cleveland State isn't that bad of a loss because Cleveland State is one of the best teams in one of the best mid-major conferences in the country, and they will likely be in the running for an at-large bid come end of the year if they don't win the Horizon tournament. But still, this was at Vanderbilt and the Commodores supposedly have their best team of all time and are ranked 7th in the country, so due to those circumstances this is a pretty crappy loss. Vandy sucked, you might even say.
4. Kansas City Chiefs. Actually there were so many NFL teams who embarrassed themselves this week it was hard to pick just one. The Chiefs lost (at home) to Denver despite the Broncos completing just two passes the entire game. The Ravens lost to the T-Jax led Seahawks while passing 53 times and only giving Ray Rice eight carries. The Lions got smoked by the Bears by something like 50 points, the Eagles continued their unstoppable march to mediocrity by losing at home to a terrible Eagles team, and Buffalo reminded everyone they are Buffalo by getting crushed by Dallas. Just a bizarre week in the NFL with a lot of really ugly games by ugly teams. I'd say at this rate the Vikings actually have a chance to beat the Pack tonight.
5. Cain Velasquez. I don't know why I keep trying to get back into these fighting sports. First Mayweather/Ortiz which ends in Floyd knocking out Ortiz while Ortiz is defenseless (his own fault but still), then Hopkins/Dawson which ended with an essential body slam and/or an old man looking to quit. Now Saturday night I decide to check in on UFC and I get to see Velasquez, the "champion" (quotes should be read as air quotes), get hit in the face once, fall down, and then cry. Seriously, pros should be able to take a punch, if I wanted to watch someone get knocked out I'd just ask someone to hit me (although the one time it actually happened after Dawger pickd a fight with some gang member and some other dude sucker punched me in the face and I was all like I will kill you mother fucker but he knocked my glasses off so I couldn't see shit and had no idea what was going on but I asked some other gang member dude to help me find my glasses since it was bullshit that the dude sucker punched me and he actually helped me look for them). So yeah, I could beat up Cain Velasquez. FACT.
As far as the Gophers go, they keep it going by taking on South Dakota State tonight. The Jackrabbits are on a very similar plane as Bucknell as far as talent level goes - a good team from a terrible conference - and it should be a similar story to the Bucknell game - they have some good players and can be dangerous if the Gophers either don't play well or take them too lightly, but the Gophers really have no excuse for losing this game.
SDSU is another team that shoots the ball very well from three (41% last year) and they have a player in Nate Wolters who can take over a game and who many people who are stupid think should be a Gopher. Wolters has a shot at winning Summit League Player of the Year this season, averaged 19 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists per game last year, and opened up this year by dropping 32 (with 11 assists) in the Jackrabbits' win over Western Michigan. Wolters is also from St. Cloud, which means people in this state are needlessly in love with him and also means he'll have a bit of extra motivation. Him coming out and scoring 30+ is a very real possibility.
There are a couple of other decent players here (Jordan Dykstra in the post and SG Griffen Callahan both have the ability to score 20), but, like on Friday, the Gophers have more size, athleticism, ability, talent, and depth. I expect SDSU to come out with a burst of emotion and grittiness and keep this one tight in the first half, but the Gophers should pull this one out by 10+ by the time it's over. Of course, I say should, but once again this isn't a cupcake opponent and if the Gophers let them get hot from the perimeter and nobody's making shots for the Gophers isn't going to be tough. Mbakwe and Sampson will probably be doubled again all day, so somebody else is going to have to help.
Or Mbakwe just grabs 20 boards and scores on putbacks all game because SDSU has absolutely nobody who can keep him off the glass.
Minnesota 72, South Dakota State 62
(If you're looking for something a little more in-depth, I'd assume From the Barn has got you covered)
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