Now let me welcome everybody to the wild, wild west, a state that's untouchable like Elliot Ness
The track hits your eardrum like a slug to your chest, pack a vest for your jimmy in the city of sex.
By the way, that means I'm in Los Angeles for work. Which also means I couldn't attend nor watch the Gopher game last night, but it looks like the Gophers went with their standard operating procedure of sucking for the majority of the game and falling behind to a far inferior opponent, and then turning it on in the second half to cruise to a win that looks a lot easier than it really was. That's all well and good, but if they are still doing that crap once the Big Ten season gets underway it's going to get ugly in a hurry. Maybe Nolen can fix all that, maybe not. We're going to find out.
- No real exciting meals to report. Well, actually I had one of the best burgers in the history of burgerdom last night at a place in Hollywood called Lucky Devils. Kobe Beef burger (medium) with lettuce, onions, and some kind of home made secret sauce. Outstanding. And the rosemary garlic fries were out of this world. Although I think Elk, who I am out here with, made the best call of the night (besides the restaurant) going with the Diablo burger, which was a spicy version of what I had. I had a chance to try their hot sauce and it was really, really good. I should have ordered that.
Later in the evening we hit up an establishment called the Pig and Whistle for a couple after-dinner drinks and ended up having one with a Michael Jackson impersonator - unless it was really him and the whole "death" thing was a sham. Stranger things have happened. Or not really, I guess. That would be pretty strange. In any case it was a bit of an unusual occurrence. But now I'm in the room with nothing but a few Coors Light silos to keep me company, so let's see what things are going on.
- Jesse Crain to the White Sox, huh? And Guerrier to the Dodgers, but that doesn't interest me nearly as much since Crain is going to the most hated rival in the world. They pretty clearly overpaid, but Crain showed just enough in the second half of last year when he started using that slider all the time where I'm pretty nervous to be facing him in the division. Will he give up tap measure home runs? Of course. But the first time they bring him in to face the Twins in the 8th and he shuts them down 1-2-3 I'm going to die a little inside.
- And speaking of free agents, this Cliff Lee to the Phillies thing is really unfair. I know the Giants won the series this year with a combination of insane pitching and Buster Posey and that's it, but the Phillies actually have an offense. Howard is going to hit 40 bombs, Victorino has developed into one hell of a hitter, and Utley and Rollins are great hitters for their positions, even if they were a bit off last year. I know Werth is gone, but it doesn't really matter who plays left or center or third or whoever the hell their catcher is. And their only going to have score 2-3 runs a game to win most of the time, and they won't even need a bullpen because Halladay and Lee are just going to pitch complete games every time out anyway. Halladay, Lee, and Oswalt are all in the top 14 in active complete game leaders, and that includes ancients like Tim Wakefield and Jamie Moyer. Actually, Halladay is 33, and amongst pitchers 33 or younger they rank 1, 5, and 6. Ridiculous and basically just unfair. The over/under for their season wins is going to be like 110.
- Oh, and if the Twins trade for Joe freaking Blanton and his Nick Blackburn-like career 1.34 WHIP I'm going to drive down there and maim somebody. Why make a trade for a fifth starter when he's worse than whoever you call up from triple A? Come on geniuses, don't be stupid.
- Of course, this is not my first time in Los Angeles for work. Prior to this I was introduced to the weirdness of everybody in the city trying to get a movie produced, and before that I was lucky enough to become good friends with Larry David and learned a little about women. L.A. is weird, but I always have a good time. Plus, I was in a Curb Your Enthusiasm episode that time with my good friend Larry. You can actually see my bald spot in the scene. I'm famous.
- Interesting week in college hoops so far. Three teams who I don't think anybody was super sure what to make of (Louisville, Tennessee, and UNLV) all went on big runs early, picked up huge wins (Louisville over UNLV, Tennessee over Pitt, and UNLV over Wisconsin and Va Tech), got themselves highly ranked (Tenn #7, UNLV #20 , L'Ville #20) and then all crashed and burned this week. Louisville got beat at home by Drexel, Tennessee got beat at home by Oakland, and UNLV by Santa Barbara. But no real worries, because they're all still better than Gonzaga who is an absolute nightmare right now. They're going to end up scrambling to even sniff an at-large bid.
- In case you're wondering what's going with the world's worst shooting guard, Scottie Reynolds was picked 13th in the first round of the NBDL draft by Tulsa, who then immediately shipped him off in a trade to get of his stink. Since play began he ranks 19th in scoring (behind guys like Pat Ewing Jr. and Roderick Wilmont), and 19th in assists (behind guys like Curtis Stinson and Luke Jackson). Nicely done.
- Speaking of the NBDL draft, other picks of interest:
First Round: Alan Anderson (Mich State like 100 years ago), Robert Vaden (UAB), Magnum Rolle (LA Tech - love this guy).
Third Round: Lawrence Westbrook (averaging 7 pts, 2 rebs, 2 asts per game with Maine)
Fourth Round: Derek Raivio (Gonzaga, the living clone of the Professor)
Fifth Round: Daniel Horton (Michigan, this guy sucked)
And that's it. Every year I think there's going to be a bunch of funny in this draft, and every year it turns out I've only heard of a handful of guys. And I know way too much about college ball to not know who this many guys are. So where are these guys coming from? Some secret basketball concentration camp? This is bullshit.
- John Shurna tonight: 28 pts, 4 rebs, 2 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks, 1 turnover. That's 64 fantasy points, baby. And guess whose got 'em?
- Shelden Williams is still in the NBA? What the hell? The guy's offensive game rivals Miles Tarver and his defensive game is what I imagine Blake Hoffarber would look like if he was taller and blacker.
- You ever just sit around wondering who the top scoring Big Ten college basketball players would be in a Bi g Ten fantasy league (pt = 1pt, reb = 2 pt, assist = 3 pt, block or steal = 4 pt, turnover = -2 pts)? Well wonder no more. The top ten in our league:
1. Jon Leuer, Wisconsin
2. Darius Morris, Michigan
3. Trevor Mbakwe, Minnesota
4. Jordan Taylor, Wisconsin
5. Blake Hoffarber, Minnesota
6. Draymond Green, Michigan State
7. Jared Sullinger, Ohio State
8. JaJuan Johnson, Purdue
9. Demetri McCamey, Illinois
10. E'Twaun Moore, Purdue
It's worth noting I have none of those people, and also - not coincidentally - I'm the only team that's 0-2 thus far. Also props to Snacks, Bogart, Snake, Dawger, Elk, Grandslam, and Optimator. I sent an email one random morning asking if anybody wanted to do fantasy Big 10 hoops, and by that afternoon we were in round 3 of the draft. Nice work, gentleman.
- By the way, yes, that's Blake Hoffarber at #5. He's having a hell of a year. 14.8 points per game (13th in the B10), 4.9 assists (3rd. THIRD!!), 3.5 rebounds (39th), and 1.7 steals (5th, and wow) all while shooting 40% from three (leading the conference in both makes and attempts) and turning it over just 1.6 times per game despite being the defacto main ball handler. Actually, he's been efficient enough on offense to rank #63 in kenpom.com's offensive efficiency ranking, which may not sound that great but keep in mind there are 340-some teams and this ranking includes all those dudes from smaller conferences who dominate. In terms of Big Ten players, he ranks behind just Jon Diebler, John Shurna, Jordan Hulls of Indiana, and Jordan Taylor. Combine fantasy points, which shows he's putting up numbers, and efficiency rating, which shows he's, well, efficient, and you could make a case for him to be behind just Taylor as the most valuable player in the Big Ten this year. I can't believe I just typed that sentence. I'm now going to pull my fingers off with bolt cutters. Which I just happen to have here in the hotel room.
Showing posts with label Lawrence Westbrook. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lawrence Westbrook. Show all posts
Friday, December 17, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Swamp Donkey!
I'm sitting here watching this stupid game, and I wasn't going to type anything up but I'm watching and my blood is boiling and I just can't take it. Why can't they figure out Michigan's man-to-man? Why are we still seeing the "line changes" at this point in the season? Why won't Tubby shorten the rotation when it's clear Iverson can't guard Sims and Bostick, as much as it pains me, doesn't belong out on the floor? Why does this team constantly refuse to get back on defense? Why is Ralph so accurate with the lob pass from the high to the low post? Anyway, we're at the 7 minute mark of the first half and the Gophers are down 19-15 and I'm ready to kill. It also doesn't help that Snacks is in Vegas and I'm not. I'd much rather start drinking at 9am and then gamble for 12 hours then go to work. I hate that guy.
5:51 - You really can't leave the Hoff open. This guy is ridiculous. He's like the white Larry Bird, only if Bird was more like Craig Hodges.
5:16 - Possibly the best quote ever by Bob Knight "Westbrook gets a little anxious to dribble the ball." Awesome.
5:16 - Please note: Blake was a Ginger as a kid.
5:01 - Airball by Stu Douglass on a wide open shot. And I mean wide-open. This team really can't shoot. If the Gophers lose here they should be beyond embarrassed. Even worse than Northwestern losing to Iowa. Seriously.
4:22 - Manny almost passes too much. There was a turnover on a pass to Sims who couldn't handle it. Although the more I see Harris, the more I'm not sure of him as a pro. I can watch Werewolf Turner and see how he's going to be a good NBA player, but I don't see it as much in Harris. He might be, but I bet it will take him a lot longer than Turner. And Sims is a lock to dominate in Turkey.
2:47 - They are up to 13 Final Fantasys now? Man, Dawger and I played the shit out of Final Fantasy 7 in college. Between that, the Star Wars games, NCAA Football, and Hot Shots Golf it's amazing we ever got to class. Well, maybe one of us didn't, but I still have a degree. SCREW YOU FOR JUDGING.
1:26 - Picture it: Breakaway. 1-on-1. Paul Carter versus Manny Harris, Carter with the ball. You're picturing disaster (well I was), and yet Carter takes it at him for the lay-in and the foul (and makes the foul shot). I think it's clear, Carter > Harris.
0:00 - Good foul Rodney.
19:25 - So Devoe can't shoot now? Awesome trend. By the way, I'm watching this on Tivo and am fairly drunk already, so that's why this is so retarded. Like you.
19:00 - More missed layups. Sweet Juniper berries this team can't score. Just terrible.
18:22 - Westbrook goes right by some dumb white guy and two passes later it's a wide open three for the Hoff, which he of course makes. I really wish they could do that every time. Also, playing defense would be great. Nice layup, Sims.
17:50 - Musberger just described a Sampson turnaround jumper as "uncomfortable." As much as I'd like to argue, he was right. Ralphie really not looking comfy tonight. Must be the uncoordinated whitey on him. Being from the south and all, I'm sure white dudes make him extra nervous.
16:46 - Johnson beaten off the dribble as badly as I've seen in his four years by Harris. Luckily some good help defense creates a miss, but wow.
16:38 - Every time one of these white dudes for Michigan scores it should probably count double.
16:25 - Eight different Gophers have an assist tonight. Wow. Awesome. I'm super excited about that stat. Michigan leads 34-31.
15:09 - Joseph misses another three. Am I crazy or is he just missing like, all the time these days? I'm telling you, dude is a shooting guard and when he's forced to play point it messes with his mind and screws up his shot. You know how there are some guys who can't DH because they need to play the field in order to hit? And it's 100% in their head but it still seems to matter? That's Joseph when he has to play point guard.
14:51 - Due to some switches, Harris ends up with the ball with Cobbs on him. He ends up passing it away, and then gets it back, and passes it away again. Dude, you need to recognize things. I love Cobbsy and all, but no chance in hell can he stop Harris one-on-one. I'm not exactly sure if I should blame Beilein, Harris, or just "the system" or what, but that was a huge opportunity. Why am I worried about this team again? Other than that they're up 3 right now?
13:21 - Westbrook scores on a nice follow off a Ralph miss, then pickes up a really stupid (and also really ticky-tack) foul 80 feet from the basket. Since it's his third Tubby yanks him, which causes Westbrook to pretty demonstrately show that he doesn't agree with the decision. I don't care if you love him or hate him, but Westbrook has got to be an absolute handful to try to coach. Also a handful: your sister's boobs.
12:40 - Hoff with another three.
11:50 - Brutal turnover by Joseph, basically just throwing it right to a Michigan defender. Michigan is now up six, 44-38. We're running out of time here fellas. Not really all that cute anymore. You might want to go ahead and consider stopping with the suckness. Please? I'm mostly kidding about the NIT stuff. Although the opportunity to see Dominique Jones live does put a little hop in my step, I'd still rather watch the Gophers lose by twenty in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Come on, retards. Michigan sucks.
11:20 - Westbrook back in. Probably had a good cry. And we just got about the third or fourth offensive foul called against the Gophers, and they were all kind of brutal. Sort of some anti-home cooking going on here. I blame Obama. Can't trust him, you know. He's an arab.
11:00 - Hoff misses an open three. Musberger seems shocked, but I figure that seems about right. When things come crashing down, they always come crashing down in a big way. Just ask Metallica. Hoff just missed another one while I was typing. Ugh.
9:38 - Some big dumb guy hits a three for Michigan, and we're now at a 9-point Michigan lead. This is really quite depressing. I think I'm going to stop typing.
8:57 - Uh oh. It's looking like Westbrook has switched into "F You" mode. He passed that one off, but I could tell it caused him physical pain to do it. Something good better happen, because it's still a nine point game. And now they are in the bonus. That can only help Michigan.
8:31 - Douglass absolutely loses Westbrook for a wide open layup and the foul. God this is pathetic. I'm only posting in British slang the rest of the way.
7:49 - Bloody Hell.
7:33 - Michigan is shooting 69% in the second half. These bunch of billy-no-mates are getting rather cheeky with the bunch of blighters who make up the Gopher squad.
6:35 - Thus far these pillocks are at least making their free throws, which gives them a hard chance about it. Michigan still up six, but they are a bunch of charva, so I haven't given up just yet.
6:16 - Harris with a monster three. Might be the kick in the goonies that ends this one. And then Rodney turns it over and stands there like a true piss-artist. Just pathetic. I'm so glad the second unit is in, especially since they just let Sims hit a wide fucking open layup to put Michigan up eleven. ELEVEN. It's fucking Michigan at fucking home. You are playing for your god damned tournament life you fucking morons! Honest to christ, somebody give me a reason to believe in Tubby. I can't come up with one. This whole year has been a god damned nightmare and he's the man at the helm. I feel like I'm on the Titanic and Billy Zane has already crashed it into a iceberg and I'm stuck in the freezing water and Kate Winslet is too fat to let me sit on the floating door with her so now I have to die. BOLLOCKS!
5:14 - Another Michigan layup. I'm done here.
2:12 - I'm just popping back in to mention that Michigan just got another layup. Seriously, these prats are the worst defensive team I've ever seen, and the fact that they have a good reputation defensively is nothing but piffle.
So I tell the swamp donkey to sock it before I give her a trunky in the tradesman's entrance and have her lick me yarbles!
Seriously. Tell me why I shouldn't be anti-Tubby. Tell me. I see no reason whatsoever to be on his side at this point. What is the difference between him and Monson? Minimal, at this point. Minimal. We were promised so much more, and I bought it. I bought it hook, line, and sinker and I've ignored a lot of things that bothered me because "we got Tubby." F that. You can have him back.
5:51 - You really can't leave the Hoff open. This guy is ridiculous. He's like the white Larry Bird, only if Bird was more like Craig Hodges.
5:16 - Possibly the best quote ever by Bob Knight "Westbrook gets a little anxious to dribble the ball." Awesome.
5:16 - Please note: Blake was a Ginger as a kid.
5:01 - Airball by Stu Douglass on a wide open shot. And I mean wide-open. This team really can't shoot. If the Gophers lose here they should be beyond embarrassed. Even worse than Northwestern losing to Iowa. Seriously.
4:22 - Manny almost passes too much. There was a turnover on a pass to Sims who couldn't handle it. Although the more I see Harris, the more I'm not sure of him as a pro. I can watch Werewolf Turner and see how he's going to be a good NBA player, but I don't see it as much in Harris. He might be, but I bet it will take him a lot longer than Turner. And Sims is a lock to dominate in Turkey.
2:47 - They are up to 13 Final Fantasys now? Man, Dawger and I played the shit out of Final Fantasy 7 in college. Between that, the Star Wars games, NCAA Football, and Hot Shots Golf it's amazing we ever got to class. Well, maybe one of us didn't, but I still have a degree. SCREW YOU FOR JUDGING.
1:26 - Picture it: Breakaway. 1-on-1. Paul Carter versus Manny Harris, Carter with the ball. You're picturing disaster (well I was), and yet Carter takes it at him for the lay-in and the foul (and makes the foul shot). I think it's clear, Carter > Harris.
0:00 - Good foul Rodney.
19:25 - So Devoe can't shoot now? Awesome trend. By the way, I'm watching this on Tivo and am fairly drunk already, so that's why this is so retarded. Like you.
19:00 - More missed layups. Sweet Juniper berries this team can't score. Just terrible.
18:22 - Westbrook goes right by some dumb white guy and two passes later it's a wide open three for the Hoff, which he of course makes. I really wish they could do that every time. Also, playing defense would be great. Nice layup, Sims.
17:50 - Musberger just described a Sampson turnaround jumper as "uncomfortable." As much as I'd like to argue, he was right. Ralphie really not looking comfy tonight. Must be the uncoordinated whitey on him. Being from the south and all, I'm sure white dudes make him extra nervous.
16:46 - Johnson beaten off the dribble as badly as I've seen in his four years by Harris. Luckily some good help defense creates a miss, but wow.
16:38 - Every time one of these white dudes for Michigan scores it should probably count double.
16:25 - Eight different Gophers have an assist tonight. Wow. Awesome. I'm super excited about that stat. Michigan leads 34-31.
15:09 - Joseph misses another three. Am I crazy or is he just missing like, all the time these days? I'm telling you, dude is a shooting guard and when he's forced to play point it messes with his mind and screws up his shot. You know how there are some guys who can't DH because they need to play the field in order to hit? And it's 100% in their head but it still seems to matter? That's Joseph when he has to play point guard.
14:51 - Due to some switches, Harris ends up with the ball with Cobbs on him. He ends up passing it away, and then gets it back, and passes it away again. Dude, you need to recognize things. I love Cobbsy and all, but no chance in hell can he stop Harris one-on-one. I'm not exactly sure if I should blame Beilein, Harris, or just "the system" or what, but that was a huge opportunity. Why am I worried about this team again? Other than that they're up 3 right now?
13:21 - Westbrook scores on a nice follow off a Ralph miss, then pickes up a really stupid (and also really ticky-tack) foul 80 feet from the basket. Since it's his third Tubby yanks him, which causes Westbrook to pretty demonstrately show that he doesn't agree with the decision. I don't care if you love him or hate him, but Westbrook has got to be an absolute handful to try to coach. Also a handful: your sister's boobs.
12:40 - Hoff with another three.
11:50 - Brutal turnover by Joseph, basically just throwing it right to a Michigan defender. Michigan is now up six, 44-38. We're running out of time here fellas. Not really all that cute anymore. You might want to go ahead and consider stopping with the suckness. Please? I'm mostly kidding about the NIT stuff. Although the opportunity to see Dominique Jones live does put a little hop in my step, I'd still rather watch the Gophers lose by twenty in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Come on, retards. Michigan sucks.
11:20 - Westbrook back in. Probably had a good cry. And we just got about the third or fourth offensive foul called against the Gophers, and they were all kind of brutal. Sort of some anti-home cooking going on here. I blame Obama. Can't trust him, you know. He's an arab.
11:00 - Hoff misses an open three. Musberger seems shocked, but I figure that seems about right. When things come crashing down, they always come crashing down in a big way. Just ask Metallica. Hoff just missed another one while I was typing. Ugh.
9:38 - Some big dumb guy hits a three for Michigan, and we're now at a 9-point Michigan lead. This is really quite depressing. I think I'm going to stop typing.
8:57 - Uh oh. It's looking like Westbrook has switched into "F You" mode. He passed that one off, but I could tell it caused him physical pain to do it. Something good better happen, because it's still a nine point game. And now they are in the bonus. That can only help Michigan.
8:31 - Douglass absolutely loses Westbrook for a wide open layup and the foul. God this is pathetic. I'm only posting in British slang the rest of the way.
7:49 - Bloody Hell.
7:33 - Michigan is shooting 69% in the second half. These bunch of billy-no-mates are getting rather cheeky with the bunch of blighters who make up the Gopher squad.
6:35 - Thus far these pillocks are at least making their free throws, which gives them a hard chance about it. Michigan still up six, but they are a bunch of charva, so I haven't given up just yet.
6:16 - Harris with a monster three. Might be the kick in the goonies that ends this one. And then Rodney turns it over and stands there like a true piss-artist. Just pathetic. I'm so glad the second unit is in, especially since they just let Sims hit a wide fucking open layup to put Michigan up eleven. ELEVEN. It's fucking Michigan at fucking home. You are playing for your god damned tournament life you fucking morons! Honest to christ, somebody give me a reason to believe in Tubby. I can't come up with one. This whole year has been a god damned nightmare and he's the man at the helm. I feel like I'm on the Titanic and Billy Zane has already crashed it into a iceberg and I'm stuck in the freezing water and Kate Winslet is too fat to let me sit on the floating door with her so now I have to die. BOLLOCKS!
5:14 - Another Michigan layup. I'm done here.
2:12 - I'm just popping back in to mention that Michigan just got another layup. Seriously, these prats are the worst defensive team I've ever seen, and the fact that they have a good reputation defensively is nothing but piffle.
So I tell the swamp donkey to sock it before I give her a trunky in the tradesman's entrance and have her lick me yarbles!
Seriously. Tell me why I shouldn't be anti-Tubby. Tell me. I see no reason whatsoever to be on his side at this point. What is the difference between him and Monson? Minimal, at this point. Minimal. We were promised so much more, and I bought it. I bought it hook, line, and sinker and I've ignored a lot of things that bothered me because "we got Tubby." F that. You can have him back.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Week in Review - 2/8/2010
You cretins probably don't realize how difficult it is to run a blog, especially when you do a critically acclaimed and widely recognized Week in Review every Monday with an Awesome and Sucks section. Like, what am I supposed to do about this Gopher basketball game?
They won a road game on a last-second shot: Awesome. But it was against Penn State: Sucks. They played well enough to essentially dominate the game: Awesome. But a serious of mistakes in the final minutes almost let the game slip away: Sucks. Huge shot by Westbrook to win the game: Awesome. But it wouldn't have come to that if Westbrook hadn't made maybe the biggest of the mistakes down the stretch: Sucks.
Seriously, I didn't feel any excitement at all after he hit that shot, it was something closer to relief mixed with exasperation. About the only good thing about this game was Ralph turning into a monster. Snake once told me I expected too much out of Ralph too soon, and I think he was right. I was looking for this monster to emerge too early in his career, but I can see the career arch I had envisioned beginning to take shape. I'm starting to think two Big Ten Player of the Year awards was a bit too optimistic, but one is practically a given - assuming he stays two more years.
Anyway, I think the best strategy is just to ignore this game. It really means nothing other than now we have to watch a few more games before we can give up on this team. I'm still looking forward to a few NIT games.
WHO WAS AWESOME
1. Gonzaga. The Zags dropped a WCC game to San Francisco two weeks ago, ending their nine game win streak, but if you thought it was some kind of indication that they weren't awesome you are sadly mistaken my buddy friend. They started out this week with a complete drubbing of one of this season's pretenders to the WCC crown - Portland (Gopher fan: *cry*), waxing the Pilots 76-49, and then picked up a nice win on Saturday, beating Memphis at the FedEx Forum (that's in Memphis, genius). Beating the Tigers isn't quite the same feather in your cap it used to be the last few years, but beating a good team, and a good home team, in their place is always a good indication of a tough team. I don't love Matt Bouldin (GrandSlam's favorite player, FYI) but he can light it up when he needs to. Stephen Gray is the next Jeremy Pargo, Elias Harris is the next Austin Daye, and Robert Sacre is the most athletic center I can remember Gonzaga having. I don't think they're a final four threat, but they're closer to that than some of the versions we've seen of the Bulldogs before who were just ripe for a first round upset.
2. UNLV. Right now the Mountain West has probably two guaranteed bids - BYU and New Mexico - and there is probably room for one other team, either UNLV or San Diego State. The Rebels just took a huge stride towards grabbing that bid, blowing out BYU in Las Vegas in a game that was much less close than the 88-74 score would indicate. UNLV jumped out to a 15-2 lead to start the game and led 47-18 at one point before letting the foot off the gas. Former Memphis transfer Tre'Von Willis led the way with 33 points, 8 assists, and five rebounds, following up his 15-8-8 effort earlier in the week against Wyoming. The Rebels already have wins over Louisville, Arizona, and Nevada in the non-conference season and have already beaten New Mexico and San Diego State to go along with that win over BYU, so assuming there are no major hiccups they are in pretty good shape to grab a bid. Just don't lose to teams like Air Force or Colorado State or anything.
3. New Orleans Saints. I'm actually pretty bummed about this despite betting on the Saints. First, because I'm kind of a half-assed Colts fan and it sucks to keep watching the greatest QB of all-time (yeah, I said it) keep losing in the playoffs due to other people's mistakes. Secondly, the whole "Saints are destined to win to make up for Katrina" crap is mind-blowingly retarded. Seriously, how stupid are you people? A Super Bowl is going to make up for eighty-bajillion dollars in damages and a kajillion deaths? I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure God still owes New Orleans a whole lot. And then he goes and has Chris Paul get hurt? Nice guy, your god. Anyway, congrats to the Saints. Sean Payton outcoached Jim Caldwell to infinity, Drew Brees executed perfectly, and that onside kick to start the 2nd half might have been the ballsiest call in history. This was probably the first Super Bowl in history where I didn't hate at least one of the teams, so I'm happy either way. But I would have been way happier if the Colts won. Also the Sidler is probably on suicide watch (he's from Indiana). Yes, again.
4. Steve Stricker. I haven't written a word about golf since the season started back in January, mainly because all the tournaments thus far have had less than thrilling player fields, but this week I have to give props to Stricker. After two good rounds, Stricker was in a tie with Dustin Johnson at ten under heading into the weekend, both three shots clear of the third place golfer. Rather than sit back, Stricker got after it again on Saturday, posting a five under 66, the second-best round of the day, which staked him to a huge lead going into the final round, a lead that let him simply coast to the championship with a 70. It was a very impressive and convincing win over a pretty good field that included Phil Mickelson, Paddy Harrington, Hunter Mahan, Luke Donald, Ernie Els, Jim Furyk, and notorious homo Stew Cink, among others. It seems strange to say Stricker is the #2 golfer in the world, but it's now official - he is.
5. Bracket Busters. The matchups for Bracket Busters were announced this week, and for once they managed not to screw it up. Of course, as usual there are a ton of matchups and a lot of them include teams like Presbyterian (RPI 318), UT-Martin (RPI 335), and Marist (RPI 337), but the eleven tv matchups are pretty intriguing with 19 of the 22 teams having an RPI under 100. The highlight is Siena at Butler, with Butler probably ok either way but Siena really needing this win to get an at-large, but there are six other games involving ten other teams that have NCAA At-Large bid ramifications (at-large hopefuls in bold): Old Dominion at Northern Iowa, William & Mary at Iona, Louisiana Tech at Northeastern, Akron at Virginia Commonwealth, Charleston at George Mason, and Wichita State at Utah State - although both W&M and GMU lost this week, probably ending their chances. In year's past there was usually one, maybe two games worth watching, but this year there are at least seven. The only thing really missing is a couple of Ivy League squads in Cornell and Harvard, but I guess the nerds have to nerd it up in their precious library and can't come out and play. Way to go, Poindexter! Enjoy your English Lit degree when you're serving my kids fries at a drive-thru on our way to a skiing trip.
WHO SUCKED
1. Michigan. If it's frustrating to be a Gopher fan this basketball season, and it most certainly is, try to imagine being a Michigan fan. Picked by most analysts to be a NCAA Tournament team and in the top five or so in the conference this season has been a huge struggle. A tough schedule and some poor play led to the Wolverines coming into conference play with a 6-5 record, but with a very good RPI and SOS they had a pretty good chance at a bid if they just played well against conference teams. However they dropped the opener to Indiana and have been faltering ever since. I win over UCONN two weeks ago could have been a rallying point for a late season push, but since then Michigan has gone 2-5, culminating this week in a blowout loss at Northwestern and then a blowout at home against Wisconsin, dropping them to 4-7 in the Big Ten and 11-12 overall, aka not even eligible for the NIT. This is what happens when a coach (Beilien) tries to force the players on his team to play in his stupid everybody bomb three-pointers at all times system when those players can't shoot. It's like a team of Paul Carters out there just bombing away.
2. LSU. Maybe it isn't exactly fair to call out LSU this week since they did play Tennessee and Kentucky, but they had them both at home, lost both, were completely embarrassed by Kentucky (lost 81-55), and it has become impossible to ignore the fact that the Tigers are now sitting at 0-9 in SEC play. Ouch. They were just in the Final four in 2006, and made the tournament last year and stretched eventual champ UNC into a damn good game. What happened? They still have Tasmin Mitchell, who is one of the best overall players in the NCAA, but everybody else is gone from last year, and the new guys all suck. Bo Spencer, a three-point specialist last year who shot 40% behind the line, has been unable to move into a more prominent role and is shooting just 28% from three this year. It's just depressing. I like my LSU teams to be hyper-athletic and capable of beating anybody at any time. Not on nine-game losing streaks with a win over Rice as their best of the year. And did I mention that Kentucky was winning 42-14 at half on Saturday? Yuck.
3. LaSalle. If you ever want proof that I'm an idiot, you can ring up my preseason LaSalle prediction as your latest in a long, long, line of evidence. I was blinded in the preseason by a returning super-stud scoring machine (Rodney Green) and a super fancy brand new freshman center (Aaric Murray) and picked them to finish second in the A-10. Well it turns out they suck, and this week eliminates any doubt. They had two home games - the first a nice chance to pick off a top team with Rhode Island coming in, the second a simple win over St. Louis - and obviously they lost them both or I wouldn't be here typing this right now. LaSalle is now 3-6 in the conference, tied for 8th with crap factory Duquesne, and is at 11-12 overall. Like Michigan, they are now not even eligible to make the NIT since they are under .500. Sounds like a killer CBI match-up. Between this and my pimping of Cincinnati it's pretty clear my eye for talent is worse than someone who thought Troy Williamson would be a super star (bogart). Ohio State better come through for me.
4. Cincinnati. Oh yeah, Cincinnati. The team I pimped as a final four sleeper this year. Whoops. They might still make the tournament and all, currently sitting at 5-6 in the Big East with a couple of really good non-conference wins already on the resume, but you can go ahead and forget about them making any kind of run barring Lance Stephenson turning into Carmelo Anthony in the next month. This week was a pretty good barometer of what type of team we have here. Good teams beat bad teams on the road and beat other good teams at home. This week the Bearcats played Notre Dame on the road and Syracuse at home - they went 0-2 and neither game was even close, which tells me this isn't any kind of special team whatsoever, just another lame-o team like so many out there. Deonta Vaughn has taken about twenty steps backwards, Stephenson has been just ok, Ibrahima Thomas hasn't made much of an impact, and everybody else here is just meh. I'm so disappointed.
5. Reggie Wayne. If you're looking for a goat for the game, don't bother with Peyton or Caldwell, look to Wayne. Targeted eleven times he came up with just five catches for 46 yards. He let a perfect pass go right through his hands at the end of the game which would have been a touchdown (also we could maybe look hard at Pierre Garcon here if we're talking dropping passes). Most importantly, he slipped on the big Peyton INT that Porter returned for a TD. If he doesn't slip, that's either a catch or, at worst, an incompletion. Instead, he slips and can't get back for the ball, and you know the rest. Yeah. It's not Manning this time, it's Wayne. And with Garcon and Collie on board and Gonzalez coming back from injury, it's probably time to trade him while his value is high. Maybe to like, the Vikings or something. I don't know, just brain storming here.
Seriously though, I am happy for the Saints. They're almost impossible to hate, other than the whole "team of destiny" crap and the fact that Reggie Bush is a big piece of crap yet Bogart loves him. Seriously, he totaled 25 rushing yards and 38 receiving yards in the game. You know what's even worse? He covered the OVER with both of those. Seriously. Dude sucks. He's the next Dave Meggett. But he does have Kim Kardashian, so who am I to argue?
And if you aren't excited now, you should start getting excited because it's RIVALRY WEEK on ESPN! Woo! What does that mean? Well, like every other year, it pretty much just means North Carolina and Duke play this week, and then they pretend that a bunch of non-rivalries are rivalries so they can call it a "week." Whoopy.
They won a road game on a last-second shot: Awesome. But it was against Penn State: Sucks. They played well enough to essentially dominate the game: Awesome. But a serious of mistakes in the final minutes almost let the game slip away: Sucks. Huge shot by Westbrook to win the game: Awesome. But it wouldn't have come to that if Westbrook hadn't made maybe the biggest of the mistakes down the stretch: Sucks.
Seriously, I didn't feel any excitement at all after he hit that shot, it was something closer to relief mixed with exasperation. About the only good thing about this game was Ralph turning into a monster. Snake once told me I expected too much out of Ralph too soon, and I think he was right. I was looking for this monster to emerge too early in his career, but I can see the career arch I had envisioned beginning to take shape. I'm starting to think two Big Ten Player of the Year awards was a bit too optimistic, but one is practically a given - assuming he stays two more years.
Anyway, I think the best strategy is just to ignore this game. It really means nothing other than now we have to watch a few more games before we can give up on this team. I'm still looking forward to a few NIT games.
WHO WAS AWESOME
1. Gonzaga. The Zags dropped a WCC game to San Francisco two weeks ago, ending their nine game win streak, but if you thought it was some kind of indication that they weren't awesome you are sadly mistaken my buddy friend. They started out this week with a complete drubbing of one of this season's pretenders to the WCC crown - Portland (Gopher fan: *cry*), waxing the Pilots 76-49, and then picked up a nice win on Saturday, beating Memphis at the FedEx Forum (that's in Memphis, genius). Beating the Tigers isn't quite the same feather in your cap it used to be the last few years, but beating a good team, and a good home team, in their place is always a good indication of a tough team. I don't love Matt Bouldin (GrandSlam's favorite player, FYI) but he can light it up when he needs to. Stephen Gray is the next Jeremy Pargo, Elias Harris is the next Austin Daye, and Robert Sacre is the most athletic center I can remember Gonzaga having. I don't think they're a final four threat, but they're closer to that than some of the versions we've seen of the Bulldogs before who were just ripe for a first round upset.
2. UNLV. Right now the Mountain West has probably two guaranteed bids - BYU and New Mexico - and there is probably room for one other team, either UNLV or San Diego State. The Rebels just took a huge stride towards grabbing that bid, blowing out BYU in Las Vegas in a game that was much less close than the 88-74 score would indicate. UNLV jumped out to a 15-2 lead to start the game and led 47-18 at one point before letting the foot off the gas. Former Memphis transfer Tre'Von Willis led the way with 33 points, 8 assists, and five rebounds, following up his 15-8-8 effort earlier in the week against Wyoming. The Rebels already have wins over Louisville, Arizona, and Nevada in the non-conference season and have already beaten New Mexico and San Diego State to go along with that win over BYU, so assuming there are no major hiccups they are in pretty good shape to grab a bid. Just don't lose to teams like Air Force or Colorado State or anything.
3. New Orleans Saints. I'm actually pretty bummed about this despite betting on the Saints. First, because I'm kind of a half-assed Colts fan and it sucks to keep watching the greatest QB of all-time (yeah, I said it) keep losing in the playoffs due to other people's mistakes. Secondly, the whole "Saints are destined to win to make up for Katrina" crap is mind-blowingly retarded. Seriously, how stupid are you people? A Super Bowl is going to make up for eighty-bajillion dollars in damages and a kajillion deaths? I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure God still owes New Orleans a whole lot. And then he goes and has Chris Paul get hurt? Nice guy, your god. Anyway, congrats to the Saints. Sean Payton outcoached Jim Caldwell to infinity, Drew Brees executed perfectly, and that onside kick to start the 2nd half might have been the ballsiest call in history. This was probably the first Super Bowl in history where I didn't hate at least one of the teams, so I'm happy either way. But I would have been way happier if the Colts won. Also the Sidler is probably on suicide watch (he's from Indiana). Yes, again.
4. Steve Stricker. I haven't written a word about golf since the season started back in January, mainly because all the tournaments thus far have had less than thrilling player fields, but this week I have to give props to Stricker. After two good rounds, Stricker was in a tie with Dustin Johnson at ten under heading into the weekend, both three shots clear of the third place golfer. Rather than sit back, Stricker got after it again on Saturday, posting a five under 66, the second-best round of the day, which staked him to a huge lead going into the final round, a lead that let him simply coast to the championship with a 70. It was a very impressive and convincing win over a pretty good field that included Phil Mickelson, Paddy Harrington, Hunter Mahan, Luke Donald, Ernie Els, Jim Furyk, and notorious homo Stew Cink, among others. It seems strange to say Stricker is the #2 golfer in the world, but it's now official - he is.
5. Bracket Busters. The matchups for Bracket Busters were announced this week, and for once they managed not to screw it up. Of course, as usual there are a ton of matchups and a lot of them include teams like Presbyterian (RPI 318), UT-Martin (RPI 335), and Marist (RPI 337), but the eleven tv matchups are pretty intriguing with 19 of the 22 teams having an RPI under 100. The highlight is Siena at Butler, with Butler probably ok either way but Siena really needing this win to get an at-large, but there are six other games involving ten other teams that have NCAA At-Large bid ramifications (at-large hopefuls in bold): Old Dominion at Northern Iowa, William & Mary at Iona, Louisiana Tech at Northeastern, Akron at Virginia Commonwealth, Charleston at George Mason, and Wichita State at Utah State - although both W&M and GMU lost this week, probably ending their chances. In year's past there was usually one, maybe two games worth watching, but this year there are at least seven. The only thing really missing is a couple of Ivy League squads in Cornell and Harvard, but I guess the nerds have to nerd it up in their precious library and can't come out and play. Way to go, Poindexter! Enjoy your English Lit degree when you're serving my kids fries at a drive-thru on our way to a skiing trip.
WHO SUCKED
1. Michigan. If it's frustrating to be a Gopher fan this basketball season, and it most certainly is, try to imagine being a Michigan fan. Picked by most analysts to be a NCAA Tournament team and in the top five or so in the conference this season has been a huge struggle. A tough schedule and some poor play led to the Wolverines coming into conference play with a 6-5 record, but with a very good RPI and SOS they had a pretty good chance at a bid if they just played well against conference teams. However they dropped the opener to Indiana and have been faltering ever since. I win over UCONN two weeks ago could have been a rallying point for a late season push, but since then Michigan has gone 2-5, culminating this week in a blowout loss at Northwestern and then a blowout at home against Wisconsin, dropping them to 4-7 in the Big Ten and 11-12 overall, aka not even eligible for the NIT. This is what happens when a coach (Beilien) tries to force the players on his team to play in his stupid everybody bomb three-pointers at all times system when those players can't shoot. It's like a team of Paul Carters out there just bombing away.
2. LSU. Maybe it isn't exactly fair to call out LSU this week since they did play Tennessee and Kentucky, but they had them both at home, lost both, were completely embarrassed by Kentucky (lost 81-55), and it has become impossible to ignore the fact that the Tigers are now sitting at 0-9 in SEC play. Ouch. They were just in the Final four in 2006, and made the tournament last year and stretched eventual champ UNC into a damn good game. What happened? They still have Tasmin Mitchell, who is one of the best overall players in the NCAA, but everybody else is gone from last year, and the new guys all suck. Bo Spencer, a three-point specialist last year who shot 40% behind the line, has been unable to move into a more prominent role and is shooting just 28% from three this year. It's just depressing. I like my LSU teams to be hyper-athletic and capable of beating anybody at any time. Not on nine-game losing streaks with a win over Rice as their best of the year. And did I mention that Kentucky was winning 42-14 at half on Saturday? Yuck.
3. LaSalle. If you ever want proof that I'm an idiot, you can ring up my preseason LaSalle prediction as your latest in a long, long, line of evidence. I was blinded in the preseason by a returning super-stud scoring machine (Rodney Green) and a super fancy brand new freshman center (Aaric Murray) and picked them to finish second in the A-10. Well it turns out they suck, and this week eliminates any doubt. They had two home games - the first a nice chance to pick off a top team with Rhode Island coming in, the second a simple win over St. Louis - and obviously they lost them both or I wouldn't be here typing this right now. LaSalle is now 3-6 in the conference, tied for 8th with crap factory Duquesne, and is at 11-12 overall. Like Michigan, they are now not even eligible to make the NIT since they are under .500. Sounds like a killer CBI match-up. Between this and my pimping of Cincinnati it's pretty clear my eye for talent is worse than someone who thought Troy Williamson would be a super star (bogart). Ohio State better come through for me.
4. Cincinnati. Oh yeah, Cincinnati. The team I pimped as a final four sleeper this year. Whoops. They might still make the tournament and all, currently sitting at 5-6 in the Big East with a couple of really good non-conference wins already on the resume, but you can go ahead and forget about them making any kind of run barring Lance Stephenson turning into Carmelo Anthony in the next month. This week was a pretty good barometer of what type of team we have here. Good teams beat bad teams on the road and beat other good teams at home. This week the Bearcats played Notre Dame on the road and Syracuse at home - they went 0-2 and neither game was even close, which tells me this isn't any kind of special team whatsoever, just another lame-o team like so many out there. Deonta Vaughn has taken about twenty steps backwards, Stephenson has been just ok, Ibrahima Thomas hasn't made much of an impact, and everybody else here is just meh. I'm so disappointed.
5. Reggie Wayne. If you're looking for a goat for the game, don't bother with Peyton or Caldwell, look to Wayne. Targeted eleven times he came up with just five catches for 46 yards. He let a perfect pass go right through his hands at the end of the game which would have been a touchdown (also we could maybe look hard at Pierre Garcon here if we're talking dropping passes). Most importantly, he slipped on the big Peyton INT that Porter returned for a TD. If he doesn't slip, that's either a catch or, at worst, an incompletion. Instead, he slips and can't get back for the ball, and you know the rest. Yeah. It's not Manning this time, it's Wayne. And with Garcon and Collie on board and Gonzalez coming back from injury, it's probably time to trade him while his value is high. Maybe to like, the Vikings or something. I don't know, just brain storming here.
Seriously though, I am happy for the Saints. They're almost impossible to hate, other than the whole "team of destiny" crap and the fact that Reggie Bush is a big piece of crap yet Bogart loves him. Seriously, he totaled 25 rushing yards and 38 receiving yards in the game. You know what's even worse? He covered the OVER with both of those. Seriously. Dude sucks. He's the next Dave Meggett. But he does have Kim Kardashian, so who am I to argue?
And if you aren't excited now, you should start getting excited because it's RIVALRY WEEK on ESPN! Woo! What does that mean? Well, like every other year, it pretty much just means North Carolina and Duke play this week, and then they pretend that a bunch of non-rivalries are rivalries so they can call it a "week." Whoopy.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
NIT Bound!
Al Nolen has been ruled academically ineligible with a "slight glimmer of hope" that he will play again this season. Which basically means he is out for the year, which sucks. According to the report, Nolen is appealing the process due to "extenuating family circumstances" which affected his academic performance in the first semester.
As much as I bag on Nolen this is a huge blow to the Gophers. There's no doubting his defense (and the offense it creates off steals and turnovers), which I think is the best of any perimeter player in the conference, and his ability to get in the lane is a valued asset on this team (leaving aside how he seems to have no idea what to do with the ball when he gets there half the time). There are no other penetrators on this team. Westbrook is pretty much the only other guy who can get by his defender off the dribble (I'm not ready to credit Devoe with that just yet) and you know he's not exactly looking to distribute the basketball - he's a pure scorer.
You know how you get annoyed several times each time you watch the Gophers and have to watch the offense just pass the ball around the perimeter until the shot clock winds down and some poor bastard ends up chucking a 25-footer with a man all over him with :02 on the clock? Expect more of it. Who is going to run the point?
Devoe has been forced into point guard duties before, and I know he wants to play there to help any NBA aspirations he has, but he's a shooting guard at this stage of his development. He stepped up huge against Indiana and I was hoping he was finding a rhythm and was about to bust out, but if he has to play point, I'm not feeling it anymore. He just doesn't seem as comfortable.
We're going to find out in a hurry what the team has in Justin Cobbs. He's looked good in the action he's seen so far this year, but he's about to be in a whole new world. I like him, I just don't know how much faith I have in him just yet.
Either Nolen's appeal is granted, Cobbs grows up in a hurry, or Devoe magically transfroms his game (or Bryant Allen joins the team and is ssecretly an all-world point guard), or we'll get to watch someone like Illinois State or San Diego State at the Barn in March in the NIT.
You want a silver lining? The possible development of Cobbs and/or Joseph could pay dividends next year, and this lessens the amount of "line changes" we will have to see in games. If you don't, there's no doubt this season is a total mess. High hopes derailed by legal issues, a frame job by Deebo, incompetent "police" forces who take forever to investigate things, shiny and irresistible pants at Macy's, and tests that are just a little too diffiicult.
Oof.
Monday, January 4, 2010
To the Boiler Room
Get it? Boilers? Boiler Room? Freddy Krueger? Actually this bit would have worked out a lot better if I knew how to use the picture software on my computer. I was going to paste in a Purdue jersey over Freddy's shirt so it was like he was Chris Kramer, but my computer kept telling me "Error: Source and Destination File Name is the Same" which is total BS because the one file is called "purduejersey" and the other is called "freddykrueger" so how can those be the same? I once kind of knew how to use computers. Now I'm like an 80-year old asking how to use "The Google." Let's just get to something else I'm bad at - basketball analysis.
I've decided to try to add a little bit of structure to my game previews, and as such I'm going to start using a stupid gimmick that I like to call "5 Questions."
1. How are the Gophers going to deal with the next KG? Purdue has a ton of weapons - specifically three - but I am more worried about JaJuan Johnson than either E'Twaun Moore or Robbie Hummel. Not that Moore and Hummel are going to be easily stopped, but Johnson's skill set is prefect to take advantage of Iverson and/or Sampson. He's got the range to pull them out to the perimeter and the ability to go around them from there, or on the block he has a nice turnaround and good moves and footwork to get himself open shots. Not to mention he is an oustanding offensive rebounder, and the Gophers aren't great at preventing them.
The one weakness I see is that Johnson does have a tendency to bring the ball down when he gets it inside rather than keeping the ball high. If the guards and other assorted wing-types can get down there and double before he can get into a move and/or grab the ball when it's down low they can keep him down. Of course, that could lead to open three-pointers, but we'll have to take that chance.
2. What is Hoffarber's role going to be? It's an interesting situation with the Hoff, who has basically become the Gophers top offensive weapon lately, but he can be taken advantage of on the defensive side of the ball by certain teams - and Purdue is probably one of them. He doesn't fare badly against less athletic teams and can actually be a "force" on the boards in those situations, but I don't know how he fits in against Purdue. When Ryne Smith is in the game he should be able to handle him, but every other wing on the Boilers would go right around him.
Still, they are going to need him in the game for his offense, and especially in this game because Purdue's one defensive weakness is defending the three-pointer. They allow opponents to shoot 38.8% from three, 305th in the country. Whether they play a lot of zone or find other ways to help him out, he's going to need to be in the game. And if he can go off like he has lately, that gives the Gophers a good chance to steal one.
3. Any chance that with the Boilers coming off the huge win over West Virginia and then traveling to Madison this weekend that they are overlooking this game? Well, if you want to make that up and use it for bulletin board material go ahead, but I don't think so. No matter how lofty the team's goals - and the Boilers have got to believe they are final four bound - here in the Big Ten I don't think anybdoy overlooks anybody else, particularly not a Tubby Smith coached opponent. I don't think the Gophers are quite looked at as highly as they should be and eventually will be, but I also don't think they are going to be ignored by Painter and Co. Just for kicks, I checked out Purdue in what you could call "trap" games between two biggies the last several years and I can't find even one single instance of them sleeping on a team they should have beaten in between two big games. So there goes that sliver of hope.
4. Which Lawrence Westbrook will show up? It is clear that Westbrook is the go-to scorer on this team. Yes, Hoffarber has been the biggest weapon, but his inability to create his own shot makes me too much of a liability to be "the man." Devoe can create his own shot, but he isn't quite their yet either, so that leaves it to L-Dub to be the alpha dog on this team, and when it works it's a thing of beauty; both Wisconsin games last year, this year's Penn State game were examples of what he can do when he's on. But, as any Gopher fan can tell you, he has been incredible inconsistent throughout his career, and this year has been no exception. In games against top 50 teams as defined at kenpom.com, Westbrook is playing significantly worse than his overall season averages. Points per game: 9 vs. 14. Field Goal Percentage: 41% vs. 52%. Assists per game: 0 vs. 2. Turnovers per game: 3 vs. 1.7. Steals: 0.3 vs. 1.5.
If the Gophers are to do anything in conference play this year Westbrook is going to start bringing his A game against the tough opponents with more regularity. Purdue, Michigan State, Wisconsin, and Ohio State are all in the top 50 and Northwestern and Illinois are just outside of it. I predicted that Westbrook would have a "special" senior season and he got it off to a good start with that Penn State game. If he can keep it going with a huge game against the Boilers that would go a long way towards a possible upset.
5. Can the Gophers beat Purdue in West Lafayette? Short answer: no. Long answer: probably not. Any time you play defense as well as the Gophers, and make no mistake this is one of the best defensive teams in the country, you always have a chance to win anywhere. Although with Purdue being nearly as good on that end (they are 7th to the Gophers 5th in defensive efficieny) and with the Boilers having little trouble with Wake Forest, another top 15 defensive team, earlier this year it doesn't seem really likely.
Still, with a defense that is that good and a team that showed they can win tough road games (@ Madison last year), I don't expect this to be an embarrassment.
Purdue 60, Minnesota 54.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
A Win is a Win, or so they tell me
As Shakespeare would say, "Would a win by any other name smell as sweet?" I don't know what that means, but an ugly win is far better than a well-played loss, and the Gophers certainly managed to squeak out an ugly win, no doubt about that.
Although if it wasn't for Lawrence Westbrook, they probably wouldn't have. Simply put, L-Dub was out of his god damn mind last night. If he didn't make every shot he took in the first half it was damn close, and he finished out 11-16 despite a Kingsbury-esque 40-footer he put up and missed towards the end of the second half. And you know what? Dude was so hot that I don't think anybody, Tubby included, had a problem with him putting that one up. A heat check should always be allowed, and he deserved one. Plus, if that goes in the roof on the barn probably gets blown right off.
Other than Westbrook the only other notables last night were Hoffarber and Nolen. Blake continues to shoot it well (3-7 on threes, 11 total poins) and show that he needs just an inch of room to get his shot off, and still plays a better all-around game than I like to give him credit for. Nolen continues to show he's essentially unguardable getting to the lane (6 assists/1 turnover). If only he had either a jump shot or the ability to finish in the lane he would be a top guard in the country. Yeah, you heard me. But he doesn't, so we'll instead have to be happy with an unguardable penetrating guard who will have some excellent games like last night and others where we want to strangle him. Hopefully more of the former.
That's really pretty much it. Nobody else did much of anything. Devoe only played 12 minutes for some reason. Talor Battle played well but didn't go crazy. The Gophers played ok and won. What more do you want? Five more things? Ok, fine, here you go:
1) If you haven't been to Mac's Industrial Sports Bar on the corner of University and Central you should really check it out. The Wings are awesome and happy hour runs until 7. And 25 cent wings on Tuesdays after seven.
2) Nice parking situation University of Minnesota. We have a parking pass, which means we have a reserved spot in a particularl lot. We roll in right at eight last night and there's a sign blocking our lot saying "Lot Full." They oversold the lot (+shitty parking with snow on the ground, but what do you expect from a state so obsessed with snowmobiles?). So Snacks and I jump out of the car and go talk to some poor student who was clearly far too timid. Snacks used a bunch of lawyer talk about how we pre-paid for a space and I just kept pointing to what was clearly an open parking spot and saying "There's a spot right there." I think at the end Snacks broke out the "reservations" bit from Seinfeld and I said something about liberty being a soul's right to breathe and then we moved the sign, parked, and moved on. As we were walking away another car pulled in behind the sign, and I'm pretty sure the poor attendant girl started crying.
3) I have never been prouder of Gopher fans than I was when Clem was given a standing ovation last night. I recognize that a lot of people were doing it more for the team than for Clem, but I didn't hear any boos at all. I expected to because, let's be honest, there are a holy lot of holier-than-thou morons out there, but there weren't any that I could hear. Well done, folks. He, and the entire team, deserved to be honored and respected, and it was done in an excellent way and I enjoyed it immensely. And speaking of immense, I think Melvin Newbern ate Shawn Kemp (I still love you Melvin).
4) I feel really weird and wrong doing this, but I think it's time we start to question Tubby a wee bit. I have two big issues with last night:
5) Finally, I realized I haven't given you an update on Reggie Holmes (Morgan State chucker guy) lately. Since my last Holmes update, Morgan State has played two games; against Towson (W) and against Eastern Kentucky (L). In the game against Towson, Holmes scored just 20 points due to his 6-20 shooting which including a mind-numbing 0-9 from three-point range, all while notching zero assists. In the team's loss to Eastern Kentucky, he hit on his season average almost exactly, scoring 25 on 8-25 shooting, which once again includes a mind-boggling 6-19 from three point range. And once again he managed to tally not a single assist, leaving his season total still at 4 (that's 0.3 assists per game). He has a lot of work to do if he's going to match that career high of 19. And his 222 shots so far this year are now third in all of NCAA Basketball (despite just 41% shooting), which is equal to the amount Westbrook and Joseph, the top two attempters on the Gophers, have taken combined and more than all but two Gophers (Westy and DJ) took all last season.
Whoa.
No wonder he always looks so tired and disinterested.
Although if it wasn't for Lawrence Westbrook, they probably wouldn't have. Simply put, L-Dub was out of his god damn mind last night. If he didn't make every shot he took in the first half it was damn close, and he finished out 11-16 despite a Kingsbury-esque 40-footer he put up and missed towards the end of the second half. And you know what? Dude was so hot that I don't think anybody, Tubby included, had a problem with him putting that one up. A heat check should always be allowed, and he deserved one. Plus, if that goes in the roof on the barn probably gets blown right off.
Other than Westbrook the only other notables last night were Hoffarber and Nolen. Blake continues to shoot it well (3-7 on threes, 11 total poins) and show that he needs just an inch of room to get his shot off, and still plays a better all-around game than I like to give him credit for. Nolen continues to show he's essentially unguardable getting to the lane (6 assists/1 turnover). If only he had either a jump shot or the ability to finish in the lane he would be a top guard in the country. Yeah, you heard me. But he doesn't, so we'll instead have to be happy with an unguardable penetrating guard who will have some excellent games like last night and others where we want to strangle him. Hopefully more of the former.
That's really pretty much it. Nobody else did much of anything. Devoe only played 12 minutes for some reason. Talor Battle played well but didn't go crazy. The Gophers played ok and won. What more do you want? Five more things? Ok, fine, here you go:
1) If you haven't been to Mac's Industrial Sports Bar on the corner of University and Central you should really check it out. The Wings are awesome and happy hour runs until 7. And 25 cent wings on Tuesdays after seven.
2) Nice parking situation University of Minnesota. We have a parking pass, which means we have a reserved spot in a particularl lot. We roll in right at eight last night and there's a sign blocking our lot saying "Lot Full." They oversold the lot (+shitty parking with snow on the ground, but what do you expect from a state so obsessed with snowmobiles?). So Snacks and I jump out of the car and go talk to some poor student who was clearly far too timid. Snacks used a bunch of lawyer talk about how we pre-paid for a space and I just kept pointing to what was clearly an open parking spot and saying "There's a spot right there." I think at the end Snacks broke out the "reservations" bit from Seinfeld and I said something about liberty being a soul's right to breathe and then we moved the sign, parked, and moved on. As we were walking away another car pulled in behind the sign, and I'm pretty sure the poor attendant girl started crying.
3) I have never been prouder of Gopher fans than I was when Clem was given a standing ovation last night. I recognize that a lot of people were doing it more for the team than for Clem, but I didn't hear any boos at all. I expected to because, let's be honest, there are a holy lot of holier-than-thou morons out there, but there weren't any that I could hear. Well done, folks. He, and the entire team, deserved to be honored and respected, and it was done in an excellent way and I enjoyed it immensely. And speaking of immense, I think Melvin Newbern ate Shawn Kemp (I still love you Melvin).
4) I feel really weird and wrong doing this, but I think it's time we start to question Tubby a wee bit. I have two big issues with last night:
- First, these substitution patterns are driving me crazy. The wholesale line changes have got to stop. The team doesn't have two equal units. The second unit is a large step down from the first, and the team invariably loses momentum when he goes with a 5-for-5. If something is pissing you off about the first team, figure out which player(s) are the problem and replace them. Please stop with the line change. Then last night that second unit is playing crappy and loses the lead so Tubby takes a timeout. You'd assume he'd bring back the good players, but he kept that whole group out there again. I don't get it. Here's how you do it:
- PG: Nolen 30 minutes, Joseph 10 minutes
- SG: Westbrook 30 minutes, Joseph 10 minutes
- SF: Hoffarber 30 minutes, Carter 10 minutes (more for Carter against more athletic teams)
- PF: Johnson 30 minutes, Carter 5, Iverson 5
- C: Sampson 25, Iverson 15
- Slipping in a a few minutes here and there for Cobbs and Rodney (and Bostick). That's a good starting place. Having a deep team doesn't mean you have to play everybody a bunch of minutes, especially when it means you lose track of one of your best players and somehow only give Devoe 12 minutes last night. Yes, that's right. Devoe only played 12 minutes.
- The strategy Tubby chose to employ against Battle was baffling, and the team is lucky it didn't backfire any worse than it did. Having the guards switch on every screen instead of just choosing either Westbrook or Nolen and having him attach himself to Battle wherever he went just seemed like it was a huge mistake, and it did in fact lead to two open three-pointers (one of which was a 30-footer) for Battle where nobody was guarding him due to confusion. The switching even resulted in Blake on Battle quite a few times. Luckily neither Battle nor DeChellis picked up on this. If I had been coaching Penn State I would have just run Battle through picks until Hoffarber was on him, then have him reset the offense and go with a 1-4 isolation play - unstoppable. I also think that against a scorer like Battle it's easier for a defender to contain him when they are on him all game and can get into a rhythm.
5) Finally, I realized I haven't given you an update on Reggie Holmes (Morgan State chucker guy) lately. Since my last Holmes update, Morgan State has played two games; against Towson (W) and against Eastern Kentucky (L). In the game against Towson, Holmes scored just 20 points due to his 6-20 shooting which including a mind-numbing 0-9 from three-point range, all while notching zero assists. In the team's loss to Eastern Kentucky, he hit on his season average almost exactly, scoring 25 on 8-25 shooting, which once again includes a mind-boggling 6-19 from three point range. And once again he managed to tally not a single assist, leaving his season total still at 4 (that's 0.3 assists per game). He has a lot of work to do if he's going to match that career high of 19. And his 222 shots so far this year are now third in all of NCAA Basketball (despite just 41% shooting), which is equal to the amount Westbrook and Joseph, the top two attempters on the Gophers, have taken combined and more than all but two Gophers (Westy and DJ) took all last season.
Whoa.
No wonder he always looks so tired and disinterested.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
A Christmas Wish
I'm not going to preview the South Dakota State game (Go Jackrabbits!). I'm just not. You can't make me. They are the last in a string of terrible non-conference opponents, they're terrible, and they have nobody worth watching. Instead, I'm going to do a cliched cheesy christmas wish list. Hopefully it's not terrible, but if it is, you get what you pay for.
Dear Santa,
Please bring:
Al Nolen the ability to finish at the rim. I could have gone with jumpshot here as well, but if he can only have one I think adding the threat of being able to score when he consistently blows by his defender is more valuable than an outside shot. Once the big ten season starts, players aren't going to leave their men for easy dishes - they know things.
Damian Johnson a consistent outside shot. Remember Travarus Bennett? Similar player, but he developed into a good perimeter shooter his senior year (as did Eric Harris). Johnson is improved, but he's not there yet.
Ralph Sampson a mean streak. He's nearly perfect physically (*swoon*), but it would be nice to see him a little more fired up, maybe knocking around a few people's heads and toss in a technical here or there. Get pissed Ralphie, you're being disrespected.
Colt Iverson the dream shake. Although improved, his footwork on the low block can be cringe-worthy at times. If he adds some moves and be smoother and more fluid, I am starting to think he could be a serious offensive weapon down the line.
Joe Mauer the one team loyalty of Kirby Puckett and Cal Ripken. Come on Joe, you know you want to. What can money buy you any way outside of happiness, love, and everything you could ever want?
Bill Smith some aggressiveness. The J.J. Hardy trade is a good start, but there is a lot more work to do here, especially if you want to prove to Jo-Jo that you're serious about winning. Take a page out of Seattle's book - they have a higher payroll but they maximize it.
Carlos Gomez the drive to excel when he's been disrespected (think Steve Smith). I'd rather have him do it with the Twins, but he's gone now. I'd love to see him channel their giving up on him into becoming a great player.
Brad Childress all the mental faculties a head coach needs. Any of them would do, I'm not sure he has a single one.
Adrian Peterson twenty carries a game. How is this something we even have to ask for?
Brett Favre the fountain of youth. Don't you go falling apart on me old man.
Michael Cuddyer the hope that someone takes away Greg Gagne's inability to resist the down and away Slider in the dirt - this would be the White Elephant/Yankee Swap portion of the evening.
Devoe Joseph a brother to play with.
Lawrence Westbrook some focus. You may be the "#1 option", but this whole team is essentially 1B to your 1A, and drifting in-and-out of attentiveness on both ends of the court is not an endearing trait.
Delmon Young some plate patience. I'm not sure what his ceiling is, but I'm confidant we aren't going to see it unless he stops swinging at every pitch he sees.
Devron Bostick a time machine. If he had chosen St. Louis or Northern Illinois (two others who offered) he would be averaging 15-20 per game.
Blake Hoffarber nothing. He's perfect.
Baseball some kind of reform. Watching the Yankees and Red Sox continue to stock pile anything they want is actually starting to leave a bad taste in my mouth, and I know I'm late to the party and have defending the sport over and over again. The Yankees just picked up Javier Vazquez, who is owed $11.5 million next year, to be their fourth starter. $11.5 million for a fourth starter! If he doesn't work out, they just shrug their shoulders and move on, meanwhile that money would be a huge investment for 90% of the other teams. Frustrating.
Francisco Liriano some kind of miracle cure. I can't be the only whose heart breaks every time he's on the hill, and not just for me as a fan, but for him as well. It has to be incredibly frustrating.
Joe Crede the guy who worked on Larry Bird's back towards the end of his career. Bird couldn't move on non-game days, but when he had to play the dude worked his Miyagi/Kilmer magic and Bird would go mess around and get a triple-double, yet Crede has missed like, 75% of his teams games.
I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting, but unfortunately that's all the time I have. For now, let me say Merry Christmas (and all other Holidays) from Down with Goldy and WonderbabyTM, who really is not a big fan of Santa Claus:
Dear Santa,
Please bring:
Al Nolen the ability to finish at the rim. I could have gone with jumpshot here as well, but if he can only have one I think adding the threat of being able to score when he consistently blows by his defender is more valuable than an outside shot. Once the big ten season starts, players aren't going to leave their men for easy dishes - they know things.
Damian Johnson a consistent outside shot. Remember Travarus Bennett? Similar player, but he developed into a good perimeter shooter his senior year (as did Eric Harris). Johnson is improved, but he's not there yet.
Ralph Sampson a mean streak. He's nearly perfect physically (*swoon*), but it would be nice to see him a little more fired up, maybe knocking around a few people's heads and toss in a technical here or there. Get pissed Ralphie, you're being disrespected.
Colt Iverson the dream shake. Although improved, his footwork on the low block can be cringe-worthy at times. If he adds some moves and be smoother and more fluid, I am starting to think he could be a serious offensive weapon down the line.
Joe Mauer the one team loyalty of Kirby Puckett and Cal Ripken. Come on Joe, you know you want to. What can money buy you any way outside of happiness, love, and everything you could ever want?
Bill Smith some aggressiveness. The J.J. Hardy trade is a good start, but there is a lot more work to do here, especially if you want to prove to Jo-Jo that you're serious about winning. Take a page out of Seattle's book - they have a higher payroll but they maximize it.
Carlos Gomez the drive to excel when he's been disrespected (think Steve Smith). I'd rather have him do it with the Twins, but he's gone now. I'd love to see him channel their giving up on him into becoming a great player.
Brad Childress all the mental faculties a head coach needs. Any of them would do, I'm not sure he has a single one.
Adrian Peterson twenty carries a game. How is this something we even have to ask for?
Brett Favre the fountain of youth. Don't you go falling apart on me old man.
Michael Cuddyer the hope that someone takes away Greg Gagne's inability to resist the down and away Slider in the dirt - this would be the White Elephant/Yankee Swap portion of the evening.
Devoe Joseph a brother to play with.
Lawrence Westbrook some focus. You may be the "#1 option", but this whole team is essentially 1B to your 1A, and drifting in-and-out of attentiveness on both ends of the court is not an endearing trait.
Delmon Young some plate patience. I'm not sure what his ceiling is, but I'm confidant we aren't going to see it unless he stops swinging at every pitch he sees.
Devron Bostick a time machine. If he had chosen St. Louis or Northern Illinois (two others who offered) he would be averaging 15-20 per game.
Blake Hoffarber nothing. He's perfect.
Baseball some kind of reform. Watching the Yankees and Red Sox continue to stock pile anything they want is actually starting to leave a bad taste in my mouth, and I know I'm late to the party and have defending the sport over and over again. The Yankees just picked up Javier Vazquez, who is owed $11.5 million next year, to be their fourth starter. $11.5 million for a fourth starter! If he doesn't work out, they just shrug their shoulders and move on, meanwhile that money would be a huge investment for 90% of the other teams. Frustrating.
Francisco Liriano some kind of miracle cure. I can't be the only whose heart breaks every time he's on the hill, and not just for me as a fan, but for him as well. It has to be incredibly frustrating.
Joe Crede the guy who worked on Larry Bird's back towards the end of his career. Bird couldn't move on non-game days, but when he had to play the dude worked his Miyagi/Kilmer magic and Bird would go mess around and get a triple-double, yet Crede has missed like, 75% of his teams games.
I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting, but unfortunately that's all the time I have. For now, let me say Merry Christmas (and all other Holidays) from Down with Goldy and WonderbabyTM, who really is not a big fan of Santa Claus:
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Yawn along with Me
Game thoughts from the about to be thrilling-no-doubt Gopher/Northern Illinois game. It will be a miracle if I get to half time.
20:00 - This Silas guy they are getting back from injury is the guy I mentioned in my preview who had 18 in their opener. Could be the difference here.
19:59 - I'm kidding of course.
19:32 - Turnover Westbrook, who From the Barn pointed out today is the worst player ever, leading to a layup by Silas. Maybe he really is the difference.
18:52 - Damian rebound. That's a fantasy point.
18:01 - Excellent defense by the Gophers leads to a shot clock violation. This is more like it. Except for how they are still losing 2-0.
17:40 - Ralphie knocks down the 18-footer. God it just kills me that I dropped him in fantasy. I'm souless., I really am. Like Derek Jeter but with even fewer human emotions.
16:14 - Hoff with the board, then coast-to-coast for a pull up three-pointer when the Huskies inexplicably don't pick him up in transition. Then he gives it back on the other end by being unable to guard anybody. I really am not sure what to make of him this year. He can clearly shoot the lights out and dominate piss-poor teams, including dominating the boards, but he's not a good defender by any stretch and I'm just not sure what his role will be once conference play starts. He's not nearly the liability Shamala was, and his basketball IQ is extremely high, but it will be interesting to see what happens.
15:30 - Hoff from about 28. That one was deep.
14:52 - Hoff from about 26. Jesus this is like watching Jake Sullivan at the Hilton.
14:14 - Hoff from 24. You want me to say it? Fine, I'll say it. This is like watching Larry Bird. Apparently his role in the Big Ten games will be "white jesus."
14:12 - No Ill timeout down 16-8. Tubby goes an all new five coming out of the timeout (the first of the game). Makes sense since eveyone is probably a bit tuckered, but I hate taking the Hoff out right here. He hasn't even gotten to take his heat check, and you're already cooling him down. Freakin' Tubby. He's like the Cooler in that movie "The Cooler."
13:40 - Nice job by Bostick getting a dunk (which he kind of Randy Cartered). After he missed a three the Gophers got the offensive rebound, and instead of standing around Bostick got himself open right under the hoop for a wide-open super polite "dunk." He's still got good offensive instincts, and I'd almost bet he ends up with a 20-point game at some point this season, but there are a lot of reasons to only give him a few minutes here and there. He should have gone to a smaller school in like the MVC or OVC or even the Mountain West. I bet he'd be averaging 15 a game at a smaller school.
11:40 - Gophers go to some full court pressure and immediately get the steal. This game feels like the Gophers are up more than 18-10. They certainly should be up more than 8. The pace of this game is brutal. It's like watching pre-shot clock ball. I keep waiting for them to get the ladder out to get the ball out of the peach basket.
10:30 - By the way, I'm going to go ahead and strongly recommend the Book of Basketball by Bill Simmons. Yes, it's kind of homerific and yes, it's arrogant in a lot of places and yes, it is peppered with constant pop culture references, but it's also very entertaining and far more informative than I expected. You can really tell he did his homework and I learned a lot in an entertaining way. Highly recommend.
9:45 - Hoff for 3. That's 5-6 by my count. I am really, really wanting to see either a pull-up three on a breakaway with no defender in front of him or a 40-footer. Come on Hoff, do it for the fans. Let's see a little Kingsbury here.
8:43 - Great touch pass by Westbrook to find Sampson for a dunk. Nice press Northern Illinois. You guys are worthless. If it wasn't for Michael Turner they might as well just shut the whole place down.
7:35 - Right now with 1 rebound and 1 turnover Damian Johnson is sitting at a total of -1 fantasy point. Oy. I feel like I started T-Jax.
7:20 - A three for that Silas guy who is actually decent. Westbrook answers. 30-17 gophers.
6:13 - A steal and an assist by DJ, which is a quick five points.
6:10 - Text from Snacks "Mbakwe not on the bench tonight." I actually don't have a clue if he usually is, so I don't know if this is interesting information or not.
6:07 - Text from Dawger "How big does the Hoff's crank look tonight." Kids got issues, man. But I'd say large. Think Dirk Diggler.
4:48 - I'm getting HDTV on Friday. I'm giddy.
2:45 - Devoe for three. Gophers now up 19. Only real drama here is a 26 point spread. I think Brown would beat this guys by double-digits.
1:56 - New Twins guy to hope they sign: Kelly Johnson, 2b, formerly of the Braves. Atlanta didn't offer him a contract for whatever reason, so he's out there for the signing. Although he struggled last year, hitting .224/.303/.389 with just 8 homers, the previous two seasons were excellent with OPS+ numbers of 116 and 109, or the equivalent of last year's Denard Span, and that's from the second base position. IF his poor numbers were just due to his injury (only played in 106 games due to an injured wrist) and IF he is affordable he is very high on my wishlist for the Twins for next season.
0:00 - Half ends with the Gophers leading 44-23. I might be done here.
18:54 - Hoff hurt his ankle! He's limping, shit. This is just like when Larry Bird racked his face on the floor and ruined the Celtics seasons. Oh the humanity!
18:27 - Nolen with a beautiful dish for a Sampson dunk. He (Nolen) is such an enigma. He basically can't be guarded, and when he can get to the lane and find open players he is so so so good. Then he has games where he is completely lost out there and can nearly single-handedly lose a game for the team.
17:08 - And then he does things like get a steal which leads to an alley-oop from Devoe to DJ. Every time I think I'm out, he pulls me back in. Damn you Nolen. He's the Sam to my Diane.
16:40 - Text from Snake "Is Rodney in jail?" That's a good question. Haven't seen him tonight.
15:01 - 52-32 Gophers. I'm pretty bored, and Mrs. W is even worse. I think we are going to watch last night's Big Bang Theory. I might be back later.
11:00 - ESPN.com tells me the Gophers are up 65-34 and that Hoffarber is back in and made another three. Good.
10:31 - Just flipped the game back on in time to see Blakey's seventh three pointer. I so want to see a heat check.
8:18 - Hoffarber is out and so am I with the Gophers up 32. Let's get on to the conference games already.
20:00 - This Silas guy they are getting back from injury is the guy I mentioned in my preview who had 18 in their opener. Could be the difference here.
19:59 - I'm kidding of course.
19:32 - Turnover Westbrook, who From the Barn pointed out today is the worst player ever, leading to a layup by Silas. Maybe he really is the difference.
18:52 - Damian rebound. That's a fantasy point.
18:01 - Excellent defense by the Gophers leads to a shot clock violation. This is more like it. Except for how they are still losing 2-0.
17:40 - Ralphie knocks down the 18-footer. God it just kills me that I dropped him in fantasy. I'm souless., I really am. Like Derek Jeter but with even fewer human emotions.
16:14 - Hoff with the board, then coast-to-coast for a pull up three-pointer when the Huskies inexplicably don't pick him up in transition. Then he gives it back on the other end by being unable to guard anybody. I really am not sure what to make of him this year. He can clearly shoot the lights out and dominate piss-poor teams, including dominating the boards, but he's not a good defender by any stretch and I'm just not sure what his role will be once conference play starts. He's not nearly the liability Shamala was, and his basketball IQ is extremely high, but it will be interesting to see what happens.
15:30 - Hoff from about 28. That one was deep.
14:52 - Hoff from about 26. Jesus this is like watching Jake Sullivan at the Hilton.
14:14 - Hoff from 24. You want me to say it? Fine, I'll say it. This is like watching Larry Bird. Apparently his role in the Big Ten games will be "white jesus."
14:12 - No Ill timeout down 16-8. Tubby goes an all new five coming out of the timeout (the first of the game). Makes sense since eveyone is probably a bit tuckered, but I hate taking the Hoff out right here. He hasn't even gotten to take his heat check, and you're already cooling him down. Freakin' Tubby. He's like the Cooler in that movie "The Cooler."
13:40 - Nice job by Bostick getting a dunk (which he kind of Randy Cartered). After he missed a three the Gophers got the offensive rebound, and instead of standing around Bostick got himself open right under the hoop for a wide-open super polite "dunk." He's still got good offensive instincts, and I'd almost bet he ends up with a 20-point game at some point this season, but there are a lot of reasons to only give him a few minutes here and there. He should have gone to a smaller school in like the MVC or OVC or even the Mountain West. I bet he'd be averaging 15 a game at a smaller school.
11:40 - Gophers go to some full court pressure and immediately get the steal. This game feels like the Gophers are up more than 18-10. They certainly should be up more than 8. The pace of this game is brutal. It's like watching pre-shot clock ball. I keep waiting for them to get the ladder out to get the ball out of the peach basket.
10:30 - By the way, I'm going to go ahead and strongly recommend the Book of Basketball by Bill Simmons. Yes, it's kind of homerific and yes, it's arrogant in a lot of places and yes, it is peppered with constant pop culture references, but it's also very entertaining and far more informative than I expected. You can really tell he did his homework and I learned a lot in an entertaining way. Highly recommend.
9:45 - Hoff for 3. That's 5-6 by my count. I am really, really wanting to see either a pull-up three on a breakaway with no defender in front of him or a 40-footer. Come on Hoff, do it for the fans. Let's see a little Kingsbury here.
8:43 - Great touch pass by Westbrook to find Sampson for a dunk. Nice press Northern Illinois. You guys are worthless. If it wasn't for Michael Turner they might as well just shut the whole place down.
7:35 - Right now with 1 rebound and 1 turnover Damian Johnson is sitting at a total of -1 fantasy point. Oy. I feel like I started T-Jax.
7:20 - A three for that Silas guy who is actually decent. Westbrook answers. 30-17 gophers.
6:13 - A steal and an assist by DJ, which is a quick five points.
6:10 - Text from Snacks "Mbakwe not on the bench tonight." I actually don't have a clue if he usually is, so I don't know if this is interesting information or not.
6:07 - Text from Dawger "How big does the Hoff's crank look tonight." Kids got issues, man. But I'd say large. Think Dirk Diggler.
4:48 - I'm getting HDTV on Friday. I'm giddy.
2:45 - Devoe for three. Gophers now up 19. Only real drama here is a 26 point spread. I think Brown would beat this guys by double-digits.
1:56 - New Twins guy to hope they sign: Kelly Johnson, 2b, formerly of the Braves. Atlanta didn't offer him a contract for whatever reason, so he's out there for the signing. Although he struggled last year, hitting .224/.303/.389 with just 8 homers, the previous two seasons were excellent with OPS+ numbers of 116 and 109, or the equivalent of last year's Denard Span, and that's from the second base position. IF his poor numbers were just due to his injury (only played in 106 games due to an injured wrist) and IF he is affordable he is very high on my wishlist for the Twins for next season.
0:00 - Half ends with the Gophers leading 44-23. I might be done here.
18:54 - Hoff hurt his ankle! He's limping, shit. This is just like when Larry Bird racked his face on the floor and ruined the Celtics seasons. Oh the humanity!
18:27 - Nolen with a beautiful dish for a Sampson dunk. He (Nolen) is such an enigma. He basically can't be guarded, and when he can get to the lane and find open players he is so so so good. Then he has games where he is completely lost out there and can nearly single-handedly lose a game for the team.
17:08 - And then he does things like get a steal which leads to an alley-oop from Devoe to DJ. Every time I think I'm out, he pulls me back in. Damn you Nolen. He's the Sam to my Diane.
16:40 - Text from Snake "Is Rodney in jail?" That's a good question. Haven't seen him tonight.
15:01 - 52-32 Gophers. I'm pretty bored, and Mrs. W is even worse. I think we are going to watch last night's Big Bang Theory. I might be back later.
11:00 - ESPN.com tells me the Gophers are up 65-34 and that Hoffarber is back in and made another three. Good.
10:31 - Just flipped the game back on in time to see Blakey's seventh three pointer. I so want to see a heat check.
8:18 - Hoffarber is out and so am I with the Gophers up 32. Let's get on to the conference games already.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Yo I'm Here (Gophers vs. Miami)
Ok, so maybe I exaggerated a bit. Turns out I will have time to post on tonight's game, but only the second half. Because of the early start, I was on WonderbabyTM duty and sort of caught the first half in bits and pieces between "fishing" and "playing blocks" and other various wonders of the baby variety.
The Gophers lead 30-25, and here is what I was able to tell:
1. Al Nolen is playing his best game of the year.
2. Miami is really sloppy with the ball.
3. Rodney Williams is really bad at free throws.
4. Miami is more athletic and it shows on the boards and when they drive to the rim, but luckily they hit a bunch of threes early, have fallen in love with the outside shot, and haven't gotten inside nearly enough.
5. Not nearly enough touches for Ralph.
So now WonderbabyTM is in bed, the wife is in the other room watching god knows what kind of crap on our brand new TV, and I'm holed up in the bedroom watching the Gophers on a 13 inch screen. But I am watching. Go
19:41 - Miami immediately tries to drive the ball, gets repelled, and then settles for a horrible three-point attempt that lodges between the rim and the backboard like a Rod-Will free throw. I like this.
18:56 - Ralphie dunk on another great assist by Nolen. THIS is what he needs to be. It's freaking glorious when he does this - I just wish it happened more often.
17:00 - Gophers miss a couple in the lane and an open jumper, shades of the Portland game. This team is very good at getting quality shots, they just aren't very good at getting them to fall. I'm going to consider this a positive though, because they eventually have to hit, right? RIGHT?
16:40 - Is this guys' name Duece? That would be sweet.
16:25 - Ralphie jumper! Unstoppable.
16:13 - I looked it up, and his name is Dews. That's disappointing. Also disappointing? This 23-10 rebound edge the Hurricanes have. How is that even possible? They're shooting 38%. In 24 minutes o fgame play don't you think you'd get more than 10 rebounds by accident?
15:38 - They can't guard Nolen. Their only chance is to just let him shoot instead of pass. Remember how far off of Rondo the Bulls played in 2008? That should be the defensive strategy here for the Canes. I also want to use this space to point out to you that every single girl named either Casey or Cassie is hot. It's true. See:
15:30 - Oh, so apparently thanks to work I totally missed that Royce White pled guilty to something. Now I'm going to have to spend my free time looking it up. Maybe I'll just text Snacks.
14:15 - Damian with an offensive tip in. Announcer guy wants us to know he has great length. I'm sorry but I laughed. The Canes tie it on another launched three (you guys go ahead and keep launching) but Hoff gives the lead back with a three of his own on yet another assist from Al freaking Nolen. That's got to be at least 20 for him already. He's the next Scott Skiles.
12:38 - Another chucked three missed by Miami. Good god who coaches this team, Beilein? I'm going to have to look this up now and see if this is just a team strategy.
11:31 - Does anybody else think maybe Paul Carter, Rodney Williams, and probably Damian Johnson should maybe not shoot three-pointers? Am I even allowed to talk badly about DJ? I feel really guilty right now.
10:44 - Canes take the lead 43-42 on another three pointer. This one was open. And since I know you've been waiting, it turns out Miami is in the upper 20% of teams in terms of how often they shoot threes. Even more interesting, they actually have the 7th best shooting percentage of all teams on 2-pointers, but are 129th in 3-point percentage. So yes, by all means stay on the perimeter.
10:30 - Whoa, how did Illinois get back in that game against Clemson? Last I saw, the Illini were down 20. Now they're down just five. It makes me physically angry at myself how much I want the Big Ten to win this. And it's not even from a rational mind as in raising the conferences RPI in order to help the Gophers get to the NCAA Tournament, it's just from some kind of conference pride. When did I turn into my father? I hate all the other Big Ten teams.
8:55 - Devoe with back-to-back threes to put the Gophers back up one. Take that, three-point chucking jerks. Maple Leaf power and all that shit. Speaking of swearing, I'm reading the Bill Simmons basketball book right now, and it's weird because he swears in it. Not a lot, and not excessively, but just occassionally enough. It's like you're reading one of his columns (back when he still wrote them) with all it's homerism and arrogance but still damn entertaining, and then he drops a shit or a fuck on you. Jarring.
7:57 - Since I didn't write a preview, here's your MIAMI FUN FACT: Rick Barry not only holds every scoring, scoring average, and rebounding record at the school (game, season, career), he also holds the top eight single season scoring marks in the school's history.
7:39 - Westbrook just airballed a 12 footer with the Gophers down one. What. The. Fuck.
7:12 - Terrible defense on a high screen. No help, no switch, no step out - not even a show by whoever the big guy was whose man set the screen. I don't have Tivo in this room so I can't rewind, but I'm going to assume it was definitely not a lapse by Ralph.
6:03 - Nolen continues to be unguardable, and continues to get guys open shots. And they continue to be missed. I'm starting to think maybe that 15-footer isn't in Ralph's range. But it's so pretty and so smooth. He's like the next Sam Perkins, but without the three-point range. Yet.
5:51 - Tie ballgame, Gophers go to a full-court press and force Miami to take a timeout. I like this. The Canes have been very sloppy with the ball all game, could be a good gamble here. Or it could lead to thousands upon thousands of open three-pointers. Also my new boss used the word "irregardless" when talking to me today, and I'm 99.9% sure he wasn't trying to be funny. It took every ounce of willpower I had to not say anything.
4:45 - I'm about 90% sure Malcolm Grant could go by Devoe just as easily as Nolen has been going buy everybody tonight. Luckily he has chosen not to so far. And as I've been typing this Damian Johnson missed two free throws and Devoe airballed a three-pointer. Bad omens.
2:57 - So I know Westbrook leads the Gophers in scoring and all tonight, but boy does he seem lost out there a bit. I guess it's a nice improvement from last year, when he would seem lost and just stand around and do nothing. And he just missed a pretty huge jumper. Gophers down 55-53, Miami ball, 1:30 left.
0:42 - Westbrook turnover. Gophers down four and now need to foul. We're kind of in miracle territory here. Somebody please go back in time to when I said I felt like Westbrook was in for a special kind of senior year and kick me in the nuts. This more like Corky-special, not the good kind of special.
0:37 - Or, instead of fouling, they could let the Canes baseball pass it over their heads for a dunk, then turn it over without getting a shot, and give up a three-point play and suddenly be down by 8 with only 28 seconds left.
0:00 - Sigh. Gophers lose . Yet again, another missed opportunity to get a quality win, their last chance before conference play. Similar to the Portland and Texas A&M games, this isn't going to go down as a bad loss, but it's another whiff on a chance to get a marquee win, which could come back to haunt them. That's less margin for error in the conference games.
I'm really just so disappointed. Four big chances for big non-conference wins, four winnable games, and a 1-3 record. Damn it.
The Gophers lead 30-25, and here is what I was able to tell:
1. Al Nolen is playing his best game of the year.
2. Miami is really sloppy with the ball.
3. Rodney Williams is really bad at free throws.
4. Miami is more athletic and it shows on the boards and when they drive to the rim, but luckily they hit a bunch of threes early, have fallen in love with the outside shot, and haven't gotten inside nearly enough.
5. Not nearly enough touches for Ralph.
So now WonderbabyTM is in bed, the wife is in the other room watching god knows what kind of crap on our brand new TV, and I'm holed up in the bedroom watching the Gophers on a 13 inch screen. But I am watching. Go
19:41 - Miami immediately tries to drive the ball, gets repelled, and then settles for a horrible three-point attempt that lodges between the rim and the backboard like a Rod-Will free throw. I like this.
18:56 - Ralphie dunk on another great assist by Nolen. THIS is what he needs to be. It's freaking glorious when he does this - I just wish it happened more often.
17:00 - Gophers miss a couple in the lane and an open jumper, shades of the Portland game. This team is very good at getting quality shots, they just aren't very good at getting them to fall. I'm going to consider this a positive though, because they eventually have to hit, right? RIGHT?
16:40 - Is this guys' name Duece? That would be sweet.
16:25 - Ralphie jumper! Unstoppable.
16:13 - I looked it up, and his name is Dews. That's disappointing. Also disappointing? This 23-10 rebound edge the Hurricanes have. How is that even possible? They're shooting 38%. In 24 minutes o fgame play don't you think you'd get more than 10 rebounds by accident?
15:38 - They can't guard Nolen. Their only chance is to just let him shoot instead of pass. Remember how far off of Rondo the Bulls played in 2008? That should be the defensive strategy here for the Canes. I also want to use this space to point out to you that every single girl named either Casey or Cassie is hot. It's true. See:
15:30 - Oh, so apparently thanks to work I totally missed that Royce White pled guilty to something. Now I'm going to have to spend my free time looking it up. Maybe I'll just text Snacks.
14:15 - Damian with an offensive tip in. Announcer guy wants us to know he has great length. I'm sorry but I laughed. The Canes tie it on another launched three (you guys go ahead and keep launching) but Hoff gives the lead back with a three of his own on yet another assist from Al freaking Nolen. That's got to be at least 20 for him already. He's the next Scott Skiles.
12:38 - Another chucked three missed by Miami. Good god who coaches this team, Beilein? I'm going to have to look this up now and see if this is just a team strategy.
11:31 - Does anybody else think maybe Paul Carter, Rodney Williams, and probably Damian Johnson should maybe not shoot three-pointers? Am I even allowed to talk badly about DJ? I feel really guilty right now.
10:44 - Canes take the lead 43-42 on another three pointer. This one was open. And since I know you've been waiting, it turns out Miami is in the upper 20% of teams in terms of how often they shoot threes. Even more interesting, they actually have the 7th best shooting percentage of all teams on 2-pointers, but are 129th in 3-point percentage. So yes, by all means stay on the perimeter.
10:30 - Whoa, how did Illinois get back in that game against Clemson? Last I saw, the Illini were down 20. Now they're down just five. It makes me physically angry at myself how much I want the Big Ten to win this. And it's not even from a rational mind as in raising the conferences RPI in order to help the Gophers get to the NCAA Tournament, it's just from some kind of conference pride. When did I turn into my father? I hate all the other Big Ten teams.
8:55 - Devoe with back-to-back threes to put the Gophers back up one. Take that, three-point chucking jerks. Maple Leaf power and all that shit. Speaking of swearing, I'm reading the Bill Simmons basketball book right now, and it's weird because he swears in it. Not a lot, and not excessively, but just occassionally enough. It's like you're reading one of his columns (back when he still wrote them) with all it's homerism and arrogance but still damn entertaining, and then he drops a shit or a fuck on you. Jarring.
7:57 - Since I didn't write a preview, here's your MIAMI FUN FACT: Rick Barry not only holds every scoring, scoring average, and rebounding record at the school (game, season, career), he also holds the top eight single season scoring marks in the school's history.
7:39 - Westbrook just airballed a 12 footer with the Gophers down one. What. The. Fuck.
7:12 - Terrible defense on a high screen. No help, no switch, no step out - not even a show by whoever the big guy was whose man set the screen. I don't have Tivo in this room so I can't rewind, but I'm going to assume it was definitely not a lapse by Ralph.
6:03 - Nolen continues to be unguardable, and continues to get guys open shots. And they continue to be missed. I'm starting to think maybe that 15-footer isn't in Ralph's range. But it's so pretty and so smooth. He's like the next Sam Perkins, but without the three-point range. Yet.
5:51 - Tie ballgame, Gophers go to a full-court press and force Miami to take a timeout. I like this. The Canes have been very sloppy with the ball all game, could be a good gamble here. Or it could lead to thousands upon thousands of open three-pointers. Also my new boss used the word "irregardless" when talking to me today, and I'm 99.9% sure he wasn't trying to be funny. It took every ounce of willpower I had to not say anything.
4:45 - I'm about 90% sure Malcolm Grant could go by Devoe just as easily as Nolen has been going buy everybody tonight. Luckily he has chosen not to so far. And as I've been typing this Damian Johnson missed two free throws and Devoe airballed a three-pointer. Bad omens.
2:57 - So I know Westbrook leads the Gophers in scoring and all tonight, but boy does he seem lost out there a bit. I guess it's a nice improvement from last year, when he would seem lost and just stand around and do nothing. And he just missed a pretty huge jumper. Gophers down 55-53, Miami ball, 1:30 left.
0:42 - Westbrook turnover. Gophers down four and now need to foul. We're kind of in miracle territory here. Somebody please go back in time to when I said I felt like Westbrook was in for a special kind of senior year and kick me in the nuts. This more like Corky-special, not the good kind of special.
0:37 - Or, instead of fouling, they could let the Canes baseball pass it over their heads for a dunk, then turn it over without getting a shot, and give up a three-point play and suddenly be down by 8 with only 28 seconds left.
0:00 - Sigh. Gophers lose . Yet again, another missed opportunity to get a quality win, their last chance before conference play. Similar to the Portland and Texas A&M games, this isn't going to go down as a bad loss, but it's another whiff on a chance to get a marquee win, which could come back to haunt them. That's less margin for error in the conference games.
I'm really just so disappointed. Four big chances for big non-conference wins, four winnable games, and a 1-3 record. Damn it.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Gophers vs. Pilots Live Blog
If I'm online while watching a game, I usually try to hang out either at From the Barn's Live Blog or the Daily Gopher's game thread, but since FTB's liveblog machine isn't working and nobody is around in the game thread at TDG, I'll just stick some thoughts here while I think them, because I have to share with somebody and god knows Mrs. W won't listen to me. We are at 7:00 left in the first half right now and the Gophers are down 18-14.
7:08 - Away from the ball foul called on Ralph. These refs are racist.
6:03 - Carter to the line after drawing the foul on the obviously fake named Kramer Knudson. Gophers overall are looking awfully lethargic on offense right now. The shooting has been awful, nobody is getting into the lane, and then when a shot does go up there is nobody around to even attempt to think about trying for an offensive rebound. And, naturally, Carter misses both free throws.
5:40 - How many times can Portland beat the Gophers off the dribble? I hate to say it, but it feels like the Gophers are lucky to only be down 8 right now.
4:40 - Air balled three by Portland, but they grab the offensive board for a lay up and the Gophers are down 10. This is an awful effort so far. On the other end, Nolen beats his man and gets to the rim for the bucket and the foul. That's the second or third time he's done that. The Pilots have been playing a man-to-man for the most part despite me having heard on the radio that they play a mean 2-3 zone. Interesting.
4:01 - Gophers go to a half court trap and force a turnover. Let's ratchet up the intensity here boys. Look to fiery Ralph Sampson for leadership. See his emotion and how he wears his feelings on his sleeve?
3:30 - Huge three by Devoe to cut the lead to six. He is looking more and more like he could be a huge offensive force, especially when Cobbs/Hoffarber can play the point when Nolen is out. Loving Devoe. Not Deebo though. That son of a bitch has Mbakwe all messed up in this bike crime business. You kids are nothin' but punks. Sissified. So quick to pick up a gun. Too scared to take an ass-whipping. [Raises his fists] This is what makes you a man. When I was growing up, this was all the protection we needed. You win some, you lose some. But you live, you live to fight another day!
2:19 - Nolen cannot be stopped getting the hole. Of course, when the foul him he just misses his free throws, so getting to the rim is pretty much irrelevant.
1:30 - Carter scores inside again, and it's clear the Gophers are much better athletes and much quicker and faster. they should be able to handle this team. Of course, T.J. Campbell just hit another three. This guy is unreal. Best shooter in NCAA history. Oh, and Nolen once again got into the lane, and this time they didn't foul him but he did miss the layup. I'm starting to think they have no chance in this one.
0:03 - Gophers turn it over on their last two possessions, and they are just playing like garbage. The only savior is some good defense that has held the Pilots to 4-15 shooting on threes. We go to the break with the Gophers trailing 33-27. It's clear the Gophers are the better team, they're just making some really dumb mistakes, not attacking the defense nearly enough (other than Nolen who can't finish), and are just missing shots. I'm not panicking. In fact, I'm quite calm. I have a good feeling about the second half. Sorry hippies.
20:00 - And we're back. Took half time there to watch a little bit of The Soup. Good show.
19:45 - DJ with a nice move to get into the lane but can't finish. You know, Portland's defense is pretty good once the Gophers get into the lane. They're giving them jumpers and they can't hit. A few shots are going to have to drop if they want to pull this out.
18:30 - Nice jumper by Devoe. I'm feeling a big half out of him.
18:10 - Gorgeous move by Joseph but can't finish - that's pretty much the story of the game.
17:40 - Westbrook jumper and we're tied. All the momentum on the Gophers side right now. If they can keep up this energy level and this intensity, we're in good shape. Of course, that little midget Campbell will probably hit a three.
16:40 - Not Campbell, but Stohl hits one instead and Portland is back up five. Westbrook with another nice move to get into the lane but can't finish. It would be funny if it wasn't so sad. Portland can't stop them from getting shots - and good shots - but they absolutely can't finish. Kind of like you with your girl last night. She told me.
15:55 - So this Tiger Woods thing is pretty weird. Gets into a one-car accident in front of his own house at 2:30am, his wife has to break him out of the car afterwards and he's "drifting in and out of consciousness" despite his only injuries being cuts to his face, and there isn't alcohol involved? So weird. I'm afraid it might end up being some kind of pain pill thing, although I really hope not. He seems like he is too careful and takes too good of care of his body to be into recreational drugs, and with the surgery last year it wouldn't be a huge shock if this is pain pill related. Hopefully it turns out there is some legit story that doens't involve these kind of things, but based on the few details that have come out I don't know, seems so weird.
15:40 - Angry Westbrook? I hope so.
15:20 - HEY RETARDS STOP LEAVING PEOPLE OPEN FROM THREE THEY ARE ALL REALLY GOOD SHOOTERS ON THIS TEAM I HATE YOU ALL. Seriously, I'm gonna go watch the soup. Smarter people.
14:11 - Another nice move to get into the lane and missed shot. la;khjoapgwqhvoisahd
13:43 - The Gophers are being outrebounded 29-19 by a bunch of medium sized, unathletic white kids. I have no idea how, but they are only down 44-39 despite playing like a mid-tier high school team so far tonight. And another god damn turnover. Jesus christ this is horrible. They should have these guys beaten by 15 by now. Is this just a case of relaxing after beating Butler? Were they looking forward to UCLA and just can't bring themselves to care about Portland? Underrating Portland? I have no idea, but my opinion of this team is dropping faster than your girl after two glasses of merlot.
11:54 - Another turnover. You probably think I'm kidding but I'm not. Portland refuses to score, and that midget even missed a shot - I assume the first of his career - but the Gophers just refuse to take advantage. Just when I start to think maybe we have some kind of special team, it turns out they're just the same old stupid team we have watched for years. This is just like Donnie Darko.
10:55 - The new offense seems to be "let's all stand around and not do a god damn thing and let the shot clock run down and chuck a bad shot." Sound familiar? I think Monson introduced this one and then Tubby has just added a few wrinkles. It's like they've never seen a zone before (they're in that 2-3 now).
8:58 - You're never going to believe this. Carter made a nice move to get into the lane for a lay up - and he missed it! I know, I couldn't believe it either.
8:25 - They are damn lucky to even be within 10 right now (it's 50-41). This is awful. I'd rather watch hockey.
7:16 - This is because I picked the Gophers to win, isn't it? NEVER AGAIN. Actually, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't pick them to beat Tennessee Tech right now. That must have been a fluke.
7:12 - You know what? The more details that come out and the more I think about it, the more I am starting to think this was Tiger having an affair and the Mrs. found out about it and some really weird things happened. That's the new #1, with pain pill addiction at #2. #9372 is that the story they're telling is true.
7:11 - I just winced when the game came back on because it was much more fun watching the commercials. That should tell you all you need to know.
6:25 - Gophers now down double digits. Not to take anything away from Portland, because they are a good team and should challenge Gonzaga for the WCC title, but the Gophers have been awful tonight. Completely and totally awful. Not even close to the same team as last night.
4:20 - Gophers cut the lead to six, could have been five but Joseph missed what must have been the tenth consecutive free throw by the team. Do I feel excited or hopeful? No. Not even a tiny bit.
3:53- Nolen hits two free throws to cut it to four, bringing the Gophers to a stellar 9-16 from the stripe.
3:03 - Luckily, on eof their various dead-eye shooters misses a wide open (and I mean WIDE open) three, then Nolen takes one to the rim and scores to cut it to two - now four after some random whitey hits for Portland.
1:30 - Rodney Williams with a horrible, horrible decision to chuck up a pro distance three (it looked like your typical Al Nolen three-ball). Gophers still down four with 1:11 left, but it's Portland's ball. Dear lord was that a stupid play.
0:30 - Three or four chances to score on that possession thanks to offensive rebounds and they come away with nothing. This is one of the most frustrating Gopher games I can remember watching. Better team, just completely outplayed.
0:15 - Ok, interesting. Gophers down 3 and they force a turnover. Let's get somebody going to the basket and get a quick two unless there's an obvious kick out for three. Nothing stupid. I'm looking at you Westbrook.
0:03 - Hoff misses a semi open three, and misses horribly, rebound goes through Nolen's arms to a Pilot and that's your ball game. Pretty good microcosm of the game right there in that one play.
Ugh. After you beat the #10 team in the country (overrated or not) to follow it up with that crap? Just a piss poor effort all the way around, other than the last three minutes or so of the game. Far too little and far far far too late. Portland is no doubt a good team, and will likely not only be in the running for the WCC but also for an at-large bid, and I highly doubt this will ever show up as a "bad loss" on the Gophers resume, but it's awfully frustrating right now. They were just so clearly a better team, but were absolutely outplayed and couldn't get it done. Ugh. Not even Christina Applegate could cheer me up right now.
What's next? Texas A&M or some crap? Better win that one, or your win over Butler has been completely erased. God this sucks.
I BLAME YOU, MOONEY!!
7:08 - Away from the ball foul called on Ralph. These refs are racist.
6:03 - Carter to the line after drawing the foul on the obviously fake named Kramer Knudson. Gophers overall are looking awfully lethargic on offense right now. The shooting has been awful, nobody is getting into the lane, and then when a shot does go up there is nobody around to even attempt to think about trying for an offensive rebound. And, naturally, Carter misses both free throws.
5:40 - How many times can Portland beat the Gophers off the dribble? I hate to say it, but it feels like the Gophers are lucky to only be down 8 right now.
4:40 - Air balled three by Portland, but they grab the offensive board for a lay up and the Gophers are down 10. This is an awful effort so far. On the other end, Nolen beats his man and gets to the rim for the bucket and the foul. That's the second or third time he's done that. The Pilots have been playing a man-to-man for the most part despite me having heard on the radio that they play a mean 2-3 zone. Interesting.
4:01 - Gophers go to a half court trap and force a turnover. Let's ratchet up the intensity here boys. Look to fiery Ralph Sampson for leadership. See his emotion and how he wears his feelings on his sleeve?
3:30 - Huge three by Devoe to cut the lead to six. He is looking more and more like he could be a huge offensive force, especially when Cobbs/Hoffarber can play the point when Nolen is out. Loving Devoe. Not Deebo though. That son of a bitch has Mbakwe all messed up in this bike crime business. You kids are nothin' but punks. Sissified. So quick to pick up a gun. Too scared to take an ass-whipping. [Raises his fists] This is what makes you a man. When I was growing up, this was all the protection we needed. You win some, you lose some. But you live, you live to fight another day!
2:19 - Nolen cannot be stopped getting the hole. Of course, when the foul him he just misses his free throws, so getting to the rim is pretty much irrelevant.
1:30 - Carter scores inside again, and it's clear the Gophers are much better athletes and much quicker and faster. they should be able to handle this team. Of course, T.J. Campbell just hit another three. This guy is unreal. Best shooter in NCAA history. Oh, and Nolen once again got into the lane, and this time they didn't foul him but he did miss the layup. I'm starting to think they have no chance in this one.
0:03 - Gophers turn it over on their last two possessions, and they are just playing like garbage. The only savior is some good defense that has held the Pilots to 4-15 shooting on threes. We go to the break with the Gophers trailing 33-27. It's clear the Gophers are the better team, they're just making some really dumb mistakes, not attacking the defense nearly enough (other than Nolen who can't finish), and are just missing shots. I'm not panicking. In fact, I'm quite calm. I have a good feeling about the second half. Sorry hippies.
20:00 - And we're back. Took half time there to watch a little bit of The Soup. Good show.
19:45 - DJ with a nice move to get into the lane but can't finish. You know, Portland's defense is pretty good once the Gophers get into the lane. They're giving them jumpers and they can't hit. A few shots are going to have to drop if they want to pull this out.
18:30 - Nice jumper by Devoe. I'm feeling a big half out of him.
18:10 - Gorgeous move by Joseph but can't finish - that's pretty much the story of the game.
17:40 - Westbrook jumper and we're tied. All the momentum on the Gophers side right now. If they can keep up this energy level and this intensity, we're in good shape. Of course, that little midget Campbell will probably hit a three.
16:40 - Not Campbell, but Stohl hits one instead and Portland is back up five. Westbrook with another nice move to get into the lane but can't finish. It would be funny if it wasn't so sad. Portland can't stop them from getting shots - and good shots - but they absolutely can't finish. Kind of like you with your girl last night. She told me.
15:55 - So this Tiger Woods thing is pretty weird. Gets into a one-car accident in front of his own house at 2:30am, his wife has to break him out of the car afterwards and he's "drifting in and out of consciousness" despite his only injuries being cuts to his face, and there isn't alcohol involved? So weird. I'm afraid it might end up being some kind of pain pill thing, although I really hope not. He seems like he is too careful and takes too good of care of his body to be into recreational drugs, and with the surgery last year it wouldn't be a huge shock if this is pain pill related. Hopefully it turns out there is some legit story that doens't involve these kind of things, but based on the few details that have come out I don't know, seems so weird.
15:40 - Angry Westbrook? I hope so.
15:20 - HEY RETARDS STOP LEAVING PEOPLE OPEN FROM THREE THEY ARE ALL REALLY GOOD SHOOTERS ON THIS TEAM I HATE YOU ALL. Seriously, I'm gonna go watch the soup. Smarter people.
14:11 - Another nice move to get into the lane and missed shot. la;khjoapgwqhvoisahd
13:43 - The Gophers are being outrebounded 29-19 by a bunch of medium sized, unathletic white kids. I have no idea how, but they are only down 44-39 despite playing like a mid-tier high school team so far tonight. And another god damn turnover. Jesus christ this is horrible. They should have these guys beaten by 15 by now. Is this just a case of relaxing after beating Butler? Were they looking forward to UCLA and just can't bring themselves to care about Portland? Underrating Portland? I have no idea, but my opinion of this team is dropping faster than your girl after two glasses of merlot.
11:54 - Another turnover. You probably think I'm kidding but I'm not. Portland refuses to score, and that midget even missed a shot - I assume the first of his career - but the Gophers just refuse to take advantage. Just when I start to think maybe we have some kind of special team, it turns out they're just the same old stupid team we have watched for years. This is just like Donnie Darko.
10:55 - The new offense seems to be "let's all stand around and not do a god damn thing and let the shot clock run down and chuck a bad shot." Sound familiar? I think Monson introduced this one and then Tubby has just added a few wrinkles. It's like they've never seen a zone before (they're in that 2-3 now).
8:58 - You're never going to believe this. Carter made a nice move to get into the lane for a lay up - and he missed it! I know, I couldn't believe it either.
8:25 - They are damn lucky to even be within 10 right now (it's 50-41). This is awful. I'd rather watch hockey.
7:16 - This is because I picked the Gophers to win, isn't it? NEVER AGAIN. Actually, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't pick them to beat Tennessee Tech right now. That must have been a fluke.
7:12 - You know what? The more details that come out and the more I think about it, the more I am starting to think this was Tiger having an affair and the Mrs. found out about it and some really weird things happened. That's the new #1, with pain pill addiction at #2. #9372 is that the story they're telling is true.
7:11 - I just winced when the game came back on because it was much more fun watching the commercials. That should tell you all you need to know.
6:25 - Gophers now down double digits. Not to take anything away from Portland, because they are a good team and should challenge Gonzaga for the WCC title, but the Gophers have been awful tonight. Completely and totally awful. Not even close to the same team as last night.
4:20 - Gophers cut the lead to six, could have been five but Joseph missed what must have been the tenth consecutive free throw by the team. Do I feel excited or hopeful? No. Not even a tiny bit.
3:53- Nolen hits two free throws to cut it to four, bringing the Gophers to a stellar 9-16 from the stripe.
3:03 - Luckily, on eof their various dead-eye shooters misses a wide open (and I mean WIDE open) three, then Nolen takes one to the rim and scores to cut it to two - now four after some random whitey hits for Portland.
1:30 - Rodney Williams with a horrible, horrible decision to chuck up a pro distance three (it looked like your typical Al Nolen three-ball). Gophers still down four with 1:11 left, but it's Portland's ball. Dear lord was that a stupid play.
0:30 - Three or four chances to score on that possession thanks to offensive rebounds and they come away with nothing. This is one of the most frustrating Gopher games I can remember watching. Better team, just completely outplayed.
0:15 - Ok, interesting. Gophers down 3 and they force a turnover. Let's get somebody going to the basket and get a quick two unless there's an obvious kick out for three. Nothing stupid. I'm looking at you Westbrook.
0:03 - Hoff misses a semi open three, and misses horribly, rebound goes through Nolen's arms to a Pilot and that's your ball game. Pretty good microcosm of the game right there in that one play.
Ugh. After you beat the #10 team in the country (overrated or not) to follow it up with that crap? Just a piss poor effort all the way around, other than the last three minutes or so of the game. Far too little and far far far too late. Portland is no doubt a good team, and will likely not only be in the running for the WCC but also for an at-large bid, and I highly doubt this will ever show up as a "bad loss" on the Gophers resume, but it's awfully frustrating right now. They were just so clearly a better team, but were absolutely outplayed and couldn't get it done. Ugh. Not even Christina Applegate could cheer me up right now.
What's next? Texas A&M or some crap? Better win that one, or your win over Butler has been completely erased. God this sucks.
I BLAME YOU, MOONEY!!
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Suck it, Mid Major (and refs)
Now that, my friends, is a nice, nice victory. Quite frustrating, especially with the refs seeming to call every little ticky-tack thing on the Gophers all night long, but a very nice win over a 10th ranked team, however dubious that ranking might seem after watching them play.
Make no mistake, the Gophers were clearly the better team, and were probably twenty points or so better than the Bulldogs. It was the sheer volume of Butler free throws (36-45) that kept this game close. It shouldn't have been a surprise, since Butler was 20th in the country in getting to the line coming into the game, but it was frustrating nonetheless.
In the first half, it was the Colton Iverson show (alternate headline: There's a new Iverson in town - get it, Allen might be retiring). The sophomore was absolutely everywhere, notching a double-double in the first half - his first career double-double - and playing as well as I've ever seen him. Defensively, there isn't really much doubt that he can be a contributor (2 blocks), and his rebounding will always be a welcome addition (11 boards), but his offensive output tonight was a welcome surprise (13 points). It wasn't always (or ever) smooth and it's not exactly like watching Hakeem the Dream out there, but his play was the biggest reason why the Gophers were up four at half. Due to his effort tonight, I will not say a bad word about him, no matter what, until 2010 at the earliest.
There wasn't much Colton in the second half - except for when he tossed fat ass free throw shooter with no other discernable skills unless making refs think you got fouled is considered a skill jerkass Matt Howard to the ground - but he wasn't needed. Devoe showed why he was such a highly regarded recruit, having to take over at the point with Nolen out most of the half with four fouls thanks to a nice pele routine that earned him a tech. He handled himself well taking care of the ball, and showed a nice ability to score inside, outside, and in transition. Damian was the other star, showing off his newly developed well-rounded offensive game. It's not pretty much of the time, but he looks so much smoother than he used to, and has actually developed some nice moves, including a little hook, a three-point shot, and the ability to get to the rim by putting the ball on the floor. The more I watch him, the more I can't believe he was a Monson recruit (NOTE: Nolen, I believe).
Speaking of Monson recruits, I should also mention Westbrook and the Hoff here. Westbrook started the night in a fog, as he did far too often last year, but didn't stay there, really asserting himself for a short stretch late in the second half. He not only had a huge three point dagger, but also pulled off an incredible move for a layup that was probably a travel, but since it wasn't called thanks to the refs being clueless all night, it counts as a great move. And Hoff started the night with an airball, but then went on to make three of his other four attempts from beyond the arc, played well at the point when called upon to fill in, and played good defense in a grueling 35 minute night. Great game for him.
And great game for the team overall. They dominated this game. The score might not show it due to 8 billion free throws made by Butler, but the Gophers outclassed them in every way. Great win, and as long as they don't lose the next two out in Anaheim we can consider this tournament a huge, huge, success.
NEXT UP: vs. winner of UCLA/Portland , 8:30pm, ESPNU. I will try to put up a quick preview if I get a chance tomorrow. Hopefully it's UCLA, and hopefully the Gophers can control the game like they did tonight, although will far, far fewer fouls and sloppy turnovers.
And hopefully we get more Rodney.
Make no mistake, the Gophers were clearly the better team, and were probably twenty points or so better than the Bulldogs. It was the sheer volume of Butler free throws (36-45) that kept this game close. It shouldn't have been a surprise, since Butler was 20th in the country in getting to the line coming into the game, but it was frustrating nonetheless.
In the first half, it was the Colton Iverson show (alternate headline: There's a new Iverson in town - get it, Allen might be retiring). The sophomore was absolutely everywhere, notching a double-double in the first half - his first career double-double - and playing as well as I've ever seen him. Defensively, there isn't really much doubt that he can be a contributor (2 blocks), and his rebounding will always be a welcome addition (11 boards), but his offensive output tonight was a welcome surprise (13 points). It wasn't always (or ever) smooth and it's not exactly like watching Hakeem the Dream out there, but his play was the biggest reason why the Gophers were up four at half. Due to his effort tonight, I will not say a bad word about him, no matter what, until 2010 at the earliest.
There wasn't much Colton in the second half - except for when he tossed fat ass free throw shooter with no other discernable skills unless making refs think you got fouled is considered a skill jerkass Matt Howard to the ground - but he wasn't needed. Devoe showed why he was such a highly regarded recruit, having to take over at the point with Nolen out most of the half with four fouls thanks to a nice pele routine that earned him a tech. He handled himself well taking care of the ball, and showed a nice ability to score inside, outside, and in transition. Damian was the other star, showing off his newly developed well-rounded offensive game. It's not pretty much of the time, but he looks so much smoother than he used to, and has actually developed some nice moves, including a little hook, a three-point shot, and the ability to get to the rim by putting the ball on the floor. The more I watch him, the more I can't believe he was a Monson recruit (NOTE: Nolen, I believe).
Speaking of Monson recruits, I should also mention Westbrook and the Hoff here. Westbrook started the night in a fog, as he did far too often last year, but didn't stay there, really asserting himself for a short stretch late in the second half. He not only had a huge three point dagger, but also pulled off an incredible move for a layup that was probably a travel, but since it wasn't called thanks to the refs being clueless all night, it counts as a great move. And Hoff started the night with an airball, but then went on to make three of his other four attempts from beyond the arc, played well at the point when called upon to fill in, and played good defense in a grueling 35 minute night. Great game for him.
And great game for the team overall. They dominated this game. The score might not show it due to 8 billion free throws made by Butler, but the Gophers outclassed them in every way. Great win, and as long as they don't lose the next two out in Anaheim we can consider this tournament a huge, huge, success.
NEXT UP: vs. winner of UCLA/Portland , 8:30pm, ESPNU. I will try to put up a quick preview if I get a chance tomorrow. Hopefully it's UCLA, and hopefully the Gophers can control the game like they did tonight, although will far, far fewer fouls and sloppy turnovers.
And hopefully we get more Rodney.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Gophers win, Royce White is still a mystery
Usually when a rare Saturday roles around where I have no plans and no major projects needing to be done, which today is one of such of that, I like to do nothing. Sit around, play with WonderbabyTM, watch some tv, and generally do nothing. However, with the Gopher basketball opener taking place last night and the whole Royce White deal, it seems I don't have much of a choice but to spend some time typing.
I'm just quickly going to touch on Royce White, since his status seems to be changing by the second. He wasn't on the bench for the game, rumors were flying that he was going to be expelled, and the news actually reported he was expelled. Seemed pretty clear, but now this morning both Tubby and Joel Maturi have said he is still on the team. I had expected he had gotten the boot, and despite my "wins come first" attitude and how vigorously I defended White previously, I thought it was probably the right decision. Now, who knows? I'm going to hold my thoughts on this matter until everything shakes out, but I'll just say if Royce is still on the team by the end of the week he is a very, very, very lucky young man. I just hope he will realize that, although I am not optimistic.
On to the fun part - the game. The team looked very good in their 87-50 win over Tennessee Tech, and the most impressive part was the defense. The numbers by themselves are impressive, holding the Eagles to 28% shooting, turning them over 27 times, and out rebounding them 35-26, and blocking 15 shots. Since the competition wasn't exactly top caliber, I was more interested in how they played rather than the results, and I'm happy to report that they looked good in their rotations and help side defense - absolute keys if they're going to do anything this year. That kind of defensive effort will keep them in a game against anyone. Needless to say, I was very impressed.
A few call-outs:
- Lawrence Westbrook led the team with 22 points on 9-13 shooting, including 4 three pointers, and he looked very good. He's slimmer and faster, and his shot right now is dead on and he knows it, showing supreme confidence once again in his jumper. I feel a little bit silly typing this, but I am getting a feeling that we might be in for a special senior season from Westy. Remember the leap in his game Travarus Bennett took from his junior year to his senior year? Or Eric Harris? I'm getting that feeling. I hope I'm right, because he'll be a big part of how far this team can go.
- Ralph Sampson started his run towards Big Ten POY with a nice night - 9 points and 9 boards on 4-5 shooting. He towered over everybody on Tenn Tech so the rebounds aren't really that impressive, but his offensive game looks far more polished than last season - that new turnaround J is a thing of beauty. With his added muscle as well, he should be able to have some very nice games this year.
- Al Nolen was unguardable last night. Seriously, there was nobody on TTU who could stay in front of him, and he was able to get to the lane at will and then usually find an open teammate for an easy basket, resulting in a team high 7 assists for Nolen last night. He still did his patented "get to the lane and then jump stop and pick up the dribble with no idea what I'm going to do with the ball move" a few times, which is still worrisome. It's one thing to slice up a bottom-tier OVC team, it's something different facing Big Ten defenders. Overall with Nole I was encouraged, but worried at the same time. I'm really looking forward to that Butler game. That's a touch defensive squad reminiscent of a Big Ten team, and will be a nice litmus test not only for the team, but for Nolen in general.
- Rodney Williams is the talk of the game, and for good reason. He was always said to be a ridiculous athlete who had some work to do on his offensive skills, and although that's not completely untrue he has looked far more polished than I and many others were expecting, and was the team's second leading scorer last night with 14 points on 5-8 shooting, including another three pointer. If his outside shooting is for real, a Gopher may still end up winning Big Ten Freshman of the Year, just not the one initially expected.
- If I have to pick one player who didn't play well, and it isn't easy when your team wins by 37, it would be Devoe Joseph. He struggled shooting the ball, made some really poor decisions with the ball, and lost his man on defense a few times. I still think he's going to be a major contributor and a big part of this team for the next three years and everthing, just last night he stuck out as having a poor game. Not a concern.
- Finally, Damian Johnson is ridiculous. Look at this line: 9 pts, 2 rebs, 3 assists, 6 steals, and 5 blocks. Just a great all around game, and I have a feeling we won't see another game with DJ grabbing so few boards. Even if his offense hasn't improved (although it looks like it has), he's still going to be the most valuable Gopher again this year.
Overall a very good win. A game like this can't really tell you how good your team is, but it can warn you if they are flawed in some way. The Gophers got through this one with no red flags - an excellent sign. With or without the currently inactive players, this is going to be an NCAA Tournament team. After the Thanksgiving Tournament, we should have a pretty good idea if they can be more.
I'm just quickly going to touch on Royce White, since his status seems to be changing by the second. He wasn't on the bench for the game, rumors were flying that he was going to be expelled, and the news actually reported he was expelled. Seemed pretty clear, but now this morning both Tubby and Joel Maturi have said he is still on the team. I had expected he had gotten the boot, and despite my "wins come first" attitude and how vigorously I defended White previously, I thought it was probably the right decision. Now, who knows? I'm going to hold my thoughts on this matter until everything shakes out, but I'll just say if Royce is still on the team by the end of the week he is a very, very, very lucky young man. I just hope he will realize that, although I am not optimistic.
On to the fun part - the game. The team looked very good in their 87-50 win over Tennessee Tech, and the most impressive part was the defense. The numbers by themselves are impressive, holding the Eagles to 28% shooting, turning them over 27 times, and out rebounding them 35-26, and blocking 15 shots. Since the competition wasn't exactly top caliber, I was more interested in how they played rather than the results, and I'm happy to report that they looked good in their rotations and help side defense - absolute keys if they're going to do anything this year. That kind of defensive effort will keep them in a game against anyone. Needless to say, I was very impressed.
A few call-outs:
- Lawrence Westbrook led the team with 22 points on 9-13 shooting, including 4 three pointers, and he looked very good. He's slimmer and faster, and his shot right now is dead on and he knows it, showing supreme confidence once again in his jumper. I feel a little bit silly typing this, but I am getting a feeling that we might be in for a special senior season from Westy. Remember the leap in his game Travarus Bennett took from his junior year to his senior year? Or Eric Harris? I'm getting that feeling. I hope I'm right, because he'll be a big part of how far this team can go.
- Ralph Sampson started his run towards Big Ten POY with a nice night - 9 points and 9 boards on 4-5 shooting. He towered over everybody on Tenn Tech so the rebounds aren't really that impressive, but his offensive game looks far more polished than last season - that new turnaround J is a thing of beauty. With his added muscle as well, he should be able to have some very nice games this year.
- Al Nolen was unguardable last night. Seriously, there was nobody on TTU who could stay in front of him, and he was able to get to the lane at will and then usually find an open teammate for an easy basket, resulting in a team high 7 assists for Nolen last night. He still did his patented "get to the lane and then jump stop and pick up the dribble with no idea what I'm going to do with the ball move" a few times, which is still worrisome. It's one thing to slice up a bottom-tier OVC team, it's something different facing Big Ten defenders. Overall with Nole I was encouraged, but worried at the same time. I'm really looking forward to that Butler game. That's a touch defensive squad reminiscent of a Big Ten team, and will be a nice litmus test not only for the team, but for Nolen in general.
- Rodney Williams is the talk of the game, and for good reason. He was always said to be a ridiculous athlete who had some work to do on his offensive skills, and although that's not completely untrue he has looked far more polished than I and many others were expecting, and was the team's second leading scorer last night with 14 points on 5-8 shooting, including another three pointer. If his outside shooting is for real, a Gopher may still end up winning Big Ten Freshman of the Year, just not the one initially expected.
- If I have to pick one player who didn't play well, and it isn't easy when your team wins by 37, it would be Devoe Joseph. He struggled shooting the ball, made some really poor decisions with the ball, and lost his man on defense a few times. I still think he's going to be a major contributor and a big part of this team for the next three years and everthing, just last night he stuck out as having a poor game. Not a concern.
- Finally, Damian Johnson is ridiculous. Look at this line: 9 pts, 2 rebs, 3 assists, 6 steals, and 5 blocks. Just a great all around game, and I have a feeling we won't see another game with DJ grabbing so few boards. Even if his offense hasn't improved (although it looks like it has), he's still going to be the most valuable Gopher again this year.
Overall a very good win. A game like this can't really tell you how good your team is, but it can warn you if they are flawed in some way. The Gophers got through this one with no red flags - an excellent sign. With or without the currently inactive players, this is going to be an NCAA Tournament team. After the Thanksgiving Tournament, we should have a pretty good idea if they can be more.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Let's see how this works
Trying to do this while doing actual work and watching the game on the TV in our conference room while taking a long lunch. Currently it's 2-0 Minnesota with 18 minutes left in the first half thanks to a strong Al Nolen drive. They really need to keep attacking the zone that way. Other things so far are that Nolen looks really energetic on defense, they already have two or three offensive rebounds, and Westbrook already took the dumbest shot imaginable. Grabbed an o-board, dribbled back about two feet and took a fadeaway 19 footer with about 33 on the shot clock. Awesome. Great decision.
16:50 - Gophers suddenly going back into the "pass it around the perimeter and chuck up a three when the shot clock runs down" mode. That needs to stop immediately.
16:15 - Ralph! He should dominate these slow white clowns. Keep getting it inside, one way or another.
15:24 - First TV timeout. Northwestern 5, Minnesota 4. No work yet accomplished. Gophers gave up a wide open three pointer to Coble after doubling down on some jackass who they don't need to double down on. In general, the offense is looking good, trying to get the ball inside quite a bit, but DJ and Ralph have already been whistled for traveling after getting the ball on the block. Hopefully they stick with the strategy, and the post men decide on a pivot foot.
14:30 - Not entirely sure why the Gophers are playing a 1-3-1 instead of a man-to-man. They are more athletic and should make things difficult with a tough pressure man-to-man like they did against Illinois in that one game where they were good. Luckily, the Wildcats are missing their threes so far, but they are getting open looks.
13:20 - Devron for three to make it 9-8 Minnesota. I really like that kid. I'm going to miss him. I'm guessing a Missouri Valley School.
11:00 - Second timeout, Gophers up 13-8. Tubby switched to a man, once again proving he reads this blog, and Paul Carter got a steal, once again proving I'm a genius. Offense still looking pretty solid, at least in theory, with Bostick scoring in the lane and Iverson scoring on a post-up jump hook. Turnovers are still a problem - Iverson had the ball taken right out of his hands and Bostick lost it in the lane at one point, but they are attacking the zone. Hoff missed a three badly but also had a great play tracking down a loose ball and saving it leading to a Gopher score. This would be an excellent time for him to get hot.
9:06 - Time out Northwestern with the Gophers running it to 18-8. Joseph hits a three off a perfectly executed secondary break by Hoffarber (team's best PG) and Carter, hitting him in the corner for the open three, followed by Iverson with a steal (!?) at the top of Northwestern's offense and taking it all the way in for an awkward dunk. The run is right now at 12-0, the man-to-man is working, and NW looks a little bit panicky. I like this.
7:33 - 22-11 Gophers at the timeout. I'm not sure what team I'm watching here. They are executing transition offense and fast break absolutely beautifully, punctuated by a 2-on-1 give and go by Joseph and Bostick resulting in a Devron jam. Defense looks good as well. Tough, aggressive, and energetic - getting into the passing lanes and generally being disruptive as hell. Interesting to note, this run is happening with Nolen and Westbrook on the bench. Hoff, Devron, Joseph, Carter, and Sampson are looking like a really smooth group right now.
7:22 - Busch is in. Expecting a Wildcat run at any moment. And he's matched up on Coble. That's great.
4:57 - Nolen continues to not know what to do when he gets in the paint, this time picking up his dribble and looking around like he's confused, then getting tied up.
3:39 - God dammit Nolen. Takes a completely idiotic three pointer, misses it, then puts his head down like a freaking school kid who got scolded and lets a Wildcat streak right by him for a layup. And Hoffarber clanks another one. Thank god for my boy Devron, who grabbed two offensive rebounds and ended up putting one of them back for a hoop on the last possession. We're at the four minute timeout, Gophers are still up 29-17 , but I'm thinking we need more Hoff/Joseph than Westbrook/Nolen from here on out.
0:43 - Jesus Christ Westbrook is a damn idiot sometimes. You don't need to go into "F YOU MODE" when you're up 29-22. Forcing the issue and taking every shot has it's place, but this sure as hell isn't it.
0:00 - Halftime, Gophers 31, Northwestern 25 when Coble hits a three at the buzzer. Overall it's been a good effot, with Joseph and Bostick really leading the way. The defense has tailed off a bit, particularly in transition, but the offense seems intent on getting the ball inside off the pass or the dribble, and that needs to continue. Coble has 19 at the half according to the announcers, although it doesn't seem like it. I don't think putting Busch on him is the answer. Also not the answer is Al Nolen. We need to see more Joseph than Nolen, and more Hoffarber than Westbrook.
Second Half (unfortunately my jackass co-workers have joined me in the conference room for lunch - expect updates to be less frequent)
20:00 - Bostick gets the second half start, I like this. And a 3-point play by DJ to get things going.
18:30 - See, right there, perfect Westbrook. Shot clock down to 10, slow white guy on him, takes it at him and hits a pull up 12 footer. Do that. Not the other thing from earlier. Gophers up 36-28.
15:07 - Iverson leads the game with 3 steals. That's weird.
14:08 - DJ squashing Coble, just killing him defensively. Forced Coble to do about 17 moves, and he's no dreamshaker, before he finally hits the side of the backboard with his "jumper."
12:25 - Gophers up 43-37, but this is suddenly beginning to feel a LOT like that last Michigan game.
10:30 - Ok, they're gone. Thank God. Stop asking me inane questions about work crap when I'm trying to watch the Gophers blow the game. Although Westbrook did a great job there with the shot clock winding down taking it at some poor white guy and blowing by him for the layup. He's definitely a weapon, but a dangerous, sometimes uncontrollable weapon. He's like an alligator. Excellent when you need him to kill prowlers, but if you don't keep a tight leash on him he will bite your face off. Foul on Busch (who is back in the game for some reason) trying to guard Coble - and NW is now in the bonus.
9:12 - Gophers suddenly struggling on offense, even with NW back in the same 1-3-1 that Minnesota destroyed earlier in the game, bad enough to get them to get out of it. Now they're confused again, and the Wildcats have cut the lead to four. Seriously, this is JUST LIKE the Michigan game.
8:55 - Seriously, Tubby Smith sucks. They call a timeout with 16 left on the shot clock because the offense isn't working, and they come back out with no play to run. Nothing. They just pass it around the perimeter again, leading to a NW steal and layup to cut the league to 2. How do you not call some kind of play? What the hell did he say during the timeout? Was it just a bunch of "keep your head up", "you guys are good" ra-ra crap? Seriously, how do you not have a play. It's now tied. God damn it.
7:59 - Tie game. Gophers playing tight. This one is probably over. I should just go do work now.
7:31 - Northwestern leads on a miracle swoopy layup thing by Michael Thompson. Unbelievable. Gopher offense tight and has no idea what to do right now. Jesus Christ Tubby, take a timeout, DO SOMETHING.
5:34 - Great defense by Minnesota, ending in DJ forcing Coble into a desperation airball for a shot clock violation. Use this momentum. Get it inside - YES. They find Sampson on the block, scores and the foul. Free throw made, Gophers up by 1 and that's four on Coble. Sampson is an awesome free throw shooter, and not just "for a big man." Keep this momentum going.
4:53 - Never mind, foul on Hoff on the perimeter because he seemingly can't even guard Jeremy Nash who luckily misses both free throws. GET THE BALL INSIDE.
4:25 - Nope, a not open perimeter jumper by Westbrook missed. Not a horrible shot, but not what they needed. Missed shot and an offensive rebound by the Wildcats, then a great block by DJ again. Nolen gets picked, but somehow manages to get a tie-up. Where are Devoe and Devron?
3:49 - 50-49 Gophers. I feel sick. Jim Jackson thinks this is where Westbrook takes over. I can't decide if that's good or bad.
3:01 - 52-49 after Westy hits his little pull up floater thing. Northwestern takes a timeout - what do you want to bet they have an actual play they're going to run here?
2:42 - Ok, they did have a play, but it was a backdoor lob to Nash? What the hell? I think I would have rather run no play. I guess Tubby wins that one.
2:10 - Two Westy free throws and it's 54-49. My relationship with Westbrook could be described as "tumultuous" and that would be an understatement. I think we're like Chris Brown and Rihanna.
1:11 - Sampson with a dunk, Northwestern with a miss, and now we are in foul mode for the Wildcats. I'm not quite ready to relax, but it's now a 8 point lead.
0:50 - Ten point lead. I am now relaxed.
FINAL - 66-53
Whew. I think that will likely lock up a spot in the tournament for the Gophers. Assuming they don't beat Michigan State, I would put their chances now at about 90%. I wouldn't be shocked if they don't get in, but I would be pretty surprised.
Excellent job locking down the defense when they did, holding Northwestern scoreless for something like the final six minutes of the game (other than the final thirty seconds), and great job by DJ of completely shutting down Coble in the second half. It got a little dicey there, and I said some things I probably didn't mean (sorry Tubby, I love you), but I damn near had a heart attack so I can't be held responsible. Let's just not embarrass ourselves tomorrow.
16:50 - Gophers suddenly going back into the "pass it around the perimeter and chuck up a three when the shot clock runs down" mode. That needs to stop immediately.
16:15 - Ralph! He should dominate these slow white clowns. Keep getting it inside, one way or another.
15:24 - First TV timeout. Northwestern 5, Minnesota 4. No work yet accomplished. Gophers gave up a wide open three pointer to Coble after doubling down on some jackass who they don't need to double down on. In general, the offense is looking good, trying to get the ball inside quite a bit, but DJ and Ralph have already been whistled for traveling after getting the ball on the block. Hopefully they stick with the strategy, and the post men decide on a pivot foot.
14:30 - Not entirely sure why the Gophers are playing a 1-3-1 instead of a man-to-man. They are more athletic and should make things difficult with a tough pressure man-to-man like they did against Illinois in that one game where they were good. Luckily, the Wildcats are missing their threes so far, but they are getting open looks.
13:20 - Devron for three to make it 9-8 Minnesota. I really like that kid. I'm going to miss him. I'm guessing a Missouri Valley School.
11:00 - Second timeout, Gophers up 13-8. Tubby switched to a man, once again proving he reads this blog, and Paul Carter got a steal, once again proving I'm a genius. Offense still looking pretty solid, at least in theory, with Bostick scoring in the lane and Iverson scoring on a post-up jump hook. Turnovers are still a problem - Iverson had the ball taken right out of his hands and Bostick lost it in the lane at one point, but they are attacking the zone. Hoff missed a three badly but also had a great play tracking down a loose ball and saving it leading to a Gopher score. This would be an excellent time for him to get hot.
9:06 - Time out Northwestern with the Gophers running it to 18-8. Joseph hits a three off a perfectly executed secondary break by Hoffarber (team's best PG) and Carter, hitting him in the corner for the open three, followed by Iverson with a steal (!?) at the top of Northwestern's offense and taking it all the way in for an awkward dunk. The run is right now at 12-0, the man-to-man is working, and NW looks a little bit panicky. I like this.
7:33 - 22-11 Gophers at the timeout. I'm not sure what team I'm watching here. They are executing transition offense and fast break absolutely beautifully, punctuated by a 2-on-1 give and go by Joseph and Bostick resulting in a Devron jam. Defense looks good as well. Tough, aggressive, and energetic - getting into the passing lanes and generally being disruptive as hell. Interesting to note, this run is happening with Nolen and Westbrook on the bench. Hoff, Devron, Joseph, Carter, and Sampson are looking like a really smooth group right now.
7:22 - Busch is in. Expecting a Wildcat run at any moment. And he's matched up on Coble. That's great.
4:57 - Nolen continues to not know what to do when he gets in the paint, this time picking up his dribble and looking around like he's confused, then getting tied up.
3:39 - God dammit Nolen. Takes a completely idiotic three pointer, misses it, then puts his head down like a freaking school kid who got scolded and lets a Wildcat streak right by him for a layup. And Hoffarber clanks another one. Thank god for my boy Devron, who grabbed two offensive rebounds and ended up putting one of them back for a hoop on the last possession. We're at the four minute timeout, Gophers are still up 29-17 , but I'm thinking we need more Hoff/Joseph than Westbrook/Nolen from here on out.
0:43 - Jesus Christ Westbrook is a damn idiot sometimes. You don't need to go into "F YOU MODE" when you're up 29-22. Forcing the issue and taking every shot has it's place, but this sure as hell isn't it.
0:00 - Halftime, Gophers 31, Northwestern 25 when Coble hits a three at the buzzer. Overall it's been a good effot, with Joseph and Bostick really leading the way. The defense has tailed off a bit, particularly in transition, but the offense seems intent on getting the ball inside off the pass or the dribble, and that needs to continue. Coble has 19 at the half according to the announcers, although it doesn't seem like it. I don't think putting Busch on him is the answer. Also not the answer is Al Nolen. We need to see more Joseph than Nolen, and more Hoffarber than Westbrook.
Second Half (unfortunately my jackass co-workers have joined me in the conference room for lunch - expect updates to be less frequent)
20:00 - Bostick gets the second half start, I like this. And a 3-point play by DJ to get things going.
18:30 - See, right there, perfect Westbrook. Shot clock down to 10, slow white guy on him, takes it at him and hits a pull up 12 footer. Do that. Not the other thing from earlier. Gophers up 36-28.
15:07 - Iverson leads the game with 3 steals. That's weird.
14:08 - DJ squashing Coble, just killing him defensively. Forced Coble to do about 17 moves, and he's no dreamshaker, before he finally hits the side of the backboard with his "jumper."
12:25 - Gophers up 43-37, but this is suddenly beginning to feel a LOT like that last Michigan game.
10:30 - Ok, they're gone. Thank God. Stop asking me inane questions about work crap when I'm trying to watch the Gophers blow the game. Although Westbrook did a great job there with the shot clock winding down taking it at some poor white guy and blowing by him for the layup. He's definitely a weapon, but a dangerous, sometimes uncontrollable weapon. He's like an alligator. Excellent when you need him to kill prowlers, but if you don't keep a tight leash on him he will bite your face off. Foul on Busch (who is back in the game for some reason) trying to guard Coble - and NW is now in the bonus.
9:12 - Gophers suddenly struggling on offense, even with NW back in the same 1-3-1 that Minnesota destroyed earlier in the game, bad enough to get them to get out of it. Now they're confused again, and the Wildcats have cut the lead to four. Seriously, this is JUST LIKE the Michigan game.
8:55 - Seriously, Tubby Smith sucks. They call a timeout with 16 left on the shot clock because the offense isn't working, and they come back out with no play to run. Nothing. They just pass it around the perimeter again, leading to a NW steal and layup to cut the league to 2. How do you not call some kind of play? What the hell did he say during the timeout? Was it just a bunch of "keep your head up", "you guys are good" ra-ra crap? Seriously, how do you not have a play. It's now tied. God damn it.
7:59 - Tie game. Gophers playing tight. This one is probably over. I should just go do work now.
7:31 - Northwestern leads on a miracle swoopy layup thing by Michael Thompson. Unbelievable. Gopher offense tight and has no idea what to do right now. Jesus Christ Tubby, take a timeout, DO SOMETHING.
5:34 - Great defense by Minnesota, ending in DJ forcing Coble into a desperation airball for a shot clock violation. Use this momentum. Get it inside - YES. They find Sampson on the block, scores and the foul. Free throw made, Gophers up by 1 and that's four on Coble. Sampson is an awesome free throw shooter, and not just "for a big man." Keep this momentum going.
4:53 - Never mind, foul on Hoff on the perimeter because he seemingly can't even guard Jeremy Nash who luckily misses both free throws. GET THE BALL INSIDE.
4:25 - Nope, a not open perimeter jumper by Westbrook missed. Not a horrible shot, but not what they needed. Missed shot and an offensive rebound by the Wildcats, then a great block by DJ again. Nolen gets picked, but somehow manages to get a tie-up. Where are Devoe and Devron?
3:49 - 50-49 Gophers. I feel sick. Jim Jackson thinks this is where Westbrook takes over. I can't decide if that's good or bad.
3:01 - 52-49 after Westy hits his little pull up floater thing. Northwestern takes a timeout - what do you want to bet they have an actual play they're going to run here?
2:42 - Ok, they did have a play, but it was a backdoor lob to Nash? What the hell? I think I would have rather run no play. I guess Tubby wins that one.
2:10 - Two Westy free throws and it's 54-49. My relationship with Westbrook could be described as "tumultuous" and that would be an understatement. I think we're like Chris Brown and Rihanna.
1:11 - Sampson with a dunk, Northwestern with a miss, and now we are in foul mode for the Wildcats. I'm not quite ready to relax, but it's now a 8 point lead.
0:50 - Ten point lead. I am now relaxed.
FINAL - 66-53
Whew. I think that will likely lock up a spot in the tournament for the Gophers. Assuming they don't beat Michigan State, I would put their chances now at about 90%. I wouldn't be shocked if they don't get in, but I would be pretty surprised.
Excellent job locking down the defense when they did, holding Northwestern scoreless for something like the final six minutes of the game (other than the final thirty seconds), and great job by DJ of completely shutting down Coble in the second half. It got a little dicey there, and I said some things I probably didn't mean (sorry Tubby, I love you), but I damn near had a heart attack so I can't be held responsible. Let's just not embarrass ourselves tomorrow.
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