We miss when he used to look like Jar Jar Binks with those corn rows
UCONN took over as the top dawg in the NC2A on Monday. Coincidently HUSKY NATION! was slated to test that #1 spot right away. Now the test sounded daunting… on the road, versus arguably the hottest team in the nation, the #7 Louisville Cardinals. The game brewed with anticipation and hype. Would the #1 team only relish in the ironic glory of the top spot for less than 24 hours?
No. That did not happen. However, Jim Calhoun did get his own version of “Seven Minutes in Heaven,” at Rick Pitino’s expense. Louisville jumped out to a 14-9 lead in the first 5 minutes but then went scoreless for seven minutes. That allowed the Huskies to climb back into it, taking a 28-26 lead. Then came the under 4 minutes-TV Timeout. This is where it got interesting.
“Round, round, round…I get around!” What the hell target audience is ESPN going after? Louisville could have used some of that freedom and mobility, as the Cards did not score for the final 5:12 of the first half. HAHA, over 12 minutes of scoreless basketball. That is not the only astonishingly awful statistic for the Louisville Cardinals…2…two free throw attempts, two free throw makes (100%, yes, go ahead and celebrate that). With a 38-26 lead at halftime, the UConn Huskies would extend and keep the lead at a comfortable 10 to 15 points before closing it out for the 68-51 victory. Mike Anthony of the Hartford Courant tells us, “Louisville fans began leaving with a just under four minutes remaining.” UConn was led by Jeff Adrien’s 18 points.
If we were Louisville, we would blame the Hoveround and their “free in-home-test-drive.” Sadly, that was the most entertaining 2 minutes of the broadcast.
Yes. Right now the Louisville Cardinals are, dare we say, Baller Blockin.
Rick Pitino’s crew have bounced back in impressive fashion, after a mediocre start that was highlighted by a double-digit loss to Western Kentucky and word that Edgar Sosa was boiling his coach’s blood so much, Pitino wanted him to leave the team and transfer.
Times have changed, and Louisville is now the hottest team in the country. This afternoon, the Cards jumped out to a 45-25 halftime lead. They only ended up winning by six, and committed a gross 26 turnovers, but remain the only undefeated team in the BE, and are now looking forward to a Monday showdown in Freedom Hall against the presumed #1 UCONN Huskies. A victory here would mean the Cardinals second win over a top-ranked team, and added viablility for a coveted number one seed come March…although it is early.
The premiere of ESPN’s Big Monday brought us a Big East match up that was intense for all 40 minutes…of regulation. Someone forgot to tell Mike Brey’s Notre Dame team that an OT loss, still counts as a loss. Louisville defeated Notre Dame 87-73, Notre Dame only scored 2 points in 5 minutes of overtime.
Both teams did look sharp in regulation, combining for 19 three pointers. The game was a back and forth battle all throughout regulation, but with 3:23 to go both teams remained locked at 71. And then Louisville went off. Terrence Williams fell two assists shy of a triple-double, tallying 24 points, 16 rebounds and 8 dimes. Frosh, Samardo Samuels looked like he is starting to get the Big East style of play, being able to post 18 points, 6 boards and 4 “return to sender” blocks. Notre Dame did get 28 points and 13 rebounds out of Luke Harangody, however it all came in the first 34 minutes of play. Saturday Louisville will host #1 Pittsburgh and Notre Dame will travel to “The Dome” to take on #8 Syracuse.
The Red River Shootout was the nightcap from Norman, Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Sooners took control early in the Big 12 rivalry and never looked back at the Longhorns of Texas. The closest the game ever was, was during the first 19 seconds of the game before Oklahoma made it 2-0. There were no lead changes and no ties throughout the game. Oklahoma was led by none other than Blake Griffin, who got his 14th double-double, racking up 20 points and 10 rebounds. Frosh PG Willie Warren added 17 points. Had Texas standout AJ Abrams not gone 3-15 from beyond the arc, the story of the game could have drastically changed, but we will have to wait until February 21st when Oklahoma travels to Austin.
He couldn't manipulate his Celtics players, but Rick Pitino knows how to get through to young college kids
It’s been an interesting start to the season for the Louisville Cardinals — a preseason #3 ranking, lots of hype for forward Terrence Williams, and the hope that Rick Pitino would begin to consistently sport the white chocolate suit. But to date, their 11-3 record has been sprinkled with disappointment and drama. The Cardinals are ranked #21, Terrence Williams is only averaging 11.6 ppg on 39 percent shooting, and we haven’t seen that damn suit yet from Pitino.
This week provided some additional angst for UL fans, as we learned that before last Sunday’s annual game against Kentucky, Pitino told Edgar Sosa to take a hike, and was sick of watching him play. A mid-season transfer by your (usually) starting point guard is not only rare, it often is a sign that is team is self combusting. Whether Pitino truly meant what he said to the junior guard is undetermined, but it certainly struck a nerve with Sosa and he responded with 18 points, including a late three pointer to seal the win over the Wildcats.
Yesterday, the Cardinals put on a clinic in how to win ugly, manufacturing a road win over Villanova in quite unsightly fashion. Both teams shot under 40 percent and the Cardinals jacked 25 three balls, converting on only three. Pitino said that recently his team had been experiencing bad luck, but today “we had some good luck.” Could this be just another psychological attempt at invigorating his troops?
In this no-cupcake Big East, the Cardinals, like everyone, will have numerous chances to get big wins. This week they square off at home against Notre Dame in the official premiere of Big Monday, then have five days to prepare for current top dog Pittsburgh.
Let’s not forget last season, as this team didn’t really realize its potential until February, and finished one game from the Final Four. We certainly think this team has the parts, and of course the coach to replicate that output again in 2009.
We can learn a lot from Saturday’s action. Not all Mormon prayers are answered. Tubby Smith still loves beating Louisville teams. Belmont can hang in there with the best. And the ‘Cuse can actually make free throws.
Harden and ASU got the best of the Good ole' Boys...barely
BYU almost got to “touch each other after the buzzer,” but when Charles Abouo’s bucket to beat the clock was overturned, Arizona State was able to avoid a detrimental loss. BYU lead the whole second half until nine ticks remained when James Harden knocked in his sixteenth “freebie” from the charity stripe to give the Sun Devils the 76-75 edge. Harden finished with 30.
Louisville may not be the team everyone thought they would be at the beginning of the season, falling to the (surprising) undefeated Golden Gophers of Minnesota, 70-64. Tubby Smith still knows how to coach against that other team from Kentucky. Pitino could of blamed a nine minute scoring drought on the bus company neglecting to pick the team up at the airport, but all credit should go to Tubby and his staff. He got the final laugh and his team is now 10-0.
The Bruins from Belmont put a huge scare into Bruce pearl’s Tennessee Volunteers, but Tennessee was able to hold on 79-77. The Bruins returned four starters, all seniors, to a team that you remember nearly upset Duke in last years tournament. Belmont got 30 from their slasher Alex Renfroe, and almost had us fooled they were capable of pulling off an upset. Close but not close enough once again, as missed free throws prove costly. Vols win.
Syracuse overcame a wild week in order to pick up a massive “W” at the Pyramid in Memphis, 72-65. With Devo preparing to pick up trash on I-81, the Orange were led by Jonny Flynn’s 24 points and 6 assists. Flynn answered every run the Tigers could muster and in the end the Orange overcame their biggest problem this year and knocked down their free throws to seal the deal.
Fisticuffs are contagious. Players are not the only ones reaching back and throwing four knuckles of furry into the face of another person, coaches are now joining the punching parade…Cincinnati cab driver Mohamed Moctar Ould Jiddou can attest.
Jiddou says Old Miss head coach Andy Kennedy was the odd man out for a cab ride home, after a night of drinking with his coaching staff at The Lodge Bar (Gotta love $4 Cherry Bombs!). This rejection led to a profanity laced rant with some tasteless “Bin Ladens’” thrown in as well. The incident was allegedly capped off by a closed fist to Jiddou’s face. Kennedy now faces assault charges, and will be back in Cincy in January for a court appearance.
Kennedy is the centerpiece here, but this whole ordeal could probably have been avoided if the Ole Miss Director of Basketball Operations, Bill Armstrong, wasn’t “ejected” from the bar. We’re just saying, karma, bad karma.
This story gets a little better because the serves as a not-so-welcome, welcome back to the ‘Nati. You remember Kennedy was an assistant coach for Bob Huggins from 2001-2005, and was interim head coach for one season before Mick Cronin took over.
Lost in all of this was the actual reason Kennedy was in town. Ole Miss played it tough tonight for their fearless leader, but fell short against Louisville thanks to a career night by Earl Clark.
On Sunday while everyone was watching the home teams in the NFL go 2-10 , the Courtney Lee-less Western Kentucky Hilltoppers were doing their best to find their own identity, much like the genderless blob that is their mascot.
After taking down the #3 Louisville Cardinals 68-54 on a neutral court, this WKU team may have found what they were searching for. The undersized Big Red took the lead from the beginning and never let go. The ‘Ville looked like the kid in preschool trying to put a square block in a circle hole, shooting 27% and only hitting on 6 of 30 three point attempts.
What the hell is a “Hilltopper?” And why is it overweight?
In the championship of the Old Spice Classic in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, #12 Tennessee took on #10 Gonzaga. The game remained close until about 15 minutes remaining in the second half and then the Zags pulled away, at one point leading by 18 points. The ‘Zags hit eleven from behind the new 3 point arc, and prevailed 83-74. Five players scored in double figures for the Bulldogs, something we will come to expect from them as the season progresses. They will now spend their next four games preparing for UCONN, who visit Spokane on December 20th.
OK it’s just about that time. Baseball is finito, ESPN is in full on “NFL ALL DAY EVERYDAY UNTIL IT HURTS!!!” mode, and it’s getting effing cold in the Northeast. That can only mean one thing…National Novel Writing Month college basketball is about to finally tip-off. We’re not that into the whole preseason prediction crap–we’ll leave that to the talking heads. But even so we must post something. So we will stick to a quick top ten, as we finally get this blog rolling.
Elliot Williams might actually make the Dookies seem cool
There’s a lot of Dukie haters out there, we fully understand that. Those haters are already piping off about how Kyle Singler and Greg Paulus have no business being in the discussion of All-Americans. They’re piping off about how Coach K will surely have an Olympic hangover, and they’re piping off about how Duke is a school for tools. We get that, but Duke is back.
Despite only three tournament wins in the past three seasons, the Blue Devils will have a swagger again, despite having the highest percentage of Caucasians in this top ten. That’s OK though, cause white boys can shoot and usually come from wealthy families that were able to pay for superior private education. This means they are smart and resourceful.
Expect an unbelievable season from Gerald Henderson. This guy is a poor (yes very poor) man’s version of Kobe Bryant, with his ability to slash and beat anyone off the dribble. Nolan Smith will see more minutes this year, and can play any guard position, as well as help out Paulus at the point.
Also take note of incoming freshman Elliot Williams. He’s drawing Jason Williams comparisons, which is good news for Cameron Crazies. He also has a nick name: E-Mail, we guess that kind of makes sense. They rumble with UNC on February 11th, and again on March 8th to close out the season. Hopefully the Dukies, and “E-Mail”, can fill the Tar Heels inbox with spam. ZING!!!!!!!
He's got two left feet, but we still love Idong Ibok
It’s easy to forget about how consistent the Michigan State program has been under Tom Izzo. But hey, they play in the Big 10 and that conference can’t really be analogized with anything overly exciting.
Despite losing fan favorite Drew Neitzel, the Spartans return more experienced and more athletic. Kalin Lucas will take over the point. He’s a solid all-around player who will pose more of a scoring threat than Neitzel. Raymar Morgan is the league’s most versatile player and our darkhorse for national player of the year. And while he won’t make or break the season, Idong Ibok is back. He’s off the charts in terms of unintentional humor.
Keep an eye on incoming freshman Delvin Roe, who missed much of his senior year of high school after severely injuring his left knee. Tom Izzo is high on this kid who is from talent rich Ohio and could make an immediate impact once he’s 100 percent.
College basketball enthusiasts will get a good read on the Spartans early in the season, as they once again have some great match-ups against the likes of UNC and Kansas, and are playing in the Old Spice Classic with headliners Gonzaga, Tennessee and Georgetown.
Loaded with NBA talent once again, UCONN is scary good
If incoming freshman Kemba Walker is as advertised, then Jim Calhoun will just have a ball with his backcourt rotation. Between him and team mainstays AJ Price, Craig Austrie and Jerome Dyson, this quartet could moonlight selling ball-handling instructional DVD’s to AAU coaches across the country.
Price will probably start the season off a little slow. Let’s not forget he suffered a torn ACL in the 1st round of last year’s tournament, which they were beaten at the buzzer by San Diego and bounced from the tourney. Another story line to keep an eye on: Jerome Dyson. He’s gonna have to stop pissing off Jim Calhoun if he wants to stay in the rotation. Hey UCONN fans, does it hurt thinking about all this? Should we cut deeper. OK we’ll stop.
On the flip side, Calhoun absloutely loves Hasheem Thabeet. The big man really came into his own last year, and we expect him to be the most imposing player in the country by the end of the season. Also, don’t forget about Jeff Adrien — “The Banger from Brookline, Mass” (We totally just coined that ourselves). If someone gave us three to one odds that he throws down at some point during the always grueling Big East schedule, we’d wager 50 bucks and expect a $150 payout. We’d also bet on them winning 30+ games, and making the Final Four.
A lot of people get peeved at Rick Pitino, and a lot of people think he gets dressed in the dark, but we like him even though he made a mockery of the Boston Celtics by letting roughly 27 Kentucky Wildcat guys play for the green during his tumultuous tenure. Nonetheless, he’s a great recruiter who has put together a roster of upperclassmen and underclassmen who can all contribute, and will certainly compete for minutes throughout the season.
Earl Clark is back for his junior season, Terrence Williams is our choice for Big East Player of the year, and incoming freshman Samardo Samuels will easily fill the void of David Padgett and Juan Palacios. Thankfully, the negativity in Louisville doesn’t suck like it does in Boston, so their departure won’t lead to a Pitino rant justifying why his team is in shambles. No really we do forgive him, seriously.
Not a lot to complain about this team, except how we’re still not sure how to exactly pronounce Louisville (is it Lulville, Loulville, or Louisville). Whatever, we’re never going to live there so screw em. Just enjoy this team, and their fairly easy schedule even though they’re in the Big East. This team is destined for the Final Four, and a potential 2008 Elite Eight rematch with UNC, only this time it could be for the national title.
Duke fans can bitch and moan all they want, so I (Nick) guess I will too, but this could become the season of the ubiquitous Tar Heels. Anyone not predicting UNC to tear down the nets on April 4, 2009 either wants attention, or is a complete and ignorant homer of one of these other nine teams.
We love attention and we hate UNC, but have to be rational and give them their props.Ty Lawson is back, Wayne Ellington is back and, oh yeah, that goon with limited NBA potential who has Medusa like powers when others look at his face, Tyler Hansborough, is back to patrol the middle and bother us tremendously.
The good news for the Tar Heels is obvious: there’s a wealth of talent and experience from top to bottom and that should allow them to overcome any and all obstacles thrown at them. The bad news is they will be expected to win nearly every game, and anything less than a title will certainly be labeled a failure. If they fail it will be awesome but, realistically, don’t expect it to happen.
Posted by Nick Fasulo 
