The Final Four At Last
You know how we know the selection committee at least got it mostly right? We've got two number 1s and two number 2s in the final four - not bad. Not only that, with exception to Wisconsin bowing out last week, we damn near had all 1s and 2s in the elite 8. Not too bad at all.
The game of the day certainly came yesterday afternoon when the Georgetown Hoyas rallied to thump North Carolina in overtime. I was stunned that Georgetown was able to pull this one out considering how poorly they were executing the fundamentals of the game - it was like they simply hit a switch with about 6 minutes to play. I couldn't believe the lack of intensity that they were showing - lazy passing, lazy screen setting and lazy rebounding - they were standing around on both ends of the floor while UNC just took it to them. They were shooting a pretty damn good percentage, but the bulk of that came in the final 5 minutes and in the overtime. Kudos to John Thompson III - although I think he got out coached for the vast majority of that game, he found a way to FINALLY motivate his players to kick it into high gear. I will say that this was the first game of the tournament where I thought the officials were not calling a very balanced game. In regulation UNC shot almost 30 more free throws than G'town - that's a big discrepency. There were a number of times when UNC were getting calls that the Hoyas simply weren't getting - identical plays. I think once it hit OT the refs were just going to let it go - it certainly appeared so.
I must say though, I'm still most impressed with UCLA - I still say these guys are the team to beat - they seem to be the most consistent team still in the hunt. The way that they disrupted, and eventually handled Kansas was quite impressive. Once they got the lead up to 6 or 7, they never let the Jayhawks go on a run to claim the lead - KU would cut it to 1 or 2 and UCLA would push it right back up to 6 or 7.
And Ohio State...man-o-man I kept picking against them and picking against them. And guess what, I'm still going to pick against them when they take on Georgetown. There are 2 games that the Buckeyes should have lost and Memphis certainly didn't bring their A game when they played on Saturday. As much as people talk about Oden - and he's definitely a force to be reckoned with, Conley Jr. is the player you have to really contain.
Looking ahead...
Georgetown vs. Ohio State
This will be an interesting match up of big men - Hibbert/Green versus Oden. Georgetown definitely has the best offense of the 4 remaining teams which will be tough for Ohio State - they are going to have to put a lot of attention on the back-door cuts (Georgetown got 6 layups off those cuts in the Carolina game). I do think that Oden's presence in the middle will help to contain the Hoyas' offensive rebounding a bit.
Meanwhile, where Ohio State is improving most is they actually look like and play more like a team each week - before it was just 5 really good athletes out there. There's actually leadership being exhibited by this team (Conley Jr.). If Georgetown is going to beat these guys,they need to make Oden a non factor (easier said than done). Although he doesn't foul out often, he does pick up early fouls that can keep him on the bench. Georgetown should go right at him early and often - get him aggressively committing to blocking the shot and hope to pick up some fouls.
What most worries me about Georgetown is their man-to-man defense - Carolina did a lot of driving and dishing to get easy buckets that seemed to never end in the first half and most of the second half. Look for Conley Jr. to take his man off the dribble and dish to Oden. I'd like to see the Hoyas try a little Box and 1 on Conley. Regardless, they definitely need to mix in some of the 2-3 zone as it kept Carolina off balance late in the game.
Georgetown - 74
Ohio State - 72
Florida vs. UCLA
This should be a great rematch of last year's championship game where Florida just buried the Bruins. Look for UCLA to come out and exact some revenge. I keep saying how hard it is to compete for back-to-back championships in this tournament and I think Florida's repeat hopes run out next Saturday. Although I do think Florida is SOOO talented, I just think this is UCLA's year. Their defense is relentless and was the primary reason they were able to shut down Kansas - they buried the Jayhawks outstanding guards. Aaron Afflalo finally stepped it up in this tournament and played terrific (he made his last 8 shot attempts).
Florida has it's weaknesses this year - particularly their slow start in almost every game. Although they've been able to overcome it until now, I think they will run into a UCLA team destined to avenge last year's blowout. I think UCLA will jump out fast and strong and then use their pressure back court defense to keep Florida from ever getting comfortable. The Bruins do need to watch out for the Florida big men in Horford and Noah - they both run the floor like guards and they are terrific at inside out ball - quick passes back out to open guards. The UCLA big men will have to do their best to contain these guys 1:1.
UCLA - 82
Florida - 77
My Non College Basketball Note of the Week
So if you haven't heard yet, the Houston Texans release quarterback David Carr. That's right,they cut him from the team. Not only that, but they also spent 2 draft picks (TWO DRAFT PICKS) on a backup quarterback who has played only 4 games in his career. That quarterback is Matt Schaub, former backup to Michael Vick in Atlanta.
Let's examine the past year for the Houston Texans. First, with the number one pick last year in what was arguably the most talented draft in decades, they take a defensive end who was pretty good in college, but was NEVER dominant. Who could they have gotten with that pick? Vince Young, Reggie Bush, Jay Cutler, Lendale White, Matt Lineart, etc., etc. All of these players are either starting now or will be for their respective teams this year.
Houston chose not to draft Reggie Bush because they were worried about contract negotiations - that means, they wanted a number one pick who wasn't going to demand number one money - good luck with that. They chose not to draft Vince Young because they "had their quarterback and had decided that David Carr was the QB for this franchise." They feared that bringing on a new QB at that time would have forced them to take steps backwards - this is a franchise that has yet to take a step forward in their entire existence. And clearly they never watched any tape of Vince Young during his college career. So now they've signed Ahman Green, once a great running back who is way past his prime, and resign Ron Dayne - the heisman trophy winner that NO ONE remembers because he's a terrible pro running back.
The point here? THEY COULD HAVE DRAFTED VINCE YOUNG - a Houston native who was DYING to come to the Texans and turn the tide in Houston. The bad news - in addition to cutting a #1 pick and wasting 2 draft picks to pick up a backup as his replacement - is that Houston has to play against Vince Young twice every year. And we all remember what happened to Houston when Tennessee visited last year? VY scrambled for a 30-yard touchdown in overtime to win the game. The best part? The Houston fans erupted!! That was the closest they will ever be to having a home town hero come and save their organization - too bad he will be shredding them his entire career.
I chose this topic today because after hearing of the David Carr release and the Matt Schaub pickup I can't help to think - this is the greatest blunder in professional sports history. I've decided that even this goes beyond Portland selecting Sam Bowie in favor of Michael Jordan back in the early 80s. Not because VY means more or is better at his respective sport than Jordan, but because of the events leading up to the draft, during the draft and now a year following the draft. Fortunately for Charlie Casserly (Houston's former GM), he's not around anymore to take the heat for this, but he is the number 1 person to blame. Worst move in the history of professional football and arguably in all of professional sports. Sorry Houston fans, but you may be routing for a carbon copy of those Arizona Cardinals.
The game of the day certainly came yesterday afternoon when the Georgetown Hoyas rallied to thump North Carolina in overtime. I was stunned that Georgetown was able to pull this one out considering how poorly they were executing the fundamentals of the game - it was like they simply hit a switch with about 6 minutes to play. I couldn't believe the lack of intensity that they were showing - lazy passing, lazy screen setting and lazy rebounding - they were standing around on both ends of the floor while UNC just took it to them. They were shooting a pretty damn good percentage, but the bulk of that came in the final 5 minutes and in the overtime. Kudos to John Thompson III - although I think he got out coached for the vast majority of that game, he found a way to FINALLY motivate his players to kick it into high gear. I will say that this was the first game of the tournament where I thought the officials were not calling a very balanced game. In regulation UNC shot almost 30 more free throws than G'town - that's a big discrepency. There were a number of times when UNC were getting calls that the Hoyas simply weren't getting - identical plays. I think once it hit OT the refs were just going to let it go - it certainly appeared so.
I must say though, I'm still most impressed with UCLA - I still say these guys are the team to beat - they seem to be the most consistent team still in the hunt. The way that they disrupted, and eventually handled Kansas was quite impressive. Once they got the lead up to 6 or 7, they never let the Jayhawks go on a run to claim the lead - KU would cut it to 1 or 2 and UCLA would push it right back up to 6 or 7.
And Ohio State...man-o-man I kept picking against them and picking against them. And guess what, I'm still going to pick against them when they take on Georgetown. There are 2 games that the Buckeyes should have lost and Memphis certainly didn't bring their A game when they played on Saturday. As much as people talk about Oden - and he's definitely a force to be reckoned with, Conley Jr. is the player you have to really contain.
Looking ahead...
Georgetown vs. Ohio State
This will be an interesting match up of big men - Hibbert/Green versus Oden. Georgetown definitely has the best offense of the 4 remaining teams which will be tough for Ohio State - they are going to have to put a lot of attention on the back-door cuts (Georgetown got 6 layups off those cuts in the Carolina game). I do think that Oden's presence in the middle will help to contain the Hoyas' offensive rebounding a bit.
Meanwhile, where Ohio State is improving most is they actually look like and play more like a team each week - before it was just 5 really good athletes out there. There's actually leadership being exhibited by this team (Conley Jr.). If Georgetown is going to beat these guys,they need to make Oden a non factor (easier said than done). Although he doesn't foul out often, he does pick up early fouls that can keep him on the bench. Georgetown should go right at him early and often - get him aggressively committing to blocking the shot and hope to pick up some fouls.
What most worries me about Georgetown is their man-to-man defense - Carolina did a lot of driving and dishing to get easy buckets that seemed to never end in the first half and most of the second half. Look for Conley Jr. to take his man off the dribble and dish to Oden. I'd like to see the Hoyas try a little Box and 1 on Conley. Regardless, they definitely need to mix in some of the 2-3 zone as it kept Carolina off balance late in the game.
Georgetown - 74
Ohio State - 72
Florida vs. UCLA
This should be a great rematch of last year's championship game where Florida just buried the Bruins. Look for UCLA to come out and exact some revenge. I keep saying how hard it is to compete for back-to-back championships in this tournament and I think Florida's repeat hopes run out next Saturday. Although I do think Florida is SOOO talented, I just think this is UCLA's year. Their defense is relentless and was the primary reason they were able to shut down Kansas - they buried the Jayhawks outstanding guards. Aaron Afflalo finally stepped it up in this tournament and played terrific (he made his last 8 shot attempts).
Florida has it's weaknesses this year - particularly their slow start in almost every game. Although they've been able to overcome it until now, I think they will run into a UCLA team destined to avenge last year's blowout. I think UCLA will jump out fast and strong and then use their pressure back court defense to keep Florida from ever getting comfortable. The Bruins do need to watch out for the Florida big men in Horford and Noah - they both run the floor like guards and they are terrific at inside out ball - quick passes back out to open guards. The UCLA big men will have to do their best to contain these guys 1:1.
UCLA - 82
Florida - 77
My Non College Basketball Note of the Week
So if you haven't heard yet, the Houston Texans release quarterback David Carr. That's right,they cut him from the team. Not only that, but they also spent 2 draft picks (TWO DRAFT PICKS) on a backup quarterback who has played only 4 games in his career. That quarterback is Matt Schaub, former backup to Michael Vick in Atlanta.
Let's examine the past year for the Houston Texans. First, with the number one pick last year in what was arguably the most talented draft in decades, they take a defensive end who was pretty good in college, but was NEVER dominant. Who could they have gotten with that pick? Vince Young, Reggie Bush, Jay Cutler, Lendale White, Matt Lineart, etc., etc. All of these players are either starting now or will be for their respective teams this year.
Houston chose not to draft Reggie Bush because they were worried about contract negotiations - that means, they wanted a number one pick who wasn't going to demand number one money - good luck with that. They chose not to draft Vince Young because they "had their quarterback and had decided that David Carr was the QB for this franchise." They feared that bringing on a new QB at that time would have forced them to take steps backwards - this is a franchise that has yet to take a step forward in their entire existence. And clearly they never watched any tape of Vince Young during his college career. So now they've signed Ahman Green, once a great running back who is way past his prime, and resign Ron Dayne - the heisman trophy winner that NO ONE remembers because he's a terrible pro running back.
The point here? THEY COULD HAVE DRAFTED VINCE YOUNG - a Houston native who was DYING to come to the Texans and turn the tide in Houston. The bad news - in addition to cutting a #1 pick and wasting 2 draft picks to pick up a backup as his replacement - is that Houston has to play against Vince Young twice every year. And we all remember what happened to Houston when Tennessee visited last year? VY scrambled for a 30-yard touchdown in overtime to win the game. The best part? The Houston fans erupted!! That was the closest they will ever be to having a home town hero come and save their organization - too bad he will be shredding them his entire career.
I chose this topic today because after hearing of the David Carr release and the Matt Schaub pickup I can't help to think - this is the greatest blunder in professional sports history. I've decided that even this goes beyond Portland selecting Sam Bowie in favor of Michael Jordan back in the early 80s. Not because VY means more or is better at his respective sport than Jordan, but because of the events leading up to the draft, during the draft and now a year following the draft. Fortunately for Charlie Casserly (Houston's former GM), he's not around anymore to take the heat for this, but he is the number 1 person to blame. Worst move in the history of professional football and arguably in all of professional sports. Sorry Houston fans, but you may be routing for a carbon copy of those Arizona Cardinals.
posted by The Bearden Wonder at 7:58 AM
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