My Beloved 90 Bloggees (Welcome AJ, Andy, Steve and Paul):
The Gators held serve on ESPN's GameDay Saturday prime time game 70 - 68 http://www.gatorzone.com/basketball/men/boxscore.php?gameid=9464 . It was just by a matter of inches as former Gator recruit, Brandon Knight, bounced a three-point shot off the front of the rim as time expired. Alex Tyus, helped the cause by putting a hand in Knight's face and a minute earlier played excellent defense on Terrence Jones causing him to miss badly on a short jumper when Florida was up by one. Tyus followed up with a soft jump hook over Jones that snuck in the basket thanks to a friendly rim giving the Gators some late-needed cushion.
The Gators starting guards, Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton were a joint 2 for 12 from beyond the arc but fortunately, Scottie Wilbekin and Chandler Parsons helped offset that with a combined 4 for 6 long-range shooting. Parsons' double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds was crucial in his 37 minutes including no break in the second half. Another important home win for the Orange and Blue. NEXT
Even if you are not a women's hoops fan, you will find something interesting about this Emily London update.....on Saturday she was 3 for 3 from the foul line in the Samford 63 - 54 victory at Furman http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/womens-basketball/boxscore?gid=201102050220 (Emily scored 23, including 4 for 9 from the perimeter). London is now 74 for 76 for the year for a whopping 97.4 % leading all Div I men and women. Last year Emily converted 101 out of 112 free throw attempts for 90.2 %.
How has this Lexington, KY native mastered the craft of free throw shooting? Do you remember in the late 70's, a University of Kentucky point guard who was just under 90 % from the free throw line for his career and used to rub his socks before each attempt? http://www.aseaofblue.com/2009/10/27/1102509/q-a-with-kentucky-basketball That was Kyle Macy and Birmingham bloggee John gave me the scoop that Macy is a family friend of the Londons and has helped her into becoming a better free throw shooter than he was.
Emily's next game is Monday night in Spartanburg, SC against Wofford. Let's see if her hot hand continues. I wonder if our Spartanburg bloggee will sneak over to get a peak. NEXT
Arkansas's rabid hoops fans are not doing somersaults over the team's two consecutive home losses, especially the last one against Mississippi on Saturday night 69 - 60 http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201102050019 . Ole Miss's Chris Warren was 10 for 10 from the free throw line and had 15 of his 19 points in the second half...reminiscent of what he did in Gainesville earlier this season. Marshawn Powell led the Razorbacks with 19 points despite sitting out more than five minutes to start the game after tweaking an ankle during the pre-game shootaround. Take it easy, Marshawn.
Coach John Pelphrey needs to continue to remind the fans of his highly-ranked recruiting class coming to Fayetteville, otherwise more losses down the stretch, including a few more at Bud Walton Arena, could eventually be "hazardous to his wealth." NEXT
Georgia almost destroyed its NCAA hopes having to go into overtime at home against short-handed Auburn on Saturday before coming out ahead, 81 - 72 http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201102050230 . Auburn's 6 ' 10 starting center, Rob Chubb, continued to serve his indefinite suspension, but Earnest Ross put on a clinic.....12 for 18, including 5 for 7 from the perimeter for 30 points, including a team-leading 7 rebounds and also had 3 steals. The Bulldogs' Jeremy Price's double-double of 22 points and 14 rebounds saved the day for the home team still dealing with the death of UGA VIII http://www.redandblack.com/2011/02/06/uga’s-death-shocks-univ/ . NEXT
Anthony Grant is showing why he was such a sought-after major college coach a couple of years back while serving his apprenticeship at VCU. After just a year and a half in Tuscaloosa, the no-nonsense Grant has shown the Tiders how to win, as evidenced by another road win Saturday, a 65 - 60 overtime win against Tennessee http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201102050580 . Talking to Tide fans who regularly attend their games, the attitude adjustment among the players is evident in contrast to the late stages of the previous regime.
Give credit to he talented Volunteers. They battled the SEC-leading Crimson Tide, outrebounding them 42 - 32, but just came up short, even without ankle-injured Scotty Hopson and coach Bruce Pearl who was serving the final game of his 8-SEC game suspension. ESPN's Jimmy Dykes likes Tennessee to do some damage once again this year at the Big Dance. NEXT
A few weeks ago I went to a theater to see a comedy toupe perform. After fifteen minutes of disappointment (I was probably too old to appreciate the humor), I went to the ticket office and asked for a refund. If I were in New Orleans on Saturday at Fogelman Arena, I might have done the same thing at halftime of the UAB - Tulane game. The score then was 19 -12. Many of you know by now how I feel about games when there is less than a point scored per minute by a team....here it was both teams! Eventually UAB came out on top 47 - 39 in a game that fortunately was not televised http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201102050598 .
Neither team shot over 28 % and from what I read about the game, the low numbers were not attributable to great defense. Unless UAB wins the conference tournament, the NIT might have to be renamed the Mike Davis Invitational. NEXT
What a crazy week for North Carolina starting with backup point guard junior Larry Drew II, son of the Atlanta Hawks head coach with the same name, quitting the team on Friday unexpectedly . Coach Roy Williams received the news from a phone call from Drew's dad which is a bit odd. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news?slug=rivals-1185382
Drew II had lost his starting job to freshman Kendall Marshall in the middle of January, but had played well in the reserve role. Why he didn't wait until the end of the year is perplexing. If he transfers to a Division I school he won't be eligible until Novermber 2012 with a possible exception if he graduates before then. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/ted_keith/02/04/drew.transfer/ Even though he indicated he would transfer, my guess is that he is going to pull a Christian Drejer, and immediately start playing in Europe, the way the former Danish Gator deserted the Orange and Blue midseason in February 2004.
On Sunday, Marshall made North Carolina forget about Drew with 16 assists in 36 minutes in its 89 - 69 thrashing of previous Gator-victim FSU http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201102060413 . He also had 9 points on 3 for 4 shooting including perfect from three-point range on his two attempts. (By the way, Bama transfer Justin Knox scored 8 points in 16 minutes for the Tar Heels nailing 3 of his 4 field goal attempts.)
Next up is Duke on Thursday night in Durham. Two questions:
1. Can Marshall duplicate his performancet?
2. Will Dick Vitale be able to sleep before his dream matchup? THAT'S IT
Enjoy.....will be seeing former Duke star and current ESPN Jay Williams speak at the Birmingham Tipoff Club meeting today,
Barry
No comments:
Post a Comment