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Saturday, November 5, 2011

Gator (and Southern) Hoops Blog # 2 - Season 2

My Beloved 82 Bloggees (Welcome Dan, Andy, Doug, Bernard, Bobby, Ben, and Franz):



In the battle of Billy Donovans on Thursday night, Dad ended up on the winning side when Florida defeated Catholic University 114 - 57.  http://www.gatorzone.com/basketball/men/boxscore.php?gameid=10276 . Billy Donovan Jr. scored 13 points on 3 for 7 shooting in 27 minutes as a last-minute addition to the starting lineup for the Division III Cardinals.

The Gators made 20 of 40 three-point field goal attempts with their 3-guard lineup. Athletic freshman 6 '3 guard Bradley Beal is special and you will want to remember that name. He was 8 for 11 from the field including 4 for 7 from the arc for 20 points. Kenny Boynton had a super game with a double-double, 21 points and 10 assists.

Although Patric Young is a horse in the middle, rebounding will be a challenge this year for the Orange and Blue. Vernon Macklin, now with the lockout Detroit Pistons, and his physicality will be sorely missed, especially without a "thick" (the relatively new "trendy" word describing a broad-shouldered tall physical frontcourt player) replacement from the freshman class. NEXT



It is never a good sign for a Division I college basketball team when it loses an exhibition game usually against a team in a lower division. Many remember when Syracuse was upset in 2009 by Division II LeMoyne and last year when Tennessee was upset by Division II Indianapolis. The pre-season upsets have continued this year.

This past Wednesday, the Division II Northern State Wolves, from Aberdeen, South Dakota, upset the national runner-up the last two years, 31st ranked Butler University, 53 - 50 after trailing by 9 with less than 5 minutes to play. http://rapidcityjournal.com/sports/college-basketball-thomas-s-triple-helps-northern-state-upset-butler/article_4a5338e4-05d5-11e1-82dd-001cc4c002e0.html

Last week Division II Seattle Pacific upset no.16 ranked Arizona 69 -68  http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=ncb&id=7183144

I am sure practice was not pleasant for Butler and Arizona players the day after these stunning upsets. NEXT



On Thursday night, the NBDL had their annual draft. Here are some of the Southern highlights:

1. In the first round, Mustapha Farrakhan from Virginia and grandson of Nation of Islam's Louis Farrakhan, was drafted by the Bakersfield Jam.

2. In the fourth round, Donald Sims from Appalachian State, was drafted by the Reno Bighorns. Many in Birmingham remember seeing this sharpshooter play against Samford in Southern Conference action. In 2009-2010 he led the nation with an astounding free throw percentage of 95.1, on 175 out of 184.

3. In the eighth round, Justin Tubbs, from East Tennessee State after transferring from Alabama, was drafted by the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. THAT'S IT



Enjoy...will be attending my first college basketball game of the year Monday when Samford hosts Berry College in an exhibition encounter....as a Samford fan, I hope I don't have to report another upset.



Barry

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Gator (and Southern) Hoops Blog # 1 - Season 2

My Beloved Bloggees (Welcome Coach Murray):




It is time for a new season of hoops and blogs. I can hardly talk about the NBA lockout. The players need to realize that how great they have it and stop being so greedy. How about thinking about the out-of-work folks like arena employees because of your "not enough millions" selfishness. Be grateful and let's play. We want to see last year's all-BB (Barry's Blog) rookies like Kenneth Faried snatching rebounds for Denver and Andrew Goudelock draining threes for the Lakers. NEXT



The David vs. Goliath college exhibition games are already starting. Thursday features an interesting coach-player father-son matchup..... Gator head coach Billy Donovan vs 6' 2 sophomore Billy Donovan http://www.cuacardinals.com/sports/mbkb/2011-12/bios/billy_donovan  Florida hosts Catholic University.

Last year the coach's son averaged 1.4 points in less than 4 minutes a game, but something tells me he will get much more PT at the O-Dome on Thursday. I am predicting double figures for Junior. NEXT



Throughout the year we will once again, focus on transfers. When you think back to last year's Arkansas basketball team, which player do you think would have been a great fit for Butler's squad? If you guessed sharpshooter (except when Gator Kenny Boynton was covering him) Rotnei Clarke, you are correct and he has transferred to the "perennial" national runner-up school. Clarke will sit out this year and become an integral part of the Butler Bulldogs for the 2012 - 2013 season http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basketball/story/2011-08-01/sharpshooter-rotnei-clarke-transfers-to-butler  . THAT'S IT




Enjoy....keeping it short...don't want you to get burned out...our thoughts are with a giant hoops fan bloggee Irby who is at home with hospice....a Samford season ticketholder in our bloc of seats, he would watch the Samford game, while listening to the UAB radio broadcast on his headphones if both teams played at the same time...also was passionate about Penn (his alma mater) and Alabama basketball....a great guy and recently voted 2011 Realtor of the Year by the. Birmingham Association of Realtors.





Barry