Blog # 34 with some Football

My Beloved 80 Bloggees (Welcome Judge and Pace):

Another routine Gator road SEC win beyond regulation on Tuesday night....this time, an 104- 91 double overtime thriller over the Georgia Bulldogs http://www.gatorzone.com/basketball/men/boxscore.php?gameid=9461 . In the past two years, I don't think the Gators would have had the beef to contend with such a physical challenge

However, this year, with both a more seasoned Vernon Macklin and the youthful recklessness of Patric Young playing center, the Gators can compete in the prime retail estate, which ESPN broadcaster, Jimmy Dykes, calls the area near the basket (about five times a game). During key minutes of regulation and overtimes, Billy had both Macklin and Young in the game at the same time which would have prompted Bill Raftery to say, if he were doing the game for CBS or ESPN, "Lock up the china". (Raftery is my favorite analyst...you have to love when a bank shot is made and you hear Raftery...."with the kiss off the glass" or "with the smooch")

Erving Walker redeemed himself for missing key throws near the end of regulation by knotting up the game with one second remaining in the first overtime connecting on a long, long three (no foul, Georgia?). The Gators took advantage of the deflated Bulldog players and crowd in the second overtime, especially Chandler Parsons' 9 points in that period. Kenny Boynton helped the Gators get off to a hot start in the game but then he cooled off, except for his "perfect dozen" free-throw shooting...12 for 12.  NEXT

 

One of our new bloggees, Bebe, is a Clemson grad and wants to hear some Tiger love. Well here it is, at the expense of Sidney Lowe and his North Carolina State Wolfpack who had a 19-point lead in the first half that tranformed into a 60 - 50 loss Tuesday night at Clemson. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/scoreboard?d=2011-01-25&refresh=60  NC State scored just 16 points in the second half. I didn't see the game, but I am sure Clemson's defense was a factor. On the other hand, scoring less than a point a minute in a half leaves a sour taste in my mouth, especially by a 5-year coach that has never made March noise during his tenure other than a couple trips to the NIT. My guess is that Sidney needs to go to the Dance this year. Otherwise.........

The new NC State athletic director is Debbie Yow coached Gator Women's Basketball in the 80's  Lowe's top current assistant, Monte Towe, was the late Norm Sloan's assistant for the Gators also in the 80's. Towe was also the legendary Wolfpack point guard during its 1974 national championship year. Hmmmmm. Are you thinking what I am thinking?   NEXT

It's time for You Make Me Feel Old .  When you see the name of senior Jerai Grant on Clemson's roster you can't help but do some digging http://clemsontigers.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/grant_jerai00.html . Yes, 6' 8 230 lb Jerai is the son of one of the famous twins who played at Clemson, Harvey Grant . (Harvey went on to finish his collegiate career at Oklahoma). That also means his uncle is Horace Grant who has some NBA finger jewelry thanks to His Airness, which doesn't seem that long ago. Yes, Jerai Grant,  You Make Me Feel Old . 

By the way, Harvey has another son, Jerian Grant, who is a 6' 5" freshman guard at Notre Dame but is out for the year with a shin injury (After the Jay Cutler controversy, I am not judging). http://www.und.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/grant_jerian00.html  Also, there are two more younger brothers, one a junior at "rich-in-tradition" DeMatha High School. Coach Billy D., is Harvey Grant on your Christmas card list yet? NEXT

It may seem like http://www.channelsurfing.net/  is paying me, but that is not true. However, last night I was able to watch the end of the UAB -Marshall game for free on that magnificent website. It was not being broadcast on local or satellite TV. It was a thriller.

UAB had a hangover of the Memphis blues, after losing to the Tigers at home, Saturday evening in overtime in front of an unusual packed house at Bartow Arena. That help  Marshall take a 48 - 38 lead withjust over 7 minutes left. Suddenly, as if they took a sobering shower, the Blazers played tremendous defense and had key scoring from Jemarr Sanders and Aaron Johnson.  Good job, down the stretch, Blazers. Otherwise, that  would have been a "program-setback" loss to the Thundering Herd. NEXT

To football...the Senior Bowl will be televised this Saturday on the NFL Network at 3:00 CST. Three Florida Gators will be participating:

# 17 Chaz Henry - Punter

# 35 Ahmad Black - Defensive Back

# 76 Marcus Gilbert - Offensive Tackle

To see the names of participants from other schools click on http://www.seniorbowl.com/rosters.asp NEXT

The South team of the Senior Bowl is being coached by former Gator quarterback, Chan Gailey.  Chan was a backup signal caller for most of his collegiate career (1971 - 1973). But I do recall an act of unselfishness that has been etched in my memory.

The Gators were hit with numerous injuries during one season and it got to the point where they needed a long snapper. Who volunteered? Quarterback Chan Gailey. I still retain the unique image of him hustling out on the field with a center's jersey (number 51, I believe) taped onto his quarterback jersey (number 10 or 12, not sure). Do you think Coach Doug Dickey liked having him on the team?  THAT'S IT.

Enjoy....going to see the feared Elon Phoenix and their stud guard, Drew Spradlin, in a revenge game for Samford...the Southern Conference is not strong in the paint but they have some star "don't miss" guards including Spradlin, Charleston's Andrew Goudelock, Appalachian State's Donald Sims and Citadel's Cameron Wells. Buth they are still a one-bid league.

Barry

Blog # 33 with some Football

My Beloved 78 Bloggees (Welcome Kevin # 2):

A common question I get is, Barry, why do you write these blogs? The primary reason is that most newspapers nowadays don't print box scores of college basketball games except for local teams. I work at a computer all day, so I take a break and look at each day's box scores and try to provide info that I would want to know, if I didn't have the time and/or computer access to search it out.

Plus I have always had an itch to write about sports. Some of you know about my series of five books educating the "sports illiterate" spectatator called TeachMeSports written in the early 1990's. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=dreayer  The above links shows that the public can buy used copies at amazon.com for as low as a penny (of course, I make nothing on it). I am not insulted by the price....heck, it is more than what you all are paying for the blogs. NEXT

I saw an early score of a key game on Saturday showing Kansas was winning at home in the first half against Texas, 28 - 13. I then assumed it was going to be a rout, especially at Phog Allen Fieldhouse, where they had won 69 in a row. 

The Kansas squad had rallied around sophomore Thomas Robinson who received a call the night before that his 37-year old mother unexpectedly died from a heart attack. He had lost his grandfather the week before and his grandmother two weeks before then. Terrible. http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/21844/21844

The emotional Jayhawks scored the first 10 points and stretched the lead to 15, the point when I saw it on the ESPN crawl. Evidently, they were understandably spent, and Texas dominated the last 30 minutes for a gigantic 74 - 69 Big 12 victory. Robinson actually played and scored two points with five rebounds. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201101220287  NEXT

I am accumulating some March Madness Mid-Major Sleepers now to help me fill out my bracket in March.  In previous blogs, I have touted Belmont and Old Dominion as members of the Sleepers Club. Bruiser Flint's Drexel has now made me a believer after its dominating win on Monday against a Rod Barnes-led Georgia State squad 57 - 33 http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201101240172 . Their defense and board work, 40 - 24 rebounding margin, shows me they have the toughness needed to surprise a team in the tourney.

"I want my money back." That had to be the rallying cry from Mid-American Conference basketball fans of two directional Michigan schools after they clashed on Sunday with Eastern Michigan coming out on top of Central Michigan 41 - 38. Two of the best players in the country participated:

1. Central Michigan's freshman Trey Ziegler, the 4th rated high school shooting guard in 2010 who declined offers from Duke and Michigan State to play for his dad, Ernie Ziegler, CMU's head coach. http://rivals.yahoo.com/basketballrecruiting/basketball/recruiting/player-Trey-Zeigler-54919 and

2. Eastern Michigan's senior Brandon Bowdry who is a 6' 6" 230 lb load in the frontcourt. I saw Bowdry show his stuff on New Year's Eve Day when he scored 19 on 8 for 13 shooting in a loss at Samford. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/players/61212/gamelog

You may want to shield your eyes when you look at the ugly box score from that game   http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201101230181.  Besides the low total of  79 points scored, EMU shot 33 % and CMU shot 23 %. The free throws and three-point percentages were also relatively microscopic. Even Dick Vitale would have had a tough time to apply his dipsy-doo dunkeroo enthusiastic schtick to this game. But if you get a chance to see Ziegler or Bowdry play either live or on television, don't miss them.  NEXT

Yes, Drexel had some bad losses this year at Syracuse (93 - 65), at George Mason (71 - 47) and at Bill and Mary (80 - 66), but the Dragons did upset Louisville at Pitino's Place (52 - 46). http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/teams/dat/schedule  Their competitive Colonial Athletic Association schedule will help prepare them for the Dance (if they get in). Don't forget from an earlier blog, Drexel is the only team that has outrebounded Old Dominion this year. NEXT

Speaking of the Colonial Athletic Association, remember former FSU (and DePaul, among other stops) coach Pat Kennedy. He is Towson University's head coach, the celler-dwellers of the CAA with an 0 - 9 conference record. The Tigers have only been blown out once, and Monday night they barely lost at home to former Gator assistant's VCU Rams,  80 -76  http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201101240595 but I am sure the Towson boosters are getting a bit impatient. I can picture our Baltimore bloggee nodding his head.  If Pat Kennedy were a stock, I don't think he would be rated a "strong buy" based on his record at Towson. NEXT

To football, the biggest sports secret of the past weekend was the East-West Shrine Game. It looks like it was a secret in Orlando, Florida where only 9,642 fans (out of 65,000 plus seats) witnessed the East's 25 - 8  victory. I spent a few minutes searching how Gator defensive end, Justin Trattou, performed along with other seniors. Finally, it emerged on my computer....  http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/college/football/view/20110123east_defeats_west_in_shrine_game/srvc=home&position=recent

Trattou had an outstanding game for the pro scouts with 4 tackles, two for a loss and one sack. You can also see how others played by checking out the following box score  http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=310223147 .  NEXT

While we are on the subject of college all-star games, here are some random thoughts about defunct college all-star games:

1. Over 20 years ago I went to Las Vegas and one of the days I was out there was Christmas, which meant the Blue-Grey game, played in Montgomery, Alabama. I made one of my best wagers ever......Grey plus 2  and I won (I had to take the points). You can bet on anything out there, as I digress. I remember once, before getting into a cab to the airport,  I bet that Kareen-Abdul Jabbar would score over 14 points in a game later that day during the twilight of his career. As I walked into the Delta Crown Room at DFW airport while in-between connecting flights, the Laker game was playing. Normally one asks, what is the score? Of course you know what I asked.

2. The South Florida bloggees remember a Christmas Night all-star game....the North-South Shrine Game at the Orange Bowl. 1973 was the last year.

3. In my younger days, back in the 60s and 70s, there used to be two college all-star games in the summer. In June there was the Coaches All-America Game that featured the top seniors of the previous football season http://www.lubbockcentennial.com/AJremembers/111608.shtml .

My favorite was the College All-Star Game in late July or early August when a team of collegiate seniors from the previous football season would play the current NFL champions. It was fascinating to watch but the college team nearly always lost. The college all-stars would sometimes miss up to 6 weeks of pro training camp to prepare as a team for this game. The final year was in 1976 when there was such a downpour near the end of the fourth quarter, the game was called and they never played again.

http://www.mmbolding.com/BSR/Chicago_Charities_College_All-Star_Game.htm  THAT'S IT.

Enjoy and remember the Gators play Georgia tonight on ESPN at 6:00.....I will be DVRing it (and avoiding the score) to watch it later in the night....that strategy helps preserve marital bliss,

Barry

P.S. I have been told to hold off on the "I'm sorrys" when sending out a blog on consecutive days. So, I will.

Blog # 32

My Beloved 77 Bloggees (Welcome Brian, Stephen, Coach Dale, Coach George and Bebe):

 

 

The Gators played like a late March team Saturday night against Arkansas. The defense led by Kenny Boynton was suffocating, especially guarding the Hogs' three-point shooting phenom Rotnei Clark, denying him the ball. Boynton (with his radar threes and textbook assists) and Vernon Macklin's scoring in the paint lifted the Gators to a phenomenal start in the first half offensively. The entire team then adopted the killer instinct in extending the lead. Patric Young was relentless on the boards and at times, his play reminded me of the nickname of former professional wrestler, Bobby Duncum Sr., the "One-Man Gang". NEXT

 

 

 

 

It is always great when Mark Wise does the color for a televised Gator game. His insight from living in Gainesville and being around the program for so many years, frequently enhances the regional telecast, just like on Saturday night. His wife, Mary Wise http://www.gatorzone.com/volleyball/bios.php?year=2002&bio=wise.html , has been the outstanding Gator volleyball coach since 1991. NEXT

 

 

 

 

Kudos to both head coaches in Saturday's Alabama 68 - 58 victory at Auburn in a game much closer than the score http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201101220028 . Tony Barbee showed once again his Auburn squad is capable of playing with intensity at home, especially outrebounding the Tide 34 - 24. The War Eagles are just hapless on the other end of the court.

 

Anthony Grant had the task of leading the Tide to overcome the winning euphoria that was on the Auburn campus earlier in the day with 78,000 cheering on the national football champs in a memorable ceremony.  Also, the football Iron Bowl Trophy was presented at halftime. Seeing Alabama struggle so much against Auburn does help some Florida fans understand a little why Thursday's night disappointing Gator performance (but still a win) happened on the Plains....Auburn is starting to play some tough, tough defense.

 

Speaking of Grant, he was the speaker at the Birmingham Tipoff Club today http://www.birminghamtipoffclub.com/ . He just exudes class and as mentioned in previous blogs, should be in Tuscaloosa for a long time.  Next Monday, Tony Barbee will be speaking.  Birmingham bloggees should consider joining the Club and attending. NEXT

 

 

 

 

The Gators play at Georgia on Tuesday night on ESPN at 7:00. Having lived in Atlanta from 1979 - 1995 I made a few trips to Athens for this annual matchup. I was a member of the Atlanta Gator Club whose slogan is still "Deep in Enemy Territory" and it is so true being less than 90 minutes away from the home of the Red Clay Hounds (thank you Leonard's Losers) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Postero . (I usually don't include Wikipedia links, but this is right on).

 

The rivalry meant so much to me, that when I drove fellow Gators to Athens for the game they were not allowed to buy concessions at Georgia's Coliseum. You see, proceeds went to my heated rival's Athletic Association, so no food for any of us during the game. The water fountains were always quite busy near our section.

 

There have been some memorable moments for me in the "previous century" regarding the Florida - Georgia games in Athens. These immediately come to mind:

 

1. In the 70's the Gators' Malcolm Cesare lost a tooth due to a dangerous elbow from the Dogs' Lucious Foster.

 

2. In the 80's the Gators went without starting point guard, Jose Ramos who was kicked off the team a day before the game during practice in Athens. Ramos had a verbal confrontation with then fiery Gator coach, the late Norm Sloan. Warning....the next link describes the incident but contains R-rated profanity http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2000-03-02/news/a-shakey-machine/4/

 

3. In the 90's the "Thin Finn",  6' 11' Marti Kuisma went off against the Bulldogs draining a multitude of threes in a Gator victory. By the way, also on that Gator team was Svein Dyrkolbotn, the "Norwegian Collegian" (you have to love that nickname). The Orange and Blue definitely had a Scandanavian flavor. NEXT

 

 

 

 

In a previous blog I mentioned that I didn't recall ever seeing a player who shot 10 or more three-pointers and made none of them. That was until Andre Stringer of LSU accomplished that task against Kentucky, a week ago Saturday, shooting blanks on all 10 three-point attempts. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/players/97045 .

 

You can add UAB's Jamarr Sanders to that list after he duplicated Stringer's futility in the Blazers' 76 - 73 painful overtime loss to "their daddy" (thank you, Pedro Martinez http://www.nowpublic.com/sports/pedro-martinez-whos-your-daddy-video-2009-world-series-chant-2504839.html ), Memphis on Saturday http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201101220034 .Sanders was not the only UAB player who had a tough time deep. His other teammates were 2 for 13 for a grand total of 8.7 %. It is quite amazing they even made it to overtime. NEXT

 

 

 

 

UCF? What has happened? You beat Florida and then you go south in Conference USA with a 1 - 4 record? You lose to an           8 -10 Rice at home, Saturday night,  57 - 50 http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201101220103 ? Marcus "son of Air" Jordan has been in a funk lately, including going 0 - 5 (but 10 for 12 from the freebie line) in the Rice loss. By the way, Rice was led by Connor Frizzell who was mentioned in a prior blog...so envious of his 90.2 % free throw shooting.

 

Former Florida assistant and current UCF coach, Donnie Jones, needs to regroup the troops before their upcoming "murderer's row" of C-USA opponents--at Memphis, UAB and at UTEP. Donnie, we are pulling for you, as is the Gators' RPI. THAT'S IT

 

 

 

Enjoy and thanks for all the feedback....keep spreading the word,

 

 

 

Barry

 

Blog # 31 with some Football and Baseball

My Beloved 72 Bloggees (Welcome Pete and Terry):

 

 

Routine win by the Gators against Auburn on Thursday night 45 -40 http://www.gatorzone.com/story.php?id=19615 . Seriously, watching that game gave me that empty feeling that you get when you look in the rear view mirror and see a police officer's car on your tail and lights flashing (not you, bloggee Birmingham Police Officer Phil) . We can't lose to Auburn! In a previous blog I committed to tearing up my UF diploma if we lost. I had my paper shredder ready with less than two minutes left.......but finally, Kenny Boynton nailed a "had-to-have" three to tie and then Erving Walker duplicated the feat on the next possession giving us a three-point lead, virtually clinching the road SEC win.

 

After the game, I decided who should be the MVP of the SEC this year....medical redshirt,.Frankie Sullivan. The Auburn star only played a couple of games this year with that offensively-challenged (and that is an understatement) team. But while he played, that team did beat FSU who within a week went on to beat Duke. After watching last night's game, can you think of another player who was more valuable to his team than what Sullivan must have been when he played this year? NEXT

 

 

 

 

I love reliable sharpshooters in the SEC. With the three-point shot, they can keep you in most games. I think back to guys like LSU's Chris Jackson (now known as Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf...would you believe the 41-year old is still playing hoops in Japan http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/sp20101011eo.html ), Tennessee's Chris Lofton (with the Iowa Energy of the NBDL) and the Gators'  Lee Humphrey (playing in Germany) who had ice in their veins when their team needed a three.

 

Vanderbilt's John Jenkins currently fits that mold. Last year as a freshman, he shot 48.3 per cent beyond the arc. This year he is down a bit to a respectable 41.3 per cent, but Wednesday night he was 4 for 5 as Vandy defeated Ole Miss,  84 -74. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201101190615  I fear him when the Gators play the 'Dores especially in their mausoleum, I mean, gymnasium. Here is a short interview with Jenkins. http://www.gatorsports.com/article/20110120/ARTICLES/110129932/1093?Title=Q-A-with-Vanderbilt-s-John-Jenkins  NEXT

 

 

 

 

As our Birmingham attorney/frequent sports talk show co-host bloggee John warned me, then 15 - 0 Cincinnati will soon start acting like pregnant hens and lay some eggs. They have done just that, losing 3 out of 4, including Wednesday night to Notre Dame 66 - 58 (even though Miss St. transfer, Ben Hansborough, went 1 for 8 for the Irish...but did shoot 11 for 12 from the gift lane).   http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201101190423 . The Bearcats' November and December "Little Debbies" schedule is catching up to them. It reminds me of the Gators frequent pre-conference schedule of High Point, Longwood, FAMU and Georgia Southern before they received the "toughen it up" edict by the best conference commissioner in the history of collegiate sports, Mike Slive. NEXT

 

 

 

 

Turning to football, do you think Auburn Nation is not doing somersaults after seeing the title of this story regarding new Michigan Offensive Coordinator, Al Borges. http://www.freep.com/article/20110119/SPORTS06/110119089/1433/Michigans-Al-Borges-This-is-the-best-place-Ive-been  If you remember, he was the Offensive Coordinator for Auburn from 2004 - 2007, reaching a peak during the Cadillac Williams, Ronnie Brown, Jason Campbell undefeated 2004 season. NEXT

 

 

 

 

Thanks to Orlando bloggee Scott for informing me about the subject of the next "episode" of our blog regular feature, You Make Me Feel Old. I remember when Jim Yarbrough was a giant tight end for the Gators in the late 60's and then went on to the Detroit Lions for a nine-year career as an offensive tackle http://www.gatorcountry.com/swampgas/showthread.php?t=174940 (long-time Gator football fans will love the pictures in that link).

 

My high school from Orlando, Edgewater (in the late 60's featured Orlando's greatest high school football player ever, former Gator, Eddy Moore), just hired 30-year old Zac Yarbrough, Jim's son,  to be its new football coach.

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2011-01-20/sports/os-hs-edgewater-hires-coach-20110120_1_jeff-gierke-bill-gierke-edgewater-athletic-director  Zac, You Make Me Feel Old. NEXT

 

 

 

There are three football games on television this weekend involving former Gator players (the following format is a tribute to the late public address announcer of the New York Yankees, Bob Sheppard) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhrVnoISIkE&playnext=1&list=PL407A335AFA32CD39&index=64  :

 

1. East-West Shrine Game on NFL Network, Saturday, 3:00 pm CST -  "Playing for the East, Defensive End, Number 84, Justin Trattou, Number 84"

 

2.  NFC Championship Game on Fox Network, Sunday, 2:00 pm CST - "Playing for the Chicago Bears, Defensive Back, Number 27, Major Wright, Number 27"

 

3. AFC Championship Game on CBS Network, Sunday, 5:30 pm CST - "Playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Center,  Number 53, Maurkice Pouncey, Number 53.

 

Have I been in Siberia for the last few years? I always thought the East-West Shrine Game was played in San Francisco, going back to when I was a kid. What is up with the game being played in my hometown, Orlando, Florida? Well, it has been moved to other cities beginning in 2006 in San Antonio http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/6356676.html .  THAT'S IT.

 

 

 

Enjoy.....Florida, let's beat Arkansas on Fox Sports Net South at 7:00 CST (blacked out in Southeast on http://www.espn3.com/) and Samford, let's get back to winning ways at Wofford today...don't forget NBA League Pass is free through tomorrow on most cable and satellite systems,

 

 

 

Barry

Blog # 30

My Beloved 70 Bloggees (Welcome Levi):

 

 

 

Our Spartanburg, SC and Tar Heel alumnus bloggee pointed out an amazing fact that was new to me about the Clemson - North Carolina basketball rivalry. Clemson has visited Chapel Hill 55 times and the Tigers have NEVER won. That is right, Clemson has never won at North Carolina including Tuesday night's 75 - 65 Tar Heel victory. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/577642-unc-basketball-clemson-tigers-lose-55th-in-a-row-to-tar-heels-in-chapel-hill

 

Think about some former Clemson players....Tree Rollins, Horace Grant, Larry Nance, Elden Campbell, Dale Davis . How about some of coaches who have been at the helm in Greenville....Tates Locke, Cliff Ellis, Press Maravich, Rick Barnes, UF assistant Larry Shyatt. Not one time could they muster 40 effective minutes for a road victory against Carolina Blue? As legendary coach and broadcaster Al McGuire used to say, "Holy Mackerel". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4fz4hhpFoE&NR=1  NEXT

 

 

 

 

Speaking of McGuire, I will never forget the only time I saw him in person. It was at the old Jacksonville Coliseum in December 1976 when the Gators played Marquette in the Big Sun Tournament. When he first appeared from the Warriors' dressing room, he gave off an "aura of charisma" just by his presence. I have only felt it one other time while sitting in an audience.

 

I once saw Frank Sinatra in Las Vegas and his aura had that same impact on me. It is not just fame, it is someone who exudes class that nearly knocks you off your feet. But back to hoops, did or does anyone in the basketball world have that effect on you? I would be curious to hear and without mentioning your name, I will include the "serious" responses in a future blog.  NEXT

 

 

 

 

With my apologies to our Wake Forest alum bloggees, it is tough to see one's team score less than 40 points in a game and almost get doubled. That happened to the Demon Deacons Wednesday night at Georgia Tech 74 - 39 http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201101190232 . To add salt to the wound, consider that they only scored 13 points in the second half and had no one in double figures. This proud program should rebound but the growing pains under new  coach Jeff "Scrabble" Bzdelik reminds me of Auburn this year under their first-year coach, Tony Barbee. NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

Is it just me or do you also find  it unusual to see a team gather 16 offensive rebounds but only score 18 field goals in that game (can you say "put back")? Plus they won the game. That happened Wednesday night with FSU in the battle of UF in-state rivals, when the Noles nipped Miami 55 - 53. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201101190355  The Seminoles stud, Chris Singleton, shot 2 for 13, including 0 for 3 from way back. In fact, both teams shot no better than 34 %----23% from three-point land. With over 40 fouls committed, I will just assume it was an ugly defensive battle that I am glad I missed. However, FSU's win does help its early season conquerors, UF.  NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

Because I only attended University of Texas for a 12-month graduate program, I don't have the passion toward the Longhorns as I do toward the Orange and Blue. However, the year I was there, they won the NIT which was relevant back then. Long-time San Antonino Spurs' Johnny Moore  was the starting point guard http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/moorejo01.html . Abe Lemons was the coach and he was an amazing personality. I will never forget this scene on his Coach's Show.

 

The SWC title hopes of the UT men's basketball team apparently had been derailed by a loss to Baylor. .
But when No. 1-ranked Arkansas was later upset by Houston, the Horns were granted new life. To vividly illustrate that point, Lemons opened his weekly TV show lying in a casket, dressed in black and holding a flower. Lemons then popped up and proclaimed, "We're not dead yet!"

Back to the Longhorns....in Wednesday night's 81 - 60 thrashing of  Texas A & M they had a statistic that makes all Gator basketball fans (along with others) envious http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201101190585 . The Horns' were successful on 19 of 22 free throws for 86 %. If I were Billy Donovan, I would be placing a call to the Horns'  Rick Barnes and ask how did they do it?
By the way, I couldn't help but notice that Gator transfer, Jai Lucas, played 15 minutes with 1 assist and 1 field goal attempt that was missed along with 2 personal fouls. THAT'S IT.


Enjoy and good luck to the Gators against Auburn tonight along with Samford facing the Gamecock killers, Furman,

Barry


P.S. I sent out blogs on back to back days again. Darn. As always, feel free to reply with "you wore me out" and I will take you off the list. Believe me, I won't be insulted.

 

 

 

 

 

Blog # 29

My Beloved 69 Bloggees (Welcome Tom):

 

 

Anthony Grant, you made us proud.  With an undermanned team, you toppled the talented Wildcats of Kentucky 68 - 66. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201101180006  Grant's emphasis on defense and rebounding paid off.....Kentucky only shot 38 % and the Tide outrebounded the Wildcats 37 - 29. If Anthony Grant were a stock, he would be a strong buy. (Speaking of stocks, many of you know about my first cousin's profitable company Chembio Diagnostics, symbol CEMI....at 45 cents. I know nothing except they announced that other companies are looking to buy them and they have patented technology that enables them to offer more efficient rapid testing of diseases such as HIV and syphilis.) Pardon the diversion, back to hoops.

 

Don't forget to look in the box score above for Gator transfer Eloy Vargas's three minutes with just a turnover for Kentucky. Plus, prized recruit Stacey Poole Jr., son of the former Gator hoopster, had the same impact on the game for the Wildcats as I did watching it on TV at home. http://www.nationofblue.com/stacey-poole-working-harder-4718/   NEXT

 

 

 

 

Gator basketball followers may need to put on a bib before reading the following excerpt from http://www.stltoday.com/sports/high-school/boys-basketball/article_8f10c206-21e9-11e0-b81b-00127992bc8b.html  regarding 2011 - 2012 signee Bradley Beal:

 

Elsewhere, Chaminade senior shooting guard Bradley Beal had another big week.

 

The University of Florida signee scored 101 points in three games to lead the Red Devils to the championship at the Kirkwood Tournament. In the title game, he scored 36 points and knocked down seven 3-pointers in an 86-47 win over host Kirkwood.

On Sunday, USA Basketball announced that Beal was selected to its 10-member 2011 USA Junior National Select Team that will compete against a team of international all-stars in the Nike Hoop Summit in Portland on April 9.
Beal's St. Louis Chaminade high school team is ranked 24th in country according to USA Today  http://www.highschoolsports.net/super25/bbasketball/   NEXT


Now for the depressing part of the blog, You Make Me Feel Old. It seemed like just yesterday when the Golden State Warriors' Run TMC consisting of Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin were the vogue triplets in the NBA. Sadly, they last played together in 1991. Well, 20 years later, the University of Michigan starts 6' 5 Tim Hardaway, Jr. who averages just over 11 points a game.  http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/players/97332   Tim Jr., You Make Me Feel Old .  NEXT


How tight is the SEC East? If Vandy beats Ole Miss and South Carolina loses to Arkansas on Wednesday and on Thursday the Gators lose to Auburn (if they do, I will tear up my UF diploma), then all 6 teams will be tied for first. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/standings  Tuesday night's buzzer-beater win by Tennessee at Georgia helped tighten up the pack. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlbgLhL1ODw   NEXT


In the battle of "Do you know a good real estate agent?", Jeff Capel's  9 - 9 Oklahoma squad defeated Pat Knight's 8 - 11 Texas Tech Red Raiders 83 - 74 on Tuesday night. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201101180444  Just because your dad can coach, doesn't mean that you inherited those genes. The past two seasons for the offspring of former Old Dominion coach, Jeff Capel II, and legendary Indiana and Texas Tech coach, Bobby Knight, has been ugly and could get worse. The following two links discuss their fate. http://newsok.com/3-factors-are-in-capels-favor/article/3533016   http://www.searchingforbillyedelin.com/2011/1/12/1931384/what-is-pat-knights-future-with-texas-tech  Of course, you can expect these two schools to go on big winning streaks after this blog story. NEXT


A quick NBA note. Al Horford swatted 7 shots in the Hawks 100 - 98 win over Sacramento on Monday afternoon. http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap?gid=2011011701  He also had 23 points on 10 for 16 shooting along with 9 rebounds and 6 assists. That type of stat-stuffing performance surely helps one's Gator-laden fantasy team. Thanks, Al.  THAT'S IT


Enjoy....don't forget the Gators play against Auburn on ESPN at 6:00 pm CST on Thursday night...kindly spread the word about the blog to your fellow college basketball junkies,


Barry

Blog # 28

My Beloved 68 Bloggees (Welcome Phillip, one of Birmingham's Finest):

 

 

The Gators suffered a tough home defeat on Saturday to a scrappy South Carolina team. It looked like the Orange and Blue were not aggressive enough especially chasing loose balls...it seemed that their feet were in cement.  After being down by double digits much of the game, they finally clawed back to a tie with a few minutes left. But like it happens frequently, the climb up the mountain wears you out once you reach the peak and the Gators had nothing left in the tank, including at the free throw line. Plus, South Carolina showed tremendous heart, especially Devan Downey, Jr. otherwise known as freshman sensation Bruce Ellington. Enough about that frustrating loss...NEXT

 

 

 

 

Trivia Question. Who is tied for third in the NBA in field goal percentage. Correct, it is Al Horford the former Gator hoopster who now toils for the Atlanta Hawks http://www.nba.com/statistics/index.html with a 56.8 %  accuracy.  On Saturday night Al had a super night in his team's 112 - 106 home loss to the Houston Rockets just missing a triple double with 24 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/boxscore;_ylt=AkU0qK0yjy3gEKpU1TD3cPOQvLYF?gid=2011011501 .

 

Another former Gator had an eye-opening Saturday evening. Corey Brewer, who has returned to the Minnesota Timberwolves starting lineup, had 23 points and 5 steals (brings back collegiate memories) in his team's home 108 - 99 loss to Billy Donovan's former team for a day, the Orlando Magic. http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/boxscore?gid=2011011516  NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

I have to give our Norfolk bloggee some "love" by mentioning his Old Dominion Monarchs again. In a previous blog, I indicated they had out-rebounded every team on their schedule. That streak ended Thursday night when Bruiser Flint's Drexel squad outrebounded Old Dominion in its 67 - 52 win over the Monarchs http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201101130172. I bring this up because in  ODU's next game on Saturday night at tough Hofstra, 5 - 0 in the Colonial Athletic Association,  the Monarchs got their mojo back and outrebounded the Hempstead, NY school, 48 - 27 in its 75 - 64 victory http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201101150252 . That is some board pounding.  Take some notes now for your brackets in March.  NEXT

 

 

 

 

Andre Stringer, the 5' 9 freshman point guard for LSU, was not bashful from long-distance in his first visit to Rupp Arena Saturday in his team's 82 - 44 thrashing by Kentucky http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201101150292 . Stringer was 0 - 10 in three-point attempts....I don't think I have ever seen a double-digit bagel for that statistic. He was successful on 3 of his 6 two -point shots for 6 points. By the way, Stringer's other teammates were 3 for 14 on threes for a team 12.5 %. Something tells me LSU will be seeing a lot of zone defense this year. NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

I know one North Carolina alum bloggee joined me in doing a double take when he saw Sunday's score .....struggling Georgia Tech slammed the Tar Heels 78 - 58 with North Carolina shooting less than 28 %. It was their worst shooting percentage in 55 years. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201101160232 .

 

When I was a student at UF a few years ago (let's just say they did not have the shot clock then), we hired Dean Smith assistant, John Lotz (may he rest in peace), to be our hoops coach. He brought with him North Carolina's 4-corner stall offense. If we were up by 2 with 10 minutes left, Lotz would instruct the Gators to hold the ball and believe me, watching the remainder of the game was torture. That was the birth of my anti-Heels feelings and I have never been able to shake them off. Sorry, Carolina Blue.  NEXT

 

 

 

 

It appears that starting Monday through Sunday, all games on the paid subscription NBA League Pass, will be free on your cable or satellite  http://www.indemand.com/sports/nba/ .DISH Network does a poor job in notifying its customers about these free previews. Your cable or satellite provider may be different.  THAT'S IT

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy....tonight I will be seeing Lefty Driesell's son, Chuck, coach Citadel against Samford....should be interesting to see if his antics on the sideline are similar to his dad's,

 

 

 

Barry