2011-2012 NCAA Basketball Season

Jimmy Chitwood

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how about Matt Gatens' performance?!?!?! WOW!

the versatile senior went 7-10 from 3-point range and 10-18 overall from the floor, played tenacious defense in completing shutting down Indiana's hyped hoodrat Christian Watford (whom Gatens guarded much of the night as Watford went 0-5 and only scored 1 point), and generally played a terrific all-around game. Indiana was doing everything within the rules to slow Gattens down and simply couldn't do it. to show just how valuable Gatens is for the Hawkeyes, he didn't leave the floor all night. he played the entire 40 minutes, and despite all the defensive attention he drew only committed 2 turnovers. damn, he can play!

a guy to keep an eye on for Iowa is 6-8 freshman forward Aaron White. he's a very bouncy kid who really attacks the rim. he is aggressive battling for rebounds, wants to block shots, and looks for opportunities to dunk on people. if he finds the weight room, he's got a chance to be special. as it is, he's already a good player (averaging over 10 points and 5 boards). he finished the Iowa-Indiana game with 8 points, 10 boards, an assist, a blocked shot, and a steal.

one last note on the Hawkeyes ... they started 4 White players against the Hoosiers (who also frequently have 4 White men on the floor for long stretches). there were frequently 8 White players on the court at a time, and i don't think there were ever fewer than 6.

i also wanted to mention two guys' play for Indiana in addition to Zeller (who Deadlift talked about). athletic guard/forward Will Sheehey is showing signs of returning to his former self (he missed a lot of time to injury earlier this year). the strong and springy sophomore wing defended four positions against Iowa. he literally guarded every spot except the 5. if there is a more versatile defender in college basketball, he doesn't immediately come to mind.

sharp-shooting senior Matt Roth went a perfect 4-4 from the floor, all 3-pointers, in just 15 minutes of action. i don't know why he doesn't get more playing time. he can flat out knock down shots.

and a hat tip to Jack Lambert for pointing out the Michigan State-Purdue game. the short-handed Boilermakers saw a terrific performance by Robbie Hummel in defeat. the senior point forward dropped 24 points on the Spartans, while grabbing 15 rebounds, blocking 3 shots, and dishing 3 assists with just 1 turnover in 39 minutes. one can only imagine how good Hummel could have been if devastating knee injuries to both knees hadn't taken away most of his explosiveness. i mean, the guy is STILL usually the best player on the floor and can barely move compared to what he was before ... what a talent he was, and what a terrific player he still is.

the Herculean effort just wasn't enough, though, as MSU was able to focus solely on Hummel in the second half (he was held to 6 points after the break) since no one else could hit an open shot. Purdue began the second half an abysmal 1-23 from the floor. ouch!

Michigan State got a nice scoring boost from Austin Thornton, as well. normally on the floor for his defense, Thornton scored a career-high 17 (on 6-10 shooting).

Wisconsin had a balanced effort in a workmanlike game against Penn State. their balance makes them a tough team to handle, as any given player can hurt you in a variety of ways on any given night. one wonders why more people don't approach recruiting in a similar vein to Wisconsin's Bo Ryan. it obviously works ... and with White players! who'd a thunk it?
 
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Jimmy Chitwood

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this is Robbie Hummel now ...

[video=youtube;fLo9n7n9Nls]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLo9n7n9Nls[/video]

now imagine what he would be doing if he HADN'T blown out the ACL in and surgically repaired BOTH knees. wow.

the clip below shows a couple of clips demonstrating the hops of Iowa's freshman flyer, Aaron White. he's #30.

[video=youtube;IwkQTK0xoJQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwkQTK0xoJQ[/video]

many of you may not have had the chance to watch Doug McDermott light up the scoreboard for Creighton, but the sophomore is arguably the best player in the country. below is a video showcasing his 44-point night earlier this season. it's like a lay-up drill for him during games, but "somehow" i'm supposed to believe that he's not very quick. at any rate, the last play is proof that he's "athletic" despite the naysayers. :icon_cool:

[video=youtube;E-myi2n2g1o]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-myi2n2g1o[/video]
 

Jack Lambert

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The Irish completely ran West Virginia out of South Bend tonight by 27 points 71-44 (complete with the Irish fans singing Take Me Home, Country Road in the last minute of the game, haha.)

Jack Cooley finished with 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks.

Scott Martin finished with 15 points and 6 rebounds.

The Irish have now won 9 straight games. They're heating up at the right time, with the Big East Tournament looming.
 

Jimmy Chitwood

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Evansville's Colt Ryan went OFF yesterday, almost single-handedly helping the Purple Aces have a chance to upset Creighton. he scored a MASSIVE 43 points against the Bluejays, who have their own high-powered offensive force in Doug McDermott (who finished with 21 points and 7 boards).

Ryan, a 6-5 junior guard/forward, finished a sparkling 17 of 24 from the floor (4-8 from 3-point range), while also posting team-highs with 6 rebounds and 5 steals. for good measure, he also dished out 4 assists. it was an incredible performance in the losing effort, in a game that couldn't be settled until overtime.

if i'm not mistaken, Ryan's 43 points is the second-highest individual scoring game so far this year in Division I. i think Doug McDermott still has the highest individual scoring game, with a 44-point explosion against Bradley back in January.

as of right now, 3 of the top-10 scorers in the nation are White athletes. McDermott is #3 with 23.1 ppg (while shooting an absolutely incredible 61.4%!), Nate Wolters of South Dakota State is #6 at 21.8 ppg, and Ryan is #10 with 20.8 ppg.

and speaking of Wolters, he is the only player in the nation who is averaging 20+ points per game, 5+ rebounds per game, and 6+ assists per game. he's averaging 21.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg, and 6.1 apg. almost as impressive is his assists-to-turnover ratio, which is a stellar 2.8-to-1 (or for you math-challenged folks, he creates almost 3 assists for every 1 turnover, a VERY impressive rate).
 

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I happened to be tuned into CBS' obscure sports cable station to some college hoops show featuring Seth Davis. They did a little segment saying "Who's the next Jeremy Lin in college right now?" To my surprise, Davis said Nate Wolters of South Dakota State.
 

white lightning

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Great updates guys. I had no idea that we had almost half of the top ten scorers in college basketball. Excellent news. I will have to find time to tune into a few more of these games. Last year was so much fun following Jimmer but who is to say that some of these guys could not be close to that same level of player. March Madness is right around the corner as well. I love the tournament. Win or go home!
 

Jimmy Chitwood

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as i type this, Matt Gatens is have an incredible night shooting the basketball against one of the best defensive teams in the nation, Wisconsin. wow! check it out on ESPN 2.

as of this moment with 6:00 left in the game, he's got 31 ... and he's only missed 4 shots all night!

also, a big portion of the game has been played with 4 White men on the floor for each team.

more info to follow!
 

Jimmy Chitwood

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it's 3 stellar performances in a row for Iowa's superstar, Matt Gatens. and counting ...

on Matt Gatens bobble-head night, the senior dropped 33 on the Badgers' heads (on 12-18 shooting, and 7-10 3-pointers), for his second career-high scoring game in a row. he lit up Indiana for 30 on Sunday, and scored 21 points in the second half against Penn State last week. at one point, over the last two games Gatens hit 12 3-point field goal attempts IN A ROW. over the last two-and-a-half games, he has put on a shooting display that is simply amazing.

to put it into an even more complete perspective, Wisconsin completely sold out in the second half to stop Gatens and dared someone else, ANYONE ELSE, to score for the Hawkeyes ... but no one could. late in the game, Iowa went over 7 minutes without scoring a point. but Gatens, like he had all night, scored when he had to, sealing the victory with 2 free throws with just over 3 seconds left. what a game!

Gatens has long been a favorite of mine for his complete all-around game, but now he's showing that he's also capable of being a dominant scorer. he's scored 84 total points in the last 5 halves of basketball. and considering that Iowa has no other consistent perimeter scorer to draw attention from opposing defense, well, i just have one word to say about his explosion: "wow." :hail:

lost in the brilliance of Gatens' game were solid performances by several other White athletes. Iowa's high-flying freshman Aaron White scored 12 (on 5-7 shooting) and had a game-high 6 rebounds and 1 blocked shot. for Wisconsin, Josh Gasser scored 14 (on 6-11 shooting) to go along with 5 boards, while the athletic Jared Berggren had 4 blocked shots and 5 rebounds. Ben Brust scored 10 (4-7 shooting) and snared 4 rebounds off the bench.
 

Jack Lambert

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The performance of the day so far goes to Iowa State's Scott Christopherson. The RS Senior led the Iowa State Cyclones today with 29 points (10-13 FG, 4-5 on 3s, 5-5 FTs) in a huge win over K-State on the road today. Too bad Christopherson is the only white player that sniffs the court for Iowa State.

Creighton needed every one of Doug McDermott's 22 points today in their 61-60 victory over Indiana.

John Shurna and Co. play a huge game against Penn State on ESPNU at 9 PM Eastern. If you haven't seen him play, I highly recommend catching Shurna play.
 
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Jimmy Chitwood

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Duke is playing with fire. their guards simply don't want to share the ball. meanwhile, their dominant big men only get to touch it if they get a rebound. the selfishness (should i also mention poor defense?) of the Dukies' backcourt almost cost them today, as they went to overtime with a woeful Virginia Tech team before pulling out a win. i just don't understand why Coach K isn't demanding his "playmaking" guards create for his very efficient, athletic, imposing big men.

for example, at halftime today, their entire backcourt (counting all 5 guards who saw the floor!) had a combined 1 assist ... forward Ryan Kelly actually had 2 assists by himself in the first half. meanwhile, their entire front line (of Plumlee, Plumlee, and Kelly) had just 6 shot attempts combined ... and it wasn't as if the big men weren't working hard, they had a combined 14 rebounds (led by Miles Plumlee with 8), and Mason Plumlee had 2 blocked shots.

they just weren't getting to touch it. conversely, "point guard" Seth Curry had as many shot attempts by himself (6) as the entire front line. Austin Rivers had nearly as many (5). and the guards weren't hot, either. the 5 who saw the court shot a combined 7 for 18 (3 for 10 from 3-point range) as Duke managed just 26 points in the half. ugh.

if possible, the second half may have even been worse. the Big 3 up front managed a mere 7 combined shot attempts, whilst "point guard" Seth Curry jacked up 8 shots yet managed just 1 assist. Austin Rivers jacked up as many shots as all 3 forwards (7) but only hit 2 of them ... and he had 2 turnovers with 0 assists. not surprisngly, Duke shot a woeful 34.6% from the floor, and an even worse 21.4% from 3-point range (3 for 14! ouch!) and 1 of those was hit by Kelly.

for the game, Duke's backcourt (5 guards saw game action) shot an abysmal 23.8% from 3-point range (5 for 21), had just 5 total assists (and 8 turnovers) and had 2 ball hogs shoot nearly as much individually as the entire front line combined: Plumlee, Plumlee, and Kelly total had 14 shot attempts (they hit 6), Seth Curry took 15 shots (hitting 7), and Austin Rivers shot it 12 times (making 5). and that doesn't count the bail-out calls that put the duo on the free throw line.

additionally, the two "playmakers" at guard (Curry and Rivers) had a combined 2 assists in the game (and 3 turnovers).

Duke was very fortunate to win.

oh, and the stat lines for the Big 3 were: Mason Plumlee had 7 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks; Miles Plumlee had 5 points and 15 rebounds, and Ryan Kelly finished with 8 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists.

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Tyler Zeller had another quietly efficient night for UNC. he scored 20 (on 7-11 shooting) and added 6 boards, an assist, and a blocked shot.

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Jack Cooley (18 points on 7-9 shooting, 11 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots) and Scott Martin (18 points on 9-15 shooting and 6 rebounds) had nice nights for Notre Dame, but the Irish couldn't overcome a poor first half, falling to St. John's. freshman sniper Pat Connaughton struggled with his shot, hitting just 1-9 3-pointers.

also, someone posted about the "dominance" of the Irish black backcourt of Atkins and Grant ... well, they struggled mightily today, shooting a combined 3 for 18. they did share the ball nicely, though, with 11 combined assists to just 2 turnovers. Notre Dame has a balanced team with Cooley being the closest thing they have to a star at the moment (leading rebounder, shot blocker, and only 1 point away from being the leading scorer), and anyone who reports otherwise either doesn't know basketball or is being intentionally misleading.

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Garrett Stutz had 15 points and 5 boards for Wichita State in their win.

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did anyone see the Kansas game? Jeff Withey apparently only played 9 minutes, and i was wondering why ...

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Clemson's Tanner Smith continues to quietly play terrific basketball. tonight he put up 15 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and a steal. he reminds me of Chandler Parsons in his all-around excellence on the court, only from the guard position of course.

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Clint Chapman had a nice game for Texas, posting 12 points (4-5 shooting), 7 rebounds, and a blocked shot.
 

Jack Lambert

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did anyone see the Kansas game? Jeff Withey apparently only played 9 minutes, and i was wondering why ...

Jimmy, I have no idea why Jeff Withey only played 9 minutes. I haven't seen anything about him being injured. On the bright side for KU though, Connor Teahan had a pretty nice game with 12 points on 4-4 from 3 point range.


Everybody shooting outside today struggled for the Fighting Irish. They went a combined 4/31, good for the lowest % of the year for ANY team shooting the 3 ball at 13%. That says a lot about Notre Dame if they can shoot that badly from three, and still almost come back to win the game. It didn't help Notre Dame either today that some of the wild shots St. John's threw up went in either. I think Notre Dame can do some damage in March, provided they shoot better than they did today. As Jimmy said, Scott Martin and Jack Cooley were the only two players for Notre Dame who had nice games. Martin couldn't hit anything from outside though, I think nearly all of his points came from the paint.




Purdue's Robbie Hummel had another nice night for the Boilermakers. In their win against Michigan on the road, he had 17 points and 9 rebounds, helping the Boilmakers solidfy a tournament berth. I love watching this guy.
 

Jimmy Chitwood

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John Shurna already has 14 for Northwestern against Penn State ... the game is currently on an ESPN channel ...

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Nate Wolters didn't shoot the ball well tonight (6 of 16), but he did everything else well. 15 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and just 2 turnovers.

Jordan Dykstra stepped up for SDSU, scoring 20 (on 6 of 9 shooting) and pulling down 6 boards.

i hope South Dakota State makes it to the NCAA Tourney ...

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Jake Koch is a very under-rated, versatile, athletic player for low-profile Northern Iowa. he had another workmanlike performance in a win tonight: 11 points (on 2 of 5 shooting) and 9 rebounds.

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Brock Zylstra had a big night off the bench to spark BYU. he finished with 20 points (6 of 12 shooting), 9 rebounds, an assist, and a steal with only 1 turnover in 37 minutes.

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big Kenny Frease had his best game of the year to carry Xavier past Richmond. he finished with 19 points (8 of 17), 14 boards, 2 steals, a blocked shot and only 1 turnover.
 

Jack Lambert

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I just saw what Jordan Dykstra did tonight for SDSU, I hope's developed into the No. 2 option for SDSU to take some of the pressure off of Nate Wolters. SDSU has to beat Oral Roberts in the Conference Tourney to advance to the Tournament. The Jackrabbits have beaten ORU by 15 at home, but lost by 20 on the road. The tournament is in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, so hopefully that gives SDSU enough of a home court advantage, being as Brookings is less than an hour away from Sioux Falls, which should be good for SDSU and their fans.


Northwestern is tied again with Penn State at 52, they really need this game! If they lose, they're done. Shurna and Alex Marcotulio are having nice games for the Wildcats.
 

Jimmy Chitwood

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what a CLUTCH performance by Shurna, as Northwestern steals a win on the road.

he finishes the game with 23 points, inlcuding the 2 game-winning free throws with 2.6 seconds left to put the Wildcats up by 1. he also made the game-deciding plays on defense. first he blocked a shot (it was also ruled a jump ball), then he drew a charge to prevent Penn State from getting a lay-up. all on one possession! then after Northwestern struggled to get anything going, they just threw it to him and he drew a foul.

Shurna, who "can't play defense," finished the game with 5 blocked shots and 2 steals, in addition to his game-high 23 points and team-high 6 assists. he also collected 2 rebounds. what a game by Shurna!
 

Jack Lambert

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Northwestern got they win they NEEDED over Penn State, 67-66. John Shurna hit two clutch free throws with 2.6 seconds left in the 2nd half to put the Wildcats over the top. Shurna lead Northwestern with 23 points and 6 assists, which was a clutch performance when Northwestern needed it. Alex Marcotulio also chipped in 12 points (4-6 from 3, 4-7 overall). Drew Crawford's (black) 13 points and 9 rebounds also helped the Wildcats out. Northwestern needs to beat Iowa, and a good performance against Ohio State on Wednesday would really help them too.
 

Jack Lambert

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JOHN-SHURNA-thumb-300x324-103779.jpg


Northwestern fans really love John Shurna.

bilde


Robbie Hummel shoots over Michigan State's Derrick Nix.

6742689095_fe3ec02b68_z.jpg


Doug McDermott goes up for the basket against Indiana State.
 

Jimmy Chitwood

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i wanted to bring this over in case you missed it, Jack ...

what a CLUTCH performance by Shurna, as Northwestern steals a win on the road.

he finishes the game with 23 points, inlcuding the 2 game-winning free throws with 2.6 seconds left to put the Wildcats up by 1. he also made the game-deciding plays on defense. first he blocked a shot (it was also ruled a jump ball), then he drew a charge to prevent Penn State from getting a lay-up. all on one possession! then after Northwestern struggled to get anything going, they just threw it to him and he drew a foul.

Shurna, who "can't play defense," finished the game with 5 blocked shots and 2 steals, in addition to his game-high 23 points and team-high 6 assists. he also collected 2 rebounds. what a game by Shurna!

in other terrific news ...

Tyler Zeller has been named the Division I basketball Academic All-American of the Year. he, along with the other 4 members of the Academic All-America team, all have something in common. i'll let you see if you can detect the pattern. :thumb:

Zeller, a business administration major with a 3.62 grade point average (G.P.A.), is a repeat selection on the Capitol One Academic All-America® Men’s Basketball Division I first team. The first two-time Academic All-America® first team selection in the Tar Heels’ storied basketball history, Zeller is UNC’s leading active career scorer with 1,316 points. Averaging 15.6 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocked shots per game, he has led the No. 7 Tar Heels to a 24-4 record to date. Named to several mid-year Player of the Year Award watch lists, Zeller has led North Carolina to an 11-2 record in the Atlantic Coast Conference. UNC is tied for first place in the ACC.

The 2011 recipient of the Skip Prosser Award as the ACC’s top men’s basketball scholar-athlete, the 7-foot Zeller was named to the 2011 NCAA East Regional all-tournament team after scoring 103 points in four games, the highest total since Charlie Scott in 1969. He was also named to the ACC all-tournament last season and is a three-time All-ACC Academic pick.

In the ACC statistics, Zeller ranks second in rebounding (9.4), field goal percentage (.541) and double-doubles. A native of Washington, Ind., he is the fourth-leading scorer in the ACC. As a freshman, he was a member of the Tar Heels’ national championship team.

tylerzeller-1.jpg

Tyler Zeller: the cream always rises to the top

Joining Zeller on the 2012 Capital One Academic All-America® Division I Men’s Basketball first team are sophomore guard Aaron Craft of Ohio State, junior guard Matthew Dellavedova of Saint Mary’s College (Cal.), senior guard Brad Loesing of Wofford and junior forward Mason Plumlee of Duke.

The five members of the Capital One Academic All-America® Division I Men’s Basketball first team have an average G.P.A. of 3.62.

Craft, an exercise science (pre-med) major with a 3.89 G.P.A., is one of 20 finalists for the 2012 Bob Cousy Award as the nation’s top point guard. The Big Ten Conference leader, he ranks sixth in the nation with 2.3 steals per game. A native of Findlay, Ohio, he has helped the No. 8 Buckeyes post a 23-5 record. The winner of the 2011 Big Ten Conference Sixth Man of the Year award, Craft is second in the Big Ten, averaging 4.6 assists per game and owns the school record with 15 assists in game. The Buckeyes’ fourth-leading scorer with an 8.3 average, he was named to the Big Ten’s all-Freshman and all-Defensive Teams.

aaroncraft-1.jpg

Aaron Craft: a game-changer on and off the court

A junior psychology major with a 3.61 G.P.A., Dellavedova has led Saint Mary’s to a 23-5 record this season. While averaging 15.5 points and 6.4 assists, he has led the Gaels to first place in the West Coast Conference standings and a No. 23 national ranking. A native of Maryborough, Australia, he is a member of the Australian national team that qualified for the 2012 London Olympics. He has led the Gaels to a pair of NCAA tournament appearances including a Sweet 16 berth in 2010. A first team All-WCC selection last year, Dellavedova is a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award, honoring the nation’s top point guard.

matthewdellavedova.jpg

Matthew Dellavedova: delivering the goods on the court and in the classroom

A business economics major with a 3.90 G.P.A., Loesing has led Wofford to a 17-12 record as the Terriers seek their third straight Southern Conference Tournament championship. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, he is Wofford’s all-time leader with 126 career starts and leads the nation by averaging 38.7 minutes per game. The Terriers’ second-leading scorer, Loesing is averaging 14.4 points. He also leads the team with 5.5 assists per game.

bradloesing.jpg

Brad Loesing: excellence without the hype

Plumlee, a psychology and cultural anthropology major with a 3.44 G.P.A., is the fourth-leading scorer at No. 4 Duke, averaging 11.9 points per game. The second-leading rebounder in the Atlantic Coast Conference, he is averaging 9.7 rebounds per game while connecting on 55.8 percent from the field. The only player to start all 27 games for the Blue Devils, Plumlee has led Duke to a 23-4 record and a share of first place in the ACC.

masonplumlee-2.jpg

Mason Plumlee: a true SCHOLARship athlete
 

Jack Lambert

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Thanks for bringing that over Jimmy! We both posted about Northwestern at the same time, and mine started a new page, so I thought I was the first one to post about the game, haha.


I was able to watch most of the game, the ending was amazing for Shurna. I had no idea Shurna came up with 5 blocks and 2 steals! That guy is amazing. He continues to prove his haters wrong. :) I hope he'll get his shot in the NBA.

Penn State's coach wasn't very classy at all at the end of the game either. He must've thought there was no way a white boy could get a jump ball like he did, take the charge, and draw the foul to shoot game winning free throws. He tried to go after the refs at the end of the game, but was restrained by his assistents.

Jimmy, that's no surprise that the Academic All American team's first five are all white. I can't remember what game I was watching today, but a black player got on the team one year, and every time the announcers talked about him, they always had to mention he was an Academic All-American. I can't remember for the life of me who it was though. I guarantee you they won't mention it more than once or twice, if at all with any of these guys. ;)
 

Jack Lambert

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Jared Berggren played a great game today in the Badger's upset road win at #8 Ohio State. He has to be one of the most versatile big men in the country. Berggren finished with 18 points and 5 rebounds, including the go-ahead three in the last minute of the game.

If anybody has the Big Ten Network, Matt Gatens and Iowa are about to play Illinois.
 

Jimmy Chitwood

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Meyers Leonard is having a MONSTER impact in the game against Iowa. i love the way he plays.

also, Iowa has been starting 4 White kids during their current winning streak, including the man Matt Gatens and impressive freshman Aaron White.
 

Deadlift

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Duke is playing with fire. their guards simply don't want to share the ball. meanwhile, their dominant big men only get to touch it if they get a rebound. the selfishness (should i also mention poor defense?) of the Dukies' backcourt almost cost them today, as they went to overtime with a woeful Virginia Tech team before pulling out a win. i just don't understand why Coach K isn't demanding his "playmaking" guards create for his very efficient, athletic, imposing big men.

for example, at halftime today, their entire backcourt (counting all 5 guards who saw the floor!) had a combined 1 assist ... forward Ryan Kelly actually had 2 assists by himself in the first half. meanwhile, their entire front line (of Plumlee, Plumlee, and Kelly) had just 6 shot attempts combined ... and it wasn't as if the big men weren't working hard, they had a combined 14 rebounds (led by Miles Plumlee with 8), and Mason Plumlee had 2 blocked shots.

they just weren't getting to touch it. conversely, "point guard" Seth Curry had as many shot attempts by himself (6) as the entire front line. Austin Rivers had nearly as many (5). and the guards weren't hot, either. the 5 who saw the court shot a combined 7 for 18 (3 for 10 from 3-point range) as Duke managed just 26 points in the half. ugh.

if possible, the second half may have even been worse. the Big 3 up front managed a mere 7 combined shot attempts, whilst "point guard" Seth Curry jacked up 8 shots yet managed just 1 assist. Austin Rivers jacked up as many shots as all 3 forwards (7) but only hit 2 of them ... and he had 2 turnovers with 0 assists. not surprisngly, Duke shot a woeful 34.6% from the floor, and an even worse 21.4% from 3-point range (3 for 14! ouch!) and 1 of those was hit by Kelly.

for the game, Duke's backcourt (5 guards saw game action) shot an abysmal 23.8% from 3-point range (5 for 21), had just 5 total assists (and 8 turnovers) and had 2 ball hogs shoot nearly as much individually as the entire front line combined: Plumlee, Plumlee, and Kelly total had 14 shot attempts (they hit 6), Seth Curry took 15 shots (hitting 7), and Austin Rivers shot it 12 times (making 5). and that doesn't count the bail-out calls that put the duo on the free throw line.

additionally, the two "playmakers" at guard (Curry and Rivers) had a combined 2 assists in the game (and 3 turnovers).

Duke was very fortunate to win.

oh, and the stat lines for the Big 3 were: Mason Plumlee had 7 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks; Miles Plumlee had 5 points and 15 rebounds, and Ryan Kelly finished with 8 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists.

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Perfect perfect write-up. I appreciated it!

A-Riv clearly got home cooking, and Duke still nearly lost. That needs to be understood and digested. Duke could easily have at least 3 more ACC-losses (UNC, NC STATE, etc), and their "guard-heavy strategy" is unlikely to propel them into college basketball's Final Four. It isn't "basketball"..
 

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Purdue's Robbie Hummel had another nice night for the Boilermakers. In their win against Michigan on the road, he had 17 points and 9 rebounds, helping the Boilmakers solidfy a tournament berth. I love watching this guy.

I was very happy that Purdue won AT Michigan. It was a BIG win.

Trey Burke and Hardaway Jr., both of Michigan, receive too much hype from the MSM, IMO.
 

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Sheeeeit, dat Akademic Al Amerikin award beez rayciss! Da bruvas getz da bests gradz an sheeit cuz deyr homeworks getz dun by sum honky geek whos getz pade!
 

Carolina Speed

Hall of Famer
Joined
Feb 13, 2011
Messages
5,309
Perfect perfect write-up. I appreciated it!

A-Riv clearly got home cooking, and Duke still nearly lost. That needs to be understood and digested. Duke could easily have at least 3 more ACC-losses (UNC, NC STATE, etc), and their "guard-heavy strategy" is unlikely to propel them into college basketball's Final Four. It isn't "basketball"..


JC, Deadlift,

I don't totally buy in to the unwillingness of Duke's guards to share the ball as much as their inability to know how to distibute the ball, it's probably alot of both though. I don't think the Duke guards are that good!

I know the Plumlee's and Kelly can play and finish.

Look at the first 9-10 games Duke played last year when Kyrie Irving was at the point. Irving was dishing out 5-9 assists per game, getting everbody involved and Duke was destroying everyone. I think Mason Plumlee scored 27 points in a game and was averaging close to 20 every game.

When Irving went down with his injury and then left for the NBA, it exposed Duke's lack of experience at the point.

Yes, it doesn't look like they want to share, but I just don't think their guards know how to play the position.
 
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