2012-2013 NCAA Basketball Season

[Jack Lambert]

Here's the thread for all of our college basketball players this year, besides our other team threads.

Rotnei Clarke got off to a great start for his new team, the Butler Bulldogs. Clarke has moved to the point this year for the Bulldogs, but still can still shoot the ball, scoring 21 points on 8/16 shooting. Clarke scored Butler's first 12 points of the contest before going to the bench with foul trouble. Freshman sharpshooter Kellen Dunham picked up the slack for Clarke, scoring 18 points, second on the team behind Clarke. Big man Andrew Smith only played 9 minutes, as he was very limited today by foul trouble. Butler beat Elon 74-59, and have a caste matchup with Xavier on Tuesday.

This year, Butler starts three whites, and gives playing time to several more off of the bench. The Bulldogs are definitely a team to support this year, especially in the A-10.

Starters
PG Rotnei Clarke
SG Chase Stigall
C Andrew Smith

Bench
G Kellen Dunham
G Jackson Aldridge
F Erik Fromm
G Alex Barlow

Rotnei Clarke in his new Butler uniform

Jimmy also mentioned SDSU's Nate Wolters 30 point performance against the "athletic" Crimson Tide of Alabama last night.

Also, a great performance was put in by Ukrainian center Alex Len of Maryland. Len dominated the affletes of Kentucky on National TV, scoring a double double with 23 points and 12 rebounds. Kyle Wiltjer was Kentucky leading scorer with 19 points.

Creighton forward Doug McDermott had a double double against North Texas with 21 points and 11 rebounds.

Gonzaga seems to have found their next great big man in the Polish freshman Przemek Karnowski. In his first college game, Karnowski put up 22 points in only 20 minutes, on 10/16 shooting.

 

[Jack Lambert]

I forgot to mention two other players in my previous post: Kyle Wiltjer and Jarrod Polson. Both of these guys carried the Kentucky Wildcats to a close win over the Terps on Friday night. Kyle Wiltjer has emerged as a leader for the new look Kentucky Wildcats, leading the team with 19 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Jarrod Polson is an unsung former walk-on, a junior who was playing only because the team's real point guard was suffering from an illness, and picked up two quick fouls before the media time out. Polson sure made the most of his oppurtunity, quickly becoming the team's go to point guard for the rest of the game, going 4/5 on FG oppurtunities, and sinking two clutch free throws in the final seconds to put Kentucky up 3 points, the deciding victory margin. Polson also had 3 assits and 1 steal in 22 minutes of game action. With Wiltjer and Polson playing, Kentucky was watchable against Maryland.

Polson going up to the basket.

Kyle Wiltjer and Jarrod Polson celebrate after their victory against Maryland.

 

[Freethinker]

I planned to write up some of the Whiter "top 25 caliber" teams but haven't yet had time to do it. With NFL, college football and NBA in full swing my sports related time is divided. So until then I'll briefly talk about a team that grinds my gears, "my" local St John's Red Storm.

I'll preface this by saying I saw a White St John's player in a photo of Baylor's Brady Haslip lighting them up for 29 points. You see that's a rarity since the days of Chris Mullin, and decided to research further. The guy I saw was Marc-Antoine Bourgault, a Frenchman! They had to go across the Atlantic to find a whitey worthy of playing in their chocolate factory. Never mind the fact that St. John's is perennially one of the bottom dwelling Big East teams, they must LOOK good losing.

Frustratingly, this team not only brings in blacks from every ghetto of New York, Detroit, Chicago, etc, they import blacks from overseas.

God'sgift Achiuwa - Nigeria. Yes that's this mug's real name
Felix Balamou - Guinea
Chris Obekpa - Nigeria
Orlando Sanchez - Dominican Republic

Then throw-in "Americans" with such names as:
Khadim Ndiaye
Sir'Dominic Pointer
JaKarr Sampson

Is this what our collegiate sports programs have become? A pipeline for "educating" hood rats and 3rd world foreigners? After-all probably none of these guys will go pro and St. John's will probably be a loser this year, so what is gained by having a team comprised like this? Why not recruit some more Chris Mullins?

P.S. - I suppose those Ouija Board names, at least provide some entertainment value.

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

Butler is currently playing Marquette in an early-season matchup of frequent NCAA Tournament giant-killers.

Butler, with shooter-turned-point guard Rotnei Clarke, is struggling with Marquette's on-ball pressure, but despite far too many turnovers, the Bulldogs are still tied deep in the first half. additionally, Butler has played 5 White athletes in the first half, and twice had an all-White lineup on the floor for long stretches.

i expect Butler to experience some early-season struggles as Clarke adjusts to his new role at the point, but they have too many excellent shooters (freshman Kellen Dunham is particularly sensational) to stay down for long.

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speaking of all-White lineups, keep an eye on BYU. they only play one non-white player, mulatto power forward Brandon Davies. an under-sized team, the Cougars are at their best when playing fast. sophomore shooting guard Tyler Haws is going to be special.

i'll write more about BYU later, but they are fun to watch. oh, and they signed 5 athletes in an all-White recruiting class.

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Notre Dame power forward, Jack Cooley should be a candidate for PoY in the Big East. he has completely transformed his body and his game, and he's been a monster so far this season. quite frankly, he's been unguardable in these early days of the season.

the Irish are also fun to watch, with four White men getting a lot of minutes in a 7-man rotation.

 

[Jack Lambert]

To update Jimmy's post on Butler, the Bulldogs shocked Marquette at the buzzer, winning 72-71 behind Rotnei Clarke's incredible game winning 3 point shot, despite having two Marquette players draped all over him. One of the huge keys to Butler winning the game was the fact that they did not have any turnovers at all in the 2nd half. Rotnei Clarke finished the game with 20 points and 6 rebounds. Black player Khyle Marshall had a great game for Butler as well, finishing with 24 points. Big man Andrew Smith struggled again today, but had a clutch three point play to draw Butler level down the stretch with less than a minute left.

Marquette surprisingly has one white player who gets minutes for them off the bench, athletic South Dakota transfer Jake Thomas. Thomas had a huge 3 point play to put the Golden Eagles up by 3 with 30 seconds left.

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

Clarke's buzzer beater is an early-season candidate for play of the year. additionally, there should have been a foul called on the play, as Rotnei was knocked under the chairs on the Butler sideline. i guess the refs "swallowed their whistles," but he was simply good enough to knock the shot down while he himself was also getting knocked down.

it was a terrific play to end a very entertaining, physical, exciting contest.

[video=youtube;d5Q8Se7GurM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5Q8Se7GurM[/video]

Butler is going to really need Smith and Dunham to step up if they are going to have a chance in the next round against North Carolina.

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also, this season has an abundance of gifted big men around the country. just off the top of my head, Jeff Withey at Kansas is the best shot blocker (and maybe the best defensive player) in the country, Cody Zeller is the best big man in the Big Ten, Jack Cooley is the best big man in the Big East, Mason Plumlee is the best big in the ACC ... the list could go on, i'm sure.

it should be an exciting year.

 

[Leonardfan]

Great stuff JC - I will have to follow college b-ball a little closer. I don't think I have watched much college ball since Reddick and Morrison were the two best players in the country in 2006.

 

[Jack Lambert]

Wow!! What an exciting, back and forth, physical game between Butler and North Carolina! Butler prevailed 82-71 over the Tar Heels, and Butler never once trailed in the game, leading from start to finish in the very impressive Bulldogs win. Jimmy said Butler needed to have Smith and Dunham both step up for Butler, and they did just that! Butler dominated the game, at one point being up by 29 points on the Tar Heels. North Carolina rallied big time though, cutting the deficit down to 6 points before Butler saved the game at the free throw line. Butler's biggest weakness last year was the lack of a three point threat. The Bulldogs sure fixed that problem this year. Rotnei Clarke and Kellen Dunham were both really impressive today, each leading Butler with 17 points, shooting 5/9 and 4/6 from beyond the arc, respectivley.

Butler was an extremely physical team tonight, and it made North Carolina very uncomfortable, especially on the offensive end. Until the last 10 minutes of the game, when North Carolina rallied, the Bulldogs played great defense, shutting down the Tar Heels, and made some key stops late in the game to preserve their victory. Andrew Smith played a lot better tonight, scoring 13 points, but only getting 2 rebounds, however, Smith had a lot of great plays during the game. Chase Stigall also chipped in with 9 points for Butler, including some huge free throws down the stretch, and some outstanding defense. Butler can only get better this year, and they showed it against UNC, managing to hold on to a lead and put away the Tar Heels.

 

[Jack Lambert]

If anybody is still watching hoops, there's a caste matchup again on ESPN, with Indiana taking on Georgetown. Indiana has been playing three whites (Zeller, Sheehy, and Hulls) alot tonight, and are up by 4 right now on the Hoyas, who are only playing Lubick. There's been a lot of great plays by our Indiana boys tonight! Sheehy just had a huge slam(wow is this guy an athlete!), and has been playing really well tonight. Zeller and Hulls have had solid games as well.

Also, watch out for Fran McCaffery's Iowa Hawkeyes. They start 4 white players, have a few white subs, and are very young! They'll be a team to watch from this year and beyond.

 

[Freethinker]

If anybody is still watching hoops, there's a caste matchup again on ESPN, with Indiana taking on Georgetown. Indiana has been playing three whites (Zeller, Sheehy, and Hulls) alot tonight, and are up by 4 right now on the Hoyas, who are only playing Lubick. There's been a lot of great plays by our Indiana boys tonight! Sheehy just had a huge slam(wow is this guy an athlete!), and has been playing really well tonight. Zeller and Hulls have had solid games as well.

I was at the game tonight. What a show it was! Basically a home game for Indiana as they had 75% of the crowd and were very boisterous. I'd say Hulls was the key player for Indiana tonight. He hit big shots all game, especially down the stretch. Zeller had another rough game but he stayed out of foul trouble and toughed out his points mostly from the free throw line. Georgetown basically double-teamed him in the post every time and are good at playing physical too. They surprisingly were hitting their 3's and made this a very tough game. Games like this will battle test the Hoosiers and help them in the long run.

 

[Phall]

D3 Guard Drops 138

Jack Taylor of Grinnell College scored 138 points against Faith Baptist College as he set the new all-time NCAA record for points scored in a game.

In case it wasn't clear, Grinnell College won 179-104. Taylor finished the game 52-of-108 from the field, 27-of-71 from the 3-point line and added seven free throws. All of this came in just a mere 35 minutes.

Jack Taylor is a 5'10 sophomore guard at his Division 3 school. He transferred from a Wisconsin preparatory college, and started the first two games of the season as the team's sixth man, tallying 19 and 28 points. Taylor has a nice high school pedigree despite earning no scholarship offers:

Attended Black River Falls High School, where he lettered four years in basketball … as a senior was the Coulee Conference Player of the Year and first-team All-Conference, WBCA Division 2 first-team All-Stater, AP honorable mention All-State, All-La Crosse Tribune first-teamer, team captain, team MVP, member of conference championship team, first-team Academic All-State, scored 1,295 points to rank second all-time in school history, selected to play on the Division 2 WBCA North All-Star Team, McDonald’s All-American nominee … as a junior was the Coulee Conference Player of the Year and first-team All-Conference, WBCA Division 2 first-team All-Stater, AP honorable mention All-State, All-La Crosse Tribune first-teamer, team captain, team MVP, averaged 24.0 points per game which ranked third in the state of Wisconsin, scored 48 points against West Salem … as a sophomore was All-Coulee Conference honorable mention … aside from athletics won the Presedential Academic Award and was a National Honor Society inductee.

I don't really have much commentary apart from that it is a very different style of basketball from anything typically seen on television. Possessions are usually less than ten seconds each. The rotation is typically split quite evenly, and teams are apparently allowed to dress 20 players. Grinnell's previous game featured a dozen players logging double-digit minutes.

Grinnell is located in Iowa and enrolls 1,600 students. A stream of the entire game is hosted by the school at this link:
http://client.stretchinternet.com/c...?mode=link&eventId=79617&broadcastType=video#

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

i was incorrect earlier, when i said Butler played 5 White men against Marquette. they actually had SIX White men who played double figure minutes.

in their win over North Carolina, the Bulldogs never had fewer than 3 White athletes on the court and usually had 4. the bench was tightened a bit, though, as Jackson Aldridge, a sophomore guard from Australia, only got 5 minutes off the bench in the game, rather than his 21 minutes from the night before. walk-on guard Alex Barlow also got 1 minute off the bench, playing tough defense in crunch time, making for a total of 7 White athletes who saw the floor for Butler against the aptly-named Tarheels.

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another team to watch is Creighton.

led by All-American candidate in forward Doug McDermott and defensive stalwart Grant Gibbs at guard, the Blue Jays are currently ranked #14 in the country. they play several White athletes off the bench, including the sharp-shooting Ethan Wragge who is second on the team in scoring.

additionally, Creighton signed an all-White recruiting class for 2013, including high-flying 6-foot-6 point guard Darian Harris from just down the road in Arkansas.

of course, the nearby Arkansas Razorbacks, with their fast-paced style, had no desire whatsoever in a 6-6 point guard who plays above the rim and passes with flair. but, then again, we "know" that coaches only care about talent ... :doh:

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

i'm watching Butler play Illinois in the Maui Classic championship game, and the Fighting Illini are red hot from 3-point range. it's halftime, and Illinois has already had 5 different players hit a three. they're also doing a good job of closing out on Butler's shooters and being physical with the ballhandlers, and as a result the Bulldogs are struggling to get good looks. other than Clarke, no one has stepped up for Butler.

Rotnei has 16 of Butler's 28 at the break (on 6-11 shooting).

hopefully, they step it up in the second half and Illinois cools off. otherwise it's gonna be a rough night for Butler fans.

oh! i should mention the athletic big man for Butler, Andrew Smith. he has never lived up to his immense potential, though he is playing much, much better on the defensive end this year. he is a TERRIFIC athlete, though. at 6-11, he can run a 5:22 mile. wow!

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i can't stand Kansas or Kansas State, as apparently White players don't exist in Kansas any more ... but each team has exactly one White man who sees the floor. for Kansas, it is the impressive Jeff Withey; for K-State it is the unheralded playmaking guard Will Spradling.

Spradling had another quietly excellent night tonight in a win: 12 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, 1 blocked shot, and 2 steals with ZERO turnovers. he's a heck of a player who gets virtually no publicity.

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

well, Butler didn't get it done last night. Rotnei Clarke did his best to keep them in it, with 27 points (on 10-19 shooting), but no one else stepped up on offense to help him out. the rest of the team combined to connect on just 12 of 42 shots and 1 of 15 from 3-point range. ouch!

talented freshman Kellen Dunham had an especially rough night, going 0 for 9 from long range and hitting just 1 for 11 from the floor overall. he'll get better, but it wasn't his night. fleet-footed center Andrew Smith played excellent defense, but he contributed just 2 points. that's not going to get it done against quality opposition.

forward Erik Fromm played well off the bench, but his energy didn't overcome a lack of complementary scorers for the Bulldogs. hopefully, they'll get that corrected soon.

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there are a few interesting caste matchups today on the idiot box ...

Vanderbilt of the SEC takes on a nearly all-White Davidson team that has 8 players averaging over 20 minutes-per-game. only one black player sees the floor for the Wildcats. the game tips off on ESPN2 at 1:00 central.

at 3:30 on the same channel, the Saint Mary's Gaels play Drexel. the Gaels feature one of the best point guards in the country in Matthew Dellavedova, as well as a fairly White lineup. additionally, they signed an all-White recruiting class this year.

later on tonight, Gonzaga (who have been starting four blacks but see several White men getting significant minutes) takes on Clemson of the ACC. the Zags feature a balanced rotation with 9 players averaging between 15 and 26 minutes. the game will also see the return of 7-foot junior forward Kelly Olynyk for Gonzaga.

 

[Jack Lambert]

To update Jimmy's post, our teams went 3 for 3 yesterday!! Davidson just won again today against Bob Huggins and his black Mountaineers after beating all black Vanderbilt yesterday. St. Mary's and Gonzaga both play tonight. If all goes well, we could have a Davidson-Gonzaga final on Sunday.

Also, on Butler, Jimmy made some great points there. Clarke can't do everything by himself, and will need Smith and Dunham to step up to help him out. Smith especially; you don't see too many 7 foot centers get blocked or get out rebounded. Butler's black players didn't help Clarke out very much at all either. I agree with you though that Erik Fromm played a pretty good game last night.

 

[Jack Lambert]

The Creighton-Wisconsin game was a great game to watch tonight. Both teams had a majority of white players on the floor for most of the time when I was watching. Creighton features one of the nations best in forward Doug McDermott, who lived up to the billing tonight against the Badgers, pouring in 30 points for the Blue Jays, including some sealing free throws at the end of the game. Helping out McDermott was sharpshooting forward Ethan Wragge, who was lethal from three tonight, scoring 17 points on 4-7 from beyond the arc. Guard Grant Gibbs, played his usually tenacious defense, but only scored 4 points. Creighton is currently ranked #14 in the country, and is definitley a team to watch this season.

Wisconsin's forward, Jarred Berggren, was a monster tonight. Berggren did his best to give the Badgers a shot to win tonight, scoring 27 points on 9-14 shooting, and pulled down 7 rebounds.

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

Jack did a good job of summarizing last night's Creighton-Wisconsin game. it was terrifically fun to watch! it's "weird" that basketball can be played at such a high level with so many "overachieving, blue collar, gym rats" out there.

Wisconsin has several athletes who are "surprisingly" good leapers. at 6-foot-10, 235-pounds, Jared Berggren has a standing vertical of 33 inches! wow! he also owns the school's agility record for post players. it appears that he has finally begun to translate his impressive physical tools into equally impressive production. if so, Wisconsin will be a tough out this year.

at the guard position, Wisconsin has a couple of guys who are notably athletic. at 6-foot-1, Ben Brust is averaging 9 rebounds a game! he currently leads the Big Ten in rebounding. crazy.

off the bench, 6-2 slasher Zak Showalter plays WAY above the rim.

Wisconsin plays Arkansas tonight at 7:00 on ESPN3.

for Creighton, Jack mentioned the play of Grant Gibbs, and i'd like to echo his praise. Gibbs is the kind of complementary player that coaches LOVE. despite rarely looking to score, he still contributes to his team's success with outstanding defense, rebounding (he had 5 boards), and stellar passing. Gibbs created 7 assists with zero turnovers.

Creighton plays Arizona State tonight at 10:00 on ESPNU in the title game of the tourney.

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speaking of defensive-minded guards, Ohio State's Aaron Craft continues to play exceptionally well. while a capable scorer, Craft is primarily known for his lockdown defense at the point guard position and his passing ability. in 4 games this year, Craft has dished out 21 assists with only 3 turnovers in 133 minutes of game action.

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later tonight, a couple of Top 10 teams will face off in a rare early-season matchup. #5 Duke and #2 Louisville square off in the Battle for Atlantis championship game.

Duke features the dominant frontcourt duo of Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly. Plumlee, who had 17 points and 10 boards in his last outing, is playing like the ACC PoY. Kelly, who scored 11 and blocked 5 shots in his last game, is continuing to quietly play excellent basketball.

Lousiville is very dark, but sharp-shooting small forward Luke Hanc0ck, a transfer from George Mason, provides a big scoring punch while averaging over 20 minutes off the bench. he had 19 points in his last game.

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Gonzaga, which frequently has 5 White athletes on the court at a time despite usually only starting 1, will face off in the championship game of the Old Spice Classic on Sunday evening against Davidson, which also frequently features 5 White athletes on the court at once. the Zags have been playing dominant basketball in the season's early going.

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Jack Cooley had 13 points and 13 rebounds in a blowout win for Notre Dame today.

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

Duke handled Louisville last night, winning 76-71 in a game that wasn't as close as the final score. Plumlee was solid, with a team-high 16 and 7, but the star of the game was Ryan Kelly with a terrific all around game. Kelly finished with 14 points, 6 boards, 4 assists, 2 blocks, and 1 steal with only 1 turnover in 31 minutes.

Louisville got a good game from seldom-used big man Stephan Van Treese off the bench. Van Treese snagged a game-high 8 rebounds and scored 8 points (on 4 of 5 shooting) in 21 minutes. Luke Hanc0ck only took one shot and didn't score in 19 minutes of action.

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Illinois escaped what would have been an embarrassing loss at home to Gardner-Webb, thanks to a last-second 3-pointer from senior forward Tyler Griffey. he finished the game with 13 points.

Gardner-Webb features a starting lineup of 3 White athletes and plays 4 White men a lot, including cat-quick, 5-foot-9 guard Tyler Strange (who may be the shortest White Division One scholarship basketball athlete in the country) and versatile wing Kevin Hartley. a very small team that plays an aggressive 2-3 zone, GW only has one athlete over 6-foot-6 who see the floor. 6-8 White forward Corey Hensley comes off the bench.

i'd not seen them play before, but they really shared the ball well today, played tough defense, and featured a fun style of basketball. best of luck to them in the Big South Conference.

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Indiana is currently running away from Ball State. they're playing on the Big Ten Network, for anyone who is interested.

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Gonzaga tips off against Davidson in a half an hour on ESPN2.

 

[Freethinker]

The Cal Poly Mustangs who start 3 White guys, upset UCLA. The Bruins start the Wear Twins but other than that are a team of over-hyped and over-recruited affletes. I saw them play live last week in the tourney at the Barclays Center and they did not impress me at all in a narrow win over Georgia.

Will Sheehey had 19 points, effectively shooting 8-9, and added 6 boards off the bench in the win over Ball St. Zeller had 15 and Hulls had 17. I love Indiana's team this year but I think Duke should overtake the #1 ranking, as their wins over Kentucky and Louisville trump any other team in the country.

Kelly Olynyk is averaging 11.7 ppg, 5.7 boards and 1 block per game in his first 3 games of the season. These impressive numbers have come off the bench. Also, 7 of the 11 players logging minutes yesterday for Gonzaga, were White athletes.

 

[jacknyc]

Jeff Whitey of Kansas had a triple double against San Jose St. last night.
He had 16 points, 12 rebounds and a school-record 12 blocks!
It is only the 2nd triple double in Kansas' history.

 

[Jack Lambert]

Jeff Whitey of Kansas had a triple double against San Jose St. last night.
He had 16 points, 12 rebounds and a school-record 12 blocks!
It is only the 2nd triple double in Kansas' history.

That's a great achievement for Jeff Withey!! If I remember right, I believe that Cole Aldrich had Kansas's other triple double in the NCAA Tourney a couple years ago.


That's great to hear about Cal Poly beating the overrated Bruins in Los Angeles no less.


What a great night for white basketball players!!

Butler had some good games from Rotnei Clarke, Kellen Dunham, and Andrew Smith tonight in the Bulldogs' easy win over Hannover. Clarke had 19 points on 6-8 shooting, including 5-6 from beyond the arc. Dunham added 12 points, and Andrew Smith had 13 points and 7 rebounds.

Freshman guard Nik Stauskas really put on a show tonight for the Michigan Wolverines, leading the Wolverines with 20 points tonight, including 4/7 from three and an awesome shot in the lane! This guy is an incredible athlete! Fellow frosh Mitch McGary had 8 points and 5 rebounds, but he had some nice dunks, and played some good defense tonight.

Scott Wood had 10 points, 4 assists, and 2 rebounds for NC State in the loss.

Right now on ESPN, there are some high flying white athletes from Indiana putting on a show against North Carolina! At the half, Cody Zeller has 13 points and 4 rebounds. Zeller has outran the entire Tar Heel defense down the floor a few times already tonight, and has threw down some nice dunks. Jordan Hulls and Will Sheehey have 7 and 8 points at halftime, respectively.

 

[Freethinker]

Great win for the Hoosiers tonight in what turned from a close game to a laugher. The thing I really noticed, as well as the ESPN analysts, is that Indiana ran all over the "athletically superior" Tar Heels. Zeller had a few dunks where he out ran everyone down the court. Oladipo too. Sheehey had some nice throw-downs in the lane and looked extremely quick. Indiana has a great combo of unselfishness, athleticism and perimeter shooting to go all the way this year.

 

[TwentyTwo]

Virginia's Joe Harris led the team with 22 points in a 60-54 win over Wisconsin...he has a smooth game!

Duke's Mason Plumlee had 21 pts & 17 rebounds in a 73-68 win over Ohio State;including a nice one handed throw-down off an alley-oop!

 

[Freethinker]

Virginia's Joe Harris led the team with 22 points in a 60-54 win over Wisconsin...he has a smooth game!

Duke's Mason Plumlee had 21 pts & 17 rebounds in a 73-68 win over Ohio State;including a nice one handed throw-down off an alley-oop!

I like both players alot and am happy for their success. Especially Mason, who is finally fulfilling his immense potential. He's been a monster so far this year averaging 20 ppg to go along with 11 rpg and 1.7 blocks. His biggest improvement this year though has been at the free throw line. He's at 79% after going 54%, 44% and 53% in his prior 3 seasons. ACC PotY is well within his reach.

Mason's front-court mate, Ryan Kelly, has been solid scoring and shooting as usual but has improved defensively. I've noticed he's blocking more shots. He had 3 last night and is averaging 2.4 on the season, way above his career average.

#11 Creighton unfortunately lost it's first game to Boise State. Doug McDermott had an efficient 21 points but an unusual 5 turnovers. Grant Gibbs added 17 points and 5 assists.

The good news in the loss, is that Boise State also starts 3 White athletes. Junior guard Jeff Elorriaga, who seems to be a sharpshooter. Aussie sophomore swingman, Anthony Drmic, who averages 14 ppg, 6 rpg and 3 apg. Aussie sophomore guard, Igor Hadziomerovic, who averages 7.5 ppg. Boise is now 5-1 on the season with the only loss coming in a close game to ranked Michigan State. They should be a team to keep an eye on.

 

[Jack Lambert]

That's some good news about Boise State, Freethinker. I hope they will win the WAC this year then.


Mason Plumlee is a flat out stud, and he now he is Duke's all-time career dunks leader! As twenty-two and Freethinker have said, Mason is just having a great year this year, and I hope it continues.

Jack Cooley and Notre Dame play host to Kentucky on ESPN2 tonight at 6 PM Central time. A great caste matchup for sure. Go Irish!!