just watched a very entertaining game with Iowa traveling to Virginia. it wasn’t decided until nanoseconds AFTER the buzzer, when Iowa’s long and athletic sophomore Patrick McCaffrey blocked a shot from Virginia’s starting center (the ball was in the air as the buzzer sounded).
Iowa isn’t as White as they were a year ago, but they still start 3 of our guys (including the aforementioned McCaffrey), with senior (and two-sport athlete; baseball) Connor McCaffrey and freshman sharpshooter Payton Sandforth playing key roles off the bench.
for Virginia, a freshman who had only attempted two shots in the Cavaliers first seven games, emerged as a key factor. Taine Murray, a 6-5 guard from New Zealand, was picked on in the first half but played FANTASTIC defense in the second half. then he got RED HOT on the offensive end, hitting 4 threes and totaling 14 points after halftime. look for him to emerge as a player to watch moving forward.
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speaking of emerging freshmen, Illinois, which had played an all-black rotation to begin the season, has had a White athlete emerge as a key contributor. Luke Goode, a legitimate scoring threat and plus defender, has carved out almost 20 minutes-per-game in three contests already this season. he comes from athletic roots; former nfl quarterback Trent Green is his uncle, and Ben Skowronek is a wide receiver for the Rams. it will be interesting to see how he fits into the ghetto locker room for the Illini as the season progresses.
