Jump to content

*Official* College Basketball Thread

Heads22

By Heads22
in A and J's Olde Tyme Sports Pub

 Share

Recommended Posts

Spiff Grand Master

Spiff

Posted
Posted

As an unbiased observer, a Noles fan. I think Illinois has a good team, but winning without any inside presence whatsoever is very tough. Augustine, Ingraham, Smith, they're all crap. Dee Brown and Deron Williams are very, very good. Blink and you'll miss them. Luther Head is a top notch defender and Roger Powell is that X factor that everyone needs. The last national champ I can think of without a presence inside is Arizona and that was all Bibby. A.J. Bramlett was no Okafor, you dig.

 

We'll just see, I guess. UNC is a force to be reckoned with. Say what you want about Santa Clara, Sean May and Marvin Williams are somethin else when teamed up with Felton and McCants.

 

But really, right now it's f***in December. There's no need to get your panties in a bunch. The beauty of college ball is the tournament sitting on the horizon. Que sera, sera.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Replies 2.6k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

He_Gawn Grand Master

He_Gawn

Posted
Posted
As an unbiased observer, a Noles fan.  I think Illinois has a good team, but winning without any inside presence whatsoever is very tough.  Augustine, Ingraham, Smith, they're all crap.  Dee Brown and Deron Williams are very, very good.  Blink and you'll miss them.  Luther Head is a top notch defender and Roger Powell is that X factor that everyone needs.  The last national champ I can think of without a presence inside is Arizona and that was all Bibby.  A.J. Bramlett was no Okafor, you dig.

 

We'll just see, I guess.  UNC is a force to be reckoned with.  Say what you want about Santa Clara, Sean May and Marvin Williams are somethin else when teamed up with Felton and McCants.

 

But really, right now it's f***in December.  There's no need to get your panties in a bunch.  The beauty of college ball is the tournament sitting on the horizon.  Que sera, sera.

Well at least you wont get flamed for saying the same thing I did.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
WHarris1 Grand Master

WHarris1

Posted
Posted
As an unbiased observer, a Noles fan.  I think Illinois has a good team, but winning without any inside presence whatsoever is very tough.  Augustine, Ingraham, Smith, they're all crap.  Dee Brown and Deron Williams are very, very good.  Blink and you'll miss them.  Luther Head is a top notch defender and Roger Powell is that X factor that everyone needs.  The last national champ I can think of without a presence inside is Arizona and that was all Bibby.  A.J. Bramlett was no Okafor, you dig.

 

We'll just see, I guess.  UNC is a force to be reckoned with.  Say what you want about Santa Clara, Sean May and Marvin Williams are somethin else when teamed up with Felton and McCants.

 

But really, right now it's f***in December.  There's no need to get your panties in a bunch.  The beauty of college ball is the tournament sitting on the horizon.  Que sera, sera.

Alright here's my thoughts on inside presences.

Powell is great. He's acutally hitting 70% from the field this year :lolhitting while putting up 13 points a game.

Augustine is doing just what he needs to. After all he is the 5th scoring option. I'll take 9 points, 7 boards, and 2.2 blocks and damn solid D in the post anyday of the week from my 5th scoring option.

Yeah...Smith sucks and I'm not gonna argue that. But he's not a major part of the team. He comes in to buy the starters so minutes, and grabs 4 boards while doing it. Thank you for you time Nick now sit your ass down.

Oh yeah, and Inrgam, he's a D guy. He's the guy who dives all over the floor, you know what I mean?

 

The lack of frontcourt is made up for by the starpower of the backcourt.

 

BTW, thanks for handling you post in a civlilized and non biased manner, it really helps. :notworthy

Link to comment
Share on other sites
WHarris1 Grand Master

WHarris1

Posted
Posted
I get the feeling that Illinois could go undefeated this year and He_Gawn would just say they got lucky and the rest of college basketball had a down year. Don't take anything he has to say about Illinois too seriously, he's just jealous that Illinois has replaced Indiana as one of the Big Ten's powerhouse teams in the last couple years.

 

As for the ISU game tonight, third "power conference" opponent we've defeated this year. The student section was great, someone had a sign saying "$t. John'$ Boo$ter$ Are #1", good stuff. I'm looking forward to at least an NIT berth this year.

LMFAO!

It's so true, I can't picture him ever complimenting the Illini or giving them their full credit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
southsider2k5 Grand Master

southsider2k5

Posted
Posted
As an unbiased observer, a Noles fan.  I think Illinois has a good team, but winning without any inside presence whatsoever is very tough.  Augustine, Ingraham, Smith, they're all crap.  Dee Brown and Deron Williams are very, very good.  Blink and you'll miss them.  Luther Head is a top notch defender and Roger Powell is that X factor that everyone needs.  The last national champ I can think of without a presence inside is Arizona and that was all Bibby.  A.J. Bramlett was no Okafor, you dig.

 

We'll just see, I guess.  UNC is a force to be reckoned with.  Say what you want about Santa Clara, Sean May and Marvin Williams are somethin else when teamed up with Felton and McCants.

 

But really, right now it's f***in December.  There's no need to get your panties in a bunch.  The beauty of college ball is the tournament sitting on the horizon.  Que sera, sera.

Honestly there has been one thing that has bugged me about UI. They don't have one of those pure superstar scorers who takes over a game. I think they might be deep enough to overcome it, as they play their system really well, but that is the one thing that jumps out at me in comparision to the other elite teams. You could see someone like McCants or Warrick going for 35 points on any given night, I just don't know if I see that for anyone from the Illini.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
WHarris1 Grand Master

WHarris1

Posted
Posted
Honestly there has been one thing that has bugged me about UI.  They don't have one of those pure superstar scorers who takes over a game.  I think they might be deep enough to overcome it, as they play their system really well, but that is the one thing that jumps out at me in comparision to the other elite teams.  You could see someone like McCants or Warrick going for 35 points on any given night, I just don't know if I see that for anyone from the Illini.

I think that guy is Deron Williams.

Yesterday he was the one with the ball in his hands to end the game.

Right now they just share the ball better than any team in the nation, always trying to find the most open shot.

We'll just have to wait and see when they get in a close game down the strech who is the guy who wants the ball. They haven't been in that situation yet.

 

Stat of the Day

Deron Williams, Luther Head, and Dee Brown are all in the Top 4 in assists in the Big 10.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
greasywheels121 Grand Master

greasywheels121

Posted
Posted
Enough promise is shown to make this loss painful

Bob Kravitz

December 5, 2004

 

HARTFORD, Conn. -- They shuffled off the floor slowly, quietly, completely oblivious to the University of Connecticut fans leaning over the railing, tormenting them with epithets.

 

How could this loss, IU's 74-69 defeat to the defending national champions, be quite this painful and draining?

 

They weren't supposed to win.

 

They weren't even supposed to stay close to the seventh-ranked Huskies.

 

And yet, this one seemed to hurt like any loss in the Big Ten, because the Hoosiers, who were told they needed only escape with their dignity intact, got the crazy idea they could really win Saturday afternoon's game.

 

Which they nearly did.

 

"These close games don't mean anything unless you win them," IU coach Mike Davis said. "But our guys are fighting like crazy."

 

That, more than anything else, is what you notice the most.

 

A year ago, the Hoosiers played Wake Forest and Kentucky and Wisconsin in Madison, and rolled over dead. They were tin men who were often beaten before they took the floor.

 

Now, here they are just two games into the Schedule From Hell, and already they've shown they will not be run out of anybody's building.

 

They are still lacking in many areas: experience, size and scoring in the low post, and a secondary scoring threat to take the pressure off Bracey Wright. (Before you get on Wright, remember, the only way IU can win games like these is if Wright shoots lights out. Which he did in the first half, when he still had his legs.)

 

What they do have, though, is passion.

 

Remember passion? Used to be a hallmark of Hoosiers basketball.

 

Pardon me for disagreeing with Davis, but these hard, close games aremeaningful and are going to be helpful in the long term.

 

The fear with this killer schedule was that the Hoosiers might get clobbered and lose their confidence, as happened to Michigan State for part of last season. That fear hasn't been realized. These kinds of games can only make them a better, smarter and, most of all, tougher team.

 

"It's a great experience," IU guard Marshall Strickland said. "Come March, I hope we see these teams in the (NCAA) tournament. It helps us find out how good we are."

 

The truth, which has been revealed the past two games, is that they're good enough to hang with the NCAA's elite, but not good enough to beat them.

 

Not yet.

 

For one full half and a couple of minutes into the second half, IU had UConn playing its game. The Hoosiers went small -- because, well, they are small -- forcing Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun to match up with a smaller lineup of his own.

 

"They made us adjust," Calhoun said. "This was not a traditional game. We're looking up and they had four guards on the floor most of the game, and it did screw us up, quite frankly. Our counter-adjustment was to go small ourselves. . . . I thought Mike's team was really well-drilled. They came in here and moved the basketball, passed the basketball and took away some of our power."

 

Suddenly, the Hoosiers were believing. You could see it on their faces. The wry smile on Wright's face as he lit up the Huskies in the first half. The determination in Strickland's eyes, a far cry from his usual deer-in-the-headlights look. At one point, Davis could be seen smiling in the direction of Connecticut's stunned bench.

 

Suddenly, the offense was working with chalkboard precision. (So this is how it's supposed to work.)

 

Suddenly, the Hoosiers' smart decision to press and trap the Huskies was paying off in turnovers.

 

Suddenly, IU had a double-digit lead and had picked up the scent of an upset.

 

But that's the thing about really good teams that have lots of talent and lots of depth at every position. They have a tendency to take ownership of the final minutes.

 

"Stops! Stops! Stops!" Calhoun yelled at his team. (Actually, it sounded like "stawps," but you get the idea.)

 

The Huskies made 11 straight stops and outscored the Hoosiers 17-1. UConn's strengths were on display and IU's weaknesses were revealed. When IU needed Wright to bail it out once again, his legs were gone. That's what happens when you're asked to play 39 minutes.

 

"Those last few minutes, he had nothing left," Connecticut's Antonio Kellogg said. "All his shots were coming up short."

 

Wright wasn't completely alone there. In the final 13 minutes of the game, the Hoosiers attempted 13 3-point shots. They made one.

 

Combine that with some shoddy free throw shooting, and the result comes as no surprise.

 

For 30 minutes, we saw the team the Hoosiers can become when they grow up.

 

For the final 10 minutes, the 10 minutes that killed their upset chances, we saw the stagnant offensive team the Hoosiers too often become these days.

 

Just don't congratulate them on another moral victory.

 

There have been enough of those already.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
southsider2k5 Grand Master

southsider2k5

Posted
Posted
I think that guy is Deron Williams.

Yesterday he was the one with the ball in his hands to end the game.

Right now they just share the ball better than any team in the nation, always trying to find the most open shot.

We'll just have to wait and see when they get in a close game down the strech who is the guy who wants the ball.  They haven't been in that situation yet.

 

Stat of the Day

Deron Williams, Luther Head, and Dee Brown are all in the Top 4 in assists in the Big 10.

I have no doubt that Deron can score, but taking over a game and putting up a huge number, I don't know about that. That's JMO though, and I guess we will see as the season goes on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SnB Grand Master

SnB

Posted
Posted
Deservedly so.

 

This means next to nothing at this stage in the game, but a number one ranking will help come Tourney Time.

 

Ye-ha!  This feels good.

 

Oskee-Wow-Wow

i know it doesn't mean everything, but it's still nice to say youre #1

:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Palehosefan Grand Master

Palehosefan

Posted
Posted

ISU sticking with Virginia. Devin continuing to play well with 30 of the Cav's 47 points. Gillen still insane with TO's, calls one right before TV timouts. There's a running joke in the ACC about Gillen and his TO's, normally he's out of them with 10 mins to go in each half.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...