Monday, February 09, 2015

Monday Musings - Hoops Edition

As you may, or may not, know basketball has never been a huge passion of mine. College basketball is intriguing come conference tournament time leading into the NCAA Tournament, which is fantastic. The NBA has never been high on my list of sports to watch in the winter. I much prefer an NHL game of watching off season programs on the MLB and NFL. Don’t hate – it’s just a preference.

However, on this Monday, there is a ton to talk about in the basketball world. So this edition of the Monday Musings will be dedicated to hoops!

  1. First and foremost, I need to mention the passing of a legend – Dean Smith. If there was a Mount Rushmore of college basketball coaches Dean Smith would be in the discussion (Wooden, Coach K, Bobby Knight, Rupp, etc...) and probably be on it. However, the measure of a man is not in the number of wins accumulated or championships won, it’s the impact he has had on other lives. While watching all the retrospectives on his life, the biggest point made by his former players was the influence Coach Smith had on them as men. It was more important to them to discuss his impact on them as men than as basketball players. That speaks volumes. His willingness to break down the barriers of segregation in his recruiting at a time where it wasn’t looked upon very fondly in the Carolina’s was courageous. But that is the kind of man Dean Smith was. Look at his coaching tree here. It is vast and it is extremely impressive. Again, it shows the impact on lives that Dean Smith had as the coach of North Carolina. Michael Jordan said it best, he stated that Coach Smith was "more than a coach — he was a mentor, my teacher, my second father."
  2. ICYMI, the most ridiculous foul call took place during the Illinois-Michigan State game in East Lansing on Saturday. Let me set the stage for you – Illinois is up 30 with about :30 left, yet the foul Trice of MSU. Because the Illini are over the limit Trice goes to the free throw line for a 1-and-1. He shoots and makes the first free throw, but as he does Jaylon Tate blocks him out from the potential rebound. Smart play. It happens on every free throw ever shot. Well, this time, apparently Tate caught Trice in an awkward position and bumped him in a sensitive area. Trice, the MSU players, and the coaches all complained. The referees then went to the monitors to check the situation. Now, a common foul cannot be called on a replay but a technical foul and/or a flagrant foul can be called. As an Illini fan I’m watching this incredulously, because Tate made a play everyone makes. The referees conferred and decided that A) the play was made during a dead ball and B)the contact was excessive and unnecessary. Therefore, a technical foul was called on Jaylon Tate. Now, Michigan State is down 2 points with another free throw from the initial 1-and-1, THEN they get two more free throws AND possession. John Groce, as every other Illini fan watching, was apoplectic. It was the worst call I’ve ever seen. Luckily it didn’t cost the Illini as Michigan State couldn’t shoot free throws to save their lives and Illinois won the game. You tell me – was this a “dead ball play”?
  3. Kentucky had quite a game against Florida on Saturday night, pulling out a 68-61 victory in Gainesville. It looked to be one of the tougher games left on their schedule, including the upcoming game at LSU on Tuesday. The debate is whether or not it’s good for UK to go undefeated into the tournament. I, for one, applaud Kentucky’s embracing of the possibility and their desire to want to go undefeated. In case you’ve been living under a rock in the state of Indiana you know that the last team to go undefeated and win the NCAA Tournament was the 1976 Indiana Hoosiers. A few teams have come close including the 1990-91 UNLV Running Rebels, the 1991-92 Duke Blue Devils and the one closest to my heart, the 2004-05 Illinois Fighting Illini. I maintain that it was a good thing that Illinois lost in their last regular season game at Ohio State before the Big Ten Tournament started. I believed there would be too much pressure in both tournaments having been undefeated. But I’m also a crazy, psychotic Illinois basketball fan too so I didn’t want the pressure either. The manner in which Kentucky is embracing the challenge is refreshing. The question is – IF they go into the NCAA Tournament undefeated, then lose, will they backtrack and wish they had lost earlier in the year? I hope not. Embrace it and face it.
  4. Paul George – I’ve been on record fro m the very beginning that the Pacers need to officially shut him down for the year. And I’m not about to back away from that opinion. Currently, they are 2.5 games out of the 8th spot but have FOUR teams to jump to get there. For what? A sweep at the hands of Atlanta? What good does that do in any manner for the Pacers? Nothing, in my opinion. I know Larry Bird is a competitor and wants to win now, but you HAVE to think long term. Squeezing into the 8 seed and missing out on the lottery only exacerbates the possible mediocrity. With Hibbert and West possibly on their way out the time is now to rebuild around George. Other than Solomon Hill and possibly Hill, who else is on the roster that you are willing to commit to long term? Exactly. Make some moves now, clear some cap space, and hope to get near the top of the draft to nab a young 7 footer. It just makes sense.
  5. Finally, a couple of quick hits:
    • Girls Sectionals start this week. There are some great matchups. Go out and support your local girls basketball team.
    • The hottest team in the Midwest right now may be the Butler Bulldogs. What a great job Chris Holtmann has done with this squad.
    • Blake Griffin out for a while with a staph infection for the Clippers. That does not bode well for a team struggling right now to stay in the playoff picture with the MVP candidate in the lineup. We’ll see how this shakes out.
    • Finally, 33 days until Selection Sunday.
Until next time!
Shawn
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