Hookers, Keydets, and a Peeved Gopher

College basketball action was light this week– so was my posting.

The blame rests at the margins of exams.

But it’s over, so all is good.

In an attempt to catch up, I have found these links to share. It’s a bit Big Ten heavy.

But it’s about time the Big Ten got some love.

*The Hooker theory, brought to you by Off The Tracks.

It would behoove you to read this fine post from a Purdue fan with clearly too much time on his hands, because, like everything in life, there will be a quiz later.

*Before the season even started, I even said that the Northwestern Wildcats would be a NIT team at the very worst. So far they are looking pretty good. But you won’t find much positivity here. Somewhat understandable however, considering Northwestern has never made the NCAA tournament.

*Best player playing for a historically black college? Elizabeth City State’s Anthony Hilliard.

*Derrick Brown, star Xavier forward who I compared to Trenton Hassell some time ago, was hurt for the very first time when he injured his ankle earlier this season. Head Coach Sean Miller says Derrick is healthier than ever,

“He’s healthier now than he ever has been; I’d almost declare the injury a non-issue at this point.

We’ve all seen him in that light and I think he’s capable of it.”

*In case you didn’t hear about it, Michigan beat yet another “top 5″ ranked team this season. The victim this time was Duke.

City Hoops: Everything Detroit Basketball, in celebration of the Michigan victory, looked back a bit on some memories and pics of Michigan guard Manny Harris’ days at Detroit Redford high school.

*Kentucky walk-on Landon Slone did against Mississippi Valley State what so many players have no difficulty in doing. He made them look silly.

“Slone’s tenacity didn’t lead to an immediate team-wide spark, but he acquitted himself quite well against the Delta Devils. The 6-foot-3 guard had an inauspicious start when a baseline jumper he took less than 30 seconds after entering the game slammed off the side of the backboard and into Perry Stevenson’s hands, resulting in a dunk.

The afternoon got much better from there. With Mississippi Valley State settled into a 2-3 zone to neutralize Patrick Patterson in the middle, Slone was able to do what he does best – bury two 3-pointers by finding the gaps in that defense.”

*Minnesota’s athletic department moved Minnesota’s Big Ten basketball opener against Michigan State to 11am, all in favor of the Minnesota football team who plays in Arizona (bowl game) at 5pm that same day. From The Barn is far from pleased.

“Those flying to Arizona obviously won’t be at The Barn on the 31st. With the now deceased 5:00 pm start, the rest of the season ticket holders, the majority of whom work, still would be able to go to the basketball game. Sneaking out an hour or two early on a quasi-holiday is not that big of a deal and the people who had planned to attend the game either made accommodations to their schedule if playing hooky was not an option. Now many of them won’t be able to go to the game.”

*If I was a projected 3rd, 4th or 5th seeded team in this season’s NCAA tourney, I would be very afraid of getting stuck playing against the Keydets.

The “Shoot the ball before you turn it over” philosophy is working.

*And finally, a player I think has gone under the radar for too long.

Burnt Orange Nation provides the insight on A.J.

“Abrams is a mediocre-to-bad shooter off of the dribble but among the best catch-and-shoot kids I’ve ever seen. It’s seriously sick how quickly and in one smooth motion he can catch the ball, make the requisite pivot, and manage to release the ball perfectly squared to the basket. If you haven’t been to the gym in a while, have someone feed you passes and try to catch-pivot-release in one motion without fading off to the side. It’s incredibly difficult.”