Most Exciting Game

Slim pickings. Gonzaga v. Western Kentucky was dynamite though. Mendez-Valdez and Slaughter hit some tough shots but at the finish the defense was just scattered as all hell, allowing Demetri Goodson to essentially take a h-o-r-s-e shot for the win. Jeremy Pargo, the cat I thought was running the ball up the court there at the end, causing me to wrongly shout ‘freakin Pargo’, was feeling it a little in the second half. Pargo hasn’t played that good, well, all year.

Most Surprising Game

Purdue v. Washington. Purdue is about as interesting to watch play hoops as listening to Andy Rooney babble on about the history of erasable pens is. That saying about how offense wins games but defense wins championships could not better identify what Matt Painter is stressing with his Boilermakers.  They get after it. They have to, their offense is weak.  Although the second half defense they played against Washington was pitiful.  But for the most part I didn’t think JaJuan Johnson would be as Kevin Garnetty as he was. Johnson v. Thabeet will be something intriguing to watch for in the upcoming Sweet 16 matchup.

Best Individual Performance

I could argue that JaJuan’s 22 points, 6 boards, and 4 swats was the finest, or that Travis Walton’s (MSU) career high 18 points, 6′6 Terrence Williams’ 24 points and 15 boards, Sherron Collins’ 25 (11-19 fg), Nic Wise’s 21 (10-10 ft) and 8 feeds, Sam Young’s 32 points-8 boards and 3 rejections, Blake Griffin’s “quiet” 33 and 17, Ty Lawson’s 23 and 6 helpers, Matt Bouldin’s 20 points-8 boards and 6 feeds, Orlando Mendez-Valdez’s 25 and 7 assists, or Jon Scheyer’s heady save was the ultimate best.

But I won’t.

It’s Cole Aldrich.

The sophomore deserves the honor for his truly anti-Ostertag like TRIPLE-DOUBLE (13 points, 20 boards, and 10 blocks).

Would you like some Aldrich with that? (Image: Newscom)

Worst Moment

Buzz Williams acting like a mad man on drugs. Or more accurately, a mother ostrich.

You decide.

The runner-up Worst Moment would be the refs who repeatedly bent over to appease Blake Griffin on Saturday. I will leave it at that.

Game I Cared Most About

Well, besides the Michigan v. Oklahoma game, which was essentially taken over by the refs, I hoped Texas would punt Duke far far away. That didn’t happen, but Paulus only played two minutes and Singler made a really athletic play, so I guess that was refreshing enough to keep me from trolling on the Duke message boards for at least another night.

A Prediction For The Sweet 16

I will be glued to the T.V.

Post from: EveryJoe

Round 2 Wrap

Whitlock wrote an article for ‘FoxSports on MSN’ yesterday.

“NCAA Truths” he calls it.

I call it a bunch of mumbo jumbo. Ok, only some of it.

Whitlock’s words in bold

The Gonzaga Bulldogs are not my sleeper team. They’re my pick to win the whole thing.
Jason is trying to drum up some discussion and controversy on his article, no person (unless they’re a Zags fan) in their right mind thinks Gonzaga has a shot to win it all. That said, I also think Gonzaga can win it all, and I’m not a Zags fan.

If you’re looking for a tournament fraud, take a gander at the 27-4 Oklahoma Sooners. Oklahoma does not have an offense. The Sooners do nothing to free Griffin in the low post. He gets his points off talent and nothing else. Capel’s offense does not require Warren to move without the basketball.
Actually, I agree with this, plus, another thing that Whitlock did not mention, the Sooners have the depth of a kiddie pool with a hole in it. They might win two games.

Michigan State is the other top-10 poser. I don’t care what the RPI says, the Big 10 is the worst major conference this year. I’ve had the pleasure of watching many Big 10 hoops games this year. It’s all unskilled labor in that league. Michigan State is the perfect poster child to represent the Big 10. The Spartans can’t shoot. They don’t have enough ball-handlers and passers to run a consistent and effective offense. They’re brutal to watch. Thank a higher power that they won’t be around long.
Whitlock must have only watched MSU once this season (UNC game at Ford Field) to come up with an explanation like that. Travis Walton and Kalin Lucas are pretty good point guards. Goran Suton is one of the best big man passers out there. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but the Big Ten is overrated. Ha, eight overrated Big Ten teams will make the Big Dance. Riiiiight.

Stephen Curry, Davidson and Sonya Curry belong in the NCAA Tournament. Look, sex sells, and the NCAA Tournament is a television event put on to draw viewers. Sonya Curry makes me want to watch Davidson hoops. The woman is fine. She looks like Halle Berry’s big sister.
Interesting.

Doug Gottlieb is the best guy calling college basketball today.
And Rush Limbaugh is a liberal.

The women’s 64-team field is an absolute joke and embarrassment. There are only 15 to 20 good programs, and less than half of those have a chance to win the national title.
Tell me about it.

Dwyane Wade’s strip and seal against the Bulls Tuesday night is one of the greatest regular-season moments in NBA history.
Whitlock wandering off topic again.

I like the Kansas Jayhawks a lot on the nights when Sherron Collins lets the game come to him offensively. They’ll lose in the first round if Collins gets out of control.
Let the game come to him offensively? Sherron Collins is the offense over there in Lawrence. Kansas will be lucky to make it out of the first weekend alive.

Post from: EveryJoe

Jason Whitlock is only slightly tolerable

Losing Drew Neitzel won’t be as catastrophic for the Spartans as it would be for quite a few other quality teams in the country. Izzo had some depth to work with last year and that allowed fellow guard Kalin Lucas, now a sophomore, to really gain a wealth of experience. As one of the fastest players in the country, Kalin often does not need anyone to accompany him on a fast break. He’s an up tempo player of the A grade variety. He can also shoot a little too (36% 3pt). Crafty defensive veteran Travis Walton also returns, as does sharp shooter Chris Allen and athletic do it all wing Durrell Summers. All of those guys finish in transition and bring intangibles to the table that every really good team must have.

Wing/forward Raymar Morgan is the most polished player on the team. He will certainly be asked to add to his 14ppg total of last year. If he can be a legitimate threat from downtown (just 33 attempts last season), there’s not much Raymar can’t do on offense. He’s solid. He needs to be more spectacular.

The obvious strength of the Spartans is the backcourt and wing position. It might be under the radar, but it’s budding for sure.

But what about the front court?

Don’t count on Tom Herzog or Idong Ibok to sufficiently replace departed senior Drew Naymick. Let’s not over blow Drew’s importance. Firstly, it took the once offensively challenged Naymick about 7 years to contribute and while it’s important to give credit where credit is due (Drew came a long way in that time and really played like a competent Big Ten big man his last two seasons), the Spartans will miss his defensive presence, but not much else. They can do better. But the question remains, can Gray, Ibok, and Herzog actually do it?

The upside on Herzog seems high still, but similar expectations were put on Marquise Gray, a 5 star recruit four years ago.

Gray has been a bust to say the least.

Gray has all the athletic attributes a player needs, but he doesn’t seem to yet be able to grasp Izzo’s concepts. He’ll have his shining moments for sure, although Izzo will likely remember the head scratching-hair pulling moments he’s endured because of Gray the most.

Izzo only a minute away from taking large, thick chunks of hair out his skull while pleading with Marquise Gray on why he fouled the other team 60 feet from the hoop

Herzog, if he has gained any more weight, should be good for more than 13 games at 5 minutes a pop. He has the reputation of being somewhat competent on the block, whereas Gray and Ibok do not, but Herzog does not possess the strength to stay on the block at this level yet. It’s apparent, just look at the numbers, Ibok played in 13 more games and gives you nothing on offense. The future sure looks shaky for Herzog.

Video from a couple of years ago-

As far as Ibok is concerned, heck, he’s on the books for just one more year. Ibok has shown an inconsistent work ethic and furthermore has instilled little to no confidence into Izzo. Ibok is not what you call a basketball player yet. He’s a project still in the developmental stage. But better yet, he already has his degree, so, he has something a lot of college basketball players will never obtain.

It’s imperative for the bench bigs to overachieve, if you will, since it’s a foregone conclusion that Goran Suton will look like Bill Walton one play and then an immobile Christian Laettner the next six.

Put Suton down for 10 and 8 and be done with it. Throw it aside. He is what he is. Serviceable.

Delvon Roe, while a stud in my view, may come along slower than expected because of his injury difficulties. But soon enough he should be starting along with Morgan and Suton up front. Those 3 complement each other very nicely. You got some flash and sizzle in there, some inside-outside flavor and some quality post action to count on as well.

Overall the team, on a national level, mind you, might not be considered top 5 caliber, but I see them as a formidable top 5 team. The pieces are in place to become elite, but when push comes to shove, the impressing play they will exude in the regular season will come to a sudden halt somewhere in the 2nd or 3rd round of the tourney.

Unless freshman Draymond Green or junior Isaiah Dahlman, two, as of now, unlikely rotational players, have something in store to add to this team, like something significant, then the Spartans will be about one impact player short of a final four caliber team.

Thinking back a little, I’m tempted to proclaim that this might be the year the Spartans get back to that elite level. It would be the perfect year to do so.

Actually, kidding aside, it would be perfect this year.

The Final Four is in Michigan– Ford Field.

Think the Spartans wouldn’t be the favorites?

Ha.

I’d take em.

Post from: EveryJoe

MSU Spartans #3