Once again, I’m back on a Friday with what amounts to questionable motivation and nary a topic that I can write more than a few hastily prepared sentences about. Actually, that’s not entirely true. I could write about the University of Florida Basketball team and their precipitous late season nosedive. However, I’m going to choose the path of guarded optimism here and hope, nay, pray that the debacle in Knoxville on Tuesday night was precisely what was needed to snap the Gators out of the late season malaise that seems to have overtaken them ever since they clinched the SEC regular season title.Before I move on though, there’s a couple of things worth mentioning here. First, I think we’ll have a good idea of what this Gator team has in the way of mental toughness by the way they play against Kentucky on Sunday. While certainly not in a must win situation, UK is desperate to break their losing streak against the Gators and take some heat off of their maligned head coach. Second, and more importantly, there’s a ton of talk among UF fans that Joakim Noah is/has been struggling with a respiratory ailment of some kind for the past few weeks. Some have said that he never got completely over the upper respiratory infection he suffered earlier in the season, while others are asserting that this is a new ailment. Either way, it’s clear to most that Noah doesn’t have the same energy or stamina that became his signature last year. If you will recall, Donovan took him out for a prolonged stretch during the second half against Tennessee despite the fact that Noah had sparked the 14-2 run that effectively kept the game from being one of the worst losses in recent UF history. I said I wasn’t going to talk about the Gators today, so I guess that means I should move on at this point.
As always, these are my collection of assorted, nonsensical ramblings from the past week (or so):
- Acie Law is pretty much the definition of clutch right now. How does he continue to hit so many enormous shots for A&M? It’s to the point of being comical. His first game tying, buzzer beating three against Texas was easily the shot of the year in college basketball. The degree of difficulty on that shot was out of this world. Alright, now that I’ve dispensed with the generalized superlatives, here what I really think about his game. He’s still underrated as a PG. He’s in control at all times and does a great job of setting up his teammates early in the game. He knows he can score whenever he wants, so he picks his spots and makes sure his teammates get in a rhythm early. Offensively, he’s extremely crafty as a ballhandler and always find seams within the defense. He finishes with either hand in traffic better than any guard I can remember in recent past. On top of that, he shoots a great % from behind the arc and that % only goes up as the game goes on. In my opinion, he’s going to be an All-Star within a few years. Of course, I also think that his lack of mind blowing measurables and “lack of upside” (read: He’s a 22 year old college senior) will end up dropping him into the teens in the NBA Draft. Just wait, I guarantee he won’t get selected in the lottery.
As always, these are my collection of assorted, nonsensical ramblings from the past week (or so):
- Acie Law is pretty much the definition of clutch right now. How does he continue to hit so many enormous shots for A&M? It’s to the point of being comical. His first game tying, buzzer beating three against Texas was easily the shot of the year in college basketball. The degree of difficulty on that shot was out of this world. Alright, now that I’ve dispensed with the generalized superlatives, here what I really think about his game. He’s still underrated as a PG. He’s in control at all times and does a great job of setting up his teammates early in the game. He knows he can score whenever he wants, so he picks his spots and makes sure his teammates get in a rhythm early. Offensively, he’s extremely crafty as a ballhandler and always find seams within the defense. He finishes with either hand in traffic better than any guard I can remember in recent past. On top of that, he shoots a great % from behind the arc and that % only goes up as the game goes on. In my opinion, he’s going to be an All-Star within a few years. Of course, I also think that his lack of mind blowing measurables and “lack of upside” (read: He’s a 22 year old college senior) will end up dropping him into the teens in the NBA Draft. Just wait, I guarantee he won’t get selected in the lottery.
- Speaking of the draft process, I’m starting to hear that Reggie Nelson is sliding down some draft boards, which I find amusing. We all know that theres a lot of disinformation put out prior to the NFL Draft but I’m starting to wonder if scouts even watch college games anymore. First, Nelson is going to be selected behind (possibly far behind) Laron Landry after Landry ran a 4.4 40 at the combine while Nelson clocked in the 4.5 range. While the stopwatches don’t lie, can 
anybody seriously tell me that they ever, ever thought Landry was as fast as Nelson when they saw the two of them on the field? I sure didn’t. Second, some teams are questioning Nelson’s intelligence and ability to read offenses. While Nelson doesn have a learning disability, I fail to see how that ever affected his ability to read schemes on the collegiate level. I think (and I doubt I’m alone here) that there’s a fundamental difference b/w “football smarts” and book smarts. Finally, there’s a lot of talk about how some teams don’t think Nelson is big enough to play safety in the NFLand are projecting him as a corner. Nelson is thin, no doubt. In fact, he’s just over 200 lbs. However, the guy hits like a truck (ask Mohammed Massaquoi, among many, many others) and even at 170 lbs in high school, he recorded over 170 tackles while playing linebacker for the state champs in Florida. Have I mentioned that he plays center field as well as any college safety in the last 5 years? Of course, he’s shown the ability to play the corner as well. Personally, I think he could do either very successfully in the NFL. (While I’m definitely biased here, he’s a pretty rare talent in the eyes of this writer). I guess, I’m a little confused on how a similar hybrid, Tennessee’s Jason Allen (who missed almost all of his senior year with a broken hip), could go at #18 to the Dolphins and a first team All-American like Nelson can be as one scout called him, “the 4th best safety in the draft.”
anybody seriously tell me that they ever, ever thought Landry was as fast as Nelson when they saw the two of them on the field? I sure didn’t. Second, some teams are questioning Nelson’s intelligence and ability to read offenses. While Nelson doesn have a learning disability, I fail to see how that ever affected his ability to read schemes on the collegiate level. I think (and I doubt I’m alone here) that there’s a fundamental difference b/w “football smarts” and book smarts. Finally, there’s a lot of talk about how some teams don’t think Nelson is big enough to play safety in the NFLand are projecting him as a corner. Nelson is thin, no doubt. In fact, he’s just over 200 lbs. However, the guy hits like a truck (ask Mohammed Massaquoi, among many, many others) and even at 170 lbs in high school, he recorded over 170 tackles while playing linebacker for the state champs in Florida. Have I mentioned that he plays center field as well as any college safety in the last 5 years? Of course, he’s shown the ability to play the corner as well. Personally, I think he could do either very successfully in the NFL. (While I’m definitely biased here, he’s a pretty rare talent in the eyes of this writer). I guess, I’m a little confused on how a similar hybrid, Tennessee’s Jason Allen (who missed almost all of his senior year with a broken hip), could go at #18 to the Dolphins and a first team All-American like Nelson can be as one scout called him, “the 4th best safety in the draft.” - While I’m on the “no respect for Gators” theme. I ought to mention a couple things that have mildly annoyed me lately. First, this weeks SI has a big feature on a college athletic program that’s simply called “The Program” where they talk about the overall excellence of the program, blah, blah, blah. Of course, they didn’t write this feature on the only school to ever win the Football and Basketball National Titles in the same year. No, instead they wrote it on Ohio State, a team whose football and basketball teams were beaten by 27 and 26 points, respectively by the University of Florida. Secondly, guess who’s gracing the cover of NCAA Football 2008 next year? Chris Leak, the QB of the National Champion Gators? Nope, it’s Jared “Good thing my coach knows some great trick plays” Zabransky of Boise State. Some people may think bitching about this sort of thing is petty, and those people are correct. It is petty. It still doesn’t stop me from being pissed off about it.
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I’d like to be the first person to congratulate Cedric Maxwell on his comments toward NBA referee Violet Palmer. In case you missed it, Maxwell reacted to one of Violet’s many atrocious calls (she’s one of the worst 2 or 3 refs in the league) by saying, (Im paraphrasing), “ Woman, get back in the kitchen and cook me some bacon and eggs!”. Bravo sir, way to say what every coach in the NBA has been thinking for years now. Though, I must say that I thought Maxwell really blew it by not working in his awesome nickname into the insult. I mean, think how much cooler it would’ve been if he had added, “and whip me some cornbread too while you’re in there.” Personally, I think he might’ve escaped condemnation altogether if he’d have included that gem.
I’d like to be the first person to congratulate Cedric Maxwell on his comments toward NBA referee Violet Palmer. In case you missed it, Maxwell reacted to one of Violet’s many atrocious calls (she’s one of the worst 2 or 3 refs in the league) by saying, (Im paraphrasing), “ Woman, get back in the kitchen and cook me some bacon and eggs!”. Bravo sir, way to say what every coach in the NBA has been thinking for years now. Though, I must say that I thought Maxwell really blew it by not working in his awesome nickname into the insult. I mean, think how much cooler it would’ve been if he had added, “and whip me some cornbread too while you’re in there.” Personally, I think he might’ve escaped condemnation altogether if he’d have included that gem.- Has anybody ever noticed that every time somebody tries to discredit bloggers, they always throw out some line like, “What do they know, they’re all sitting in their parents’ basement in their underwear typing away on their laptops.” Really? Do these schmucks not know that most 
bloggers are wasting away hours on the company clock writing half their entries? As for living in their parents’ basement and typing in their underwear, I think these crusty old sportswriters are confusing “bloggers” with hackers, gamers and D&D players. Now, those guys are pathetic. Waaay more pathetic than me. Shit, my parents don’t even have a basement.
- Speaking of people who bash bloggers, Bill Simmons had a particularly embarrassing quote in his All-Star Weekend diary. At some point during the column, he actually wrote, “Settle down homes.” Listen, if you don’t even know how to spell a slang term then you’re not allowed to use it…EVER. The term is “Holmes” and it was converted to homeboy or homey. I can see where this might confuse somebody your age, Bill. You see, you’re old now, so stop trying to be hip and pretending that you’re more in the loop than the rest of the assorted media horde. Shit, I’m almost 30 and I realize I’m not “cool” anymore. It’s okay. Hell, if I didn’t know this I’d be running around wearing huge fitted hats with straight bills on the top of my head...and nobody needs to see that.
- I’m not a Broncos fan, but I have to say that I think they’ve developed a brilliant strategy for acquisition of talent. Basically, they develop talent at running back, and now o-line, (due in no small part to their blocking scheme) and eventually trade away that developed talent for talent at other positions of need. The trade for Dre Bly was a perfect example of this, as was the Portis-Bailey trade. While I don’t think Bly’s as good as his rep, can anybody legitimately think the Broncos will miss Tatum Bell's contributions this year more than they’ll gain from the addition of Bly?
bloggers are wasting away hours on the company clock writing half their entries? As for living in their parents’ basement and typing in their underwear, I think these crusty old sportswriters are confusing “bloggers” with hackers, gamers and D&D players. Now, those guys are pathetic. Waaay more pathetic than me. Shit, my parents don’t even have a basement.- Speaking of people who bash bloggers, Bill Simmons had a particularly embarrassing quote in his All-Star Weekend diary. At some point during the column, he actually wrote, “Settle down homes.” Listen, if you don’t even know how to spell a slang term then you’re not allowed to use it…EVER. The term is “Holmes” and it was converted to homeboy or homey. I can see where this might confuse somebody your age, Bill. You see, you’re old now, so stop trying to be hip and pretending that you’re more in the loop than the rest of the assorted media horde. Shit, I’m almost 30 and I realize I’m not “cool” anymore. It’s okay. Hell, if I didn’t know this I’d be running around wearing huge fitted hats with straight bills on the top of my head...and nobody needs to see that.
- I’m not a Broncos fan, but I have to say that I think they’ve developed a brilliant strategy for acquisition of talent. Basically, they develop talent at running back, and now o-line, (due in no small part to their blocking scheme) and eventually trade away that developed talent for talent at other positions of need. The trade for Dre Bly was a perfect example of this, as was the Portis-Bailey trade. While I don’t think Bly’s as good as his rep, can anybody legitimately think the Broncos will miss Tatum Bell's contributions this year more than they’ll gain from the addition of Bly?
- As for the team I actually follow, I’d like to come out now in support of Tampa signing Jeff Garcia. What’s there to lose? You sign him to a incentive laden deal with the chance to be a starter. He’ll thrive in Gruden’s west coast system that’s predicated on QBs with smarts and mobility and won’t be nearly as hindered by Tampa’s mediocre o-line as Simms or anybody else Gruden's ahd under center. Even his weak arm won’t hurt him much (see: Gannon, Rich) while running Tampa’s offense. On top of that, Chris Simms could probably learn a few things from the combined tutelage of Gruden and Garcia. It’s a win-win situation for both parties in my opinion. What’s keeping this from happening?
- In case you needed further proof of how talented Kevin Durant is, consider this: Durant has recorded eight 30 pt. games during Big 12 conference play. Prior to this year, there had been nine 30 pt. games posted by freshman in Big 12 history.
A couple of recommendations:
- Whether you’re a fan or not, go see The Roots in concert some day. I went to see them again last weekend (9th time) and it may have been the best show I’ve seen yet. In addition to their consistently amazing performances, they included a full rhythm section for this tour that took the show's sound and feel to a completely new level. Two straight hours of unbelievable musicianship.
- If you’re looking for a good, easy read on a plane ride or the beach this summer (What is this? House of Style?) go out and get 7 seconds or less by Jack McCallum. McCallum spent the entire 06-07 season with Phoenix Suns with unprecedented access to everyone in the organization. Based on this alone, the book is worth it. You get to read all kind of behind the scenes NBA stuff that the public rarely has access too. What puts the book over the top though, is the amount of interesting storylines that developed throughout the season, Stoudemire’s injury and rehab, Bryan Colangelo leaving the team to become GM of the Raptors, the Suns’ playoff run (which included two classic 7 game series’ against both L.A. teams) as well as a number of other items that I won't get into here. If you enjoy the NBA, even remotely, you’ll love this book.
- Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that I met Hedo Turkoglu in Orlando last weekend. For those of you wondering, yes, he is just a ugly and goofy in person as he appears on TV. I mean, jaw droppingly ugly. I don’t know if I’d be willing to look like that in exchange for being 6’9”. Seriously.
- In case you needed further proof of how talented Kevin Durant is, consider this: Durant has recorded eight 30 pt. games during Big 12 conference play. Prior to this year, there had been nine 30 pt. games posted by freshman in Big 12 history.
A couple of recommendations:
- Whether you’re a fan or not, go see The Roots in concert some day. I went to see them again last weekend (9th time) and it may have been the best show I’ve seen yet. In addition to their consistently amazing performances, they included a full rhythm section for this tour that took the show's sound and feel to a completely new level. Two straight hours of unbelievable musicianship.
- If you’re looking for a good, easy read on a plane ride or the beach this summer (What is this? House of Style?) go out and get 7 seconds or less by Jack McCallum. McCallum spent the entire 06-07 season with Phoenix Suns with unprecedented access to everyone in the organization. Based on this alone, the book is worth it. You get to read all kind of behind the scenes NBA stuff that the public rarely has access too. What puts the book over the top though, is the amount of interesting storylines that developed throughout the season, Stoudemire’s injury and rehab, Bryan Colangelo leaving the team to become GM of the Raptors, the Suns’ playoff run (which included two classic 7 game series’ against both L.A. teams) as well as a number of other items that I won't get into here. If you enjoy the NBA, even remotely, you’ll love this book.
- Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that I met Hedo Turkoglu in Orlando last weekend. For those of you wondering, yes, he is just a ugly and goofy in person as he appears on TV. I mean, jaw droppingly ugly. I don’t know if I’d be willing to look like that in exchange for being 6’9”. Seriously.
13 comments:
Did you ever hear that the Manatees' 2002 manager got fired one game into the season that year for calling the only female ump in the minors a CU Next Tuesday? The thing was, she was horrible, pretty much got promoted the next season b/c she's a she.
And on another note, did you hear that Andy resigned. I talked to Savona last night and he said Tyler told him. I guess he put in his letter on 2/19. The only thing I saw online about it was on a blog, but it read like a lot of his duties got taken away w/ the restructuring of player development under the new ownership.
I hadn't heard that about the Manatees manager. I didn't realize that was enough to get canned. I guess I should stop calling strippers that then.
The Andy thing is really interesting. I talked to him a couple of weeks ago on the phone. He mentioned that he was kind of over it, and that he wouldn't try and land another job in baseball (b/c of the need to move his family) if he ended up losing/leaving this one. Of course, I just took it as Andy talking and didn't give it much thought. I know the travel was really starting to wear on him and if they took alot of his duites away he may have just decided that enough was enough. That's crazy though, I would've thought Andy was going ot be a baseball lifer.
Shooting 63% from the field is a good way to break out of a funk. I'm already penciling in Kentucky's 1st round opponent for a win.
Very true. The defensive intensity was more evident than in the last few games as well. I'm still a little concerned by the number of turnovers (18).
I went and saw Hargrave's Post Grad tournament this weekend. Pretty sick. Fork Union MA and Massanutten MA was there too, but Hargrave was clearly the cream of the crop.
Two guys to watch for next year. Eric Wallace, 6'6" 215, built like a LB, he's going to Ohio State. And Ben Finney, 6'4" 220, again, built like a LB, heading for ODU. I overheard one of the scouts I was sitting by say that Finney was also the best player on the PG football team. Both are ridiculous defenders, can shoot, and are great rebounders. Just a ridiculous team overall. And you can't beat watching a D-1 team (everyone is committed) for $4.
The atmosphere in the gym was pretty cool too.
Its amazing the amoung of talent that they procure on a yearly basis at Hargrave. They're probably better than 1/2 the teams in Div. 1.
The atmosphere was awesome on Saturday. I heard one of the cadets say that Friday's game wasn't mandatory, so the cadet section was only about 3 quarters full. Still loud, but not as loud as Saturday when it was packed.
I wish I had a video camera b/c an impromtu dunk contest broke out during Friday's warm ups. It was ridiculous. Guys going between their legs, off the board, lobbing is off the floor, going up and under w/ 2 hands. The cadets that were there were going nuts. Hell I was impressed. Just sick.
That's also the only gym I've ever seen where the boards run from sideline to sideline instead of baseline to baseline.
Sideline to sideline is really strange. Pretty cool that you have access to games at Hargrave. Btw, you must live out in the sticks from what i remember about Hargrave.
The old Mel-Hi gym was sideline to sideline. It looked like crap.
Evidently, Mel-Hi is getting a new gym sometime next school year. I guess it's going to be behid the football field. They're building a new concession stand in between that will serve both areas of the sports complex. With that, Mel-Hi will be completely redone since you've graduated.
When I was there it had all the charm of a Soviet-bloc factory. The bathrooms were, according to one east-German exchange student, "worse than Poland".
Did you see that Reggie Nelson ran a 4.35 at the UF workout yesterday. On GRASS!
Fuck LaRon Landry.
Yeah. Apparently his workout was unbelievable. 4.35 was one of the slower times recorded too. I guess he just blew people away. Ray McDonald had a pretty stellar workut as well, if the reports are to be believed.
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