Hoopraker

December 14, 2006
Evanston, Illinois
Northwestern 41 Wheaton College (IL) 39

The NU academic quarter came to a close last Friday.  Students are gone, but the basketball team had post-exam work against Wheaton College- a DIII team- from Wheaton, Illinois.  Wheaton is in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) and they have had competitive, successful teams over the years. Coming into this game, the Thunder were ranked 20^th among DIII colleges.

A total of 3542 fans showed up with a very loud and large contingent from Wheaton, about 1.5 hours from Evanston.  Both teams got off to a slow start with Wheaton holding a 5 to 4 lead after 6 minutes.  Northwestern’s offense began to heat up with a couple of steals and two threes for a 11-0 run and had a 16 to 5 lead at 8:31 remaining in the half.  The Cats defense was very difficult for the Thunder and they simply were having difficulty finding open shots.  The Cats athleticism and size was making a difference as one should expect against a DIII.  Then things changed as the Thunder went on a 13-0 run to take the lead at the half 18 to 16 with the Cats offense being totally ineffective.    

Wheaton played an aggressive defense, particularly on Craig Moore.  The Cats offense was not getting good 3-point shots so they tried to exploit their size by posting up Vince Scott who had a decided height advantage.  Scott was presented good, open shots, but his lazy soft hooks did not connect. He only made two lay-ups in the first half, thanks to two nice assists.  The Cats took 10 shots in the paint and made 7 points; they clearly were not having success in exploiting their decided height and athletic advantage.

You could sense that the Thunder gained confidence in the close of the first half, convinced that they had a good chance to pull off a big upset.  The score sea-sawed during the second half with the score tied at 27 at the 10:57 mark.  It was clear from the stands that the Cats inside game would not gain superiority as long as Scott remained in the line-up.  He simply was having a bad very exam, missing hook shoots and not taking advantage of his substantial height advantage down low. As a fan who has watched him over his four years, he has no sense of a power move towards the basket.  Finally, Coach Carmody took Scott out of the line-up and allowed Williams, Coble, and Doyle to post up in the paint.  Coble provided the necessary energy and score 8 straight points to give the Cats a 5 point lead.  The Cats were having success posting up the smaller less athletic Wheaton team. Even Moore was able to maneuver for a nice shot under the basket.

After the Cats clawed their way to a lead, Coach Carmody brought Scott back, and it is difficult for Cat fans to understand why.  One can only conclude that Carmody was administering a special post-up test to Scott, and it was clear that he not only flunked the post-up test, but failed to get a single rebound the entire game!  The Cats were out rebounded 20 to 11. As the Big Ten season nears, it is clear that the Cats will need to have some successful post-up play in the paint to loosen up the aggressive defenses that deny good three-point shots.

The Cat lead slowly faded as Scott made a turnover at the 4:42 mark with the Thunder narrowing the Cats lead to 39 to 37.  The Cats tried to manage the clock forcing Wheaton to use its allotment of fouls.  With 17 seconds and the score 41 to 39, Williams missed the front end of 1 and 1 free throw.  Thanks to some fundamental coaching lapses by Carmody, the Cats were unable to take advantage of the clock and the fact that Wheaton had to foul them to get the ball back. After the Williams free throw miss, the Thunder had possession with 16 seconds, but confusion at the scoring table caused by an erratic time clock that had to be re-set several times to 16 seconds may have kept the Thunder from getting a good shot for the tie or the upset.  Cats win 41 to 39.  This is the same Cat team that beat DePaul and Miami?  Make no mistake, the Thunder wanted this game and they played the game of their lives.  The Wheaton team had a clear disadvantage in size and athletic talent with perhaps only one player, Kent Raymond, showing the potential to have played DI basketball. The Cats simply were not prepared for this game and one would think that after the Cornell defeat, they would have recognized the danger a DIII team like Wheaton presented.

The Cats did very badly on this post exam test with Scott, in particular, failing to demonstrate any knowledge of fundamental post play that should be expected from a 6’11” senior with substantial playing experience.

The Wheaton Thunder were aggressive, totally exhausted as one of their players was flat on the floor, totally spent, after the final buzzer.  I am sure he was totally exhausted and very disappointed as they came so close to pulling off a very huge upset.

 

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Before the story gets buried by January snow, I think it is worth getting on the record with the situation up in the Twin Minny. While I have too much respect for Dan Monson to grave dance, I have to give credit to Athletic Director Joel Maturi for making the hard, but I believe, well timed and sound decision to seek a new direction.

Eight years ago Coach Monson seemed to be a great get. After several years as a program building assistant at Gonzaga, and then two years as head coach in which he steered the Zags to a 52-17 balance and an impressive Elite Eight run, he had the youth and lustre that appeared to be the perfect antidote to the Clem Haskin’s term paper mill. And despite laboring under NCAA sanctions, the beginning of Monson’s tenure at Minnesota was marked by modest progress. He notched three NIT bids in his first five seasons, returning the Gophers to a modicum of competitiveness on the court, propriety off it.

Two seasons ago (2004-05) he guided a very well balanced and talented team to an NCAA bid. I remember watching that team with great admiration at the Big Ten Tournament and thinking very positively of Monson and the state of his program. That squad featured able seniors in Aaron Robinson, Brent Lawson, and Jeff Hagen but also had a corps of very promising underclassmen in Jason Stamper, Spencer Tollackson, Vincent Grier, Rico Tucker, and Dan Coleman. It seemed that Monson was putting together solid rosters and had the chops and enthusiasm to keep the program in the upper tier of the conference and a perennial invitee to the field of 64. Williams Arena was going to be a very tough place to play for years to come. So it seemed.

What happened? The 2005-06 season was an unmistakable backward step. The promise of the previous year went glaringly unrealized with a 16-15 overall mark and a 5-11 conference mark. Player development seemed to flatline. The breakout seasons I expected from Coleman and Tollackson never materialized. The team often seemed to spectate while Grier played a lot of one on one basketball. What I had observed to be a multifaceted roster the season prior withered while Grier dominated the ball and vied for a Big Ten scoring title. While a superior athlete and gifted scorer, Grier was not the kind of player who made his teammates better. Monson, to my mind, failed to keep him integrated into what had been a much more productive team concept.

In retrospect, similar star enabling pathology was present in an earlier Monson team, namely the Kris Humphries one and done. The Humphries team may have had less depth than those during Grier’s two year stay, so it was understood that he would need to assume a heavy burden. And we should acknowledge that Humphries and Grier (a prized JUCO), at least on paper, constituted recruiting coups for Monson. Monson’s failure was his inability to mesh these marquee players into roles that made the team better. Perhaps he lured Humphries and Grier to Minneapolis with promises of gaudy numbers that would attract NBA general managers. Perhaps he found the narcissism of the modern blue-chipper and their hangers-on difficult to rein in. Whatever the case, his teams in these cases tended to devolve into one-dimensional, underachieving units.

Again, I recall watching the Humphries team and wondering why Monson was putting such solitary emphasis on one player at the expense of the team game. The results spoke volumes. With Humphries dominating the ball and getting plump box scores, the team went 12-18 overall, 3-13 in conference. The next season with Humphries collecting dust in the NBA, the Gophers surged to 22-11, 10-6 in conference, and an NCAA bid. This breakthrough year included savvy use of Grier as a primary offensive option, but not the only option.

Good coaches know how to make superstars work for the team. They get outstanding players to buy into a sum of parts philosophy. Maybe I’m overstating the case here, but I saw it as one of Monson’s achilles heels. And it recurred at times when the program was on the cusp of some very positive momentum.

And then there was 2006-07. This season in Minny started with a thud. An embarassing last place finish in the Old Spice Classic and then the eyesore blowout loss to Clemson at Williams. Monson’s roster, while not stacked, had strong returnees in Coleman, Tollackson and Abu-Shamala, and a well regarded OU transfer McKenzie. The results should’ve been better. The games with Southern Illinois and Clemson should’ve been more competitive. Maturi did what Michigan AD Bill Martin failed to do after the inexcusable second half Amaker’s bunch turned in at NC State. He had his secretary schedule a meeting with Coach. He didn’t ignore the evidence that the program needed a fresh start.

I’m not ready to prescribe what Maturi’s next move should be. And I still have a lot of respect for the way Monson comported himself during his tenure. He was one of the most candid and articulate interviews in the league. And he seemed to be an energetic and highly engaged game coach. In the end, his program had a fits and starts feel. It was plagued by inconsistency and by the end, underachievement and stagnation. I’ve cited some possible explanations and there are doubtless others.

I think we watch Molinari closely this season and reevaluate. The initial lobbying for Flip Saunders was ludicruous. Talk of Larry Eustachy absurd. I suspect Maturi will take stock in March and make the right call. A decisive hire shortly after season’s end will protect the next recruiting cycle and give the new coach a fair shot for 2007-08.

Maturi need only look around the league at places like Purdue, Illinois, and Wisconsin to see examples of informed, wise hiring. And contrary lessons in Ann Arbor and Indiana. The program of Jim Brewer, Mychal Thompson, and Kevin McHale will shine brightly again.

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December 9, 2006
Chicago/Evanston, Illinois
Illinois 71 UIC 66
Northwestern 77 Central Michigan 75 OT

I got a Big Ten double scoop this Saturday with both the Illini and Wildcats playing in Chicagoland. Here’s my report from the field:

Game I

The Illini have scheduled their sister school in the big city over recent years. Coach Weber was quoted as saying he does not like to play instate schools since a win for the Illini is expected and a loss is considered a serious blemish. Coach Collins, on the other hand, thinks reaching down to your little sister occasionally is a good idea. Gives little sis a chance to put a scare on, maybe sneak one on big brother. A crowd of 16,424 fans showed up at the United Center for this inter-family battle with most of the seats filled with the orange clad Illini nation.

The game was a contrast of halves. The first half belonged to the Illini. UIC could not deal with the tight defense the Illini are capable of playing. The Flames struggled to get off good shots throughout the half with the shot buzzer often erupting as their wild shots were lofted. On the other end of the court, the Flames failed to disrupt the beautiful motion offense that Weber teaches. This offense features good three point shooters- McBride, Smith, Meacham, and Frazier. And on any given night, Carter can also knock down the three. With the perimeter game carrying them, the Illini did not get their “Bigs” involved. This would become a problem in the second half.

The second half was a new ballgame. It was obvious that the active and vocal Jimmie Collins got his Flames ignited during the break. They exploded with 11 straight points, most of them from Othyus Jeffers who is a very athletic scorer/slasher. Once the Flames regained contact, they did not let up. They played much better defense and forced the Illini to find their “Bigs.” The Illini frontline, however, did not go unchallenged. The Flames boast two competent Croatians and an Indiana giant, Scott Vandermeer, all of whom go 6’9” and above. None of the three are great athletes, but they play good fundamental basketball.

The bottom line, Collins had convinced his players that this was a game they could win and they fought hard until the final horn. This was the definition of a quality loss for the Flames. UIC has been up and down so far this year, but they have the elements of a decent team. One of the keys to the second half comeback was some 3-point shooting by Jovan Stefanovich and aggressive play by Danijel Zoric, plus great leadership and play by Jeffers. Jeffers is their best player; he is a high energy basket attacker who forces defenses to expend a lot of energy.

The good news for the Illini is that they avoided an embarrassing loss to their little sister in the Horizon Conference. If you do not know much about the Horizon Conference, it is surprisingly strong with Butler appearing to be the team to beat this year. The other good news for the Illini is that Brian Randle played 16 minutes, possibly double the amount of minutes Weber wanted. But without Randle’s productivity, energy, and aggressive play, the Illini would have gone down this afternoon. The lesson for the Illini is that they will have a long season unless they discipline themselves to play belly to belly defense for forty minutes. I suspect Weber will be making this point. This is not a team that has the same depth of talent as those of the last four years.

Game II

After dinner with friends in the newly developed commercial area adjacent to the UIC campus, I motored north to Evanston to catch the Wildcats matchup with the pride of Kalamazoo, the Broncos of Western Michigan. The Bronc rep the Mid-American Conference, West Division. They were predicted to make some noise in the conference race this year with a young team devoid of seniors. The line-up is comprised of small town guys from Indiana and Michigan. Towns like Elkhart, LaGrange, Goshen, and Fisher, Indiana, and Grand Rapids and Rockford in Michigan. Add a couple of players from Detroit, one each from Chicago and Indianapolis and you have a good mix of players who have been taught the fundamentals- passing, moving without the ball, and some good outside shooting plus just enough athleticism to keep them in games against schools like Northwestern. While their record is not very impressive, Steve Hawkins is a good coach and they will wreak havoc for their foes in the MAC race this year. In another year, they may jell into a NCAA team.

Only 3,203 showed up for the game as the NU students finished their exams on Friday and most have exited Evanston for the holiday break. From the beginning it was clear that the Cats would have trouble escaping this night with a win. The Broncos were very adept at working open for good 3-point shots and almost anyone on the floor could make the shot when it opened up. They hit eleven 3’s (11 of 27). Five Broncos had at least two 3’s.

The Wildcat zone simply could not keep the Broncos from getting good open looks from the perimeter. It was a see-saw game. The Cats extended to a few five point bulges, but the Broncos always answered with timely buckets.

The Broncos were not very big, but they were able to spread their offense for the open shot, and occasionally, their forwards dribbled into the paint and got lay-ups against the very soft Cat interior defense. The NU zone was relatively ineffective, and it probably would have been good to mix in some man-to-man, but I suspect Carmody lacks confidence in his squad’s ability to pay belly-to-belly defense.

After missing a couple of 3 point shots early in the game, Craig Moore found the range and put in 6 of 9 (26 points). Add this performance to his seven 3’s against Miami and you can see what he means to this team. However, he will not be able to sustain this level of performance every game, so other players will have to step up.

And Kevin Coble did just that. He is an eye popping frosh for the Wildcats. At the end of regulation and into overtime, he took over. He finished with his best offensive performance as a Wildcat (25 points) in 43 minutes of play. This kid will get better and his upside is as positive as any freshmen we have seen in Evanston in my 20 plus years of watching NU basketball. Given the performance of Moore and Coble, the Cats did not need any “old man” heroics from Tim Doyle. He had a so so game, but helped steady the young team during the final minutes.

The Broncos played hard and you could see the determination on their faces. They saw a big chance to pick off a Big Ten team on the road. When players get back on defense and get down low with a hand slap to the floor in the overtime, you know they have fully committed to doing anything to get the win.

The Cats were lucky this night and they rode on the skinny shoulders of kid Coble during the overtime to squeak out a W.

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I promised and then muttered to myself that I’d pass on anything Greg Oden in the wake of Ohio State’s game with Cleveland State game. However, I’ve read the reports of Oden’s performance against Cleveland State by journalists, (including CBS Sportline’s Gary Parrish) who couldn’t have possibly watched the game as “magnificent,” “dominant,” and “powerful.” As Hoopraker is the only counterpoint to the canonization of Oden, I’m compelled to become the master of the obvious: Oden was being guarded, and I use that term loosely, by a 6’5” forward. Oden is a large man and he certainly knows how to dunk but he hasn’t played against anyone yet. He’s shown no back to the basket technique and he has no jump shot.

In a nod to March, Oden is the only post threat on the Buckeyes’ roster assembled by Thad Matta. The only one, with a cursory nod to Othella Hunter, who Matta relegates to backing up jump shooter Ivan Harris. Such a shallow frontcourt may pose a problem down the line, when Wisconsin, Michigan State and Illinois come knocking, with at least three big men and fifteen fouls to hammer on Oden. If you’re a Buckeye looking for a run into March, pray St. Oden stays out of foul trouble.  “Oh, but why?” Matta fans ask. “We’ve got shooters!” On the contrary.  Since Oden made his debut, Daequan Cook’s shots and points have taken a swan dive. To a lesser extent, same goes for Jamar Butler and David Lighty. For the guards who have been the three point shooters in Matta’s perimeter offense, it may not be so easy to flick the switch and find instant confidence in their jump shots when Oden heads to his cushioned seat on the bench, as he surely will.

All hyperbole aside, what is clear at this point in the season is this: Oden hasn’t competed against talent worthy to categorize any performance as “magnificent.”  More importantly, after two games with Oden, Ohio State is still looking for a rhythm and balance with him on the floor. That said, Oden will indeed one day have a Debutante Ball, whether it’s in Columbus or in the NBA, and Ohio State may indeed win a meaninful game with him, but let’s get serious, it hasn’t happened yet.

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With the incessant fawning upon Ohio State’s talented group of freshmen, it’s possible for college basketball devotees to have overlooked a truly significant development in the Big Ten: the reemergence of Purdue Boilermaker basketball. Led by Matt Painter (Purdue ‘94), the Boilermakers currently stand at 7-1 with meaningful notches in the belt with wins against Virginia, Oklahoma and DePaul.  Separating Purdue from a truly sterling start are two games, Missouri tomorrow in Mackey Arena followed by the Butler Bulldogs on December 16.

Mizzou and Butler 

Missouri is undefeated at 9-0 and while clearly not pining for ex-coach Quinn Snyder (Duke ‘89), they’re primed for defeat.  Led by Mike Anderson, Missouri hasn’t ventured on the road not have they played any credible teams.  As for Butler, Hoopraker had the pleasure of watching them beat Gonzaga two weeks ago and it’s clear the Bulldogs from Hinkle Fieldhouse are extremely well-coached by Todd Lickliter.  They’re built around a talented backcourt of AJ Graves and Mike Green and team-oriented defense.  Wins against Missouri and Butler would land Purdue in the top 25 and position themselves to claim a seed in the NCAA Tourney.

Led by one of the Big Ten’s best but least-heralded players in Carl Landry, Purdue is an smart and efficient offensive team.  They don’t turn the ball over, they’re patient and they take good shots.  They rebound and, giving up only 62 points a game, they control the pace of the game and play tough defense.  With Chris Lutz shooting an obscene 51% on three pointers and David Teague capable of extending defenses, teams can’t entirely collapse on Landry.  

In what’s perceived as a quiet year in the Big Ten, a resurgent Purdue team led by a Gene Keady disciple in Painter is prepared to compete.  

Youth to be Served 

Even better news for Purdue is found throughout the high schools of Indiana, specifically Valparaiso, East Chicago and Indianapolis. Led by Robbie Hummel, Scott Martin, E’Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson Purdue’s 2007-2008 recruiting class is recognized as the best in the Big Ten, top five nationally, and perhaps the best in Purdue history. According to Painter, “[T]his was the class that we targeted from Day 1 to fill our needs at all positions. Very rarely do you target four guys and end up getting those four guys.”

After succeeding Bruce Weber as head coach at Southern Illinois, Painter jumped at the opportunity to serve at the hip of his mentor Gene Keady during the legend’s last tour of the Big Ten in 2005.  With the recruiting class he signed this fall, Painter proved he wasn’t just eating wings and drinking beer at BW3 in West Lafayette.

He’s earned the respect of Indiana’s high school coaches, setting the foundation for a pipeline of Indiana talent that will make Purdue a perennial contender for the Big Ten and National Championships. According to Painter, “[W]henever you land a very good class, I think you get a little bit of a domino effect. It’s tough to land the first couple of guys, but after you land the first guy or two, it makes it easier for the next guys to commit because they want to play with good players, and they want to play with guys they get along with.”  Sweet music for Boilermaker fans.

For Matt Painter, Purdue was his destination job.  From the labor he’s invested in rebuilding the program and the results he’s garnered thus far, Painter’s planning on living in West Lafayette for a very long time, which, in an age of snake oil salesman posing as coaches, reinvigorates the spirit of college sport.

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Following from my fellow rake’s ACC/Big 10 postmortem, and further betraying my wholesale lack of objectivity, Big 10 centrism, and capacity for denial, I offer the following broadsides:

1. The ACC has more overall athleticism on its rosters than the Big 10. I haven’t crunched the numbers, but I suspect this would be supported by a cursory look at McDonald’s All-American numbers, and a quick survey of recruiting rankings. Reasons for this greater appeal to the modern blue-chipper fall under several themes or watchwords: media/PR (ESPN worships at its altar, Coach K infomercials, ehem, commercials), freedom (athletes allowed to be athletes, less interference from meddling coaches who think they know more), more NBA-style offenses (less structure, more isolations, higher scoring), less stringent academics (the brain gap between the average Duke undergrad and a member of the hoops squad is epic and Duke is the best the ACC has to offer).

2. Other than Roy Williams, Coach K, and Gary Williams whose numbers I am forced to acknowlege, the Big 10 has better coaching brainpower top to bottom than the ACC: Ryan, Weber, Izzo, Carmody, DeChellis, Matta, Sampson, Painter, Alford beat the likes of Haith, Purnell, Leitao, Lowe, Prosser, Hamilton, Greenberg, Hewitt, Skinner. Admittedly, the Big 10 has a curve lowering coach in Amaker and a caught cheater in Sampson. Still, as a package deal, I take the B10.

3. The ACC/B10 Challenge takes place early in the season before good coaching has rendered its full impact and when athleticism (rather than coaching) has more of a net effect. As the estimable, barrel chested pivot from Altoona, Iowa, Shon Morris, pointed out during last Sunday’s telecast from Lansing, teams are playing a lot more preconference games than ever before and the loss of practice time is detrimental to the quality of the basketball. My own viewing the last few weeks bears this out. A lot of disorganized sets, inefficiency, miscommunication on defense, poor shot selection. The kind of sloppiness that good teaching and practice will render moot by January. By January well coached teams will be executing well enough to beat teams with superior athletes. (NU over Miami would be a happy early example of this. Except NU didn’t execute particularly well. They just got a monster shooting performance out of previously moribund Craig Moore).

4. Let’s move the ACC/B10 Challenge to February! And then we’ll see what’s what! Or, again, as Mr. Morris suggests, let’s move first practices up to October 1. Either solution means Big 10 revenge. Right? Who’s with me?

5. In lieu of that, let’s see what happens in March.

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A bitter taste lingers. A foul scent emanates. Two days removed from the merciful end of the ESPN inspired ACC/Big 10 Challenge, I’m left with more questions than answers. Like a college student eating a late dinner at Denny’s, when faced with a check he can’t pay, it’s time to start the car. There’s little reason to stick around and observe the mess befallen upon the Big 10 Conference. Sure, losing to Duke never feels good and losing to Maryland at home just plains hurts.

As we venture into December, one lesson is apparent: with the exception of Michigan and Wisconsin, the Big 10 is loaded with young teams that have yet to gel. The cupcakes that Ohio State and nearly every other team schedule to pad their numbers with eyes fixated on Selection Sunday are glorified scrimmages, contributing little besides easy wins. Wins, while certainly a necessity, don’t teach the discipline necessary to win big games. At this point in the season, easy wins don’t teach clock management and they certainly don’t simulate the pressure of making a jump shot with a hand in your face. Rather, the blowouts reinforce bad habits, quick shots, and scant defense. Hopefully, the drubbing the Big Ten took will inspire some soul searching, some pride and some tough practices. Lessons learned, we can only hope. Let’s get ready for the Big Ten Season and then prepare yourself for some March haymakers and ACC retribution. I’ll take Illiniois over Maryland in the Sweet Sixteen.

Like Beth Orton, on a tangent: Indiana returns to Bloomington with a lose to Duke but hopefully inspired by a resurgent second half. It was great to see Kelvin Sampson give big minutes to Erik Suhr, who responded with a passionate effort. Suhr’s game, however, seems more suited for the role of energizer coming off the bench, giving 16 to 20 minutes of hell to the opposing guards. Still, the biggest question for the Hooisers remains whether DJ White will emerge from his passive coccoon. Right now, his footwork stinks and his hands remind me of Perry Carter. If he doesn’t get it turned around, it’s a long season for IU.

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I’m a curmudgeon. I’m just not the kind of happy idiot who can relax and enjoy the kind of trigger-happy meth-fest that was OSU/Carolina last night. I’m just not persuaded that the Thad Matta, Tommy Amaker, Roy Williams, Ernie Kent strains of run and gun and its attendant buzzwords–athletes needing “freedom,” uptempo, 100 possession games, perimeter first, scores in the nineties, good offense inspires good defense (to name a few)–are the future of the game. Or, if it is the future of the game, I’m going to dig in my size 13’s and resist, whine, malign until I’m an island in a vast ocean of my own bile.

The endless spew of bobbleheaded media flaks will only make me more mulish. Polls that place OSU, Kansas, and Carolina in the top ten while Butler remains cemented at 19 make me grumpy. Shots of Greg Oden with carnival barker accompaniment that he will be the greatest and most revolutionary college basketball player ever entrench me further. Pundits who giddily declare last night’s game a masterful excellence-fest need to settle up their bar tabs and walk it off a bit.

Giving up ninety points in a college basketball game is bad defense and woeful clock/ball management. The disinterest in running patient half-court offense in favor of loose shooting and one-on-one basketball made the first half no better than an And 1 video. For those who think this is good basketball, well, all the power to you. But don’t complain when Greece beats our professionals with pick and rolls. And don’t complain when you lose to more disciplined, boring teams (Butler? Gonzaga? Oral Roberts? Bucknell?) with inferior athletes. And come March, pray that your beloved thirty foot jumpshots are falling.

The fact is Carolina won tonight because they were the only team to establish the high percentage postgame. While Hansbrough and Brendan Wright ate up the low post, the Buckeye jumpshots got a little tight. Game over.

Thad Matta was blithe and unchastened in defeat. He wouldn’t change a thing, except to have a few more jumpers fall. Furthermore the chattering PR men are convinced these two teams are on a bullet train to the Final Four. Maybe so. But I wouldn’t lay my mortgage on either.

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