Let me tell you one thing right now - I'm a huge Duke fan, so this post may be a little bias. And how much do I wish I was a college athlete in a top sports program. Daaamn.
Coach K has home court advantage and the stands are full of Duke blue, and there's high energy in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Duke's 2010 win against Georgia Tech marked Coach K's 900th win.
Jabari Parker goes up for his first foul shot after a nice play under the hoop, and as the ball falls through the netting so do the cameron crazies arms. Though, Georgia Tech doesn't seem to worried, a close score and good D all around.
For anyone who has ever played basketball ball, remember when you first learned how to do screens and you tried them all the time? So much that they became irrelevant because the team already knew that you'd just drive as fast as you could to the basket because, let's face it, you had no play?
That's what Georgia Tech is reminding me of right now. They're putting up screens and they're working (unlike back in my day,) but they're getting stuck in the corner and missing the shots (very similar to my day.) It's driving me nuts that all their plays are outside the 3 line, and they're missing everything. Not even half way through the first and the Yellow Jackets' have their 5th turnover of the night. It seems like they're already getting too frustrated to play, even with the score tied with a little over 8 left in the first half.
One thing that I love about Couch K. He sits star players. They're not playing full time and that's a good thing especially for the freshman stars who are used to being the leader of their high school teams. I really like that he disciplines them enough to know they're not everything, they're not the entire team, and they still have something to learn. They are just one part of a team. Kudos to K.
Can we talk about Marshall Plumlee's block in the first half? Behind, clean block. Awesome. And of course, in Plumlee-style his face showed that he didn't care whatsoever. Just doing his job kinda face.
Morris' damn you, that was a sick dunk. Georgia Tech formed some solid fundamental basketball, three cross court, quick passing ending under the basket for a sick dunk.
By the end of the first half Georgia Tech definitely stepped up on their defense. Cameron Stadium is definitely not a good place for GT, considering they've only ever won 6 times ever in the stadium. But GT is adjusting to Duke and playing hard. M. Georges-Hunt has 11 pts going into the second half.
Georgia Tech - 33, Duke - 34, -- halftime.
Duke has it's largest lead (8 pts) of the game three minutes into the second half. Jabari Parker at 12pts for the night, much less than he's used to. Rasheed Sulaimon has been awesome about getting the ball down the court and playing team ball like his pass to another top scorer of the night, Rodney Hood, who knocked down a three with an assist from Sulaimon, and ended up with 27 pts by the end of the game.
It's insane the amount of people that are comparing Duke's Jabari Parker to OKC's Kevin Durant. That's a crazy compliment, and they're playing a lot like each other with low 20's for each game. Unfortunately, lately, Parker hasn't been putting up those numbers in the last three games, but that slump I can see quickly disappearing. Just as Hood said, "the other guys have got to step it up."
Georgia Tech - 57, Duke - 79, -- final.
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Saturday, January 4, 2014
No Lack of Hustle: Michigan State at Indiana
How great does the swish of the basketball sound? Ugh, I just love it so much.
Michigan State and Indiana both lost in the sweet sixteen of the 2013 NCAA Championship, and you'd think they wet further after watching just two minutes of them playing each other. I don't think I've seen a game with as much hustle as the Michigan State at Indiana game this Saturday. These two teams are throwing their all out on the court, and it's only forces each team drive harder and play smarter.
When I first tuned into the game, two minutes into the game, I was seeing some of the cleanest, most aggressive play I've seen in a long time. After watching the Celtics/Bulls game a couple nights earlier it was a relief to see aggressive ball without ridiculous foul calls. I truly believe that aggressive ball is NOT always worthy of fouls.
During last year's march madness bracket I went out on a limb and chose Indiana vs. Louisville for the championship game with Indiana taking the NCAA Championship. As we all know, I was wrong. Louisville dominated. Todays game, however, reminds me of why I chose them to go as far as I did. Indiana has a lot of heart, and a hell of a lot of potential, and I'm sure they'll go far.
Firstly, rebounds. I can't believe how many tip offs I've seen from rebounds. The ball is bouncing from the hoop and off about three guys' hands before finally landing in possession. Indiana though is SO GOOD at getting up to the hoop and knocking in a rebound for their team. Both teams with over 20 rebounds, and it's becoming pretty damn stressful to watch, which is incredibly impressive especially since Michigan State has been on top of their game as well, but in turnovers.
The amount of defense Michigan State has brought to this game is unbelievable. These guys are working their asses off, moving their feet as fast as possible and looking for the best possible plays they can make. And most of the time, they make those plays. They're low in defense and look for any of Indiana's faults to grab the ball and break down court. They're diving on the floor, and playing really great team ball. No greed. All team.
Michigan ST - 24, Indiana - 33 -- halftime.
I found myself saying, "What happened?" a lot during the start of the second half. Indiana far off, complete misses of the basket and both teams a lot slower. Seems they blew most their energy in the first. And to be honest, I don't know how many more turnovers Michigan St can have before Indiana learned to keep the ball tight and play smarter. They must be at 8 or 9 for the game so far.
However, they did redeem themselves. The crowd is live, they're static on the TV, and I can't even imagine how loud they are in Assembly Hall. Huddles of dark red and white standing in the crowd and you can truly feel the energy, even as I lay in my bed and watch the game from my house. This is true basketball.
Can we talk about dunks for a second? First, How? How do these guys pass without looking and dunk like they've been doing in forever? It just blows my mind.
This game in insane, and for whomever spent their day in bed, or on the couch watching NCAA basketball all day and maybe feeling like a bunch of lazybones -- don't worry, you did it right.
Michigan State and Indiana both lost in the sweet sixteen of the 2013 NCAA Championship, and you'd think they wet further after watching just two minutes of them playing each other. I don't think I've seen a game with as much hustle as the Michigan State at Indiana game this Saturday. These two teams are throwing their all out on the court, and it's only forces each team drive harder and play smarter.
When I first tuned into the game, two minutes into the game, I was seeing some of the cleanest, most aggressive play I've seen in a long time. After watching the Celtics/Bulls game a couple nights earlier it was a relief to see aggressive ball without ridiculous foul calls. I truly believe that aggressive ball is NOT always worthy of fouls.
During last year's march madness bracket I went out on a limb and chose Indiana vs. Louisville for the championship game with Indiana taking the NCAA Championship. As we all know, I was wrong. Louisville dominated. Todays game, however, reminds me of why I chose them to go as far as I did. Indiana has a lot of heart, and a hell of a lot of potential, and I'm sure they'll go far.
Firstly, rebounds. I can't believe how many tip offs I've seen from rebounds. The ball is bouncing from the hoop and off about three guys' hands before finally landing in possession. Indiana though is SO GOOD at getting up to the hoop and knocking in a rebound for their team. Both teams with over 20 rebounds, and it's becoming pretty damn stressful to watch, which is incredibly impressive especially since Michigan State has been on top of their game as well, but in turnovers.
The amount of defense Michigan State has brought to this game is unbelievable. These guys are working their asses off, moving their feet as fast as possible and looking for the best possible plays they can make. And most of the time, they make those plays. They're low in defense and look for any of Indiana's faults to grab the ball and break down court. They're diving on the floor, and playing really great team ball. No greed. All team.
Michigan ST - 24, Indiana - 33 -- halftime.
I found myself saying, "What happened?" a lot during the start of the second half. Indiana far off, complete misses of the basket and both teams a lot slower. Seems they blew most their energy in the first. And to be honest, I don't know how many more turnovers Michigan St can have before Indiana learned to keep the ball tight and play smarter. They must be at 8 or 9 for the game so far.
However, they did redeem themselves. The crowd is live, they're static on the TV, and I can't even imagine how loud they are in Assembly Hall. Huddles of dark red and white standing in the crowd and you can truly feel the energy, even as I lay in my bed and watch the game from my house. This is true basketball.
Can we talk about dunks for a second? First, How? How do these guys pass without looking and dunk like they've been doing in forever? It just blows my mind.
This game in insane, and for whomever spent their day in bed, or on the couch watching NCAA basketball all day and maybe feeling like a bunch of lazybones -- don't worry, you did it right.
I can't even talk anymore about this game because I just keep wanting to write more. And say, "Daaaaamn!"
Michigan St - 73, Indiana - 56 -- final.
Michigan St - 73, Indiana - 56 -- final.
Welcome to Street Edition
I'd like to start off saying this blog is in no way going to be conservative or "professional". This blog is going to be filled with swearing and ranting. So, welcome to Street Edition.
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