Thursday, March 11, 2010

Early Afternoon

I’m not sure when I’ll check in next, but…

-If at all possible, try to watch a Utah St. game this year. Utah St. has a fan called Wild Bill. He’s basically a fat guy without a shirt. He’s dressed up as Cupid, Peter Pan, and the Little Mermaid this year. You have to see it to understand.

-What’s up with the tattoos on UCLA’s Reeves Nelson? They look like a middle-school student drew them on with a marker.

-What was a more shocking ending this afternoon? Was it South Carolina throwing the ball away when trailing by 3 with 8 seconds left? Or was it Memphis getting called with a double dribble in the final second costing Memphis the tying basket? I say the Memphis game because it had bubble implications. Also, one of the Houston players came on the court prematurely and arguably should have been called for a technical foul. I’m not convinced Memphis is out, but they should be very nervous now.

Hoyas Win, Hoyas Win, Hoyas Win!

I feel guilty saying this in a season where Georgetown beat Duke and Villanova, but the win by Georgetown today was clearly the most satisfying win on the season so far. Georgetown beat Duke and Villanova by simply shooting lights out. But they beat Syracuse today by playing 40 minutes of incredibly smart basketball. (OK, maybe 39 minutes as the two turnovers in the final 90 seconds were a bit nerve-wracking.)

Georgetown used Greg Monroe at the top of the key as the perfect distributor and kept hitting cutters running on the baseline for lay-ups. They didn’t turn the ball over very often against the zone and forced numerous Syracuse turnovers. And late in the game they stayed aggressive against the full-court pressure instead of getting overly conservative.

I had serious questions about whether Georgetown had the heart and the toughness to beat an outstanding Syracuse team this year, but Chris Wright showed it today. I’ve long felt Chris Wright has the potential to be the best Hoya player, and today was exactly why. Sure Chris hit some key baskets, but it was his lethal decision making in transition and in the half-court that put Syracuse away.

One play in particular stands out to me as to how smart Chris Wright was playing. With 9:53 to play in the second half and 3 seconds on the shot clock, Georgetown in-bounded the ball to Vee Sanford. Sanford was covered and didn’t feel he could get a shot off so he quickly passed it to Wright. But with so little time on the shot clock, Wright knew he couldn’t take his time. Instead, Wright simply made a volley-ball set shot. He knew he didn’t have time for a follow-through, so he simply tapped it up in the air. It was a miracle shot, but it was Wright’s smart play to avoid the shot-clock violation that was rewarded by a friendly roll.