This past weekend, I had the opportunity to take in Georgetown’s 74-47 thrashing of Cincinnati Saturday at the Verizon Center, as well as the WCAC semifinals between DeMatha and St. John’s and O’Connell and Gonzaga Sunday at Bender Arena on the campus of American University. I took a few pics and they actually came out a little bit better than I thought they would so I decided to post them.

Already looking forward to Sunday’s City Title game between my Stags and Ballou. Should be a hell of a game.

My view from the club section at the Verizon Center.

BBQ pulled chicken nachos. Looks disgusting, tastes unbelievable.

Hawk feeds Greg Monroe for the easy bucket.

After a diabolical winter, beautiful days are much appreciated around these parts.

A taste of DC. These two cats had a crowd around them digging their crankage.

Not a cloud in the sky. Hey buddy.

The most inconspicuous signage for a 7-Eleven I’ve ever seen.

My view from my seat at the WCAC semis at Bender Arena.

The only action shot from the DeMatha-St. John’s game that came out halfway decent.

Congrats to Greg Monroe and Austin “Hawk” Freeman on being to the All-Big East team, which was announced by the conference Sunday. While I’m almost positive that Monroe won’t be a part of the squad next season, Freeman has a legit chance to finish his Georgetown career with a Big East Player of the Year honor if he simply plays the way he played this season.

Good job all season fellas and again congrats on an honor well deserved.

Greg Monroe, 1st-team All-Big East

Austin “Hawk” Freeman, 2nd-team All-Big East

The full press release can be seen here.

The conference will announce Player of the Year, Oppenheimer Funds/BIG EAST Coach of the Year, BIG EAST Rookie of the Year and BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete on Tuesday, March 9.

ALL-BIG EAST FIRST TEAM
Greg Monroe, Georgetown, C, So., 6-11, 247, New Orleans, La.
Luke Harangody, Notre Dame, F, Sr., 6-8, 255, Schererville, Ind.
Dominique Jones, USF, G, Jr., 6-4, 205, Lake Wales, Fla.
Wes Johnson, Syracuse, F, Jr., 6-7, 205, Corsicana, Texas
Scottie Reynolds, Villanova, G, Sr., 6-2, 190, Herndon, Va. *
Da’Sean Butler, West Virginia, F, Sr., 6-7, 225, Newark, N.J.

ALL-BIG EAST SECOND TEAM
Austin Freeman, Georgetown, G, Jr., 6-4, 237, Mitchelville, Md.
Lazar Hayward, Marquette, F, Sr., 6-6, 225, Buffalo, N.Y.
Ashton Gibbs, Pittsburgh, G, So., 6-2, 190, Scotch Plains, N.J.
Jeremy Hazell, Seton Hall, G, Jr., 6-5, 185, Bronx, N.Y.
Andy Rautins, Syracuse, G, Sr., 6-5, 195, Jamesville, N.Y.

ALL-BIG EAST THIRD TEAM
Jerome Dyson, Connecticut, G, Sr., 6-3, 190, Potomac, Md.
Kemba Walker, Connecticut, G, So., 6-1, 172, Bronx, N.Y.
Samardo Samuels, Louisville, F, So., 6-9, 260, Trelawny, Jamaica
Corey Fisher, Villanova, G, Jr., 6-1, 200, Bronx, N.Y.
Devin Ebanks, West Virginia, F, So., 6-9, 210, Long Island City, N.Y.

BIG EAST HONORABLE MENTION
Jimmy Butler, Marquette, F, Jr., 6-6, 215, Tomball, Texas
Tim Abromaitis, Notre Dame, F, Jr., 6-8, 232, Unionville, Conn.
Jamine Peterson, Providence, F, So., 6-6, 230, Brooklyn, N.Y.

BIG EAST ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
Lance Stephenson, Cincinnati, G, Fr., 6-5, 210, Brooklyn, N.Y. *
Alex Oriakhi, Connecticut, F/C, Fr., 6-9, 240, Lowell, Mass.
Vincent Council, Providence, G, Fr., 6-2, 180, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Dane Miller, Rutgers, F, Fr., 6-7, 210, Henrietta, N.Y. *
Brandon Triche, Syracuse, G, Fr., 6-4, 198, Jamesville, N.Y.
Maalik Wayns, Villanova, G, Fr., 6-1, 185, Philadelphia, Pa.

* unanimous selection

NERZWDHWEV9J

I have to admit, I was a little worried.

I saw recruits that Coach K and Johnny Dawkins used to field calls from not even schedule visits. I saw shooters going to Georgetown and Villanova. I saw athletic wings not even consider Duke. And I got bitter, real bitter.

I wondered if it were time for a strong regime change. I daydreamed of Johnny Dawkins taking over for Coach K and bringing the type of recruit to Duke that we haven’t seen since Brand or Maggette.

It would be different. Would kids like Harrison Barnes think twice before draping themselves in that hideous shade of blue? Does Nolan Smith – Michael Beasley become a package deal? Do Johnny Dawkins’ Washington, DC roots make Prince Georges County, MD Duke’s back yard in the same way Chicago became in the late ’90’s?

You wonder.

Then Dawkins leaves. Then I curse the program. I look at the new troupe of assistants and bury my head in shame. No offense, guys–I’m just being honest.

Then I look up, and wait, we are playing pretty well. We’re defending well. We can score. And we are getting pretty good bench production. We’re deep and our bench is peaking at the right time. And I exhale and go, “We’re alright. Why am I worried?”

That’s the question. That one, right there.

There is a reason why I am worried and it is completely legitimate. I have seen this before. A top 10 team with marginal talent that’s well coached, but it rarely beats teams that are more talented than them, but they have enough talent to dominate their conference on a down year. In it’s previous form it was diagnosed as Purdue.

Yes, Purdue. During the tail end of the Gene Keady years, Purdue was good once every 4 years and returned to its middle-of-the-pack status for 3 years looking to reload by landing that big name recruit that would vault Purdue back into the top 10. Earlier in his career, however, Keady would have 2-3 of those players to choose from and his recruiting style was nonchalant. He, rightfully, thought it was a privilege for a kid to be recruited  by the Boilermakers. As the years went by though, Purdue lost a lot of those recruits to Illinois, Wisconsin, and the rest of the Big Ten’s budding basketball programs. Not Keady’s fault, just the evolution of college basketball.

Now back to Duke. I see a lot of similarities in the two situations. Roy Williams has made it impossible for Duke to effectively recruit against him. Steve Robinson leaves no stone unturned and I hate to admit it, but he kind of runs circles around Wojo and Chris Collins. So recruiting is not what it was in the 90’s. We get the classic “Duke” kids and they stay a while and develop, but they are usually not as talented as the blue-chippers who are one-and-done and go to Memphis or Kentucky. So our talent is marginal more often than not. Thus, I have to ask if Duke is built for the long haul or can we contend for a title every year.

I think Kyrie Irving is a step in the right direction of bringing a player in that other kids may want to follow to Duke. Also, I think the Plumlee brothers are a huge land for the program. Nolan Smith is improving every game he plays, which is a relief. But I still have issue with whether Andre Dawkins can deal with the mechanical way Coach K breaks down your game then builds it up. I am afraid he’ll transfer if he feels that he can’t catch on to the offense. I am also afraid of Duke being able to recruit ‘bigs’ at a rate that is congruent to how quickly they leave for the NBA. It’s a legitimate concern that Mason Plumlee will leave for the NBA based on potential and athleticism. Can Duke fill that void with an incoming freshman? Maybe.

Duke has to find a path that works for the program in 2-year cycles. Coach K should anticipate that every kid they bring in will leave in 2 years. We don’t have time to teach basketball anymore. I know it’s sad, but it’s the truth. We can’t build for the long haul the way Coach K and Johnny D did in the 90’s. Adjusting takes some time, but I think those moves are being made. Irving, Seth Curry, et al. should be a good way to load this team up so it is better next year. The way we find out that the ‘Purdue Syndrome’ has avoided its fatality state, is by checking the scheduled visits in 2011.

Keep your fingers crossed.

Is it even fixable?

As a Duke fan, many would expect me to be the last person writing this post. My brethren Blue Devil fans may ostracize me for this, but over time in a rivalry like UNC-Duke the other half  kinda becomes a part of you. I mean, you get used to the heated arguments heading into that first  week in February and that first week in March. When you show up with your soap box and the other party doesn’t, it’s kind of disappointing.

Another rule in this rivalry is as much as I hate the ‘Heels, the more I take ownership over ’slaps and put downs’ directed towards them. I almost take those as a swipe to the rivalry more so than a honest look into the current UNC situation. So, when a Georgetown fan has a good laugh at the expense of UNC, I don’t rush to their defense, but I do take note. So in my silent ‘note-taking’ time I have a devised a plan to fix the Tarheels in time for the ACC tournament. Now, I understand completely if they don’t want to fix this team. I would love to recline and use my 2 National Titles in the last 4 years as an ottoman. But just in case….

AN ALUMNI LED PRACTICE
North Carolina probably has the most active alumni base in college basketball. All-time greats, Hall of Famers, and max contracts are all over the place and they make no bones about letting you know they are ‘Heels. Why not use that? In most cases, these people are the reason why this under-preforming group came to UNC. How about you let them know the displeasure the alumni has for their performance. Here’s the plan:

1. Schedule An All-Day Practice Thursday March 4–Remarkably, this is the one day that no North Carolina Alum has NBA obligations. They can fly into Chapel Hill on the 4th and leave that night in time for the AM  shoot-around on Friday.
2. Roy Williams speech with Dean Smith by his side–Roy should convene practice with one of his patented Dick Vermeil-like tear jerking speeches where he expresses his disappointment and his anguish over the last 3 months trying to get this team to realize its potential.
3. “Time For Tough Love”–Roy should then tell the team that he’s tried all he can but now it’s time for some tough love.
4. Enter The Alumni–Simultaneous to the “tough love” comment all the alumni should enter ready to lead practice. In a perfect world that list should include: Michael Jordan, Rasheed Wallace, Tyler Hansbrough, Vince Carter, Antawn Jamison, Ty Lawson, Kenny Smith, Julius Peppers, James Worthy, Jerry Stackhouse, Sam Perkins, Hubert Davis
   Note:The Author has excluded any alumni who currently coach due to the fact that might be considered a slap to Roy.
   
5. Disclaimer Issued–“Anything that happens in this gym over the next 6 hours is not to leave this gym. If I hear of anything in the news, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc., you will be asked to go see the registrar regardless of your perceived status on this team. ” –Roy Williams
6. Roy Williams and Dean Smith Exit the Gym
7. Whistle Blown, Practice Begins–Rasheed Wallace

After the whistle is blown, all bets are off. I can bet right now that Jerry Stackhouse and Rahseed Wallace screaming at Dexter Strickland will get his attention. Over in the south end of the gym, Hubert Davis and Kenny Smith are running Marcus Ginyard through suicides for six straight hours. And Rasheed and Julius Peppers are showing Wear twins how to play physical while Sam Perkins helps them off the floor after every drill.

If UNC were to follow this plan, I can almost guarantee you that you will see a more spirited and cohesive effort. It will make the ACC tournament more interesting and help build a foundation for next year’s team. Because, let’s face it, I am not looking forward to Maryland trying to weasel their way into our historic rivalry.

Let’s keep the ball rolling. Cuse Basketball…it’s an epidemic.

I haven’t purchased a baseball game since EA Sports’ MVP Baseball 2005, but one look at the video below has me reconsidering my year-round, exclusive love affair with the NBA 2K series. The ‘Real Time’ presentation in MLB 10: The Show is jaw-droppingly gorgeous and complements the series’ genre-leading gameplay to give gamers an unbeatable package for their gaming dollar.

EA Sports has long reigned as the king of interactive football with its Madden series and 2K Sports has taken the reign as the class leader with its aforementioned 2K series. However, its time for SCEA Studios to be recognized for consistently producing a top-notch baseball title yearly with its ‘The Show’ series of baseball titles.

I’ve never gotten heavily involved with ‘The Show’ in the past because I don’t own a PS3, but with this, Uncharted 2: Drake’s Fortune and the upcoming God of War 3 exclusive to the console, I just may have to get involved. Release date is set for March 2.

via Kotaku

It’s not often that I have anything positive to say about Syracuse basketball thanks to the fact that before I get a chance to speak, RJ states something so outlandish about the ‘Cuse that I am forced to shake my head and walk away. This year, however, I have to give credit where credit is due. This edition of the Orange is playing some of the best defense that I have seen in college basketball in a long time. I would dare to say I haven’t seen zone defense this smothering since—can I even say it? Gulp–Amoeba. I know that is a statement, but I think I can stand behind it.

For a long time I looked at the 2-3 as a cop-out form of defense; the proverbial form of a timeout on the defensive side of the ball. So many coaches jump into a zone to rest  bigs before they make the final push in a game by jumping back into a pressure man defense. Au contraire. Syracuse has proven to me that you can use the 2-3 to pressure the ball, as well as protect the defensive boards.

The keys, from my vantage point, is the use of athletic 3’s and 4’s to create a whirlwind of help side rotation. In my prior experience of playing and coaching the 2-3, I have been hoodwinked in thinking that the defense allows 3’s and 4’s to rest. I would literally slump on a block , wink at cheerleaders, and lust for the concession stand while my coach and team would literally dare the opposing team to hit a jumper. That may be true of many other versions of the 2-3 but for Syracuse nothing could be further from the truth. There are three common misconceptions of the 2-3 that coach Jim Boeheim helps shatter in his version of the 2-3:

1. The 2-3 gives up the jumpshot–Wrong. Instead of getting caught in that “no-man’s-land” of figuring out who is to get out on wing shooters, the Orange make it the responsibility of 3’s and 4’s, who get out on the wing tenaciously and force the ball down on the block and forces a shooter and a big man to play proper 2-man basketball against 3 players on the ball side.  While many teams are able to swing the ball to the open man on the help side of the ball, Boeheim wisely raises his help side defender to the elbow to get out on the swing. Advantage Orange.
2. The 2-3 is a good option for non-athletic teams–Wrong. Your 3’s and 4’s have to be horses. They are the first option to ball side rotation in Boeheim’s 2-3. I don’t know how many times I have seen Kris Joseph or Wesley Johnson rotate from off a wing player and clean the glass with what seemed like a sure lay-up. For example, ball comes down on the right wing, then swings to the opposite wing. The ball is then dropped down on the block for a turn-and-shoot opportunity. Nope, the opposite side wing defender is  rotating all the way to the ball side to challenge the ball while the 5 can stand his ground and position for a rebound thus reducing the instances of shooting fouls. Nobody in the nation is better at this menacing style of covering the floor than Johnson and Joseph. Long, athletic and aware–a deadly combination. Advantage Orange.
3. You are supposed to play behind the post–One of the best things I have seen in the Orange 2′3 is not only the 3 or 4 getting out on the wing, but the 5 man also fronting the post. It’s not that this tactic is some sort of genius tweak, it just postures towards aggression. I think that energy is one of the things that gets the whole team dialed in on defense. Many teams play behind the post in order to control the boards, but the Orange seem to compete regardless. Advantage Orange.

And thats our take on the Orange 2-3. Its aggressive and rotates really well this year. I hadn’t seen this kind of tenacity from them and I think the athleticism on the wing is the key. Paul Harris was a step in the right direction defensively but Wesley Johnson is the flat-out answer. Boeheim has found a blueprint of the future. The rest of the Big East should be very afraid.

To commemorate the opening of the new Foot Locker House of Hoops location in Dallas, TX, Nike hooked up with Los Angeles-based illustrator/graphic artist Alex Fuentes to design these pieces featuring the two biggest names in the game (LeBron and Kobe), Dallas natives Chris Bosh and Deron Williams and Mavericks forward Shawn Marion.

Wouldn’t even begin to think how much an original of one of these would set a brotha back, but would love to have one framed for the game room. Peep the rest after the jump.

via Sneaker News

Read more…

“Man, I’m a fry Reggie’s ass when I see him on Monday (laughter) … he said Scheyer was a pro (tears) … man, please.”

Thanks to a typical the-game-is-over-but-since-you’re-Duke-you-have-to-be-pressed seven-point spurt in the final minute, the final score was 89-77, but that in no way tells the uninitiated how much of a beating Georgetown gave Duke Saturday afternoon before a capacity crowd at the Verizon Center. With the POTUS, Joey Beans and other notable dignitaries in attendance, the Hoyas put on a display that at times bordered on cruelty, with the Hoyas literally taking – not stealing, there’s a difference – the ball from Blue Devil players and converting on the other end with ease and upping their lead to as much as 23 points before JTIII called off the dogs and allowed Duke to escape with a small semblance of dignity.

Undoubtedly, the highlight of the game for the Duke faithful was Mason Plumlee’s rim-rattling dunk (see below) with the Blue Devils down 16 with 0:26 left in regulation.

He sure can jump

Other than that, if you’re a Duke fan, I hope you didn’t decide to eat a sandwich/wrap/burrito during the game, because I’m sure it was slammed on the table/floor sometime between the 15-minute mark of the first half and 2-3 hours after the game. I watched the game with MBJ – an ardent supporter of Blue Devils basketball since the mid-80’s – at Old Dominion Brewhouse in NW D.C. and although he didn’t order a sandwich, he did order a plate of chicken fingers and waffle fries that he barely touched which could have easily been folded into a flour tortilla for a potential slamming later on Saturday or Sunday.

From a player standpoint, Kyle Singler pretty much wrapped it up by saying, “They were just able to do whatever they wanted. They were just sharper with everything, offensively and defensively,” but the fan reaction over at The Devils Den was priceless.

“GT came out on to the court, saw that they were athletically superior and physically superior and then took it from there. They were never threatened by us at any point in the game. It’s tough when your opponents are that confident that they’re just better than you.”

“Until we get athletes on the roster this will be the outcome vs talented, well coached teams.”

“the good news is I don’t have to keep hearing about how good Scheyer is any more.   Hopefully K uses the rest of the year trying to develop some of the younger players.  You could really see this coming from the Florida State game.”

“I will always pull for Duke, but watching games like Villanova last year and Georgetown today make me sad in a way, because they remind me that we’re nowhere near what we used to be, which was a team legitimately capable of winning it all.

I’ll always support our guys, and I look forward to next year with the guys we have coming in.  But right now, I hate watching us take such beat-downs.”

“Are we the Notre Dame of basketball?”

“If we played in the Big East, we would get owned. We’d be a mediocre team.”

“Are we suppose to be the best team in the ACC? I feel sorry for the ACC? Damn. We were dominated.”

I could go on and on and on, but as many of you saw the game, I don’t have too. I’m not going to hurl insults, slaps just for the sake of slapping or grandstand.

But with about three minutes left in regulation, Verne Lundquist said it best.

“If the President of the United States decides to leave, the game is officially over.”

To MBJ and the rest of Blue Devil nation, keep your head up, get one of these and a sack of these and tell Lance Thomas to bring his green hat on Senior Night.

Peep the two handed, behind the head slam from Chi-Town’s finest. Mama, there goes that man!