I haven't written in quite some time. No reason for the hiatus. However, I felt inspired to write a little today.
As I watched the Kansas Jayhawks mount an improbable comeback against the Memphis Tigers in the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship I had a lot of thoughts going through my head. The first was that this game was wildly entertaining. I haven't enjoyed a final game like that in quite some time. The second was that even though it was a fun game, it wasn't terribly well played. And, I had this thought way before the missed free throws. Looking at the shot chart at half time it was revealed that KU had scored exactly one basket that wasn't a layup or a dunk. How could that be? How could one of the best teams in the country make one jump shot in an entire half? The trend continued. Before Mario Chalmers of KU hit that memorable 3-pointer to tie the game in the waning seconds, Kansas had hit just a handful of jumpers. It seemed like both teams were comfortable driving blindly to the rim with the hopes of a defensive miscue or a put back. Anyway, I won't harp much more because it truly was a fun game to watch and because I was left with one feeling above all the rest. As Chris Douglas Roberts and Derek Rose were both bricking free throws that could have iced the game, I couldn't help but think of an interview John Calipari gave earlier in the year. He was talking about the new offense that he implemented this year. The image that is indelibly burned into my brain is of Calipari telling his interviewer his recruiting strategy. He mentioned that if you think that you're a nice player who can set picks and rebound that he has no use for you. He wants players that can dribble, shoot and above all, attack. The next question dealt with the free throw shooting woes of his team. A loose rendition of the quote with which he responds is that, "If I'm judging a recruit based on 25 different things, I put free throw shooting at 26." Well, do you think Coach Calipari might want to rethink that strategy?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I agree dood. The game was totally awesome. You should have seen nina getting into it. And as they were bricking the free throws I too was thinking about an interview I saw where Calipari was like "everyone is worried about our free throws except for me." but as good as the tournament was this year, I still think the NBA playoffs will be more exciting.
I wholeheartedly agree. The west is downright silly. I think its possible to witness 3 upsets in the first round. The rockets aren't beating anyone.
Post a Comment