Saturday Basketball Stuff!!!!!

Lots of stuff happening all over the basketball community. People are talking HS bball anticipating great match ups. Next weeks Oak Hill vs St. Benedict's game should be a great one!! I now think I will even venture down to the Hoop Scoop Event at SHU to check out the last games because the first two games seem nice but they are not as exciting for me. I bet those two will turn out to be the best games of the day so I better now get there early. Maybe stop by that Cluck You Chicken place for some wings on the way.

College Ball Saturday

OK how long will the honeymoon last for Gillespie (sp) at Kentucky? Those fans live and die with the Kentucky Wildcats. Losing by 19????? They must be going crazy in Lexington and all over the state!!! Speaking of the Kentucky Fans, they are so unique and different than what people think. I have spoken to 50 or so different die hard UK fans over the past 3 years in my travels. Most are just average everyday blue collar workers and many have never attended the university. They are hard working people who take pride in the basketball and overall sports program at Kentucky. They buy mobile homes to travel and follow their team. They use hard earned money to support the team and some even struggle getting the money together for the tickets. Of course they have the wealthy alums and fans who support the team. But the number who do not fall into this category is extremely large.

Poor NJIT! What have they gotten into? I hope the earned money for playing is worth it. They are win-less but have a good shot against Stony Brook Monday because besides Stony Brook just being decent, they do not seem to draw fans exceptionally well in the beautiful building they have on campus.

Local NYC Product Russell Robinson has completely changed his game from when he was attending Rice HS in NYC. At Rice he never met a shot he did not like. During his first year at Kansas he was moody and upset with playing time. Some one must have spoken to him because he made a complete 360 degree turn. He became A TEAM PLAYER!!! He seems to be the glue on a very good Kansas team despite only scoring 7 points in the last win. If he did this in HS he would not talk to anyone for days lolol. Maybe his OUTSTANDING DAD has gotten through to him. If you ever met this kids dad you would be extremely impressed!! Russell could sneak on to an NBA roster because he understands the role of a point guard and now loves to defend.

Does Marquette remind anyone of what St. Johns used to be? They play to packed houses at home and beat a tough Wisconsin team in a rivalry game at The Kohl Center in Madison Saturday. I know how hard that is because I have been to quite a few games in that building. Wisconsin remains a big time athletic program with a big time academic reputation. How much longer can Marquette hold on to TC is the big question in Wisconsin?

Arizona without Lute is like South Beach without Luke lol. Anyone know the Luke from South Beach? he is the guy that makes things exciting for alot of celebs and maybe a few U Miami recruits when they visit. Throws great parties I hear. But really, Lute will be missed because the interim guy, Kevin O'Neil is a great X and O guy but from what I hear hard to communicate with. JUST ONE TOUGH COOKIE!!

RI over Syracuse? WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! At Syracuse! What happened to the 37,000 at the Dome? Where is the home court advantage? Is RI really that good? Syracuse looked pretty good when I watched them early in the season. On my way to my home in Newport RI, I must stop at a RI game. Well I can go to a game at RI but I really do not have a home in Newport lololol. But the big home tours are great!!

NC State loses to East Carolina? I remember a buddy of mine, Larry Gilman, was the Head Coach of East Carolina. He came from San Francisco where he had recruited Bill Cartwright, Winfred Boynes, and James Hardy. Remind me to tell you folks about the recruitment of Winfred Boynes and Denny Crum one day lol. Anyway, they scheduled a game against Concord College, a small school in the West Virginia Conference, an NAIA league. The late great Frank Marino of 5 Star fame was his assistant and had saw Concord the year before in a game during his travels and said they would be an easy early win. When Larry came out to the court he watched in amazement as the Concord Players were jumping through the roof doing having a dunk exhibition in warm-ups. Larry was stunned and scared. When the game started Concord scored the first basket on an ally oop. The Concord player had his chin on the rim according to Larry. He turned to Frank Marino and said, "If we lose this game just catch the train back to NYC in the morning because I will send your clothes." They won by a few points in a hard fought game. I guess East Carolina was similar to Concord against NC State. What should have been an easy victory turned to defeat.

NC State has definitely been a disappointment to date. But as soon as Costner gets it together they will be better. It seems he has that sophomore jinx thing going. But he is too skilled not to shake it off and have a productive season.

I guess I was wrong about 7 wins in a row for Seton Hall University. But losing to Penn State in happy Valley is nothing to be ashamed of. Plus fans are starting to show up for Penn State Games again it seems. But If Penn State does not show do better this season...............

How long before Rick Majerus decides to retire again? I have the speech already written. "After thinking about this long and hard, I realize the game is a bit different from what it was when I last coached." than he will say "I have decided to step down and allow a person better qualified to assume the coaching position at St, Louis University." I really hope he sticks it out for a few years but his past history shows he might not have the patience. Especially looking at his loses already this season. HANG IN THERE RICK!!!

Is Dayton that good or Louisville that overrated? Or maybe Louisville is just young and inconsistent. But losing to Dayton at Louisville is almost unheard of. Its a new trend with the face of college basketball changing. Mid majors with good guards are here to play and compete.

Lastly. Is Lance Thomas and Brian Zoubek (sp), great HS players really happy at Duke? Sure its a great campus and great part of the country. Sure the fans are great. But most kids want to play!!!!! Hope it works out for them. I also hope current HS players watch closely and not make a mistake of attending a college that will continue to recruit over them year in and year out.