Friday, March 16, 2007

Don’t MARK my words, or “FEW, I did eat my words!”

A quick examination of the things “I knew” yesterday... But, before I begin I want to point out that I spent most of the game catching up with an old friend who was in Chicago on Spring Break. So, while I was watching the game... I might not have taken it all in with the same expertise that I usually do She’s on IU’s Volleyball team again this year and gave me an inside scoop, so look for in depth coverage coming up soon!

1. D.J. White will do most of his scoring on free throws and offensive rebounding. But the ball will not be fed to him enough and I will be screaming to the television for him to be more involved.

WRONG

DJ did get his first and only bucket of the first half on an offensive rebound. However, this basket plus 4 ft accounts for 6 of 16 points... so it wasn’t most of his scoring.

2. A.J. Ratliff will drill his first three-point attempt and then get into foul trouble.

WRONG

AJ did indeed come on to the floor and immediately drill a three pointer that was going in all the way. However, his somewhat sloppy and “fuckup” play limited his minutes and he only had 2 fouls.

3. If Xavier Keeling gets many minutes IU will be in trouble. Not that he is bad... but it means key members are in foul trouble.

RIGHT? More of a Does Not Apply

IU was never in major trouble last night, and Keeling only got 1 minute.

4. If Armon Basset can have his minutes limited (because Suhr, Ratliff, Wilmont, and a little Shaw should each get a few more minutes imo) he'll be much more effective down the stretch.

I DUNNO

Basset played 38 minutes, the most of any Hoosier. So... would he have been more effective in the end had Suhr played a little? Joey Shaw did get 5 minutes of playing time... the first appearance for the weird looking dude in a while... and by the way... I mean weird in a good way... I love Joey Shaw. Perhaps the most important thing to note is that Suhr, by virtue of not logging a minute (remember when he played 35 minutes against Duke?), was very well rested and able to celebrate and dance and look totally short and absurd in just the right way... that was key down the stretch.

5. Ben Allen sucks. He will never be good.

WRONG WRONG WRONG

Ben Allen made an appearance in the first half and logged one minute. It may not have seemed like much. But, look again and reconsider. Allen grabbed 1 rebound without missing a single shot. When projected over 40 minutes that makes 40 rebounds in one game!!! Maybe he should get more playing time. My math may be shotty, but I think I’m somewhere in the ballpark. Further examination shows that Ben Allen may even be worth an NBA contract. 48 minutes in a game? Well, that’s 48 rebounds. Rodman had nothing on that.

6. Rod Wilmont will score less than 5 points. Or he will score more than 29 points.

WRONG

Rod scored 22. But, in a way I was right. He scored almost all of them in the first half.

7. If IU wins tonight they will beat UCLA.

WE’LL FIND OUT SATURDAY

I watched UCLA a few times this year, but I really feel that the Hoosiers match up well with them. It’s going to be a great game.

8. Watching Kellen's tivo'd Real World episode after the game will help me get over a bad loss.

DIDN’T NEED TO

But, I’m guessing that Brooke is gonna say something bitchy. And, I hope not to watch it Saturday night. Then we can have a 2fer on next Wednesday night.

9. ok... fuck it... I'm gonna say this...
Hoosiers lose by 8 pts. That's my prediction... and I know nothing about Gonzaga this year... so that's why I feel dumb even weighing in at all.

I hope I eat my words tomorrow.

WORDS ARE EATEN AND I AM WRONG


For those of you keeping score at home, that’s 5 Wrongs, 1 Right?, 1 Didn’t need to, 1 TBD and 1 I Dunno.

Not bad, huh?

Other notes from my diary on the game:

Lance Stemler still can’t even make his shot look like its going to go halfway down.... its awful... put some arch on that 3... but he’s still great in loose ball situations and every time he loses the ball he gets it right back... he got 30 minutes last night while Mike White only got 6... a message from Sampson?? I’m not sure, but I think Sampson likes one over the other depending on the situation... they never seem to split time evenly...

Earl Calloway was too fast for his own good again last night... he needs to get his handles under control before matching up against UCLA’s guards...

Watching the game on Sacramento’s home floor made me think a lot of Mitch Richmond... just kidding... actually it was watching Gonzaga’s tall white goofy centers on Sacramento’s home floor that reminded me of watching Brad Miller play for Purdue.... I NEVER would have assumed he’d one day become an NBA all-star... the world is fucked up.

I have a really strange feeling that this year’s team will take me to the heavenly state that I reached as a college Soph in 2001 against Duke...

There you go... I just jinxed it.

Alright... I’m out to turn some tricks, flip the switch, and do my laundry. Keep it undefeated, Big 10!