Thorpesaurous
03-17-2014, 10:23 AM
So as many of you know, I've been going to the Big East tournament for nearly 25 years now. 1990 was my first year, as a precocious middle schooler. And frankly every year the rush never wears off. The weather changing, the long train rides, the opulant drinking and eating, it's coinciding with St. Pats on Saturday for the title game so regularly. It hasn't just been something I do, but rather something that's become a part of me. Aquaintences will see a game on and wonder where I'm sitting.
So this year, I was a bit on the fence. As the documentary last night was pointing out, it isn't exactly what it used to be. There's an NCAA tournament group at The Garden the 28th and 29th, so I had been eyeing that as a possible replacement. I just wasn't keen on the idea of spending 1000 bucks to see Depaul play Seton Hall, or whatever other nonsense was gonna get thrown out there. But last minute a friend of mine, the guy who is a Georgetown Alum who has more money than he knows what to do with, and has the Bulls Season Tickets on the floor, calls me to ask if I need seats.
I hadn't seen him since last April. I blew out my achilles a week after being out in Chicago for a cancer fund raiser for his son. So it's been a while. I called my usual partner, and we knew B would get us great seats, so we both figured what the hell. Why break the streak when we're going to get great seats we probably won't pay for.
We wound up 4 rows behind press row. We were toward the baseline, about even with the FT line. This was for the four game Thursday Session.
We did our typical 8:30 train down. Skipped our usual drinking on the train because we're getting old. Replacing a depressent like alcohol with an upper like caffien really paid off as the day wore on. We made it to the Blarney Rock with time plenty of time to spare, and were able to enjoy breakfast.
We were in Section 12, which by all accounts was a spectacular seat, but when I got in, even I was surprised. It was fourth row behind the press table. So close, that the guys who re-did the Garden, had actually thought to put in a small replay screen on the inner part of the big jumbotron, to make seeing replays easier for the guys in that section, because it's just that close. The things you could hear, as far as the softness of the rim, the thud of the ball on the floor, and the sneakers squeaking, was something I have really only heard the last time I was with B at the Bulls game against The Nets that went three OTs last year. And then it was only from halftime on, as opposed to four games of this. I got to meet Erin Andrews, who is insanely tall, and while strikingly beautifull, not really my thing. And I got to shake hands with Gus, who sort of big timed me a bit. And also with Bill Raftery, who was every bit as cool as I'd expected him to be. Just a guy who flys all over the game to watch basketball, who eats and drinks in every city in the country. The seats also included access to The Delta Club, which is cut off from most of the arena. It was a super decked out bar. And a great spot to hang out between games or during halftimes.
The basketball was better than I expected, even though it wasn't perhaps at the level I've grown accustomed too. Three of the Thursday games were excellent. It opened with Seton Hall upsetting Villanova at the buzzer. Nova entered the game third in the country, and it took all of about 4 minutes to think they were a strong candidate for upset potential in the big tournament, weather they won the Big East or not. They were super small. They played at a tempo that bordered on out of control. And they were launching threes at a rate that would just kill them if they didn't fall. They didn't, and it did. We had bet on them laying 10 points, and even down 13, it didn't feel over. They just play so fast that it felt like they could make that up and build a 12 point lead of their own in just a few minutes if a few things dropped. But it's a terrible way to play to me.
The next game was a game that I had some interest in because Providence coach Ed Cooley is a guy I'd met a bunch while he coached at Fairfield, my alma mater. A really nice guy, and super smart basketball guy, he's a Providence native, and is inclined to say things like he wouldn't leave The Friars for Duke. They were playing a St. John's team I had seen in person Super Bowl Saturday whip up on Marquette in a what was really a rock fight. I had no faith in The Johnie's five man switching defense being able to overcome an inept offense that features not really a single basketball player. So we took Providence as a slight underdog, and came away incredibly impressed. Providence Went super big. They're 23 zone morphed into a 32, with 6-10 250 lb PF Batts pairing with the enormous 7+ Derosiers, who while not great, is a decent athlete who is willing to compete. With no ability to space, The Johnnies threw themselves at the middle of the zone, and came away with little throughout.
The break took us to Nik and Stefs for a 500 dollar dinner before the tip between the four of us. A chance to really catch up. B's brother was with us, and it's always fun when everyone is as easy to talk to as we all were. My friend Kevin was never that close with B, but even he was a little surprised at how easy every one was. Four guys argueing over the check is always a good sign, and B's brother wound up picking it up, which was incredibly and unnecessarily generous.
Game three we skipped gambling on. It was an awfull Depaul team vs. Creighton, but the number was a huge 16.5. Anyone who knows college basketball knows a blowout could be 10 points, so I didn't want to lay that much. It was my first experience seeing Doug McDermott live, and was incredibly impressed. This isn't just a shooter. He's much bigger than I expected. I believe he's listed at 6-8, and I was expecting 6-6, but I would say he appeared closer to 6-10. And his movement skills were remarkable. He's not explosive or fast, but he's incredibly smooth and balanced. He ran off curls a ton, and his ability to change direction coming off them was noticable. And he took the ball in transition more than once. Dropping off one handed touch passes, and once throwing a cross court lefty skip pass right off the bounce directly in front of us, that I'm sure didn't look like much on TV, but was no small deal seeing it. The kid can flat out play. He competes on the boards. His post game is totally playable. He'll throw that Dirk knee up shot at you in a flash. And the ball handling was better than I expected. And the jumper is as pure as I'd imagined. You could tell especially in warm ups, when the misses came off so incredibly soft. He set a Big East first half record with 27, and just seemed like he could do whatever he wanted. They won and covered, although there were moments I was thrilled I didn't bet on them. You don't want to be up 20 all game and win by 15 because the last five minutes didn't matter and you choked up a cover.
The team was good but not great. They have a bunch of smart guys. But they never got to the free throw line. Way to dependent on face up shots. But McDermott will be a really good pro. He's a much better player than Kyle Korver. I had thrown out Matt Harpring somewhere, but he's much better than that. If he goes 12, he'll outplay three or four of the guys taken ahead of him. The jumper will keep him from busting, and gun to my head right now, I'd take him over Marcus Smart. Won't happen, but he's just got so much fitt-ability, I think he's more plug and play than a guy who I'm not sure how good he is without the ball, and not sure he's good enough I want to build my franchise around him having it. McDermott was bad defensively. And not because he couldn't move his feet or anything. He just noticably got lost more than once, which is a little scary for a guy that instinctive, but I'd rather try to drill that out of him. More than once he had his back facing up court, which is just like an amatuerish mistake. Lost his guy behind him a few times. Just real problems unrelated to his limited athleticism, and when the athleticism is limited, you can't have those mistakes.
The final game was Marquette Xavier. Simaj Christon was another guy I wanted to see, and he didn't disappoint either. A bit out of control at times, but clearly a pro. And Xavier put some really good big athletes on the floor. We bet on that game too with Xavier inexplicably getting a point from the Marquette team, who while really tough, I saw lose the rock throwing contest to St. Johns a month ago. After making the bet, I realized I didn't know nearly enough about Xavier, but I was more betting against Marquette.
We stayed the full four. Casually walked back to Grand Central. Stopped for a drink at a bar we found that Super Bowl Saturday near the trains. Saw a fight, and caught the last train to Clarksville. It was a truely great day. I gave my Friday seats, which weren't quite as good, to a girl I'd been talking to a few weeks who's a Providence Alum (which sub conciously may have impacted my gambling choices). She goes to the city every year for St. Pats anyway, so she was gonna be around.
So this year, I was a bit on the fence. As the documentary last night was pointing out, it isn't exactly what it used to be. There's an NCAA tournament group at The Garden the 28th and 29th, so I had been eyeing that as a possible replacement. I just wasn't keen on the idea of spending 1000 bucks to see Depaul play Seton Hall, or whatever other nonsense was gonna get thrown out there. But last minute a friend of mine, the guy who is a Georgetown Alum who has more money than he knows what to do with, and has the Bulls Season Tickets on the floor, calls me to ask if I need seats.
I hadn't seen him since last April. I blew out my achilles a week after being out in Chicago for a cancer fund raiser for his son. So it's been a while. I called my usual partner, and we knew B would get us great seats, so we both figured what the hell. Why break the streak when we're going to get great seats we probably won't pay for.
We wound up 4 rows behind press row. We were toward the baseline, about even with the FT line. This was for the four game Thursday Session.
We did our typical 8:30 train down. Skipped our usual drinking on the train because we're getting old. Replacing a depressent like alcohol with an upper like caffien really paid off as the day wore on. We made it to the Blarney Rock with time plenty of time to spare, and were able to enjoy breakfast.
We were in Section 12, which by all accounts was a spectacular seat, but when I got in, even I was surprised. It was fourth row behind the press table. So close, that the guys who re-did the Garden, had actually thought to put in a small replay screen on the inner part of the big jumbotron, to make seeing replays easier for the guys in that section, because it's just that close. The things you could hear, as far as the softness of the rim, the thud of the ball on the floor, and the sneakers squeaking, was something I have really only heard the last time I was with B at the Bulls game against The Nets that went three OTs last year. And then it was only from halftime on, as opposed to four games of this. I got to meet Erin Andrews, who is insanely tall, and while strikingly beautifull, not really my thing. And I got to shake hands with Gus, who sort of big timed me a bit. And also with Bill Raftery, who was every bit as cool as I'd expected him to be. Just a guy who flys all over the game to watch basketball, who eats and drinks in every city in the country. The seats also included access to The Delta Club, which is cut off from most of the arena. It was a super decked out bar. And a great spot to hang out between games or during halftimes.
The basketball was better than I expected, even though it wasn't perhaps at the level I've grown accustomed too. Three of the Thursday games were excellent. It opened with Seton Hall upsetting Villanova at the buzzer. Nova entered the game third in the country, and it took all of about 4 minutes to think they were a strong candidate for upset potential in the big tournament, weather they won the Big East or not. They were super small. They played at a tempo that bordered on out of control. And they were launching threes at a rate that would just kill them if they didn't fall. They didn't, and it did. We had bet on them laying 10 points, and even down 13, it didn't feel over. They just play so fast that it felt like they could make that up and build a 12 point lead of their own in just a few minutes if a few things dropped. But it's a terrible way to play to me.
The next game was a game that I had some interest in because Providence coach Ed Cooley is a guy I'd met a bunch while he coached at Fairfield, my alma mater. A really nice guy, and super smart basketball guy, he's a Providence native, and is inclined to say things like he wouldn't leave The Friars for Duke. They were playing a St. John's team I had seen in person Super Bowl Saturday whip up on Marquette in a what was really a rock fight. I had no faith in The Johnie's five man switching defense being able to overcome an inept offense that features not really a single basketball player. So we took Providence as a slight underdog, and came away incredibly impressed. Providence Went super big. They're 23 zone morphed into a 32, with 6-10 250 lb PF Batts pairing with the enormous 7+ Derosiers, who while not great, is a decent athlete who is willing to compete. With no ability to space, The Johnnies threw themselves at the middle of the zone, and came away with little throughout.
The break took us to Nik and Stefs for a 500 dollar dinner before the tip between the four of us. A chance to really catch up. B's brother was with us, and it's always fun when everyone is as easy to talk to as we all were. My friend Kevin was never that close with B, but even he was a little surprised at how easy every one was. Four guys argueing over the check is always a good sign, and B's brother wound up picking it up, which was incredibly and unnecessarily generous.
Game three we skipped gambling on. It was an awfull Depaul team vs. Creighton, but the number was a huge 16.5. Anyone who knows college basketball knows a blowout could be 10 points, so I didn't want to lay that much. It was my first experience seeing Doug McDermott live, and was incredibly impressed. This isn't just a shooter. He's much bigger than I expected. I believe he's listed at 6-8, and I was expecting 6-6, but I would say he appeared closer to 6-10. And his movement skills were remarkable. He's not explosive or fast, but he's incredibly smooth and balanced. He ran off curls a ton, and his ability to change direction coming off them was noticable. And he took the ball in transition more than once. Dropping off one handed touch passes, and once throwing a cross court lefty skip pass right off the bounce directly in front of us, that I'm sure didn't look like much on TV, but was no small deal seeing it. The kid can flat out play. He competes on the boards. His post game is totally playable. He'll throw that Dirk knee up shot at you in a flash. And the ball handling was better than I expected. And the jumper is as pure as I'd imagined. You could tell especially in warm ups, when the misses came off so incredibly soft. He set a Big East first half record with 27, and just seemed like he could do whatever he wanted. They won and covered, although there were moments I was thrilled I didn't bet on them. You don't want to be up 20 all game and win by 15 because the last five minutes didn't matter and you choked up a cover.
The team was good but not great. They have a bunch of smart guys. But they never got to the free throw line. Way to dependent on face up shots. But McDermott will be a really good pro. He's a much better player than Kyle Korver. I had thrown out Matt Harpring somewhere, but he's much better than that. If he goes 12, he'll outplay three or four of the guys taken ahead of him. The jumper will keep him from busting, and gun to my head right now, I'd take him over Marcus Smart. Won't happen, but he's just got so much fitt-ability, I think he's more plug and play than a guy who I'm not sure how good he is without the ball, and not sure he's good enough I want to build my franchise around him having it. McDermott was bad defensively. And not because he couldn't move his feet or anything. He just noticably got lost more than once, which is a little scary for a guy that instinctive, but I'd rather try to drill that out of him. More than once he had his back facing up court, which is just like an amatuerish mistake. Lost his guy behind him a few times. Just real problems unrelated to his limited athleticism, and when the athleticism is limited, you can't have those mistakes.
The final game was Marquette Xavier. Simaj Christon was another guy I wanted to see, and he didn't disappoint either. A bit out of control at times, but clearly a pro. And Xavier put some really good big athletes on the floor. We bet on that game too with Xavier inexplicably getting a point from the Marquette team, who while really tough, I saw lose the rock throwing contest to St. Johns a month ago. After making the bet, I realized I didn't know nearly enough about Xavier, but I was more betting against Marquette.
We stayed the full four. Casually walked back to Grand Central. Stopped for a drink at a bar we found that Super Bowl Saturday near the trains. Saw a fight, and caught the last train to Clarksville. It was a truely great day. I gave my Friday seats, which weren't quite as good, to a girl I'd been talking to a few weeks who's a Providence Alum (which sub conciously may have impacted my gambling choices). She goes to the city every year for St. Pats anyway, so she was gonna be around.