Thorpesaurous
03-16-2015, 10:42 AM
RD 1
As many of you know, I've been going to The Big East tournament for 25 years now. It's an annual pilgrimage that has become pretty much the closest thing to a vacation as I'm going to take. And it's my favorite thing I do every year, even when those years include other great things.
Last year saw the real dismantling of the conference, and there was a sense we wouldn't be going. But a friend of mine who's a Georgetown alum got me killer seats, so we went, and we got to see McDermott up close.
This year we then decided perhaps we'd call it quits, but MSG contacted us via email with a great ticket promotion for our years of support (we usually see a few other college games there too). 300 bucks got us an upper level seat, smack at mid court, to every game. My buddy and I split 1200 bucks and had a box of four for the whole thing. Wednesday night my buddy gave them to his employee's. Thursday we went in with his grown cousin and cousin-in-law. Friday I took in my 18 year old cousin and his friend. And Saturday we went in for the title game with his two sons, 9 and 7, whom we coach.
Thursday opened with Nova beating Marquette. Marquette was overmatched, but hung a bit. Nova was laying 14 points, and we took a taste on them just to get into the groove, and they stayed there for a while, then just ran and hid. Nova is an interesting team, because the number just doesn't seem to mean anything. They're going to play fast. They're going to come out and defend you. They're going to push the tempo and get up threes. They're going to do this regardless of the time and score. They're running plethora of bodies out there on the perimeter. Some are better than others. Some have slightly different skills, but basically it's gonna be 4 perimeter-ish players out there at once, and they're going to get into you. The difference this year is their center, Dan Ochefu, who is a 6-10 or so physical presence who moves all over the court like a shark. He contests shots when the perimeter guys get beat going for steals. He goes after every rebound. He defends the other teams best post threat. He runs the floor end to end hard occupying defenders on every outlet. He sets hard screens and dives to the hoop sucking up help defenders on the way. And he lurches around the baseline ready to grab any drop off or lob pass from a penetrating perimeter guy, and ready to attack the offensive glass on every shot. The problem is he's the only guy on the team like that. Should he get into foul trouble, or on the occasions he's overmatched, they need to shoot lights out. Their best perimeter player is supposed to be Ryan "Archie" Arcidiacano. A tough PG with some decent size and killer jumper, who won conference PotY. But he didn't play well all tournament, and it didn't matter. Ochefu would matter. And frankly I'd say Jayvaughn Pinkston and Darrun Hilliard would matter more, since as 6-7 and 6-6 wings, they provide Ochefu with the most help with dirty work while also being the best finishers at the rim. Tyler Ennis' older brother is the back up PG, and he lit it up a few times replacing Archie. I'm not sure there's a pro on this team. Both Pinkston and Hilliard could be 3/D guys at the next level, but so could another 50 guys in the NCAA right now. But beyond that no one stands out. Nova doesn't lose a ton next year (Only Hilliard and Pinkston, both of whom are excellent, but play a replacable position, and are already being subbed a ton), and has an all American big coming in who can maybe help Ochefu. I expect them to excellent next year as well.
The next game was the one I liked most from a gambling perspective. Providence was getting a point in a half from a St. John's team that is usually looked at as a home team in The Garden. But the truth is their crowd just isn't a that big of a deal. I'd say the Providence fans travelled better. Providence was the four seed, but by my estimation they were no worse than the second best team in the conference. I'd consider them a sleeper in NCAA. Their best player is someone I have some history with for full disclosure. Kris Dunn is a 6-3 PG from New London Connecticut. I saw him while he was in HS a bunch of times. I shot around with him once before a HS Christmas tournament. Met his father. They also have a Freshman big who was a top 20 recruit from Fairfield Prep in CT. Pascal Chuckwu is razor thin, but a legit 7-2 with a wingspan that is longer than that, and he can really move. He has a great motor, but his skills are iffy. And coach Ed Cooley is a guy I've met several times, and is an excellent basketball guy. So this is a team I root for regardless. But in this case they're really good. I made a ton of money on this game, and it was never really in doubt.
Dunn, a Soph, is the best player in conference. Co-league MVP with Archie, and DPotY to boot. The team runs a ton of high pick and pop with 7 foot 250 lb Carson Derosiers. And fills it's wings with two really good old NBA style scoring wings, Sr. LeDontae Henton, and Jr. Tyler Harris, who's the brother of soon to be paid NBA player Tobias Harris from Orlando. Both guys are catch and shoot, jab series, mid post types. Henton I'd say is a little better, albeit a little smaller. Dunn is a legit monster. He's been moving up draft boards for the past several weeks. And I sense he'll move further. He missed last season with a shoulder injury. But lately his jumper is starting to come back around. His ability to separate with his step back is at a pro level. He finishes with both hands around the hoop. He's playing in a pro style offense with tons of turning the corner. When Dunn comes out the offense shifts drastically. Both wing guys get turns running the offense through the mid post. The team isn't terribly deep. Chuckwu is pretty much the only reserve who sees significant minutes. They also have a Frosh PF named Ben Bentil. He's a physical specimen. He's capable of knocking down jumpers. And he's a beast on the glass. He got double doubles in both games I saw him. But his hands are iffy, and he made a couple bad decisions at terrible times. He has a chance to get better.
Intermission I the four of us got six people's worth of dry aged porter house. It was spectacular as usual, and as much a part of this trip as the basketball. The guys who came with us were first timers to the tournament, and drank too much. They left after the third game.
Game three was a not so great Georgetown two seed vs a Creighton team that has me wondering if Greg McDermette has ever coached a competent team that didn't include his son. GT was laying 7 points, and I was running hot, and decided to lay pretty heavy on the Hoyas. It didn't go over well.
The Hoya Princeton offense is gorgeous when it works. But a disciplined defense just makes it look stiff. Guys running away from the ball backcutting, but no one biting. There's no creativity. It was rough to watch. Fat Josh Smith is a really skilled guy, but he gets so gassed. And is so flat footed that he's just not efficient around the hoop even though he's getting good shots. Shooting PG Dantae Smith-Rivera looked awfull, but I looked up and he had 25 and more or less won the game for them. Isaac Copeland is an end changing PF. LJ Peak is solid wing. Both started. But the one I liked most was Tre Campbell. He didn't play as much as I would've liked. He played great D, and pushed the issue on offense, which is probably why he didn't play more, but man did they need it.
The final game I was still up a bit of money, so I threw it on Xavier +1.5 against Butler. I've been fond of X for a few years. They have a goofy fat white center named Stainbrook, who a little like Georgetown's Smith is much better than he looks. But he plays a more team oriented game. He's a great passer. He plays with more intensity. And he's a great talker on D. Jalen Reynolds and James Farr are both big athletes. And tiny PG Dee Davis really pushes the ball. They fill things out with a deep group of athletic wings, but none of whom can truly space the floor. My fondness for X stems from their willingness to do all sorts of weird things. Offensively they rely a lot on Stainbrook's passing and Davis' penetration. But defensively they run all types of stuff. The most interesting is a weird 1-3-1 with Stainbrook on the baseline. Typically the 131 has a bottom that can get to the corners. But they ask their wings to do more work. And then they even more uniquely push their center up to point to defend the second pass out of the wing against it. It takes advantave of Farr and Reynold's athleticism. And it hides Stainbrook. It's truly unique. And you can tell they came up with because it was the best way to keep Stainbrook on the floor with either Farr or Reynolds, since they were certainly in their top five. I love that type of outside the box coaching.
Butler has a few shooters as to be expected. An undersized center named Chrabascz played really well. And Barlow can really shoot it. But they're not great.
We stayed late because my buddy took X heavy. He wound up a lot of money. I wound up a bit. We bar bounced for a few hours before hitting the 207 train home. It was about 4 before I got to bed. The next morning we coached his kids game, then I head back for Round 2 with my 18 year old cousin and his buddy.
As many of you know, I've been going to The Big East tournament for 25 years now. It's an annual pilgrimage that has become pretty much the closest thing to a vacation as I'm going to take. And it's my favorite thing I do every year, even when those years include other great things.
Last year saw the real dismantling of the conference, and there was a sense we wouldn't be going. But a friend of mine who's a Georgetown alum got me killer seats, so we went, and we got to see McDermott up close.
This year we then decided perhaps we'd call it quits, but MSG contacted us via email with a great ticket promotion for our years of support (we usually see a few other college games there too). 300 bucks got us an upper level seat, smack at mid court, to every game. My buddy and I split 1200 bucks and had a box of four for the whole thing. Wednesday night my buddy gave them to his employee's. Thursday we went in with his grown cousin and cousin-in-law. Friday I took in my 18 year old cousin and his friend. And Saturday we went in for the title game with his two sons, 9 and 7, whom we coach.
Thursday opened with Nova beating Marquette. Marquette was overmatched, but hung a bit. Nova was laying 14 points, and we took a taste on them just to get into the groove, and they stayed there for a while, then just ran and hid. Nova is an interesting team, because the number just doesn't seem to mean anything. They're going to play fast. They're going to come out and defend you. They're going to push the tempo and get up threes. They're going to do this regardless of the time and score. They're running plethora of bodies out there on the perimeter. Some are better than others. Some have slightly different skills, but basically it's gonna be 4 perimeter-ish players out there at once, and they're going to get into you. The difference this year is their center, Dan Ochefu, who is a 6-10 or so physical presence who moves all over the court like a shark. He contests shots when the perimeter guys get beat going for steals. He goes after every rebound. He defends the other teams best post threat. He runs the floor end to end hard occupying defenders on every outlet. He sets hard screens and dives to the hoop sucking up help defenders on the way. And he lurches around the baseline ready to grab any drop off or lob pass from a penetrating perimeter guy, and ready to attack the offensive glass on every shot. The problem is he's the only guy on the team like that. Should he get into foul trouble, or on the occasions he's overmatched, they need to shoot lights out. Their best perimeter player is supposed to be Ryan "Archie" Arcidiacano. A tough PG with some decent size and killer jumper, who won conference PotY. But he didn't play well all tournament, and it didn't matter. Ochefu would matter. And frankly I'd say Jayvaughn Pinkston and Darrun Hilliard would matter more, since as 6-7 and 6-6 wings, they provide Ochefu with the most help with dirty work while also being the best finishers at the rim. Tyler Ennis' older brother is the back up PG, and he lit it up a few times replacing Archie. I'm not sure there's a pro on this team. Both Pinkston and Hilliard could be 3/D guys at the next level, but so could another 50 guys in the NCAA right now. But beyond that no one stands out. Nova doesn't lose a ton next year (Only Hilliard and Pinkston, both of whom are excellent, but play a replacable position, and are already being subbed a ton), and has an all American big coming in who can maybe help Ochefu. I expect them to excellent next year as well.
The next game was the one I liked most from a gambling perspective. Providence was getting a point in a half from a St. John's team that is usually looked at as a home team in The Garden. But the truth is their crowd just isn't a that big of a deal. I'd say the Providence fans travelled better. Providence was the four seed, but by my estimation they were no worse than the second best team in the conference. I'd consider them a sleeper in NCAA. Their best player is someone I have some history with for full disclosure. Kris Dunn is a 6-3 PG from New London Connecticut. I saw him while he was in HS a bunch of times. I shot around with him once before a HS Christmas tournament. Met his father. They also have a Freshman big who was a top 20 recruit from Fairfield Prep in CT. Pascal Chuckwu is razor thin, but a legit 7-2 with a wingspan that is longer than that, and he can really move. He has a great motor, but his skills are iffy. And coach Ed Cooley is a guy I've met several times, and is an excellent basketball guy. So this is a team I root for regardless. But in this case they're really good. I made a ton of money on this game, and it was never really in doubt.
Dunn, a Soph, is the best player in conference. Co-league MVP with Archie, and DPotY to boot. The team runs a ton of high pick and pop with 7 foot 250 lb Carson Derosiers. And fills it's wings with two really good old NBA style scoring wings, Sr. LeDontae Henton, and Jr. Tyler Harris, who's the brother of soon to be paid NBA player Tobias Harris from Orlando. Both guys are catch and shoot, jab series, mid post types. Henton I'd say is a little better, albeit a little smaller. Dunn is a legit monster. He's been moving up draft boards for the past several weeks. And I sense he'll move further. He missed last season with a shoulder injury. But lately his jumper is starting to come back around. His ability to separate with his step back is at a pro level. He finishes with both hands around the hoop. He's playing in a pro style offense with tons of turning the corner. When Dunn comes out the offense shifts drastically. Both wing guys get turns running the offense through the mid post. The team isn't terribly deep. Chuckwu is pretty much the only reserve who sees significant minutes. They also have a Frosh PF named Ben Bentil. He's a physical specimen. He's capable of knocking down jumpers. And he's a beast on the glass. He got double doubles in both games I saw him. But his hands are iffy, and he made a couple bad decisions at terrible times. He has a chance to get better.
Intermission I the four of us got six people's worth of dry aged porter house. It was spectacular as usual, and as much a part of this trip as the basketball. The guys who came with us were first timers to the tournament, and drank too much. They left after the third game.
Game three was a not so great Georgetown two seed vs a Creighton team that has me wondering if Greg McDermette has ever coached a competent team that didn't include his son. GT was laying 7 points, and I was running hot, and decided to lay pretty heavy on the Hoyas. It didn't go over well.
The Hoya Princeton offense is gorgeous when it works. But a disciplined defense just makes it look stiff. Guys running away from the ball backcutting, but no one biting. There's no creativity. It was rough to watch. Fat Josh Smith is a really skilled guy, but he gets so gassed. And is so flat footed that he's just not efficient around the hoop even though he's getting good shots. Shooting PG Dantae Smith-Rivera looked awfull, but I looked up and he had 25 and more or less won the game for them. Isaac Copeland is an end changing PF. LJ Peak is solid wing. Both started. But the one I liked most was Tre Campbell. He didn't play as much as I would've liked. He played great D, and pushed the issue on offense, which is probably why he didn't play more, but man did they need it.
The final game I was still up a bit of money, so I threw it on Xavier +1.5 against Butler. I've been fond of X for a few years. They have a goofy fat white center named Stainbrook, who a little like Georgetown's Smith is much better than he looks. But he plays a more team oriented game. He's a great passer. He plays with more intensity. And he's a great talker on D. Jalen Reynolds and James Farr are both big athletes. And tiny PG Dee Davis really pushes the ball. They fill things out with a deep group of athletic wings, but none of whom can truly space the floor. My fondness for X stems from their willingness to do all sorts of weird things. Offensively they rely a lot on Stainbrook's passing and Davis' penetration. But defensively they run all types of stuff. The most interesting is a weird 1-3-1 with Stainbrook on the baseline. Typically the 131 has a bottom that can get to the corners. But they ask their wings to do more work. And then they even more uniquely push their center up to point to defend the second pass out of the wing against it. It takes advantave of Farr and Reynold's athleticism. And it hides Stainbrook. It's truly unique. And you can tell they came up with because it was the best way to keep Stainbrook on the floor with either Farr or Reynolds, since they were certainly in their top five. I love that type of outside the box coaching.
Butler has a few shooters as to be expected. An undersized center named Chrabascz played really well. And Barlow can really shoot it. But they're not great.
We stayed late because my buddy took X heavy. He wound up a lot of money. I wound up a bit. We bar bounced for a few hours before hitting the 207 train home. It was about 4 before I got to bed. The next morning we coached his kids game, then I head back for Round 2 with my 18 year old cousin and his buddy.