Mad Dawgs March on
ATLANTA -- The two most pressing questions of the day now have answers.
No, Georgia basketball coach Dennis Felton doesn't have to worry about his job security anymore.
And, yes, the Bulldogs will be bound for the NCAA tournament for the first time in six years (OK, Georgia reached the tournament in 2002, but the NCAA later invalidated that appearance as part of probation) after becoming the third team in league history to win four Southeastern Conference tournament games in four days.
Uh, make that four games in three days. Or 120 minutes of basketball in a two-day stretch.
Anyway you want to parse it, the Bulldogs are in after outlasting Arkansas 66-57 Sunday at Alexander Memorial Coliseum. They'll play in the West regional, which seems like a cockamamie concept since their opener will be in Washington, D.C. The 14th-seeded Bulldogs (17-16) drew third-seeded Xavier (27-6).
So, you know what that means.
He's baaaaack.
Felton can quit sweating and Georgia athletic director Damon Evans can start listening to the fan who shouted at him from the stands during Sunday's post-game celebration at midcourt.
''Two-year extension!'' one fan yelled. "Three-year extension! Sign the contract, Damon. Now! We're watching you!''
Evans had a message in return: Chill out, dude.
‘‘He's going to be back,'' Evans said. ‘‘Of course he's going to be back. I told you guys you just have to sit back and wait until the end of the year.''
Showing posts with label College basketball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label College basketball. Show all posts
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Dawg tired, but still dribbling
ATLANTA -- The last time such a through-the-looking-glass example of surrealism followed a tornado, Dorothy wandered the Yellow Brick Road with a scarecrow, a tin man and a cowardly lion.
To borrow the words she shared with her faithful dog: ‘‘Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore.''
Georgia's stay in the Southeastern Conference basketball tournament has now reached the terrain of the abnormal and the paranormal. The Bulldogs now find themselves on another planet, a place of possibility where it's no longer laughable to spin blindly and hit a game-winning shot or beat a better opponent with three post players plagued by foul trouble and the senior floor leader unavailable for the final 7:18 minutes of regulation after fouling out.
Perhaps this final score shouldn't make eyes bulge out of their sockets given what happened earlier in the day, but tell me these numbers on the board at Alexander Memorial Coliseum don't elicit a double-take and a headshake.
Georgia 64, Mississippi State 60.
Between noon and midnight Saturday, the Bulldogs beat a potential NCAA tournament team in Kentucky and an NCAA lock in Mississippi State to reach their first SEC tournament championship game since 1997.
Still, you'd have to go back much farther in the history book to find such an unlikely and remarkable zeroes-to-heroes metamorphosis. In 1983, Georgia entered the SEC tournament as a No. 6 seed, but won the tournament and dribbled their way to the NCAA Final Four with the help of Terry Fair and Vern Fleming. This year's batch of Bulldogs had to negotiate an extra obstacle in order to reach Sunday's 3:30 p.m. championship game against Arkansas. When Georgia became the only No. 6 seed to win the tourney in 1983 in the days before conference expansion, it merely had to win three games since it received a first-round bye.
‘‘I can hardly describe how proud I am of our players,’’ Georgia coach Dennis Felton said. ‘‘We're also determined to come out and play with the same kind of conviction tomorrow.’’
Throughout the tournament, the Bulldogs have received pivotal plays from unlikely sources. Dave Bliss, the offensively-challenged senior center, banked in a game-winning shot in overtime in a first round game against Ole Miss. Freshman Zach Swansey, forced into late action against Kentucky after senior Sundiata Gaines fouled out, spun and hit a 3-pointer to make the difference in overtime against Kentucky Saturday afternoon. Against Mississippi State, Georgia received inspired play from 6-foot-10 center Albert Jackson (12 points, eight rebounds) and junior wing Corey Butler (8 points, 6 rebounds). Swansey also resurfaced as a leader rather than a last-second scorer, taking over the point when Gaines (20 points, 5 rebounds) fouled out with 7:18 to go.
Gaines sustained a hip injury after charging into a Mississippi State defender beneath the basket on his last foul. Felton said he didn't know whether Gaines' availability for the championship game would be in doubt.
After leading by as many as 11 points in the first half, Georgia was forced to come up with inventive ways to hang together given that Gaines, Bliss, Jackson and forward Jeremy Price were all saddled with second half foul trouble. Not to mention the fact that they were extremely fatigued after playing nearly 80 minutes in one day.
‘‘It was definitely a grind,’’ Bliss said. ‘‘I've probably played 120 games (in my career), but never two in a row. This team has really come together over the last few days.’’
The sum has definitely proven to be greater than the individual parts. Keep in mind that this team had lost 11 of 13 games heading into what was supposed to be a very short SEC tournament stay. With one more win, the Bulldogs will crash the NCAA tournament party by bum-rushing their way through the servant's entrance with four wins in four days.
‘‘My parents always say, ‘When you're at the bottom, you have no way to go but up,’’’ Butler said.
So they will play on, albeit with more sleep and more time to study their opponent than they had early Saturday morning. It would be understandable if the Bulldogs hit the wall and run out of fuel against Arkansas, but the potential rewards could prove to be rejuvenating -- for this team and this program as a whole.
‘‘I'm not really sure what motivation you need besides the automatic bid that's at the end of the fourth game,’’ Bliss said.
They're still following the basketball version of the Yellow Brick Road. Somewhere along the way, this team found what the scarecrow, the tin man and the lion lacked.
A brain, a heart and the courage to continue.
ATLANTA -- The last time such a through-the-looking-glass example of surrealism followed a tornado, Dorothy wandered the Yellow Brick Road with a scarecrow, a tin man and a cowardly lion.
To borrow the words she shared with her faithful dog: ‘‘Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore.''
Georgia's stay in the Southeastern Conference basketball tournament has now reached the terrain of the abnormal and the paranormal. The Bulldogs now find themselves on another planet, a place of possibility where it's no longer laughable to spin blindly and hit a game-winning shot or beat a better opponent with three post players plagued by foul trouble and the senior floor leader unavailable for the final 7:18 minutes of regulation after fouling out.
Perhaps this final score shouldn't make eyes bulge out of their sockets given what happened earlier in the day, but tell me these numbers on the board at Alexander Memorial Coliseum don't elicit a double-take and a headshake.
Georgia 64, Mississippi State 60.
Between noon and midnight Saturday, the Bulldogs beat a potential NCAA tournament team in Kentucky and an NCAA lock in Mississippi State to reach their first SEC tournament championship game since 1997.
Still, you'd have to go back much farther in the history book to find such an unlikely and remarkable zeroes-to-heroes metamorphosis. In 1983, Georgia entered the SEC tournament as a No. 6 seed, but won the tournament and dribbled their way to the NCAA Final Four with the help of Terry Fair and Vern Fleming. This year's batch of Bulldogs had to negotiate an extra obstacle in order to reach Sunday's 3:30 p.m. championship game against Arkansas. When Georgia became the only No. 6 seed to win the tourney in 1983 in the days before conference expansion, it merely had to win three games since it received a first-round bye.
‘‘I can hardly describe how proud I am of our players,’’ Georgia coach Dennis Felton said. ‘‘We're also determined to come out and play with the same kind of conviction tomorrow.’’
Throughout the tournament, the Bulldogs have received pivotal plays from unlikely sources. Dave Bliss, the offensively-challenged senior center, banked in a game-winning shot in overtime in a first round game against Ole Miss. Freshman Zach Swansey, forced into late action against Kentucky after senior Sundiata Gaines fouled out, spun and hit a 3-pointer to make the difference in overtime against Kentucky Saturday afternoon. Against Mississippi State, Georgia received inspired play from 6-foot-10 center Albert Jackson (12 points, eight rebounds) and junior wing Corey Butler (8 points, 6 rebounds). Swansey also resurfaced as a leader rather than a last-second scorer, taking over the point when Gaines (20 points, 5 rebounds) fouled out with 7:18 to go.
Gaines sustained a hip injury after charging into a Mississippi State defender beneath the basket on his last foul. Felton said he didn't know whether Gaines' availability for the championship game would be in doubt.
After leading by as many as 11 points in the first half, Georgia was forced to come up with inventive ways to hang together given that Gaines, Bliss, Jackson and forward Jeremy Price were all saddled with second half foul trouble. Not to mention the fact that they were extremely fatigued after playing nearly 80 minutes in one day.
‘‘It was definitely a grind,’’ Bliss said. ‘‘I've probably played 120 games (in my career), but never two in a row. This team has really come together over the last few days.’’
The sum has definitely proven to be greater than the individual parts. Keep in mind that this team had lost 11 of 13 games heading into what was supposed to be a very short SEC tournament stay. With one more win, the Bulldogs will crash the NCAA tournament party by bum-rushing their way through the servant's entrance with four wins in four days.
‘‘My parents always say, ‘When you're at the bottom, you have no way to go but up,’’’ Butler said.
So they will play on, albeit with more sleep and more time to study their opponent than they had early Saturday morning. It would be understandable if the Bulldogs hit the wall and run out of fuel against Arkansas, but the potential rewards could prove to be rejuvenating -- for this team and this program as a whole.
‘‘I'm not really sure what motivation you need besides the automatic bid that's at the end of the fourth game,’’ Bliss said.
They're still following the basketball version of the Yellow Brick Road. Somewhere along the way, this team found what the scarecrow, the tin man and the lion lacked.
A brain, a heart and the courage to continue.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Felton not feeling heat
ATLANTA -- If the Southeastern Conference tournament was supposed to represent a referendum on the future of Georgia basketball coach Dennis Felton, then the opening round merely served to muddy the issue.
A Georgia team that came to Atlanta with 11 losses in its last 13 games and nothing to play for put together an extraordinary effort to outlast Ole Miss 97-95 in overtime.
Center Dave Bliss, the least appealing offensive option at the end of the game, hit a 6-foot bank shot as the clock expired to send the Bulldogs (14-16) into Friday night’s second round matchup against Kentucky. In doing so, Bliss may have provided a temporary stay for Felton, who has yet to receive a vote of confidence from athletic director Damon Evans.
When asked after the game whether he felt Thursday night’s victory answered his critics, Felton was non-plussed.
"I didn't know I had any critics,'' Felton said. "They just haven't surfaced as far as I'm concerned. How could I possibly sit here and do Damon Evans' thinking for him? That's a question that's suited for Damon.''
Evans' decision will certainly be guided by Felton's overall body of work rather than what happens in Atlanta, but Thursday night should have been seen as a positive.
Georgia played with intensity that belied a team with a 4-12 conference record. The Bulldogs nearly fumbled the game away by committing fouls on last-ditch 3-point shots, once at the end of regulation and once at the end of overtime, enabling the Rebels to force ties. At the same time, they finally finished off a game against a quality opponent.
"For our team to actually finish up the game, which we hadn't done in a long time, I think that is real special,'' said point guard Sundiata Gaines, who converted 11-of-13 free throws and finished with 22 points.
ATLANTA -- If the Southeastern Conference tournament was supposed to represent a referendum on the future of Georgia basketball coach Dennis Felton, then the opening round merely served to muddy the issue.
A Georgia team that came to Atlanta with 11 losses in its last 13 games and nothing to play for put together an extraordinary effort to outlast Ole Miss 97-95 in overtime.
Center Dave Bliss, the least appealing offensive option at the end of the game, hit a 6-foot bank shot as the clock expired to send the Bulldogs (14-16) into Friday night’s second round matchup against Kentucky. In doing so, Bliss may have provided a temporary stay for Felton, who has yet to receive a vote of confidence from athletic director Damon Evans.
When asked after the game whether he felt Thursday night’s victory answered his critics, Felton was non-plussed.
"I didn't know I had any critics,'' Felton said. "They just haven't surfaced as far as I'm concerned. How could I possibly sit here and do Damon Evans' thinking for him? That's a question that's suited for Damon.''
Evans' decision will certainly be guided by Felton's overall body of work rather than what happens in Atlanta, but Thursday night should have been seen as a positive.
Georgia played with intensity that belied a team with a 4-12 conference record. The Bulldogs nearly fumbled the game away by committing fouls on last-ditch 3-point shots, once at the end of regulation and once at the end of overtime, enabling the Rebels to force ties. At the same time, they finally finished off a game against a quality opponent.
"For our team to actually finish up the game, which we hadn't done in a long time, I think that is real special,'' said point guard Sundiata Gaines, who converted 11-of-13 free throws and finished with 22 points.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
SEC hoop happenings
ATLANTA -- After witnessing the first half of the Auburn-Vanderbilt basketball game here at the Southeastern Conference tournament, I have come to the following conclusion.
Vanderbilt could play 2-against-5 and have a fighting chance to beat Auburn as long as their duo happened to be Shan Foster and A.J. Ogilvy. The pair combined for all but 14 of the Commodores' first-half points.
Your score at halftime: Vanderbilt 47, Auburn 36.
The Foster-Ogilvy stat line: A combined 13-of-16 from the field and 33 points.
Auburn fell into a hole early and lost its grip on the rope when senior forward Quan Prowell picked up his third foul of the half. Prowell, the former Jordan High School standout, scored eight points in just minutes of play.
Here's another startling stat: Auburn ended the first half with just seven rebounds. Sure, the Tigers are lacking size on the inside, but the low total may have more to do with slow-to-react defense. Vanderbilt buried 19-of-25 field goal attempts in the first half and Auburn has yet to figure out a solution to the Commodores' passing from the high post. Ogilvy, who went 7-for-7, scored most of his points on wide-open post baskets created by impeccable feeds from the high post.
ATLANTA -- After witnessing the first half of the Auburn-Vanderbilt basketball game here at the Southeastern Conference tournament, I have come to the following conclusion.
Vanderbilt could play 2-against-5 and have a fighting chance to beat Auburn as long as their duo happened to be Shan Foster and A.J. Ogilvy. The pair combined for all but 14 of the Commodores' first-half points.
Your score at halftime: Vanderbilt 47, Auburn 36.
The Foster-Ogilvy stat line: A combined 13-of-16 from the field and 33 points.
Auburn fell into a hole early and lost its grip on the rope when senior forward Quan Prowell picked up his third foul of the half. Prowell, the former Jordan High School standout, scored eight points in just minutes of play.
Here's another startling stat: Auburn ended the first half with just seven rebounds. Sure, the Tigers are lacking size on the inside, but the low total may have more to do with slow-to-react defense. Vanderbilt buried 19-of-25 field goal attempts in the first half and Auburn has yet to figure out a solution to the Commodores' passing from the high post. Ogilvy, who went 7-for-7, scored most of his points on wide-open post baskets created by impeccable feeds from the high post.
Friday, February 29, 2008
ESPN Bobs for ratings
Quick, somebody nail down the chairs on the SportsCenter set, institute a 10-second delay on anything Bobby Knight utters into his microphone and put the lawyers on stand-by just in case 10 seconds aren't enough.
If you thought ESPN's coverage of college basketball was loud enough already with Dick Vitale assaulting our ear drums, buy some ear plugs and develop an affinity for the mute button.
ESPN’s announcement Thursday that it has hired Knight, the former Texas Tech and Indiana basketball coach who has won more games than anyone else in Division I history, means the network will soon ratchet up its decibels and perk up the ears of the FCC. Knight will make his debut on March 12 and work through April 7, a time line that will include on-site appearances from the NCAA Final Four in San Antonio. He'll also be seen and heard on SportsCenter, ESPNEWS and ESPN Radio.
This promises to be an interesting merger seeing as how Knight now becomes a member of the very sort of profession he loathes. He once described the media as ''one or two steps above prostitution.'' Do you suppose Knight still holds that view now that he's thrown himself on the mattress back-first?
Part of me thinks he could be quite good in his capacity with the big E. He'll obviously be able to provide keen insight into the how and why of basketball tactics. Plus, as the anti-Kelvin Sampson, a man who by all appearances ran a sterile program in terms of NCAA compliance, he could provide an occasional voice of reason regarding the era of done-in-one star players and renegade coaches.
At the same time, this sets up as a boom-or-bust decision for the network. If Knight reinvents himself as something other than an egomaniacal and verbally abusive curmudgeon, it could be the start of a strong second career for him. If he continues to be an egomaniacal and verbally abusive curmudgeon, well, it will likely mean a ratings boost for certain ESPN programs that could offset the damage of FCC fines.
Consider some of his highlights from years past:
* 1985 -- Knight goes bonkers during a game against Purdue, slinging a chair across the court to protest a referee's call and drawing a one-game suspension.
* 1988 -- Knight infuriates women's groups and establishes himself as a misogynist when, during an interview with Connie Chung, he says: "I think that if rape is inevitable, relax and enjoy it." Knight's comments were in reference to a game in which he felt officials made poor calls against his team.
* 1993 -- Knight catches flak for allegedly kicking his son, Pat, during an Indiana game. He later claims he kicked a chair instead (but at least he didn't throw it this time).
* 1995 -- Knight goes ballistic on an NCAA tournament volunteer after a first-round loss to Missouri. The volunteer, Rance Pugmire, had been erroneously told that Knight would not be attending his post-game press conference and relayed the information to the media. What followed serves as a timeless example of Knight in full tantrum mode:
"You've only got two people that are going to tell you I'm not going to be here. One is our SID (sports information director), and the other is me. Who the hell told you I wasn't going to be here? I'd like to know. Do you have any idea who it was?...Who?...They were from Indiana, right?...No, they weren't from Indiana, and you didn't get it from anybody from Indiana, did you?...No, I—I'll handle this the way I want to handle it now that I'm here. You (EXPLETIVE) it up to begin with. Now just sit there or leave. I don't give (EXPLETIVE) what you do. Now back to the game.''
There are more nuggets, but I'm tired of typing and you undoubtedly get the idea.
Given those examples, you have to wonder why ESPN thought it was a good idea to put Knight in front of an open microphone and an unblinking camera.
Quick, somebody nail down the chairs on the SportsCenter set, institute a 10-second delay on anything Bobby Knight utters into his microphone and put the lawyers on stand-by just in case 10 seconds aren't enough.
If you thought ESPN's coverage of college basketball was loud enough already with Dick Vitale assaulting our ear drums, buy some ear plugs and develop an affinity for the mute button.
ESPN’s announcement Thursday that it has hired Knight, the former Texas Tech and Indiana basketball coach who has won more games than anyone else in Division I history, means the network will soon ratchet up its decibels and perk up the ears of the FCC. Knight will make his debut on March 12 and work through April 7, a time line that will include on-site appearances from the NCAA Final Four in San Antonio. He'll also be seen and heard on SportsCenter, ESPNEWS and ESPN Radio.
This promises to be an interesting merger seeing as how Knight now becomes a member of the very sort of profession he loathes. He once described the media as ''one or two steps above prostitution.'' Do you suppose Knight still holds that view now that he's thrown himself on the mattress back-first?
Part of me thinks he could be quite good in his capacity with the big E. He'll obviously be able to provide keen insight into the how and why of basketball tactics. Plus, as the anti-Kelvin Sampson, a man who by all appearances ran a sterile program in terms of NCAA compliance, he could provide an occasional voice of reason regarding the era of done-in-one star players and renegade coaches.
At the same time, this sets up as a boom-or-bust decision for the network. If Knight reinvents himself as something other than an egomaniacal and verbally abusive curmudgeon, it could be the start of a strong second career for him. If he continues to be an egomaniacal and verbally abusive curmudgeon, well, it will likely mean a ratings boost for certain ESPN programs that could offset the damage of FCC fines.
Consider some of his highlights from years past:
* 1985 -- Knight goes bonkers during a game against Purdue, slinging a chair across the court to protest a referee's call and drawing a one-game suspension.
* 1988 -- Knight infuriates women's groups and establishes himself as a misogynist when, during an interview with Connie Chung, he says: "I think that if rape is inevitable, relax and enjoy it." Knight's comments were in reference to a game in which he felt officials made poor calls against his team.
* 1993 -- Knight catches flak for allegedly kicking his son, Pat, during an Indiana game. He later claims he kicked a chair instead (but at least he didn't throw it this time).
* 1995 -- Knight goes ballistic on an NCAA tournament volunteer after a first-round loss to Missouri. The volunteer, Rance Pugmire, had been erroneously told that Knight would not be attending his post-game press conference and relayed the information to the media. What followed serves as a timeless example of Knight in full tantrum mode:
"You've only got two people that are going to tell you I'm not going to be here. One is our SID (sports information director), and the other is me. Who the hell told you I wasn't going to be here? I'd like to know. Do you have any idea who it was?...Who?...They were from Indiana, right?...No, they weren't from Indiana, and you didn't get it from anybody from Indiana, did you?...No, I—I'll handle this the way I want to handle it now that I'm here. You (EXPLETIVE) it up to begin with. Now just sit there or leave. I don't give (EXPLETIVE) what you do. Now back to the game.''
There are more nuggets, but I'm tired of typing and you undoubtedly get the idea.
Given those examples, you have to wonder why ESPN thought it was a good idea to put Knight in front of an open microphone and an unblinking camera.
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