Odds and Ends: I Totally Suck
Okay, you think you’re going to get back in the blogging habit and then you blink and you haven’t updated the site in 3 weeks. It’s the same old boring excuse (work . . . yadda, yadda), but it really is true. In fact I was supposed to be going to Chicago this afternoon for a sales presentation tomorrow, but the dumbasses we were supposed to meet got the dates confused and double-booked our time with another vendor. It sucks, because I’ve been busting ass on preparing a demo for them, but it’s good because it means that I won’t miss the men’s basketball game versus Georgia State tonight.
So a few other updates:
Blog Roll Updated: I finally switched In Dodd We Trust to Ramblin Racket. I mean it’s only been about 4 months since Jeff moved over to Sportsblog Nation.
I also included the fantastic Clemson blog – Danny Ford is God. They know the value of swear words and childish humor like yours truly, but actually update on a regular basis.
Grandson vs. Grandson: The prize is Lefty’s love!
Men’s Basketball Thoughts: Just a few more thoughts around men’s basketball before tonight’s GSU game. Thus far I’ve been to the Moorehouse exhibition, the Elon game, and the Jackson State game.
Good:
Offense, offense, offense – This team can score in bunches and from several different positions. When you’re starting 5 all score in double figures with a bench player scoring in double figures as well and one or two others threatening, then you definitely have some offensive weapons. This is also without Anthony Morrow at full strength, unfortunately I think this will take some time to happen.
Javaris Crittenton is very good – This was definitely what the team was missing last year, a true point guard with some competitive drive and actual toughness. I meant it when I wished Zam well after last season, but I am so happy that his departure made it easier to have Critty and then Mo Miller next season that I may make a mess at my desk. Critty sees the court well, he handles the ball well, he can drive to the basket and take some punishment (needs to work on finishing still, but he’s only a freshman), and he even goes hard on defense (it needs some work, but nothing time in a system won’t fix). These are all of the things that last year’s team was missing from the 1 spot in order to finish games.
. . . So is Thad Young – I think he’s still working on learning when to take over a game, but right now he’s doing a bit of everything and making differences on the court. As we start moving into ACC play and seeing more man to man defense, I see him stepping it up even more for us.
Peacock vs. Dickey is huge for this team – Starting Zach Peacock over Dickey and telling them that the starting 5 job is open for the season has thus far been huge for this team. Dickey is hustling in the games where it doesn’t really matter and we can at this point only extrapolate that he will keep hustling in the games were it really does matter. Peacock has a crazy motor and is playing very well himself right now. In fact, I feel like he gets pulled for breathers more than substandard play. Dickey, on the other hand, is been coming in and playing efficient basketball with solid scoring and rebounding.
Bad:
Free throws – The team is shooting an abysmal 60.8% from the charity stripe right now. It’s especially disconcerting because they are getting to the line a good bit each game. I don’t know if it’s nerves or what, but we have too many shooters on this team to be shooting that badly. It’s been a problem with Hewitt teams and I don’t know if it’s going to get better, but I can only hope that it does. Otherwise we’re going to see things like last year’s UGA game where they can just keep sending Jeremis to the line and let him clank away free points.
Defense (sort of) – The kids play hard, but it’s obvious the freshman have a lot to learn about communication with one another and keeping it up for a whole game. I imagine it’s hard to stay focused in a game with a 30 point lead, but I’d like to see it happen some more. Maui will really be the first indicator of where this team stands defensively. We have the length and the athleticism to be a problem for anybody in the country, but you can’t fall asleep out there or you will get burned.
Ugly:
Not much falls in the ugly category right now. Although Stefanie is not a big fan of the dance team’s gold spandex pants (though we both agree this about the top to bottom hottest dance team we’ve had in a while). They’re a little too Leslie Hall for her tastes.
So a few other updates:
Blog Roll Updated: I finally switched In Dodd We Trust to Ramblin Racket. I mean it’s only been about 4 months since Jeff moved over to Sportsblog Nation.
I also included the fantastic Clemson blog – Danny Ford is God. They know the value of swear words and childish humor like yours truly, but actually update on a regular basis.
Grandson vs. Grandson: The prize is Lefty’s love!
Men’s Basketball Thoughts: Just a few more thoughts around men’s basketball before tonight’s GSU game. Thus far I’ve been to the Moorehouse exhibition, the Elon game, and the Jackson State game.
Good:
Offense, offense, offense – This team can score in bunches and from several different positions. When you’re starting 5 all score in double figures with a bench player scoring in double figures as well and one or two others threatening, then you definitely have some offensive weapons. This is also without Anthony Morrow at full strength, unfortunately I think this will take some time to happen.
Javaris Crittenton is very good – This was definitely what the team was missing last year, a true point guard with some competitive drive and actual toughness. I meant it when I wished Zam well after last season, but I am so happy that his departure made it easier to have Critty and then Mo Miller next season that I may make a mess at my desk. Critty sees the court well, he handles the ball well, he can drive to the basket and take some punishment (needs to work on finishing still, but he’s only a freshman), and he even goes hard on defense (it needs some work, but nothing time in a system won’t fix). These are all of the things that last year’s team was missing from the 1 spot in order to finish games.
. . . So is Thad Young – I think he’s still working on learning when to take over a game, but right now he’s doing a bit of everything and making differences on the court. As we start moving into ACC play and seeing more man to man defense, I see him stepping it up even more for us.
Peacock vs. Dickey is huge for this team – Starting Zach Peacock over Dickey and telling them that the starting 5 job is open for the season has thus far been huge for this team. Dickey is hustling in the games where it doesn’t really matter and we can at this point only extrapolate that he will keep hustling in the games were it really does matter. Peacock has a crazy motor and is playing very well himself right now. In fact, I feel like he gets pulled for breathers more than substandard play. Dickey, on the other hand, is been coming in and playing efficient basketball with solid scoring and rebounding.
Bad:
Free throws – The team is shooting an abysmal 60.8% from the charity stripe right now. It’s especially disconcerting because they are getting to the line a good bit each game. I don’t know if it’s nerves or what, but we have too many shooters on this team to be shooting that badly. It’s been a problem with Hewitt teams and I don’t know if it’s going to get better, but I can only hope that it does. Otherwise we’re going to see things like last year’s UGA game where they can just keep sending Jeremis to the line and let him clank away free points.
Defense (sort of) – The kids play hard, but it’s obvious the freshman have a lot to learn about communication with one another and keeping it up for a whole game. I imagine it’s hard to stay focused in a game with a 30 point lead, but I’d like to see it happen some more. Maui will really be the first indicator of where this team stands defensively. We have the length and the athleticism to be a problem for anybody in the country, but you can’t fall asleep out there or you will get burned.
Ugly:
Not much falls in the ugly category right now. Although Stefanie is not a big fan of the dance team’s gold spandex pants (though we both agree this about the top to bottom hottest dance team we’ve had in a while). They’re a little too Leslie Hall for her tastes.
posted by Dan at 3:33 PM
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