When it Rains it Pours
And it sure did pour Thursday night, thanks mainly to Carlos Strong. The Terriers sank thirteen 3-pointers, with eight, a single game record, by the rookie Strong. But that's not to say it was a one man show. In the end, it was a team effort that prevailed as BU held on for the win, 66-54.
The absence of Big O was noticeable, but Scott Brittain filled in and played well, and the rest of the Terriers shot lights out. We turned the ball over a hell of a lot, but we were more aggressive on offense than I've ever seen. I liked the game strategy that they used, and I hope they stick with it in future games.
For anyone who missed this one, I feel sorry, as it was a real treat to see Carlos get his first standing O of his college career. Let's hope it's his first of many.
Here's a few random thoughts to wrap up this post:
-I've come to the conclusion that Ibe can be described as the black hole of basketball. No, not black ho (I threw that in there for any fans of "Eddie", starring Whoopi Goldberg). Whenever he has possession of the ball, our offense slows to a crawl. Whether he's under the hoop, hopelessly trying to make a lay-up or at the top of the arc pump-faking away rather than swinging it like he should be, I'd just prefer that he pretends the ball is a hot potatoe when we're on offense.
-I'll never get used to this new announcer. The way that he says "Tyler Morris" makes me want to puke. And that red hair? Jeez, get a life.
-I've had it with this year's Rhett. Yeah, he can dance alright and he can do the worm, but he's no more than an attention-grabbing showboat who sucks at free throws and thinks it's funny to stand in front of you and block your view. Enough is enough.
-That block from behind by Corey Lowe was pretty sick, and it was good to see him back on the court. He reminds me of a young Lucious Jordan. Anyone agree?
-I think one of the cheerleaders likes me. She kept trying to sell me raffle tickets. Maybe she just wanted my money.
-Big O should be back in the line-up for our next game, so no worries.
-And finally, RIP Anna Nicole Smith. I know this has nothing to do with basketball, but what a bummer. Anyone remember that scene in Naked Gun 33 1/3 where it looks like shes got a penis? That was pretty freaky, huh?
posted by the High Roller @ 10:09 PM
5 Comments:
Carlos is amazing - first 30-point game since BU legend Chaz Carr!
Btw, Ibe had a pretty good game against Vermont on Sunday when Brittain/Omari were both out. But yes, normally...
And that cheerleader chick WANTS you bad
It'll be good to have Omari back. If it's next game, that's great, but we don't need to rush him and we shouldn't try to. As long as he's back for Albany and Vermont, we'll be fine... we played both those teams tough while undermanned. The key is STAYING healthy for those games after we get Omari back. If we can do that, I'll be surprised if we don't win at least one of those games, maybe both.
Brittain is incredibly underappreciated. After getting outrebounded almost 2 to 1 against Vermont, we get him back off the suspension and have a +12 night against Bing. Yeah, Bing doesn't have an inside presence like a Chris Holm, but Brittain had more than a little bit to do with it. He's a good positional rebounder and isn't afraid to take a bit of contact when he rips one down off the glass. I wish he would try to keep his man farther away from the basket when he's defending the entry pass, which would take away a lot of the shorter baseline jumpers and things of that sort, but he's made incredible progress since the start of conference play.
Remember: the sun NEVER sets on Scott Brittain.
Carlos Strong. My god. What a performance. There wasn't much Bing could do about that either... once he got hot, he would wait for the clock to run down, shoot it over a guy from well outside the arc, and still knock it down. That's just nasty.
Totally agree about Scott Brittain. First few games of the year, he looked like Ibe out there. Now he's a force.
I think somebody mentioned this on the message board: all but 4 of our points came from FROSH. That's ridiculous and should be scary to every other team.
Tall-boy, just to follow up, I find it interesting to compare Brittain's offensive game to Omari's, if only to see the difference in shot selection.
Omari, prior to injury, had that baby hook off the glass locked in. Most of his points come off back-to-the-basket plays where he takes the entry pass and doesn't make his move until he's basically ready to shoot. It's a very solid, high-percentage play, but it requires establishing some initial position and getting a good entry pass.
Scott, on the other hand, doesn't seem to generate his scoring starting from the low block. Most of his points involve turning to face the basket at some point... he can take a pass, work under the defender and go up strong to the glass to lay it in without getting blocked. He also uses the lane a lot more effectively than Omari. If he can develop his range a bit more and develop a move like Omari's, he'll be the best big man in the AE by his junior year, no doubt. He already does so many of the little things.
4 frosh... it's ridiculous. There are no dynasties at our level (it's AE and our league doesn't have a Gonzaga), but this team stands a very real chance of winning 20+ games for the next 3 years.
Interesting - I'll have to watch those two closely next time I see them.
I'm not quite as high on Brittain as you are yet, but I will certainly concede his vast and rapid improvement (and I would've been willing to give him much longer to develop). He'll be real good - not sure about best in the AE. There are some other real good young big guys.
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