College basketball thread...

Tennessee's a pretty poor FT shooting team too aren't they?

 

I still don't know what to think of Tennessee. The Vols aren't great, IMO, but they're very good. Still don't think their defense allows them to be a real contender for the national championship, but they are deep and they can shoot. And if Crews gets healthy, they have a lot of potential to step it up to that title level.

Lofton is starting to hit his groove, though. I just don't think the Vols are the runaway SEC favorite like they were 2-3 weeks ago.

Which brings me to my next point: the SEC isn't as "down" as people like to claim. Yeah, so Kentucky and Florida aren't as good. And yeah, some SEC teams have struggled. But Ole Miss and Mississippi State are good teams, Arkansas is solid, and Tennessee is a top 10, if not top five, team. Florida is looking better each week and is a definite top 25 team at this point. Vandy is struggling but Kentucky is hitting its stride, with big home wins in the past two weeks and two narrow losses on the road.

Without turning this into an SEC-vs.-every other conference debate, which isn't my intention, it's my opinion that the SEC is simply more balanced this season. It doesn't have the one great team it's had in the past, but it certainly still has 5-6 pretty damn good teams.

 

What's up with numerous Cameron Crazies wearing green shirts?

 

Free throw percentages are extremely overrated. Think of it this way. In a typical NCAA game, let's say you shoot 22 free throws. If you make 13-of-22, that's 59 percent. Most would consider that pretty bad. If you make 16-of-22, that's a very acceptable 73 percent. The difference is three points. Big freaking deal. The important thing is to have a couple guys who shoot free throws well if you need them to protect a lead down the stretch.

 

We'll know a lot more about the SEC East when the Baby Gators come to Knoxville next week. Pearl is something like 40-2 there as UT's coach.

 

Supposed to be a statement about sustainable living/environments

http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/2008/01/crazygreen.html

 

As for the rest of the league, the SEC is not as bad as I originally thought. It's still a down year for the league, but Tennessee is very good, and Florida and Ole Miss are better than anyone thought (both are legit teams, I swear, as is Mississippi State). Arkansas and Vanderbilt have played like absolute shit at times, but both have also looked like Sweet Sixteens teams on good days. Alabama is ... well ... another Gottfried Alabama team. Tons of athleticism, low hoops IQ (especially without Steele).

 

I feel bad for Richard Hendrix. It has to suck knowing that you're by far the best player on the team and a potentially dominant big man, and you're team refuses to give you the ball.

Watching Alabama reminds me a lot of watching Kentucky, especially the UK team early in the season, where a big man would have great post position and the guards would ignore him.

During one of the UK games, Jimmy Dykes said Patterson should "take a 3-second call every time, and tell his teammates, 'If I don't get touches, no one gets touches.'"

Maybe Hendrix should use that strategy.

 

Kentucky is much better when Meeks and Jasper are on the floor. Both pathetically limp around but simply understand the ball must go through Patterson's hands. Bradley, as dynamic as he can be, isn't a natural point guard and doesn't understand this sometimes.

 

The emergence of Stevenson hasn't hurt either. He, almost more than anyone, understands how effective Patterson is. And it really makes Patterson better when he can draw a double team and find Stevenson open under the basket. Coury just doesn't give him that option.

I might be biased, but I still think Patterson deserves to be in the "next" tier of the freshman. He's no Rose or Beasley, but he's as talented as any true young big man in the country.

And I agree with you that UK is much better when Meeks and Jasper are on the floor.

 

I don't give a damn what else happens as long as Tennessee beats Memphis.

 

I think this Kentucky team with a 100 percent healthy Meeks and 100 percent healthy Jasper is one of the best 65 teams in the country, for sure. Unfortunately, it looks like both will limp around the rest of the season.