Sean Sutton, Paul Harris, Chase Budinger
1. It's hard to argue with a guy who has now won his first ten games as head coach, but I thought Oklahoma State's Sean Sutton made what could have been a critical error down the stretch in tonight's game versus Syracuse. The Cowboys had lost most of a comfortable, double-digit lead over the last few minutes, and the Orange pulled to within one with about 45 seconds left. Most of the damage had been done because OSU failed to take the air out of the ball, and through it all, Sutton never called timeout to calm his kids down.
On this possession, Syracuse applied its full court-pressure, but Oklahoma State broke it, leaving themselves with a 3-on-2 break. Now Sutton called time, stopping play when his team had a decided advantage. It was the right idea, but implemented too late.
JamesOn Curry hit a three from the top of the key on the possession, so the timeout didn't cost them the game. But it might have. What better opportunity was Sutton hoping to get than a 3-on-2?
2. Paul Harris didn't have a spectacular night, but I loved the way he took control of the game late. It wasn't quite enough to pull out a win for the Orange, but Harris came alive in the final minutes, going strong to the basket, scoring, and drawing fouls.
Syracuse is a veteran team, but their trio of senior starters -- Terrence Roberts, Darryl Watkins, and Demetris Nichols -- has to be one of the most enigmatic and ultimately disappointing classes in school history. Conventional wisdom would suggest that they should lead the team, but being the go-to guy would clearly be beneficial for Harris' future, and thus, the future of the program. And with a talented but unreliable group of veterans, Jim Boeheim has to be thinking that his team might even be better of this year relying on Harris and sophomore Eric Devendorf (whose illness kept him on the bench for most of the night) in the clutch.
3. I've seen enough of Chase Budinger to not only have drank the Kool-Aid on his inevitable stardom in the college game, but to also feel very good about his prospects at the next level.
Any discussion of Budinger ends up talking about his athleticism, which is clearly of a pro caliber. He moves like a great athlete, smoothly gliding across the floor, never appearing out of control or even that he's trying very hard, but always beating his man. His leaping ability is also above average.
Offensively, he has a great stroke from the outside, with a solid mid-range game that includes shooting fadeaways and shooting on the move. He can put it on the deck and finish with both hands. He also moves without the ball exceptionally well, displaying a "feel" for the game that you cannot teach.
That "feel" also serves him well on the defensive end, where he gets the most criticism. He's certainly athletic enough to guard anybody on the court, so it may very well just be an effort thing -- young guys with talent like his often come to college having never worried too much about defense. Or it could be that he's always relied on his athleticism to get by on the defensive end of the court, and against stronger competition is learning that he'll need to work on defensive fundamentals.
What he does have, however, is an exceptional ability to read the opposing team's offense. On one Louisville possession, he actually anticipated a no-look pass even before the Cardinals player threw it; ESPN play-by-play man Dan Shulman actually exclaimed what a great pass it was, right before Budinger stepped in front of the intended recipient and picked it off.
I don't think Budinger will always struggle to D up his man, but even if he does, his team defense -- a much bigger deal in the NBA than in college -- will serve him very well in the Association.
(And 1) Say what you want about Jim Valvano's corruption as a coach, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention hs fantastic speech at the ESPY awards just months before he died. The pageantry of the Jimmy V Classic can be a little much, but that speech, which they replay every year between games, always gives me goosebumps. If anyone has a link to it on YouTube or some other site (a 30-second search didn't turn up anything), post it in the comments.
UPDATE: so, you can't post in the comments without having a Blogger account. Lame. Anyway, both my sister and friend David provided me with some links to the Jimmy V speech. Thanks, guys:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePXlkqkFH6s
On this possession, Syracuse applied its full court-pressure, but Oklahoma State broke it, leaving themselves with a 3-on-2 break. Now Sutton called time, stopping play when his team had a decided advantage. It was the right idea, but implemented too late.
JamesOn Curry hit a three from the top of the key on the possession, so the timeout didn't cost them the game. But it might have. What better opportunity was Sutton hoping to get than a 3-on-2?
2. Paul Harris didn't have a spectacular night, but I loved the way he took control of the game late. It wasn't quite enough to pull out a win for the Orange, but Harris came alive in the final minutes, going strong to the basket, scoring, and drawing fouls.
Syracuse is a veteran team, but their trio of senior starters -- Terrence Roberts, Darryl Watkins, and Demetris Nichols -- has to be one of the most enigmatic and ultimately disappointing classes in school history. Conventional wisdom would suggest that they should lead the team, but being the go-to guy would clearly be beneficial for Harris' future, and thus, the future of the program. And with a talented but unreliable group of veterans, Jim Boeheim has to be thinking that his team might even be better of this year relying on Harris and sophomore Eric Devendorf (whose illness kept him on the bench for most of the night) in the clutch.
3. I've seen enough of Chase Budinger to not only have drank the Kool-Aid on his inevitable stardom in the college game, but to also feel very good about his prospects at the next level.
Any discussion of Budinger ends up talking about his athleticism, which is clearly of a pro caliber. He moves like a great athlete, smoothly gliding across the floor, never appearing out of control or even that he's trying very hard, but always beating his man. His leaping ability is also above average.
Offensively, he has a great stroke from the outside, with a solid mid-range game that includes shooting fadeaways and shooting on the move. He can put it on the deck and finish with both hands. He also moves without the ball exceptionally well, displaying a "feel" for the game that you cannot teach.
That "feel" also serves him well on the defensive end, where he gets the most criticism. He's certainly athletic enough to guard anybody on the court, so it may very well just be an effort thing -- young guys with talent like his often come to college having never worried too much about defense. Or it could be that he's always relied on his athleticism to get by on the defensive end of the court, and against stronger competition is learning that he'll need to work on defensive fundamentals.
What he does have, however, is an exceptional ability to read the opposing team's offense. On one Louisville possession, he actually anticipated a no-look pass even before the Cardinals player threw it; ESPN play-by-play man Dan Shulman actually exclaimed what a great pass it was, right before Budinger stepped in front of the intended recipient and picked it off.
I don't think Budinger will always struggle to D up his man, but even if he does, his team defense -- a much bigger deal in the NBA than in college -- will serve him very well in the Association.
(And 1) Say what you want about Jim Valvano's corruption as a coach, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention hs fantastic speech at the ESPY awards just months before he died. The pageantry of the Jimmy V Classic can be a little much, but that speech, which they replay every year between games, always gives me goosebumps. If anyone has a link to it on YouTube or some other site (a 30-second search didn't turn up anything), post it in the comments.
UPDATE: so, you can't post in the comments without having a Blogger account. Lame. Anyway, both my sister and friend David provided me with some links to the Jimmy V speech. Thanks, guys:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePXlkqkFH6s
posted by H.S. Slam, Ph.D at 1:13 AM
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