— I don’t know about you, but seeing Da’Sean Butler go down in an agonized heap against Duke brought back painful memories of seeing Mike Cook go down against Duke a few years back. Right down to the screams and a head coach cradling and trying to comfort and console his player.
I was not rooting for WVU, but I hated seeing Butler go down with an injury. He was a hell of a player that always scared the crap out of me. Anyone who cheered that is scum. Regardless of what name was on the front of his jersey.
— It sure will be easy to root for the Butler Bulldogs tonight. To the point where I kind of wish Billy Packer was still the analyst. Just to have him bag on Butler so it would be that much easier to root against Duke.
The other reason to root for Butler. Coach Dixon coached Gordon Hayward and Shelvin Mack on the US U-19 gold medal team.
“Someone asked me, ‘What did you learn from the experience with the U19 team,'” Dixon said in a phone interview. “I learned not to play Butler.”
Mack, a 6-foot-3 sophomore guard from Lexington, KY, was named a team captain.
Hayward, a 6’9″ sophomore from Brownsburg, IN, was selected to the tournament’s All-Star team along with Kansas guard Tyshawn Taylor, who played for newly minted Naismith Hall of Famer Bob Hurley at St. Anthony in Jersey City.
“Gordon was our best player by far and Mack was probably or second-best player,” Dixon said. “That gives you an idea how good they were.
“This team’s not Cinderella,” Dixon added of Butler. “The two players I know are as good as anybody in the country.”
— The Pitt Blather bracket challenge is now down to
Renato Miguel and Ontario Lets Go Pitt. Very simple. If Butler wins, RM wins. If Duke wins OLGP takes it by a point.
— Apparently former Pitt assistant and Manhattan head coach Barry Rohrssen is still considering the offer for more money to be an assistant at St. John’s. By all reports, though, he’s got a strong recruiting class and an excellent chance to win the MAAC. Considering he remains in demand to be an assistant (rejected an offer from Calipari to join him in Kentucky), I don’t see the point in leaving his present job. Even if he fails and gets fired, the well-paid assistant/recruiting jobs will be out there. If he succeeds, he gets a chance to move up the coaching ladder.
— I don’t know how many of you had a chance to watch the debut on your PBS station for “The Street Stops Here.” The documentary on St. Anthony’s and hall of fame basketball coach Bob Hurley, that focuses on the 2007-08 season and players — including Pitt’s Travon Woodall.
The reviews have been glowing. For some reason, PBS in Cleveland didn’t air it this past Wednesday. They waited until Saturday night — during the Final Four — to ensure that anyone who likes basketball and would be interested totally missed it. I have it on the DVR and it is on my watch list right after tonight.
As for the Hoopies…. West Virginia “Almost heaven” — Almost.
Trevon Woodall plays a big part of the show. I won’t spoil it with any details. One thing though- man, that 2008 St. A’s team was stacked with guards. Anyway, it’s great for Pitt to get a player from this program and, after watching the documentary, it doesn’t surprise me that Trevon had the fortitude to rebound from a slow first half to a more encouraging second half of this past season.
BTW, I seem to recall another hoops documentary last year that featured Tyreke Evans, but Nasir Robinson appeared in some scenes…
What bothers me the most is this notion of just how caring Huggy Bear is supposed to be. My question to all is this … since the large percentage of basketball players do not find success in the pros, I want to know how a coach who is legendary for low graduation rates can be considered as this great caring person?
I don’t buy it
Highly recommend watching it.
link to en.wikipedia.org