Thursday, January 20, 2011

CU MEN'S BASKETBALL

I am probably too much of a purist and perfectionist when it comes to basketball, but watching the University of Colorado-Boulder team can be very frustrating.  We attended the home game versus Oklahoma State University and watched their latest game played at Nebraska.  My bleacher-analysis is quite simple:  when they play team-ball, they win; when the play me-ball, they lose.  They were very fortunate to pull out the win over OSU; they fell behind by 12, but managed a comeback that was aided by the officials calling lots of fouls when CU would take it to the basket.  I don't remember the numbers, but know that CU shot a whole lot more free-throws that OSU.  Such was not the case in Nebraska - the officiating was much more reserved, and whenever CU would force the ball toward the basket, they almost invariably turned it over.  CU has two or three players that might get drafted by an NBA team, and unfortunately they sometimes get carried away with their own game rather than the team's game.  Against OSU and particularly against Nebraska, Higgins and Burks would try to drive and be met by two or three or four defenders, and rather than looking for the obvious open teammate, would continue and either put up a wild shot or lose the ball.  Another thing that drives me crazy is when a me-ball player leading a three-on-one fast break, which should be an automatic layup, pulls up at about 12 feet for a jumper.  Such play would earn some bench time on my team!!


And for now, I am afraid this is true:


2 comments:

Bizzy Brain said...

I lay it at the feet of the athletic director. He is the one who approves the recruitment of "one and done" players (those who play college ball a year or two, then opt for the NBA). I also would like to see the AD fired rather than see some hapless coach get the axe after a couple of mediocre seasons. After all, it was the AD who put that coach in place. The coach walks off a multi-millionaire after his contract is bought out and the AD remains in place unscathed.

DES said...

Busy B - agree completely. However, why stop at the AD? The rot goes all of the way to the top, to the President and the Board of Regents. If I was king, Division I sports would disappear, college sports would go back to the spirit of intercollegiate athletics, not pre-professional training grounds, the coaches would be on the same pay scale as the professoriate, and the student-athletes would be students foremost with no athletic scholarships. Of course, there is no way I will be named king anytime soon!!

I also noted in today's paper that some more CU athletes were in trouble with the law, and I may have to occasionally write about "The Athlete Arrest of the Day" which is a feature on KNX in LA.