Words eye view

Basketball from a fan perspective

I almost spit out my morning coffee

Sometimes you shouldn’t read funny stuff when drinking your morning coffee, I almost spit out my coffee laughing at the statement.  Please excuse me for being so graphic however it’s not my fault, I was reading an account of the Nets-Wizards Sunday evening game.  You know, the game the Wizards roared back from an 18-point deficit winning 149-146.  A fan wrote “No Harden” as if his absence were a contributing factor for the loss. 

This fan might have been partially correct, Harden did not play in the game, I guess he failed to consider the Nets guard might be the poorest defender of the trio of Durant, Irvin, and Harden.  I also wonder if this fan managed to check the Nets team defense, as this is written they have the 27th poorest in the NBA.  In other words, despite this team’s ability to score the basketball they are only better than 3 other teams on the defensive side.  The Nets must pick up their defensive outlook if they plan on winning in the playoffs. 

I’m guilty too…I admit it

The Top 25 polls have always been important to me, they provide validity to the accomplishment of a team.  The question has always remained just how important are they?  Believe it or not I think we place far too much importance on them, I’m guilty too…I admit it.  As an example, the Coaches poll, with a weeks’ worth of activities, running practice going over scouting reports and the like you believe Roy Williams, John Calipari, or Bill Self have time to sit down and analyze whether a team is trending up or down? 

If I were a betting person, I imagine these coaches receive the information and hand it off to an assistant or maybe an equipment manager to submit.  The AP, ESPN, CBS, and other polls are conducted by those who cover the sport.  With the number of college games on television plus attending games do writers have time to assess the weekly games. The polls simply become a beauty contest, who looks best doing a given period. 

Truthfully the only noteworthy poll is the one released on the first Tuesday in April, the previous evening the NCAA Champion has been crowned and the picture becomes somewhat clear who is a “Top 25” team.  Perhaps the better tool to use is the Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings or kenpom.com.  This system uses numerous variables to determine positioning of a particular team including strength of schedule.  The only problem with this poll you must be able to understand quantum physics too, just kidding.     

Rodney Dangerfield   

Standup comic and entertainer Rodney Dangerfield had a classic line.  Performing his act on television or at a club at some point he’d utter the line “I don’t get no respect.”  The audience would roar with laughter hearing the comment although it might have been as old as many hearing it.  He died in 2004 at the age of 82 and just in case you are wondering what this has to do with basketball allow me to explain. 

It’s my belief the Mizzou Tigers “don’t get no respect”, they are the Rodney Dangerfield of college basketball.  Mizzou couldn’t sniff the Top 25 polls at the beginning of the season, no one thought they were any good despite returning the bulk of last year’s team.  This is the reason they are dubbed the Rodney Dangerfield of college basketball.  No high-flying, high-scoring team they average about 75.2 points a game.  On the defensive side Mizzou holds opponents to 70.2 points on 41% shooting, they play tough belly button to belly button defense. 

Point guard Xavier Pinson leads the team in scoring with a pedestrian 15.1 points per game, Jeremiah Tilmon leads in rebounds with 8.1 per game.  Not an overly exciting bunch of guys however they are winners and the team record to date provides us the proof.  They win games yet descend in the eyes of many in the media, what’s wrong with this picture?