Great to see us hit the 20 win mark. Definitely see improvement. A deep run in the NIT would be great.
Towards the end of the game, I had the volume low because my wife had already fallen asleep. Was Bill Walton saying something about Bob Dylan writing a song about Pete Maravich? If so, what is the song? Or did I hear that wrong?
You heard correct, but I don't remember the name of the song. I do remember that he wrote it after Pistol died, so that narrows down the time frame if you want to search for it.
Wow. I don't know if it this is just a rant, a bash Trent Johnson thread, or bash me thread. Regardless, for most folks that read my posts, they know that I'm a "LSU hoops" cheerleader, more than anything, but I've at times been critical, and I'm entitled to be disappointed. I was far more disappointed in the UGA last game loss, than the UK loss, but is it wrong for me to be a little disappointed in our loss to UK, after playing them to a standstill and 1-1 in the prior two games? And, after jumping on them early, and then letting them just come back and surge ahead without too much of a fight? The rest of your post is somewhat of a rant. I don't think Trent Johnson's record has anything to do with this team or this program today. I think I'm justified in thinking that a team that was picked to finish 4th in the SEC underachieved a little this year. I thought they had a good chance at a NCAA tourney birth based upon pre-season evaluation of talent. That said, I've been pretty clear that I like CJJ the job he's doing and the direction of this program. To the posters' credits, the only question when it came to CJJ was his actual coaching. And, this year, there's been something lacking at times. You can call Bruce Pearl a clown, but his record pretty much speaks for itself. He delivers Sweet 16 and up performances wherever he goes. CJJ has not proven that yet but I believe he will, if his kids stay in school and in the program, and if he keeps recruiting like he is. I think the point of your post is to say, don't be too hard on this team. I'm not I don't think--that was the point of supporting them in their NIT path. They won on the road last night and shot well, to win the game. Their defense late wasn't stellar, but they were able to hold off a USF that couldn't hit their typical percentage of threes. It's true, in the past, a 9-9 LSU team got into the Dance. That was also two decades ago when there wasn't as much parity in college basketball--again, somewhat of a irrelevant point, when who is in and out of the tourney is determined today, with RPI and BPI rankings, computers, bracketology, and oh, by the way, a weaker overall SEC, under very different circumstance. Now on to SMU. Let's beat them 'stangs!
I appreciate your posting here about hoops. The nature of the beast is that it takes a backseat to football (everything does, of course); nevertheless it's great to have someone willing to provide the commentary and analysis. Please continue to do so!
Not really a song about Maravich, but the song he wrote right after hearing of Pete's death. Dylan wrote in his memoir . . . My aunt was in the kitchen and I sat down with her to talk and drink coffee. The radio was playing and morning news was on. I was startled to hear that Pete Maravich, the basketball player, had collapsed on a basketball court in Pasadena, just fell over and never got up. I’d seen Maravich play in New Orleans once, when the Utah Jazz were the New Orleans Jazz. He was something to see — mop of brown hair, floppy socks — the holy terror of the basketball world — high flyin’ — magician of the court. The night I saw him he dribbled the ball with his head, scored a behind the back, no look basket — dribbled the length of the court, threw the ball up off the glass and caught his own pass. He was fantastic. Scored something like thirty-eight points. He could have played blind. Pistol Pete hadn’t played professionally for a while, and he was thought of as forgotten. I hadn’t forgotten about him, though. Some people seem to fade away but then when they are truly gone, it’s like they didn’t fade away at all. I started and completed the song “Dignity” the same day I’d heard the sad news about Pistol Pete. I started writing it in the early afternoon, about the time the morning news began to wear away and it took me the rest of the day and into the night to finish it.
That is ridiculous, imo. Sure, getting it to your own players would be better, but it's not realistic. Blocking a shot is always better than it going in, and it's not like they get it back with a full shot clock.
@MobileBengal I think the "blocked shots is bad defense" is being taken out of context. What has happened in recent years is that the blocked shot has evolved into the defense's version of the slam dunk; what was once simply a sound play is now an art form. Its not enough to just block the shot, players have to make a statement by throwing the thing into the stands. So what? Its still the other team's ball. And the problem is, guys who can get high enough to make that kind of play could probably just take the thing out of the air. That would be a much more sound basketball play; deny the shot and get the ball for your team.
