Smack / Nov 8, 2011 / 12:56 am

Steve Blake Is Trying To Save The NBA Season; College Basketball Is Back

By

Solomon Hill

Solomon Hill (photo. Luke Adams, Arizona Athletics Photography)

Watching Arizona in the first half last night, we couldn’t help but say it: this looks like a team that is just dying for one star player. That guy left for the NBA this summer, and because of it, the ‘Cats struggled to lose Valparaiso early, up by only a bucket at the half. But in the second half, the defense picked up, the intensity picked up and ‘Zona ran away 73-64. We’ve heard both ends of the spectrum of expectations for this team this season. They have some decent players – and a great freshmen backcourt with Nick Johnson (14 points, six assists) and Josiah Turner – but right now, we don’t see special. Valpo head coach, Bryce Drew (yes, THAT Drew), was rocking one of the illest sky blue blazers we’ve ever seen though … St. John’s and their blueprint for success was a carbon copy, falling behind in the first half to William & Mary and then dominating the second half (they won the final 20 minutes 48-26) behind pressure defense and feasting on turnovers. Even without Steve Lavin – who watched from home coming off prostate cancer surgery – we’re gonna have to start watching more of the Red Storm, only because they have a big man named God’s Gift Achiuwa … The only other game from last night saw Mississippi State – a dangerous sleeper team in the SEC West – beat Eastern Kentucky 76-66. Another player who could make our All-Name Team, Dee Bost, went off for 23 points, six boards and six dimes … Not only did we preview the team y’all love to hate (Duke) yesterday, but we found out that there are plans for a Duke vs. UNC alumni game. The first annual “Kings of Tobacco Road” game is going down on Nov. 17 at North Carolina Central University, and both squads are bringing out the heavy artillery. Raymond Felton, Vince Carter, Brendan Haywood and Antawn Jamison will play for UNC while Duke has Kyrie Irving, Nolan Smith, Corey Maggette, Chris Duhon, Elton Brand and Gerald Henderson. The retired Rasheed Wallace is also there so he can stand under the hoop and get dunked on, and then get thrown out … Mitch McGary is going to Michigan. HighSchoolHoop’s No. 6-ranked high schooler chose the Wolverines over both Florida and Duke, a relative surprise even as he said he wanted to go somewhere that he could create his own tradition. McGary is probably the most talented prospect this school has had in over a decade. How many backboards will he break next year? … RIP Smokin’ Joe Frazier … We’re out like MW3.

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Posted in Smack |

  • yoda

    blake is right, players should have a right to take a vote. somehow i have a feeling that player’s hard stance comes from those upper level players (upper as in best paid). these mid level paid players can’t afford to lose months after months of nba.

    as for that survey. at the beginning i’ve missed the nba (and everything related, transfer news, players shape, health status etc. ) but after months of this charade, i kind of don’t care anymore. when it starts i’ll watch it, but this lockout showed us that owners and players couldn’t care less about us fans, so why should i lose my nerves about those people too…

  • ab40

    God’s Gift Achiuwa it the most coming to america name I’ve heard in years haha

  • smokin joe

    So I happened to attend another college game last night, idk why it isn’t getting any love…UK beat Moreheouse 125-40. The UK starters shot 24-24 in first half, 31-34 for the game. After a 29-0 run in the first half, they lead 63-6 with 7 mins to go in first half before Cal pulled the starters…btw, yeah Morehouse isn’t great, but UGA only beat them 74-50 a week ago, so this wasn’t like sisters of the poor. Be afraid of the Cats world, be very afraid.

  • First & Foremost

    Don’t you need at least 2500 people to make it a fair representation of the population? Of course people don’t care about the NBA, right now. Fantasy football captures everyone’s attention during the week, the NFL haves and have-nots are beginning to form, College Football is going into their “playoffs”, NASCAR is heating up [can't confirm that], and people complain about how many games the NBA has anyway [like the MLB doesn't play 160+ games and the NHL is just as long].

    Come February when the NFL is done, MLB a couple months away, people tired of seeing anything relating to snow, and those sports fans will change their votes.

    As for the NBA city economies, bars will be bars, they will continue to provide background noise and be a social environment. The money saved on tickets will probably go to ballet or theatre. The people who will hate the NBA the most will be the guys who no longer have a valid excuse to get away. Restaurants will be filled with guys who simply don’t/can’t look comfortable in a blazer. The guys who, once they are seated at a table skim over the entire joint for a tv or at least one other guy checking his phone for scores.

  • beiber newz

    something tells me the owners may make their first REAL concession if they meet with the players today b4 Wednesday’s ‘deadline’.

  • TJ 2

    not surprised at all by the survey, the majority in America dont care about the NBA like that anyway. if this was the MLB or NFL people would be protesting everyday for it to come back! people would be getting interview on ESPN asking them how they live without them lol!! and they would be depressed! if they liked the NBA the same way they like the MLB, the season wouldve started on time!

  • http://facebook.com/escribame Big Freeze

    F&F nailed it. With the NFL, college football and basketball, hockey, and Nascar, sports fans aren’t really suffering right now.

    But you can bet fans be feigning for some NBA come February.

    Steve Blake has a point. The union needs to let the players have a vote right now. Take the fucking 51%(really 50%) and play ball.

  • beiber newz

    @tj 2…^i was telling someone on facebook the same thing last nite!!

  • Skeeter McGee

    1,179 people polled out of a population of over 300 million people is like judging a magazine by flipping only the first page. What I’m trying to say is that the sample used in the study is nowhere near large enough to be valid representation for the whole country. While it may have some bearing on how people view the NBA, I would not be too concerned. We don’t know the average age of the people polled, the demographic, the location they live in (do they even have a NBA team in their city?),as well as how diverse the sample used was.

    Numbers don’t lie, but they also might not tell the whole story.

  • http://www.zwani.com/graphics/funny_pictures/images/88funny-pictures128.jpg JAY

    “Out like MW3″… nice

    I’m starting to get flashbacks of my past labour disputes.

    The employees without savings will pressure the union to get a deal done. They will feel like the union isn’t working hard enough. The employee meetings will get more vocal. Fingers will be pointed at one another. A line will be drawn in the middle of the room… on one side, the players with enough money to survive a longer lockout… one the other side, those who needs to get paid or are just tired of the whole process.
    There’s one thing employee’s need to come out on top in every labor dispute… solidarity. The player’s side is starting unravel. A deal will get done within the next couple of weeks.

  • First & Foremost

    The players are slowly turning into some chumps. All summer long they boasted about playing overseas, unity, starting their own league, a bazillion charity games and counting, calling out stern and then running; but as soon as the owners roll up their sleeves and brought out the big guns [Jordan], this group of players all of a sudden feel 50/50 is a good idea.

    This is like someone trying to pick a fight all day but as soon as someone bucks at them they all of a sudden have this crippling illness that sucked the fight right out of them. Better yet, this is like Floyd talking smack for years about Manny and then backing out at the weigh-in. The players haven’t even gotten in the ring yet and already want to quit.

  • http://www.zwani.com/graphics/funny_pictures/images/88funny-pictures128.jpg JAY

    Kevin Martin: “When [players] are negotiating as free agents, we’re always saying, ‘Well I’m going to do what’s best for my family,’” he wrote. “So now we’re lying, because right now, losing money isn’t helping our families at all.”
    Funny, the players are quick to jump on MJ and call him a hypocrite. The players are hypocrites too. Dumbasses.

    beiber… let’s not start here. Lol.

  • beiber newz

    ahahahahahhahahaahahhahaha^ u got it man. it’s mutual.

  • JBaller

    I miss the nba. I’m over the lockout. I think the players should vote because blind faith in leaders won’t get you what you want. The majority should rule and my gut tells me there would be enough support from the rank-and-file players to take the deal. Everyone will still make lots of money while keeping the nba brand alive.

  • Big Island

    LOL@Jay and Beib. I was scrolling very slowly to make sure yesterday’s discussion didn’t spill over into today’s Smack.

    I stopped being a die hard fan of the NBA a few years ago. There was the whole officiating scandal, Miami being handed the Finals trophy, and all of the guys I idolized as a kid were long gone. Even the guys I liked when I was in college and we would all go to the games to see Webber or Shaq, or yell “Duncan” every time instead of calling glass. Basketball is still my favorite sport by far, but not the NBA. Sorry NBA.

  • Big Island

    Crap, I forgot to say that I would like to read Steph’s paper on the tattoos. I am covered in tattoos and I tell everyone who asks, “Do not get them”. I figure if you ask if you should get one, you shouldn’t, and if you really want one, you’ll get it regardless of what anyone says. I think the only time it really hurts you is:

    Neck, face, head, hands (outside of a wedding band)
    Lewd/racist stuff
    Titties

    My first tattoo is pretty awful. Having an actual penis/balls combo tattooed on my leg would be less faggish than the tribal sun/band thing I got. Everything else, I am cool with.

  • UncheckedAggression

    I am disappointed to see the players crumble so quickly when actually faced with missing a season, but it is their decision. I’m happy to watch games if the deal gets done.

  • Mt. Pleasant

    Good Smack Dime.

    You keep writing a quick lockout update and then give us the scoop on college bball I’ll be here every day during the lockout.

    I don’t care what NBA players are doing if they’re not playing NBA games or talking about why they are not playing NBA games. The Steph thing was interesting but I’m over the various, Europe updates, charity/local runs.

    Also, I’m not sure people will be dying for the NBA once February starts. That is when the college game heats up. After March Madness people will care.

    I love the NBA and watched it every day, but now that we have college I don’t miss it. And I saved some money by not buying league pass and just beefing up my college bball coverage. I am back to wasting as much time as I usually do watchin bball.

  • Mt. Pleasant

    Should be a great college season too because lots of talent stayed to avoid being locked out.

  • First & Foremost

    March Madness is fun and all but watching an entire game is painful. You can argue that the games are close, competitive, fast-paced, etc. But when you watch a game, it is sloppy because the moment is too big for various teams, scoring droughts keeping games close, turnovers picking up the pace of the game. People spend 4 hours flipping through games just to catch the final 3 minutes of each game. March Madness’ appeal comes solely from the shameless gambling everyone’s office indulges in.

    February is generally when the NBA playoffs take shape. Coming out of the ASG, players motivated by being snubbed, and teams motivated to not have to play an away game 7.

    That dude in the too small blazer, his bracket was busted long before he filled it out.

  • Mt. Pleasant

    Photographer to Steph Curry during photo shoot where picture in Smack was taken:

    “Look like you just smelled a fart.”

    “Perfect, got it.”

  • KCL

    I agree with steph on tattoos just look at major basketball talent producing cities like LA, Seattle, New York, Baltimore/DC, all those kids have sleaves of tattoos and its because they grew up on the inner city playgrounds idolizing the older, better players who have them, makes them feel older, more “hard”, expressive ect. Steph makes total sense and you only really see that from urban inner city kids, guys who went to private schools like Howard, KD and steph himself don’t rock the tats because it wasn’t apart of their culture and probably who they idolized growing up. Interesting subject to say the least.

  • Mt. Pleasant

    F&F – I may be in the minority but I like March Madness better than the NBA playoffs.

    I don’t disagree with any of your points against it but to me they are outweighed by the postives, including how you can seemingly watch the last 5 minutes of games all day at the beginning of the tournament. I enjoy seeing 18-20 year old kids not wilt under the pressure. I don’t mind the sloppiness because its exciting, anything can happen.

    As for gambling I always say anything can be interesting if you have money on it, but I gamble on the everything and I like march madness the best even though my bracket is busted by the second round.

    Or I’m just anti NBA at the moment and trying to be optimistic as college is all I have at the moment.

  • http://www.psychodrama.com Chicagorilla

    @Jay @DIME and other NBA2k12 players

    This is my 2nd video uploaded to youtube. i wasted hours on making this video of MYplayer dunking on Dwight Howard.

    I blended in a Wale track and some chopped up announcer calls. I used Mark Jackson’s call (even though i hate his announcing) because he said something cool

    http://youtu.be/K_qEkJKJMc0

  • Big Island

    Chicagorilla – The video is cool, but the one of your(?) daughter rocking out is awesome. Friggin kids are so damn funny.

  • Sean Sweeney

    ^ Nice video. Your My Player reminded me of Marcus Fizer

  • http://www.psychodrama.com Chicagorilla

    @Big Is,

    Thanks, i forgot all about that one. Yeah she was juking at 10 months lol.

    @Sweeny
    Marcus Fizer? yeah I can see that, but my dude is 7ft tall and doesn’t throw away his talent at the tattoo parlor lol.

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