Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Dawgs Lose 77 to 44

I turned the t.v. off.

Love Georgia basketball (obviously), but I get angry when it's so obvious we don't have the talent to compete.  When we were coming off of NCAA sanctions, I understood we would be short-handed.  What's our excuse now?

I'm also frustrated that we didn't prepare at all for their traps and double-teams.  We had a million turnovers. 

Meanwhile, when we could get it across the half-court line, we then run our offensive sets 25 feet away from the basket. 

Hard to watch what we have become, and tonight I couldn't take it.

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Tubby and the Gophers

Have no idea how Tubby Smith turned Minnesota into a basketball juggernaut.  The Gophers never had much success in hoops, but Tubby went there and somehow managed to achieve three 20-win seasons in five years.

Now in his sixth year, Minnesota is 14 and 1, and  ranked #8 in the country, with two wins over top twenty teams already in the young season.  This week should challenge Minnesota, since they have to go on the road and face #5 Indiana and #12 Illinois.

Tubby motivates his guys to play hard.  We'll see how Minnesota fares.

Should be a good week for basketball fans now that the conference games are starting.

Leslie Named D-League Player of the Month

Great honor for Travis Leslie. 

Dawg fans no doubt remember that Leslie has tremendous hops.  Don't think I've ever seen a play quite like Leslie's dunk over Demarcus Cousins (in UGA's game against Kentucky at Rupp Arena). 

There was some concern over how Travis would fare after he left UGA early to go to the NBA.  He didn't play much last season after getting drafted by the Golden State Warriors.  Then at the beginning of this year, the Warriors cut him.  To make matters worse, Leslie had to work hard to rehab from an injury.

Well, the video below shows that Travis can still play at a high level.  He's still posterizing big men.  Still playing great defense.  On one play he leaps from just inside the free throw line on the steal and flush.

Travis will compete in the D-League Slam Dunk Contest tomorrow night.

Leslie

Notwithstanding the dunks, perhaps a more impressive part of Leslie's performance has been his all-around game.  Shooting 55 percent from the field, 43 percent on threes, leading his team in rebounds.

With all his athleticism, Travis never showboats.  He smiles when teammates celebrate, but other than that, he almost looks unimpressed.  Great teammate.  Player of the Month.  Yeah, he'll get called up.