Wednesday, December 29, 2004
the morning grind
-- La Salle's Steve Smith timed his outburst well, taking over last night's game against American University in the final minutes -- much as an NBA scout in attendance had hoped he would. But my game ball goes to a seldom-used reserve who is the younger brother of a former co-worker. In the words of Explorers' coach John Giannini:"Another key was Sean Neal. He made big plays, hit a big three, took a big charge. He's the kind of person every college coach hopes all kids are like. He's an outstanding person on and off the court."
-- Jose Ortiz previews the second-best conference in the country, the PAC-10. Unwisely, Ortiz believes USC will finish ahead of Oregon State.
-- The Everett (WA) Herald this morning published a letter by David Barhoum suggesting NBA teams assign designated free-throwers. David's rationale? Such a rule would enable professional clubs to replicate the "strategic, cerebral and artful" play of John Wooden's UCLA teams and the University of Kentucky squads of the mid-1950's.
-- Norm Frauenheim writes about the would-be PAC-10 boomlet, noting that the conference went 9-0 last week in non-conference play.
-- Ray Fittipaldo gets Dave Odom to compare Chris Taft to Tim Duncan on record. My favorite excerpt?
"If Chris continues to develop, he will be a lottery pick whenever he wants to come out. Now that being said, I'm not saying he should come out. As a matter of fact, Chris, if you're listening, do what Duncan did and stay on for four years. It didn't hurt Duncan by staying."
-- Lon Kruger remembers his time as coach of Texas-Pan American.
