Return to Sender (April 1-7, 2008)
To read the original article the comments are in reference to, click the heading of each section.
After Texas lost in the Elite 8 to Memphis
One-Eyed Willy: I – unlike all sports reporters – do not make second guesses. I stand by Texas winning the championship. I think if you go back and watch the game against Memphis, Texas really won that game fair and square. They were cheated out of a win by a combination of poor officiating, lackluster shooting, inabilities on the defensive side of the ball, lack of speed and depth, excessive perspiration, migraines, hemorrhoids, and a bad case of the flu. Besides those things, I think they would have won handily and my theory would have prevailed.
The Bull Gator: To clarify for the rest of you out there, excuses are not the same as second guesses.
Former Gator Basketball Player: Eddie Shannon
One-Eyed Willy: Eddie Shannon went to Cardinal Newman High School in Palm Beach County, also the home of John Carney and Mark Foley – former U.S. House Representative who enjoyed his young male interns much more than the next guy! Next time you are on a basketball court, try to play with one shut and see how good you are. It really is amazing when you think about it.
TBG: I hate carneys. Circus folk. They have small hands and smell like cabbage.
One-Eyed Willy: I used to love when UF had 10 guys who could play at all times. Remember when we would sub in a whole new lineup and not miss a beat? Marreese Speights played pretty good – of course, he can only stay on the court for 20 minutes a game because apparently he is the worst conditioned big man in the NCAA. And maybe it’s just me, but I swear every announcer in the world hates the Gators!
TBG: I think Billy Donovan has had the entire gamut of team styles at this point. The 10-deep team that would play full court defense for nearly an entire 40 minutes. The championship teams that relied on a few extremely talented stars. And now the team with only 9 scholarship players that has all the talent in the world, but just can’t put it all together. I’m sure he’ll figure out this team’s strengths and they’ll be better next year.
As for Speights, how can a guy that on the surface appears to be in good shape play like Oliver Miller after a Krispy Kreme binge? If this is what we are to expect from him – a good night, but only giving around 20 minutes – then at least let him put on 50 pounds and give us a fatty to love!
Do all fans think announcers hate their schools too? I’m really asking. To me it seems like they can’t stand UF, but is that just our view? Do they come across like that for every school?
One-Eyed Willy: You said: “The issue now is that he has to turn the program into his own and get his players in to run his system.”
Is that a big deal in basketball? Honestly, I am asking the question. Obviously it’s a big deal in football because there’s a huge difference between the spread option offense of Rich Rodriguez and the traditional I-back offense of Lloyd Carr. You will need vastly different athletes to run those two. But in basketball I wouldn’t think it matters all that much. You got your big guys who take up space in the lane, your forwards who need to be able to shoot with their backs to the basket, and your point guards who need to be quick and good 3-point shooters. Are the players Stan Heath had this year really going to be that much different than the ones he is going to recruit?
TBG: You make good point, but to answer your question, I have to say to a degree, yes, I think it does matter in basketball as well. Not nearly as much as in football where you can have 2 completely different offenses, but I think there are programs that may run a traditional set of 2 guards, 2 forwards, and 1 center, or there may be the teams that play a small ball style and really don’t have a center. Take the Gators for instance. With Nick Calathes, Walter Hodge, and Jai Lucas on the court, they are really running with 3 guards. Calathes’ assist total shows that. As for the Bulls, I don’t know what Heath’s long term plan is for the direction of the team, but I would think he would be able to go after guys he feel fit into his style and bring in players of his own from this point forward, as opposed to working with a team he really just inherited. Running more of a half-court offense, he may be looking for a big man to play near the basket. But if he wants them to get out and run, the quicker forwards may be who he looks for.
Pinto: The Rays are 1-0 and well on their way to a .500 record. Boy, this Rays Kool-Aid sure tastes good!
TBG: Since this comment, the Rays are 3-2. 5 games in and Pinto sounds like a genius. Someone wake me in September when the number 82 is put in the loss column.
One-Eyed Willy: When Bill Walton heard Tim Tebow won, he stated “THROW IT DOWN BIG FELLA!”
TBG: See everybody, leaving comments doesn’t hurt. It’s okay. Go ahead. Maybe you’re funny too.
Starting the USF/Miami Rivalry
Aldo: The sad thing is that USF will likely pull off a win in one of those 5 meetings and everyone will overblow it as them being on the map. TCU beat Oklahoma and they aren’t on the map. Stanford beat USC and they still suck. Sorry, USF is a nice school and all, but the most annoying thing last season was seeing them ranked #2.
One-Eyed Willy: I don’t think USF deserved to be #2 last year at anytime, but definitely in the top 10. At the time they were #2 they had beaten Auburn at Auburn and West Virginia at home. The wheels sort of fell off after that, but they were pretty good at about the halfway mark last year. And Aldo, I would be willing to make a friendly wager that USF beats Miami more than once in those five years. You are right, currently I don’t think USF is on the map yet but sorry to tell you this, neither is Miami!
TBG: First of all, it may have been annoying to you to see USF as the #2 team in the nation, but that’s not their fault. Blame the voters and the fact that last season was upside down. At the point they were rated #2, they did deserve it. You have to look at when it was and not compare it to how the entire season played out. Of course they didn’t end up with that ranking, but at that time – like One-Eyed Willy said – they upset Auburn and beat West Virginia yet again. The Bulls may never turn into an every year power, but they also aren’t just some small school that gets an upset here and there from time to time. I don’t think everyone will blow it out of proportion if they beat Miami, because Miami isn’t the Miami of the 80’s or of 5-8 years ago and USF isn’t UCF, so it won’t be this monumental upset that you are making it out to be. Stanford beating Southern Cal was a little different. Stanford finished the season 4-8. USF won’t be 4-8 any time soon. Mark my words. Of course Miami might be. They were only 1 game better than that last year.
WARNING! MORE MIAMI HURRICANE FOOTBALL TALK!
One-Eyed Willy: Is Robert Marve the future at Miami? We got the chance to watch him in high school since TBG and I live in Tampa, and he looked pretty darn impressive. He seemed a little cocky at times, but I probably would be too if I was being recruited by all the big schools in the country.
Aldo: Let’s just say that he can’t be any worse than Kyle Wright or Kirby Freeman. Both Marve and Jacory Harris seem to have “it.” Right now they both look extremely accurate in practice, more so than their predecessors. I’d have to see Marve in action against a real team, but I think Miami will be fine in 2009.
TBG: I know. I know. Miami Hurricane football talk! WHY?!? As I’ve mentioned before, both the Bulls and Gators play Miami over the next few seasons. It’s good to know what your opponents – and rivals – are up to.