December 13th, 2008: New Hampshire at Long Island

Long Island University Blackbirds 76, New Hampshire Wildcats 72

Stealth doubleheader is stealthy! The Game Notes of Doom re-enter the strange world of men's basketball and find themselves a robin in the midst of a flock of Blackbirds.


I had no idea when I planned this trip that this was a doubleheader with the LIU men. The more I thought about it, the more it seemed that I could stay for the second game I paid for and still get home in time for dinner. So I shifted seats to my preferred view, bought a thing of nachos and a hot dog, and prepared for another couple of hours of LIU basketball.

Oh! I probably should have mentioned them in the women's notes, given that they were there for both games, but it turns out that LIU does have a dance team, and a pep squad in the stands. The noise was unexpected, and a refreshing change from the depressing deadness that had filled the place for the holiday tournament.

The women wear their colors at home, but the men don't. And apparently the women don't always wear their colors at home either. I'm now officially and completely confused.

So, the New Hampshire men play nothing like the New Hampshire women (who also visited LIU; I swear I thought they'd left the second Turkey Classic game on the ticket by accident when I bought my general admission). Live by the three, die by the three, be resurrected and stalk the earth by the three, geez. I liked their big center, DiLiegro. Nice presence in the middle. Tyrone Conley had a wicked block- I keep thinking I've heard that last name before, and I don't know why. Solid play and nice range from Radar Onguetou. But, um, can I assume that Alvin Abreu was coming off the bench for disciplinary purposes? Because he kicked ass, and he kicked a lot of it in the second half- his shooting was one of the big reasons why New Hampshire made the game so dramatic at the end. Someone really needs to lace their Gatorade with Valium, though. I was betting random spectators the cost of a soda that he'd either have a heart attack or get a technical by the end of the game, given how far out he was wandering onto the court. Amazingly, he avoided both.

Daaaaaaamn, David Hicks. Just. Daaaamn. One-man highlight reel, this guy. Great ups, fancy moves, and one spectacularly flashy steal. Culpo got the start, which I don't think he did when they went to St. John's- he played well early, but was benched until late in the game for Jaytornah Wisseh and inexplicable reasons. Adomaitis was unimpressive, but he did what a center needs to do for a team with a lot of small, quick guards- he made space. I'm sure he did it more than once, but I have noted down an especially nice screen that left Kyle Johnson open for three. Speaking of Mr. Johnson, I'm pretty sure there actually isn't enough that can be said for him. He stepped up his game big time in the second half. Julian Boyd also had some great plays, though his were on the defensive end- he took a couple of key charges and had a blocked shot that kept the game manageable for the Blackbirds. As for the rest of the bench- you recall the "inexplicable reasons" crack about Culpo being benched? Wisseh had a really, really bad game. Flashy but stupid. As one of the folks behind me said, he was putting his head down too much, which meant that he wasn't watching the clock, his teammates, or the defenders around him. One of the worst mistakes a guard can make.

Pretty savvy observation for someone in the stands to make, right? Well. And we're into awkward moment number two. In my defense, I didn't actually plan to sit right in front of most of LIU's women's basketball team. They showed up after I did. Seriously, there are few things more awkward than sitting right next to a team while wearing the gear of the team that just shot 51% on them. Unless it's hearing one of them make devastating and accurate mockery of your complaints to the refs. I tried to keep a low profile, I really did, but it's hard to keep a low profile when you can't shut up, and oh yeah, you're wearing bright red. Did get to wish them good luck this year (and I did mean it; there are far too many Connecticut teams in that conference, and New York needs to take them down a peg, not to mention that I enjoyed watching them play and I'd like to see them do well). And the t-shirt drama will keep me giggling for weeks on end.

Gotta give a shoutout to the young lady in the Liberty shooting shirt, especially since I'm pretty sure that that was Marika Sprow. See, this is why we need the WNBA, so even reserve guards for mid-major schools have a dream to look up to.

I'm still not a fan of men's basketball. It's just kinda there for me. It's faster, higher, bigger, stronger than the women's game, that's true. And the boxscores will tell you that the passing is sharper. But so much of that faster, higher, bigger, stronger seemed like sound and fury, signifying nothing. I'll stick to my game.