The Terriers need to be hit with a cluestick, Connecticut fans are Connecticut fans no matter what school they follow, and there's just something disconcerting about a man of the cloth recognizing a New York Liberty t-shirt.
Our Grand Tour of New York basketball continued today in Brooklyn Heights, as we visited St. Francis for their game against Quinnipiac. Was quite a wander getting there from the train we were on; you'd be better off taking the M, R, 2, 3, 4, or 5, and not the A like we did. Even then, I'm still used to the concept of the gym being in a separate building, not in one of the main facilities, so we still almost missed it.
For lack of a more appropriate word, St. Francis really does play in a gym. Looks a little better than my high school gym, though take this with a grain of salt, because my school used an auxiliary gym that had a few inconveniently placed columns. Faded flag from a pole in the corner, sterile walls, cheap pads on said walls… clearly a facility for a school on the lower rungs of Division I. The seats were nice, though, being as they were actual seats. We didn't dare the concessions; if you have to go to the student cafeteria for your food, bring your own.
I will speak no ill of the anthem, because Brother Joe is a man of the full cloth and liked my 2000 Eastern Conference Champions shirt.
I really don't like Quinnipiac. Rough team, very rough, and the fans they brought along with them were downright obnoxious. Please not to be bitching about blatant calls on your team when you're up seventeen points with three minutes remaining, or thereabouts. If you want your team to stop being called for fouls, then tell your team to stop hacking, fair? For the Bobcats, senior forward Monique Lee played tough, and shooter Erin Kerner utterly went off in the second half. It got to the point where I was begging her not to score not just because I wanted St. Francis to have half a chance but also because I was running out of room to put points on my bootlegged scoresheet (bootleg in the sense that they didn't *have* scoresheets, and therefore I had to keep tallies on the program, although I stumbled upon a very nifty way of tracking first versus second half). The St. Francis coach just could not or would not adjust her defense, and Kerner burned the Terriers so badly that the ASPCA should have been put on the case. Quinnipiac just went on the attack in the second half, capitalized on every mistake St. Francis made, and made it clear that they were going to be the class of the league this year whether anyone liked it or not.
Frustration, ladies and gentlemen, is a six-eight Euro who can get after the ball like nobody's business but couldn't finish a shot if you gave her a guide to the basket. Still, I wouldn't be surprised if Katja Bavendam were on some German national team at some point in her career. Her countrywoman Karla Babica was a source of much frustration for anyone cheering on St. Francis; the Terriers committed nine fouls, and she had three of them. Her defense on Kerner was reminiscent of Yamasaki on Sales. I'm very surprised Tiffany Hill ended up at a school as low on the food chain as St. Francis- she's got real game, decent range, no fear, nice spin moves. I'm not saying she's a BEastie, but she should be in the MAAC or even the America East. But most of her points came late, after the Terriers had rolled over and played dead sufficiently- oh, the scoreboard only shows a fifteen-point swing, but St. Francis was down by more than twenty at some points; only the foul differential kept them respectable. If Deanna Petrucci had the courage to shoot, or perhaps a shot to shoot, she'd be pretty awesome- she's a scrapper, a rebounder, a playmaker, and a leader on the floor, but she's absolutely terrified to shoot, judging from what we saw today. She makes a good determined pair with Linda Warrington.
Honestly, I wore a Liberty shirt because it was the first clean and comfortable thing on the pile, and not because of the All-Star post tandem riding the bench for St. Francis. There were quite a few moments in that game where you could almost see Sue thinking, "I left Rutgers for THIS?!" Nothing seems to piss off an old-school Liberty player like giving up, and when St. Francis got lazy, Sue and Kym were both seething. At one point, Sue kicked a water bottle under her chair. (I'm sure the chair was thinking, "It could always be worse; look at my cousin in Indiana.") It looked like the two of them were doing a lot of the heavy lifting in the huddles, with Sue talking shop and Kym verbally going one on one with the players. I get the sneaking suspicion that the head coach will be around as long as they're mediocre, but as soon as they have a truly appalling season, she's out the door- assuming that Sue and Kym stick around there.
The thing that ticks me off, and the thing that I'm sure infuriated the folks at St. Francis, was that the Terriers pretty much controlled the first half. They were getting the shots they wanted, and they hadn't even gotten Hill going yet. But Quinnipiac started revving up at the end of the first half and just blew them out of the water in the second, and that's down to coaching, methinks. Time will tell if St. Francis can remedy that.
Monday, April 14, 2008
January 21st, 2008: Quinnipiac at St. Francis NY
January 19th, 2008: West Virginia at St. John's
Olayinka Sanni is a total bad-ass, Mike Carey outwits Kim barnes Arico, and most of the Red Storm don't even seem to have gotten out of bed.
Dear Team: Please stop sucking ass, okay? Love, one of your long-suffering fans. PS- No, seriously, if you're going to suck ass, at least do so with some spirit.
I'm starting to think our band is a metaphor for our team. There's one soloist who blows his little heart out to try and make the anthem sound passable, but the rest of his ensemble wouldn't know a sharp from a flat if it poked them, so he tries harder and harder and ends up making a fool out of himself. Now, replace soloist with Kia Wright, replace the rest of the ensemble with the rest of the team, and replace a passable rendition of the national anthem with a passable imitation of a basketball game. This is beginning to become a problem for the Red Storm.
Is it just me, or does the West Virginia coach remind anyone of an evil version of Dan Hughes? They look very similar, but Carey's demeanor is much more reminiscent of a cranky Bill Laimbeer. And seriously, dude, there's no reason to bring two starters back out onto the floor with a twenty point lead at the three-minute mark. There really isn't. That being said, I think Carey outcoached Barnes Arico today, and there aren't too many folks in the Big East who do that on a regular basis. Of course, it helps to be able to call upon a six-two center who isn't afraid to be a big girl, in the person of Olayinka Sanni, who reminded me and my mom very much of Kym Hampton in her build and in the way she used that build to muscle her way through the lane and make life a living hell for Joy and Coco. I'd have to see her against real posts in this conference to judge, but she looks like she'd be a good pickup in the draft- not for the Libkids, because we have post players coming out our ears, but for some team that needs young post help and is willing to take a flyer on a project. Meg Bulger had a relatively quiet game, which wasn't helped by the two quick fouls she picked up at the very end of the first half, when St. John's really looked like they were going to make a game of this by making two quick steals in the backcourt and getting fouled on both of them. Chakhia Cole was tough, but as a five-ten four, in an era when the short but tough fours are being phased out of the league, she's not going to go anywhere except Europe. LaQuita Owens was a pretty impressive shooter- after she canned her third 3, I suggested from the stands that perhaps Kelly might want to effin' guard her, if that was okay with her.
My team, let me show you its humiliation. I was furious with most of them for most of the game. About the only ones I think left it all out there, or at least left more out there than they left elsewhere, were Kia and Joy. Kia was all up in everyone's business today, and Joy was working hard out there, between her work as the garbage woman and trying to defend either Cole or Sanni, depending on the assignment. More on why this was a bad idea in a bit. But the rest of them… Sky's playing very tentatively, and she's shown before that she can handle D-I players, so I don't know why she's suddenly being so hesitant. Tiina has never been blonder, both in hair color and in personality on the court. So many times today she just stood there and watched balls go by her. I mean, I know she's a Euro, but this is beyond ridiculous. Monique couldn't throw it in the ocean, not that she didn't try. She's taking the shots that Sky should be taking, the shots that I'm starting to think Sky needs to get her feet under her so she can turn into the top-notch player we know she can be. Kelly took a lot of chances, some of which worked, some of which didn't, and she wasn't nearly aggressive enough on offense- she's got to learn to drive when she has the ball and not just settle for a jump shot; since she's a junior, it might be too late for her to learn to do that consistently. Coco wasn't quite herself today, although I'd credit Sanni with that as much as I'd blame Coco for it. Recee, I think, was scared after her knee, because she played very tentatively, and Recee and tentative don't usually go together unless the words "not in a million years" are also included in the sentence. Whatever the reason was, she was not being bad-ass enough to go up against Sanni, which meant that we really had no one to counter the bad-ass (and the ass, for that matter) that Sanni brought to the game.
I was really not happy with Coach tonight. Kia on Bulger was asking for trouble; I would have switched her over to Cole and put Joy on Bulger to try and get a better matchup. Of course, the whole thing would have become moot once Sanni started going off, because Joy would have had to focus on her, but I don't like the way the game was managed at all- because Coach let the players get out of control. I'd like to think she's not throwing in the towel on Kia's senior year, because I'd lose a lot of respect for her if she were, but I can't think of a reason not to call timeouts that she had in hand in order to- if necessary- grab Sky and/or Monique and/or Tiina and/or Kelly by the jerseys and yell, "CALM THE HELL DOWN RIGHT THIS SECOND!" I think part of Coach's problem is that she gets too involved in the "fairness" of the game- if the refs are giving her team shit, then she gets caught up in it. It's the same problem Kia has. Unfortunately, and I don't necessarily want to buy into a stereotype here, Coach is also in a physical and emotional state where she overreacts to things. But once she and Kia both get out of control and start getting on the refs, then the rest of the team loses it, and we get our doors blown off like a little old lady at a chili cookoff.
I was also not happy with the refs tonight, because the one problem I had with Sanni was that she was pretty blatantly using her ass as a battering ram and doing a bunch of holding. Honestly, I don't care if refs call a game tight or loose, as long as they do it consistently and at both ends, and Barb Smith's crew was doing no such thing.
Even the Let's Make a Deal sucked. I told her not to take the box, damnit. I told her. The box was good last time, and they alternate it. So instead of getting a nice jacket and shirt… she got a cupcake. This is the BEast. There are no cupcakes. Except Georgetown.
Today was also the alumnae game, but I was too cheap to go. We did see Greeba Barlow (who was in training camp with the Sparks last year) and Mercedes Dukes wandering around. Hopefully, they were slated to host a postgame clinic on badassery, because this current team needs a very large kick in the ass, and if anyone's going to give it to them, it's going to be Greeba Barlow.
One last thing before I go, and I know it's not a polite observation to make, but naming your daughter Sparkle actually tells the world, "You know, I didn't want a kid. I really wanted a My Little Pony."
January 12th, 2008: Penn at Princeton
The New Jersey rivalry weekend continues on the campus that time forgot. Meagan Cowher is her father's daughter, Addie Micir is a pleasant surprise, and there's nothing quite as pathetic as watching a guy try to get to his feet with a full bass on top of him.
So for part two of our Jersey Rivalry Weekend, we headed southish to Princeton, where the Tigers were to host the Quakers of Penn. An hour's drive or thereabouts from the RAC brought us to the picturesque town and the stunning campus that shapes its aura. In the beginnings of dusk, it was quite beautiful; I'm sure it's even more lovely in daylight, but since Ivy League conference games are all on Friday and Saturday nights so as to not interfere with academics, I doubt I'll have the chance to see the exquisite work during the day. Construction on campus cut off the normal routes to Jadwin Gym, so- with help from a very nice band member- we cut through the concourse of Princeton Stadium and across the track, past an ivy-covered wall, through a wrought-iron gate, to the arena (which looks more like an opera house or an independent theatre than it does a place where sports occur).
No food in the bleachers. This is a wonderful idea and I wish more schools would adopt it. For those who wanted to snack during the game, the upstairs balcony allowed food in the seats. Jadwin Gym is intriguingly set up, for the facility is primarily used for indoor track; basketball and the like are afterthoughts, so while the court is set up properly, on three sides here are gray screens that cut off the vast bulk of the building; looking over the screens, you can see men's and women's track banners, and at the foot of the screen behind the benches, a couple of lanes of track are visible. Seating was only available on one side of the court, facing the benches- bleachers on the lower level, seats on the upper. Quaint, old-fashioned digital scoreboard with quirky graphics.
Signs that you might be at an Ivy League game, #1: the pep band has a bass. They were wonderful and we ended up buying their album.
Penn brought a lot of power in the paint- perhaps not surprising, considering their coach is the former Georgetown coach who was there for Rebekkah Brunson's tenure. Perhaps they recognized that this was a weakness in Princeton's game- especially with Meagan Cowher very much off her game in the first half- or perhaps it's Knapp's style. I don't know enough about him to judge, only that Penn beat Princeton in the paint for the entire game, and the differential was most noticeable in the first half. I was most impressed with the junior Maggie Burgess, who provided a lot of that power as the first Quaker off the bench- she's big, surprisingly mobile for her size, and actually got stuff done. But Penn seemed very discombobulated, as a lot of their passes went out of bounds, off players' hands, or over anywhere they could be caught. I was surprised nothing went over the screens, to be honest. Whether it was a bad game by Penn's distributors or well-played defense by the Princeton guards, the Penn offense was pretty much choked off right where it would normally have started up.
Signs that you might be at an Ivy League game, #2: the only individual award that's prominently placed so that it can be clearly read is the Academic All-American award.
I admit that one of the reasons I wanted to see Princeton this year was because of Meagan Cowher. With her sports bloodline, and with Princeton pretty much scheduling a suicide slate for their out-of-conference part of the season, I figured she'd blow me out of the water. Not so much. Maybe she wasn’t up for this game. Maybe she came down with something. We all have off nights. But I was not impressed with her. Yeah, she hit her averages, but most of her points came after her teammates had built the lead. She had some deplorable defensive lapses and way too many turnovers, plus the mind-numbingly stupid foulout with twenty seconds left on a pointless offensive foul. She's aggressive, and when she showed her moves she showed that she does have them, but I think it's going to take an attitude adjustment for her to make it in the WNBA, and with a coaching pedigree and a Princeton degree, I can't see her bothering to make it. No, the player who really impressed me for Princeton was Addie Micir- a beautiful stroke, enough aggressiveness to both hit the boards and play solid defense, and only a freshman, so little flaws like questionable footwork can be improved upon. Again, for all I know, I've seen the best game she'll ever play in her life, but I liked what I saw out of her. I also liked Whitney Downs, a junior forward with great instincts. Running backwards to properly get back on defense seems to be a lost art, but she has it. Princeton got a lot of their points from the line, some of which were the result of incredibly stupid or blatant fouls by Penn. Most of the rest came from outside the arc- they bombed eight threes. They were also very good at taking advantage of Penn's mistakes, though a faster team would probably have converted more of the fast breaks that were potentially there.
Signs that you might be at an Ivy League game, #3: point guard Jessica Berry impressed both me and the boy with her great handle and court vision; true points are rare today in basketball, but she had an air about her that, if she walked onto a court anywhere, you'd know she was a point guard without her saying a word. We were surprised to find that she'd only played in two games this year, and this was her first start. We thought she might have been injured, or perhaps hadn't lived up to the school's academic standards for the first semester. I happened to be reading a game recap on the Princeton site while compiling these notes… turns out that she was fine and her grades were fine- she was unavailable because she was doing her fall semester at Oxford.
The band did a postgame show, which was also awesome, although there's nothing quite as pathetic as watching a guy with a full bass on top of him trying to get back up from lying (and playing his instrument) on his back.
To quote eBay lingo: A+ viewing experience, would attend again. Perhaps next year, when Micir's matured a little more.
January 12th, 2008: Seton Hall at Rutgers
The Pirates can't shoot, Heather Zurich saves the day, and Coach Stringer color-coordinates.
Looks like it's Rivalry Weekend in the Garden State, at least when it comes to the ladies of the hardwood, so where better to be on a Saturday afternoon than the RAC for The Battle of New Jersey as Seton Hall and Rutgers grappled, and what better way to spend a cold Saturday night than at Jadwin Gym as the Princeton Tigers opened their Ivy schedule with rival Penn?
First the familiar: RAC sweet RAC. I've come to love that strange little trapezoidal building and appreciate the way its build allows noise to collect at the bottom, attempt to rise to the girdered ceiling, and sink back down into the mass of people, there to wash, rinse, and repeat. A most excellent turnout, and mostly not even due to Seton Hall fans: that bright blue does tend to stand out, especially in a building as washed in Scarlet as the RAC- I've been to many a basketball game, and I don't think I've ever seen as large a percentage of a crowd in team gear as I ever have at any Rutgers game.
Fortunately, unlike the game versus St. John's, they had the full band on hand this time, and they did a credible job with the anthem. Hey, when it's a song you know and know well, you tend to fuss about how it's performed.
I've never seen a team take as many bad shots as Seton Hall did. Lord have mercy, but they were chucking. It was as if they expected someone (or Someone) to give them a hand each and every time, and really, Someone has better things to do than help each and every single shot. I was worried that they would come back big in the second half, because they went very deep into their rotation, and certainly they scored well in the second half, but they couldn't get to the line, which impaired their ability to score- although taking mind-numbingly stupid jumpers is totally not going to help any team get to the line for free throws. They brought an interesting combination in the post- the shorter but wider and very physical Amber Harris (no not that one) and the taller, slimmer, Noteisha Womack. I absolutely loved watching Womack work in the post- it's nice to see a player with a consistent hook in the women's game. Harris set some wicked screens. In the first half, I turned to the boy and said, "Why aren't they going to 21 (Ela Mukosiej) more? She's been faking out Essence freakin' Carson- okay, she's got bad hands, but she's faking out one of a defensive team's defensive aces on a consistent basis." In the second half she scored all six of her points, including four in short order. That was also when Jadis Rhodin came to life, hitting the threes she'd been missing and scoring pretty much all of her seventeen points. But Seton Hall made way too many mental mistakes to have a chance of keeping the game close so that they could make a run- they'd put themselves in too much of a hole before they started coming back.
Heather Zurich, ilu. With Essence Carson clearly not herself- slow on defense, making uncharacteristically stupid plays, not hitting her shots- Heather stepped up and hit the midrange jumpers- when Seton Hall made a hint of a run in the second half, she stopped it, plus she played excellent defense as necessary. Of course, the bulk of the lead-building came from Epiphanny Prince's daredevil drives and nifty shots, and the cherry was put on by Matee Ajavon and some of her "naw, you're just practicing that to win a game of HORSE" shots in the second half. (I'm thinking the twisting, somewhat spastic, layup myself.) With Brittany Ray injured or sitting for some other reason, having suffered a torn meniscus against Princeton five frickin' games ago, how do you not notice these things, Katie Adams got extended time in the first half, and you could feel the arena's anticipation, hoping and praying that she'd put the ball in the basket. Didn't happen. Kia Vaughn started the game badly, completely out of it on both ends of the floor. We're talking about standing there and watching the rebound go by. Somewhere along the line, perhaps through the well-timed insertions of Rashidat Junaid, someone pulled her by the ponytail until her head was fully out of her ass, and she started playing more aggressively, like she's a big strong young woman with a good touch. I hope she's aware that she's replaceable in this starting lineup, either by Junaid or by Stringer going quite crazy and going small.
Now, I'm not sure if Stringer decided to use her wardrobe to make a point about the importance of this game, or she got her outfits for this week and last week mixed up while trying to color-coordinate with the opposing team a la Jenny Boucek. Whatever the case, she was properly attired in team colors. I just wish she'd been a little more Rutgers-esque in some of her defensive moves, because there were some ugly mismatches at times, and they looked like badly chosen assignments, not blown assignments.
Almost forgot to mention (hey, look at the timestamp, I'm allowed)! They rolled out the red carpet at the RAC today to give out the BEast rings from the tournament last year. I like seeing Michelle Edwards get bling, even if it's bling that doesn't mean very much in the greater scheme of things. Essence Carson was also honored for hitting the thousand-point mark against Pepperdine. I'm surprised it took her so long. I know RU's offense is… not their speciality, and I know she's not a major scorer, and I know she's been sharing shots with Ajavon her entire career, but it still surprises me that a player who can be as effective as Essence can be took three and a half years to hit four digits on the scoreometer. Whatever. She did it, so major congrats to a most awesome young lady.
I'm not pleased that they've gotten chinchy with the scoresheets. Nothing like five minutes before tip trying to scribble in the entire rosters of both teams, plus years, positions, and numbers. Doesn't help that we bought a program in hopes of getting a scoresheet, only to discover that hi, free ones over yonder.
I think there may have been an alumna or two at the game, judging from the number of tall young women in official-looking gear who seemed to be a touch too old to be recruits.
A most satisfying win, in conclusion, except for having more turnovers than the opponent. So, despite the margin of victory, I kinda feel bad for Georgetown.
January 5th, 2008: St. John's at Rutgers
When Red meets Scarlet, it's easy to pick the winning color scheme Alternatively, just say you're rooting for Kia.
It's the most wonderful time of the season: my annual "well, at least the wardrobe choices are easy/oh, dear, what will I do/what was I thinking when I picked two teams from the same bleeping conference/er, go Kia!" game, Rutgers versus St. John's. It was my mom's first trip to the RAC, and I think she was impressed- as well she should be, because it's pretty impressive for a college arena- though she was more amused than intimidated by the Rutgers fight song.
The only reason there was a decent crowd, methinks, was that there was a doubleheader with the men playing Georgetown. Most Rutgers diehards would have been up in Toronto for the International Bowl or too wiped out to consider a second event in the day, while the St. John's men were hosting Cincinnati at Carnesecca. Because of the bowl game, Rutgers had the alumni band and a bare handful of unimpressive cheerleaders. Usually the Rutgers cheerleaders and dancers do some impressive gymnastic stunts, but this bunch I don't think even bothered going out to center court. At least the band didn't completely suck, although I may be inured to band suckage from St. John's.
For St. John's, it's official. I have had it the hell up to here with Monique McLean. I keep comparing her to Shameka Christon, but at least Shameka has a learning curve. Monique seems to have just barely enough of an attention span to keep focused for one game after, presumably, a very loud talking-to, and then goes and does the same damn stupid thing she wasn't supposed to do again. The problem is that because she's the first option on offense, Coach won't bench her in the middle of a game. She might lose a start, but I don't think Coach is holding her accountable for her fuck-ups, and with Kia leaving after this season, St. John's needs her to step up next year if they don't want to backslide. After the kvetching I've done early in the season, I can't believe I'm saying this, but Sky needs to shoot more. I think she's trying too hard to be a team player, and it's eating her up. If Monique's got her head up her ass and Kia's not herself, we need Sky to step up- and she can, I know she can. Kia played this game more with her heart than with her head, especially after Recee went down- that's the only explanation I can think of for her trying to go after Kia Vaughn. She was trying to force things too much, and I don't know if that was in response to the Rutgers defense, her own panic, or in response to Monique forcing the issue. Prince wasn't exactly helping, either. Tiina. Oh, Tiina. In a game against big posts like Kia Vaughn and Rashidat Junaid, St. John's needed her to be tough, because both Joy and Coco are too skinny to be really effective against big bodies, and Recee's too short. But once again, she came up too blonde and too Euro. Joy and Coco both fought, and I actually felt that Coco was more effective than Joy, although they both had their "one red jersey in three/four white ones" moment. Kelly, off the bench, didn't bring all that much. Recee played Junaid well, but then she turned one way and her knee went the other, and there's nothing quite as disconcerting as seeing a big, mean, Texas girl crying on the court. That, I think, really took the wind out of the Red Storm's sails, in that immediately after Recee was carried off the floor, they started playing as if they were going to lose the game; to me, that was one of the two momentum-switching moments that gave the game to Rutgers.
The first, of course, was Essence Carson hitting the three right before halftime to give Rutgers their first lead of the game. Though she didn't start, she played often and well. (The rumor I heard about Ajavon was that she'd missed shootaround to watch the International Bowl, which may have been stupid, but is also very sweet and romantic.) Essence stabilized the team, and that led to the second half. Brittany Ray couldn't buy a good shot in the first half, but in the second half, she found her spot and wham! Threes everywhere. Epiphanny Prince made her presence felt more on defense than on offense- so did Heather Zurich. Kia Vaughn was less effective than she could have been against a St. John's frontcourt that wasn't big enough to stop her; I felt that Rashidat took more advantage of her opportunities to go on the offensive. I really like Myia McCurdy, so you can imagine that one of my highlights was her and Joy chasing a ball out of bounds, because both of them would rather have bamboo slivers shoved under their fingernails than give up on a play.
Worst nightmare known to man: ENTERLINE. And if DeMayo and the other referee hadn't gotten control back with their whistles, there might well have been a Kia versus Kia throwdown by the end of the game. My mom was unabashedly rooting for St. John's, and the people behind us were unabashedly rooting for Rutgers, and yet on half the calls, one would turn to the other and say, "That should have been your call. My team, but bad call."
All in all, though this was a no-lose situation for a basketball fan who bleeds red, it was an extremely frustrating game. I just hope Recee's okay…
December 30th, 2007: Morgan State at St. John's
After profanity, a respite, as Kia Wright brings the three-ball and Sheree Ledbetter brings the spark.
Now that's more like it. Astute readers of the game notes of doom- such as you are- might have observed that there were no game notes for Baylor's visit to St. John's, despite this being one of the most anticipated out-of-conference games of the year for the Red Storm. I was too furious at the team to write game notes, because they flat-out gave up, and that was unacceptable. But I'm back in the saddle, and today they looked like Coach read them the riot act… and then Kia and Joy read it to them again with a few curse words thrown in for good measure.
Some kind of kids day today. There were hyperactive crotchdroppings running around everywhere, and inattentive parents to go with them. We had trouble getting our regular seats, or the seats we were planning to make our regular seats (we met Kia's grandma at the Baylor game, and had planned to sit with her, but there were strangers in said seats). I don't want to say there was a bunch of cluelessness in the arena, but one of the people in my row asked me if sophomore forward Victoria Hodges, who's been in street clothes and on crutches pretty much since she set foot on campus, was the coach.
Girl Scout choral anthem. It didn't suck. For St. John's, this is noteworthy.
Morgan State has hooded warm-ups. That's kind of awesome. They play with a lot of intensity, something that I'm sure comes from their coach, who reminds me a lot of the guy from Heart of the Game. A lot of ballhawking guards, a lot of physical posts. If they had only been half as sloppy, they might have made this a game instead of a blowout. Corin Adams impressed both me and my mom- she's got a lot of nice moves and knows how to move on the floor, and as a sophomore, there's plenty of room for her to improve as well. The other big scorer for them this game was Aaries Reed. We found ourselves very fond of Tamara Rogers- mom called her a firecracker, and she played with equal passion at both ends of the floor. Britney Griffin reminded us both of Natalie Williams, at least in her build, but her touch was a little softer and her skillset much less impressive.
Lord, but Kia wanted this game. At one point, I was actually yelling that she couldn't hit any more threes, damnit, because I didn't have any more room to put them on my scoresheet- she finished with six, and the scoresheet only has seven. Her hands were pretty quick, too, and she fought for rebounds like you wouldn't believe from her size. I think she was pissed from the Baylor game. Joy was also back to her old self, though with a couple of lapses in concentration. It was nice to hear her voice on the floor again, I'll say that. Monique brought her game, though there were a couple of moments when she probably should have passed but didn't. Kelly started in her place- methinks Coach is NOT happy with Little Sista. Then again, there were way too many possessions, especially in the second half, where St. John's spent too much time passing around, either because they were trying to force-feed scoreless players, because they were working the clock, or because no one wanted to help run up the score. Tiina was completely out of it in the first half, but turned it up in the second- she was the catalyst that reminded the team that the game wasn't officially over yet. Kelly hit the shots she was given- I don't think she was asked to do more than that. I felt we got some great play off the bench, especially from Coco, and from Sheree, who had to come in when Recee got into quick foul trouble. The more I see of Sheree, the more I like her as Recee's backup when Tiina graduates- yeah, she's small, but she plays tough. I think she just needs more time to get accustomed to being on the floor. The only one we weren't really happy with was Kristin, who seemed to think that being part of the mop-up crew meant she didn't have to take the game seriously. Uh-uh.
Hopefully, we didn't use up all our shooting mojo in this game. We're going to need a lot more like this if we're going to look respectable against Rutgers. Ah well. Can't wait. May the best team that night win, that's all I have to say on that.
December 29th, 2007: Fordham Holiday Invitational
Rose Hill Gym is beautiful, the Fordham Rams need a lot of help, and Fairfield is all over the offensive boards.
Rose Hill Gym is one of the most beautiful places to go see basketball that I've ever been. The whole campus gives the impression of being archetypal: time is immaterial, and the hubbub of the Bronx is left behind, replaced by a hush as the stone buildings and wide spaces absorb the sound. The gym is small, but surprisingly comfortable. One side of the seating offers actual seats, while the endcourts and the side behind the benches offer bleachers. Unsurprisingly, the seats are the most popular.
I don't know if Fordham normally has a band, or if they were at some other event, or they refrained from using theirs to not show up the other teams in this holiday tournament they hosted. Whatever the situation, the music was canned, and not very well piped. They had a half dozen cheerleaders who were as perky as they could be while maintaining the world-weary sense that they weren't leading much at all. The crowd was surprisingly male-dominated, what there was of it- not very loud, except when Fordham (or, for the visiting fans, Fairfield) made a run. I hope they're more enthusiastic when Fordham doesn't suck, because Rose Hill Gym deserves to have passionate fans rocking it.
Mount St. Mary's started off very balanced, providing an interesting counterpoint to Fordham's one-option system, but when they needed someone to step up on offense, it was Lauren Howell, a sniper from New Jersey who looks disconcertingly like Nicole Wolff (and just to confuse matters even further, one of her teammates looks disconcertingly like a shorter, wider Ann Strother). Tiffany Green was their firestarter, a small, quick guard with very good hands on defense- there was one play where Fordham had a sure fast break that she disrupted with a well-timed deflection. She had a tendency to overdramatize contact, which irked me slightly, because Mount St. Mary's really needed no help from the referees that they weren't already getting- for the record, this isn't a slight on the crew, since I thought it was actually a pretty decently called game, but more a reflection of what Fordham seemed to believe was defense. They got some solid post play out of what bigs they had- Mary Dunn (the super-sized Strother) was especially effective, I thought, in getting position and denying the inside to the Rams.
Fordham, on the other hand, relied on freshman phenom Megan Mahoney. She doesn’t look a thing like her namesake in Connecticut, but there are definite similarities in their playing styles. Young Miss Mahoney plays all out all the time- much like the line about Jessica Bibby, she only knows one speed, and that's 90 mph. Sometimes it's to her advantage, such as when she's diving for loose balls or on the fast break. Sometimes it's a disadvantage, such as when she gets ahead of her passing or loses control of the ball. If she can learn to play within herself, to rein in some of that speed and enthusiasm, she can be a prospect, because the girl definitely has game. Of course, judging her solely on a game against Mount St. Mary's isn't fair. She and Raina Spencer did yeoman's work on Brianna Gauthier, who came in as the top scorer for Mount St. Mary's, but only managed five points. The player I really liked was Takita Earl, who had ten rebounds and a gutsy attitude. She needs to be a little more willing to shoot, though- the people next to me were screaming for her to take some of the open outside shots she had. Also, she may be the first player I've ever seen who's developed her upper body but not her lower body- she's very solid up top, but she's got the thinnest little shins I've ever seen on a post player. The not shooting thing, though, that may be a coaching decision, because the other two people in the general vicinity of six feet tall who played also didn't shoot much. (Actually, I liked the third string center, Alex Zamora, more than I liked the second-stringer, Kassie Humphries- I liked her hustle better and she seemed to have a better idea of what she should be doing on the floor.) On the other hand, one of the starting guards… lord, but I have never seen a player as clueless on the floor as Annie Zopf. She had no idea how to get out of a double team, no idea what she was supposed to be doing during some of the plays… when she was in the game, things ground to a halt and everything seemed to go wrong, not just with her, but with everyone else on the floor. I'd love to see her plus/minus…
Fordham seemed to have issues with not committing fouls. They committed a lot of stupid ones, that's for sure. I don't think they were ready for post players who would provide resistance. At 0-11, I'm not sure why…
I found out after getting to the arena that this was a tournament, and thus a doubleheader, which soothed my soul after seeing the ticket prices (yes, I know, historic gym and all, but the price differential between the A-10 and the BEast should be more than $1, yanno?). Good thing I decided to stay for the second game, because Troy and Fairfield provided a much more interesting game to watch.
Bonita, we must stop meeting like this. I'm serious. I'm starting to think either she's stalking me, she thinks I'm stalking her, or we've both decided to tour D-I basketball in the New York metro area. This is, what, the fourth venue I've seen her at this year alone? Sheesh. I didn't recognize any of the other officials.
Rebounding. Holy hell in a handbasket, can Fairfield rebound and create on second chances. According to their recap, they had 27 second chance points. They had 23 offensive rebounds… out of 45 total, and out of 43 missed shots. They just did not give up. I'm pretty sure Baendu Lowenthal got all her points on putbacks, and Stephanie Geehan had to have gotten at least half her points the same way. Sabra Wrice seemed to be their firestarter- she can actually create for herself, which in turn sets up either a scoring opportunity for her or a second chance for her teammates. The only thing that would worry me, were I a fan of Fairfield, was that once you get past that top three or four (if you toss in Tara Flaherty) there wasn't much on the floor for the Stags. Yeah, three solid players will get you past most of Fairfield's schedule, and probably even past most of the MAAC, but I think they'll have trouble with Marist and Iona. That being said, I think Frager can take them pretty far- it'll be interesting if he starts competing with Hartford for UConn's sloppy seconds.
I was primed to absolutely adore Troy. I mean, come on. Five Aussies in one place that isn't Australia. How cool is that? The funny thing is, though, that the player I walked out with an immediate fondness for and interest in was not one of the half dozen "not from these here parts" players, but forward Audrey Muse: if she could hit half the open looks she creates for herself on the inside, she'd probably be playing at Florida or Florida State instead of Troy. Both visually and athletically, she reminds me very much of Tina Thompson- she doesn't have the outside game, but she's a warrior through and through. Oh, I liked the Aussies, or at least hearing the Aussies- there's something very reassuring about that Aussie twang on the floor, like the universe has been rearranged properly- because Amy Lewis has a nice little shot and Kylie Morrissy has a knack for getting to the line. But Troy seems to be a live by the three, die by the three type of team, and when you play a team that rebounds as fiercely as Fairfield did today, you're going to be shit out of luck if the threes don't fall. They played a stubborn, sticky, man-to-man defense- but only on the first opportunities. They didn't go after the boards, and Fairfield took full advantage of that. Their coach also seemed to be trying to channel Geno. This isn't going to be a successful tactic when you play a team from Connecticut. Frager's Thibault-esque cool served much better.
I saw four different possession reversals in this game, and a completely inexplicable shot clock reset that led to a Fairfield shot hitting iron, a Stag getting the offensive rebound, and Sabra Wrice hitting a three-ball. I've never seen so many possessions reversed. Tres strange.
I thought to myself that the female commentator for Fairfield looked awfully familiar. At first I thought Doris Burke was slumming, but then I got a look at her profile and said to myself, "Hey, that looks an awful lot like Maria Conlon. Huh. I thought she was busy in the world of high finance and higher heels." But such is not the case- she might also be in the financial advising business, but she's doing the Fairfield color gig. Can't help but wonder if anyone else there recognized her.
All in all, though, I'd have to say that my favorite player on the day was actually the little girl from the first biddy game who spent much of the first half of Mount St. Mary's-Fordham wandering around the arena with a WNBA tucked under her arm. Woo for the second generation!
December 14th, 2007: Maine at St. John's
Cindy Blodgett can't coach, Maine can't dribble, the St. John's posts rock, and there's a little Arico on the way.
Important lesson learned today: having two WNBA players on your coaching staff doesn't guarantee a damn thing about the quality of the coaching. Other interesting thing inferred today: there must have been some kind of party after the Final Four.
Dear pep band: please stop fucking up the anthem. Please. Just stop. I'm begging you here. Play a recorded version. Have someone sing it. Have someone sign it. Do an interpretive dance. Just stop butchering the melody. You guys do kind of suck at what you do, and also, you choose really obnoxious times to interject yourselves into the proceedings.
In all of my born days, I never saw a Division I team take such bad care of the ball as Maine did tonight. Oy. It was brutal to watch. Elena Baranova dribbles better than the Black Bear guards. I'm not really surprised that a black hole like Blodgett and a… whatever Kelley Gibson is… had no real way of imparting the ability to pass and dribble to the players in their care. I'm not impressed with Blodgett as a coach at all. For a lot of the game, her bench players did as much coaching as she did. While I'm sure that teaches them important qualities of leadership that they'll need in their post-college lives, I was always under the impression that coaching was, you know, the coach's job. Not that she doesn't have some talent on that roster- there are some promising big bodies on that roster, including a player who looks like a miniature Cathrine Kraayeveld. But I'm not sure she knows what to do with them.
Maine's offense operated most efficiently when they went inside to Brittany Boser, then were able to swing it outside to stretch the defense. When they could get their inside-outside/outside-inside game working, they didn't look half-bad, but it didn't happen often, because, again, lousy, lousy ballhandling. Christina Mosher provided well in her limited time, but she played most of the game when it was completely in St. John's hands (er, when it was *really* under control). They put on a good press a couple of times, but they didn't use it enough- I think Blodgett's problem is that she just doesn't adjust fast enough. (Her other problem is dry, bleached spikes- she looks like a cougar on the prowl, and 31 is no age for a cougar.)
(I really can't wait for conference play, or at least for Baylor. I'm tired of being so unimpressed by teams that I can't put together appropriately doomtastic game notes.)
St. John's brought a balanced attack, balanced more than usual, because Sky couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, and neither could Kelly when she came off the bench- for at long last the day came that Kia Wright returned to the starting lineup. She's got such quick hands, Kia- and Joy, Monique, and Recee aren't so bad in that regard themselves. Granted, maybe they looked better than they are against a Maine team that wasn't completely sure about this whole dribbling concept, but Joy was at least able to even her turnovers committed/turnovers forced ratio again. Kia's court sense was also much welcomed, and I think it brought up the whole team's court vision as well. It also allowed Sky to shift to the two and Monique to the three, insomuch as a difference exists between the two positions at the collegiate level, which only heightens the likeness between Monique and Shameka. Recee was also especially tough- eight rebounds, double-digit points, and a block, all in thirteen minutes. She and Joy were models of efficiency, and Coco wasn't so bad herself. Kelly had the worst luck with her shots in the first half, but she made up for them in the second half with a beautiful spin move and a flying layup- she and Monique both hit crazy circus shots. About the only player who noticeably played awful basketball and looked completely out of place was Tiina, who needs to get her head together and also lay off the bleach, because her hair is rapidly approaching the color of her skin, and that's just not healthy.
Lately, my mom and I have been sitting in the same row as Kelly's parents, and we all agreed that there seems to be another little Arico on the way. (Making a quasi-serious guess at the timing, it looks like that the WBCA throws a helluva party come tourney time.) If such is the case, then congrats to Coach and her family.
This happened to be the annual autograph session game, and I happened to have bought a media guide (it looked so much more informative, and it was women's only- no using half the space on men's stuff). Naturally, I decided to get the headshot page signed. Naturally, while it still has Angel Tate, it does not have Sheree, one of our freshmen, and she was good-naturedly disappointed about it. Joy and Coco had some great by-play- it doesn't surprise me that they would get along off the court,since they seem to have similar philosophies on it (that philosophy being "get the ball away from the other team, make sure the ball stays with our team"). Sky was very charming, and was by far the last to leave the table. She was down at the same end as Kia and Monique, and I'll gladly bet that we'll see one of those ladies at the Garden in the not so distant future, and not just as part of a doubleheader.
Angel was at the game, and she looked so lonely trudging back towards the parking lot. But I suppose she had her reasons for leaving the team- I'm sorry to see her go and I hope she's okay. I think Danielle Chambers was there, too- certainly someone who looked a lot like one of the school's leading rebounders was there.
Black Bears, Lady Bears, Bears- we should have been the ones to play Cal, shouldn't we? Ah, well. I suspect Baylor will put up more of a fight than Maine did.
December 8th, 2007: Maggie Dixon Classic
Shavonte Zellous, Chante Black, and Rashidat Junaid impress; meanwhile, Kia Vaughn is… not well.
Nothing like a doubleheader where the gates open before noon to wake you up, huh?
First of all, I am not pleased with the turnout. Where the hell was everyone? I know the folks on this board did their part- I saw a few familiar faces in the crowd- but come ON. That was some pathetic attendance, and not attendance that would look good at all on the television. It's the kind of thing that makes people who happen to come by ask why it's on TV, or why it's in such a major arena. I mean, we did get some good noise out of the crowd, especially in the first game, where you had the Duke fans hollering, the Pitt fans hollering, and the Rutgers fans hollering for Pitt out of a combination of conference loyalty and the urge to see the team that just beat you lose in turn.
So, after all the talk this year of Marcedes Walker, as compared to the talk of her in previous years, I have to say I'm not as impressed as I used to be. She seems to have let the praise get to her head, because she's gotten very passive on the court- there were times when she was letting the tall but slender Chante Black push her around, and times when she simply wasn't chasing rebounds. At the same time, she's got brass ones enough that when her team needed her, she did step up, and enough that she has the WNBA logo tattooed on her right biceps- I couldn't see closely enough to tell whether she completely copied Cappie's tattoo or whether it's simply the logo. Shavonte Zellous also has the logo, on her ankle, but as of right now, she's got more of a claim to it than Walker does. That girl can ball, jeez. Now I completely comprende what the Maryland fans were talking about. She's a heartless shooter and a damn good hustler. I don't know if she really does have next-level game, or if she'll be exposed on bigger stages and/or without the muscle of Walker to back her up. Mallorie Winn… okay, I didn't get my program until halftime, so when I first saw #0 come off the bench and royally fuck up her first two passes, I turned to the boy and said, "Okay, she needs to not pass anymore." At which point she put up the most godawful three I'd seen all day to that point. So I figured that maybe shooting was a bad idea for her and she just needed to sit down. Then I got the program and realized that this was the once touted Mallorie Winn. Er, what the hell happened to her? No one else from Pittsburgh really stands out in my memory, although this probably has more to do with the fact that this was the first game of a doubleheader.
For Duke: Chante Black. I love her. Love at first sight. I like the way she plays the game, though she could stand to put on a little muscle. But I love the way she moves, the way she positions herself, and the fact that she seems to enjoy doing what she does. So many players have such severe game faces that the *game* portion of the whole thing gets forgotten. I was also very impressed with Abby Waner's hustle- she's got a nose for where the ball is going to be, and a boundless determination to make the ballhander's life a living hell. I don't know if she's a prospect, but she's definitely fun to watch. McCallie's big on posts (and on big posts), so I'm sure we're going to be seeing more and more post offense as she figures out what she has and what she wants. This might be a down year for them, but dollars to donuts their big push is next year. I mildly liked Karima Christmas, but I can't get past her name. (Not so much her last name, even- I work with a Karima who has a less than charming personality.) Again, I'm sure there were plays by Duke that intrigued me and made me go wow at the time, and were not Chante Black blocks, but time has eroded them from my memory. :(
Intermission consisted of some speechifying and some charitable donations, the second of which I approved of more than the first. All four teams were out there, some a bit more enthusiastically and respectfully than others. No brownie points to the two Blue Devils who chatted through the whole thing, and none to the RU players who were fidgeting. Not surprised that the Army players stood stoically through it, and would you really be surprised that Essence Carson was the picture of patience?
As an aside to whoever put together the remembrance videos: why did you think it was a good idea to show the one with Geno? Come on. The rivalry has gotten nasty enough that fans will do embarrassing things because of it. Yes, they booed the video. No, I'm not proud of them.
Beautiful anthem- they did it between games, perhaps so they could have the color guard?
Army was screwed when, three minutes in, Cara Enright went down hard enough that we heard her hit the deck, stayed down for a very long time, needed help to get up, put no weight on her leg, and went straight to the locker room. This is not a good combination of events, and bodes no good for a team when said events happen to their star senior guard. Alex McGuire had to take on the entire offensive load herself, and while she was willing and able, no one else could step up to help her. Hawkins and Anthony both did the bulk of their scoring late in the game, and Stone mostly disappeared after the first few minutes. Unsurprisingly, Army plays very tough, very physically, and very tenaciously. They welcome contact on both ends of the floor. They drive. They have surprising post presence for a team that can't really recruit above a certain height. They're fun to watch- I just don't know if they have the talent to compete, especially if Enright's out for any extended length of time.
I think Coach Stringer was pissed. Perhaps out of concern for nagging injuries, perhaps out of not wanting to run up the score, but IMO mostly because of the Duke game, she benched the entire regular starting lineup. There are small children who might not even have been aware that Katie Adams ever played who saw her start today. And Rashidat Junaid took full advantage to display her post moves and soft touch on the Garden floor. Granted, Rashidat started out with an advantage, in that a) she's already been playing better than Kia Vaughn, and b) er, we'll get to b later, suffice it to say that there may have been a reason Kia was playing like crap. Brittany Ray also decided to shoot the lights out, given the opportunity to start in place of Heather Zurich (who didn't play at all, perhaps because her face still isn't quite right after that hit early in the season, and if you don't have to…). I was glad to see Myia start, too, because I like watching her play- I don't think she's the kind of player who needs to start, but she's a most excellent sixth woman. Honestly, things unraveled temporarily in the first half when Stringer reluctantly began bringing the starters in. In the second, it was clear that the starters, or at least Prince and Ajavon, had gotten things together enough to look good. Essence was very quiet in her limited minutes. The defense was fantastic and the rebounding was splendid.
Terrapins, we need to have a talk about the use of germ warfare in out-of-conference play. I'm *sure* it's just a coincidence that after we play the Maryland Ptomaines, Kia comes up with two awful games and spends part of the second half barfing into an empty Gatorade cooler. Yes, the joys of sitting in the endcourt and having no one shielding the bench. Come on, guys, we share your team colors, can't you cut us a little slack? At least if you're going to use germ warfare, take advantage of it yourselves, don't hand it off to another team to take advantage of!
In the crowd: a batch of high schoolers and middle schoolers, Blaze and her posse, Dan Hughes, Marynell Meadors. The last two are as per Megan, the Liberty's devoted ticket rep, who joined us for a bit of the second game. During the first game, the Army squad obligingly posed for pictures in their general area. During the second, Pitt brought their own cookies and nifty warm-ups, while Duke socialized quite a bit in our section and the section behind what had been their bench.
I was at five games in eight days. Bonita Spence was at three of them. Bonita, we must stop meeting like this.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
December 4th, 2007: Massachusetts at St. John's
St. John's Red Storm 84, Massachusetts Minutewomen 68
Sky Lindsay brings it, UMass doesn't, and Tiina Sten needs to tone down the bleach.
I have a habit of looking for parallels and similarities in everything, so it's no surprise that I thought there were some distinct echoes of Maryland-Rutgers in the UMass-St. John's game. One team got up big early, but couldn't hold the lead and watched the score do a complete turnaround, and while they put up some points to narrow the margin, they just couldn't get over the hump. Granted, there was a major talent differential between the two teams on the floor at St. John's; the run by St. John's came in the second quarter (actually, right around the time my mom got in the building, hmmm), the lead was taken and then some by halftime, and the lead was a lot larger throughout the entire game. The ladies showed a bit of grit and a whole lot of Skyyyyyyyyyyyyy Lindsay.
UMass confuses me, if only because we had played BU the game before and UMass wears the same color scheme as BC. I don't know how many times I started to call them Boston before I reconsidered it. They have a big team that likes to take outside shots. I didn't understand why they were taking quite so many, myself, given that St. John's doesn't really have a lot of size, but maybe that's how they roll in the A-10. I don't know. Not my conference. There were some real shooters on that squad- Stefanie Gerardot had a lovely shot to watch from a pure aesthetic standpoint. Pam Rosenio- who looked a lot taller and bigger than 5-10 on the court- would probably have been even more of a difference-maker if she'd been driving all game, and it wasn't like she wasn't going inside, even. Lot of strength on her frame, and no fear- she was one of two Massachusetts players who had to wear a facemask (the other was Teya Wright, who pronounces it Tia and thus had to have caused anyone who was calling the game all kinds of headaches). The player who impressed me most, though, was Sakera Young, who didn't start, but I get the sense that it was a disciplinary non-start, because she started the second half. Such quick hands, great court sense, no fear, a snappy passer, and very mixed on the offensive end, that being the only big problem with her game. Mom and I both thought she reminded us of Spoon, though she's much more wiry than Spoon. The A-10 isn't a gimme conference, not by a long shot, and I think Massachusetts, if they can avoid the fumble-fingers and play more to their strengths, can do well for themselves this year.
Whatever Sky did to put more spin on her shot worked last night like a charm. I love shooters with a high arc, like K.B. Sharp, and Sky's got quite the rainbow on her jumper. Makes it more unpredictable for rebounding purposes, I would imagine- good thing she's reasonably accurate! She and Monique form a very formidable tandem of scorers, and they see each other well on the floor. I hope this state of affairs continues- I know Sky's got a reputation for not playing well with others, and I can't see her being the lead dog this year and next, not with Kia and Monique. As it is, though, both Sky and Monique found ways to make their own shots and find space to put up shots that went in. They were 16-25 combined and hit their free throws- that's an offensive line that would make anyone drool, methinks. Kelly needs to be ready for Sky's passes and/or Sky needs to take some of the mustard off- two or three passes went off Kelly's hands for turnovers. Not cool. She's still a good shooter, but I've mentioned before that I like her hustle at the boundaries of the court- she wants the ball, she wants to maintain possession, and she'll fight to do so. Tiina needs to lay off the bleach- she's a natural blonde, but she's been enhancing it, and unfortunately, at the same time she's been having some ultimate blonde moments. It's almost like she stole Allie's brain fog. Joy started off slow and seeming half-asleep, which surprised and did not please me, but she did eventually wake up- I'll have to look at the stat sheet to see if there's any marker that coincides her waking up with the team's big first half run, or if she followed the team's example for a change instead of trying to make them follow her example. Alas, she has finally fallen behind in my favorite bizarre stat of the season- through the first six games, she had forced more turnovers (9) than she had committed (7). But 1/4 last night puts her at 10 steals and 11 TOs. I thought our bench played exceptionally well last night. Kia made so many plays happen- 6/0 A/TO makes me a happy Stormie. If Kelly doesn't get her shit together, we'll be starting a small lineup with Monique at the three, Sky at the two, and Kia at the one, and the Big East should quake at the thought. Recee and Coco were both key to neutralizing, or at least countering, the pressure that UMass brought inside- Recee is our only legit big at this point, with Victoria still hobbling around on crutches, and Coco is a fighter in the same mold as Joy. Recee made a lot of good things happen in the second half when UMass was thinking about coming back, hitting her shots inside and getting big rebounds- there was a steal that Monique was credited with but that Recee essentially forced. We got to see more of Kristin, which makes me happy- she's a steady ballhandler, and she'll look for her shot. She brings a different look. Near the end of the game, Coach finally cleared her bench- I think Nikki Jo had an assist and Sheree got to score!
I love the way this team plays together. Coach seems to emphasize togetherness- there's a lot of huddling/everybody touch hands in the air now kind of stuff. Maybe that's why we've had so many players- or it seems to be so many players- leave in the last few years, but the ones who decided to remain have bought into it. They seem to care about each other. They take care of each other. They support each other. That's the kind of team that it's a pleasure and a privilege to be a fan of. I just hope it doesn't fade if we start getting more star-type recruits, the kind that wouldn't have even considered St. John's once, but see our success and want to be in on it.
December 3rd, 2007: Maryland at Rutgers
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 68, Maryland Terrapins 60
Kia Vaughn is a Pod Person, Marissa Coleman is smooth, and for fuck's sake, you do not foul a three-point shooter.
Please note that I'm a bit punchy, and thus these game notes might be less coherent and a bit more ridiculous than usual. Considering my penchant for off-kilter remarks, that's a disturbing thought. But onward, ever onward.
Going to this game might have been one of the least sensible things I've ever done, but if I had chosen the Cal game over this one, I'd probably be kicking myself right about now. What a trip. What an absolute trip. I love my team- but oh, how I love my arena so much more. Hauling ass from Queens takes a lot of hauling- train to train to shuttle bus and almost get run over- but I still made it to my seat before opening tip- to the rest of row H, I apologize for not being able to get to my seat any other way but across all of you.
Maryland is good. No, seriously. Sweet Sixteen, I said in my thread? This was more of an Elite Eight game, much more on the line than anyone would ever guess, pride and passion and a clash of opposites that, in many ways, turn out to be similar, much like mirror images of one another. Perhaps it's no coincidence that Maryland and Rutgers have similar color schemes, or at this point, maybe I'm pulling stuff out of my ass. Whatever the case may be, Maryland brought it to the RAC and brought it well. Except for the free throws at the end, Marissa Coleman impressed me like you wouldn't believe. I wouldn't go so far as to say she can play any position, but she's got a nice combination of power and finesse that ought to make a lot of teams take a look at her come April. Kristi Toliver also played well- but if she's going to make it in the WNBA, either she's going to have to admit that she's actually a shooting guard or she's going to have to lay off the shooting a bit and learn to stop carrying the ball. That being said, girl is money, no lie. I wasn't as impressed with the starting posts for Maryland- neither Langhorne nor Harper did anything that especially piqued my interest. Truth be told, I thought the most effective post player for Maryland was Jade Perry, and I was very surprised to see Maryland not bring her in once in the second half- I think she could have been very effective against Junaid in the second half, with the amount of time Junaid had to log. Strickland… she hit one shot early in the first half and that's the last I remember of her doing anything notable until she fouled late in the second. I'm sure she did other things in the middle, but they weren't very memorable. What really impressed me about Maryland as a whole was their athleticism and their hustle. Loose balls that Rutgers seemed accustomed to not fighting for became all-out scrums and/or Maryland rebounds. They're fast and they're quick, and they fear pretty much nothing. With Duke on a downswing and Carolina inconsistent as all hell, Maryland may well run away with the ACC. Of course, in conference play, one never knows what will happen.
Would whoever stole the real Kia Vaughn give her back? This pod person sucks. Yes, she got her rebounds, and she got a couple of the key ones late. Yes, she got called for a couple of bullshit fouls. But you cannot be a starting center for a top-notch team in a major conference and miss as many easy shots as Kia did. Ironically, the only shot she hit was a jumper outside the paint. I'm optimistically inclined to believe that she and Rashidat teamed up to neutralize Harper and contain Langhorne, but this is based on me hoping and praying that Kia did something positive in the game. Midway through the first half I was about ready to go down there and smack both Ajavon and Prince upside the head for the stupid shots they were taking, but in the second half, Epiphanny found her shot and fueled the key run that Matee capped with her three. That does not excuse the boneheaded foul in the last thirty seconds- no, do NOT foul a three-point shooter, I don't care if God Almighty Himself comes down from Heaven and proclaims that the Eleventh Commandment is Thou Shalt Befoul The Shot Attempt Of The Offensive Player; Yea, And Thou Shalt Send Them To The Line For The Throws That Are Free; And Lo, Thou Shalt Hear The Lamentations From Thy People, you do not foul a jump shooter and this goes double for a three-point shooter. Essence was… Essence, though she had a couple of defensive lapses that surprised me mightily. Love to watch her work, although she and Matee also both need to watch it with the hand under the ball. I love Heather Zurich's hustle- poor girl's face still looks like nightmare fuel under the mask, but she's still fighting and scrapping inside. One of the guys in my section was hollering at her to look for her shot, but honestly, the woman is playing with a serious handicap in the vision department here, and the last I heard, shooting really requires good eyesight, so leave her be. Honestly, I think the difference-maker in the game was Rashidat. She stepped up where Kia failed, hitting her shots in the lane with a beautiful soft touch and bodying up almost as hard on defense. If Kia's not careful over the next couple of games, she may well be benched, and I can't argue she wouldn't deserve it. I still wish Coach Stringer had a little more faith in the bench, because our three starting guards are going to wear down from overuse, and Myia and Brittany can both bring good things to the table. No, Brittany, those things do not include three-point shots. No.
I had the pleasure of sitting with a batch of season ticketholders, and they were my kind of fans- people who know the game and love the game, are passionate about the game but can analyze it at the same time, who give the refs shit for bad calls but can admit when the bad call is in our favor and/or the no-call is in our favor. The extra four bucks was definitely worth it for their company. Great crowd. Not as many people as there should be for a 5 versus 3 game, but on a Monday night with a start time that does not jive with the NJ Transit/Rutgers shuttle schedule, I can sort of understand it. Not that it really matters in the RAC, though, because even a small crowd combined with the band echoes and reverberates. When you've got a very decent crowd, on the other hand… by the second half, the place was rocking. My heels still hurt. How I'm going to get to work tomorrow, I have no idea. It's been a long time since I've been in the middle of anything that compares to a RAC crowd in a close game. And I loved every second of it. Okay, maybe not the seconds when we were down ten, but other htan those I was pleased.
Referees. Oyyyyyyyy. What else is new, right? I'm writing this without having looked at the game thread, so I don't know who's bitched about what, but I can think of four crap calls in Maryland's favor off the top of my head: Kia's third, Matee's fourth (which would set her up to foul out on the dumbass foul against Coleman), and the last two out of bounds calls. Also, counting above two seemed to be a bit of a challenge for them, as I recall one play where a Terrapin was parked in the paint for six seconds with no call. Come on, Bonita. You and me, we go way back. We've been at so many of the same games. Is a good call too much to ask? Look, I know the Scarlet Knights are no angels, and we like it that way. But how is it that the foul differential gets racked up so quickly? Are we playing our out of conference schedule against the Celestial League or something? Look past the name on the front of the jersey, guys, please?
In the crowd: Mike Thibault and at least one of his sidekicks. Patty Coyle, both her sidekicks, and Loree Moore. Former Rutgers player Mariota Theodoris, or at least someone who stole her warm-ups. At least three Board Junkies.
Next up, Army. I'm pretty sure that Coach Stringer will keep the score down in this one. I mean, more than usual. It'll be nice to be back at the Garden, though.
December 1st, 2007: Boston University at St. John's
St. John's Red Storm 76, Boston University Terriers 69
Obvious referee is obvious, crazy coach is crazy, Monique McLean is Shameka Christon, and turnovers are bad.
Important life lessons learned today: throwing a temper tantrum will sometimes get you your way, but you'll look like an idiot afterwards and in the end you won't get what you really want out of the deal. Also, making nifty passes is good for the team and good for the karma. Also, it is possible to win a game despite making every apparent effort possible to throw it away, often literally. Also, I love this team, and love for one's team should be reiterated at every possible moment.
Let's not even talk about the anthem. Really, it's come to a point where it would be more respectful for the team to just play a recorded version, because the band kind of sucks at it. Also, Sky? Please stop fidgeting through the whole thing; if you simply have too much nervous energy to keep still, could you at least be more subtle about it than stretching your arms out wide and then rolling up your jersey straps? Show a little respect, kplzthx.
For most of the game I kept thinking, "You know, I've seen the BU coach before, I know she's been here before, where have I seen her before?" The answer, when it hit me, was so obvious that I felt exceptionally stupid for asking it- the last time I saw her was the last time I saw BU at Carnesecca. Wow, I think this is the first time I've been at a repeat performance. Ahem. Anyway, Coach Greenberg was… very spirited, and very much embodied the concept of being a Terrier. She never shut up and she kept at the officials as if she wanted to pick them up by the back of the neck and shake them until they went limp. At one point, she honest-to-God flipped her shit and yelled at her team "Don't let them push you around! Push them back!" loudly enough that half the arena heard her. Not exactly smart, ma'am. Not exactly smart.
As for the actual players in the game… we were fortunate that Kasey Devine got in foul trouble, because when she got the ball on the inside, she was too big and too strong for us to answer. One of her fouls was the breaking point for the BU coach; yeah, she might have ended up with an elbow in the eye, but that was because she grabbed the rebounder's arm. Monique doesn't play dirty; she'd break a nail if she did, and that wouldn't be good. Our defenses too often left Jesyka Burks-Wiley and Amarachi Umez-Eronini open, and while Umez-Eronini didn't take as much advantage of it as I'm sure BU would have liked, Burks-Wiley did, finishing with what would appear to be 23 points on my scoresheet. By the end of the game, I was hollering at my team to stop leaving her open, because I was running out of slots to put the field goals made. Cheri Raffo was a dead-eye shooter, nailing four threes to make the game a little more interesting- being as she's a Jersey girl, the boy tossed a couple of pointed remarks in her direction. I suspect that BU plans to make their big conference run this year: their top players are all either juniors or seniors, so this may be their last chance for a few years, depending on how the current underclasswomen and recruits pan out. I don't know if they're going to get some of the calls they got today, or if they're going to wear down from their coach's hysterics, but they've got the tools to make a good run: they have a big post in Devine, they have a shooter in Raffo, and they have a scorer in Burks-Wiley. (According to the boxscore, they also have an efficient distributor in Christine Kinneary, but one of the few things I'm not good at is noticing a point guard who doesn't at least look for her shot.)
This would have been a great game for a Liberty fan to be at, because Monique McLean was doing her best, full-blown, "are you sure she doesn't go to Liberty games?" Shameka impression. She hit the long shots, she hit the shots that were just a smidgen not long enough because they were only twos, she rebounded (though not to her usual standards), she played startlingly inconsistent defense, and she had occasional brain freezes that made me think that she'd snuck a Cold Stone before the game. It wasn't Kelly's day, on the other hand, although I love the way she makes plays along the sidelines. Sky… on the one hand, we do need a scorer to take the pressure off Monique and Kia, but on the other hand, do we really need a singularity in the lineup, one from whom the ball does not escape once it enters her event horizon? Too many times today I saw her go for her shot early in the clock and/or when teammates were in better position. She needs to watch her own team: the law of reciprocity is always in effect, so if she passes off to one of her teammates, they'll hit her back not long after. (Remember during the Dartmouth game, I remarked on Joy and Tiina sharing one of those? Today it was Coco and Kia- Coco dished a gorgeous little pass to Kia in the lane, and Kia returned the favor two possessions later.) Tiina seemed to spend most of the day in an extended blonde moment, which caused Coach to yell at her quite audibly near the end of the game, when we just needed to inbound the damn ball before the BU coach tried to bully the refs into calling a fast five seconds. Joy worked her ass off, as always, fighting for the ball, and I recall one of her tie-ups resulting in either a jump ball or a steal by a teammate when BU was starting to make things a little interesting in the second half. There were a couple of moments, though, when she was open and supposed to be receiving a pass and just completely blanked out. I don't know what's up with that; she's usually the one keeping everyone else awake, with a loud deep voice you could probably hear up in the upper level bleachers. Kia's almost back to speed, although I wonder if her ankle's bothering her; she doesn't seem to have her full speed and there's no lift on her jump shot, which defeats the "jump" portion of the program, or so I thought. She had two absolutely boneheaded stupid passes today that were completely inexplicable, but she also had a pure teardrop that brought to mind another St. John's point guard. Recee was the victim of one utter bullshit call and one verrrrrrry borderline call, and I'm sure it's a coincidence that both of those calls came after the BU coach called her out by number and told the refs to watch her. She did not look pleased about this. Strong as she is, she still needs to learn to be more assertive about gaining position, and someone needs to work on her footwork- while she's fast for a big girl, a la Ebony Hoffman, she's not so good at maintaining position with her feet. Coco is rapidly shaping up to be Joy's heir and apprentice, which makes me happy. Now, if only both of them could hit free throws, we'd be in shape. Kristin barely played, much to my dismay. Moar Kristin, kplzthx.
I decided today that I was going to put my knowledge of the basic jumper to the test and watch warm-ups to see who was shooting well, who wasn't, and why this might be. That's why I guessed Kia's ankle was what was bothering her, despite the lack of medical attention that seemed to be paid to it. There's that, and there's the almost total lack of spin on Sky's shots, which makes them pretty when they go in, but a whole lot less likely to go in in the first place. And there's Joy's form, which- I love the girl, but someone has got to get her hands under control when she shoots. It's ugly. She's got potential as a useful spare part if she puts on a little muscle and develops a shot, but she's gotta do that ASAP. Kristin has major ups- she seemed to be doing all the jumping that Kia so far couldn't. I think Coco was the one with no followthrough, but don't hold me to that. These are correctable things, though. These can be fixed with a patient coach who knows his or her shit.
"Let's Make a Deal" was one of the in-game activities today, and the contestant was Coach's son Trevor, who ws so damn cute it wasn't even funny, except that it was funny when he kept imploring his mother with the puppy dog eyes to help him pick the items or the box, while she was completely immersed in telling her team how not to lose the game.
These were clearly not experienced referees. Travels, they mostly knew how to call, but they didn’t seem to be able to count above that. I'll gladly admit that in the beginning of the game, we got the benefit of the doubt on some non-calls, and perhaps that was good for BU, but there were some horrendous calls that had both coaches in rage. The refs were clearly intimidated by the BU coach's tantrum instead of telling her to suck it up and stop screaming. There was one play I recall pretty clearly- Coco had gotten into the paint and was scrapping for a rebound with two Terriers. One of them pulls her down by the ball. Jump ball called. Coach is not pleased and yells, "Why was that not a foul?" One of the officials replied, with maddeningly simple logic, "It was not a foul." Oh, helpful!
We play the A-10 for a change next game, which ought to be more of a challenge. We need to work on our shooting and our turnovers, because even with the comfortable lead we built late in the first half and early in the second, we almost threw the game away, in as literal a fashion as possible. 18 turnovers is not good.
November 25th, 2007: Dartmouth at St. John's
St. John's Red Storm 74, Dartmouth Big Green 31
Dartmouth is… not good. But Recee Mitchell and Kelly McManmon are.
So after one exhibition game and three games on the road, we finally got to see the real Red Storm show up at Carnesecca. At least I hope these are the real Red Storm, because if they are, this is going to be an awesome season; if nothing else, it'll definitely be better than the debacle of last season that I'd much prefer to forget, if it's all the same to you.
We got in the door late, so no anthem report, although I'm sure they had the band do their usual… ah, less than stellar arrangement, unless they brought in a sub-par singer; for whatever reason, they tend to have really awful anthems at St. John's, and I haven't been able to figure out a reason why. Starters were transfer Kelly McManmon and freshman Sky Lindsay at the guards, junior Monique McLean and sophomore Joy McCorvey at the forwards, and senior Tiina Sten at center (although, given the propensities of Tiina and Joy, it's likely that Joy played more center than Tiina, and I think Joy even jumped center to start the game). Alas, we also missed the traditional rituals of greeting that each player shares with one of her teammates- you know the kind I mean; on St. John's, the player who helps dust Monique off or chest-bumps with Tiina is sophomore center Recee Mitchell.
I have to admit, I was surprised to see three Texans on the Big Green roster- granted, two of them were sisters. Possibly. Probably- same last name, albeit a common one; same hometown, albeit a medium-sized city; same size and build, and they looked a lot alike. I get this feeling I've seen the Dartmouth coach before, possibly in the Pac-10, though I'm not exactly sure why. She was a hoot, not so much arguing with the refs as pointing things out to them that it occurs to her they might have missed- my favorite moment was when she described a Red Storm player as "do-si-do-ing through the lane". Considering that the player was Tiina, who's Finnish, this gave me some unusual mental images. Dartmouth seemed to be playing a very large and interchangeable rotation with a lot of players who could fill each other's role if necessary- well, except for Darcy Rose, who was a big center and the only one of her ilk on the squad. She impressed me, as did both of the Smiths, Margaret and Brittney (you can see why I wasn't sure if they were related or not; people who name their daughter Margaret don't tend to name the next one Brittney, or vice versa). Sydney Scott, the lone senior on the roster, impressed me with her leadership and the way she took charge on the court. Since Dartmouth did have trouble at both ends of the court- they didn't break the point-per-minute barrier and got blown out by forty points- you can understand why I'm having trouble trying to pinpoint notable players and great plays by the ladies in green. I recall being surprised that they didn't take a lot of outside shots- I had assumed from their tournament game against RU a while back that Wielgus was a live-by-the-three-die-by-the-three coach- and that they were really awful on their free throws. These are not things I expect from an Ivy League team, and I don't care if that's feeding the stereotypes. It was… I really am trying to find positive things to say about Dartmouth, but they got three points off their bench, all on FTs (obviously, since they hit no threes), had almost as many turnovers as points, and couldn't stop a team that was missing one of its reserves and had just lost to Vermont. Um, at least they'll have an Ivy League education to fall back on?
So, my ladies in white and red. Okay, maybe we weren't playing the most challenging opponent, but the kids looked all right. It's so weird not to hear Coach yelling at one particular player- last season, if it wasn't Allie who was clueless out there, it was Nikki Jo, to the point where Joy pretty much had to be a leader on the floor so Coach's orders could get relayed. Well, Allie's evaporated into thin air and three guards have dropped Nikki Jo to the bottom of the rotation, so the hollering is a lot more evened out now, though Coco and Sky both seem to be getting the brunt of it so far. The team still needs to work on not getting in each other's way, but the hustle warms my heart. What I love is the way they work together- one series near the end of the game comes to mind in that regard. Tiina fed Joy under the basket for two points. As they ran back up the court, I saw Joy saying something that looked like "I'll get you back". Sure enough, the next time down the floor, Joy had position under the basket and dumped it off to Tiina for a shot. I like the way the kids work together. The first half today, though- y'know, when it was still a game- was the Kelly show. Kelly sat out last year because of the transfer requirements, and she looked like she wanted to prove she fit in here- so she racked up 16 points in the first half, at some points having scored more than the entire opposing team, and including four long-range bombs. She's got good instincts. I like that in a guard. Sky was quiet today, although those high, arcing shots of hers had a knack for going in just when Dartmouth seemed to believe that they could make the game somewhat respectable. Monique didn't look right- maybe it had to do with the bandage on her wrist, but she looked easily winded, and she wasn't looking for her shot- which, considering she shot more than just about anyone on the team, says something about her trigger finger. Tiina was solid, which was all we really needed her to be, because we got unbelievable post play out of Recee. Damn, but she can move for a big girl- reading the postgame quotes, she lost 35 pounds over the offseason (you GO, girl!), which explains why she's quicker than I recall, because she's light on her feet for a big girl. I'll also bet you dollars to donuts she played volleyball in high school, because twice during the game I swear I saw her try to dig the basketball, which hurts when you try it. She was an absolute monster on the glass, very tough and very physical- oooh, I'm looking forward to seeing her play against Marcedes Walker. Joy… well, it's hard for me to be objective about Joy, even more than it is for me to be objective about anyone on my teams. I just love her hustle- though she's bulked up a little, she's still damn skinny, but she's a scrapper for all of that, down on the floor for every loose ball and in the paint for every rebound. She had an awesome "not in our house, hon" block near the end of a Dartmouth shot clock, and though she had three steals credited, she'd probably have a couple of more possessions to her credit if it weren't for that damn possession arrow. We got nice solid play from Kristin Moore as the backup point guard- I really like her court vision. The dropoff is going to be pretty minimal when she comes in and once Kia's back to speed.
Oh, yes. She's baaaaaaaack. After sitting out the first three games of the season with an injured God only knows what at this point, Kia Wright suited up and took the floor for the first time this season, in front of an adoring crowd of… er, 416, according to the boxscore. Guys, we need to work on this. Kia's still shaking off the rust, but she still put up a few points, got a couple of rebounds, made a couple of nice passes, mixed it up with the big girls- there was one play where she and two Dartmouth posts were going for a rebound under the basket and little ol' Kia came up with the board. When she's back up to speed and starting again… hoo, boy, with Kristin and probably Kelly coming off the bench, and with Recee in the post, we are going to be something to contend with. Just a little more time to get to know each other- although they seem to be doing quite well at that- and they'll be quite a team… and while two of them are seniors and another one or two are juniors, the others have a few years to gel together.
I have a bad habit of making parallels with everything and everyone, but these kids do remind me of the Libkids. My nickname for Monique has long been "Little Sista Christon" after Shameka- they even wear the same number, and Monique's just as girly. Joy's an undersized scrapper and a team leader in the same vein as Ashley Battle, though not quite as strong. But I honestly do think that someone who loves the Liberty and what they seem to be developing into would also love this St. John's team- and the tickets are even cheaper!
Those who followed St. John's the last couple of seasons might have noticed a few players dropping off the roster for no publicly given reason, most notably Angela Clark, the tall, slim all-conference forward who wore #3, and Lisa Claxton, the short, bulky, well-pedigreed guard who wore #10. Both of them were on the roster at the start of last season but never made an appearance. Well, they've not been forgotten. I actually noticed this at the exhibition game, but the gear made a reappearance today and I thought I'd mention it: like most teams, St. John's has a dress and dribble. Last year, the gear was clearly men's gear- numbers all wrong and clothes ridiculously too big. This year, the gear is clearly women's gear, both in decoration and in size. The jersey numbers? #3 and #10, and #3 doesn't hang very loose and #10 isn't very long. Hey, now you know what happens to jerseys that are ordered and not used.
Now, I hear tell that there are only so many players one can have dressed for any given game, and since Sheree was dressed today, someone else would have to be in streets. But Angel Tate, the backup center who started much of last season, was nowhere to be seen today. I'll be keeping an eye on the boxscores to see whether she resurfaces or whether she, like Coach's former favorite target, has decided that her life would be better doing something other than playing for St. John's. (She too parallels a young lady who once suited up for the Liberty; unfortunately, since she's a post with a tendency to shy away from contact, and tends to be easily distracted, the parallel is Iciss Tillis.)
About the only regret I have is that Charisse, who walked on the team last year after the spate of injuries and returns this year (possibly even with scholarship in hand), didn't score in today's game. It would have been nice, since she's clearly going to be the one the crowd roots for as the last woman off the bench.
Next up at home is Boston University, and something tells me that BU will put up more of a fight than the Big Green did. I'm looking forward to it.
November 11th, 2007: Stanford at Rutgers
Stanford Cardinal 60, Rutgers Scarlet Knights 58
It's good to be back at the RAC, but Epiphanny Prince needs a smack upside the head and Stanford is pretty good.
There is something to be said for home openers, no matter the result of them. It's good to be home again, even if the RAC is at best a third home for me (after the Garden and Carnesecca Arena). It definitely helped that it was a competitive matchup. And there's definitely something to be said for the new banner hanging over the offices.
That being said, even a day later, I still want to give Epiphanny Prince a good smack upside the head. Actually, several good smacks upside the head.
We had general admission tickets and got there at 7:30 or thereabouts. We were still able to get decent seats- row M, approximately center court. Good crowd, though; a lot of people must have gotten snarled in some of the same traffic we did. More to the point, I liked the people around us: to one side, there was a very nice, if quiet, lady; to the other side, there was a guy who spent his timeouts reading; behind us was a guy who sounded like he knew his shit; in front of us were a pair of very loud, very enthusiastic guys, one of whom had clearly been following the women's game for a while when he declared to the world after another Stanford sub, "Who are they going to bring in next, Kate Starbird?" We did, however, find his lack of faith in the WNBA disturbing.
Anthem was done by the president of the Cagers Club- I suppose, as this was my first RU home opener, I should ask whether this is a tradition or not. I certainly hope it was, because otherwise there was no excuse for letting him near a microphone. Good power, I'll give him that, and he held the last notes beautifully, but he didn't have the range, and some of his phrasing was odd, to say the least.
What's up with Stanford wearing black uniforms? I'm pretty sure black doesn't appear anywhere in the Stanford color scheme, and I'd be inclined to think that they might want to emphasize the color that, oh, they're named after. I do like that they had names on, though. Made it easier to tell who was who. Jerseys with the name on seem to be a lost art, which is a shame.
I went in with the intent to keep an eye on two players: Candice Wiggins, because I devoutly hope I'll be seeing a lot of her at the Garden come May, and Jayne Appel, because one of my friends talks her up a lot. I came out impressed with both of them, but also with Kayla Pedersen. Stanford's got a damn good team this year. Wiggins- well, I'll say that the Ice nickname serves as more than a way to differentiate her from Parker. She doesn’t seem to fear anything. I wonder sometimes if she gets her calls on reputation (although we will get into the black hole of suck that was the refereeing later), but she works her ass off to get in position where a call can be made. I like the way she moves, too, although her footwork might give her some trouble in the W- she made a couple of really nice moves, but also got caught traveling a couple of times. Appel- damn, that is a big girl. I didn't even think Stanford recruited that kind of size. The way she worked on Kia Vaughn- who's no slouch herself- was damn impressive. She knows she's a big girl and she seems to be loving every second of it. Nice soft touch. Still a little awkward- late growth spurt?- but that'll work itself out in time, since she is only a freshman. Pedersen is fierce, and she's got a nice outside touch for someone her size. Gold-Onwude… I wasn't really impressed, although I got the impression that the Stanford offense ran more smoothly when she was in. West Coast folks might know better than I do- is she one of those point guards who doesn't appear to make an impact because she doesn't put up stats, but who runs her team well? For all that VanDerveer played the daylights out of her bench against Yale, she didn't give them that much run last night, and they didn't do much with the run they did get, which might have been why. I mean, Appel and Wiggins both went 40 minutes. I know VanDerveer prides herself on the conditioning of her teams (excuse me while I ponder Jennifer Azzi for a moment… okay, I'm back), but that might be asking a lot, especially from a big like Appel.
Speaking of 40-minute efforts, I think the only reason there were more bench minutes for RU than for Stanford was because Heather Zurich got her face rearranged and because Ajavon got herself in foul trouble with way the hell too much time to go. Essence and Epiphanny both went the full 40, and even with the four fouls, Ajavon played 32 minutes. I can almost understand it- it's not like we were playing a gimme, but have a little faith in your bench, you know? God, I sound like a broken record. I've been kvetching about the same thing for three different teams over the last five years. Anyway. Memo to Ajavon and Epiphanny: you see those people who are wearing clothes very similar to yours? It's okay to give them the ball. Good things will happen. Coach Stringer will not yell at you. Essence also had that problem a little bit, though less than either Ajavon or Epiphanny, who both showed a disturbing willingness to go into triple teams and try to throw up something that might have a prayer of drawing a foul (if, you know, this wasn't Rutgers). Find your shots. Take good shots. 8-13 is one thing, and Epiphanny did a great job on the break. 5-10, somewhat better. 6-18, less so, especially when the last of those shots was a three with too much time on the clock that gave Stanford a chance to have a decent possession. Kia was… some of those blocks were pure beauty, and Appel was giving her all she could handle. Still. As a St. John's fan and a Rutgers fan, I am perhaps more qualified than most to quote timber's mantra: "Give Kia the ball." I'd like to see what happens if Myia and Brittany are given a little more run, because though I can't put my finger on what I liked, I know that I liked having them on the floor. The problem is that we really don't have a lot of size, a lack that Stanford exploited rather glaringly. I'm really not looking forward to Sylvia Fowles's return to the RAC, and I may be thanking my lucky stars I'll be at St. John's that day when all is said and done. The intensity is still there- I doubt it will ever leave so long as Stringer is coaching there- but the teamwork seemed to be lacking. 12 assists on 23 field goals… that makes me a bit queasy. There's no excuse for it, either- all of these players played together last season.
Referees, oh, wow, they were special. I've gotten used to the array of missed calls and phantom calls in women's ball- and I'm not disputing the last foul, just to let you know; my issue with it was the mind-boggling stupidity of charging the damn ball in the backcourt with that little time left- but last night's crew made me shake my head. There was one point where I saw one official call a carry even as the official turnover was a three-second call (which was something they didn't seem all that capable of calling most of the night, but I'm not so sure refs can count). There was a play where Ajavon went barreling into two Cardinal defenders and correctly had an offensive foul called on her- except that the signal the ref made indicated push off when it was a pretty clear charge. I'm not quite sure how you can commit a travel without moving your pivot foot- in fact, I'm fairly certain that's the definition of what a travel is NOT- and yet they called one on Kia. Je n'comprende. They got worse and worse as the game went on; truthfully, I think they could use a session of conditioning with either of the coaches, along with a good lecture.
I always worry about chemistry, and while this year will be fine, I really worry about next year. We might actually see Kia grab Epiphanny by the throat and yell "GIVE ME THE BALL!" in the middle of a game. Oh, and I'm really looking forward to the St. John's game on January 5th. Ajavon and Prince can go two-on-two with Monique McLean and Sky Lindsay while the Kias sit on the sidelines and kvetch about their teammates.
Can I say how much I'm loving the information added to the boxscore this year? Score notations include whether a shot was in the paint or on a fast break; foul notations include both how many the player has and how many the team has. I don't know how long this has been going on, but it rocks my socks.
Does anyone know what the hell happened to Dee Dee Jernigan? She seems to have disappeared again. Damn it, if she's left, we should get Tudy Reed back! ;)
On our way out, we saw a Queens private car parked in the lot, driver waiting. Either someone has a helluva lot of money to blow or someone's related to a driver who took the night off to see his kinswoman. In either case, I salute *you*, Mr. Private Cab Driver.
But, as the avatar says, I bleed red, come hell or high water. My next game is Maryland- I already bought my ticket.