A Random Assortment of (Crazy; Possibly Delusional) Opinions Concerning College Basketball

Derek DeNote

Hoov has been politely pestering me to write an article for quite some time because, to be frank, I’m the real genius behind Out of Our League. But, with my busy schedule, I haven’t really had the time to write or even to think of something to write about. But now I’ve decided to dedicate one hour to OoOL, and you’ll read (and probably enjoy) this.

Why, JoJo, why?!

1. Since it’s almost Thanksgiving or possibly past Thanksgiving (depending on when Hoov gets around to putting this up) let’s be thankful for something. I’m thankful that Roy Williams is not at the helm of my college basketball team. I think I am officially able to say that he is the worst coach that has ever won two National Championships, which is probably more of a compliment than a disrespectful statement. I’m not saying Belmont is bad team, but when you’re one of the most prestigious basketball programs in NCAA history, you should be able to handle Belmont on your home court pretty easily. And that’s not all! How about an 8 seed last year in the tournament and not even getting to the Sweet Sixteen? And then the preseason scandal surrounding one of their best players?  Has North Carolina lost all accountability? And to further support my idea of Roy Williams’s worth (or lack thereof), just watch him on the sidelines. I think he’s pondering why JoJo’s comeback never escalated to anything instead of why he’s wasted lottery talent in James Michael McAdoo.

   

   Quinn Cook may not be dishing out a ton of turnovers,
   but his opponents frequently get their just-desserts. LAUGH!

2. Quinn Cook and Jabari Parker are one dangerous combination. Not so fast my friends! I don’t mean a dangerous combination for Dukes opponents. I mean a dangerous combination for Duke and quite possibly detrimental to their season.  I’m not sure where to start here, so I’m going to start with the guy I’d take first in the upcoming NBA Draft, Jabari Parker. He’s good (bold statement). I think he’s without a doubt the best of the big three in this class, but I think Duke is going to suffer from Austin Riversism. (The great thing about a blog is you can make words up and it doesn’t really matter) Austin Riversism is when a team, particularly Duke, has a player that it depends on entirely too much. This Duke team is absolutely loaded with talent, so Jabari (we’re on a first name basis) doesn’t need to put the team on his back. Rodney Hood or Rasheed SULAIMON could be the best player on the vast majority of BCS-level teams. Duke needs to go back to their team basketball and stop giving the ball to Jabari at the top of the key and watching him take stepbacks.  Okay, now onto Quinn Cook. I do not understand Coach K’s love fest for Cook at all. People that don’t watch them play and just glance at the box score must think I’m doing some hardcore drugs, considering he’s only averaging slightly more than 1 turnover per game. But if you take into account the ridiculous amount of shots he takes that leads to easy buckets that number probably skyrockets around to 4 or 5. Also, he can slap the floor all he wants, but if his guy continues to get paint touches (what Buzz Williams likes to call them) then it’s really not intimidating anyone.
3. I can’t really think of a third thing to write here, so let’s just bash the ACC as a collective bunch. The supposed to be best conference in basketball had a rough weekend.  North Carolina goes down to Belmont  (and before you ask, yes. I realized I already wrote an incoherent paragraph about this two points ago, but I want to reiterate it).  Virginia goes down to an VCU, an Atlantic 10 school albeit a very good one, but still a non-BCS. (And before you ask, yes. I realized this wasn’t this past weekend, but nonetheless should still be brought to everyone’s attention).  Notre Dame went down to Indiana State at home, but don’t forget ND went down to the Hawks of Saint Joeseph’s last year and Mike Brey still had them ready for the Big East tourney. My guess Brey will have them ready for the Big Ea-goddamnit the ACC tournament this year. Maryland went down to an Oregon State team that just suffered defeat by Coppin State, so using the transitive property of inequality, Coppin State is better than state-foe Maryland (Goddamn Nystrom would be proud of that usage and, before you ask, yes. I realized Oregon State was missing their best player and I’m only like 10% serious when I say Coppin State is better than Maryland). Needless to say Boston College has been kind of a letdown. All the hype coming into the season and they’ve already suffered defeats from A10 foe, UMASS, Big East contender, Providence and lastly the basketball power of Ohio-Toledo. That seat might be getting a little hot, Steve. And lastly, Syracuse got into a barnburner with St. Francis. Yes, a win is a win, but when you barely escape from a team that offered me a basketball scholarship, you have to re-evaluate yourself. (Them offering me a basketball scholarship may or may not be a complete lie, you can determine that for yourself)

Well there are my three crazy opinions about college basketball so far. I hope they’re not so delusional that you stop reading, but hey if you do, then I won’t have to continue to write these!