1. I just needed a couple of things from Yoke's this morning so I flung on my backpack and got in a mile and a half walk, round trip. On the way to the store, I stopped in at Kellogg Insurance to make sure I understood how Phyllis had submitted my payments -- and now I understand -- and, on my way home, I purchased a bottle of brandy for cooking and because when the weather gets cold, I enjoy brandy and hot water, for me, a simple and tasty way to warm up.
2. I didn't double the recipe so we don't have a ton of ginger orange cranberry sauce, but if it serves our Thanksgiving table more as a relish than a side dish, I think we'll have plenty. I enjoyed making this today, primarily for the how it made the kitchen smell. I also unwrapped the turkey, oiled it, salted and peppered it, and stuffed the cavity with onion pieces and lemon quarters. Early Thanksgiving morning, I'll take the turkey out of the bag and let it sit in the fridge for about four hours, then bring it up to room temperature, maybe season it some more, and roast it in a bag.
I also studied making turkey gravy, the one dinner contribution I'm responsible for that has me a little anxious. But, as the young people say, I got this.
3. For as long as I've been watching basketball, my favorite kind of player has been the not very flashy forward who plays hard around the basket, is a stout defender, is willing to do the unglamorous (known in basketball as dirty) work of rebounding, altering opponents' shots, and scoring inside. One of my first favorite players who fits this description was Paul Silas. I thought he made innumerable contributions to the 1974 and 1976 Celtics and the 1979 Sonics when those teams won NBA championships with his defense, uncanny offensive rebounding ability, and knack for keeping possessions alive by helping his teams retain the ball after missed shots. Dennis Rodman was one these players for the Pistons and the Bulls. Remember the Blazers' Buck Williams? Same thing. All in their own ways, I've also admired Bruce Bowen, Mario Elle, Shawn Battier, James Posey, and others.
And now the Zags have Brandon Clarke, a twenty-two year old transfer from San Jose State who had to sit out last year and play on the Zags' scout team, lift weights, do individual workouts, and learn how Coach Mark Few wants things done on the basketball court (and off) at Gonzaga.
Now he's the Zags' inside forward who does a bunch of the dirty work. He rebounds. He blocks shots. He scores around the basket. He keeps possessions alive. He alters opponents' shots because of his shot blocking prowess. He's tough. He's athletic. Occasionally, like in the Zags' victory over Duke today, he'll make a highlight reel because of shots he blocked, but most of what he contributes to the Zags is under the radar -- most of the highlight attention, deservedly, goes to Rui Hachimura or Zach Norvell, Jr.
As the Zags poured in shot after shot against Duke this afternoon, making a startlingly high percentage of their buckets, I thought to myself, "The Zags cannot keep this up. Duke is going to make a run and come back in this game." And I was right. As this game headed into the final stretch of minutes, the Zags seemed tired. The young greyhounds from Duke sped past Gonzaga's players in the open court, scoring in bunches off of Gonzaga's missed shots and turnovers.
Brandon Clarke had been on the bench for a long period of time with four fouls. He returned to the game with about five minutes left and made a huge difference in the closing seconds of the game with a mammoth blocked shot -- he blocked six shots this afternoon -- and the Zags hung on to win, 89-87.
Now, this game did not have to be this close at the end. Why was it?
MISSED FREE THROWS.
In the closing thirty seconds, both Brandon Clarke and Rui Hachimura could have put this game out of reach had they converted their free throws. They both missed two. In fact, for the game, the Zags shot under 60 percent from the free throw line. Thanks to their powerful defensive stands after those late missed free throws, the Zags hung on to win this game. But even as I felt joy for the Zags' victory, those missed free throws nagged at me.
This afternoon the Zags protected the ball well. They shot brilliantly. Until they got fatigued late in the game, they moved the ball beautifully on offense and scored well from the outside and converted a bunch of great baskets on pinpoint passes to players inside. They played a more mature game than Duke -- the Zags are an older and more experienced team. To me, they will look even better and be even tougher to beat if they improve their shooting at the free throw line.
By the way, the Zags also got a great under the radar performance from Corey Kispert. Last year, I thought he was a guy who could score from the outside in bunches at times, but he's much more than that. He's a tough defender, makes some solid drives to the basket, and scores as needed. He impresses me a bit more each game.
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