1. Carrie Parks, as one of the organizers of this past summer's 50th class reunion for the classes of 1970 and 1971, has materials and records of how she and Mary Chase and Linda Lavigne went about putting on that weekend party. Stu arranged for her and Diane Trecker to go over that stuff at Kingston's Hilltop Inn and Stu, Ed, and I joined them for lunch. While Carrie and Diane talked business, Ed, Stu, and I yakked about stuff and I enjoyed my deluxe burger with fries and some cold Budweiser beer. After a bit, we were all talking together and had the pleasure of a fun lunch as well as a productive one.
2. I was interested this afternoon in watching Tennessee play Texas Tech, in part because Texas Tech and Gonzaga play on December 18th and in part because Texas Tech has had complete turnover in their program: a bunch of new players and a new head coach. I was also interested in seeing Kennedy Chandler, a prize recruit for Tennessee play.
This game was the type that always confuses me. Texas Tech plays a disruptive, aggressive defense. Did Tennessee shoot so poorly because of Tech's defense? Were the Volunteers discombobulated? And why did Texas Tech also shoot so poorly? It was as if poor shooting were contagious. Watching these two teams shoot clangers, bricks, and air balls was painful, almost unbearable.
Then, to top it off, this nearly unwatchable game went into overtime and Texas Tech prevailed, 57-52. I saw flashes of Kennedy Chandler's talent, but mostly Texas Tech kept him quiet. I wondered, throughout the game, how Gonzaga will respond to Texas Tech's relentless defense and if the Zags do a better job of scoring against it than Tennessee did. They will almost have to
3. The Tennessee/Texas Tech clunker was the first game of this year's men's Jimmy V Classic, a basketball doubleheader played at Madison Square Garden (the women's Jimmy V Classic will be played on Sunday).
The second game matched Villanova and Syracuse, two teams who had a long rivalry when they were both members of the Big East conference.
The two teams hadn't played each other for seven years and it was high time they resumed their old grudge match.
I wondered, as Villanova's shooters were cold in the first half, how much their futility had to do with Syracuse's 2-3 matchup zone defense and how much had to do with Villanova just being off.
Syracuse was off, too, especially Buddy Boheim, but his brother, Jimmy, wasn't off at all and had a solid game.
In the second half, Villanova not only moved and shot the ball better, they fiercely rebounded missed shots on both ends of the floor, denying Syracuse second or third shots after a miss and getting a ton of second and third shots themselves on their end.
In the end, the rebounding made a huge difference, as did Villanova's improved shooting and the Wildcats defeated Syracuse, 67-53.
I know that television and newspaper story lines often revolve around freshman talent in college basketball, around what newcomers are going to excel. I often enjoy these energetic freshmen, but I enjoy watching players who are seniors, players I've watched develop over the years, players who have matured into their roles and have an aura of calm in tight games and big moments.
Villanova and Syracuse both have several seniors on their rosters and some well-seasoned juniors. Tonight I enjoyed watching veterans Collin Gillespie, Jermaine Samuels, and Justin Moore settle down, make big plays on both ends of the floor, and provide the steadying influence of their maturity. Likewise, I enjoyed watching Syracuse upperclassmen the Boeheim brothers and Joe Girard, even though Buddy Boeheim had an off game.
I don't begrudge talented youngsters leaving their college teams after a year or two and becoming professionals. I do, however, enjoy it a lot when players like Gillespie and Samuels, the Boeheim brothers, and, a couple of years ago, Payton Pritchard at Oregon play out the entirety of their eligibility and we get to seem them play some of their best basketball as seasoned, tested, and mature players.
A limerick by Stu:
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