Big Things Brewin' at Wake and the 'Cuse
Two major surprises in at this halfway point in the college basketball season are undefeated Wake Forest of the Atlantic Coast Conference and Syracuse, once beaten member of the Big East. Both teams appear deep and extremely talented, and can be considered along with the usual candidates UCLA, UNC, Duke, and Pitt and several others to be serious candidates to cut down the nets at this year's Final Four in Detroit.
-----------------------
Wake Forest tonight beat the supposed frontrunner for the NCAA title, North Carolina, in a terrificly entertaining game played at Lawrence Joel in Winston-Salem, NC, 92-89. If second year Head Coach Dino Gaudio had not taken the air out of Wake's attack with about four minutes to play, Wake probably would have won easily. Instead, the Tar Heels, largely behind the shooting of disappearing act Wayne Ellington, made a game of it, one that Wake had led throughout.
Lead guard Jeff Teague may be the best unknown player in the country. At about 6-5 and with terrific range on his jumper, Teague was able to penetrate at will, scoring a career high 31 points and looking like a first team All American. Teague completely outplayed the Tar Heels point man, Ty Lawson, which not only helps Teague's draft status but hurt Lawson's chances at being a first rounder.
Wake has plenty of size, depth, and scoring. And with a player as outstanding as Teague, they have the requisite star for a deep NCAA tourney run. Watch out for them.
-----------------------
Syracuse, at 16-1 and with five double figure scorers, appears to have their best team since the 2003 National Champions. Which means that Head Coach Jim Boeheim will not go down as the latest casualty of Rollie Massimino Disease, an affliction which suffered by successful coaches who fall in love with themselves after winning their first and only national championship. (Fans of the college game will remember that Coach Mass never again led any quality teams in his coaching career following the miracle run of 1985.)
With Jonny Flynn serving as the catalyst and Paul Harris the heart and soul, Syracuse has talent aplenty, and looks to be both good enough and deep enough to make a long run come tournament time. Big man Arinze Onuaku is exactly the type of center every coach in the country wants: he plays hard, rebound and defends, and stays out of foul trouble. Shooters Devendorf and Rautins are nice players, as well, and the addition by subtraction of Dont'e Greene has played out nicely for this years Orange.
Having always been a 'Cuse fan, especially loving The Pearl and Derrick Coleman, I am glad to have the Orange back among the power elite of the college game. Good for them and good for us as fans.
-----------------------
Wake Forest tonight beat the supposed frontrunner for the NCAA title, North Carolina, in a terrificly entertaining game played at Lawrence Joel in Winston-Salem, NC, 92-89. If second year Head Coach Dino Gaudio had not taken the air out of Wake's attack with about four minutes to play, Wake probably would have won easily. Instead, the Tar Heels, largely behind the shooting of disappearing act Wayne Ellington, made a game of it, one that Wake had led throughout.
Lead guard Jeff Teague may be the best unknown player in the country. At about 6-5 and with terrific range on his jumper, Teague was able to penetrate at will, scoring a career high 31 points and looking like a first team All American. Teague completely outplayed the Tar Heels point man, Ty Lawson, which not only helps Teague's draft status but hurt Lawson's chances at being a first rounder.
Wake has plenty of size, depth, and scoring. And with a player as outstanding as Teague, they have the requisite star for a deep NCAA tourney run. Watch out for them.
-----------------------
Syracuse, at 16-1 and with five double figure scorers, appears to have their best team since the 2003 National Champions. Which means that Head Coach Jim Boeheim will not go down as the latest casualty of Rollie Massimino Disease, an affliction which suffered by successful coaches who fall in love with themselves after winning their first and only national championship. (Fans of the college game will remember that Coach Mass never again led any quality teams in his coaching career following the miracle run of 1985.)
With Jonny Flynn serving as the catalyst and Paul Harris the heart and soul, Syracuse has talent aplenty, and looks to be both good enough and deep enough to make a long run come tournament time. Big man Arinze Onuaku is exactly the type of center every coach in the country wants: he plays hard, rebound and defends, and stays out of foul trouble. Shooters Devendorf and Rautins are nice players, as well, and the addition by subtraction of Dont'e Greene has played out nicely for this years Orange.
Having always been a 'Cuse fan, especially loving The Pearl and Derrick Coleman, I am glad to have the Orange back among the power elite of the college game. Good for them and good for us as fans.
posted by joe sweeney at 10:54 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home