Thoughts on College Hoops: Ohio State @ Florida

My thoughts on the Ohio State-Florida game:

- Noah and Horford are great defenders and all, but can anyone guess which Ohio State starter had the least amount of FGs in the game? The answe would be Greg Oden. He needs to get the ball more. If he doesn't establish any presence inside, they won't get outside looks.

- I always thought Florida with their size match up well against Ohio State, especially in the Ron Lewis vs. Corey Brewer matchup. Ron Lewis is a very underrated component to the Buckeyes and I thought winning this matchup would be critical to Florida winning. Lewis shot 3-10 and had 9, Brewer shot 7-13 and had 18. Florida won the game.

- Taurean Green's game went completely under the radar. He played amazing and shot 9-12 and 4-7 from behind the arc. It was nice to see the Florida Guards carrying the load as well.

- Mike Conley was by far the best Buckeye out there. When every OSU player was down he kept running and got penetration the whole game. HAd 7 assissts, 5 rebounds, 4 steals. Once he missed a layup, grabbed his own rebound inside, drop stepped, faked his man up and finished inside like a natural in the paint. He was the only impressive Buckeye.

- Why the hell do Ohio State not run Hunter and Oden at the same time? Especially against a team as big as Florida? With two monsters like that nobody is getting points inside. Btw, why did Terwilliger only play 2 minutes? Strange personnel management...

- Lee Humphrey is possibly the smartest guy in the SEC. He's really thinking out there, illustrated by his second half behind-the-back save to Horford. Which brings me to my next point:

- Joakim Noah is a pretty unique player and a great competitor, but is about as smart as a shoestring. Also, he isn't exactly the most articulate guy in the world. "I don't think nobody on this team is scared of anyone. People should be afraid of us."

LSU Basketball Views and Thoughts

I posted this in the general Hoops thread:


Just watched the LSU-Oregon St. game and I've seen LSU a few times this year now.

I deducted following thoughts:
Big Baby is just amazing, but sometimes he goes out beyond the three point mark. I like him at the high post, and he is dangerous from outside as well, but he shouldn't be out there as much as he is.

Tasmin Mitchell is a great compliment to Davis. He has a nice Mid range jumper and is a real fighter. Plus, he's smart and finds the holes in the zone. He reminds me of Luol Deng.

Garrett Temple has a decent 3-PT shot, but he thinks it's a lot better than it really is. I don't mind seeing him take that shot when he has teh open look, but twice I saw him pull up on a fast break to take that shot. Come on, you're a good slasher so go to the rim Garrett.

Tack Minor has talent, but sometimes looks like a Freshman Guard. I was surprised when I saw he's a Junior.

Magnum Rolle may have an awsome name, but he hasn't been playing for very long and it really shows sometimes. He made a couple of really bonehead plays late in the game sunday.

Ben Voogd is a fighter. Love the intensity he brings, plus his defensive slides are impressive. I didn't think much of his defense when I saw his stance, but he has great feet and fights to the end.

Overall I think LSU is a good but not a great team. Glen Davis is even better than last year, but they're really only a three-man team with Tasmin and Temple.
They make a lot of turnovers, especially early, and I think that is due to their lack of great Point Guards on the roster. Minor reminds me a little of a Smuch Parker type of player and people who know me know what I think of Smush.
Plus, Garrett Temple, while a fantastic defender, needs to realize his offensive role.
I think sometimes they look desperate and simply try to feed Davis by forcing the ball in there. Without Tyrus, defenses can really deny the post better, which again causes turnovers if you try to force the issue.
Note that Davis makes 3.6 Turnovers a game. I think this goes back to him trying to drive from too far away. He's great in the low-post. Even better from the high-post, but nothing special really from the perimeter.
I think Tasmin Mitchell is the key to this offense. He could open it up and definately has the talent and skill to do so. If he manages to transform himself into a useful sidekick for Davis, they cold go deep, otherwise I think they need to rethink how to get DAvis involved without losing the ball.