Thursday, January 24, 2008
Rutgers basketball
The Rutgers men's basketball team had its first quality win of the season last night, beating #16 Villanova 80-68. A young team recruited locally, the freshmen aren't blue chippers putting in a year in the minors before jumping to the NBA.
On Tuesday, the #5 women Scarlet Knights had one of their few really dominating performances of the season at Cincinnati, 71-41. At 16-2, with a little more focus & luck they'd be undefeated, but it's better they're not carrying that burden. The problem with this wonderfully talented team - & I'm not saying anything Coach Stringer would dispute - is that they often play down to the level of lesser opponents, which are most of the teams on a schedule not designed to serve up any sleepwalk wins. After the Louisville game on Sunday, Coach Stringer said, ""We should be much better. We rush and we strain. I don't like to just win. We're not executing; we turn the ball over 20 times. Give me a break. You kidding me? The problem is, soon as I say something they all get tight." It's great to hear this team on the radio; the suspense is in their tendency to play only half the game like they're capable of winning the National Championship. & in that half, they're so good you know they can. This year, they're regularly headlined with photos on the Yahoo women's NCAA basketball page.
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." Thomas Jefferson
On Tuesday, the #5 women Scarlet Knights had one of their few really dominating performances of the season at Cincinnati, 71-41. At 16-2, with a little more focus & luck they'd be undefeated, but it's better they're not carrying that burden. The problem with this wonderfully talented team - & I'm not saying anything Coach Stringer would dispute - is that they often play down to the level of lesser opponents, which are most of the teams on a schedule not designed to serve up any sleepwalk wins. After the Louisville game on Sunday, Coach Stringer said, ""We should be much better. We rush and we strain. I don't like to just win. We're not executing; we turn the ball over 20 times. Give me a break. You kidding me? The problem is, soon as I say something they all get tight." It's great to hear this team on the radio; the suspense is in their tendency to play only half the game like they're capable of winning the National Championship. & in that half, they're so good you know they can. This year, they're regularly headlined with photos on the Yahoo women's NCAA basketball page.
