Archive for the 'Big Willie Style' category
Jerel McNeal
February 21, 2009 4:15 pm by Big Willie StyleThere’s been a lot of League MVP talk surrounding DeJuan Blair after his performance last Monday against UConn, and rightfully so. He is very worthy, but I think that Jerel McNeal of Marquette deserves a look as well. He’s been tremendous all year, as he has the past few years. He also has been the difference maker in several of Marquette’s biggest games, including today’s victory at Georgetown. I know he’s part of a posse of Senior guards, however, he always seems to standout to me. Marquette’s remaining schedule in the Big East is a killer. McNeal will be on the national stage in every game, and we’ll all get to see how he fares. If he excels, I think he’s got a great case for MVP, especially if Marquette finishes atop the conference.
Syracuse or Georgetown?
December 30, 2008 10:57 pm by Big Willie Style
Both had impressive wins to start the Big East season. After the Hoyas dismantled #2 UConn the other night, the Orange fouled it up with an impressive 24 point victory against Seton Hall. While the Pirates are not as impressive as the Huskies, they’re not a total scrub, and have already defeated Virginia Tech and nationally ranked USC so far this year.
While most will be impressed with the Hoyas “upset” (although some disagree), give me the Orange right now. Routins scored 26 points, including 7-10 3 point shooting, and Devendorf had 20 himself. Don’t get me wrong, this is real close, but it’s always fun to compare the Orange and Hoyas. And for now, I think Syracuse has had the slightly more impressive start. As a bonus, we get to see this classic matchup in just about 15 days.
Big East Beatdown
December 29, 2008 9:25 pm by Big Willie Style
After one Big East game this season, we now know that we should not forget about the two time defending regular season champions. As ESPN announcer Jay Bilas said during the broadcast, “It isn’t shocking that Georgetown came into Hartford and won. What was shocking was the ease in which they did so.” And for that, he was exactly right. The Hoyas 11 point victory was about as smooth a victory you could imagine for an opponent facing a #2 ranked team in the conference opener.
For those of you who didn’t see the game, Georgetown opened with a 15-1 lead. The Huskies quickly climbed back in the first half cutting the lead to 4 and eventually trailing at halftime by 9. At the half the Hoyas were still in control, but a UConn victory would not have been surprising at all. The Huskies immediately closed the gap and the usual docile XL Center crowd finally made some noise. It appeared as if UConn would blow pass the Hoyas, however, the young Georgetown players remained calm, and their 2-3 zone eventually squeezed the life out of the UConn offense. Georgetown’s fantastic foul shooting helped the cruise to a victory in the opening Big East game of the year.
What do I take from this game?
-A good zone will stop UConn.
-Greg Monroe is a very impressive player, and is years ahead of Hasheem Thabeet.
-Georgetown’s bench is very weak. If you can get them in foul trouble, they’re very vulnerable.
-In order to win in postseason tournaments, UConn will have to be able to make outside shots.
-Chris Wright will be discussed in first team All-Big talks. Keep in mind, the 1st team is like, 10 players.
-Georgetown will be a very difficult team to to come back on. Thinking of their free throw shooting as if they have a good bullpen. Once they get a lead, they should be able to hang on to it and slam the door on their opponents, as they did tonight.
-In the Big East this year, if you show up with anything less than 100% energy, you’re going to get beat. I’m not knocking the UConn effort, I thought the players played very hard. However, they were clearly outworked by the Hoyas.
-JTIII is a better coach the Jim Calhoun. UConn has better recruiting, and better athletes. But G’town plays better basketball.
The Hoyas Are In!
March 25, 2007 6:50 pm by Big Willie Style
And they got in at the expense of the ACC. Could this possibly be any sweeter? I only caught the last 12 minutes of regulation and overtime, but what I saw was incredibly impressive. In the last 3 minutes of regulation and OT, Georgetown simply beat down on the Tar Heels. UNC is a very good team, and the Hoyas made them look bad. After North Carolina scored 50 by halftime (G’town only gives up 57 PPG), UNC scored 32 over the last 25 minutes. By that stat alone, the second half of this game was clearly a Big East controlled contest. One final point, before I let everyone else chip in; How nice is it to see McDonald’s All-Americans consistently get burned by back door cuts? I love it. So good luck next Staurday against Ohio State, and congrats again G’town fans. I think the Hoyas are good enough to win it all, and I hope they can do it.
More links from across the Big East landscape:
- Highlights: Courtesy of Hoya Prospectus. I love Sapp faking the crap out of Hansborough.
- Hoya Saxa: Recap, boxscore, and links…
- A nod to Jeff Green, and a shudder about the future: Cuse Country admits that Jeff Green was indeed deserving of the Big East player of the year, mentions that G’town could be the new sheriff in the Big East, and that the ACC has missed out on the last two Final Fours.
- Not traveling after all: Of course this no longer matters, but Jeff Green’s winning shot on Saturday might not have been a travel after all. Great link that The Van Buren Boys find — an officiating forum where the word is that it either wasn’t blatantly as bad a travel as many have thought, or that it wasn’t a travel at all. Great suggestion that CBS bring in a retired referee instead of having Seth Davis talk out of his ass.
