wtf Goodman??

[UConNick]

this is not the kind of thread you think it is. Here's a recent article from ESPN(Insider), where Bilas and Goodman answered a couple questions. One was "If you had to start a team with any point guard in the country right now, who would it be?" Bilas chose Kieth Appling (said he considered Smart a combo), while Goodman listed off Smart, Craft, etc. before landing on you know who. Shabazz Napier. What do these mixed signals from Goodman mean? i greatly applaud him for picking Napier over the bevy of other talents in the country, but this is supremely out of character, at least from our POV. He easily could have said anyone else, and no one would have batted an eye, yet he chose a player from a team he seems to have it out for. i'll have to follow Goodman closely, and see if this is just a one time reflection of his love for Napier, despite him being a husky, or if he has turned over a new leaf.

almost forgot, here's the link for those of you who have Insider:
http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-col...s-kentucky-louisville-duke-college-basketball

 

[huskyniner]

He also tweeted this tonight after the game:

Jeff Goodman ‏@GoodmanESPN 7h
I will take Shabazz Napier over any point guard in nation. Can do it all -- and plays both ends of floor.

 

[coachcap]

Bilas gave Shabazz lots of love during last night's broadcast. So much so that you'd think he had a man crush for Napier.

 

[phillionaire]

Bilas gave Shabazz lots of love during last night's broadcast. So much so that you'd think he had a man crush for Napier.

It sounded like Bilas was creaming his pants when Napier hit one of his fadeaways

 

[conn man]

No love for sloth boy but before the start of the season he did praise Shabazz. Of course he also basically suggested that the rest of our guys were bums though.

 

[FeedTheDove]

Oh man am I sick of seeing Aaron Craft's names on lists like this. This guy is having such a mediocre season it's almost laughable. I'm sorry. Could you imagine if Bazz were averaging 9 points and 5 assists? We wouldn't hear a peep. I don't know how many of you watched the Michigan State vs Ohio State game a couple of weeks ago, but I almost threw up watching it. You literally could not get through a play without Dan Dakich's fat moth going off about how great Aaron Craft is. Oh yeah, 9 points, 6 assists and 4 turnovers is all american status. Meanwhile Adreian Payne takes a game winning charge and he describes it as a "decent play." As a matter of fact, over his last 3 games which are all losses, he's averaging 7.3 pts (36%) 5.3 ast 1.7 reb and a whopping 5 turnovers. Why anyone would consider putting him on this list with the season he is having is asinine. He's virtually averaging the same amount of steals as bazz and his 2.3 TO per game is absolutely nothing to gloat about. Oh, and he shoots 28% from 3... nice!!! I'll give him that he is a senior, but other than that he is absolutely mediocre. He is America's poster boy in college basketball this year (besides all this mind-numbing "freshman focus" trash.) I don't want to see him on another one of these stupid lists.

I'd take Boat on a team before Aaron Craft, hands down.

End rant

 

[Hoophound]

Goodman is smarter than you think. Click, click, click.......

 

[Kevin Caliendo]

There was definitely weird vibe from the announcers last night. They continually reminded how good a game we were watching, almost as if directed to do so by someone in the production truck. then, they cut to the half time crew who immediately say what a great, high quality, intense game we were all watching.

If I didn't know better, I think I was watching an SEC football game given the overhype by ESPN. Question is, was there a motive? conspiracy?

 

[Scot-e]

They were simply embarrassed to cover an AAC game. I kinda know how they feel- I sometimes feel ashamed myself and have to consentrate on the UCONN on our uniforms.

 

[Palatine]

Love Bilas with his , "How do you stop THAT!" after SN hit a pull back jumper.

 

[Husky25]

There was definitely weird vibe from the announcers last night. They continually reminded how good a game we were watching, almost as if directed to do so by someone in the production truck. then, they cut to the half time crew who immediately say what a great, high quality, intense game we were all watching.

If I didn't know better, I think I was watching an SEC football game given the overhype by ESPN. Question is, was there a motive? conspiracy?

It was good game though. On top of that, it was on the mothership network, not News, U, or the Deuce.

Aside from a few questionable calls (There were no real blatantly bad calls. The Brimah over the back was the closest and the 10 second violation was cut closer to 9 seconds than 11), I thought the game flowed nicely. Be that as it may, there are always questionable calls and UConn was on the road. Refs are human and sometimes get caught up in the excitement of the atmosphere as well. It does no good to complain about the refs unless calls are absolutely blatantly wrong. The offenses were flowing and defenses were allowed to play within the constraints of the game. Very entertaining game to watch.

 

[storrsroars]

There was definitely weird vibe from the announcers last night. They continually reminded how good a game we were watching, almost as if directed to do so by someone in the production truck. then, they cut to the half time crew who immediately say what a great, high quality, intense game we were all watching.

If I didn't know better, I think I was watching an SEC football game given the overhype by ESPN. Question is, was there a motive? conspiracy?

Personally I don't think so. It was among the better played games from any two teams I've seen this season. Close. Good flow. Not a foul fest. And not much in the way of dumb TOs until the end.

Then again, maybe I still have Pitt-Cincy stuck in my head. I pitied that announcing crew.

 

[seanmc94]

I like boat rights game; but he is not better that AC right now. Kid makes giid decisions. He's not a scorer; but he's a top 10 PG. Not an AA; but it's not his fault the pundits love him

 

[Waquoit]

There was definitely weird vibe from the announcers last night. They continually reminded how good a game we were watching...

It sounded organic to me. It was a high-level game, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

 

[Strummer]

Bilas gave Shabazz lots of love during last night's broadcast. So much so that you'd think he had a man crush for Napier.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

 

[Strummer]

Why anyone would consider putting him on this list with the season he is having is asinine.

Because he's white, he plays with "intensity," and he is "fundamentally sound."
He reminds the guys who make these lists of themselves when they were 21 years old.
It's a lot like many of the Puke players over the years, who really weren't that good, but who were lauded constantly.

 

[Waquoit]

Because he's white, he plays with "intensity," and he is "fundamentally sound."
He reminds the guys who make these lists of themselves when they were 21 years old.
It's a lot like many of the Puke players over the years, who really weren't that good, but who were lauded constantly.

Or Jimmer getting the POY over Kemba.

 

[ctchamps]

I like boat rights game; but he is not better that AC right now. Kid makes giid decisions. He's not a scorer; but he's a top 10 PG. Not an AA; but it's not his fault the pundits love him

His cousin was murdered two days ago. It was not his best game by far. But over the last six or seven games he's upped his pg skills tremendously. He's in the same awkward position that Bazz was two years ago. A great point guard who is playing with a star guard. This season KO has made Ryan the primary ball handler but he is coached to set up Bazz for scoring. It takes him out of his natural rhythm but in the long run it's making him into a great point guard.

His progress has been missed by many because it began just before the mid season swoon by UConn.

 

[jibsey]

Next year RB takes it to the next level, I think he stays particularly after seeing whats happened with Bazz this year. At his size he has to be a deadeye shooter from deep (he passes up shots now) to have any chance of NBA and I think he will focus on that.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

I think the announcers were impressed with the speed of both teams forget which conference their in. I watched the reply then watched a later game the contrast in speed was amazing.
In case you never watched a game in person it's even faster than it looks on TV. They see a lot of good teams but for players like Bazz to be making plays at those speeds is impressive. As for hyping the game and the AAC I think you are underestimating the value of the AAC to ESPN especially UConn and Temple in a market they lost with the demise of the Big East. ESPN has to offer and hype good programming to counter Fox.
With fewer teams the AAC offers home and always. That mean more meaningful watchable games. Unfortunately it's a down year for Temple. But that's normally two marketable games.
Even with the ACC the only team the home fans care about is Cuse.
Pitt was an outlier in the Big East and has become a quasi mid-south team in the ACC and BC has no Mojo
Heck ESPN is hyping UMASS

PS this UConn team will still is not where it could be. They played a good game last night but not anywhere near their potential. This team can become really special.

 

[IMind]

Because he's white, he plays with "intensity," and he is "fundamentally sound."
He reminds the guys who make these lists of themselves when they were 21 years old.
It's a lot like many of the Puke players over the years, who really weren't that good, but who were lauded constantly.

But the real question is... does he have a high motor?

 

[Marat]

PS this UConn team will still is not where it could be. They played a good game last night but not anywhere near their potential. This team can become really special.

Agreed since Giffey didn't even connect on any 3s, Boatright could do much better defensively and offensively, and Brimah was not in the game long enough or flow of it to be the defensive game changer. If firing on all cylinders, they could take down everyone. I still think their performance vs Detroit (yes, bad team), was a thing of offensive beauty - that was when Calhoun was scoring. UConn plays their best when Napier doesn't have to be the main scorer, but rather the distributor.

 

[DogMania]

Was it Bilas who said that he could not think of a current pair of guards who were better at breaking down the defender(s) and creating their own shots?

I've not watched closely all the lead guards this season, but I can't imagine many having a more complete game than Bazz.

I've only watched a little of OSU and Kraft this season, though his stats do seem to point to not having a good season so far. Some players simply get over-hyped. Sometimes good players have a bad stretch or season. For example, if a sports writer happened to only catch Bazz during the Texas games, he'd come away with an entirely different perspective compared to watching him in those early games and the past two where he put in some ridiculous performances.

Quite frankly some of these talking heads are basing their comments on a limited amount of data and a lot of bias. Keep in mind that many here on the Yard do the same. I'm not watching as much hoops as I used to, so my opinions have their flaws. Since I've seen every Shabazz Napier game and a whole lot of college games over the years, he does stack up as one of the most talented all around lead guards I've seen. He's a plus-performer in just about every category. IMO, his only minuses are his lack of size and athleticism, which doesn't seem to hamper him in most games at this level. It looked like to me, before this last game, that big, long and athletic guards were able to slow him and Boat down a bit, but I'm wondering if it was more some physical and/or health issues that were at work during those bad games. Memphis has some big guards that were supposed to be good defenders and both Bazz and Boat were breaking them down quite effectively and getting off good shots and finding open teammates.

Also keep in mind, the better the supporting cast plays the less teams can throw defensively at Bazz to slow him down. Granted, it sure looked like to me that Bazz and Boat went through a stretch where they were not trusting their teammates. As a whole the team was not committed to running their sets with energy and conviction like they have the past couple games, which is partly to be blamed on the lead guard who needs to get the other 4 to do their job. I think both Bazz and Boat are going to look a lot better if the rest of the team plays like they did last night.

I've always thought Bazz was special. We'll all learn a bit more about where Bazz stacks up as the season goes on. Granted the AAC isn't the old Big East, but there will be more than enough tests along the way for Bazz to make his case as the best or one of the best lead guards in the nation.

 

[ctchamps]

Was it Bilas who said that he could not think of a current pair of guards who were better at breaking down the defender(s) and creating their own shots?

I've not watched closely all the lead guards this season, but I can't imagine many having a more complete game than Bazz.

I've only watched a little of OSU and Kraft this season, though his stats do seem to point to not having a good season so far. Some players simply get over-hyped. Sometimes good players have a bad stretch or season. For example, if a sports writer happened to only catch Bazz during the Texas games, he'd come away with an entirely different perspective compared to watching him in those early games and the past two where he put in some ridiculous performances.

Quite frankly some of these talking heads are basing their comments on a limited amount of data and a lot of bias. Keep in mind that many here on the Yard do the same. I'm not watching as much hoops as I used to, so my opinions have their flaws. Since I've seen every Shabazz Napier game and a whole lot of college games over the years, he does stack up as one of the most talented all around lead guards I've seen. He's a plus-performer in just about every category. IMO, his only minuses are his lack of size and athleticism, which doesn't seem to hamper him in most games at this level. It looked like to me, before this last game, that big, long and athletic guards were able to slow him and Boat down a bit, but I'm wondering if it was more some physical and/or health issues that were at work during those bad games. Memphis has some big guards that were supposed to be good defenders and both Bazz and Boat were breaking them down quite effectively and getting off good shots and finding open teammates.

Also keep in mind, the better the supporting cast plays the less teams can throw defensively at Bazz to slow him down. Granted, it sure looked like to me that Bazz and Boat went through a stretch where they were not trusting their teammates. As a whole the team was not committed to running their sets with energy and conviction like they have the past couple games, which is partly to be blamed on the lead guard who needs to get the other 4 to do their job. I think both Bazz and Boat are going to look a lot better if the rest of the team plays like they did last night.

I've always thought Bazz was special. We'll all learn a bit more about where Bazz stacks up as the season goes on. Granted the AAC isn't the old Big East, but there will be more than enough tests along the way for Bazz to make his case as the best or one of the best lead guards in the nation.

Yes it was Bilas. He was impressed with UConn's guards and how they played, particularly Bazz. I expect he will be changing his opinions about UConn and Bazz after watching this game in person.

Bazz is special. He needs a supporting cast more than Kemba, but he does more with that cast than Kemba could ever do. I don't need to see any more games to know that. I'm just hoping, like you, that the rest of the team continues to improve so that Bazz can get to demonstrate this to those who are less familiar with him.

 

[ctchamps]

Next year RB takes it to the next level, I think he stays particularly after seeing whats happened with Bazz this year. At his size he has to be a deadeye shooter from deep (he passes up shots now) to have any chance of NBA and I think he will focus on that.

I hope this happens but after what happened to his cousin, I would say the chances might be slimmer than before that he returns.

Some of us really struggle to understand why these kids are so desperate to go pro. The money isn't just about themselves. They have family that they want to help get out of situations that are not good. That isn't selfish. That's caring. Those of us who fail to understand this, are probably the selfish ones. All we can think about is how the team can entertain us. For these kids, the situations might be literally about life and death.