Hoops links for Friday:
- John Gasaway at Basketall Prospectus gives his all-underrated team, which includes Patrick Patterson. Gasaway: “The justifiable fuss over Jodie Meeks in Lexington this season has obscured what Patterson is doing: making his shots at an incredible rate. Meeks is so prominent in this offense that unless you look a little closer you might think Patterson’s a mere supporting player. In fact his role in the offense would be that of a featured player on any “normal” team without Meeks. In that role Patterson is incomparably efficient, taking care of the ball and making two out of every three shots from the field. A fair defensive rebounder and shot-blocker, Patterson is also a 78 percent free-throw shooter.” (Hat tip to A Sea of Blue.)
- The Herald-Leader’s Mike Fields talked to legendary girls’ basketball coach Roy Bowling on that 100-0 game in Texas. Fields: ““The first thing I told my wife was that that coach ought to be fired on the spot,” Bowling said. “You can beat somebody, but there’s no reason to rub their face in it.” Covenant Coach Micah Grimes was fired, but only after he refused to apologize. He said he saw no reason for remorse because his team played with “honor and integrity.” Bowling couldn’t believe that statement. “How much honor and integrity do you get out of winning a game like that?” he said. “All you’ve done is make a fool out of yourself.””
- Jim Souhan of the Minneapolis-Star Tribute writes on Minnesota’s amazing defensive effort in win over Illinois. Souhan: “Illinois came into the night with a 20-game winning streak over Minnesota, ranked 19th in the country and rising in the Big Ten. The Illini left wondering how they got beat by a group as deep, anonymous and defensive as the CIA, having scored fewer points than ever before in their history against the Gophers.”
- Terry Bannon of the Chicago Tribune has the loss from the Illinois’ point of view. Bannon: “Of more importance, the loss dropped the 19th-ranked Illini (17-4, 5-3) into a tie for fourth place in the Big Ten with Penn State while the Gophers (18-3, 6-3) completed the first half of their Big Ten schedule in third place.”
- ESPN.com’s Mark Schlabach asks if Georgia will truly think big in its coaching search. Schlabach: ” For too long, SEC schools have short-changed their basketball programs in terms of coaching salaries and facilities. Want evidence? Tennessee’s football program recently hired Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, the father of new Volunteers coach Lane Kiffin. Tennessee will pay the elder Kiffin $1.2 million to direct its defense. Monte Kiffin’s salary is more than what eight of the SEC’s 12 basketball coaches are being paid this season. Only Florida’s Billy Donovan ($3.25 million per season), Kentucky’s Billy Gillispie ($2.36 million), Tennessee’s Bruce Pearl ($1.6 million) and Vanderbilt’s Kevin Stallings ($1.3 million) are being paid more than UT’s defensive coordinator will make this year.”
Continue reading ‘HL: Underrated Pat, Minnesota’s defense, and ethics’
