Xavier guard Brad Redford, out for the season with a torn ACL, is putting his free time to good use. Redford has used his talents to create a funny and insightful blog, which features several YouTube videos. Among them is Redford interviewing former Xavier star James Posey and legendary coach Bob Knight.
Looks like the young man has a bright future behind the mic. But don’t take my word for it. Check it for yourself:
http://redfordsrundown.com/
- Vinny Pezzimenti
Was watching the closing minutes of Indiana’s home loss to a pitiful Penn State team last week with an IU alum. As the Nittany Lions put the finishing touches on the victory in the Big Ten opener for both teams, the proud Hoosier was calling for the return of Mike Davis to the bench.
No, things aren’t exactly looking up for Tom Crean.
And it hasn’t gotten any better. Indiana dropped to 0-3 in the Big Ten and suffered its fifth straight defeat with a narrow loss at Minnesota on Tuesday. The Hoosiers are alone in the conference’s basement, territory they’ve occupied plenty the first two years of the Crean era.
But this season was supposed to be different. This season is sort of a make or break one for Crean. It’s time for Indiana to start at least showing it can compete for NCAA tournament berths again soon.
Fresh off damaging NCAA sanctions resulting from Kelvin Sampson’s short tenure at IU, the Hoosiers went 1-17 in league play with a woefully depleted roster in Crean’s first year. They improved slightly to 4-14 last season.
This season started off well enough, with a 9-2 start. But it must be noted that the schedule was very soft and none of those nine victories came against a fellow power conference opponent. The two losses, meanwhile, came by double digits to Kentucky and Boston College, games that could have provided Crean a landmark win and helped his cause against impatient Hoosier supporters.
Now, Indiana hasn’t won since Dec. 19, when it topped South Carolina State. The latest defeat came 67-63 to Minnesota, dropping the Hoosiers to 2-23 in Big Ten road games under Crean.
“We’re a better team,” Crean insisted afterward. “We are not the team that was here last year. We are not the team that was here last week. It’s a better team. We had our chances. This would have been a big game to get. I loved our plan. I loved our mindset. I loved our preparation. It’s early in the (Big Ten) season. I wish we had the win.”
So do the IU fans and alums spewing fiery criticism at the coach on message boards. It appears if Crean doesn’t start winning soon, he might not be granted another chance.
– Vinny Pezzimenti
Was that really Michigan State out there on the Madison Square Garden hardwood Tuesday night? Sure didn’t look like it.
The usually hard-nosed, rough-and-tumble Spartans were gouged by big man Rick Jackson and Co. in a 72-58 loss to Syracuse. Jackson produced 17 points and 16 rebounds as the Orange hammered the Spartans in points in the paint (42-24 edge) and on the boards (38-30).
The effort did not sit well with coach Tom Izzo.
“It’s gut check time for us,” he said. “I’m as disappointed in that performance as I’ve been in any since I’ve been at Michigan State. Credit Syracuse or the one man (Jackson) who kicked our butt. We didn’t come early inside and let them dominate on the boards. We turned into a pretty-boy jump-shooting team instead of the blue-collar, fist-fighting team we should be.
“Our guys inside weren’t covering anybody and that’s solely on me. If the team doesn’t play hard enough and is tough enough that’s the coach’s fault and we’ll fix that. I feel like the New York Jets (who were beaten 45-3 by the Patriots on Monday night).”
But wait, there’s more.
“The aggressive team usually gets the advantage,” Izzo said, “but we were taking it like a sissy and they took it up like men.”
The loss dropped the hyped-up Spartans, who came into the season ranked No. 2 in the AP poll and as a sturdy national title contender, to 6-3. The other losses were to Connecticut (70-67) and at Duke (84-79).
Based on early returns, this doesn’t feel like another Final Four season for Michigan State. Then again, Izzo and the Spartans have been down this road before.
Izzo has led teams ranging from average to great through the tournament and into the Final Four. The Spartans almost always play their best basketball in March, evidenced by Izzo’s 35-12 NCAA Tournament mark and six Final Four trips in the last 12 years.
And remember this: Much of this year’s cast was part of the Michigan State team that opened the 2010 tournament as a No. 5 seed. The Spartans, of course, finished in the Final Four. Don’t be surprised if they’re back again in 2011.
- Vinny Pezzimenti
Kansas’ home winning streak is alive and well … barely. It took a Mario Little free throw with seven-tenths of a second remaining Thursday to lift the Jayhawks to a 77-76 victory over UCLA, extending the Allen Fieldhouse streak to 64 in a row.
As home streaks go, Kansas’ is impressive. As all-time home streaks go, the Jayhawks still face a lengthy climb to the top. Kentucky holds the Division I mark, winning 129 straight from 1943-55. St. Bonaventure won 99 in a row from 1948-61. UCLA reeled off 98 consecutively from 1970-76.
Sorry Jayhawks fans, but Kansas won’t come close to touching any of those streaks. Its narrow victory over a talented but very youthful UCLA team provides enough evidence to presume the streak ends this season. Kansas is good, but not national championship good. Maybe not even good enough to reign over the Big 12.
Touted true freshman point guard Josh Selby becomes eligible on Dec. 18. That’s good news for the Jayhawks, but it doesn’t change what they will encounter in January and February. The Big 12 is strong at the top, with Kansas State, Baylor, Missouri and Texas firmly implanted in the AP Top 25. Texas A&M and Oklahoma State follow closely behind.
Of those potential streak-busting teams, the Jayhawks host K-State, Missouri, Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma State.
Kansas’ streak started in February 2007. So predicting when exactly it will end is a fruitless endeavor. No team since Arizona in the early ’90s has ripped off more than 70 victories in a row at home. The Jayhawks might get there, but they won’t extend it much further.
Long streaks, after all, were made for the past, before there were early departures to the NBA, cable television and the world wide web. Before talent was spread far and wide. If Texas doesn’t beat Kansas, Missouri will. And if Missouri doesn’t … well, you get the picture.
By the way:
* Kansas is 118-6 under coach Bill Self in Allen Fieldhouse games. Oddly, three of those losses have come to non-power conference opponents (Richmond, Nevada, Oral Roberts).
* Kansas’ previous longest home winning streak was 62 straight from 1994-98, when Roy Williams coached the Jayhawks.
* Xavier’s 27 home wins in a row is the second longest active streak in Division I. The Musketeers’ next home game is against Butler on Dec. 9. Watch out.
— Vinny Pezzimenti
http://www.collegechalktalk.com