5 down, 1 to go.
Anyone who doubts this team now is just stupid. This team has justified themselves as one of the elite teams in college basketball. I’d like to say it doesn’t matter if they win tomorrow night or not. The truth is the Tigers must do win this or it goes down as just another season in most people’s eyes. We Tigers fans will always remember this team. When we’re old and gray we’ll tell our grandchildren about this team and season. But for a fan in another part of the country to remember this team, they have to be standing alone on the floor for “One Shining Moment.”
I’ll be sending a friend in Orange County, CA a shirt next week. He’s not a college basketball fan. He doesn’t care about UCLA or Memphis. But our friendship made him interested. He will proudly wear the shirt around his UCLA friends just to spite them a bit. I have to admit I’m probably going to enjoy that a little too much.
Turnovers is the key to winning in the NCAA tournament. The Tigers turnover numbers in the last three games has been mind boggling considering the level of teams they are playing as well as the speed. They had 9 last night against arguably the best defensive team in the country. In previous tournament games they had 7 against Texas, 8 in the Michigan State game, 5 during the Mississippi State game, and in the worst TO game of the tournament 12 against Texas-Arlington. Turnovers not only allow run out baskets but they change momentum.
I grew tired of Packer and Nantz wondering why UCLA didn’t get the ball down to Love. The Tigers DENIED the passing opportunities to Love. Had Collison and Westbrook tried to get it down inside Dorsey, Dozier and Taggert would have had more steals. The defensive scheme was run to perfection.
The non-me attitude of these Tigers is simply amazing to me. They are wise beyond their years and are better for it. While the national media is Rose, Rose and more Rose the team is us, us and more us. CDR’s 28 last night was the most ignored 28-point game in Final Four history. But he doesn’t mind as long as the Tigers win. Folks, it is attitudes like that gets your team into the National Championship game.
Derrick Rose is ready. I know I said as late as January that he wasn’t NBA ready but that has changed significantly. I’m am astounded at the progress he’s made since New Year’s Day. He will be the first Tigers player ever to be the overall #1 pick in the draft. If he isn’t then the team that passes on him will forever be remember like the Portland Trailblazers who took Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan. I’m not saying Rose is the next Jordan. I’m saying Rose is head and shoulders above anyone else in the draft. The real “declaring” question will be CDR. I’d love to see him stay but if ends up being a top 10 pick then he’s gone.
This Tigers team is the best I’ve ever seen. No disrespect to any in our history but none of them would stay with these Tigers. They are not only a great team but ever so are by far the most talented.
My daughter pointed something out to me that I missed and I’m sure a lot of people did. When CDR dunked on K-love (sounds like a radio station), Joey pointed at him laying on the floor and laughed. It’s on Youtube and I’m not computer savvy enough to link it for you.
We’re 40 minutes away for a Tuesday night hair cut. I’m a man of my word and will gladly submit to the shears Tuesday night after a win in “the next game.” And quite frankly, I won’t mind a bit.
Responses to “Over The Edge….”
April 6th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
I didn’t know he pointed at Love but I did see Joey bounding back down the court after CDR’s shot smiling and chuckling. It was as though at that point he could relax a tiny bit because the game was almost over and we were ahead enough to know that we could probably pull that one out. I didn’t see him point but I’ll look for the Youtube thing. I just remember giggling because seeing Joey Dorsey smile and laugh makes me laugh too. These games make me really nervous! About as nervous as watching the Tigers with Finch-Robinson-Kenon against Walton, which I saw on tv as a kid.
The media has stuck its neck out so far in the past weeks assuming it was going to be UNC v. UCLA that they must be red-faced. They blew their chance to market the game for a strong audience by not hyping up our best players the same way they hyped up Hansbrough, to whom they gave every award possible.
It also looked like the refs wanted to help out both UCLA and UNC in their respective games a bit but to no avail. The stepchildren, Memphis and Kansas, from the smaller tv markets, defied conventional wisdom and won.
A friend thinks the media tends to hype up the team with the biggest white presence and focus on white players since there are so few, for whatever reason. If that’s true then Kansas will get a little more preferential treatment since they have more white players.
But I hope the media or the refs keep disrespecting the team so the players try harder. It’s funnier and more satisfying when they win despite all the odds against them and just pound their way through. But it’s going to be tough to get through that last hurdle.
Each team they’ve played has been tough. If they manage to get past Kansas I guess they’ll look back wondering why they couldn’t have played as consistently against UT but I guess it took that game to get their attention and focus. Love seeing the team make free throws lately. I hope we can handle the matchups against Kansas because Kansas was dominant on the boards against UNC, looked like. It might be a battle to get the rebound.
I think the media is dumbfounded and none of them can remember our player’s names because they didn’t pay attention to us earlier. Kansas may not know that much about our players as they might either, because I don’t think the Tigers got as much tv airplay nationally through the year as UNC, UCLA and Kansas, a friend says. It was clear our players know a good bit about Kansas though and have been paying attention and watching all the other teams play through the season because one of our players was on ESPN after the UCLA game replying he was well aware how good Kansas is and said he wasn’t surprised they were able to defeat UNC despite the media’s surprise at the result because he said they’d been good all season.
April 7th, 2008 at 1:33 am
I’m old enough to have watched the 73 game between the Tigers and Bruins. Until now, I believed that was the best team in Memphis history. I agree this year’s version is the best now.
The match up with Kansas is very compelling. The Jayhawks and Tigers mirror one another so much it’s almost hard to believe. Neither team has a true decided advantage you could point to and say that one is so much better in one area.
However, since I’ve been predicting a Tigers loss the past three games, I figure I’m doing you Tiger fans a favor. I’m your lucky charm. With each loss I predict, the Tigers win big.
Therefore, I’m taking the Jayhawks to win Monday 82-73. Rock Chalk Jayhawk baby!
April 7th, 2008 at 9:50 am
19 Turnovers against a North Carolina team that doesn’t play defense, they’re eating into our hands.
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