More UCLA, Gonzaga, and Adam Morrison
interesting perspective by mike lee in the comments of my last post, though i don't think i ever said i watch sports to see gonzaga (or any other college kids) choke away games. if it didn't come across in the post, i think we watch sports because on any given night, something that is stunning, unthinkable, amazing, or terrible could happen.
about the game: i don't really believe that gonzaga just gave the game away. i believe that gonzaga lost because they were not in the mental mindset to win the basketball game over 40 minutes. as memphis demonstrated on saturday, short contested misses and turnovers are not necessarily unforced events. i think we should give ucla some recognition for that. i hate the term "battle-tested" to describe sports teams, but in this case i feel as though perhaps gonzaga just wasn't battle-tested.
as for gonzaga: i like gonzaga. i like the program. i like the coach. i think adam morrison is a fine player and a good pro prospect (great, before thursday night). but if you got to watch the game from where i saw it on thursday, you'd know that they bitch and complain far too much for a junior high school team, much less a college team. there was a great moment in saturday night's ucla-memphis game when jordan farmar started to talk to a ref after being BLATANTLY fouled with no call. the camera cut to ben howland, directing farmar very clearly to "shut UP." i thought that was a great example of how players should be expected to respond to officiating adversity. it's a demonstration of toughness and character. don't like a call? put your head down, dig in, and play harder. don't lose focus on the game.
and therein lies my problem with adam morrison crying, kid or not. it wasn't the fact that he was crying, but that the game wasn't OVER. they were down one point. there were seconds left on the clock. yet morrison was already thinking about losing. there were enough seconds, in fact, for either of: 1) a steal and bucket to win, or 2) a foul, long pass, and bucket to win/tie. were these longshot ways of winning the game? yes. but so was scoring the last 11 points of the game to win by two. if you're going to cry after a loss, at least do it AFTER the loss. there is no shame in that (jj redick, randy foye, etc.), particularly for a 21-year old.
i wasn't celebrating a gonzaga choke. i was celebrating a very telling comeback win by ucla and commenting on a very telling moment about adam morrison. it's a comment that i think is fair considering some nba team will be paying him several million dollars in a few months.
posted by Jack Chou @ 3/27/2006 12:15:00 AM
8 Comments:
You are still WAY OFF.
Gonzaga absolutely out played them for 30 minutes then made the all too common mistake of running too much clock/not getting good shots. Sure it was an 11-0 run, but decimating a team with 0 poise who are making tons of mistakes is not impressive. By the way, Ravio got raked hard across the arms in their second to last possession.
Memphis played horribly for 40 minutes (UCLA only marginally better). That was one of the worst elite 8 games i've ever seen and was an embarassment for both teams. That pass thrown completely over everyone and out on the opposite baseline? Yeah, battle-tested winners... If Ray and Foye do ANYTHING, I think they win that game.
And in regards to Morrison.
The tears were clearly premature and unacceptable. Regardless, that is exactly why he should be drafted and paid millions of dollars.
What do you prefer, a typical punk kid who says "fuck it, I am going to be making millons in a year" or the kid who wants to win so bad he can't hold back the tears?
PS, is this not the worst final 4 we've seen in years? I have to watch noah's ugly ass prance around trying to look hard. Your dad is a fucking PRO TENNIS PLAYER and lives in the FRENCH RIVIERA. I don't know what the cuts are like in the French Riviera, but probably VERY similar to Compton... Only team left worth watching in gm.
i don't know, i think i'd rather have the guy who actually tries to WIN a game in the last seconds over the guy who goes down a point and starts crying like a little baby. i don't think that's too much to ask.
you're right raivio did get raked across the arms. it's basketball, it happens. that's the point. suck it up, shut your mouth, and play.
honestly, i don't know where we're going with this. ucla was the best team over 40 minutes out of the 16 teams in its region. that's all that matters
Bottom line: you are praising a team that does not deserve to be in the final four (quite frankly, aren't that good) and will get beaten by LSU.
i don't know how the "don't deserve to be in the final four" argument works. didn't they beat four teams? did anyone from those teams get injured? weren't all of those four teams fully healthy?
anyhow, this is a moot argument. ucla won four games. it wasn't pretty, but they won four. they're in the final four whether you think they deserve to be or not.
that is, of course, the great thing about sports: ultimately, all that matters is the win.
I thought Mike's comment was pretty sarcastic. He of all people would watch sports to see someone lose and crying would be a nice bonus. Either that or he developed a heart, which would make the world that much less entertaining.
Anonymous, I wasn't aware that the typical punk kid felt the world owed him millions. And there is a third option, the player who wants to win so badly that he can hold himself together long enough to cry after the game is over.
um, brian, i think "anonymous" is mike lee.
Anonymous comments are for the weak.
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