SATURDAY’S CLOSE OUT

I hope everyone had a great 2011 and that you are looking forward to 2012.

Thanks for reading the blog and I appreciate those that add their comments.

Watched a lot of basketball last night.

This NBA League Pass is unreal!

So many games to choose from. Free preview now until January 8.

Keeping my fingers crossed that my wife allows me to subscribe.

But kudos to NBA TV, which we do have for giving us Bulls-Clippers.

Of course it was built up as the D-Rose vs Chris Paul show.

But believe it or not, it’s more than that.

The Bulls team are for real.

Chicago pulled out the victory 114-101 in LA.

The Bulls were 29-34 from the free throw line. Clippers 12-20. Biggest difference was right there. Rose shot 11, Paul attempted just 1.

Rose finished with 29 points, 16 assists and eight rebounds. Paul scored 15 points and dished out 14 assists. “It was like two heavyweights going at it, punch after punch,” said Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau on the Rose vs. Paul matchup.

Blake Griffin scored 34 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for LA. I know everyone is enamoured with Griffin’s dunks but I’m more impressed with his footwork. You can tell he worked on it during the off-season. One thing I would like to see him eliminate is dribbling through his legs; really doesn’t need it.

Chicago moves to 3-1. Clippers 1-2.

The Heat went into Minnesota where they pulled off the 103-101 win on a gorgeous sideline out-of-bounds play late in the game; LeBron James to D- Wade for the lay up. Ricky Rubio played well for Minnesota with 12 points and 12 assists.  James had 34 points, 8 rebounds and 10 assists.

Kevin Love scored 25 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the T-Wolves.

Miami is 4-0, Minnesota 0-3.

WEEI Sports talk Radio out of Boston on the Celtics win over the Detroit Pistons last night. More important, they got Paul Pierce back.

“I was expecting to be me,” Pierce said. “I don’t settle for anything less. I work tremendously hard. I did a lot of things and did what I could do, other than practice. I just stayed focused, got my shots every day, I was on the [exercise] bike, and Doc [Doc Rivers] wanted me to be aggressive and just play the way I play, and that’s what I tried to do.

“It felt good. I think the rest of my body is a little bit more sore than anything, since I haven’t had any physical contact or up-and-down basketball in quite a while.”

I’m looking forward to closing the 2011 year with some good college basketball games on TV today:

Louisville-Kentucky 12 noon

Creighton-Wichita State 6PM

IU-Ohio State 6PM

Happy New Year!

Hoops135@hotmail.com

Follow me on Twitter: @CoachFinamore

WORD UP

Do people still say, ‘Word up’?

Saw this quote from Carmelo Anthony after their loss to the Lakers last night.

“To whom much is given, much is expected.  We have to do what we have to do to win basketball games. If that’s wearing myself out to try to win games, I’ll do it. That’s why I worked hard this offseason getting in the best shape.”

FRIDAY’S FLOOR BURNS

Our team had the past 10 days off from playing a game. We worked hard in practice on defense and taking care of the ball. The players were alive, energized and willing to learn.

Last night it showed as we beat Ann Arbor Huron 68-38.

Despite what Allen Iverson once said about practice, time spent during the week on the practice floor does matter.

Here’s a link to the story via Lansing State Journal.

Mike Larkin of the Mail Online Journal: Michael Jordan gets engaged. He’s 48 she’s 32.

For the legendary Chicago Bulls player has just got engaged to his long-term partner, Cuban-American model Yvette Prieto.

The pair have been dating for the last three years, so Michael, 48, doubtlessly feels the 32-year-old is the woman for him.

The North Carolina native got down on one knee recently, and his spokeswoman confirmed today she had accepted his proposal.

Joanne Gerstner of the New York Times: There are 4 D-1 men’s college teams still undefeated: Syraucse, Murray State, Baylor and Missouri. Which team will lose first?

Mike Macchi of CLNS Radio.com on the Boston Celtics 0-3 start…They host the Detroit Pistons tonight.

There are a ton of Celtics fans hitting the panic button right about now. And after a miserable 0-3 start, in which the scores do not even begin to tell the story, it is understandable. But, coming from the guy who has already said the team needs to trade Rajon Rondo and blow the whole team up because the window has indeed closed, I urge everyone in Celtics nation not to panic just yet.

KWCH News 12 in Ohio: A male high school basketball player in Ohio: Twitter, transfer, location, eligibility and the courts being involved.

Cook and his parents filed a lawsuit after the Ohio High School Athletic Association ruled earlier this month that he was ineligible to play. Officials claim his father moved him from Euclid High School to Warren, mainly so the 6’6″ Arthur could play for Harding–that would be against the association’s rules. But his parents, who recently separated, say that’s not true, and that Arthur’s father moved in with family there.

“Basketball did not play a role. He moved because we’re going through our own personal issues, and it is his desire to help his son transition to adulthood,” said the teen’s mother, Seanine Cook.

According to the lawsuit, the controversy was sparked by several tweets Arthur Cook sent from his Twitter account last summer.

One stated, “My dad just called me downstairs to tell me I’m going to either Shaker or Garfield.” Another stated, “I’m taking my talents to Heights.”

“Actually, they were horseplay because he didn’t know. He didn’t know where he was gonna go. It was all a joke between him and some of his other teammates,” Seanine Cook said.

Cook’s mother, who still lives in Euclid, says his father took him to Warren to focus on his grades, which she says have improved.

Hoops135@hotmail.com

Follow me on Twitter: @CoachFinamore

RUN THE BASELINE

NBA league pass is free until Jan. 8?

WOW!

Checked out a lot of games from around the NBA Wednesday night.

I also watched a big one in college basketball;  IU and Michigan State on the Big 10 Network in East Lansing. Gus Johnson was doing the play-by-play, this makes the game a lot more enjoyable.

The Spartans came out with the hard fought victory, 80-65.

Both teams played hard, everyone competed, they ran the floor fast, guys shared the ball and displayed a never give up attitude.

The Hoosiers shot 9 free-throws for the game, MSU attempted 22.

I love Hooiser guard Victor Oladipo. He plays with energy, defends and attacks the basket with authority. Great body language too.

Keith Appling of MSU scored 25 points. The former Pershing High scoring machine is tough.

Christian Watford put up 26 for the Hoosiers and grabbed 10 rebounds.

Cody Zeller and Jordan Hulls, two guys that have been big for IU in their great start were quiet all night; thanks to MSU’s tough defense. Zeller was 2-5 for 4 points; Hulls 2-10.

An odd stretch in the game had MSU jumping out to an 18 point lead in the first half but then trailing by 9 in the second half. It’s rare you see that at the Breslin.

When IU head coach Tom Crean was an assistant coach under Tom Izzo at MSU, he was responsible for recruiting MSU current assistant coach Dane Fife. The former Clarkston native elected to attend school in Bloomington and play for Bob Knight.

Things don’t get any easier for Indiana they face Ohio State Saturday at home.

Denny Schwarze of the Lansing State Journal on the Big Ten opener for both teams. The Spartans have now won 12 straight games. Hoosiers winning streak of 12 was snapped.

Dana Wakiji of Fox Sports Detroit on the Detroit Pistons 105-89 loss last night to the Cleveland Cavaliers…at home. Here’s Pistons head coach Lawrence Frank:

“When things aren’t going well for us offensively, it’s tough,” Frank admitted. “We surrender a little bit to the things going on during the course of the game. That’s what we’re going to have to learn to fight because offense comes and goes, that’s the reality of the game. But defense has to be a constant.”

Steve Weiberg of USA Today on the power of the college coach.

Schools are checking their checks and balances. “I think everybody is doing a reassessment,” Miami (Fla.) President Donna Shalala says. The NCAA‘s president, Mark Emmert, suggests it should step in with new rules that would keep coaches from butting into admissions, discipline and other areas that are supposed to be university business.

“The strain between modern-day intercollegiate athletics and the modern-day university … has very gradually escalated over the last 25 years,” says Stan Ikenberry, once a vice president at Penn State and a former president of the American Council on Education.

“The power coach is a major dimension of that — football and men’s basketball coaches who’ve had a record of success over a number of years and have developed a fan base and, at times, they begin to overshadow the institution itself.”

John Thompson fit that profile at Georgetown, winning 596 games and an NCAA championship in 27 seasons before retiring as the Hoyas’ basketball coach in 1999.

“Those people you’re talking about worked very hard to get that kind of loyalty, to get that kind of respect, to get that kind of admiration. And most of them are deserving of it,” he says. “But at what point do you say enough is enough? “

Speaking of John Thompson and Georgetown, his son beat Louisville last night 71-68 giving the Cards their first loss of the season. The Hoyas are 11-1.

Baylor moved to 13-0 with their victory last night over Mississippi State.

Did you know Dominick McGuire plays for the Golden State Warriors? His head coach Mark Jackson said, ”We have guys that can score the basketball, but more importantly we’re going to defend.” McGuire did a good job off the bench at the defensive end; especially on Carmelo Anthony (3-13 from field)

Fab Melo blocked 10 shots as the Syracuse Orange beat Seton Hall. The Cuse is 14-0.

LeBron James scored 35 points last night in a 96-95 win over the Bobcats. He grabbed 6 rebounds and dished out 7 assists. Does anyone see how impressive that stat line is? No because all you do is wait for James to do something wrong.

Ray Brewer of the Las Vegas Sun on the Rebels’ 124-75 win over Central Arkansas.

One of the first stats UNLV basketball coach Dave Rice looks at when analyzing the box score after each game is the ratio of assists to field goals made.

On Wednesday, it’s pretty safe to say those numbers jumped off the stats sheet.

In a 124-75 blowout victory against visiting Central Arkansas, the Rebels unofficially had 40 assists on 47 field goals made and shot 67 percent — numbers that mean Rice’s transition offense is working to near perfection.

Against the Warriors last night, Tyson Chandler in a Knicks loss 92-78 scored 2 points, passed for 2 assists and grabbed 3 rebounds. He also fouled out. It’s the 41st time the former Dominquez High big man has committed 6 fouls in an NBA game.  The late Wilt Chamberlain never fouled out of a game in his entire career.

Mike Bibby is the Knicks back-up point guard. The former Arizona Wildcat is wearing jersey number 20. His dad, Henry played for the Knicks back in the 1970′s and wore # 14.

Karl Malone, in 18 seasons with the Utah Jazz missed a total of 10 games.

Hoops135@hotmail.com

Follow me on Twitter: @CoachFinamore

IT’S A VIKING QUEST WEDNESDAY

I checked out the Celtics and Heat from South Beach last night on TNT. Steve Kerr, Mike Fratello giving their thoughts and views for the game.

At times it felt like a play-off game.

Miami pulled out the win 115-107.

Heat rookie Norris Cole scored 14 of his 20 points in the 4th quarter. Cole, is a former Cleveland State Viking. The Dayton, Ohio native only had one D-1 scholly coming out of Dunbar high school. He was all set to attend Walsh College, a NAIA school until the Vikings offered him late.

Late in the game with Cole at the free throw line, the Heat fans were chanting, “MVP-MVP-MVP”.

Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra on his rookie, “He’s earned their respect. Even though it’s been a short period of time, about three weeks, because he’s pure, he’s all about the team. He’s mature … and he gets them the ball. You’re always a popular guy when you find people when they’re open.”

Just goes to show what hard work and perseverance can do for you.

Cole is the 5th Cleveland State Viking to play in the NBA. Others include, Darren Tillis, Franklin Edwards, Clinton Smith and Cedric Jackson. Give Gary Waters, CSU head coach a lot of credit for Cole’s progress.

The Celtics turned the ball over 24 times in the game. Their head coach is a former point guard as is two of their assistants.

Ray Allen shot 6-8 from long distance.

Rajon Rondo had 7 turnovers tonight…12 assists and 8 rebounds. He shot 7-15 from field for 22 points.

Jermaine O’Neil, the Celtics starting center played 21 minutes. He grabbed 1 rebound and didn’t score.

Paul Pierce missed his second straight game. “We play the name on the front of the jersey, not the one on the back,” D-Wade said.

Ouch!

At one point in the first quarter, or maybe it was the second, the Celtics had an odd team on floor; Daniels, Bradley, Wilcox, Bass and Dooling. Red Auerbach was rollin’ over in his grave.

I didn’t like Steve Kerr talking about Doc resting players when they were down double figures in the 3rd quarter. Kerr was clearly giving up. He’s never coached before. You don’t ever give up!

Mario Chalmers, Heat guard had 4 turnovers in the first 2 minutes of the 3rd quarter. I have never seen a player go through a stretch like that in my life.

Love seeing Miami assistant coach Keith Askins behind Heat bench during game with sunglasses and bow tie…

Just once, in the coming days I want to hear a NBA ref say, “the lockout hurt me, I need to get my legs back.”

Joe Rexrode of the Lansing State Journal with his preview of Indiana and Michigan State tonight in East Lansing. The Hoosiers are 12-0 on the season. It’s the Big Ten opener for both teams. Tom Crean, head coach at IU taking on his former boss, Tom Izzo.

Roger Rubin of the New York Daily News on St. John’s crushing Providence last night.

Fox Sports Midwest on the Indiana Pacers defense from their win over the Detroit Pistons.

“The only way to win games is to play defense,” guard Darren Collison said. “I think last year playing against the Chicago Bulls in the playoffs helped us a lot. We understand now that defense is the key to win games. It all starts on that end.”

Harvard and Boston College tomorrow night. Speaking of Harvard, the Knicks picked up guard Jeremy Lin.

Go Local Prov.com with the story of Rhode Island’s leading scorer no longer with the team. The Rams are 1-11 on the season.

Two quotes from Bob Knight last night while he worked the Notre Dame-Pitt game on ESPN:

“The 3 point shot doesn’t equal the entry into the post for the bucket and the FT.”

“It’s really hard to take the ball away from a guy that is holding it.”

Hoops135@hotmail.com

Follow me on Twitter: @CoachFinamore