THE FIGHTIN’ ILLINI

John Groce, head coach at Illinois has his squad playing well early on.

“This is one of the top 10 basketball programs in the country. Are we there now? No, but we’re going to get there. We want to find ways to get better every single day. Even if you’re on the right track if you just sit there, you’ll get run over.”  (USA Today Dec. 10, 2012)

I have known John for about 14 years; first time I met him he was an assistant coach under Thad Matta at Xavier and I knew this guy “had it.”

HOOPS135@HOTMAIL.COM

TWITTER: @CoachFinamore

THE NUMBERS GAME BY JOHN GROCE

Mark Tupper of the Herald & Review on John Groce and his passion for numbers.

Groce is a numbers freak. He has managers and assistant coaches charting everything from shots attempted and made to screens properly and improperly set. And those statistics are compiled and posted daily for every player to see.

“They’ll be posted on the locker room door each day and every player will know exactly where they stand,” Groce said. “I think players want that.”

Groce’s obsession with statistical data will please the sabermetricians who have rewritten the way we analyze Major League Baseball, but there’s an old school aspect to Groce’s approach that will please the old-schoolers.

“We chart everything,” he said. “But there are two parts to it. One is statistics. The other side is the coach’s feel for how tough you are, how together you are, body language, all of the things that don’t show up on the state sheet.”

HOOPS135@HOTMAIL.COM

TWITTER: @CoachFinamore

DON’T STOP BELIEVIN’

First there was Norfolk State beating Missouri.

Then it was Lehigh over Duke.

How about Ohio University beating Michigan.

Those were the 3 biggest surprises thus far in the NCAA tournament.

The similar mantra for all three teams?

Ya Gotta Believe!

The Bobcats of OU got it done and here’s a great quote from head coach John Groce.

The game is 30 percent smooth and 70 percent stormy, and you must be able to handle stormy to win basketball games.

Michael LoRe of Lehigh Valley Live on Lehigh’s win over Duke. CJ McCollum went off for 30 points.

CBS Sportsline.com with a great piece on McCollum.

Dave Skretta of the NY Post on Norfolk State’s big man Kyle O’Quinn.

SUNDAY’S SHOOT-AROUND

I watched a ton of college basketball on Saturday; 12 hours worth.  Not to mention highlights from many other games not included in my cable subscription.

Yes, I’m a junkie.

I need my fix.

I love this game.

This is a great time of year if you’re a basketball fan.

The first game started in the morning, 11:30 to be exact; how great is that? Memphis and Marshall in the Conference USA finals. The Tigers ran away with this one 83-57; their second straight Conference USA tournament championship.

Geoff Calkins of the Commercial Appeal on Josh Pastner’s crew that have really come together this season. They have won 20 of their last 23 games.

CBS went a little “ESPN-ish” on us yesterday during the game. They tracked ‘Demonstrative Reactions’ between Pastner and Marshall head coach Tommy Herrion. Come on CBS, no reason for this nonsense. Every coach has their own personality.

With the way the Tigers were running the lanes yesterday and all the breakaway dunks they threw down, Memphis reminded me of the University of Houston from back in the early 80′s when they squared off with Louisville in the NCAA tournament.

Second game was Michigan State and Wisconsin in a Big Ten semi-final game in Indy.

Joe Rexrode of the Lansing State Journal on the Spartans third straight win this year over the Badgers.

Third game of the day was the other Big Ten semi-final, Ohio State and Michigan.

Mark Snyder of the Detroit Free Press on OSU’s 77-55 win over the Wolverines.

There was an official in the game who is also an NFL referee, Gene Steratore. Steve Kerr, CBS analyst made it a point to note Gene’s impressive physique. Dude’s in great shape.

Spartans and Buckeyes for the Big Ten conference tournament championship today. The teams split this season; both winning on the road.

Jeff Mills of the News and Record on Florida State’s win over Duke yesterday to advance to the ACC finals today against North Carolina.

The Columbia Missourian on Missouri and Baylor; which was an all-out up and down game. These cats were flying downhill making plays all night. Bob Knight was on the call for ESPN He came up with some great stuff. Loved the shot of him licking an ice cream cone during the game. Knight had some solid defensive nuggets too for all the young players out there; ”The brain can’t handle the mistakes the hands make on defense.”

Howie Stalwick of the Olympian.com on the Colorado Buffalos, who the media picked to finish tied for 10th in the pre-season. Tad Boyle’s team beat Arizona yesterday in the Pac 12 conference tournament. The Buffalos won 4 games in 4 days to reserve their spot in the big dance for the first time since 2003.

Tom Withers of the AP on Ohio U and Akron; they squared off in Cleveland last night in the MAC Championship. John Groce, head coach at OU is a good guy. The Bobcats pulled it out. Groce, a math major from Taylor University went with the numbers in this one at the end of the game; up 3 he decided to foul while on defense, it worked.  Bob Wischusen play-by-play guy for ESPN worked the game…dude does a solid job but he needs to brush up on his CAA and America East member schools.

USA Today on Pat Knight at Lamar; they won their 1st Southland title since 2000; Knight’s team finished 6-0 after his press conference rant.

Cesar Davilla of the New Mexico Daily Lobo on Steve Alford and his Lobo’s. – Alford’s team beat San Diego State yesterday to capture the Mountain West Conference tournament.

Then we had Louisville and Cincinnati from Madison Square Garden.

Jim O’Connoll of the AP on the game and a classic line I heard last night from Jay Bilas of ESPN who was working the game, ”Move the ball from one side of the floor to the other, you have a better chance to score…”

From a friend on Twitter about the game; @ktorch14: Good news…I fell asleep during that awful #BigEast Champ game. Bad news…its 4am and now I’m wide awake.

Patch.com on the Nightcap; UCSB and Long Beach State. Dan Monson has done a great job in Snoop’s old stomping grounds. At one point the game was wild…on one sequence guys were not getting back on defense, barely making it past half-court. But an entertaining game no less. Kudos to Jeff Goodman. In his pre-season preview for the Sporting News he had Long Beach and UCSB 1-2 in the conference.

Great move by ESPN having Fran Fraschilla in-studio breaking down games. Speaking of in-studio guys, Dan Dakich said Baylor is the most talented team in the country. Has he not seen Kentucky this year?

Hoops135@hotmail.com

Follow me on Twitter: @CoachFinamore

WEDNESDAY’S ENTRY PASSES

Here’s the situation.

Up 3, you’re on defense, less than 5 seconds to play.

You’re the coach. What would you do?

Oftentimes I have had this conversation on Twitter and in the coffee shop.

Many people say they would foul, some say they defend.

Last night I went to a high school game and Team A was up 3 with 5.5 seconds to play and on defense.

They defended Team B very tough and got the stop, Team B missed the long three-point shot. Team B got the offensive rebound and made a lay-up as time expired.

What would you do in this situation?

Todd Milles of the Olympian on Virginia head coach Tony Bennett. The Cavs are 9-1.

It is Bennett’s third season with the Cavaliers. Things appear to be trended upward once again for the program. Virginia is 9-1, ranked in the national polls for the first time since 2007 (at No. 24) and is in town today to take on Seattle University at KeyArena. A Bennett trademark has resurfaced with this team: tough defense. The Cavaliers are second in the country in points allowed at 48.5 points per game, and they have held all 10 of their opponents under 60 points this season. Personnel-wise, they now have the blend Bennett likes – three seniors, a junior and a wave of talented underclassmen all coming together on the same page. No longer do they appear to be down in the dumps in the ACC. “There’s no substitute for experience. It was that way with those guys at Washington State – (Virginia players) took their lumps their first two years. And the previous group before that just had to scrap and claw for any bit of respectability,” said Bennett from the lobby of his downtown Seattle hotel, meeting with a couple of reporters Tuesday. “Hopefully there is time to make that transition.”

Brit Robson of SI.com with his NBA Power Rankings.

New York Daily News on two high school students in gym class getting into a fight over ‘stealing the ball’.

A 15-year-old at Brooklyn’s Erasmus Hall High School was in critical condition Tuesday after a fellow student stabbed him repeatedly in the head with a pair of scissors.

Students said it started with a penny ante basketball beef: Chevoy Nelson, 16, was mad because victim Alfredo Allen stole the ball from him during a lunchtime pickup game at the Prospect Park South school.

Nelson – described by a school source as a special ed student who is emotionally disturbed – was arrested for assault with a weapon, the Education Department confirmed.

Rich Rezler of Ann Arbor.com on Eastern Michigan men’s basketball with a Syracuse transfer that will help.  DaShonte Riley played 31 minutes last night to help the Eagles beat Radford 52-48.

DC Bruins of Bruins Nation on UCLA. Are they better without their best player? Ben Howland’s team has won 4 straight.

My former school, Saint Peter’s of Jersey City play 3 games in 3 nights.

Providence is 10-2.

How about Ohio U? Another big road win for John Groce’s team over Northern Iowa 76-59. Bobcats are 10-1.

Gonzaga beat Butler last night 71-55. The Bulldogs are 5-7.

Games of Interest tonight:

North Carolina and Texas.

Murray State looks to start the season 13-0.

Seton Hall and Dayton.

Hartford is 0-10 on the season, look for their first win tonight vs Marist.

Chicago State is another team that is winless (0-11). They take on Oregon State.

Hoops135@hotmail.com

Follow me on Twitter: @CoachFinamore