Six Hours of Paradise

Finally having time to relax and check out some college hoops, Thursday provided a myriad of enjoyable contests. With six hours of contests on the schedule, there were many observations to be made:

• Kalin Lucas is quick as hell and has the ability to make an outside shot. As long as he’s around to lead Michigan State, I like their potential.
• Durrell Summers provides scoring ability for the Spartans with his all around game. He’s just been inserted in the starting lineup and should provide Michigan State with a nice weapon moving forward.
• Not sold on the MS big men. Raymar Morgan needs to be a dynamic force when he returns to health. One thing you can count on is that they will always rebound.
• Clemson’s Lorenzo Booker makes too many turnovers for a big man. His handle isn’t great and he gets a little careless in the lane. He should also work on not traveling so often.
• KC Rivers is a quality outside shooter and he’s not the only weapon Clemson has from the outside. Potter and Ogglesby, even though he didn’t play well against Virginia Tech, should allow Clemson to never be shut out from downtown.
• A.D. Vasallo isn’t a good decision maker. Virginia Tech’s senior leader had already shown poor judgment in the final minutes when he got fussy with coach Seth Greenberg after being substituted. After grabbing an offensive rebound with plenty of time left on the clock, Vasallo rushed a poor three-point attempt.
• Malcolm Delaney can make as many foul shots as he wants, but an 85% shooter can’t miss the front end of a one and one in the final minutes.
• Illinois seemed to have an incredibly inept offense. Minnesota plays tight man-to-man, but the offensive display was laughable. Dominique Keller and Demetri McCamey seemed like the only ones looking for shots. Alex Legion needs to be more aggressive when he’s on the floor and it always huts when your point guard doesn’t attack when there are opportunities. Chester Frazier is a tad too passive.
• Illinois made the game ugly, but Minnesota has effective offensive players. I really like the combination of Westbrook and Nolan on the outside. The forwards aren’t half bad with Sampson and Iverson supported by the bench.
• Diamon Simpson is a solid compliment to Patty Mills, but he pressed too much when Mills went out. Without Mills in the second half due to injury, St. Mary’s was a shell of themselves
• Austin Daye needs to hit the weights. Gonzaga’s young PF gets eaten up by stronger players.
• I almost forgot why I didn’t like Cal much last year. Jerome Randle isn’t an effective point guard and nothing’s changed.