Gators Losing Interest
Glen "Big Baby" Davis' sore right quad might just be the best thing that happened to LSU basketball this year. The 15-13 Tigers, utterly mediocre all year after what's looking more and more like a flukey run to the Final Four last season, upended a lethargic Florida team that appeared to vastly underestimate their opponent's potential without its best player.
Florida trailed by double-digits for much of the game, due largely to LSU's hot shooting and consistent rebounding. The Tigers held the Gators to one shot and done on nearly every possession, outrebounding the Gators 34-22. Even without Davis, LSU was quick to grab Florida's misses, rebounding much like last year's Villanova team - with smarts and outstanding leaping abiity. With Tasmin Mitchell, Terry Martin, Magnum Rolle and even point guard Garrett Temple (who at 6-5 is converted two guard with abnormal size for his new position), the Tigers were quicker to elevate to lose balls than a Gator team that is generally considered one of the most athletic in the country. They certainly rival Kansas and UNC in total team speed as their little guys and bigs can run the floor.
But with LSU shooting well (51 percent) and Florida going through a number of cold patches, it was the Tigers who did most of the running. Temple ran their uptempo offense with composure and a keen ability to find passing lanes that were invisible to this guy. He made Joakim Noah - who apparently is going by Joe now, at least is in Gus Johnson's mind - look silly on one play, slinging a pass from the perimeter past his ear while he looked disoriented and the Tigers got an easy two.
If Big Baby decides to stay, which is up in the air at this point, LSU could be a major player next year. They're about as young as the Celtics this year and with Temple learning the point as well as he has, next year's edition could well mimic their Final Four team. Think of Temple as the Darrell Mitchell, Rolle (6'10'') could be a poor man's Tyrus Thomas and just be there to jump through the roof. Tasmin Mitchell and Martin, both sophomores, would bring back Winston Kennedy type bodies and games and the Tigers could have a perfect blend of finesse and power.
Yes, I know, I'm probably overemphasizing their potential because they looked so good against one of the top teams in the country, but look at the Tigers' roster. It's loaded with young talent. They didn't know how to win this year, but next year could be a different story.
There's a couple of problems with my theory. First, Big Baby grew another inch on espn.com this year. He's 6'9" now. Somebody wants to get drafted. 6'9" and his weight looks a whole lot better than 6'8" or 6'7". Allando Tucker should probably start fakely growing too.
Second, I'm not sold on John Brady. He had one semi-miraculous run last year and made it obvious that he had little confidence in himself when he very publically demanded an extension last summer. It's pretty obvious his thought process was: "My stock is as high as it will ever be, the team is going to be young next year and who knows what will happen once Big Baby is out of here. Now's the time to set myself up for life." Brady has three guys averaging in double figures (Martin, Mitchell, Davis) in a week SEC and their at the bottom of the western division. This win was nice, but I just don't trust the guy.
Speaking of the weak SEC, playing only conference opponents has made Florida look as bored as Shawne Merriman watching Lifetime. Fortunately for them, the conference tournament is just around the corner and they haven't played themselves out of a number one seed just yet. But you can bet Kansas, Texas A&M and Wisconsin will set their DVRs for UF's games in the SEC tournament. Another loss, coupled with one of those teams winning its conference tournament, could knock Florida out of a number one berth.
Florida trailed by double-digits for much of the game, due largely to LSU's hot shooting and consistent rebounding. The Tigers held the Gators to one shot and done on nearly every possession, outrebounding the Gators 34-22. Even without Davis, LSU was quick to grab Florida's misses, rebounding much like last year's Villanova team - with smarts and outstanding leaping abiity. With Tasmin Mitchell, Terry Martin, Magnum Rolle and even point guard Garrett Temple (who at 6-5 is converted two guard with abnormal size for his new position), the Tigers were quicker to elevate to lose balls than a Gator team that is generally considered one of the most athletic in the country. They certainly rival Kansas and UNC in total team speed as their little guys and bigs can run the floor.
But with LSU shooting well (51 percent) and Florida going through a number of cold patches, it was the Tigers who did most of the running. Temple ran their uptempo offense with composure and a keen ability to find passing lanes that were invisible to this guy. He made Joakim Noah - who apparently is going by Joe now, at least is in Gus Johnson's mind - look silly on one play, slinging a pass from the perimeter past his ear while he looked disoriented and the Tigers got an easy two.
If Big Baby decides to stay, which is up in the air at this point, LSU could be a major player next year. They're about as young as the Celtics this year and with Temple learning the point as well as he has, next year's edition could well mimic their Final Four team. Think of Temple as the Darrell Mitchell, Rolle (6'10'') could be a poor man's Tyrus Thomas and just be there to jump through the roof. Tasmin Mitchell and Martin, both sophomores, would bring back Winston Kennedy type bodies and games and the Tigers could have a perfect blend of finesse and power.
Yes, I know, I'm probably overemphasizing their potential because they looked so good against one of the top teams in the country, but look at the Tigers' roster. It's loaded with young talent. They didn't know how to win this year, but next year could be a different story.
There's a couple of problems with my theory. First, Big Baby grew another inch on espn.com this year. He's 6'9" now. Somebody wants to get drafted. 6'9" and his weight looks a whole lot better than 6'8" or 6'7". Allando Tucker should probably start fakely growing too.
Second, I'm not sold on John Brady. He had one semi-miraculous run last year and made it obvious that he had little confidence in himself when he very publically demanded an extension last summer. It's pretty obvious his thought process was: "My stock is as high as it will ever be, the team is going to be young next year and who knows what will happen once Big Baby is out of here. Now's the time to set myself up for life." Brady has three guys averaging in double figures (Martin, Mitchell, Davis) in a week SEC and their at the bottom of the western division. This win was nice, but I just don't trust the guy.
Speaking of the weak SEC, playing only conference opponents has made Florida look as bored as Shawne Merriman watching Lifetime. Fortunately for them, the conference tournament is just around the corner and they haven't played themselves out of a number one seed just yet. But you can bet Kansas, Texas A&M and Wisconsin will set their DVRs for UF's games in the SEC tournament. Another loss, coupled with one of those teams winning its conference tournament, could knock Florida out of a number one berth.
posted by jcanzo at 7:15 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home