B.I.A.H. Quotables

Everybody's favorite weekly B.I.A.H column is back for round-number-two.

Throughout the week, we are going to post some notable quotes or excerpts that show up in our google reader. Stupid people say stupid things 24 hours a day, and being somehow associated with the college hoops landscape does not preclude that fact. That said, we will not limit our quotables to the simple and idiotic, as the insightful and intelligent will also be highlighted.

Feel free to pass along any quotables you stumble across to contactbiah@gmail.com or hit us up on twitter.


Miami (OH) has had a chance to play the big-3 this season (Duke, Ohio State, and Kansas) this season. Senior Antonio Ballard had some opinions on the order of dominance:

"I was out for that game (Duke). But I did play against Ohio State. I think KU is better than them. Just from watching Duke, in my opinion, I feel that KU is on top right now."

Much has been made of DeAndre Liggins transformation into a scoring threat this season. Coach Calipari gave some glowing compliments of DeAndre as well as the situation he went through:

“They asked me to get rid of him. It wasn’t that he would leave, it was ‘get rid of him.’”

“...Because I knew him from high school, I knew some of his issues and I thought I could get through to him. See look, I’m not worried – and I knew there’d be ups and downs – I don’t do things publicly. So when I punish a kid, usually you don’t even know about it. I’m not trying to make myself look better by punishing a young kid. I’m not doing that. And I also am not afraid to take chances and have people say things about me, because it’s not about me. It’s about this young man. And I thought we could get him to play the way we wanted him to play, that we could win him over, that he had the things that I like to see in a player, but he had to change."

"...He wouldn’t go in a game...I’ve had many players argue with me. I’ve had players not want to go in the game. You ready for this? If there’s a minute to go, and the young man hasn’t been in and we’re up 25 and I go to stick him in, I’ll say, ‘Do you want to go in?’ If the young man says, ‘No, I don’t want to go in,’ I’m alright with that. You know why? Because I was that guy. I know how that one feels. ‘No, please don’t put me in with a minute.’ Other guys, they could care less if it’s 12 seconds, I got that Kentucky uniform on girls are watching, I’m in. I am in. So, I don’t worry about all that, I don’t worry about give and take. This is an emotional game; we play with a lot of passion. And it’s not over yet with DeAndre. It’s never over. When guys totally start changing habits and learn to trust – sometimes one thing can shoot you in the wrong way, ‘Oh well I knew it.’ We don’t know. The guys last year, same deal. We all thought it was over the hump, we come in to practice, oh my gosh he’s back to where he was day one. So, it’s a daily grind in this, but you know what? It’s worth it. It’s worth it for me.”

Illinois' Demetri McCamey led a late charge to defeat Wisconsin on Sunday night 69-61. McCamey had 12 points in the game's final seven minutes. Coach Bruce Weber had tried time and time again to get McCamey to be more assertive and drive to the basket. Apparently, all it took was some familial advice over Christmas dinner. Go figure:

"He came back from Christmas and he announced to the team that he has to get to the basket more because somebody at Christmas dinner told him that. Well, I've been telling him that for three-and-a-half years, [the media] has been telling him, the fans have been telling him -- somebody at Christmas dinner finally got to him."

The WAC has been in shambles since Expansionocalypse hit a couple months ago. The Utah State Aggies were projected to be the favorites coming into the season, and despite having only two losses (at BYU and at Georgetown) they have struggled. In the Aggies win over WAC contender San Jose State, coach Stew Morrill ripped into his team at halftime, hoping to ignite a spark. It did, and his team pulled away with a 9-point victory:

"We were atrocious in the first half. We played with no energy, no heart. Thank God we came out in the second half and guarded them a little bit."

Senior leader Tai Wesley noted that his coach let them have it at halftime and they responded:

"Coach was on us at half. He came out fiery and really chewed us out. He really got on us seniors, saying we weren't playing with enough emotion. We wanted to come out and play with emotion and play better defense."
"Coach really lit a fire under our butts. He was yelling and kicking things and we had to respond. Especially the seniors, it's our last year and it's flying by...We are fortunate to be 2-0."

Even though they won, Morrill has his doubts about his team:

"It would be a crying shame if I acted like a complete idiot in here and they didn't respond. I shouldn't have to do that."
"Someone is going to believe me when I say we are not a good team. We are a very average WAC team right now. We better get better or else we will finish in the middle of the WAC or lower."

Memphis and Tennessee played in what I believe is one of the best rivalry games in all of college basketball. Despite both teams playing sub-par basketball, there was still alot of hype surrounding this game:

"Everything between us and Memphis is personal. Everything,” said Melvin Goins, a senior point guard. “I know we don’t like them, and our fans don’t like their fans, and they don’t like us too much, either.”

"Everyone who’s played in the game knows what the rivalry entails, but a lot of the new guys on both teams probably don’t understand what kind of fight it’s going to be,” Steven Pearl said. “It’s a heated, in-state deal. A lot of those guys picked to go to Memphis over here, and we took that personally.”

Vols Sr C Brian Williams: "I remember beating Memphis and going to No. 1. I mean, we were No. 1 for like 24 hours, but it was still great."

Speaking of Tennessee, before they faced Memphis, they lost another tough game to an inferior opponent. This time it was College of Charleston that defeated the Volunteers, beating them 91-78. Coach Bruce Pearl was ejected from the contest in the second half, which would leave him with just 40 more minutes (the Memphis game) before his suspension begins. He tried to explain why he got ejected:

"I was just trying to get (assistant coach) Tony Jones some reps."

UConn got a bounce-back win against South Florida this week, but they needed to use extra preventive messures to ensure the victory. Jim Calhoun details the situation:

“I can’t think of the last time that we went 10 straight minutes in a zone. I really can’t. It could be a decade. I can’t even remember, and I don’t forget many basketball games. That saved us.”

During UNC coach Roy William's weekly radio show, he was asked if he had one player on his team who he would consider his go-to-player to take the last shot. Williams has an interesting response. Here's part of it:

“Against Texas, we’re down three and we run a set play for Harrison [Barnes] off the ball and he made it. There was another time against Texas where we tried to go inside to ‘Z’ (Tyler Zeller) as we were going down the stretch. But if you’ve got one guy who is head and shoulders above everyone else, he’s the guy you want to go to."

The L.A. Times had an interesting article on the upcomming NBA draft. In it, two NBA executives explain that they think UCLA's Tyler Honeycutt should go pro. Very interesting stuff:

Honeycutt should declare for what the executive called "probably the worst draft in 10 years" because he envisioned the sophomore as a lottery pick who would be selected between Nos. 10 and 17. The source spoke on the condition of anonymity because he is not allowed to discuss college players publicly. "Should Tyler Honeycutt be mid-to-late lottery?" the executive asked. "In a normal year, absolutely not. But in this draft, it's awful. You start wondering, what wing players go ahead of him?"

In case you missed it yesterday, Washington's Isaiah Thomas threw down his first dunk of the season and raised the roof. Here's an excerpt of what he had to say about the dunk:

"One of these times I was going to have enough guts to do it," Thomas said after the game. "I've been so scared to miss. I was like, 'Man, we got a little margin, and I'm going to try it,' and it happened."

He added that he wasn't done dunking.

"Now I got confidence, so I'm going to try to take off on everybody."

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B.I.A.H. Quotables

Everybody's favorite weekly B.I.A.H column is back for round-number-two.

Throughout the week, we are going to post some notable quotes or excerpts that show up in our google reader. Stupid people say stupid things 24 hours a day, and being somehow associated with the college hoops landscape does not preclude that fact. That said, we will not limit our quotables to the simple and idiotic, as the insightful and intelligent will also be highlighted.

Feel free to pass along any quotables you stumble across to contactbiah@gmail.com or hit us up on twitter.

Dave Telep, the Scout.com recruiting wizard got a chance to watch Duke-commit Austin Rivers drop 42 points in a high school game on Monday night. His ensuing tweets were rather entertaining:

@DaveTelep: This sums up my feelings on the current state of the hour long 3-pt contest courtesy Michael Telep http://yfrog.com/gz2m9mj

@DaveTelep: If the Boston Celtics have a bring-your-son-to-work day, one of their current guards will be out of a job.

@DaveTelep: Whoever won that marathon 3pt contest should kindly hand over that trophy to Austin Rivers. He went DEEP 4x in first half. Doc's kid has 25

@DaveTelep: Austin Rivers, 42 pts. Place about to empty out. He's good enough to commit secondary violations 4. I'd toss him a cut of the gate.

Much has been made of Geno Aurriemma's comments following his team's 88th consecutive victory over Ohio State on Sunday. Mark Potash, a writer for the Chicago Sun-Times, had some pretty harsh words for Geno and his team:

Here’s a news flash for Auriemma: You’re not chasing UCLA’s record of 88 consecutive victories under John Wooden. You didn’t tie it and you’re not going to break it. That’s a men’s basketball record. You coach a women’s team. A women’s team can’t break a men’s record any more than a men’s team can break a women’s record.

...There’s the dead giveaway of a bad argument — the gross exaggeration that we aren’t just disinterested in women’s basketball, but we think the women playing it should be "in the kitchen." Interesting that he didn’t say "barefoot and pregnant."

...Women’s basketball gets what it deserves. Probably more than it deserves if you include a professional league that is attached to the NBA like an oxygen machine.

The Memphis Tigers have lost only one game this season, but numerous members of the press (including myself) do not believe the Tigers are that good. On Monday Memphis had to hang on in order to defeat Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 68-63. Memphis has a young team, and it seems like they may be too confident. Charles Carmouche had this to say following the win:

"We had a good week of practice, and I thought we were going to come out and get like a 40-point win. But that didn’t happen.”

His teammate Joe Jackson shares similiar sentiments:

"We’ve been going through this for the last couple of games. I knew we were going to win. That’s how the game goes sometimes. It’s up and down. We’re young too. You have to take that into consideration.”

Antonio Barton also believes the team has much to improve on:

“It seems like every time we take one step forward and two steps back. It’s turnovers and forced shots. We let our mistakes on offense affect our defensive play because we hold our heads down once we turn the ball over instead of letting that play go and getting back on defense.”

Coach Mike Krzyzewski won his 879th game on Monday night to tie Dean Smith as second in all-time wins. Senior guard Nolan Smith believes Coach K still has a lot in the tank:

"Coach looks like he's just starting. He's fresh. He's eager for more wins. He's in his prime right now. I feel like he had many more years to go and he loves winning. If you love winning as much as Coach K does, you're never going to quit."

UConn moved to 9-0 with a home win against Coppin State, 76-64. The Huskies outrebounded the Eagles 58-29, but had to fight off a late comeback to secure victory. I don't think it's possible for Jim Calhoun to NOT give a colorful response during his press conferences:

"We missed every kind of conceivable shot in the paint that I've ever seen. I like the effort on the glass, without question. I don't like the fact that we're not finishing plays in there."

What do we make of Kansas State? Did we give them too much hype? They've had some unimpressive wins and some dissapointing losses. They've had disciplinary problems and now a NCAA violation. So what do we make of KSU? I think ESPN blogger Eamonn Brennan says it best:

The Wildcats haven’t been a train wreck, but they haven’t exactly been the bullet train, either.

It's very possible that the Missouri Tigers have been involved in the two best games of the young season. Their "Bragging Rights" battle with Illinois was some top-notch entertainment. "Scoop-in-Training" Jeff Borzello let us know where his priorities are at via tweet:

@JeffBorzello Missouri games might have to join Gossip Girl on my DVR "Season Pass" list.

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B.I.A.H. Quotables

I apoligize for not having a B.I.A.H Quotables for last week. Life got in the way. Or maybe nobody had anything interesting to say last week.

Anyways, there are a couple solid quotables this week, and the last one might surprise you.

Duke has played two games sans Kyrie Irving and it does not look like the Blue Devils miss his services. Then again, those games were against Bradley and Saint Louis. Against the Billikens, Nolan Smith had 22 points, Kyle Singler added 21, and the Blue Devils forced 22 turnovers en route to a 84-47 victory. Saint Louis head coach Rick Majerus made an interesting observation about personell issues following the game:

My assistant said we had four freshmen in and an walk-on — that’s not a good mix to come into this situation

Wake Forest is making a strong case for being the worst BCS-conference team in the country. The Demon Deacons have lost four games to mid-majors, most recently a 81-69 loss to UNC-Wilmington. First year head coach Jeff Bzdelik is embarassed to say the least:

"I'm embarrassed for my school, I'm embarrassed for our fans, I'm embarrassed for anyone who's ever worn the Wake Forest jersey,"

The issue of money and NCAA athletes is a never-ending debate. The Cam Newton Fiasco, the Anthony Davis/Chicago Sun-Times controvery, and even A.J Green's jesery auction have sparked the on-going debate of wether or not college athletes should be paid. In a recent peice done by Andy Katz, NCAA President Mark Emmert had a concise yet clear response to this question:

"We can never move to a place where we are paying players to play for us. We let them hone their skills at the highest level."

I was a communications major in college and I can vouch that the classes were not difficult at all. You would think more athletes would want to take classes like writing fjavascript:void(0)or new media or digital communication media, since some athletes are having difficulty grasping the concept of when to use twitter and what to use it for. Syracuse's Scoop Jardine should really look into it:

"@ScoopJardine11 - #collegetaughtme that groupies really exist! But we just call them #teamplayers! Ahaha”

@ScoopJardine11 #collegetaughtme if you f a girl an the news get out they denie it and say he only gave me head! Bye girl!!

@ScoopJardine11 #collegetaughtme that the freshmen 15 pounds for girls is really happening. Sometime extra 30 pounds. Ahaha”

The Drexel Dragons didn't play the perfect game on Tuesday, but they rebounded well enough to beat Lousiville in the upset of the night. Head coach Bruiser Flint had an epic motivational line prior to the tip: `

"I told them, 'We’re not playing against Kentucky. We can win this game.’”

I don't really know how to preface this quote except for saying that Bob Huggins is a one-of-a-kind guy. Decypher this however you want:

"Every day some of the ducks get shot and some of them fly away. But the ducks that didn't get shot always come back the next day. Our players are like those ducks. They just don't learn. We go over and over things in practice and yet they still keep doing the same things we tell them not to."

We all know that Pat Knight is firmly planted on the hot seat at Texas Tech. Since taking over for his father, Knight has not had too much success with the Red Raiders. With the team struggling this season at 5-5, the end could be near. But the most interesting part of this is the name of a potential candidate who could replace him:

"With former Texas A&M and Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie looking to get back into the business, and being from Texas, Knight might have reason to worry."

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B.I.A.H. Quotables

Everybody's favorite weekly B.I.A.H column is back for round-number-two.

Throughout the week, we are going to post some notable quotes or excerpts that show up in our google reader. Stupid people say stupid things 24 hours a day, and being somehow associated with the college hoops landscape does not preclude that fact. That said, we will not limit our quotables to the simple and idiotic, as the insightful and intelligent will also be highlighted.

Feel free to pass along any quotables you stumble across to contactbiah@gmail.com or hit us up on twitter.

The big news of the week is that TCU, located in Forth Worth, Texas, will be joining the Big East conference. We all know this doesn't make a lick of sense outside of the football realm. Former TCU hoops coach Billy Tubbs had a comical quote about the conference-hopping that TCU has done:

"The only league I don't think they can get in is the NFL or the NBA. They've been in every other league imaginable."

The Horned Frogs have been members of the Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association, the Southwestern Conference, the Western Athletic Conference, the Mountain West Conference, and Conference-USA.

But the best quote involving TCU's geographical change to the East Coast comes from Louisville coach Rick Pitino:

"I have made the suggestion to him in terms of the 18th team not going for Villanova in football but going with MIT because that's what it's going out to take to figure out the other sports in the Big East. We do need MIT drastically because John is not figuring this one out."

After the jump, more quotes from a busy week of college hoops.

NBA scouts were out to watch Colorado’s backcourt of Cory Higgins and Alec Burks on Sunday as they faced Harvard in a non-conference match-up. Colorado had been picked by many to be the sexy pick to make some noise in the Big-12 this season, despite losing their head coach Jeff Bzdelik. But it was Harvard's Keith Wright who had the impressive performance, tallying 19 points, 9 boards, six assists and three blocks as the Crimson defeated the Buffaloes, 82-66. Wright put on a clinic on how to finish near the basket, dunking anything and everything he could:

“I just caught the ball and I turned around and I was like, ‘Oh, the rim’s here, let me dunk it.’ It’s what my teammates keep telling me, ‘You need to dunk a lot more,’ so I took it to heart.’’

Illinois beat North Carolina on Tuesday night as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. For Illini senior Bill Cole, this would be his chance to get some revenge for UNC's 2005 victory over the Illini, in the National Championship game:

"We have to stick up for the guys that came before us and try to steal one back for us. Because we feel like they stole one from the program in 2005, so we're going to go try and hit them right back."

Mark Few is one of my favorite coaches in the entire country. He's a lifer - no intention to ever leave Gonzaga for a loftier BCS-conference job. He recruits well, he always builds a tough schedule, and he gets the most out of his players. Plus he is brutally honest. He realizes that his job takes a big chunk of his life away, and to him, that's kinda scary:

"It has nothing to do with basketball.It has to do with waking up one day, because we’re so involved in coaching, and my kid’s grown a beard and he’s smoking a cigarette on the couch, wearing a wife-beater. And I’m like, ‘Who are you? You’re not A.J., my 10-year-old.’ And he’s like, ‘Yes, I am — when you were out recruiting, coaching, running all over the place, I grew up.’"

This will be the first of many B.I.A.H Quotables appearances for Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim. Even with a 20pt-victory over Cornell on Tuesday night, Jim Boeheim was not happy with his team's performance. He got on Scoop Jardine pretty hard:

"He was horrible," Boeheim said. "He couldn't be any worse than he played tonight."

During the four games since his breakout performance against Detroit, Jardine has shot just 9-for-42 (21.4 percent) from the field. And that's why Boeheim doesn't want to hear about his assist total. Standing behind the podium with a taped-up left ring finger, Boeheim said he could have done the same.

"I could get seven assists in a game with a bad finger," he said. "He was nowhere in the game tonight."

It must feel like deja vu all over again for Roy Williams and the Tar Heels. His team, chalk-full of McDonald's All-Americans, is struggling early on for the second year in a row. Even UNC's best player, and star of the freshman class, Harrison Barnes, has had his struggles, and ESPN has been quick to point this out to viewers. As expected, Coach Williams is none to pleased with the World Wide Leader:

"Harrison’s a freshman. And I don’t mean to jump on anybody, but after the first game we play, and he had [several] turnovers, and ESPN does a special on how great he is. And then ESPN did something to me that was very embarrassing to me today – put up that that a kid’s 1175 in field goal percentage in the country; that’s just ridiculous. And then somebody says, ‘Well, if he hadn’t have gone 0-for 12 against Minnesota, I’m sure he’d be in the top 1,000.’ That’s sick.

"If you’ve got enough [gumption] to make somebody a big hero like that, admit that you were wrong, and stop picking on the kid. … It’s silly, if you’re going to anoint the guy and three weeks later crucify him, that’s ridiculous. He didn’t ask to be voted first-team pre-season All-America.”

Billy Donovan's Florida Gators, ranked 16th in the country, were upset by Central Florida on Wednesday night, 57-54. The head coach was upset with the way the seniors carried themselves:

“Those older guys are, to me, less concerned about trying to do something great collectively as a group and are more wrapped up in what’s going to happen to me. All of our older guys are way, way too wrapped up in their offense.”

“I said, let’s get Vernon the ball. But we’re too wrapped up in I didn’t get a shot now or I missed my last one.”

They’re not playing together and they’re not utilizing each others’ individual talents. The disappointing part is these guys all played together last year. We have a bunch of guys on the floor that make nobody better.”

Our final quotable of the weeks comes from B.I.A.H's founding father, Rob Dauster. While discussing his disdain for middle school recruiting services (in reference to Baylor pursuing a 6-foot-3 11-year-old), Dauster dropped this gem:

I've railed on the recruitment and the ranking of prepubescent boys many times, and as recently as September. I don't have the desire to do it again. Thinking about it makes me feel like I belong on an episode of Law and Order SVU.

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B.I.A.H. Quotables: Featuring the best tweets at Isaiah Thomas

Everybody's favorite weekly B.I.A.H column is back for round-number-two.

Throughout the week, we are going to post some notable quotes or excerpts that show up in our google reader. Stupid people say stupid things 24 hours a day, and being somehow associated with the college hoops landscape does not preclude that fact. That said, we will not limit our quotables to the simple and idiotic, as the insightful and intelligent will also be highlighted.

Feel free to pass along any quotables you stumble across to contactbiah@gmail.com or hit us up on twitter.


Steve Lavin had a lot of pressure his shoulders to get his first win at St. John's head coach. The Johhnies beat Columbia, and got Lavin the W. After the game, it was time for Lavin to relax:

"I told Coach Keady I don't usually drink Maker's Mark. But I said I think I'm ready to have a Maker's Mark with him tonight."

Maryland and Pitt played in one of the premiere games of the week, in the semis of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. Blossoming beast Jordan Williams went up against Pitt's Gary McGee, who his coach Jamie Dixon believes will be the Big East Defensive Player of the Year. But Williams had his way with McGee, and I think he knows it:

"When I got the ball I scored. Like every time. I think I missed one shot against him the whole game."

Speaking of Maryland, Gary Williams was relativly upbeat despite the loss, in which his team shot 14-for-30 from the charity stripe. William's team isn't ranked, but he thinks they probably could be:

"I truly believe that if they’re the number four or five team in the country, then we’re number four or five.”

On Friday, West Virginia defeated Vanderbiltt\ in the semifinals of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off Championship thanks to a game-winning three-pointer from WVU's Casey Mitchell. Vandy coach Kevin Stallings was upset with the way his team handled the last possesion:

"We should have had him covered on that last play. There was no reason for him to have gotten that shot on the last play. We just missed coverage and didn't do what we were coached to do. But he still had to make the shot and he did."

Coach Stalling's also wasn't too pleased with the officiating. From the AP (h/t Eamonn Brennan):

Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings was livid with the referees from the start, yelling "don't turn this into a 67-foul fiasco!" West Virginia beat Davidson on Thursday in a game that had 67 personal fouls. He was whistled for a technical foul only 2 1/2 minutes into the game. Mitchell hit two free throws and a 3-pointer off the possession to put the Mountaineers ahead for good.

Later in the first half, and with the free-throw attempts at a lopsided 22-7 in favor of West Virginia, Stallings barked "22-7! 22-7!" One referee sternly cautioned Stallings "don't say it again."

Mike DeCourcy of the Sporting News answered some questions in his "Starting 5" column. He addressed the top three "addition by subtraction" cases in college hoops:

Texas’ seniors were good guys, and so was freshman Avery Bradley, but the Longhorns badly needed a reboot after their post-New Year’s collapse last season.

Rutgers invested a lot of faith in guard Mike Rosario that wasn’t repaid with victories or concern for the team. He hunted shots and didn’t guard his position. At Florida, like many transfers who have no other options, he’ll probably get in line.

The champion in this division, though, is Oklahoma. Tiny Gallon and Tommie Mason-Griffin set the Sooners back five years with their lack of commitment to the program, and a once-surging Willie Warren followed their lead into ignominy. OU won’t be much good this year, but they won’t be that kind of bad, either.

Ashton Gibbs and the Pitt Panthers won the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic by defeating Texas 68-66. Gibbs was named Tournament MVP. He claimed the individual award by calling for his teammates to accept it with him. I've always liked Ashton Gibbs. He seems like a class-act:

"I wouldn’t have done it without my teammates. They screened for me and they looked for me in open spots. They got me the ball. It’s a team game. I’m a team player first and then individual awards come with it.”

Memphis won another hard-faught contest over a run-of-the-mill BCS-conference team in LSU. LSU head coach Trent Johnson was not very happy after the game. According to the Memphis Commercial-Appeal, Johnson brushed off Memphis coach Josh Pastner:

Memphis coach Josh Pastner said he couldn't remember whether he had shaken hands with LSU coach Trent Johnson after the game.

Pastner did remember, however, Johnson brushing against him and not saying a word as the two crossed paths after the game in the bowels of BancorpSouth Arena.

Pastner took the high road when asked about the incident in his postgame interview.

"I've known Trent Johnson for a long time," he said. "He was obviously upset about the game."

Louisville is off to a hot start, defeating Butler, last season's National runners-up, and then drubbing Chattanooga 106-65. After the game, coach Pitino addressed many different aspects of his team. One of the more interesting points he made was about last year's Syracuse-killer Kyle Kuric:

He's a good athlete, good player. Now, remember he came here as a walk-on, and we gave him a scholarship. Let's not read too much into when he doesn't have a great scoring night, he came in as a walk-on. I think he's exceeded that by leaps and bounds and given a lot to this program.

As we all know, North Carolina has struggled a bit early on, especially with execution and mental toughness. But that didn't stop Roy Williams from joking around at a recent press conference:

Roy Williams came to his press conference Monday afternoon with his right thumb taped.

"I hit one of my players," Williams joked.

After two straight losses, Williams said he didn't hit one of players because he had too many options.

All kidding aside, Williams — who said he injured his thumb catching a pass in practice — offered a simple solution for the Tar Heels' two-game losing streak.

"We just have to play better," Williams said.

Butler and Siena put on a great Mid-Major battle on Tuesday night, in which Butler pulled away with a 70-57 victory. Despite the 13-point win, the Bulldogs had nothing but glowing reviews of Siena's star player Ryan Rossiter:

Butler Head Coach Brad Stevens “I told Rossiter, I’m blown away by how much he’s improved. I didn’t think last year he could score like that with a guy between him and the hoop and his back to the basket.”

Butler senior Matt Howard “Rossiter, he’s going right over us, right through us, and I didn’t feel like I was playing terrible defense. I don’t think there’s any hype with that guy.”

Rossiter finished with 26 points and 15 rebounds. He had 14 and 9 before the intermission. In case you forget, Rossiter was named MAAC preseason player of the year.

We will finish the first Quotables of the season with some of the more entertaining tweets directed at Washington's Isaiah Thomas. As we all know, Kentucky's Terrence Jones spurned the Huskies on the recrtuiting trail and Thomas responded via twitter. Kentucky defeated Washington in the Maui Invitational semifinals, in a game where Terrence Jones showcased his talents and Isaiah Thomas struggled to contribute at all:

@JobLess4Life - @Isaiah_Thomas2 I had my popcorn but the only show I saw was the one Brandon Knight and TJ were putting on. Bow down.

@SportsBang - You got Kentucky, You got a LOSS! Cats scratched the Huskies eyes out...Wimper #Kentucky #Washington #SEC

@jlstanukfan - you got what you wanted a date with uk and u choke Terrance jones pick the right school UW is a JOKE!

@Cgowers - What is @Isaiah_Thomas2 gonna say now? #gocats

@WarMother51 - HAHAHAHAHAHAHA Big Blue Nation sends their regards. Popcorn must have gotten stale.

@MatthewBDelaney - so much for the win you guaranteed months ago.

@JimCarls32 - guess them cats beat them dawgs go to the pound you mut!!!

@Jaybraham - Sup dude?? So was all that trash talk a good idea?? Didn't think so!! #TerrenceJones #BBN #GoCats

@Jonhehehman - Glad to see BK12 with his arms up instead of those flexxin' fools. @Isaiah_Thomas2 http://twitpic.com/39p5jn

@UKfanJonNorth - Hey just wondering, but I thought a bark was worse than a meow? Watch who you play before you talk that smack.

@DeyWho71 - lol you got beat talk more shut about your loss. Haha #failness

@Ty735 - what happened? I thought we would beat UK, stop talking and just try to get better, you will be a lot better next year.

@GonzChristopher - Husky Fans everywhere are proud. Different story with UK come March. WOOF!

@ShockJ - Rough one out there tonight. Keep your head up. Go get those Spartans tomorrow. Much love!

@SammyCajun - UK barely survived when UW was not at its best. Good things are happening at Montlake this yr! Go get Sparty! @gaddy253 and @Isaiah_Thomas2

I wonder how many of those were from Kentucky fans?
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The BIAH Quotables

This a new feature we are trying out here at BIAH this season. Throughout the week, we are going to post some notable quotes or excerpts that show up in our google reader. Stupid people say stupid things 24 hours a day, and being somehow associated with the college hoops landscape does not preclude that fact. That said, we will not limit our quotables to the simple and idiotic, as the insightful and intelligent will also be highlighted. Feel free to pass along any quotables you stumble across to contactbiah@gmail.com or hit us up on twitter.

Is there any surprise that we start this edition of the quotables with Jim Boeheim?

Well, following the instant classic that his team put on against Georgetown, he was asked if Wes Johnson's injuries were bothering his mentality. Here is his colorful response:

that's the most ridiculous question of the year. Its in his head.... ITS IN HIS HAND. ITS IN HIS BACK. ITS IN HIS LEG! Wow, that felt good, I haven't said that in a long time. ... You're from Syracuse aren't you? I thought so.

At this point Boeheim waved his hand in the air, then walked off the podium.

Gotta love that Jimmy B.

Virginia Tech's Malcolm Delaney is slowing creeping up the list for ACC Player of the Year. His coach, Seth Greenberg responded to a question concerning Delaney's on-court theatrics:

Is he a little dramatic? Yeah, he might be a little dramatic. He's still 175 pounds running into a 240 pound guy. He's still a guy that every single team in the league grabs and holds and bumps and every single time he comes off a curl takes a shot at him.

Speaking of Greenberg, he has been quite active on twitter. Most recently, he has been defending the quality of the ACC:

The ACC top to bottom is as tough as any conference in the country! You need to play hard and well to have a chance to win!

Just because scoring is down does not mean the league is down! It just means teams defend and compete every play!

In this week's Dear Gary column, Mr. Parrish answers this great question: What was the best game he has seen in-person this year?

I was at the Kentucky-Connecticut game at Madison Square Garden when John Wall made that ridiculous play in the final minutes. It wasn't a well-played game, exactly, but it was fun and memorable because of the atmosphere and intensity. The Kansas-Kansas State game in Manhattan was also terrific. The Jayhawks won in overtime, and I wrote about Sherron Collins' testicles. Seemed like a reasonable thing to do at the time. Now, I'm not so sure. Either way, fun night. But I think I'd have to go with Tennessee's improbable win over No. 1 Kansas as the best game I've attended this season, the one where walk-on Skylar McBee hit the clinching shot, just nine days after four Vols were arrested and suspended.

Terrific atmosphere.

Terrific ending.

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The BIAH Quotables

This a new feature we are trying out here at BIAH this season. Throughout the week, we are going to post some notable quotes or excerpts that show up in our google reader. Stupid people say stupid things 24 hours a day, and being somehow associated with the college hoops landscape does not preclude that fact. That said, we will not limit our quotables to the simple and idiotic, as the insightful and intelligent will also be highlighted. Feel free to pass along any quotables you stumble across to contactbiah@gmail.com or hit us up on twitter.

In his second game back from a medical leave of absence, Jim Calhoun coached his Huskies to an impressive road victory against #3 Villanova. Calhoun praised the play of his opponents, but not necessarily his own team:

[Wright] has built a terrific team here that's capable of getting to Indianapolis. We're only capable of getting to [our next game at] Rutgers right now.

Calhoun gives one of the best post-game pressers around. If you don't believe us, believe our media brethren Here are all the quotes from the presser following the lopsided loss to Cincinnati (trust me, it's colorful)

Speaking of colorful coaching quotables, Mike Krzyzewski isn't too far behind Calhoun it terms of delivering entertaining quotables. As we all know the New Jersey Nets are trying the best to steal a reputable college coach for next year. Coach K was rumored to be a possibility. Here is what coach K had to say:

The guy [Owner of the Nets] is Russian. You think he'd hire a Polish guy?. No one has contacted me. If they do, saying 'Nyet' would be easy to say.

Oh man, coach K, you are just too funny. Get it? Nyet? like Russian for no? Sorta sounds like Net? Got it? No? Damn, well, let's continue on, no need to spend more time making a fool of myself.

Kansas got a big conference win on Monday night over a hot Texas A&M team. The Jayhawks struggled offensively but were able to pull away from the Aggies and get a much needed road win. Here is what Bill Self had to say about those offensive struggles:

I don’t think we had any offensive rebounding tonight. If Marcus (Morris) isn’t going to play much and Sherron (Collins) has the night that he had, it’s amazing to me that we won the game. We won the game muddy. It’s a good thing for us to know we can win a game away from home when we know it was a really muddy game. Even though it wasn’t pretty, we didn’t turn it over much and we got fouled.

Aggie's coach Mark Turgeon, while upset that his team couldn't get a big home victory, was extremely proud of his men:

I was disappointed with the outcome. But I was not disappointed with the effort. I thought we were in control the whole game until about really the 3:55 mark. The difference in the game was free throws, their ability to get there and our ability to not get there. We have done a nice job getting to the free throw line but we were not able to do that tonight, and their bigs had a lot to do with that. Our defense was phenomenal. Our fans were fantastic. I hate to let it slip away. I thought we had it. We’re all pretty disappointed right now. I wasn’t sure how good they were watching film, but they are much better than I thought after watching in person. And they’re getting better. It was an unbelievable atmosphere, we had great effort. We had it but we just couldn’t finish it off.”

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The BIAH Quotables

This a new feature we are trying out here at BIAH this season. Throughout the week, we are going to post some notable quotes or excerpts that show up in our google reader. Stupid people say stupid things 24 hours a day, and being somehow associated with the college hoops landscape does not preclude that fact. That said, we will not limit our quotables to the simple and idiotic, as the insightful and intelligent will also be highlighted. Feel free to pass along any quotables you stumble across to contactbiah@gmail.com or hit us up on twitter.

No team has been more red-hot over the past week or so than the South Florida Bulls. Dominique Jones and his near-30 ppg have carried the Bulls to four straight conference wins, none bigger than the 72-64 victory over the #8-ranked Georgetown Hoyas.

Head coach Stan Heath has nothing but praise for Jones:

Dominique Jones is just the straw that stirs the drink for our basketball team.

Well that's an interesting way to put it, but he's absolutely right.

Jones was more than fired up after the victory in D.C. in which he scored 22 of his 29 points in the second half:

I've done been everywhere the past two years -- Big East -- they see us lose and they just say all kind of things. I'm not a person of revenge, but it feels good to look in those same people's faces, like, 'Hey, I'm laughing at the end of it.'

Eamonn Brennan has another way of describing Jones:

He sort of plays the way I assumed highly recruited Cincinnati forward Lance Stephenson would play -- physical, face-up, I'm-going-to-the-hole-now-try-to-stop-me sort of stuff. Stephenson has that potential, but Jones is already there.

10,000 people braved the Siberian conditions in the Nation's Capital to see #7 Georgetown defeat #2 Villanova, 103-90. Dana O'Neil was one of those brave people. Here's how she finished off her piece about the game:

The Hoyas slept in a downtown hotel on Friday night to make sure they could get to their game on Saturday, but once the win was in the books, they had to figure out how to get home.

Told some other undergrads walked from campus, Thompson smirked.

"That's a great idea; you guys can walk back with your classmates," he said.

No doubt their feet wouldn't touch the ground. Not after a win like this.

Seton Hall got smacked around by Pittsburgh for 40 minutes. The end result was a 83-58 laugher in Pittsburgh. Allot of things went wrong for the Pirates. But lack of discipline might have been the worst:

-Discipline. Jeremy Hazell responded to coming off the bench by picking up a technical foul as part of a double-technical with Jermaine Dixon, halfway through the first half.

Not to be outdone, Bobby Gonzalez wouldn't let Hazell tie him in technicals accumulated for the season as Gonzo responded with one of his own halfway through the second half.

Herb Pope was fouled and heading to the stripe with the Pirates trailing by 14 when Gonzalez felt it was appropriate to pick up a technical. You read that correctly.

Pope was fouled and getting ready to shoot two free throws when Bobby Gonzalez iced him, picking up a T, sending Ashton Gibbs to the line to shoot a pair of free throws for Pittsburgh. After Gibbs made one-of-two, Pope would get his turn to shoot the original free throws and bricked both. Gonzalez surely knows how to hurt his team at the most inopportune times.

North Carolina is in the middle of a gigantic downward-spiral. The last thing they need to do is let their minds stray elsewhere:

Ight I get the point Maryland fans y'all kno what hotel and room we are staying at

This is a tweet from UNC sophomore Ed Davis, clearly posted-up in a College Park hotel, twelve hours before a do-or-die road game versus the Terps.

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The BIAH Quotables

This a new feature we are trying out here at BIAH this season. Throughout the week, we are going to post some notable quotes or excerpts that show up in our google reader. Stupid people say stupid things 24 hours a day, and being somehow associated with the college hoops landscape does not preclude that fact. That said, we will not limit our quotables to the simple and idiotic, as the insightful and intelligent will also be highlighted. Feel free to pass along any quotables you stumble across to contactbiah@gmail.com or hit us up on twitter.

On a snowy Saturday in downtown Washington, D.C., with President Obama at courtside, the Georgetown Hoyas throttled Duke by 12 in a game that was even more lopsided than the margin indicates. Hoya coach John Thompson III was happy the president could be in attendance, but that wasn't top priority:

Extremely happy that the president was there. But we were more nervous about the guys sitting on the other bench.

Chris Wright led all scorers with 21 points. He knew his team had to come out fast, and that's exactly what they did:

The crowd was pumped up, Obama was there, so it was exciting. I think we all came out with a little bit more energy than usual. We were all over the place, defensively and offensively.

You got that right.

Mid-way through the first half Georgetown forced five turnovers in a span of little over two minutes. Coach Krzyzewski shared Chris Wright's sentiments:

We could never match their emotion. The place was electric. Their team was electric, and they played that way for 40 minutes.

You got that right.

Georgetown's biggest lead of the game was 23. Wowsers.

Gonzaga lost a WCC game for the first time in what seems like a decade. They lost to San Francisco, 81-77. San Fransisco hasn't been good since the '40s. Rex Walters, the head coach of the Dons knew it was a big win, but wanted to keep the momentum rolling:

As a coach, no question this is as good a feeling as I've felt. Everybody is going to look at this game and say this will be the highlight of our season. I said to the guys, 'Let's work hard so it isn't.'

During the final minutes of an ugly 82-69 loss to BYU, Utah freshman Marshall Henderson threw a banckhanded punch at BYU guard Jackson Emery. Look past the fact that both these players have first name-last names, and check out what Utah coach Jim Boylen had to say following the game:

We need to address the bigger issue. Marshall Henderson made a mistake, plain and simple. Make no mistake. We feel bad about what happened, and so does Henderson. We are going to deal with this issue internally, and then I’m sure the league will deal with it as well. We need to move on now. Henderson is a great player.

Henderson might be a great player, but his stand-up skills are suspect. He needs to follow up the spinning-back-fist with a left roundhouse kick to the head.

Teams in the Big-12 keep beating each other up, confusing analysts and muddling the standings. The noble men and women at Deadspin put it all into perspective:

Speaking of Texas, they just can't seem to stop losing, falling in overtime at home to Baylor. Baylor almost beat K-State this week, and hung with KU last week, so you can't say this is a fluke. But then K-State topped Texas last week, before losing to Kansas last night. Complicated? After plugging this into the BCS computer, I'm pretty sure Drexel is leading the Big 12.

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The BIAH Quotables

This a new feature we are trying out here at BIAH this season. Throughout the week, we are going to post some notable quotes or excerpts that show up in our google reader. Stupid people say stupid things 24 hours a day, and being somehow associated with the college hoops landscape does not preclude that fact. That said, we will not limit our quotables to the simple and idiotic, as the insightful and intelligent will also be highlighted. Feel free to pass along any quotables you stumble across to contactbiah@gmail.com or hit us up on twitter.


Chris Chase at The Dagger wrote an insightful piece on the habits of AP poll voters, John Feinstein in particular. Feinstein apparently holds the #25 spot for particular schools:

I use the 25th spot every week to try to give some recognition to a smaller school ... You'd be amazed how much it means to schools like that to get the one vote--so why not?

But Chase explains why a voter can do this, and have it not matter that much:

I agree. It's a bit contrived but it doesn't hurt anyone and gives a thrill to the small legions of fans who root for Army and William & Mary and Coastal Carolina. College basketball polls are inherently meaningless as it is. One vote in said college basketball poll is even more so. The one point Feinstein's No. 25 vote is worth wouldn't have made a difference in any in-season poll this year. The gap between the No. 24, No. 25 and "No. 26" team averages around 35 points. One point is a drop in the bucket.

The Normally-stoic Jim Boeheim decided to cut lose during the press conference after his team's dismantling of Big East rival Georgetown. Jimmy-B was dropping bombs left and right.

I tried transcribing it for you, but it was too arduous of a task for me to complete. So here is the video instead. The hilarity ensues shortly after the 4:45 Mark:


Mark "the shark" Titus, the mastermind behind Club Trillion, had a great quotable about other notable walk-ons around the country:

Jarvis Varnado of Mississippi State is his team’s best player, but is technically a walk-on after he gave up his scholarship because the team had more players who were promised scholarships than there were scholarships available.

Justin Thomas of Syracuse was thrown into the fire last year in that classic six overtime thriller against UConn because most of the guys in the regular rotation had fouled out.

Skylar McBee of Tennessee (that’s fun to say out loud) is a walk-on who made a game-clinching three as the shot clock ran out against top-ranked Kansas on January 10th and could probably run for mayor of Knoxville because of it (let’s hope he doesn’t run against Lane Kiffin, though, cause I heard he’s pretty popular in Knoxville these days).

Indiana coach Tom Crean is one of the most active twitterers in the country. This week, he put on his best "Siskell & Ebert" hat and critiqued what he was watching (other than game film):

On a personal note, i came out of my office at home last night and sat down to watch tv with my wife. She had the Bachelor on.

The acting is so bad in that show and the guy is such a clown I had to go back and watch something not as bad, our turnover tape.

I am going to miss Patty, the millionaire matchmaker and a repeat of of the Housewives of Orange County. Now that's a sacrifice because thats quality television!

Thanks coach for that insightful analysis.

In the Thursday edition of Mike DeCourcy's 3-Pointers column, he notes that Kentucky might benefit from being the last team to lose:

What does it mean that Kentucky was the final unbeaten team to fall? Historically, it means there's a better than 50-percent chance the Wildcats will be playing in this season's Final Four.

Veteran sportswriter Wendell Barnhouse of Big12Sports.com has been keeping a list of the final unbeaten teams to fall that begins the year after Indiana managed to stay perfect in 1976. UK's loss on Jan. 26 makes this a below-average season in terms of perfection; in 18 of 34 seasons, a team made it unbeaten into February.

Unbeknownst to BIAH, Michigan State altered their traditional spartan logo with help from Nike. Students, fans, bloggers, and alumni are not happy. Coach Tom Izzo played the role of riot control:

Somebody out here tell me, what is our tradition? Which one of those different things is our tradition? We’re going to have the same color, the same uniforms, the same logo, and we’re going to be moving into that new century here in the proper way, and I’m excited about it. So for all of you out there who are complaining, shame on you, because we’ve got a leader, our president, I’ve been involved in this thing, we’re trying to do what’s best for Michigan State University, our athletic department, and the great people that we associate with, and Nike’s done a heck of a job.

Oh God, Izzo just said "shame on you". Things can't be looking good in East Lansing. Then again, do things ever look good in East Lansing?
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The BIAH Quotables

This a new feature we are trying out here at BIAH this season. Throughout the week, we are going to post some notable quotes or excerpts that show up in our google reader. Stupid people say stupid things 24 hours a day, and being somehow associated with the college hoops landscape does not preclude that fact. That said, we will not limit our quotables to the simple and idiotic, as the insightful and intelligent will also be highlighted. Feel free to pass along any quotables you stumble across to contactbiah@gmail.com or @ballinisahabit.


Georgetown got a much needed signature road win against Pittsburgh earlier in the week. It was the first time in a long time that Pitt lost at The Zoo. Georgetown center Greg Monroe had a fitting analogy for the victory via twitter:

What's the Zoo when u came from the jungle?...nothin. It was a good WINsday!

After watching Chris Wright drop 21 pts on the Panthers, Mike DeCourcy had a most unique way of describing Chris Wright:

He is unlike any point guard you've ever seen. (And no, this is not another treatise on the miracle of John Wall). Chris Wright runs Georgetown's Princeton-style offense like Will Ferrell performing King Lear.

Sorry for the Georgetown overload, but they were just too entertaining to pass up.

Eamonn Brennan recently wrote a nice piece about improper stormings of the court. I totally agree with what he says:

Then, Indiana fans decided to up the ante. Not satisfied with letting Michigan's students steal their thunder, Indiana's fans stormed the court after -- get this -- a home win over Minnesota. A home win over Minnesota! Minnesota! Who is not ranked! Who is not a particularly impressive opponent, presently or historically! Minnesota! MINNESOTA!

This might be the single worst court-storm in the history of storming the court. There has never been anything quite so bad.

I've often wondered what exactly the parameters are that warrant a court-storming? It would be great if an established hoops pundit could go to work on this one.....

North Carolina is currently in a downward-spiral, having lost three in a row and four out of five. Will the tar heels make the tournament? let's ask Mike DeCourcy:

At the moment, I'm thinking the Tar Heels can make it all the way through the championship game, just like the millions of others who will watch on CBS.

OK, that was harsh. But the first question that has to be answered is whether the Tar Heels will be invited into the field. This is not meant to be alarmist, but realistic.

Just in the BCS conferences, there are 54 teams with records matching or exceeding UNC's 12-7. Even if we concede the Tar Heels' 12-7 is better than everybody else's 12-7—and it may be, given the victories over Ohio State and Michigan State—there are a lot of teams to climb past in order to get onto the bracket.

Is it acceptable to give dap to yourself? Because, well, Our very own Rob Dauster provides our next quotable. Here he is discussing Jeremy Hazell's shot selection problem. But Dauster takes the road less traveled, discussing the people who are discussing Hazell:

Doris Burke, who was doing the color for the game (Side note: Burke is a very underrated commentator. She really knows the game, she breaks it down in an insightful manner, and she does it in a way that makes what she is explaining seem very basic. Bill Simmons may disagree, but Burke should be spending more time away from the sideline.), ripped him. The twitterati ripped him. No doubt Bobby Gonzalez ripped him.

I am one of the few remaining humans that reads the newspaper sports section. The Washington Post had a couple good quotables that will most likely end up in a) the trash, b) a fireplace or c) a child's hamster cage. Marquette head coach Buzz Lightyear Williams knew that his team was facing an uphill battle going to the Carrier Dome:

There's very few places you can go where the head coach is already in the Hall of Fame, and the floor is named after him, and the team is the number-five-ranked team in the country. That's a bad combination.

Virginia Tech head coach Seth Greenberg offers his opinion on "one play can change the game":

You got lucky. Let's face it. You win a game like that, one play is the difference between being miserable and being able to breathe. I can breathe tonight.

Bobby Knight is turning into one of my favorite color commentators in the country. Don Ohlmeyer, ESPN's ombudsman (awesome word) explained why I believe that:

No one can deny that Knight is about as knowledgeable about hoops as they come. By the end of a telecast he's working, you feel as if you've attended a world-class coaching clinic. His observations are perceptive, his compliments succinct and his criticisms often withering.

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The BIAH Quotables

This a new feature we are trying out here at BIAH this season. Throughout the week, we are going to post some notable quotes or excerpts that show up in our google reader. Stupid people say stupid things 24 hours a day, and being somehow associated with the college hoops landscape does not preclude that fact. That said, we will not limit our quotables to the simple and idiotic, as the insightful and intelligent will also be highlighted. Feel free to pass along any quotables you stumble across to contactbiah@gmail.com or @ballinisahabit.

Purdue had dropped three in a row and were still looking for a point guard. Coach Matt Painter wanted to change the starting lineup before the Illinois game:

I’d like to start E’Twaun Moore, E’Twaun Moore, Robbie Hummel, Robbie Hummel and Robbie Hummel. No one else deserves to start, but with that being said, E’Twaun Moore needs to get some rebounds.

Gary Parrish is wondering why the hell Louisiana Tech got top-25 votes:

What's more questionable than Northern Iowa being ranked with no good wins and one bad loss?

Louisiana Tech getting votes with no good wins and two bad losses.

I swear, I don't hate non-BCS schools. But I'm not going to try to prove it to you by ranking Louisiana Tech 20th, which is what Nick Jezierny of The Idaho Statesmen did this week. He has the Bulldogs ranked 20th on his AP ballot with a 17-2 record, and their best win is probably at Houston or over Utah State. Point is, there's nothing there.

Parrish also believes it's conceivable to think that Kansas State can win the Big-12:

Why not? They're 16-2 overall, 3-1 in the Big 12. They don't have to go to Texas, and they've already been to Missouri. If they can split with Kansas and win their other home games, they'll have a shot considering KU still has to play at Texas. Would I bet on it? No. But it's the middle of January, Kansas State just beat Texas, and it's a legitimate debate. That alone is a testament to Frank Martin.

South Florida is struggling (as expected) in the Big East, Coach Stan Heath has to stay calm:

Sometimes I've got to slap myself a little bit too and say right now, I'm only playing really with two guys with Big East experience. It's just two guys, Chris and 'Nique. The rest of the guys, they have no inkling of what it's like to be out there in Big East play. We're growing, we're maturing. We're figuring things out. I called 100 time outs to get them to do the right things the other day. Just like my kids, just sometimes you need to get hit upside the head and grow from the experience. We learned a big lesson.

Texas A&M got a big home win on Tuesday over Oklahoma. They had lost their last ten straight to the Sooners. Coach Mark Turgeon let it be known via twitter that the fan support helped notch the win:

3rd largest student attendance in A&M history. There were a few possessions that were directly impacted by 12th man. ONE key possession late!

The DePaul Blue Deamons try to snap a six game losing streak when they head to Marquette tonight. Iterm coach Tracey Webster knows this is a big game:

People can talk all they want about this being just another game---no way. This is a rivalry game, for sure, and our guys will be ready for it.

I say, slow down coach. Yes DePaul and Marquette are two private schools close to each other, but I'd draw the line at that. This is no Big East rivalry. UConn/Syracuse and Georgetown/Villanova are rivalries. DePaul/Marquette is just another "grind 'em out" Big East games.

Continue reading...

The BIAH Quotables

This a new feature we are trying out here at BIAH this season. Throughout the week, we are going to post some notable quotes or excerpts that show up in our google reader. Stupid people say stupid things 24 hours a day, and being somehow associated with the college hoops landscape does not preclude that fact. That said, we will not limit our quotables to the simple and idiotic, as the insightful and intelligent will also be highlighted. Feel free to pass along any quotables you stumble across to contactbiah@gmail.com or @ballinisahabit.

About two weeks ago, four Tennessee players were busted in a rental car with two guns, weed, and an open container. Here is the first quote we got from one of the riders:

I can't speak on the guns issue, because at this point it's in the legal process. The win over Memphis was big; we were wanting to go out and have fun, so we decided to go to Nashville. The bad decision I made was getting in that car.

That quotable comes via Tyler Smith, the only one of the four Volunteers involved who was removed from the program. There are so many good quotables in this one, that we'd rather have you read it all for yourself than try to decipher it all for you.

Maryland got a quality win in their ACC opener against Florida State. the poster boy for anti-perspiration deodorant, Gary Williams said that although it was a great win, its nothing to celebrate about:

It’s a good win, a win we won’t be able to enjoy because we have to be ready to play Tuesday. We might be tired, but there won’t be a letdown. This is one of 16 (ACC) games. There is no champagne in the locker room.

The Pac-10 is the worst BCS conference out there. I think we can all agree on that. Gary Parrish explains just how bad the conference is as a whole:

Combine that with Oregon's loss to Oregon State and Washington State's 25-point loss at Arizona State, and it's pretty clear the NCAA should consider taking the Pac-10's automatic bid this season and letting the Mountain West have two.

Speaking of Parrish, he had another good line about DeMarcus Cousins. Everybody has bashed Cousins at least once for his foul temper, but it looks like he is a fast learner:

He got dunked on, lost his headband once, and three Georgia players fouled out basically trying to guard Cousins, meaning he was fouled an awful lot. Still, there were no issues. Each time, Cousins just walked away and kept going about his business. If he learns to do that, Kentucky's going to be dangerous the rest of this season, and then Cousins will be super rich right after it.

With Kansas losing in that shocker against Tennessee, Texas claims the top spot in the country. Coach Rick Barnes is taking it with a grain of salt:

My first thought last night was I didn't know who was No. 1 the second week of January last year, but I do know who won the national championship.

It is pretty cool for our guys, though. It shows our program has grown to this point and it is a compliment to our program.

Villanova and Louisville played on Big Monday. They should have called it Long Monday. The guys at Louisville's Card Chronicle agree:

If you're going to force me to watch my favorite team blow a 17-point lead at home against the No. 4 team in the country, I'd prefer it take less time than a viewing of Avatar.

Continue reading...

The BIAH Quotables

This a new feature we are trying out here at BIAH this season. Throughout the week, we are going to post some notable quotes or excerpts that show up in our google reader. Stupid people say stupid things 24 hours a day, and being somehow associated with the college hoops landscape does not preclude that fact. That said, we will not limit our quotables to the simple and idiotic, as the insightful and intelligent will also be highlighted. Feel free to pass along any quotables you stumble across to contactbiah@gmail.com or @ballinisahabit.

The guys over at Rush The Court decided to make new years resolutions for others instead of themselves. Here is what they suggest for UNC's head coach:

I’m going to offer a resolution to everyone’s favorite awshucks-ter, Roy Williams. It’s nothing new, but the down-homey thing is really starting to grate on me people. We all know that you’re a super-competitive and fiery coach who wants nothing more than to stick it to Coach K, Chicken Wing Gary, the KU fans who still harp on you leaving seven years later, World Wide Wes, the old bag who cut you off on the way to practice, etc. There’s nothing wrong with it. Drop a few more F-bombs during games and throw a few more loudmouth fans out of the building. Embrace who you are. Let. It. Out.

Succession plans are becoming more and more popular in recent years in both college and professional sports. Syracuse.com's Mike Waters takes a look at the possibility of a successor to Jim Boeheim:

There’s anecdotal evidence for both sides — Craig Esherick wasn’t able to replace John Thompson at Georgetown, but Jamie Dixon’s done a wonderful job after taking over for Ben Howland at Pitt.

I believe that Mike Hopkins has prepared himself fully for his eventual task of succeeding Boeheim. He’s proven to be a great recruiter, getting guys like Gerry McNamara, Jonny Flynn and Hakim Warrick to come to SU. And I’ve seen how he works with players in practice.

Marquette coach Buzz Williams is well aware his team has lost two Big East games on last second shots. He offers up his belief on the matter in what is perhaps the quote of the week:

You always remember what happened at the end [of a game] better than what happened at the beginning or the middle.

Butler hit a great shot to beat us at West Virginia. Scottie Reynolds hit a great shot to beat us here. Those are embedded in your mind, but they aren't especially the reason we lost. That's the last reason we lost.

But you can go back to the beginning of each game and see multiple possessions [that could have gone differently]. Yes, we only lost by one possession. But which possession was it?

I could not agree with the coach more. A sloppy pass in the first half can lose you the game just as much as a sloppy pass at the end of the game (see Notre Dame v. USF)

ESPN's newest blogger Eamonn Brennan had a fantastic line about Northwestern's style of play during their weekend loss to Michigan State:

Northwestern is the team that you know you shouldn't lose to in pickup basketball. They don't look all that impressive. When they walk on the court, you automatically assume you'll win, because none of the Wildcats are physically imposing or particularly stylish.

And then when they get on the court, it's clear they've played together forever; they screen you and play unusually hard defense and they run backcuts all the time, which might be the most frustrating thing in the world. So it is this evening: Northwestern is obviously the inferior team. They're clearly less athletic. But they're smart and they play off-kilter, and sometimes that's all you need.

If Buzz Williams had the quote of the week, Mr. Brennan is clearly in a close second.

Our next quotable comes via The twitter account of Washington's Isiah Thomas.

Mr. Thomas has been using his twitter to express frustation the past week, and now, takes a jab at a certain former one-and-done'er who clearly wasn't making his bills working at the local In-N-Out Burger:

College would be so much better if we got paid word aapp!! Well some dudes be gettin paid around the country lol but not here at Washington

Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl is doing his best to get his team through this rough period. He asked for the support of the fans as well:

More than anything, like family, I would ask you to stay with us in the good times and stay with us in the troubled times. As we work our way through this, I ask you to trust us.

And for the guys that remain, I’d ask you to be there for us tonight and Sunday (Kansas game) and as we go on through this season. We’re going to need you more than ever before.

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The BIAH Quotables

This a new feature we are trying out here at BIAH this season. Throughout the week, we are going to post some notable quotes or excerpts that show up in our google reader. Stupid people say stupid things 24 hours a day, and being somehow associated with the college hoops landscape does not preclude that fact. That said, we will not limit our quotables to the simple and idiotic, as the insightful and intelligent will also be highlighted. Feel free to pass along any quotables you stumble across to contactbiah@gmail.com or @ballinisahabit.

At this point we should all be aware of the situation involving the Tennessee basketball team. Coach Bruce Pearl was interviewed by Tennessee beat reporter Wes Rucker about the situation. Coach Pearl understands how tough this is, but hopes his team can get through it:

...They did a great job today. We had a great practice, and they’ve responded very, very well. Adversity doesn’t build character; it reveals character. Our character will be revealed.

Kansas State won their tenth in a row on Sunday night, destroying South Dakota 91-69.

As the first half came to a close, Jacob Pullen tossed an alley-oop that bounced off the backboard before connecting with Curtis Kelly for the emphatic slam. Teammate Jamar Samuels offered the following to press row as he walked towards the locker room for intermission:

Did you see that? Did that just happen?

Yes Jamar, that just happened, and it was nice, very nice. Samuels had this to say after the game, about the signature highlight of the game:

I thought he missed it. I looked at the crowd, and the crowd was like, 'What is he doing?'

Wildcat star Pullen was equally confused:

Did they credit me for an assist for that?

The Clemson Tigers continue to suck at Cameron Indoor Stadium. But this weekend they sucked at an all-time high, putting up a measly 12 points in the first half. The OP:Clemson Basketball, the team-specific blog for the Tigers had a great line about just how much their team sucked this weekend:

The Tigers were cold. They couldn't make a metaphor or cliche with all the words in the dictionary.

Gary Parrish has officially become a weekly staple of the BIAH Quotables. If you don't know why, take a gander at the following. Parrish explains to a reader (who believes Parrish despises the Pitt Panthers) why he does not in fact, hate Pitt:

...So I don't hate Pitt, and I don't know anybody who hates Pitt. I just thought it was crazy to rank Pitt back when that AP voter was ranking Pitt, because, you know, it was. And I used him to make the Poll Attacks interesting. And it worked. But you'd be wise to never confuse my opinions with my personal feelings, because they're rarely interchangeable.

Another recent staple of the BIAH Quotables has been bench-warming blogger extraordinaire Kyle Titus, otherwise known as the mastermind of Club Trillion.

He notes that Evan "The Villain" Turner might be on his way back to action soon. And, like any good teammate, took a moment to get in some last minute jabs:

For those who don’t remember, The Villain broke his back a couple weeks ago and our team has struggled at times without him. He was projected to be out another month, but his rehab is going well and he could be back within the next couple games. I’m excited for The Villain’s return, mostly because I want to see if these past couple weeks will go down as the “Brokeback Era” of his career. Either way, I’m bombarding him with Brokeback jokes and will continue to do so even when his back is fully healed.

Don't think we would just give you one sampling of Titus' hilarious writing. This time discussing his love for the Sony PSP, which he received as gift for "playing" in the Big Ten/ACC Challange:

It’s refreshing to think that I get awesome gifts for basically doing minimal work. It’s like I’m Preston from Blank Check, only instead of getting cool stuff because I got hit by a car while riding my bike, I get cool stuff because I take a Dallas Lauderdale elbow to the face every now and then. It’s a perfectly fair trade the way I see it.

The quotable doesn't end there:

As far as the actual game action, we lost to the Wisconsin Buzzcuts on New Year’s Eve mostly because our offense had the continuity of an LFO song.

The good people at Rush The Court had a smart quip (did anybody not?) about the UNC shocker from last night. Let them remind you who the Tar Heels lost to:

America, if you didn’t know him before, may we introduce you to Andrew Goudelock. He is a 6′2 junior guard from Lilburn, Georgia, and he plays for the Charleston Cougars. No, that’s not a minor league baseball team. Despite their 8-6 record, it’s a pretty good basketball team that knocked off the 9th-ranked Tar Heels on Monday night.

Continue reading...

The BIAH Quotables

This a new feature we are trying out here at BIAH this season. Throughout the week, we are going to post some notable quotes or excerpts that show up in our google reader. Stupid people say stupid things 24 hours a day, and being somehow associated with the college hoops landscape does not preclude that fact. That said, we will not limit our quotables to the simple and idiotic, as the insightful and intelligent will also be highlighted. Feel free to pass along any quotables you stumble across to contactbiah@gmail.com or @ballinisahabit.
Hope everybody had a good holiday weekend. The hoops world doesn't take a vacation, so we are here to get you caught up on the best quotables of the past weekend.


Former Temple head coach Jon Cheney was recently on Comcast SportsNet in the Philadelphia market. That man still knows how to start a riot. Here he is dicussing the nature of current Owls coach Fran Dunphy:

He is too nice off the court. He needs to go beat up a Republican or something. When a kid makes a bad turnover, he needs to grab him and choke him.

Wow. It's probably a good idea that he's not coaching any more.

Mark Titus, the Ohio State benchwarmer who also is a blogger, had a great line about his team's game against Deleware State:

Delaware State had no white guys on their team, but they decided to play at an incredibly slow pace which seems pretty counterintuitive to me. The game turned out to be rather boring because of this slow-paced brand of basketball. In fact, most of the people I talked to said they changed the channel to PBS to watch Antiques Roadshow because they were so bored.

Final exams finished last week and student-athletes resting for the holidays. St. Joe's assistant coach Dave Duda explains why finals week is so tough:

Final exam week is the week that is the most difficult on a student athlete playing basketball at the Division I level. Most teams have played a number of road games in the first semester, and some class time has been missed. The result of the rigors of going to class, practicing, weight training, and playing games meets in the perfect storm at this time each season.

Gary Parrish makes the BIAH Quotables again, this time for a response he gave to a reader who asked why Gary was so harsh on a particular player:

But what I realized during this exchange is that not every reader is a regular reader, and if you happened to read a column on a random Monday with me suggesting your grandson should have his scholarship taken because he committed 11 turnovers, well, I can see how that might come off as an a-hole move if you weren't familiar with me or what I do.

North Carolina got a much-needed win over scrappy Rutgers, 81-67. Yes the Tar Heels won by 14, but don't think that Roy Williams was pleased with his team's perormance at all:

I'm really not in a good mood about any dumb things that they did right now.

UNC switched to a zone defense for only the second time this season. Apparently, they won't be doing that again:

Well we played zone one possession. We've played zone two possessions all year. One John Wall made a three at Kentucky and this one, I think it was Jonathan Mitchell who made it at the corner. I couldn't tell if it was a two or a three, but if you're going to play zone, if the guy's in your zone, you have to play him man to man. But we just let those guys drive in there. So we've played zone two possessions this year and we've given up six points in two possessions.

Coach Williams thought Will Graves played well in he first half, but in the second, that was entirely different:

The first half I thought he was effective, but the second half...As you guys can tell, my gosh, how can you expect me to be pleased? I've said a million times, 'when you're chasing a ball out of bounds do not throw it back in under your basket.' So, the first half, we threw it back in under their basket, twice. One time in the second half, it was out under our basket so we throw it to the other end, and they make a layup. Will Graves is someone who's been here four years, and I've always said don't shoot it as soon as you get in the game. The first time he went in after a timeout in the second half, he shot from the corner and he missed it.

Sean Miller's Arizona team got pummeled by BYU and Jimmer Fredette. The Cougars won 99-69, and Ferdette had a career-high 49 points. Miller had a lot of praise for Fredette:

Jimmer Fredette played a great game. Did we have something to do with that? Yes. We struggled to defend the other team's best perimeter player. Their victory tonight was largely thanks to his play. He reminds me a lot of Mark Price, who played at Georgia Tech and had a long career in the NBA. I'm not an NBA general manager, but I would put Fredette against a lot of guards in the country. When he does miss a shot, he goes and gets it, and we made that very easy for him tonight.

Continue reading...

The BIAH Quotables

This a new feature we are trying out here at BIAH this season. Throughout the week, we are going to post some notable quotes or excerpts that show up in our google reader. Stupid people say stupid things 24 hours a day, and being somehow associated with the college hoops landscape does not preclude that fact. That said, we will not limit our quotables to the simple and idiotic, as the insightful and intelligent will also be highlighted. Feel free to pass along any quotables you stumble across to contactbiah@gmail.com or @ballinisahabit.

Dana O'Neil once again makes The BIAH Quotables for her excellent writing. In an piece regarding Louisville's UTEP's Derrick Caracter, O'Neil ended the article in fitting fashion:

It's early. Caracter has shown flashes before, but the good nights often were freight trained by his hot-and-cold relationship with commitment. Once the most highly regarded recruit in the country, he has been his own worst enemy.

If he has truly changed his ways, Caracter might finally live up to that surname and his abilities.

I always thought Twitter was a useless, unnecessary communication device, but I was wrong. I can now see what all the best coaches and players in the country are thinking. Take Indiana's Tom Crean for example:

The toughest of deficits but its not natural or ingrained yet. We still believe we can do it by ourselves and that's not possible.

Getting a group of young men to play for each other rather than with each other is a great challenge.

I wonder if this has anything to do with his team's home loss to Loyola (Md.)?

Ohio State is doing it's best to stay afloat in the top 25 without the services of Evan Turner. The big question is whether or not Turner will return for his senior year. In a NYT article, Turner had an interesting line about next year's possibilities:

“I think it’s an all-star team,” he said of the Buckeyes’ prospects next season. “It would be a definite national championship.”

Mike DeCourcy made a good point about "one-and-dones" in his 3-Pointers column. He believes that not all freshman destined for a lottery pick should enter the draft:

Agents and media members who recite that all young players should file for the NBA draft at the earliest opportunity should be sentenced to watch an endless loop of highlights from Al-Farouq Aminu's sophomore season at Wake Forest.

Wait, no. That would be a good thing. They deserve punishment, not entertainment.

Aminu was pushed hard by outsiders to enter the 2009 draft but chose to return, and that decision has become a smashing success.

On Tuesday night, Texas A&M senior Derrick Roland broken his leg in a grizzly incident during the game against Washington. Here is a little blurb from ESPN.com's recanting of the scene:

Washington's Quincy Pondexter, one of the defenders challenging Roland's shot, said the fracture -- in which a bone actually had broken through the skin -- was "one of the nastiest things I've ever seen." The sound of the leg breaking was so loud Pondexter thought it was Roland's back hitting the court.

"We heard it," Texas A&M assistant coach Scott Spinelli said, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer blog account. "I didn't see it. It was a loud snap. I know we all heard the snap and it's something you're never going to forget."

Many fans on that side of the stands gasped and turned away.

Missouri looked impressive in their "Bragging Rights" game against Illinois. Mizzou's Kim English led all players with 24 points on 8-15 shooting, including 5-10 from 3-point range. He gave the Tiger's big men most of the credit for his open looks:

Coach (Mike) Anderson really emphasized the post presence tonight.He said we couldn't just pass it around the horn and jack up shots. When they suck down in on us, we've got to get it into the bigs, and we have great passing big guys. They got it to us and we just knocked down shots.

The Tigers also played top-notch defense, causing 21 Illini turnovers. English stated that turnovers were the difference between this year and last year:

We didn't want to try and gamble as much this year; they handled that last year. We just played honest defense but still wanted to be assertive, then let them make mistakes on offense.

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