Omar Samhan beer night

Those of us that follow college hoops religiously have known the name Omar Samhan for a while.

During this year's NCAA Tournament, Samhan became a household name, and it wasn't just because of the 30 and 10 he dropped in the first two rounds of the big dance.

It was more than just the numbers. Samhan is a chubby, 6'11" dude that slightly resembles Shrek. He also is one of the most outgoing players to ever set foot on a college campus, giving writers around the country quote after quote after quote. Hell, he even interviewed his own teammates for his blog during the Gaels tourney run.

Samhan may be the most hated man in Spokane, but in Moraga, CA, he may be the most loved.

Which brings me to my point -- Omar Samhan drink specials.

That's right.

He got his own drink special.

The owner of McCovey's Restaurant in Walnut Creek, CA, is a St. Mary's alum, and last night he retired Omar Samhan's jersey, as well as Patty Mills'. In honor of the Samhan, McCovey's offered a unique drink special -- if you buy a drink, you got another beer or rail drink for just $.50, Samhan's number.

Now, I don't know what beer prices are like in Walnut Creek, CA, but if this were to occur in a place like DC, or NYC, or LA, where $6 beer night specials are a common occurrence, McCovey's would have been over run with fans of booze, and not necessarily fans of the Gaels.

My biggest question: did Samhan have to pay for his own drinks?


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Who's the better quote?

Omar Samhan and DeMarcus Cousins aren't just the two biggest players left in the NCAA Tournament.

They also have the biggest mouths.

We've known about Cousins all season long. I mean, he plays for Kentucky. Everyone interview the guy has done can be found somewhere on the intrawebs. He's been a BIAH favorite all-season.

But Samhan?

Samhan plays for St. Mary's in Moraga, CA. Not exactly the hub of college hoops.

Anyway, we were curious of your thoughts. Who is the better quote?


Omar Samhan: "He can jump, and I can't. He's fast, and I'm not. He's strong, and I'm not. Although I’ll have trouble guarding him, he’ll have trouble guarding me."

DeMarcus Cousins: "We're not out there reading books, seeing who can read faster. We're out there playing basketball."

Omar Samhan: "Cinderella implies we're lucky or it's a fairy tale. Who do we have to beat for people to think this isn't a fluke? Even if we win the national championship, they'll say it was a weak field."

DeMarcus Cousins: "We’re here to play basketball. It's not a spelling bee."

Omar Samhan: "I have to get my own ice after practice. Baylor doesn't know my pain."

DeMarcus Cousins:

Reporter: "Chas McFarland is known as a guy that gets under people's skin. Do you think you will see a lot of him tomorrow?"

DC: "I know that question was coming." (Pauses for effect...) "Man, I'm just going to play basketball. I'm telling y'all now, I'm not trying to get into a fistfight. I'm not playing dirty or nothin', I'm just going to play ball."

Reporter: "How long did you practice that answer?"

DC: "All night."

Omar Samhan: "We're just a blue collar team that works hard, brings our lunch pail and hard hat to practice every day and gets after it."

DeMarcus Cousins: "The game is not played on computers. The game is not played on stat sheets. You have to go play the game, and whoever wins, wins."

Omar Samhan: "Are those cameras on? I love you, Taylor. You should call me. I'm a huge Taylor Swift fan. I listen to her before games. People think it's weird. But there is so much emotion and excitement before these games, it just kind of slows you down. And it keeps me mellow, because I'm just like a time bomb waiting to go off. So it keeps me mellow. Taylor, I feel like she's singing to me sometimes. (Smiling) I love her, and I'm going to keep listening to her."

DeMarcus Cousins, when asked how hard DeMarcus Cousins is to coach: "I don't know. Go ask Cal. I don't think he's that hard to coach."

Omar Samhan: "I didn't score the last six minutes of the Villanova. But all the headlines were Omar won. Omar was key for St. Mary's win. But it was these guys knocking down fadeaway bank shots from 50 feet."

DeMarcus Cousins (This one's better if you just watch the video):



Omar Samhan, on being told he was the best center in the Bay Area, including Golden State: "That's not saying much, but thank you."

Did I miss any?

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Wednesday's Shootaround: You should know who Omar Samhan is by now

St. Mary's 101, Portland State 80: With this blow out win over Portland State, St. Mary's is now just a two point loss to Vanderbilt away from being undefeated. They have wins over San Diego State, Utah State, and Oregon. But, most importantly, they don't seem to be missing Patty Mills all that much. Mickey McConnel (11.4 ppg, 6.1 apg) and Matthew Dellavedova (14.2 ppg, 3.6 apg) have more than made up for the scoring and the playmaking that they lost with Mills, while Benn Allen (9.7 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 3.0 apg) is proving to be quite a well-rounded player.

But the guy you want to keep an eye on is their mammoth center Omar Samhan. Samhan is averaging 21.2 ppg and 12.4 rpg in the Gaels' nine games this season, and last night was no exception as he overpowered the Vikings en route to 31 points and 17 boards. McConnell added 16 points and 9 assists while Allen chipped in with 10 points, 8 boards, and 6 dimes. Maybe its time we start to give SMC a little bit of respect out West.

UCLA 100, New Mexico State 68: The Bruins needed this win. Badly. Malcolm Lee had 20 points, a career high, while Tyler Honeycutt added 14 points and 7 boards in his best came since coming back from an injury. The win snapped a five game losing streak for the Bruins, who played at a much faster pace. Could Howland be changing his coaching style? I doubt hit, as the offensive explosion was more a result of careless Aggie turnovers that led to easy baskets.

Other notable games:

• Texas 104, Texas Pan-American 42: Avery Bradley led the Horns with 18 in their final tune-up for UNC.
• Duke 113, Gardner-Webb 68: Jon Scheyer had his best game as a Dukie, going for 36 points (on 13 shots) while adding 9 assists and 8 boards. Andre Dawkins had 16 points in his first game back since his sister died.
• Tennessee 77, Wyoming 58: What was an exciting first half turned into a snoozer in the second half as the Vols wore down the Cowboys. Scotty Hopson's 14 points led the way for Tennessee.
• UNLV 77, Southern Utah 59: Tre'Von Willis had 16 points and Chace Stanback added 15 as the Rebels pulled away late.
• Florida State 62, Georgia State 55: Solomon Alabi scored a career-high 22 points and added 6 blocks as the Seminoles opened up a lead as big as 17 in the second half.
• Minnesota 89, Northern Illinois 48: Blake Hoffarber had 26 points, hitting 8 three's, in the win.
• Baylor 90, Jackson State 60: Tweety Carter scored 22 of his 27 points in the first half as the Bears pulled away early.
  

Tuesday's Best:

• Omar Samhan. 31 points and 17 boards. Enough said.
• Blake Hoffarber's had 26 points, hitting 8 threes, in Minnesota's win, but he was outdone by Jacksonville State's Jeremy Bynum, who had 27 points on 9 threes, as the Gamecocks beat Nicholls State, who got 33 from Michael Deloach.
• All three of those players were outdone by Jon Scheyer's 36 points (on 11-13 from the field, 7-9 from three, and 7-7 from the line, 9 assists, and 8 boards.
• Seattle's Charles Garcia just produces. He is averaging 24.6 ppg and 10.2 rpg after going for 29 and 13 last night. You think Washington wishes they were able to get this kid into U-Dub?
  

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