INDIANAPOLIS — View from the Bleachers Courtside will be bringing you reflections, musings and the occasional analysis live from the Big Ten Tournament. And yes, someone was foolish enough to give me a courtside seat here at Conseco Fieldhouse.
This will be a running column with my thoughts from each game. Since I will be posting on my own, there are no copy editors and no one to tell me Helen Keller jokes are a bad idea.
Proceed at your own risk.
? In a manner of two seconds we just saw Michigan players, coaches, fans and a less-than-impressive band go from “That cute girl just bought me a drink! Happy” to “Oh, it was meant for the football player on my right Sad”.
For those who missed it — or, you know, actually went to class today — a gutsy performance from Michigan left Blue fans feeling their slim March Madness hopes were still alive for one more game. The Wolverines led Ohio State by two points with 2.2 seconds remaining after Manny Harris remembered that he is supposed to be a good basketball player and took over down the stretch.
Then Evan Turner happened.
Receiving the ball with his momentum heading up court, Turner took two dribbles, gathered himself and fired a 35-footer. Of course it was good.
The question is, why was Turner allowed the ball at all?
There was 2.2 seconds left. That means no time to get the ball back to the inbounder. Why not double Turner and make David Lighty or William Buford beat you? Why allow the likely National Player of the Year a shot at all?
While this has yet to be explained, the answer to why Michigan will be playing in the NIT, is quite obvious.
? The Badgers failed at basketball’s most basic goal Friday — they simply missed shots.
Wisconsin won the turnover battle 17-5, grabbed 11 offensive rebounds to Illinois’ two and forced 11 steals.
The energy level was there. The most valuable skill in basketball, however, was not.
UW shot an appalling 18 percent from the field in the first half, finished the game with a grade-school like 28.6 percent shooting and only scored eight points in the first ten minutes of the second half. Trevon Hughes led the team with 14 points…but shot four-of-16. Sharpshooting Jason Bohannon finished the game with a one-for-10 stat line and Jordan Taylor beat the both of them shooting three-of-nine.
There is a joke here about building the Edgewater Hotel with all of those bricks, but its too obvious even for me.
? Much was made in the media room after the Wisconsin game about McCamey’s improved defense from last Sunday.
That is just not true. McCamey remains an atrocious defender. The Badgers low shooting percentages were much more them missing decent looks than anything the first team All-Big Ten guard did.
The biggest clue McCamey is lost on the defensive end? Look at his eyes. Instead of staring at the stomach or chest like every fifth grade is taught, McCamey looks at his man’s face. He continued to bite on fakes and allowed Trevon Hughes to find space in the lane multiple times — where Hughes just missed shots.
Averaging nearly seven assists per game, McCamey may have Steve Nash’s vision on the offensive end, but he also has the Canadian’s deficiencies protecting the hoop.
? Most Obnoxious Fans Award hands down goes to the Purdue base.
Through sheer energy, volume level and most importantly, extreme stupidity, the Boilermakers blew out the competition, and frankly, it wasn’t even close.
Now please, Boiler shut up.
Special mention goes to who appear to be Purdue guard Chris Kramer’s parents.
By bellowing after every single bit of contact, screaming “three seconds” at the refs — when Purdue was on offense curiously — and generally making complete asses of yourself, you have explained very clearly how Chris got his reputation in the Big Ten.
Ironically, if the refs took your advice on physical contact, defensive stalwart Chris would be a useless player in the Big Ten.
Keep it classy Kramers.
