PEACE!!
-Jack
Life at the Zou!
Monday, February 7, 2011
BIG TIME ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!!
Lets cut straight to the chase. I am proud to announce that I have been accepted to be a Contributor at Bleacher Report which is one of the fastest growing sports websites in the world. So, I am not going to lie I am rarely going to be posting on here from now on, for the few of you that have been reading my posts on The Experience the past few months I thank you and I hope you follow me over to Bleacher Report.
PEACE!!
-Jack
PEACE!!
-Jack
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Missouri vs Texas: Rewind
This loss...well was tough. I tried to wash it away by seeing Mizzou beat Nebraska in wrestling and we lost 17-16, but thats neither here nor there. Lets revisit my keys to the game from last night
Keys to the Win (Missouri):
1. Come out fast : This obviously did not happen, they went down 10-0 to start...which couldnt happen.
2. Bring your lunchpail, get to the glass: We got out rebounded 28-40, these stats are inflated when we couldnt buy a basket. We got out rebounded offensively 13-9 which is fairly even.
3. Tempo. Tempo. Tempo.: The pace was 67 possetions, this played into Texas hands perfectly.
Number 1 and 3 we obviously didn't do well on, and number 2 we were close but not where I want us to be.
Keys to Win (Texas):
1. Shut down the point: Pressey had a good game, but Dixon did not. So they did that fairly well.
2. Slllloooowwww it down: The pace was at 67 possessions, right where Texas averages.
3. Get Ratliffe and Bowers in foul trouble early: They got Ratliffe into foul trouble, and literally knocked out Bowers.
They did all 3 things effectively. Thats about it. Missouri shot the ball terribly and who knows...if one shot goes in at some point in the second half any thing could have happened. Texas kept the tigers in the game with foul shooting. Next up for Mizzou: @Oklahoma State on Wednesday
Keys to the Win (Missouri):
1. Come out fast : This obviously did not happen, they went down 10-0 to start...which couldnt happen.
2. Bring your lunchpail, get to the glass: We got out rebounded 28-40, these stats are inflated when we couldnt buy a basket. We got out rebounded offensively 13-9 which is fairly even.
3. Tempo. Tempo. Tempo.: The pace was 67 possetions, this played into Texas hands perfectly.
Number 1 and 3 we obviously didn't do well on, and number 2 we were close but not where I want us to be.
Keys to Win (Texas):
1. Shut down the point: Pressey had a good game, but Dixon did not. So they did that fairly well.
2. Slllloooowwww it down: The pace was at 67 possessions, right where Texas averages.
3. Get Ratliffe and Bowers in foul trouble early: They got Ratliffe into foul trouble, and literally knocked out Bowers.
They did all 3 things effectively. Thats about it. Missouri shot the ball terribly and who knows...if one shot goes in at some point in the second half any thing could have happened. Texas kept the tigers in the game with foul shooting. Next up for Mizzou: @Oklahoma State on Wednesday
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Missouri vs Texas....showtime
(All ratings and rankings arefrom the Ken Pomeroy poll at kenpom.com)
Today is a pivotal game for this Missouri basketball team, as a win would catapult them into the Big 12 race but a loss would all but put them out of it. Its also huge for Texas, as a win would give them wins over the 2 best teams in the north with a farily easy schedule remaining the rest of the way to the postseason.
Breakdown of Missouri:
If you look at the scouting report, this is a truly dynamic team. Ranked 25 on offense and 32 on D this team can get it done on both ends. A key stat that steps out is the fact that they are 17th in Offensive turnover percentage while they are 14th in Defensive turnover percentage meaning they don't give the ball up but they take the ball away at an astonishing rate. Running the fastest 40 minutes in basketball has produced the 10th fastest tempo in NCAA this season averaging 73 possessions a game which is 6 more than the average team. A couple of the downfalls of this team is how few times they get to the free throw line. They are actually ranked 273rd in that category. Rebounding has been a statistical oddity for the black and gold this season, while they have hung tough with very good rebounding teams like Kansas State, Old Dominon, and Illinois they have looked very bad at times like against Oral Roberts and other weak schools. This shows they have the ability to rebound with the best if they bring the intensity.
Good Wins: #20 Vanderbilt, #18 Illinois, #69 Old Dominon, #41 Nebraska, #46 Kansas State, #57 Iowa State
Losses: #22 Georgetown, #59 Colorado, #29 Texas A&M
Breakdown of Texas
This team is truly electric. Ranked 4 in the country according to kenpom, they are also 24th on offense and ranked 1st in Defense. They allow the lowest field goal percentage in the country even after playing teams like Pittsburgh, North Carolina, Michigan State, UConn, and Kansas. They don't the ball over with a 30th ranking in Turnover percentage they are also ranked 13th in offensive steal percentage meaning basically nobody steals the ball from them. They run an average tempo, at a 153 ranking. A very big weakness that the Longhorns have is their free throw shooting, with a 250 ranking and a 66.2% average. This team is lead by Sophomore Jordan Hamilton, he is just a solid all around player they also have a very good supporting cast that is going to be hard for anyone in the country to stop.
Good Wins: #18 Illinois, #24 North Carolina, #34 Michigan State, #29 Texas A&M, #3 Kansas
Losses: #6 Pittsburgh, #44 Southern California, #13 Connecticut
Keys to the Win (Missouri):
1. Come out fast: Texas is known for coming out fast, getting you into a hole and then playing suffocating D so you cant get back into the game.
2. Bring your lunchpail, get to the glass: Missouri has been most successful when they are about even or ahead of their opponent in rebounds. So obviously this is a key against an average rebounding team.
3. Tempo. Tempo. Tempo.: When this mizzou team has been able to beat the longhorns the past 3 years they have won because of their fastest 40 minutes style of play, this will be huge.
Keys to Win (Texas):
1. Shut down the point: The tigers are best when either Mike Dixon or Phil Pressey are getting assists and knocking down shots, if you can shut one down or get one or the other in foul trouble you could see this dynamic offensive struggle a bit.
2. Slllloooowwww it down: This is the goal of any team that is playing against Missouri basketball
3. Get Ratliffe and Bowers in foul trouble early: Mizzou has had trouble when they both get into foul trouble and they have to rely on Safford and Moore.
Predictions:
Missouri is awful on the road, and the kenpom rankings give them only a 17% chance to win tonight. The website is projecting a 10 point win. I think its closer than that but still a Texas win. 74-69 Texas.
Today is a pivotal game for this Missouri basketball team, as a win would catapult them into the Big 12 race but a loss would all but put them out of it. Its also huge for Texas, as a win would give them wins over the 2 best teams in the north with a farily easy schedule remaining the rest of the way to the postseason.
Breakdown of Missouri:
If you look at the scouting report, this is a truly dynamic team. Ranked 25 on offense and 32 on D this team can get it done on both ends. A key stat that steps out is the fact that they are 17th in Offensive turnover percentage while they are 14th in Defensive turnover percentage meaning they don't give the ball up but they take the ball away at an astonishing rate. Running the fastest 40 minutes in basketball has produced the 10th fastest tempo in NCAA this season averaging 73 possessions a game which is 6 more than the average team. A couple of the downfalls of this team is how few times they get to the free throw line. They are actually ranked 273rd in that category. Rebounding has been a statistical oddity for the black and gold this season, while they have hung tough with very good rebounding teams like Kansas State, Old Dominon, and Illinois they have looked very bad at times like against Oral Roberts and other weak schools. This shows they have the ability to rebound with the best if they bring the intensity.
Good Wins: #20 Vanderbilt, #18 Illinois, #69 Old Dominon, #41 Nebraska, #46 Kansas State, #57 Iowa State
Losses: #22 Georgetown, #59 Colorado, #29 Texas A&M
Breakdown of Texas
This team is truly electric. Ranked 4 in the country according to kenpom, they are also 24th on offense and ranked 1st in Defense. They allow the lowest field goal percentage in the country even after playing teams like Pittsburgh, North Carolina, Michigan State, UConn, and Kansas. They don't the ball over with a 30th ranking in Turnover percentage they are also ranked 13th in offensive steal percentage meaning basically nobody steals the ball from them. They run an average tempo, at a 153 ranking. A very big weakness that the Longhorns have is their free throw shooting, with a 250 ranking and a 66.2% average. This team is lead by Sophomore Jordan Hamilton, he is just a solid all around player they also have a very good supporting cast that is going to be hard for anyone in the country to stop.
Good Wins: #18 Illinois, #24 North Carolina, #34 Michigan State, #29 Texas A&M, #3 Kansas
Losses: #6 Pittsburgh, #44 Southern California, #13 Connecticut
Keys to the Win (Missouri):
1. Come out fast: Texas is known for coming out fast, getting you into a hole and then playing suffocating D so you cant get back into the game.
2. Bring your lunchpail, get to the glass: Missouri has been most successful when they are about even or ahead of their opponent in rebounds. So obviously this is a key against an average rebounding team.
3. Tempo. Tempo. Tempo.: When this mizzou team has been able to beat the longhorns the past 3 years they have won because of their fastest 40 minutes style of play, this will be huge.
Keys to Win (Texas):
1. Shut down the point: The tigers are best when either Mike Dixon or Phil Pressey are getting assists and knocking down shots, if you can shut one down or get one or the other in foul trouble you could see this dynamic offensive struggle a bit.
2. Slllloooowwww it down: This is the goal of any team that is playing against Missouri basketball
3. Get Ratliffe and Bowers in foul trouble early: Mizzou has had trouble when they both get into foul trouble and they have to rely on Safford and Moore.
Predictions:
Missouri is awful on the road, and the kenpom rankings give them only a 17% chance to win tonight. The website is projecting a 10 point win. I think its closer than that but still a Texas win. 74-69 Texas.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
#FreeTonyMitchell
Today is unoffically the deadline for the NCAA to rule on basketball player Tony Mitchell's eligibility to play for the tigers this year. In case you have been living under a rock the past year here is basiclly what has went down.
The top 15 forward from Dallas Texas decided to come to Mizzou after backing out of Kansas State. He was relatively an unknown player with many major basketball programs not coming after him. Everything was great Tony was on his way to graduation and feeding the hype machine for the Mizzou program for at least a couple of years. But then this report came out of Dallas just before his graduation, claiming that his credits from his first school in Miami did not transfer and that he took make up tests. The problem with this is that he took many of the tests within the same day, even within the same hour of each other. This raised a red flag for the Dallas school district and the NCAA. The NCAA would not declare Mitchell eligible for the first semester of classes, which is a common occurrence and most fans thought he could be in for the Spring semester. The NCAA had trouble getting necessary documents from his high school in Miami which caused them to not be able to rule on the case. As they were about to rule him officially ineligible to play collegiate basketball just before the Big Monday matchup against Kansas State the school in Miami sent the University of Missouri a box with the documents the NCAA needed to really rule on the case. They also have to rule before today because of the Universities enrollment deadline, although there may be a way you could possibly backdoor him in with some special loophole.
That is a summary of the story, but who is honestly to blame for this whole situation? How can a kid with so much potential get lead down the wrong road and now may not have as bright of a future? Well, lets a look.
1. NCAA
Honestly, they are the number one thing to blame in this situation. The clearinghouse was able to rule on a Kentucky player twice and Josh Selby of kansas before they even thought about Mitchell. Which is a joke. If T-Mitch would have been trying to attend any of the "blue blood" "premiere" programs he would have at least been ruled on before November. Even if they say he is ineligible to play this season, he could potentially get into a Junior College and attempt to get an education and basketball career started. Instead, they made this kid sit and wait for an entire year because he never knew when they were going to rule. I think this is the biggest shame of all, mostly because it just wasted part of his career.
2. Frank Martin
You may be thinking what does Frank Martin have to do with Tony not being able to play. Well, as I said earlier Mitchell was originally about to play at KSU, when Martin told him to go to the school in Miami because he has connections there, then he transferred to Dallas his senior year. (What comes after this may or not be true, nothing has been confirmed or denied) When Tony committed from Martin and went to Mizzou, Frank was mad and tipped off the Dallas media on the problems that happened while Mitchell was transferring to Pinkston High in Dallas. He then had the school in Miami that he has connections to, not send in the paperwork to the NCAA to slow down the process. The story sounds believable, and I wouldn't put it past Martin to do that since he transferred inside the conference.
With about 3 minutes left in the Iowa State basketball game last saturday a "Free Tony Mitchell" chant got started in the student section, it was great. I honestly think that if he was eligible it would push the team to the next level of being a Final 4 contender. But, it doesn't look good now and all we can do is think What if? I wish the best for Tony Mitchell in the future, and I hope he is successful at whatever he does next. He will always be a Tiger. #freetonymitchell
(Extra Note: The day after this post was written, Tony Mitchell was ruled ineligible by the NCAA. By Big 12 and NCAA rules he can no longer enroll at the University of Missouri or any other Big 12 school. But since the Sun Belt Conference has a much looser rule on "partial eligibles" than he has enrolled at the University of North Texas. If Mr. Mitchell passes his classes for the next year than he will be eligible to play in the 2012 school year.)
The top 15 forward from Dallas Texas decided to come to Mizzou after backing out of Kansas State. He was relatively an unknown player with many major basketball programs not coming after him. Everything was great Tony was on his way to graduation and feeding the hype machine for the Mizzou program for at least a couple of years. But then this report came out of Dallas just before his graduation, claiming that his credits from his first school in Miami did not transfer and that he took make up tests. The problem with this is that he took many of the tests within the same day, even within the same hour of each other. This raised a red flag for the Dallas school district and the NCAA. The NCAA would not declare Mitchell eligible for the first semester of classes, which is a common occurrence and most fans thought he could be in for the Spring semester. The NCAA had trouble getting necessary documents from his high school in Miami which caused them to not be able to rule on the case. As they were about to rule him officially ineligible to play collegiate basketball just before the Big Monday matchup against Kansas State the school in Miami sent the University of Missouri a box with the documents the NCAA needed to really rule on the case. They also have to rule before today because of the Universities enrollment deadline, although there may be a way you could possibly backdoor him in with some special loophole.
That is a summary of the story, but who is honestly to blame for this whole situation? How can a kid with so much potential get lead down the wrong road and now may not have as bright of a future? Well, lets a look.
1. NCAA
Honestly, they are the number one thing to blame in this situation. The clearinghouse was able to rule on a Kentucky player twice and Josh Selby of kansas before they even thought about Mitchell. Which is a joke. If T-Mitch would have been trying to attend any of the "blue blood" "premiere" programs he would have at least been ruled on before November. Even if they say he is ineligible to play this season, he could potentially get into a Junior College and attempt to get an education and basketball career started. Instead, they made this kid sit and wait for an entire year because he never knew when they were going to rule. I think this is the biggest shame of all, mostly because it just wasted part of his career.
2. Frank Martin
You may be thinking what does Frank Martin have to do with Tony not being able to play. Well, as I said earlier Mitchell was originally about to play at KSU, when Martin told him to go to the school in Miami because he has connections there, then he transferred to Dallas his senior year. (What comes after this may or not be true, nothing has been confirmed or denied) When Tony committed from Martin and went to Mizzou, Frank was mad and tipped off the Dallas media on the problems that happened while Mitchell was transferring to Pinkston High in Dallas. He then had the school in Miami that he has connections to, not send in the paperwork to the NCAA to slow down the process. The story sounds believable, and I wouldn't put it past Martin to do that since he transferred inside the conference.
With about 3 minutes left in the Iowa State basketball game last saturday a "Free Tony Mitchell" chant got started in the student section, it was great. I honestly think that if he was eligible it would push the team to the next level of being a Final 4 contender. But, it doesn't look good now and all we can do is think What if? I wish the best for Tony Mitchell in the future, and I hope he is successful at whatever he does next. He will always be a Tiger. #freetonymitchell
(Extra Note: The day after this post was written, Tony Mitchell was ruled ineligible by the NCAA. By Big 12 and NCAA rules he can no longer enroll at the University of Missouri or any other Big 12 school. But since the Sun Belt Conference has a much looser rule on "partial eligibles" than he has enrolled at the University of North Texas. If Mr. Mitchell passes his classes for the next year than he will be eligible to play in the 2012 school year.)
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