I said this a lot last year- I don't like the way this coaching staff (and Tiller in his last few seasons) control information out of practice. I think opening up at least part of the practices to the media breeds positive feelings for the fans unless there are recurring discipline issues (a la those last few JT-coached teams). But it's probably not going to change, and we have to deal with the limited access and second-hand accounts of the team...and everyone's looking at the same Hope interviews, and a couple of hand-chosen player quotes for info...but a little is better than nothing, I guess.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, I like Danny Hope's personality and generally-positive outlook. I think I'd really like having a beer with him. But, I think he's way too silver-tongued. And seasons like the last one make the norm quickly become painful for fans. But there is info to be gleaned from Hopes happy talk. Here are a couple tidbits:
-The offensive line looks like it's in better shape than last year in every way. They're physically-fit, deeper and more-experience...so the coaches don't have to spend as much time going through basics as they did in the spring of '10.
-Marve and Bolden are only going through drills without contact and won't see full action until the fall.
-Nord has Henry as the #1 QB...and Henry is throwing the ball better than last season at the end because his finger is healed. TerBush is also throwing well. Hopefully Purdue will have a QB behind the center that allows them to pass more than they run in the fall, regardless of whom ends up starting.
-Ricardo Allen was good...wants to get better and sees Kerrigan's departure as only more reason that he must improve. When talking about his fitness level, work ethic and overall technique as a corner he said, "Last year was just last year...and I gotta get better." Sounds like a captain...even as a Soph.
Hats off
We didn't talk about this a whole bunch when it happened because it was kind of veiled in confusion, but BYU's suspension of Brandon Davies was flat-out ballsy and respectable. On Twitter, we had multiple people ask if everyone thought BYU would suspend Fredette had he broken the moral code. My answer is an unequivocal, "Yes." That institution is consistent...and its athletes know what they're getting into when they sign their LOI to play or the Cougars. Judging through the prism of BYU's game v. UNM, I'd say they'll land at around a 4 or 5 seed simply because they're not the same team without Davies. That said, with Fredette on the roster, they'll be dangerous because you never know when he'll score 60 or 70 points...he'd better actually for their sake.
On a related note, I understand much of their moral code and agree with the principles within it...but how is drinking a cola a punishable offense? I seriously don't get this even a little bit.
Zo
I had a minor medical procedure today, so I'm incapacitated moreso than usual. But the silver lining is I am watching early conference tourney games. The Valley tournament had Cuonzo Martin's #1 seeded Bears facing Matty's old team, #8 SIU. Martin's team was down for the entire game, before taking its first lead in the final minute- they won by two and advanced. I'd bet they'll play with more urgency in the next round. But, his squad handled being down by as many as 9 with just minutes left, in a very cool, calm manner.
It was a fun one to watch and a great way for me to kick off (perhaps) my favorite week of the year.
Miscellaneous Rankings
According to Rivals.com's power rankings, Moore is the #2 shooting guard, Johnson is the #2 center and Painter is now the #1 coach in all of NCAA basketball. These rankings are hard-earned and deserved. One problem I have with their lists is their consistent belief that there are at least 25 point guards in America that are better than LewJack.
Purdue's Composite Computer Ranking current holds at 5th. Keep in mind, that average is still that high in spite of the laughable RPI having both SDSU and BYU (after its 19 point loss v. UNM) both ahead of the Forces of Good.
13 comments:
Thanks for the post. I appreciate all the Purdue sports talk I can consume. I try to keep up on almost all things college bball and missed that Missouri St. had started their tourney play. Thanks for the update.
I believe Ricardo Allen is going to be something very special. Hopefully a few more defense guys step up to go with Allen and Short as the premier guys on that side. Maybe like Gaston, Kitchens, Beckford and BLT. I like Josh Johnson's play in the secondary with Allen.
I hope that Mostart kid is all that he's written up to be on kick returns.
I like Rob Henry under center the most right now but I really hope Marve can pull it all together.
Last thing. I'll be really pissed off if JJ loses the big10 POY to Sullinger. Taylor maybe even deserves 2nd place.
//how is drinking a cola a punishable offense?//
IIRC from my one year in Utah, soda is fine as long as it is a caffeine free variety.
That's my guess as well, given that tea and coffee are on the restricted list. If you expect your students to be drug-free, caffeine's probably a good thing to put on the list.
I was also impressed that BYU suspended Davies ... what an interesting contrast to, say, any school employing John Calipari. BYU would rather lose the right way than win the wrong way (even with a set of standards much more strict than the vast majority of their competitors), and that's pretty cool. I'd actually be rooting for them to win the MWC if it wouldn't be in direct competition with Purdue's chances at a #1 seed.
I'm here in Utah and I have gotten to hear this entire thing as it unfolded.
The thing that most people don't really take into account is that New Mexico is BYU's boogie man (kinda like how Purdue is for Wisconsin). Doesn't matter how good or bad the two teams are, when they play each other New Mexico usually makes BYU look uneven and confused. And everyone seems to have forgotten that BYU's single loss in the MWC before this week was to New Mexico. That was with Davies on the team. Also, NM shot lights out in the first half and BYU hurried all their 3-point shots. That, and NM's style of play just gives BYU fits.
If the two teams play each other in the MWC tourny, I would put money on NM - but not to win by more than 6 points.
The football team kicked two guys off the squad last year - one before and one during the season. Usually, students get one warning before they get the boot. If they get kicked off the team, that means they didn't stop after the warning.
As for the cola thing - that is a raging debate in the state of Utah. Many mormons drink any kind of soda, while others won't drink soda with caffeine. The coffee and tea thing is more about "hot" beverages with caffeine it. These are rules from 1880 - don't think about them too hard.
BYU sells caffeine-free sodas at its sports arenas. Nothing like a caffeine-free diet Coke during a football game...
It seems like the bad (luck) just keeps on coming with this football team. I hope the team can get healthy and at least compete next season. Nothing seems to be going Hope's way
Maybe it's me being superstitious but I'd say lets hold off on the #1seed talk. MANY things need to go Purdue's way for this to happen.
Plang covered it pretty well, but the cola thing - it has absolutely nothing to do with BYU's honor code. Look it up and read it carefully. The only specific substances they are to refrain from are coffee, tea, alcohol, tobacco, and other harmful or addictive (read as "illegal") drugs. The entire LDS church is expected to abide by that standard - not just the athletes on BYU's teams and the rest of the school's enrolled students. However, 1880 isn't really the origin of that standard, known as the "Word of Wisdom" - it originated in 1833 as something you and I would today refer to more as a "word to the wise" in modern terms and was voted on by the church members at a conference some 30-ish years later to make it doctrine and church policy.
As Plang noted, caffeine is a huge debate in many circles. Ultimately though, it's left to individuals to make a personal decision on whether they abstain from it or not. You can't receive punishment from the church at any level for consuming a caffeinated drink like Coke or Pepsi. That's all that really needs to be said on the issue as far as this discussion is concerned though.
"hot" beverages is the correct term used as well - but caffeine is still not the issue. decaf coffee is still coffee and is still a violation of that belief.
anyway.. there's a crash course in what all that really means.
Bottom line, you are absolutely right, b-dowd: BYU would have dismissed anyone on the team for the same thing, regardless of how good of an athlete they are. I think the media has handled this situation very well, too. Usually player scandals get a ton of press and fingers start pointing at the universities for covering up violations of one rule or another. It's been resoundingly refreshing to see BYU stick to their guns and get positive national praise for doing the right thing. Most people still don't understand the honor code, and even more people certainly don't agree with it, but pretty much everyone has universally stated that BYU did the right thing.
Take note, other school administrations :cough:SEC/USC:cough:
I guess BYU wont be getting an invite to join the SEC any time soon
I can't say that I understand much of any of it. Some might argue this isn't the right forum to argue religion...but any religion that quantifies and limits the number of people going to heaven....? My only response to that is the key word here is limit. If God is powerful enough to create the universe...the heavens and the Earth....don't you think he'd be capable of creating a heaven that could accommodate thousands, millions or billions?
As for Spring ball...blah. As long as Morgan Burke still shows his arrogant mug around campus and Danny Hope keeps telling everyone the program is exactly where it needs to be, it is hard to be excited. Mediocrity and Purdue go together like farts in a church.
Ben, if you want to criticize the Mormon Church, might as well tell everyone about Joseph Smith, Meroni, the golden plates, and the false understanding of Jesus. Besides, there is only a limited number for the celestial heaven. Mormons basically believe everyone gets into the lower level heaven unless you reject Mormon theology; like Christians. The caffeine thing is just legalism. Work, work, work your way to heaven.
Nice to see Coach 'Zo of Missouri State getting a little love and attention as we head into March Madness. Like Matty, he's a branch of the Keady tree, and was a Keady assistant after his playing career as well. It isn't much, but Mizzou State won the CIT (College Invitational Tournament, perhaps better known as the 3rd of 4 post-season basketball tourneys) last year-- a very good building block that seems to have worked well for this team, now the winners of the MVC regular season. Heaven forefend that Painter gets an offer too-good-to-refuse from a top-tier program (I would argue Purdue IS a top-tier program personally, though the Big East-loving press consider it heresy) and Burke is predictably too cheap to counter it; I suspect Cuonzo Martin would be the first guy in line as a replacement.
I have my own opinions about Mormonism, but I will commend BYU for upholding its honor code in the face of certain early exit from the NCAAs and all the attendant revenue loss that will come from it. Student-athlete scholarship holders are expected to work under the same rules as the kids who pay to get in-- how refreshing. This is how Notre Dame used to operate, I think.
I won't second-guess Hope-- it's his job to win games, after all-- but I trust there is a method to his way of running the program. Perhaps the circling of the wagons is a way to get the team (already being lightly regarded in preseason talk and dissed for their recruiting haul) into an us-versus-them mentality. Hey, it worked for Painter. Just free associating here, but given the fragility of the skill players, maybe make another run at Ex-Wyoming QB Austyn Carta-Samuels. He quit the team and is doing the JC thing this season in hopes of finishing out his career elsewhere. Apparently he got a look from Purdue before, and the kid can throw and scramble. Sayin'.
hadn't heard of a walk on trying out for QB. very interesting. http://bleacherreport.com/tb/b8kHz
Dalapo was once the apple of the Knucklehead board's eye...I'm going to go out on a limb and say his presence will be felt someplace on the field...he's a winner.
Post a Comment