Monday, April 18, 2005
The Pros?
I have heard rumors that Tom Izzo may become a pro coach. If this ever happened, it would be a shame. Izzo is the perfect college coach and if he left it would take away the heart of the team. Obviousely, I don't believe this rumor, and I highly doubt that he will leave.
Sunday, April 10, 2005
And They Doubted Them?
Like the lady Spartans, the men had an outstanding year as well. Through their carrers, they were slammed by the press that they could not win in clutch situations and could not win the big games. At Duke, they missed clutch free throws, even when they were ranked first in the country in free throw percentage. At Wisconson, they were up by eight with two minutes left in the game, but couldn't make it. These two losses hurt them badly, but the worst loss of them all was against Iowa in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. Spartan senior Alan Anderson, the team's leading free throw shooter at the time, missed the tying free throw with only a few seconds left on the clock, knocking them out of the tournament. Many people doubted that they would get far in the NCAA tournament after this. To many people's suprise, when March Madness arrived, they put all their losses and problems behind them and stormed through the tournament. First, they beat 12 seeded Old Diminion. I would have to say they had a lucky break in the next round because they played 13 seeded Vermont, instead of 4 seeded Syracuse. After Vermont, they played top seeded Duke in the Sweet Sixteen . I have to admit, I did not predict them to win this game, but they showed me and many other people that they could pull it off. In the Elite 8, they played 2 seeded Kentucky. This was one of the most exciting games of the entire tournament. Kentucky guard Patrick Sparks hit what I call one of the luckiest shots ever, as the ball bounced around on the rim before it dropped, tying the game, and sending it into overtime. The Spartans didn't look good in the first overtime. At one point, they were down by four, and weren't handling the ball well at all. Kentucky had a great oppurtunity to end it as a Kentucky guard dribbled about and let the time expire before he even got a shot off. The second overtime was all Spartans. Alan Anderson made eight straight free throws to keep Kentucky at a four point deficit. Spartan guards Shannon Brown and Maurice Ager gained much publicty from this game. Now that the Spartans were in the Final Four, they had to play yet another top seeded team: North Carolina. I was predicting NC to lose because of all the pressure on Roy Williams and that MSU had all the momentum, but I was wrong. The Spartans looked good in the first half, and went into halftime with a five point lead. In the second half, however, it was all NC. The Spartan's shots weren't falling and it seemed like nothing was going right. In the end, NC won by over fifteen. Even though they lost in the Final Four, the Spartans should be very proud. Seniors Chris Hill, Alan Anderson, and Kelvin Torbert salvaged their carreers and will have a banner and ring to be proud of in the future. Izzo also did a wonderful job motivating this team after making two tapes, one of the regular season and one of the Big Ten tournament, and smashing both with a sledgehammer. Like the women, the men will get good recruiting from this, and I am also expecting them to do very well next year if Brown or Ager don't try to go the pro's.
Friday, April 08, 2005
So Close
The lady Spartans had an outstanding year, the best record in school history, but couldn't quite make it to the top. After very impressive wins over Stanford, to make it to the Final Four, and Pat Summit's Tennessee, to make it to the championship game, they fell to 2 seeded Baylor. This just wasn't their night. Kelli Roehrig, Spartan's center, and Liz Shimek, Spartan's forward, did a horrible job rebounding. Combined, they had only one offensive rebound in the entire game, resulting in Baylor having almost twice as many rebounds as the Spartans did. It was the second biggest blowout in championship history, at 22. Even though they had this crushing loss, they should give themselves a pat on the back for doing so well. Five years ago, they were a no- name team, losing in the first round of the NIT. Spartan coach Joanne P. McCallie did a wonderful job recreating this team. One thing the Spartans should have to worry about, however, are their seniors. Roehrig and Kristin Haynie will be leaving next year. Roehrig, although playing bad in the championship, is a very good player. Losing Haynie will be a huge loss because she is not only one of their best players, but their leader. The team will get good recruits because of all the publicity of the tournament and because they did so well. I'm expecting them to do great next year.
What I'm Planning to Do
On this site, im going to update you on spartan basketball, men and women. Hopefully I can keep you informed on what's happening. I'll give you the scores, stats, and highlights of every game. If I dont post a lot about the lady spartans, please don't think im sexist or something, it's just hard to find the stats for them because they're not as popular as the men. I'll try though.
