0xbt: elvafeng's blogs

Tillie’s best play came when he retrieved a loose ball

elvafeng — Thu, 24 May 2018 02:44:37 +0000

For all of Gonzaga’s success in the WCC Tournament, first round matchups have often been as hard on the Zags as the later rounds.

That was the scene Saturday at Orleans Arena when the top seeded Zags led No. 8 Loyola Marymount by just three midway through the second half.

It had the feel of last March when fourth ranked Gonzaga led Pacific by two at half, or the hard fought 81 72 win over San Francisco in 2015 or David Stockton’s twisting layup in the closing seconds of a 77 75 escape against Santa Clara in 2014. Perhaps a better example No. 1 ranked GU led LMU by just one at half before rolling to a 66 48 victory in 2013.

The Zags found their way Saturday by making nearly every shot they attempted in the second half – the school record of 80 percent for a half was in jeopardy until a missed 3 pointer by a reserve with 46 seconds remaining – and grabbing nearly every rebound.

It added up to an 83 69 victory over the determined Lions that wasn’t as easy as the final score indicated, but moved Gonzaga 28 4 into the semifinals Monday against San Francisco. GU has won 15 straight WCC Tournament games.

“We’ve found first round games are very tough,” Zags coach Mark Few said. “You look across the landscape of college basketball and they’ve pretty much all been similar to this. I thought Loyola Marymount really brought it.”

And Gonzaga didn’t , at least in the first half. The Lions outworked GU for loose balls https://www.gonzagabulldogsjersey.com/przemek-karnowski-jersey-c-15.html, had the better of it on the offensive glass and hounded the Zags into seven quick turnovers.

“The first 30 minutes we were not playing hard. They were taking the ball from us,” sophomore forward Killian Tillie said. “We weren’t moving the ball. The last 10 we were playing harder and more aggressively.”

Gonzaga put on a shooting clinic in the second half. The Zags were at 84 percent from the field in the latter stages and it wasn’t all layups and dunks, though they had plenty of each of those.

The Zags made 7 of 10 beyond the arc, and one of the misses came in the final minute. Tillie 3 of 3 and Zach Norvell Jr. 3 of 4 did nearly all of the damage. Silas Melson chipped in a big triple to put Gonzaga up 51 45.

The Zags made everything but their free throws 11 of 22 .

GU couldn’t shake the Lions 11 20 because James Batemon wouldn’t allow it. The junior point guard was unstoppable at times with his 3 point range and fearless drives into the lane that netted points, free throws Killian Tillie Jersey and fouls on the Zags’ guard line.

Batemon scored 20 of his 27 points in the first 16 minutes of the second half. The Zags had success late when they put 6 foot 8 Rui Hachimura on Batemon.

The Zags finally pulled away with a 10 0 spurt that created a 74 59 lead. Tillie and Norvell had 3s and Josh Perkins fed Johnathan Williams for one of the senior forward’s five dunks.

“It took us a while to adjust to the physicality, especially early on the offensive end in the first half,” Few said. “In the second half Batemon got going and he was a handful. But we were really good at the offensive end, and that’s kind of what won the game for us.”

If the offense won the game, rebounding came in a close second. Gonzaga won the boards, 20 8, in second half.

“Obviously rebounding became the difference in the game,” Lions coach Mike Dunlap said. “It’s that simple. They got a lot of easy baskets on second shots.”

LMU led early https://www.gonzagabulldogsjersey.com/ryan-edwards-jersey-c-16.html, even though it was just 5 of 21 from the field , by capitalizing on Gonzaga turnovers and collecting five offensive rebounds.

Tillie committed three early turnovers – Gonzaga had 10 by intermission – but he heated up in the final 6 minutes. It started with a putback of a Williams miss and then a pair of spot up 3 pointers near the top of the circle, both on second chance opportunities.

Tillie’s best play came when he retrieved a loose ball, fended off a couple of Lions and fired a pass from his backside to Williams for a dunk.

LMU rattled off https://www.gonzagabulldogsjersey.com/zach-norvell-jr-jersey-c-14.html seven straight points before a Corey Kispert 3 pointer and Tillie’s dunk gave Gonzaga a 29 28 halftime lead.

Tillie’s hot shooting continued in the second half.

“I was feeling great,” Tillie said. “The last couple months have been great, so I just keep taking my shots and they went in.”

Wendell Carter spent one year with Duke before declaring for the NBA

elvafeng — Thu, 24 May 2018 02:43:47 +0000

The mother of former Duke player Wendell Carter gave an emotional speech at the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics in Washington, D.C. Monday Tyus Jones Jersey, comparing current NCAA rules to slavery.
Kylia Carter said the current system is why there is so much corruption within the NCAA and that it s unfair for athletes to not benefit from playing.

When you remove all the bling and the bells and the sneakers and all that, she said via ESPN , you ve paid for a child to come to your school to do what you wanted them to do for you, for free, and you made a lot of money when he did that, and you ve got all these rules in place that say he cannot share in any of that. The only other time when labor does not get paid but yet someone else gets profits and the labor is black and the profit is white https://www.dukebluedevilsjersey.com/austin-rivers-jersey-c-17.html, is in slavery.

To be honest with you, it s nauseating.

The convention was organized in light of the Rice Commission s recent report and the ongoing corruption that has affected college sports, especially basketball.

Carter addressed a crowd that consisted of mainly white high ranking university and NCAA officials, ESPN noted. She about spoke about her grandmother and mother working on cotton fields in Mississippi.

This would be even harder to say in the crowd, but I can say it here, she said in a hallway following the meeting. It feels intentional. It feels like it was built this way intentionally. I can t move that from my thoughts.

Should the NCAA be removed? Yes https://www.dukebluedevilsjersey.com/kyrie-irving-jersey-c-19.html, because I don t trust it, she said. You re not to be trusted because your intentions are clear. Let s call this group in the middle, let s call it something else. Let s put some real reform in there and call it something different and get rid of the current status quo because it s based on indentured servitude.

Wendell Carter spent one year with Duke before declaring for the NBA Draft this year. His mother said players spending just one year in school doesn t do much for them, since most of them aren t staying in college for more than a season.
You tell me it s about education, and we re giving you this fabulous education for your son to come to school here, so you re paying him with the education for his talent, she said. If that s what you re paying him — you re paying him with education — why aren t you making sure he gets it? Why aren t you assigning somebody to him so if he is a one and done https://www.dukebluedevilsjersey.com/jabari-parker-jersey-c-18.html, why didn t you automatically assign him an academic advisor so that when he leaves he s got someone in his ear talking to him about the value of that education he left behind?

Wendell doesn t have that problem because I m going to be there like a jackhammer, but all of the other kids, the thing you pay them to come to your school and do, most of them don t ever get it.

Oregon s two most highly rated prospects remain guard Cole Anthony

elvafeng — Thu, 24 May 2018 02:43:07 +0000

On Thursday, 247Sports released its latest 2019 Top247 basketball rankings. Several Oregon targets and the program s lone commit, Francis Okoro https://www.uobasketballjersey.com/dillon-brooks-jersey-c-10.html, saw movement in the latest rankings.

Okoro gave Oregon a verbal commitment on Monday to become the first pledge from the 2019 class. As we ve also established, the center from Illinois is likely to reclassify to the 2018 class and play immediately. Still https://www.uobasketballjersey.com/chris-boucher-jersey-c-11.html, as things currently stand, Okoro is a member of the 2019 class, and per 247Sports evaluators, a very good one.

The new pledge did drop one spot on Thursday, however, falling from 47th nationally in his class to 48th.

Oregon s two most highly rated prospects remain guard Cole Anthony, now ranked second overall Tyler Dorsey Jersey, and forward Precious Achiuwa, up one spot to fourth. They are joined by fellow five stars Jaden McDaneils, Jalen Lecque and Josh Green.

The biggest mover of the day was McDaniels. A former mid four star prospect leapt all the way to from 83rd to 10th. Josh Green jumped 15 spots to No. 20, while Lecque fell from 10 to 15.

Several other Duck targets took a tumble on Thursday. AJ Lawson, another 2019 player who may jump to 2018, slid one spot from 39 to 40, PJ Fuller, one of the top players in the northwest in this cycle, dropped nine spots to 45, Cassius Stanley, who just put Oregon in his final six, fell 12 spots to 26, and Marcus Watson, who visited Oregon last fall, fell three spots to 38.

New offer Terry Armstrong jumped 30 spots from to 53. Two sport star Darren Jones, a 6 foot 8 WR target, is also the 143rd basketball prospect.

Oregon is hoping to https://www.uobasketballjersey.com/evan-gross-jersey-c-9.html strike gold again in the 2019 class. They currently have the third best class in 2018, which would move to No. 2 should Okoro reclassify. Replicating the 2018 class ranking could be possible should Oregon pull in several of the players listed above.

coming out of high school as a highly regarded recruit

elvafeng — Thu, 24 May 2018 02:42:14 +0000

If there was any question about whether Cameron Johnson would return to North Carolina or declare for the NBA draft this month, all of that was put to rest on Wednesday.

North Carolina announced that Johnson underwent an arthroscopic hip procedure on Monday in Minneapolis, Minn. Johnson is expected to make a full recovery for the 2018 19 season.

That s good news for the Tar Heels, who will lose two of its most successful players in school history, in Joel Berry and Theo Pinson, both of whom were seniors and had exhausted all four years of eligibility. Losing Johnson would have been an unexpected loss.

Instead, UNC is expected to return three starters from last season s roster, and the team has two incoming top 20 recruits, who are both expected to compete for the remaining starting spots.
Here s a look at UNC s projected starting lineup for next season

F Luke Maye, a 6 8, 240 pound forward, is expected to enter his name in the NBA draft process, but will likely return for his senior season. Maye was a first team All ACC selection. Last season, he averaged 16.9 points per game and 10.1 rebounds in 32.2 minutes played. He also shot 43.1 percent from behind the 3 point line. When the Tar Heels needed a bucket, he was often one of the first options to go to.

F Cam Johnson, a 6 8, 210 pound wing forward, was a grad transfer from Pitt last season. He played in 26 games and started in 20 of those games. He was third on the team in scoring, averaging 12.4 points per game. He also averaged 4.7 rebounds per game. He had a career high 32 points at Clemson.
F Nassir Little, a 6 7, 205 pound wing forward https://www.northcarolinatarheelszone.com/kenny-williams-jersey-c-13.html, comes from Orlando Prep in Orlando, Fla. He was ranked No. 7 in 247sports Composite Rankings, but has since risen to No. 3 after a successful spring, when he was named MVP of the McDonald s All American game and the Jordan Brand Classic.

READ MORE
How the FBI’s basketball investigation threatened to upend a UNC prospect’s recruitment
How the FBI’s basketball investigation threatened to upend a UNC prospect’s recruitment
G Kenny Williams, a 6 4, 185 pound guard https://www.northcarolinatarheelszone.com/stilman-white-jersey-c-15.html, is expected to return. Williams, who will be a senior next season, was the Tar Heels best defensive player last season. He also shot well from the 3 point line at 40 percent. He averaged 11.2 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 31 minutes per game.

G Coby White, a 6 5, 170 pound guard, is the second of two McDonald s All Americans UNC has signed in the Class of 2018. White is a scorer. He played four years at Greenfield School and beat the North Carolina High School Athletic Association record for most points in his career. White amassed 3 https://www.northcarolinatarheelszone.com/aaron-rohlman-jersey-c-14.html,511 points. During his senior season, he averaged 30.7 points, 10.3 rebounds and 9.2 assists per game.

Other possible starters
Seventh Woods, a 6 1, 185 pound guard who will be a junior next season Theo Pinson Jersey, could also challenge for a point guard spot. But the stats show, however, that Woods hasn t lived up to the expectation he had coming out of high school as a highly regarded recruit. Woods played in 20 games last season, averaging 1.1 points and 1 assist in seven minutes per game.

Rechon Leaky Black, a 6 7, 175 pound point guard and small forward, played for Cox Mill High School as a senior last season. He averaged 13.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 3.2 steals per game, according to MaxPreps.com. He is ranked No. 65 in the country, according to 247sports Composite Rankings.