Of Antoine, Andrea and trip to see some CIS ball

Join Doug Smith at noon Friday for a live basketball Q&A, as the Raptors get ready to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Hey, Miami lost? Everyone happy?

Oh yeah, it’s scoreboard watching time for sure, isn’t it?

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You know, it’s been a long time since we’ve had a guy around these parts like Antoine Wright and as we’re standing there yesterday after practice talking to him, it was rather refreshing in a lot of ways.

He held nothing back (you can read the gist of it here) and he made quite a lot of valid points when talking about effort and defence and what challenges kids like DeMar and Sonny have to take upon them, especially the rookie and especially tonight against Kevin Durant.

“It’s going to be tough but you have to pass the baton. You have to go out there and make him 2-for-5 and then I come in and I make him 4-for-12; it’s the way you pass the baton and keep a guy from going off for big bulks of points in one quarter.”

It’s not like Wright hasn’t made his points forcefully all season but some of them rang hollow when he wasn’t playing particularly well, or very much.

But I have to admit, his candor is nice, as is his willingness to make suggestions. And seeing some improvement in DeRozan and Weems, I think it has to have been a help to whatever points Jay and his staff are hammering home daily.

Our old friend Sam Mitchell used to contend – rightfully so, I think – that players need to police themselves as much as they need prodding from coaches because coach’s voices get tiring after a while.

And if Wright ruffles a few feathers with the other guys in the locker room, well, maybe that’s a good thing sometimes.

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Because I’m a heckuva guy, and because I just remembered I said I would, he’s why I suggested the other night that the Raptors wouldn’t be wise to all of a sudden trot out Marcus Banks to play some defence.

And it wasn’t just the other night against Atlanta, actually, I don’t think that kind of move doesn’t work and this should not be seen as a huge affront to Marcus, whom I quite like and admire.

Yes, Marcus may be a good defender but (a) there’s no guarantee he’d do a better job than anyone else out there and (b) because of that, the potential disruption to an offence, and a defence, is not a gamble I think is worth taking.

Players are fragile creatures, they are used to roles and jobs and to all of a sudden know that a coach has such little confidence in them that he brings in a guy who never plays is asking for more trouble than benefit you might get.

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You Irregulars who tune into in the in-game portion of the festivities want a Saturday night off? You got it.

In a bit a schedule change, while Dave’s down in Jersey watching that surely delightful display of Real Professional Men’s Basketball, I’m going to be up in Ottawa checking some CIS hoops.

That means I’m not going to be able to see Nets-Raptors (my retinas thank you) but will watch whatever semifinals are unfolding in the national championship.

It’ll be the first CIS final I’ve been to in a very long time and the chance to motor the Stinky Ford Focus up there Saturday, see games that night and the final Sunday and head back Monday was just too easy a schedule to turn down.

So, we’ll take Saturday night off from here and be back for the Monday night tilt in Minny.

And I’ll get to write about something different for a change.

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The Thunders practiced here on Thursday and here’s what came out of it.

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So Super Son and I are sitting in the restaurant (Hello, BP Square 1!) nibbling on the Holy Trinity of lounge food (that’d be wings, natchos and pizza for the uninitiated) and watching March Madness when it came to me:

I really don’t like college basketball.

I mean really, really, really don’t like.

Sure, there’s buzzer beaters and close games and lot of goofy schools you’ll never hear of again (Northern Illinois? Robert Morris?) but every possession seems to be a 25-seconds of a three-man weave before someone shoots a three-pointer, hardly anyone can handle the ball and for a guy who generally thinks coaching is over-rated, the all-out obsession with NCAA coaches drives me batty.

Yes, the NBA game is flawed, no question about it, but at least the players can play.

That said, I’m sure somewhere Popeye Jones is in his glory.

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Mail would be good.

Simpy click here to get it delivered.

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Here’s a Jay quote from Jay from Thursday. Guess who he’s talking about:

“We need him to focus, when we were rolling, he was doing more things and I think it becomes a confidence building thing for him. If he’s not making shots, do something else so we can keep you on the floor. Defend and be there on the help side, box out and rebound. When we were rolling, he was doing that and scoring and I think sometimes when he doesn’t get the basketball he gets a little frustrated.

“He worries about his scoring but he can help this team by doing a lot more than just scoring the basketball.”

I know.

Duh!

There were times in the middle of this season when we all thought Andrea Bargnani had figured it out, hadn’t we? And while he has been far better far more often this season than he’s been in the past, as we saw in the post-all-star period, there’s work still to be done.

I still think he’s good and has a chance to be quite good, we’ve seen additions to his game – the little jump hook in the lane most significantly – that should allow him to become more of a force.

But we’ve seen a bit of regression in the last few weeks and that’s too bad because it came when his team needed him most.

Maybe what they have to do is run more stuff for him early in games and early in third quarters to get him more “engaged” and while that’s pandering to a mental weakness, it may be necessary.

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If you’ve got questions, I’ll try to bluff answers if you show up back here about noon to spend an hour.

Deal?

Deal.

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Of all the things in the world I care nothing about, that Tiger Woods sent explicit texts to a woman and whether Sandra Bullock leaves a philandering husband are right at the top of the list.

Good God, can’t we get something of substance that passes for “news” these days?

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Comments

[Wilber]

(you can read the gist of it here)
No link, Doug.

And nice piece on AWright. How long is he under contract? If he is, is he here long term, or just until he's packaged for a 2-3 upgrade?

Enjoy the nation's capital.

Blogger's note: Got the link fixed; thanks

[LeeZ]

You write: "Yes, Marcus may be a good defender but (a) there’s no guarantee he’d do a better job than anyone else out there and (b) because of that, the potential disruption to an offence, and a defence, is not a gamble I think is worth taking. Players are fragile creatures, they are used to roles and jobs and to all of a sudden know that a coach has such little confidence in them that he brings in a guy who never plays is asking for more trouble than benefit you might get." No guarantee? Can't argue with that. But there is every likelihood, based on past experience with Marcus, that he WOULD do a better job. Disruption to the offence? Perhaps a little, although in limited minutes, Marcus has done surprisingly well at the offensive end this year. But as we know, the offence isn't the problem, and taking out the regular pg might actually help, in that Turk would be the pg on offence. Disrupt the defence? I certainly hope so! Because a defence that is getting torched NEEDS to be disrupted! Players are fragile? Well, they need to suck it up a bit; if Jaret and José see Banks come in and put in huge effort and stop the bleeding, it will send them a message that they need to pull up their socks, lest their minutes be cut. Accountability.

[hum]

Andrea really crashed the boards like an animal against the hawks in the first 3 - 4 minutes of the game. And I don't recall a lot of play calls for him on offense that would have triggered it. I don't know if he lacks 'mental toughness' but he certainly doesn't lack pride and that's why he will be able to improve into a better player, including defensively and on the boards.
The day he loses that pride, will be the day he will stop improving and that's the reason I think it's dangerous to categorize him as 'weak minded' this early in his career.
He's still very young and learning the American (continent-wise) way of thinking.

[Rob]

I respect your opinon, because it is just that, re Marcus Banks however I feel like the logic is a bit flawed. You said that there is no "guarantee" that he'll do a better job than one of the other two and for that reason it's not worth the risk. The counter to that point is that really there is no guarantee of anything but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't do what's probable one time or another. If coaches only did the thing that was guaranteed you would never see any changes or any moving forward.

I think because of the fact that you could argue that Banks is actually the best defender they have at the point guard position, that it could justify giving him a shot now and then for a defensive change of pace.

No risk, no reward.

Good points on NCAA btw, it was very hard to watch parts of the Marquette-Washington game last night for that very reason. Seems like they were constantly scrambling on offense. For start to finish excitement and intensity it's difficult to beat though.

[Travis]

no bloggy thingy for the CIS games?
I'd check that out. Maybe I'm the only one.

[chris]

Bargnani is at best a 3rd banana, and without Bosh in there he was suddenly the focus of other team's defence. He looked lost.

As for the other stuff, Bargs just doesn't have it in him. Sure, he's capable.....but does anyone honestly think this guy gives a crap about rebounding?

[WSG]

Had to comment on two points you mentioned; first ... on the Tiger Woods thing: Thank You for saying that. Seeing the ridiculously tiresome - and just plain ridiculous - Tiger Woods ‘story’ leading off (LEADING OFF) the CTV National News a couple nights ago was ... just too much for me. As the missus was going to be seeing one of the higher up ladies at CTV the next day, I begged her to mention how absolutely beside myself I was about that (and that the second story was something about ‘the golden puck’ for crying out loud) ... and her response back to me was something about the statistics that show that THAT’S what people want to see. I’m still shaking my head. Both at the answer and at the rationale.

Second; re the U.S. college hoops tournament: Try as I might - and last year, I really did - I just can’t seem to get it ... and I love the game of basketball ... but, nothing about it grabbed me at all. And I also don’t get all these people filling out their ‘brackets’ like they really know what they’re talking about? My goodness! How much time do they have to spend watching college hoops to have ANY idea about how to predict just what’s going to happen there? I won’t say that they don’t ... ‘cause what-do-I-know? ... but ... REALLY? I don’t get it at all. Anyway ... thanks for the rant-space. Cheers.

[Mike kovacs]

You are so correct about NCAA ball. It is too often frenetic with no direction and no care for the ball. When my sons' grade school competitive teams play like that they are chastized!

[Derek]

Hi Doug,
I know how much you love "hypothetical" questions, but I'm going to try anyway. If at the end of this year, Bosh didn't want to resign with the Raps, but was open to a sign & trade with NY, do you think the Raps bringing in David Lee would be a good fit? From what I've seen of his game, he's a banger down low, good rebounder and a decent defender (and is still pretty young). Obviously keeping Bosh would be "option A", but I think having a David Lee/Amir Johnson combo would be a pretty good "option B". Presumably you'd get Lee for a lower price-tag than Bosh, which would help you sign Amir to an extension and probably bring in a more experienced wing player. Your thoughts on that from a "skill set/fit" perspective?

[Jamie]

thats the problemw ith 24 hr news channels. Remember when you got your news at 6 and 11 for 30 minutes. Now they have 23 more hours to fill (which is also probably why the public is barfed on with 4 hrs of Glen Beck everyday)

[Frank]

Hey love that comment about college basketball, I feel the same way.

[Jeff D]

This is completely off-topic...but I just read that Obama settled his bet with Harper by sending him the 24 he owed from the Olympic gold medal hockey game. Any guesses on what the beer was? You will be happy to know it was one of your favourites...Yuengling! Enjoy the trip to Ottawa. Good on the Star for covering the CIS tourney.

[Lazaros O.]

You really don't like college basketball, but are happy to go watch CIS hoops?

Blogger's note: Happy to go see some old familiar faces and give readers something different.

[Geoff Read]

Hey Doug,

Good blog as always. I have to disagree with your last point though: yes, I don't care about Tiger Woods and his infidelities, but news that Sandra Bullock might be getting divorced is huge: that means I still have a chance!

Just kidding of course: keep up the good work and enjoy (???) that drive to Ottawa.

[Dave]

Doug,

Think I may catch the game on Saturday (This is, after all, year 8 at Carleton), I'll try to stop by and say hey. You should cover my intramural playoffs on Sunday, too.. you know, nothing your readers want to see more than "Dave goes off for 8 pts, 8 rebounds and 5 assists in a defense-takes-all 40-32 intramural semifinal" ;). Don't forget Pub Italia on Preston has Delirium Tremens on tap!!

[kazbid]

hey doug.. college ball is chaotic but i think the NBA could really improve if it adpoted certain rules from college ball:
less time outs, 1 and 1 (FT's) after 5 fouls and bonus (2 FT's) after 10.

i love nba ball but i am really getting frustrated with the pace of games..especially this year..close games never finish in 2 hours 30 mins anymore..which is too long for a 48 minute game to begin with.

also i like college ball to see the draft prospects + the pure emotion of these kids in these do or die games is awesome to watch.

[camilon]

I think Antoine Wright talks way too much, he is a mediocre player, he is not that great of a defender and I dont think he should be re-signed.
Jarret Jack, same deal, better than Wright but he also talks too much compared to what he does on the court. They should both play better and talk less.

[Brian]

Doug, that is great news you are covering the CIS Final 8. It's amazing news to have an excellent basketball writer like yourself going up to the game... good on you!

[mdc]

"I don’t think that kind of move doesn’t work"

Translation?

[CC]

College Hoops should learn from the NBA how to play the game, but NBA should learn from college hoops how to market the game....

[D-Mac Ottawa]

@LeeZ, amen to accountability!!
Cheers. Go Raps!

[Jeff]

Doug, I'm just wondering if you were to remove the fact that you know people at the CIS tourny, would you view it the same as you view the NCAA tourny?

Blogger's note: Probably, yes

[doug]

this is what i don't like about college ball..a guy like Callipari (coach of Kentucky) leaves his two previous programs in shambles, NCAA sanctions etc UMass,Memphis)...he walks away, gets a new job and is deemed by CBS and all who will listen what a great guy he is, same for Huggins who coaches West Virginia, Cincinatti couldn't get him out of town fast enough and fired him for "poor character"...yet CBS regales this guy as a tremendous coach.....college coaches such as Pitino, Floyd, etc, this generation of coaches fail in the NBA as its all about them, their in the forefront and the kids are bit players, in the NBA that is not the case....the ball sklls are suspect in college, its why i think the 3-point line was the worse rule change in my time, and really we are selling most of these kids, 98% a false dream they won't make the NBA....

a few days ago a ex-player in the obama administration mentioned that NCAA schools should have to have a 40% graduation rate to qualify for the NCAA's, should have heard the uproar, what how sacrilege expecting universities to educate these ball players...I am being sarcastic, CSIS may not be as entertaining, and they lose canadian players to the U.S. ...but they do what there suppose to do, combine athletics and education...

[sychez]

Doug, whats the difference between entertainment news and sports news? i hate to get personal, but are you doing important investigative journalism, or writing about Marcus Banks?

Blogger's note: If you can't tell the difference between reporting on a professional sports team and league as opposed to marital infidelities and private texts, then I have nothing to say.
This is not "investigative journalism" at all but it's exponentially more relevant than the titillating details of celebrity infidelity

[Pizzaman]

I'm surprised you or any other reporter gives a bum like Wright any airtime. Mr. defensive specialist has been almost as bad this year as Turk, and all he does is look for his own offence and he does not have any offence. His defense has been no better than anyone else other than glimpses. Weems is already a way better defender as is Belli and DeRozan will get better with coaching. Wright has a big mouth for a guy with very little to offer.