Wire to Wire: You Best Not Miss the Opportunity

As I have mentioned in this space, I underwent surgery last Monday to repair an inguinal hernia. It's been hell, not helped by the fact that I am a baby when it comes to pain and suffering of any kind. The surgery was laparoscopic, so the scarring should be minimal, but there were three incisions and some mesh implanted and major swelling and the drainage, oh, the drainage of blood into the southernmost parts of the region. Stephen King-type effects. No bueno.

Fortunately my one daughter who is still at home and my girlfriend have pampered me with meals and meds and let me be, bed-bound and healing. I'm seriously grateful.

The first couple of days of recovery, I pretty much slept. It's always good to catch up on z's. (It's also always good to catch up with Z, but we only exchanged a couple of texts about music and cars and played the NYT mini crossword puzzle, thrashing Dave daily.) After that, the telly came on. Wow, what a wasteland. I probably need to cut the cord soon.

Somewhere in a haze of oxycodone, ginger ale, Bugles, Advil, and documentaries about cyber conflict, I had a thought. I'm telling you, in that state, that was an accomplishment.

I never saw a single episode of The Wire in real time. We didn't have HBO then; on a budget and living a free-wheelin' life of thirtysomethings, I guess. In March 2008, the series concluded, and Gheorghe: The Bloggers were all agoggers about it. A recent search or two led me to several posts whose comments were dominated by analysis and speculation leading up to the final episode. And there I was, barking at the fact that I wasn't a viewer and wasn't understanding any of the commentary. What a whiny wiener I was. (No need for the follow-up joke.)

When I first got separated in early 2009, I intended to rectify that matter. It was the era of Netflix DVD's, so I had the first two discs sent to my apartment and set about enjoying the fruits of David Simon's labor.  I remember being super excited as I popped in Disc 1 and clicked Play.

It didn't take.

Similar to Dave's sons' reactions, my general feeling was simply that it didn't grab me like I was told it would. The first episode didn't blow me away with gripping drama. I sat through the second. And then I took a pause. Those DVD's sat on my entertainment center (remember those?) shelf for a month. And then I mailed them back, opting in favor of The Dark Knight or Inglorious Basterds or something else more immediately gratifying. Well, as immediate as the United State Postal Service can be.

Fast-forward to 2014 or so. Married again and in a place where I found myself up late at night alone with my thoughts and my television. We had an AppleTV and HBO, so we had HBOGo, an early iteration of streaming the old shows. By then, the fanfare for The Wire had not waned but had rather elevated its stature into all-time status.  Its icon eyeballed me every time I scrolled down to the bottom of the offerings, taunting and tempting me. Watch me. You know you want to. Don't be afraid. I'll be good this time.

I dug in. Nothing better to do.

By episode 6 or 7 of the first season, I was getting hooked. By the end of Season 1, it was on. The Wire was my smack, and I was Bubbles, without all the bad effects.  Season 2 was markedly different... and fantastic. I loved the storyline down on the docks. Season 3... Hamsterdam? Are you kidding me? Just brilliant. I was gobbling up episodes two a night, maybe more. Bunk. Stringer. Avon. Bunny. Ziggy. Lester. And Omar. Just good shit.

Somewhere in Season 4, though, it unraveled, and I could not recall why. It was probably more the plotline of my life showing holes than that of the show. I just stopped watching about midway through.

And this was the bewildering thought that hit me several days ago. Why again did I not finish The Wire??

So, 6 years later, I turned it back on. I re-watched the last couple of episodes of Season 3 to tune me up. I then launched into #4, undeterred. That season, focused on the failings of the school system, is still my least favorite of the five, but (a) it's still damn good, and (b) it absolutely sets the stage for the final chapter. It's the Empire to Season 5's Jedi, and I've always been more of a Jedi guy, despite the conventional wisdom of the sci-fi literati. 

Season 5 had its detractors, but I loved the intensifying desperation and way that some crazy shit shook out. It was a true culmination of a story in one rather terminal conclusion that neither all-too-neatly met everyone's desires / predictions / deserved ends nor left the viewer with a pronounced sense of what could and should have been. It worked.

And the scenes with the staff of the Baltimore Sun fell right in line with everything OBX Dave has published here.

Speaking of everyone's predictions, I found this amusing. The last episode of The Wire fell on March 9, 2008. As I said, tons of gheorghie chatter leading up to it. Prognostications, reflections, criticisms. Even a two-part CAA tournament preview as coupled with characters from the show. As I sifted through these comments after having completed the journey yesterday, I was actually really looking forward to what Team GTB said about the finale. 

What a bust that hope was. 

You see, the College of William & Mary men's basketball team advanced to the tournament finals that same day, and 100% of the Gheorghe focus was, appropriately, on our clear path to a date with destiny. We got stood up on that date, as it turned out, but there was plenty of cause for blog comments on Tribe hoops and not a one for Jimmy McNulty's swan song.

Anyway, in what began as a way to kill time, my return to the gritty streets of the Charm City has made an otherwise painful and miserable stretch of bed-bound days far more enjoyable. For those who haven't seen the show, it's worth the 60-episode commitment -- and do see it through if the jump out the gate isn't a whirlwind sprint. For those who watched it first-run 12-18 years ago, I'd posit that it's worth a trip back to check in on the unit, so to speak. With any episode of The Wire just a quick stream away, it's easy to go back and recall what was so terrific about this show. 

Say hey to Bubbles for me. Always liked that guy.

Is that a #PantslessGriffin on my TV?

The CAA released their 2013-14 television schedule today as part of their annual media day, and will you look at that, the Pantsless Griffins of William and Mary actually appear six times on said (conference) sked.

• Sat., Jan. 18 James Madison at William & Mary CSN-MA; CSN-P; CSN-NE; CSS; SNY (TD) 4:00 PM
• Sun., Feb. 2 William & Mary at James Madison NBCSN 2:30 PM
• Sat., Feb. 15 Towson at William & Mary CSN-MA; CSN-P; CSN-NE; CSS; SNY 4:00 PM
• Sat., Feb. 22 Northeastern at William & Mary CSN-MA; CSN-P; CSN-NE; CSS, SNY (TD) 4:00 PM
• Sat., Mar. 1 William & Mary at Towson CSN-MA; CSN-P; CSN-NE; CSS; SNY 4:00 PM
• Thu., Jan. 23 William & Mary at UNCW CAA-TV; CSN-MA+; TCN-P; CSN-NE; WECT 7:00 PM

There are high expectations for this edition of the Tribe, something rob or I are afraid to discuss in public (a 5th place finish, as predicted below, would be tremendously disappointing). But let's just say there aren't a lot of years where preseason accolades are thrown at not one, but two, Tribe hoopsters:

At the Colonial Athletic Association’s annual media day, the William and Mary men’s basketball team placed a pair of players on preseason all-league teams, while the Tribe was picked fifth in the preseason poll. Junior guard Marcus Thornton was selected Preseason First Team All-CAA, while senior forward Tim Rusthoven garnered second-team honors.

Poochie Griffin

This Week in Wrenball: Reckoning

We wrote in our season preview that anything better than a 6-6 mark headed into CAA play would be a positive outcome for a young Wrens squad trying to bounce back from a dismal 2011-12 campaign. With a 7-3 record going into the final two games of the non-conference schedule, W&M's playing with house money by our initial measure. (Though if we'd known how bad ODU would be, we might've revised our expectations.)

We see you too, Tony

While that .700 winning percentage is clearly progress, the underlying fundamentals (as my friends on Wall Street like to say) tell a mixed story. If we're being honest with one another, we acknowledge the tissue-soft nature of the Tribe's competition to date. Hampton, Liberty, High Point, Radford, Howard, and Salisbury ain't exactly Murderer's Row. CBS Sports' Jerry Palm, formerly the proprietor of CollegeRPI.com, ranks the Tribe's schedule to date 346th out of 347 Division I schools in terms of difficulty. If nothing else, it was good for the team's confidence.

On the other hand, though, a convincing argument could be made that the Tribe should be 9-1, at the very worst 8-2. W&M was within a basket in the final minute at Wake Forest, and led Richmond by 5 points with less than 90 seconds to play in overtime on the road. The latter loss, in double overtime, leaves a bitter taste in the mouths of Tribe fans. (Though Spidey's coming conference affiliation reckoning has the sweet smell of schadenfreude upon it.)

I attended a Tribe Club reception last week (and got berated by Shlara for pestering W&M AD Terry Driscoll about conference musical chairs), and while most of the cognescenti were realistic about W&M's opposition to date, there was an unmistakable whiff of optimism in the air. To be fair, much of that positivity derives from never-better one in seven CAA Tournament odds, but even seasoned Green and Gold observers sung the praises of Tony Shaver's squad. (And many are even more excited about the 2013-14 Tribe, citing what might be the best overall recruiting class since the Jimmy Moran/Billy Phillips coups of the mid-90s.)

With the Big Three of Marcus Thornton, Tim Rusthoven, and Brandon Britt playing at a very high level, and fourth option Kyle Gaillard gaining confidence with each outing (and leading the CAA, shooting 63.6% from the field), the Tribe is a increasingly deep team on offense, if untested on defense.

Tim Rusthoven may be in for a long afternoon

All our cautious optimism will be tested this afternoon, as W&M travels to West Lafayette, IN to take on Matt Painter's Purdue squad (televised on ESPN3). Though the Boilers enter the contest with a 5-6 record and desultory 201 RPI rating, they've bullied the Tribe's CAA brethren this season. Purdue drilled Hofstra, 83-54, on November 11, then hammered UNCW, 66-40, ten days later. They haven't beaten anyone of note, however, with a 73-61 win over Clemson counting as their best win, and losses to Oregon State, a down Villanova squad, and a mediocre Eastern Michigan on their ledger.

Junior guard Terone Johnson leads the balanced Boilermakers with 12.2 points per game, with four others averaging between 6.7 and 9.6. Massive (7'0", 280 lbs) freshman A.J. Hammons scores 9.6 points and grabs 5.7 boards a game. W&M has nobody anywhere near his size, which will present a challenge to Rusthoven and his mates on the interior - at the same time, Rusthoven's experience and post savvy will test Hammons' youth. (Thanks to Tribe SID Kris Sears for the latter insight.)

Even the most rosy-lensed Tribesmen* don't expect a win today, but we think W&M will give a mediocre Purdue team a run. We'd certainly be surprised if the Tribe becomes the third straight CAA team to get dumptrucked by the Boilermakers. In any event, we'll know a lot more today about what we've actually got here.

* Our online friend @WM_VA_Josh was casting about on Twitter for ideas for his new personalized license plate. We dropped knowledge on him. And the rest, like the Tribe's destiny, is history:

A Wake, Not a Funeral

Michael Litos was one of the first real, live, non-imaginary people we met through this humble haven of dipshittery. As first the author of Cinderella: Inside the Rise of Mid-Major College Basketball*, and then the proprietor of caahoops.com, he found common cause with our futile W&M hoops superfandom, even as his alma mater, VCU, ascended to the game's highest heights.

Through caahoops.com, Litos kept us up to date on the conference's doings, while illuminating the details that let us know we had it better, and entertaining insiders with a plethora of nicknames (some that we even invented - see, Beasthoven), predictions, and phrases turned just right (see, rockfight, Drexel University version). Beyond that, he introduced us to characters near and far, ensured we were taken care of at CAA Tournaments, and even dropped our name once or twice, which brought Eric Angevine, Jerry Beach, Gary Moore, and a number of other great hoops bloggers into our orbit. Hell, I think he got the Teej a job.

Recently, our man MGL reached one of those Frostian forks in the road. His knowledge of CAA basketball is second to none, and so is his love for the league, its history, and its characters. So when VCU headed to the A-10, we ribbed him good-naturedly about remembering the little guys on his way to fame and fortune with atlantic10hoops.com, even as he assured us he'd still be keeping the lights on in his online home.

And then the Rams made him an offer he couldn't refuse. As VCU begins its inaugural season in the A-10, Litos will be along for the ride, serving as the Rams' radio analyst. As a writer with a knack for a story, sitting shotgun as Shaka Smart's team steps up in weight class is an opportunity too good to pass up. We're impossibly jealous, happy for our friend, and a tiny bit bummed out that our gateway to CAA information is changing.

Changing, but not going away. Litos calls his new gig a sabbatical, so instead of shuttering the site, he's turned the reins of caahoops.com over to Kevin Warner, the basketball SID at JMU. Warner also teaches a sports communications class, and caahoops.com is a terrific vehicle for his students, and hopefully for those of other schools in the CAA. We've made sure they know where to go for insights into the travails of W&M fandom.

In his farewell (for now) post, Litos ponders what's next:

What does the future hold? I don’t know. Six months ago VCU, ODU, and Georgia State were part of the Colonial Athletic Association and that took about three months to change. But I’ll tell you what doesn’t change: the CAA has the best damn community in college basketball. I’ll put you up against anyone.

You haven’t heard the last of me. Too many relationships and friends in this community. I’ll still write a weekly column for collegechalktalk.com that is CAA-specific this year. After that, who knows?

We know. Terrific work on A-10 hoops and VCU's 2012-13 season, at the very least. And the occasional nugget about our very own Wrens that makes us smile. Start the damn games already, and godspeed, MGL. Thanks for being one of the big reasons we have it better.

* If you haven't read this yet, we're not going to give you the password when we turn G:TB into a pay site.

Wordle Filler

Everyone (rob) seemed to enjoy the Wordle ghoogles word cloud last time around, so I thought I'd plug all of G:TB into the magic machine and see what we got. We needed filler, what do you want from me?

I'd say we have a bit of a CAA fetish, wouldn't you?

All Hell's Breaking Loose

Ten years from now, when the storytellers recall the greed, fear, and ambition that spelled doom for the CAA, we'll know whether Wood Selig was right to press ODU to accelerate its gridiron plans. Whether VCU President Michael Rao was wise to forego a $5 million bird-in-hand in hopes of taking flight.

Today, though, we sift through the wreckage of a league that seemed on the verge of, if not greatness, then sustained upper middle class excellence. Just one year removed from its first three-bid NCAA Tournament and only six beyond the most unlikely Final Four in history, the CAA is no more.

Sure, it'll live on in name for at least a few more years. Maybe Commissioner Tom Yeager will pull another rabbit from his hat, and cushion the loss of ODU and VCU with a College of Charleston here and a Stony Brook there. But George Mason is as good as gone. Delaware and JMU are wondering how an upstart football program like ODU leapfrogged them into the big-time (complete with even bigger-time financial challenges - the way too underplayed story within the story), and likely inclined to take the call when the MAC is on the other end of the line. Even lowly Towson, now helmed by a hard-charging brand builder like Mike Waddell, must hear Destiny's sexy whispers. It's a matter of time, my friends.

Not that long ago, I'd have raged wildly at the almighty dollar's unfeeling rampage through the natural order of college athletics. Today, though, that naive wistfulness is replaced by resignation to the way things really work. Let's be clear - I think ODU is making a massive mistake. I think Georgia State is probably making a lesser error, though I really don't care that much. And as much as it pains me to say, I think that VCU made the right call, given the circumstances: they'll never be as marketable as they are right now, and they aren't encumbered by football dreams. Even if Shaka Smart leaves in two years (and I'm with those who think he's the exception that proves the rule, destined to stay in Richmond for some time), the Rams have parlayed a once-in-generation hire into a nicer house with better neighbors, on the whole.

Now that the dust is settling a bit, William and Mary's passivity will be examined more critically. One interpretation of my alma mater's positioning says that W&M is secretly happy to see the CAA implode, as it offers the Tribe an easy way path to a more academically aligned partnership with the Patriot League, and a way to credibly reduce athletic funding while still maintaining competitive programs. The proverbial other hand believes that Terry Driscoll had both no juice and no plan, and that W&M is left foundering in a league that will be an unholy mishmash of misaligned institutions, at best.

The other hand is a more plausible story, in my mind, but I think there's a real possibility that W&M climbs out of this pile of shit smelling like roses. I'd be happier at this point with the Tribe as members of the Patriot League, whether or not they planned it, and the CAA's demise gives W&M cover with alums who might otherwise be upset - most of us would damn sure rather associate with Army, Navy, and Lehigh than with Coastal Carolina and Stony Brook. If the Patriot League comes calling (and, hi, Patriot League! Please come calling!), I think W&M accepts the charges gladly.

Left unexamined in all this is the relative importance of football versus basketball. I care way more about hoops than pigskin, and W&M's got more economic interest in successful basketball, but I'd bet that most Tribe alums, especially those who give real money, are far more worried about the future of Jimmye Laycock's program. I probably underestimate this factor in this analysis, and if W&M stays with FrankenCAA it'll be because it makes sense for the football team.

In any case, we'll head to Richmond in March (on a Saturday, as there will be no need for Friday games with only 7 teams in the CAA Tournament - thanks for ruining my hooky-playing tradition, Wood) and cheer on a Tribe team that's guaranteed to only need one win to reach the semifinals. We'll hang out with MGL, Defiantly Dutch, an irrationally engaged Northeastern fan, a passionate Drexel booster, Eric Angevine (who'd better still come, even if ODU won't be there) and the rest of our patchwork quilt of futile superfans. We'll have it better, but maybe only this last time.

Bummer.

Larceny and Lady Hens

Let the record show that the first pixels of this post were electrified several days ago. I have hard evidence in the form of an email exchange with the Teej. That's important, because the subject of this post is featured in this week's issue of Sports Illustrated. First Grantland steals our stuff, now the venerable SI? Do we know any lawyers, 'cause this shit's getting out of hand. Here's the post, no hard feelings or anything:

It's no secret that we're huge CAA Basketball fans. We also have been known to be fond of women. When one of the best female basketball players in the country happens to do her hooping for a CAA team, it's hard for us to ignore for too long.

When we last heard from Elena Delle Donne, she was shocking the collegiate hoops world by leaving Geno Auriemma's UCONN program before she played a single game and transferring to Delaware to play volleyball. The all-everything high school basketball star was widely considered the country's best recruit, with a dazzling combination of size and skill. Delle Donne was voted Naismith, Gatorade, and McDonald's national player of the year in 2007-08 after leading Ursinus High School to four straight Delaware state titles. She was a latter-day Larry Bird, except that she did the Hick from French Lick one better, not only moving down a level in competition, but changing sports altogether.

“I committed to UConn hoping the passion would come back,” Delle Donne said in an interview with USA Basketball. “I got there and realized I needed to be home. Something was wrong. I didn’t love the sport anymore.” Delle Donne's close-knit family lives just 20 minutes from Delaware's campus, so she left the relatively bright lights of Storrs, CT for Newark, DE.

After a successful freshman volleyball season with the Blue Hens, where she was named to the All-CAA team, Delle Donne felt her passion for basketball rekindled. Despite offers from numerous NCAA powers, she chose to resume her hoops career where she felt comfortable.

All she's done since then is average over 27 points per game, win CAA Player of the Year awards and All-America nods, lead the USA to a World University Games gold medal, scoring 15.7 points and grabbing 8.5 rebounds per game, and completely upend the CAA's natural order. She's dropping a nation's-best 29.3 points per game in 2011-12 for the 14-1 Blue Hens, whose only loss came at an undefeated Maryland team. Though her 6'5" frame casts her as a post player, she's hitting 48% of her three-point attempts and 93.3% of her free throws. She's a badass.
 
“It’s like I’m a 10-year-old playing AAU basketball again,” she said with a smile. “I’ve got the love for the game.” That sounds just a little big Gheorghey, no?

Gheorghe Votes: The Atlantic 11 Poll, Week 2

Gheorghe: the Blog is now a voter in Dan Steinberg's weekly Atlantic 11 poll, a ranking of the local college hoops teams (the image below is blatantly ripped right from Dan's DC Sports Bog). Here's last week's poll results. Below you will find my ballot for this week, with a few snarky comments where appropriate. Enjoy, or don't. I don't really care one way or the other.

1. Georgetown (2-0) 
The Hoyas finally play a real team today (Monday), facing #11 Kansas in the Maui Invitational. Once the game is done, Georgetown will actually head west, to wrap up some unfinished business with those punks from the Bayi Rockets.

2. Virginia (3-1)
The Cavaliers dropped a game to TCU lost week, 57-55, but then defeated Drexel by the aesthetically unappealing final of 49-35. Both teams shot abysmally (is that a word?) in that game, with the Cavaliers winning solely on the strength of 14 more made free throws than the Dragons.

3. Virginia Tech (3-0)
Someone let me know when the Hokies actually play somebody. East Tennessee State, Monmouth and FIU don't count. Well, don't mention FIU to George Mason though, they might beg to differ on that one.

4. Old Dominion (3-2)
Blaine Taylor's squad only lost by 10 to the #2 team in the country, Kentucky. For right now, that gets you a lofty spot in these rankings. Lose upcoming games to Vermont and East Carolina and the Monarchs will drop accordingly.

5. George Mason (2-2)
The Patriots lost to Isiah Thomas' team. As the kids say, LOLZ. If Mason plays a school from Florida that goes by an acronym (FIU, FAU), they will lose. Proven fact. Hope they don't have USF on the schedule. Or UCF. Hold on...all these damn Florida schools go by acronyms.

6. VCU (2-2)
The Rams are one of many (all) CAA teams struggling out of the gate. We'll call it a Final Four hangover. On a related note, the #HalfBid4CAA hashtag has been born.

7. Maryland (2-2)
Terps got absolutely worked by Iona out of the MAAC Sunday, losing by 26 to the Gaels. Mark Turgeon is very mad. You don't want to see Mark Turgeon when he is mad. He actually has a personality then. Maybe he should teach that to Randy Edsall.

8. Richmond (3-1)
Spiders had a two win week, albeit with wins over Sacred Heart and Hampton. But, it's early, and this poll has some truly turrrrible teams, so it keeps them ranked. Plus, I'm lazy.

9. George Washington (1-1)
The Colonials allowed me to judge a dunk contest at their Midnight Madness event. That earns them a 9th place vote. It's my ballot, I'll do what I want (cue Cartman "Maury" clip). Name to watch: GW guard Tony Taylor, from Sleepy Hollow, NY. He's the Rip Van Winkle of A-10 hoops. I have no idea what that actually means.

10. William and Mary (1-5)
I don't care how much they suck this year, they will always be my vote for 10th place. Fun stat rob just sent me: "Tribe has a 57:98 assist to turnover ratio." That's good for 309th in the country (out of 345 D-1 teams). Awesome work, fellas.

And There Was Much Rejoicing: William and Mary/St. John's Hoops Preview

The long wait is over folks...the college basketball season officially begins tonight, and our very own William and Mary Tribe will play in the first official game of the season (by my shady math), courtesy of their 7:00pm EST tip-off against the St. John's Red Storm in a 2K Sports Coaches Vs. Cancer Classic matchup. The game will be played at Carnesecca Arena in Queens, and will be televised on ESPNU. Word has it FOG:TB @NUHF and Marls will be also be in attendance.

It just so happens that rob's attempt to make us the third biggest provider of Tribe Hoops content on the internet has apparently paid off, as St. John's blogger Pico Dulce came calling, asking us five questions about the game. He can be found over at the SB Nation Red Storm blog Rumble in the Garden (@RumbleSBN), and also on the ole twitter at @ECoastBias. rob did a tremendous job answering Pico's questions about the game here, and I strong urge you to read that first.

Again, go read rob's handiwork. If you do not, rob will be all salty that I did not publicize his hard work, presumably done while he was forced to watch his kids ride the Disney TeaCups. I told you to buy lifts, dude. You should've listened.

Anyway, in return, I tried to chip in and ask Pico five (or so) questions about St. John's that our loyal bakers' dozen of readers would want to know before tipoff tonight. I need to thank Marls here, as his scouting work of the Red Storm aiding me greatly in creating these "Jiminy Glick"-esque questions. Read up, enjoy, and meet us in the comments for a full day of Tribe and CAA Hoops excitement. Or something.

1. Your coach, Steve Lavin, had surgery in early October. Will he be returning for the opener? If not, will the human combover know as Gene Keady be taking his stead on the bench? How does that affect the ballclub, if at all?

Now, for all we know, Coach Lavin could pop back on court for Monday’s game, hale and hearty, filled with literary references and trios of synonyms to get his point across. The information people are tight lipped in that Parcellsian way about Lavin’s recovery. And we don’t know when he’s coming back. Lav has been in contact with the staff and the players, and Associate Head Coach Mike Dunlap, who has been a HC on the Division II level and in Australia, has been operating as the head man. And in truth, Lavin is often described as the idea man and Dunlap as the man who puts it into motion. Not that Lavin is a completely poor x’s and o’s coach, but Dunlap is more of the technician. What the team lacks is that personality and charisma that Lavin has - he’s a very good relationship manager. Hard to say how that’ll affect the team, though; these guys haven’t played an official game yet, so would they be better with Lavin? Maybe, maybe not. I expect them to spend the non-conference season giving St. John’s fans heartburn and becoming a lot more cohesive by the middle/ end of January.

2. The Red Storm appear to have an even younger team than the Tribe, especially since three of your best guys (in my research) seem to be out for the Fall semester. How big of a deal is this? How different will this team be when conference play begins?

It’s a big deal. The Red Storm expected to be young, even with Jakarr Sampson, Norvel Pelle and Amir Garrett in the fold. And the team was going to be thin in the paint. But Pelle and Sampson could play down low, and Amir Garrett is the kind of versatile baller who is fine with banging on defense down low. All three tried to get eligible over the summer, filling in core courses that they didn’t have qualifying grades in... and the NCAA didn’t accept those grades. It’s a big deal. The Red Storm have 7 scholarship players, a walk-on who was put on scholarship, and a tall freshman walk-on. There were supposed to be other walk-ons, but they haven’t shown up on the roster. In exhibition play, it hasn’t been a big deal. But an injury or other issue with God’sGift Achiuwa or Moe Harkless would leave the Johnnies... I don’t know what the hell that would look like. It would be short, that’s what. Amir Garrett should make it back for the second semester, providing a utility player. Norvel Pelle may come back, he may not, he may come in 2012, he may go to San Diego State, he may be working on the greatest mural the world has ever known. It’s hard to tell (but he does have strong interest in art). JaKarr Sampson is enjoying being recruited again, and i don’t see him returning. But the Red Storm will still be painfully thin of roster, painfully young, and the young players will have their stamina tested. (This is what happens when you let the former coach stock up on players who graduate in the same year.)

3. Speaking of conference play, you went 12-6 in the Big East last year, tying for third with Syracuse and Louisville. This surprised many (me included). Can that success be duplicated? Did you not sneak up on some opponents last year who will be amped to face you this year? 

Last year’s team was entirely, entirely different. The Red Storm snuck up on some opponents - especially after the non-conference losses to crappy teams from the Bronx and some place called Olean or Olestra or something like that. But hey, Louisville coach Rick Pitino thought St. John’s deserved a first-place vote! And other coaches knew the Red Storm had underutilized talent. 12-6 was a complete surprise. And that’s probably not gonna happen again. The thin roster, the inexperience, the youth - it’s not a good combination. Teams can win with youth, but it’s usually youth that should have gone in the NBA draft instead of spending a freshman year pretending they know the way to the Campus Center for Kids Who Want To Learn To Read Good (And Do Other Stuff Good Too). St. John’s may have a player like that, but it’s unlikely to yield funky dividends this year. And I’m sure Duke will want to put a real whipping on the Storm.

4. Given the roster scarcity in the Fall semester, did you perhaps attend open tryouts? Even if you did not, is there a “Rudy” in the mix we should be looking for as the year plays out? 

So... yeah.... there was a Rudy story or five in the making, chronicled on the Rumble and in other places. But it seems that some of those players either didn’t make the cut, or were found ineligible by the NCAA. Sam Sealy is tall, and he’ll get some minutes at some point. And Jamal White is now on scholarship, but is a former walk-on; he may just get some minutes. But no one as adorable and plucky as Sean Astin. It was Sean Astin in that movie, right?

5. What scares you most about your official season opener with a team not many know, or care, to know about, the William and Mary Tribe?

I’d say height, but the Tribe seem to not use their height very well. I think the idea of a team that may run a deliberate offense and shoots the leather off the ball could be problematic; the Storm play a zone and - I’ll finish this answer under bonus question #1.

Bonus questions: 
- Holy hell, your defense is atrocious. Can they ever hope to stop anybody? 

Yeah, that defense was shreddable last year and is shreddable this year. The defensive plan is to use pressure to force bad/ hurried outside shots, create flurries of runs where the Johnnies’ athleticism can dominate, and get crucial stops. In between, though, teams can get some good outside looks. And part of that, this year, is that the Red Storm are just getting used to the zone, getting comfortable in it. They are athletic, and with a couple of good defensive players, the Red Storm can stop people for stretches - enough to win some games.

- You have the best “name” team I’ve ever seen. Pick your favorite name. There can be no losers. 

Adding a “Sir” to any name adds a level of respect and WTF-ness that I cannot look away from, so Sir’Dominic Pointer’s my guy. The wifey and I have a faux baby name that starts with Sir; and we’ve had it since before I’d heard of Mr. Pointer. Who has other awesome nicknames, like Ziggy.

- You guys hate free throws, eh? 

Yes. They’re taken so far away from the basket. Layups and dunks are much, much more Stormy (where “Stormy” is like Smurfy, but less cute and more Queens).

- How great is it to have a “home” arena for college sport that allows you to enjoy an adult beverage?

BURRRRRP. I actually can’t remember if they serve alcohol for St. John’s games; I’ve been to so few MSG games, and I’m never drinking (or already tipsy) when I go.

In Praise of G:TB's Friends

While we firmly believe that the content we provide here is more than enough to keep most right-thinking Americans (and the occasional Romanian) entertained, we do venture out from time to time to keep tabs on our friends. CAA: Life as a Mid-Major's Michael Litos consistently drops science about Colonial hoops, but he outdid himself this week with a proposal that would get league play off to a raucous start.

The idea: The CAA New Year's Bash, a "season opening hoopapalooza" that brings all 12 conference teams to one location for games on December 30 and January 1. Simple in concept, genius in terms of generating interest and excitement. (Genius may be a bit strong; would you settle for very, very cool?)

The CAA currently kicks off league play with a single, out-of-place game in December. The standings then freeze for three weeks or so until teams come back from Winter Break with a four-games-in-eight days frenzy. The Bash would mitigate the negatives from both while giving hoopheads a New Year's destination and the league an opportunity to showcase itself during a fallow period for college basketball.

Litos offers Philly as a site for the event. I don't hate the City of Brotherly Fuck Off as much as I used to, and it's a useful sop to the league's northern outposts, so I see the logic. And Philly's got great restaurants and nightlife, if you can ignore the locals. I've already pledged the entirety of G:TB's advertising revenue to the project, so we'd likely get a chance to sponsor a cocktail hour, or provide lanyards.

The only negative I see is that the idea's too good for the CAA to keep to itself. But that first year will be a doozy. Who's coming to Philly with me?

Rollin down a hill snowballin gettin bigger

The first line of "Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun" characterizes the current state of VCU's men's basketball team, and although it may be more accurate to say "b-ballin gettin bigger," I never let technicalities get in the way of filler posts. Butler is now looking down the barrel of VCU's gun, which is pretty fitting given Richmond's insanely high murder-by-shooting rate.

The remaining members of the tournament's field are now on notice: Shaka Smith has homeboys bonanza to beat your ass down. ESPN analysts should also watch a game or two lest they unexpectedly wind up with a steak on their collective head.


Looking Down The Barrel Of A Gun from Titus Curare on Vimeo.

One Painful Moment

The Teej and I will be attempting an unprecedented feat of blogging this afternoon on our way to Richmond for the Wrens' first-round CAA Tournament matchup against JMU. Until then, please enjoy this memory from the 2006 tournament, which served as prelude to one of the most amazing runs in NCAA hoops history, and at the same time almost stopped Gheorghe Mason's Cinderella March before it happened.

The instant he did it, Tony Skinn knew he had made a horrible mistake. The sight of Hofstra's Loren Stokes crumpled on the floor of Richmond Coliseum was bad enough. The look on Coach Jim Larranaga's face when he took Skinn out of the game certainly left no doubt in his mind that he had done something awful.

But it wasn't until the next night, still in a state of semi-shock after the punch and his subsequent one-game suspension by Larranaga, that it really hit him just how badly he had lost control. He was watching the Colonial Athletic Association championship game between Hofstra and UNC Wilmington when ESPN showed the footage that had been making the rounds since the incident 24 hours earlier.

Click here for the rest of the story...

So This Happened

Been a rough season for Tony Shaver's Wrens, but they continue to give more experienced opponents all they want. Last night on Long Island, W&M spotted Hofstra a 15-3 lead before finishing the first half on a 31-11 run. The teams swapped runs throughout the second half before CAA Player of the Year (soon to be two-time) Charles Jenkins hit a three to send the game to overtime. The Tribe led late in the extra session before the DutchPride tied the game, with Quinn McDowell scoring 28 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.

And then this happened.



Obviously, the creators of the #wrenswillmakethecaasemis hashtag are anticipating a little bit of karmic rebound after a season littered with shouldacouldawoulda.

The Twelve Days of Gheorghe-mas: Day Eight

On the Eight Day of Gheorghe-mas, Big Gheorghe gave to me, eight Wren-based Nuggets...


A Seven Point Loss; 
Six games worth watching (and picking);
Five Combined Wins;
Four Compliments For T.J.;
Three French Hens;
Two Dope-ass Rhymes (and a whole mess of sub-par ones as well);
And a Doofus Dancing (Amidst a Really Long and Grumpy Analysis of the New Kanye West Album).

Tonight at 7:00, your William & Mary Wrens (4-6, 0-1 CAA) visit the University of North Carolina (7-4) seeking to bounce back from a disappointing 71-62 loss to Liberty. (1) The contest will be televised on ESPN2, marking the first time in history that a Tribe regular season game is broadcast on the Deuce. It is not UNC's first rodeo. (Note: as I was writing this, the broadcast was moved to ESPNU so ESPN2 can show the UCONN women's game. That sounds like about the right level of respect for the Tribe.)

(2) W&M is 3-18 all-time against the Tar Heels, 0-10 in Chapel Hill, but (3) exactly 33 years and two weeks ago today, W&M dropped the then-#2 Heels, 78-75, in Blow Gym (that was a basketball facility, guttersnipes). Coincidentally, (4) it was the first meeting between the two schools following Tribe head coach Tony Shaver's 1976 graduation from UNC. Harbinger? I hardly know her.

While both schools have strong academic reputations, only at W&M would you see the Sports Information Department boast (5) the following statistic: over the past five years, the Wrens have a .658 winning percentage (25-13) in games played between the end of the fall final exam period and the beginning of the spring semester.

UNC freshman Harrison Barnes was a pre-season All-America. (6) As near as I can tell, all of William & Mary's players are American citizens, assuming we still claim Ohio. Tyler Zeller and Barnes are both on the pre-season Naismith National Player of the Year watch list. (7) Most of the Wrens watch YouTube videos of Muppets rapping.

After tonight, only a 12/29 guestie at Longwood stands between the Tribe and the remainder of the CAA schedule. And if early returns are any indication, the game against Carolina will serve as a bit of a breather before conference battles begin; (8) the CAA is 3-3 against the ACC (though one of those was against Wake Forest), 7-5 against the Atlantic 10, and has two wins against the Big East and one against the Pac-10. Overall, the conference is 62-36 against non-conference foes.

The Tribe comes into tonight's game a tidy 266th in Ken Pomeroy's rankings to North Carolina's 25th-place standing. Anyone else smelling a Red Line Upset?

C'mon, Man

Look, I like Lionel as much as the next guy. Unless the next guy is the Teej or Greg. But last night was the first night of the college basketball season, and the Wrens tip off on Friday evening against UVA (followed by trips to Richmond and Syracuse and a December tilt with UNC - I like what you're doing, Coach, even if this year's record may bear the brunt), so it's time for the squeak of shoes on parquet, the roar of the crowd, the just-audible rustle of a Kentucky tutor completing a starting guard's term paper.

More futile superfandom to come (for the record, we buy what most people are selling regarding the Tribe's transition season), but until then, we commend to you the brilliant Kyle Whelliston's work at The Mid-Majority, Eric Angevine and his gang at Storming the Floor, and last but most certainly not least, FOG:TB Michael Litos at CAA: Life as a Mid Major.

My Team's On the Floor

The information in Rob's November post on the Dark Ages of William & Mary basketball

(leading directly up to this year) is old hat to those in the know, but most casual fans of college basketball aren't privy to the gory details of the plight of the Tribe. And for those that do, re-reading his season preview is still highly entertaining, given what you now know. Take a quick peek before hunkering down to watch the game tonight.

Our school's mantras generally consist of esoteric, nerdy exhortations like "Hark upon the Gale" and "Ebirt Og," but for tonight, a simple "Go Tribe" is all that need be said.

That, and yet another quote from Hoosiers, a film being placed in parallel with the surging W&M squad's tale, if only for the startling amount of honk in the team picture.

Over at the CAA Zone, MGL dropped a Norman Dale quotable on us today, minutes after I'd remarked to Rob that Shooter's rant in the mental ward was being paraphrased by Teejay in his office this morning: "NO WILLIAM & MARY TEAM . . . HAS EVER . . . MADE IT TO THE CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP!" And so I will leave the G:TB huddle with Coach Dale's simple send-off.

I love you guys.

Hubris, Arachnid Style

Gheorghe: The Blog's alma mater takes on former arch-rival Richmond tonight in the renewal of a once-bitter rivalry. Once-bitter and no longer because the familiarity that breeds contempt has waned since the Spiders bailed on the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) in 2001 for the seemingly greener pastures of the Atlantic 10.

Since 2001, the once-formidable Spider hoops program has stumbled into near-irrelevance (where they've bumped into the Tribe at several cocktail parties), posting three consecutive sub-.500 seasons, including an 8-22 mark in 2006-07. Meanwhile, the A-10 itself has seen its hoops fortunes decline to the point where it ranks neck and neck with the very same CAA Richmond spurned in 2001. Over the past 2 years, the CAA has outpaced the A-10 in the postseason, both in terms of number of teams and overall success.

And we're still just talking about basketball. The CAA was a better overall sports conference even when Richmond left - now it's not even close. For the want of a little bit of money and some exposure, Richmond turned its back on traditional in-state rivals. As G:TB is fond of saying, karma, she's a bitch.

------
Whitney-added garbage:

It's worth underscoring the palpable attitude U of R and theirs took when departing the Colonial for the Atlantic 10. The rest of the CAA were left to take the Spiders' exit one of two different ways: "We're better than the rest of you" or "None of you are as good as we are." That's what enacted the karma boomerang. This wasn't a logical geographic or school-size transfer for Richmond, it was an inflated sense of the worth of their program and the conference. Both have plummeted in the last six years, and although we chuckle at their expense now, it's still disappointing to have lost the old edge in the annual "I-64 Showdown."

Life in the Colony

Just a quick run through this week's CAA Games to Watch (obviously not on TV):

1. The Upset Special: Look for UVA to have a letdown against a bruising Drexel squad after a big win at Arizona. If Pete Gillen were still manning the Cavalier wheel, it'd be a lock, but Dave Leitao makes the JPJ a more daunting arena for the Dragons to enter. (Tuesday, 8pm)

2. Upset Special 2: Electric Boogaloo: Mason hopes not to get stuffed by a 24th-ranked K-State on Turkey Day in the opening round of the [insert whistle] Old Spice Classic in Orlando. A real chance for some CAA clout, possibly televised. (9pm)

3. Wilmington dropped one to the Redbirds of Illinois State over the weekend; now they get to go to Indiana for a potential thumping. (Unrelated aside: the name Redbirds for a basketball movie is still unprotected and available for use. And will likely remain that way.) (Tuesday, 7pm)

4. The Big Blue Beast of ODU needs to avoid overlooking David before facing Goliath. They're matched up against top-ranked Tar Heels in the Las Vegas Invitational on Friday around midnight EST. (TJ has a few tips for them.) Before they even think about doubling down against Carolina, however, they need to concentrate on bashing the Gaels of Iona on Tuesday night. (7pm)

5. And finally, it's that time again (or possibly for the first time) . . . It's Northeastern Conference week for the CAA!

That's right. When these two conferences get together, you can throw out the records. Which you can probably do anyway, since it's mostly bad losses to ranked teams thus far. CAA-NEC. That's right. These two conferences simply do not like each other. Or dislike each other. They don't even know each other.

It's a classic battle of "our one of the only five (5) teams never to make the NCAA tournament in 59 years is better than your one of the only five (5) teams never to make the NCAA tournament in 59 years." The Northeastern sees the Colonial's "multiple schools named after early American statesmen" and raises them a "multiple schools named after a saint . . . the same saint." That's correct, they have two schools named St. Francis in the NEC, and when those two squads square off, you never know what's going to happen . . . you just know the name of the school that's going to win, plus you can be sure that a boatload of "Assisi" epithets will be hurled from bleacher to bleacher. Trust me, it's not pretty, and it's ultimately just thoroughly confusing.

Here's what's on the docket for the CAA-NEC (rhymes with "chronic") showdown:

Tuesday 11/20: William & Mary @ Wagner , 7pm
Wednesday 11/21: Hofstra @ St. Francis (NY), 7pm
Friday, 11/23: Robert Morris @ Drexel, 2pm
Saturday, 11/24: Mount St. Mary's @ JMU

Unsolicited comments on the CAA-NEC 4-pack (sponsored by Bartles & Jaymes): Consider Robert Morris (the school, not the man) another foe ripe for overlooking; the Colonials blew by the aforementioned Gaels and the Midshipmen before getting taken down by the Pirates at Seton Hall. (Possibly the least macho sentence ever typed at Gheorghe.) . . . And is there a good reason that William & Mary's mascot isn't the Colonial? I've been to Pittsburgh, as well as Washington, DC, and neither RMU nor GWU can possibly reek of tri-cornered hats, knickers, and authentic outhouses quite like W&M in Williamsburg, VA. So long as there's an outrage about the "Tribe" and two feathers, why not abandon an outdated, possibly offensive image for the William & Mary Colonials? . . . Oh, and the Tribe could use a win over Wagner after facing Top 25 opponents (and measuring up better than expected) in their first two contests . . . Lastly, look for Hofstra to knock off St. Francis, if and only if the bus driver gets them to the right campus.

That's all for this week. CAA you later!

(Correction - that was the least macho sentence ever typed at Gheorghe.)

Is it college hoops time already?

Well, not exactly, but we are getting damn close. And, just to show you how serious G:TB is about bringing you the best in college hoops information, we are teaming up with (mooching off of?) the wonderful work Michael Litos does at his "The CAA: Life as a Mid-Major" blog. Today, Rob and Whit, along with the Extrapolator, took an axe to the piss-poor Lindy magazine CAA pre-season rankings (I of course am extremely lazy and contributed nothing to this effort, but hey look, I found a CAA logo for this post, so suck it Trebek). Gheorghe's goal will be to dissect the CAA hoops season (Hi Bruiser!) as much as possible over the next 5 months, with an obvious tilt to the sleeping giant that is Tribe Basketball (it's really hard to type when you're laughing so hard). Anyway, go read what Rob, Whit, Extra P and MGL wrote today. It's better than watching Mike Gundy lose his shit for the 40th time.