We've made a habit here at G:TB of adopting a college basketball team that strikes our fancy. By habit, I mean that we've done it once before. Hey, every healthy addiction starts somewhere. Our little coke/hoops jones may be an every other year kinda thing, but it's nonetheless powerful.Our previous adopted squad, the 2008-09 Wake Forest Demon Deacons (and isn't that a little ironic) were 13-0 when we anointed them, and finished the season 11-7, losing in the first round of the ACC tournament to Maryland and falling to Cleveland State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. So, y'know, we're sorry.
Apologies in advance, then, to Coach Randy Bennett and the Saint Mary's Gaels, G:TB's newly adopted darlings.When we last paid any attention to the plucky pride of Moraga, CA, Omar Samhan was leading St. Mary's to a berth in the 2010 Sweet Sixteen, knocking off Richmond and Villanova in the process. Samhan's shipped off to Lithuania, where he plays for team president Arvydas Sabonis and BC Zalgiris in the Euroleague.The current Gaels roster doesn't have a player taller than 6'9", and nobody over 6'7" starts. And that's the way we like it. Backcourt tandem Mickey McConnell (15.1, 6.4) and Matthew Dellavedova (13.2, 5.8) average 28.3 points and 12.2 assists per game between them, with McConnell making an eye-popping 47.3% from three point range. 6'6" Rob Jones leads the Gaels in rebounding with 7.6 boards, chipping in 14 points. Supersub Mitchell Young gets a very efficient 1o points (on 64.1% shooting) and 4.5 caroms a game in a mere 18 minutes.
Stat guru KenPom rates the Gaels among the nation's top 10 in terms of offensive efficiency, ranking first in effective field goal percentage (you'll need to look it up). Coach Bennett's young team is 18-3, 6-0 in the Big West, with wins over St. John's and Mississippi State and no-shame losses to BYU, San Diego State, and Vanderbilt. KenPom rates St. Mary's as the 19th-best team in the land. No quibbles from us.
But we don't love the Gaels for any of that stuff. No, you need to go down under the stats and the records to grok our fondness. Beyond even their really cool logo, in fact. Ever since Patty Mills took his talents across the oceans blue from Oz, we've had a thing for St. Mary's. Five members of the team's current roster hail from Australia, with a Lithuanian tossed in for good measure. We love all things Aussie, except vegemite, so St. Mary's fits us like a Bondi Beach wetsuit. G'day Gaels, see you in March.
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