Our Wrens kicked off the 2012-13 campaign with a trio of reasonably impressive victories against three largely underwhelming foes. The fact of the wins was much less relevant than the quality of the Tribe's performance. In vanquishing Hampton, Liberty, and High Point to start 3-0 for the first time in 20 years, W&M won by an average of 17.3 points. The Tribe tallied 46 assists to 34 turnovers in the wins, shooting a cool 50% from the field. Each of the team's big three (Marcus Thornton, Tim Rusthoven, and Brandon Britt) led all scorers once, and each topped the 20-point mark in doing so. Newcomer Terry Tarpey went for 14 and 8 in the win over High Point, while Kyle Gaillard had a team-leading 8 boards in the opener at Hampton.In all, there wasn't much wanting in W&M's opening week of action, which gave the futile superfans more than a little hope of a perfect 4-0 start as middling Miami (Ohio) came to Williamsburg for W&M's first nationally televised home game in, well, ever*. Instead, the Wrens offered up an effort that Daily Press scribe Dave Fairbank described as 'comprehensively lackluster'. Fairbank's drily cutting assessment accurately covers the Tribe's 9:18 assist to turnover ratio, 4-15 three-point shooting, and errant 9-17 free throw accuracy.
* - possibly not true, but our research staff is off for the holiday and it sounds plausible.
W&M watched a two-point halftime deficit balloon to nine in the first two minutes of the second half, and never got closer than four after that. Britt led with 17 points, while Thornton tallied 15 and Gaillard 12. Rusthoven only managed 5 points on 2-7 shooting, though he did manage to grab 9 rebounds.
We said in our season preview that the Tribe would go where Marcus Thornton took them, and the sophomore guard's early efforts have been impressive. Even with a 3-8, 11-point effort against Liberty in the mix, Thornton's averaging 17.8 ppg on 54.3% shooting from the field. His assist to turnover ratio has improved to 0.8 - still not great, but definitely heading the right direction. His increasingly selfless play (he's getting his 17.8 on an average of 11.5 shots/game) is a significant key for the Tribe - if he can get his while helping others get theirs (Britt's averaging 17.0 and Rusthoven 15.3 ppg), good things will keep happening for our guys.
At least one win in this tough swing is certainly possible, if not necessarily likely, and if the team that took the court in W&M's first three games shows up, they could beat any of their next three opponents. In any case, we'll have a much better sense of how to calibrate our expectations by next Saturday.
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97 comments:
weird, mark. eastbay doesn't have w&m shorts for sale.
I bet the W&M bookstore doesn't sell W&M basketball shorts.
I think the W&M bookstore just sells books. And protractors.
And I am going to see Rob tomorrow for some get-the-daughters-together-to-catch-up-and-play-while-we-catch-up-and-drink-beer time. I hope to get the family drama story minus the zombies.
That is weird, Rob. But they do have VCU shorts (got some for my birthday already) and ODU shorts. Think I'm going to grab a pair and support the Monarchs.
don't support those carpetbagging splitters.
spending this much time with my wife's family is making me dumber
I need to rescue my little buddy.
Rob, if you guys want to spend tomorrow night with us, you're more than welcome to do so.
i really should write some of this shit down
so down year for vandy hoops, then?
I guess so. Oh well, that won't bother me much. Kevin Stallings can eat a dick.
And Rob, Not sure if you know but I don't really care about the CAA. Sorry.
Also, VCU takes on Duke tonight and Louisville plays Missouri in the Battle 4 Atlantis semifinals. Should be entertaining.
you take that back, mark. you take that right back.
also, tribe @ wake on espn3 at 7. boom.
i made a very appropriate "rob steals shoes" reference that only folks from monroe would remember.
my father in law is expounding loudly about the arab spring and the egyptian economy, subjects about which he knows as much as he does about ncaa basketball. which is to say, not very much. the drinking, she is necessary.
My father in law told the story of how he struck out Rico Petrocelli in stickball in 1957. He told it four times. He told the story of the origin of his back pain five times this morning alone. He told me that story twice, back to back, in a twenty minute span.
so he's drinking too, yes?
Chandler Parsons with 14 pts in first 8 minutes of first qtr against the Knicks. I like his game a lot. He is due for a very big raise soon.
my mother in law is flipping through the channels one at a time in search of something to watch. with the volume spiked to jet engine decibels. the drinking is proceeding merrily, though.
she settled on a 'reba' repeat. 'cause, you know, there aren't any new episodes of 'reba'.
At least you're not hearing your FIL complain about the security codes that pop up on web sites. "I can't read those! Yes, I try to refresh it." He told me a story about having to wait on hold for 54 minutes to update something for his pension fund because he couldn't understand the security letters. The story took 54 minutes because he is hard of hearing and I need to repeat myself three times when saying anything to him. Good times.
Man, rough times for the G:TB contingent this holiday weekend. Luckily for me, my father in law just got drunk on wine and talked shit to my wife (jokingly) about her cooking yesterday. And their restaurant is open again today so I haven't seen the man.
And Chandler Parsons is one of the more underrated young guys in the NBA. I'd have never guessed I'd be saying that when he was a freshman at Florida, or even as a junior for that matter, but I am and that's a huge credit to his work ethic. One of my all time favorite Gator basketball players.
Far behind Vernon Maxwell, obviously.
And NBC Sports Network is currently down at my house so I can't watch VCU-Duke. Bumming.
Parsons ended the quarter w/ 18 pts. 8 for 8 from the field, including a pair of treys. Muy impresivo, as they say in the old country.
I really wanted Orlando to pull the trigger on the Dwight Howard to Houston trade and Chandler Parsons was a big reason for that. Good thing they held out for that awesome deal they got from the Lakers. Oh wait...
My father in law berated my mOther in law for being cheap. Because she took some leftover turkey with them.
my mother in law just tried to give my 4 year-old nephew a guilt trip because he didn't want to kiss her good night. of the two, he's the more mature.
thank the good lord above for espn3
Off the subject, I'm in no way prepared for a Florida-FSU game that actually means something for both teams. Much less a road game of that variety that I expect Florida to lose. It just hit me. Ugh.
My stepfather started a debate on intellectual property law. With me. My mother shat on people who watch Kelly ripa's show. My MIL watches Kelly ripa's show. My mother argued with me over the name of the artist who took the photo in my dining room. There was a tense moment when the topic of whether Chris Christie is a jerk arose. Everyone was able to agree that he is too heavy for his own health.
The Royce White roll of the dice seems to be going well so far.
z, this should be a recurring feature, methinks.
I feel like I'm kind of missing out without all this terrible awkwardness. So I'm just drinking because I'm a functional alcoholic? I don't have an excuse? Dammit.
My future FIL, a three star admiral, had me Google one of last night's thanksgiving dinner guests to prove that the guy was only a two-star general. He was right.
I'll host a very Gheorghey Tgives next year. rob, feel free to bring your dray of squirrels.
I'm eating leftover eggplant Parmesan that my father in law brought to Thanksgiving dinner. I don't appreciate that guy as much as I should.
my mother in law just fucked up a random draw for our secret santa tradition by forgetting one of her kids.
And this eggplant Parmesan is fucking awesome, in case you were wondering.
I think I'd like Clarence's future father in law.
The Duke-VCU gym appears to hold about 500 pp. Lowest ceiling I've ever seen for major college bball.
In truth, he is awesome. He used to command the 7th Fleet that roamed the Pacific Ocean; nowadays he gets bitched out by his wife and daughters for absolutely nothing. And he takes it with a smile and a shake of the head.
It would be cool if we started a G:TB tradition where we rotate through each other's families for Tgives. rob's MIL can put the names in the hat for next year.
It's a terrible arena. I think it's next door to the casino in Atlantis. They have spotlights rotating around during timeouts like its a fucking club.
My skils are deep. How deep? Deeper than Atlantis, deeper than the sea floor traveled by the mantis.
I think it should manta but it's too late to tell Professor X.
I am eating mediocre leftover food and drinking beer. It's mediocre b/c we ordered it from the local supermarket. Why, you might ask? Because my 3 y/o broke his elbow 47 hours after he broke his face. Spent 2 nights in the hospital and had to get surgery. Got out on Tuesday. He now has two pins in his arm and a cast that runs from his shoulder to his fingers. And no middle upper teeth.
My wife and I met Vitas at a local beer snob bar for a few early this evening. While there, a group of five walked in sporting USF gear. We had no idea USF had a game tonight. And then we made fun of the fact that there are actual USF fans. USF<UCF...and that's saying a lot.
One minute into the third qtr, Parsons is up to 29 pts. Staggering lack of defense by the Knicks. Maybe not so staggering considering half their roster is older than me.
TR, come over and watch the dog show in NBC with me!
The knicks could use a young PG like Lin. Too bad they're stuck with that old Kidd guy.
Chandler Parsons played on the same high school team as former CAA standout Joey Rodriguez. Boom. Tied it all together.
That dog show comment is a euphemism. At least I hope it is.
Flip over to NBC.
I think Rick Pitino has had work done. Brow lift and eyes. He's morphing into Billy Crystal, which is no compliment.
I have watched no sports today. ABC Family was on all day, and for those who are interested (which is fucking nobody), it was Julie Andrews Day on that channel. Mary Poppins, The Princess Diaries, Eloise at Christmastime. Not even Sound of Music. I was too hung over to argue. I just fell asleep on the couch. We had fondue for dinner, which was great, but now I need to switch to Jamo to stay awake. Gimme sports, people.
NBC sports network will help you, Clarence. And I'm aware of the dog show on NBC, Z. Just hoping there was more going on with you TR.
Where's Harlan Pepper?
Maybe I should get an affenpinscher. Or a shiba inu.
Rockets have 90 pts midway thru the third. I've seen NBA all-star games with more defensive intensity. Tyson Chandler almost ejected for an elbow to Asik. Should've been tossed.
Drake vs. Rice airing on ESPNU I think. Hoops matchup...or new age rap battle?
TR's kid is the Evel Knievel of a new generation.
Asik looks a lot more like Judge Reinhold than I remember.
Remember when Judge Reinhold was asked to play way too much of a role in Beverly Hills Cop 3? Yeah, I do. And it was a disaster.
Yeah, but he SLAYED in Vice Versa. And Ruthless People.
Vice Versa was phenomenal. Can't argue there.
Hey Teej! Look at you with current musical references!
I'll never look at Asik Omer the same way again.
Get a Pit Bull, Z. They're the best. Seriously.
Judge Reinhold is in a band?
The Ghoogles.
i bet it's one of squeaky's made up bands
Why does Squeaky go by Squeaky?
Lemmiwinks?
you went multi-platform with lemmiwinks? okay, then.
I was enjoying the video too much...
I also went multi-platform with super actor Judge Reinhold.
Yeee-ah!
He IS Squeaky, therefore he is Squeaky.
i think it's: he's squeaky, so he's squeaky
Tautology.
I'm so lost. Generation gap.
When he gets excited his voice squeaks a bit.
And we're into the porkslap.
Into whiskey. And fudge. My lady made fudge. I suffer from an embarrassment of food related riches with my wife and her family.
Just in case you were wondering...being on a tropical island for Thanksgiving does not magically suspend the regular button-pushing within a family unit. Annoying is annoying, even in the South Pacific.
Jameson in full effect. God bless the Irish.
And for what it's worth (again, nothing), when people ask me what percentage Irish I am, I am so pleased to be able to respond, "A fifth."
Clarence's mom was conceived during a threesome involving two irishmen and a woman of some other heritage.
And I do love when Shlara talks about button-pushing and unit. Takes me back.
I'd forgotten how enjoyable Gheorghe is during the holidays.
'New God Flow'. Still great.
I think my math is off. It'll make you snap your fingers and wiggle!
Jameson = nectar. Holy fuck.
Great stuff.
The Danimals did not travel and we had no family in town. A great Thanksgiving indeed. Wounds licked yesterday and ready to get after it. Big day people.
T.r...a padded cage is coming your way
looking forward to watching the iron bowl with my mother in law.
Ireland v Argentina live on BBC Radio Ulster. Get some.
danimal, you need to email me your phone number, because you are going to need to talk me off a ledge more than one time tonight during this ND/USC game...
my sister in law is letting her 3 year-old play with adult scissors.
Ask your mother-in-law if she ever had two strikes on Rico Petrocelli. That's how the story starts. "Did you ever have two strikes on Rico Petrocelli? No? Well I did. I was a freshman at Brooklyn Tech ..."
LeBron James just tweeted out support for FSU today. It's like he wants me to dislike him. And I don't want to but he's not leaving me many options at this point.
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