We interrupt this football season …
Apparently, this Blake Griffin guy is pretty good.
The Los Angeles Clipper rookie is making some serious noise this preseason. Last week, he scored 23 points and grabbed seven rebounds in only 29 minutes against San Antonio. That prompted Spurs coach Gregg Popovich to say: “He’s a monster. He deserved to be picked where he was picked, that’s for sure.”
By the way, Popovich meant that he was a monster in a complementary way.
Check out what Griffin said about the coach’s quote.
You’ll also want to check out this dunk that happened Sunday night when the Clippers faced the in-town rival Lakers. Big Blake had his first big-time posterization since turning pro.
It has prompted his teammates to give him a new nickname: Amazin’.
I suspect DJ Mbenga would agree.
Big Blake getting a taste of Clippers Curse
Sooners fair well on Selection Monday
Thoughts after Oklahoma landed the No. 1 seed in the Oklahoma City Regional in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament.
(By the way, that’s every bit as good as it sounds for the Sooners.)
* OU is headed to Iowa City, which is a bit of a surprise.
“We weren’t thinking that,” Sooner coach Sherri Coale said after her team watched the selection show at her Norman home. “We were thinking somewhere south, maybe Albuquerque or Lubbock, but it doesn’t matter.”
That’s true. But with temperatures expected in the 70s and 80s in this part of the world, it would’ve been nice to stay south of the Mason-Dixon Line.
Temperatures in Iowa City are expected to be in the 50s and 60s over the weekend, with lows in the 30s.
Got to pull those sweaters out one last time.
* The Sooners need to put the woes from their Big 12 Tournament loss to Texas A&M behind them, and it sounds as though they’re working on it.
“We tried to exercise some demons these last couple of days,” Coale said. “Contrary to popular belief, Connecticut wasn’t the only team that practiced today.”
That was a total dig at the Huskies, and Coale knew it. She and UConn coach Geno Auriemma are long time buddies, so her comment was meant in fun.
Still, the national love for the Huskies is too sugary sweet. In its selection show, ESPN fawned over the fact that everybody’s No. 1 was practicing right before the selection show. The network had a live look-in at the practice, and the announcers sounded in awe over what they were seeing.
It’s almost too much to stomach.
Speaking of that …
* Auriemma said during the selection show that hearing all the praise for his team was almost enough to make him sick.
We know the feeling.
“Geno hit it on the head — anybody who’s watching anywhere in America is so sick of Connecticut they could throw up,” Coale said. “He said it himself; he’s almost sick enough to vomit.”
The Huskies are great, maybe even a team for the ages, but all the praise is a bit much.
“If you’ve got to beat them five times, you might be in trouble,” Coale admitted. “But basketball is a really special sport. That’s why this tournament is a focal point for everybody in America. Every office in America is paying attention to what happens in March because anything can happen.”
* Coale didn’t seem the least bit upset about the Sooners potentially have to play Iowa on its home court in the second round. That is due, in part, to the fact that she got a behind-the-scenes look at the process earlier this year.
“I had the opportunity to go through the (NCAA) mock bracketing process back in February,” she explained. “At that particular time, it looked like we could end up in Duluth (Ga.) and maybe Georgia would be there. We talked about that scenario … and I understand that there is a dual purpose to what we’re trying to do here.”
The first purpose is to stage a fair and equitable championship.
The second, Coale said, is to grow the sport of women’s basketball.
“I don’t have a problem with it,” she said of her team being sent to Iowa City. “I don’t think it’s unfair. I don’t think it’s inequitable. I think it’s part of the process, and I think the committee’s doing a wonderful job of trying to grow our game.”
* Courtney Paris and her guarantee of a national championship were front and center during the selection show.
Her father, Bubba, also made an appearance. During a recent interview with ESPN, he said that this was OU’s year and that if the Sooners didn’t win, it was on Coale. (I suspect he got revved up and said what he did in fun, but still, it’s a soundbite, and we’re all going to hear it throughout the tournament.)
“My dad is crazy,” Courtney Paris said. “He’s a funny guy.”
Let the madness begin.
Get ready for Selection Sunday
Mike Slive will be the man in the cross-hairs this weekend.
He is the chair of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee. That means he oversees the selection committee for the NCAA Tournament.
Hence, the cross-hairs.
Slive answered questions earlier this week as part of a teleconference with media from across the country. Here are some interesting excerpts from it:
About the selection process: The conference tournaments determine 30 of the 31 automatic qualifiers and provide a chance for any of the 322 teams in Division I to make the championships. Everyone has a shot of making it to the Dance.
It is also a chance for teams to add meaningful wins to what they have already accomplished throughout the season. I emphasize the words ‘through the season’. A couple of wins this week can’t hurt, but it is certainly important that we look at the entire body of work for a team.
Wins in November and December count. Losses in November and December count, just as they do in January, February and March.
I commented earlier that the committee has put in the work to be prepared for this week. So have our coaches, whose input through the Regional Advisory Committee is one of the many tools we have to evaluate teams. So have conference offices, who provide us with an incredible amount of useful information that we have had access to throughout the season as part of our conference monitoring program.
We will take into consideration every piece of information that we have available and is relevant. That includes injuries and the status of injured players. It includes close losses, quality wins and a wide variety of circumstances that possibly could have affected results.
But, again, we are reviewing results from the entire season. Conference tournaments are exciting and serve a purpose. But it is important for the committee to not get so caught up in what a team does this week and overlook what it has done over the course of the last four months. That perspective is essential to right decisions.
It is our charge to pick the best 34 at‑large teams, regardless of conference affiliation. And that’s what we are here to do.
I have said it before, and it’s worth pointing out again. We look to answers to the three Ws and an H: Who you play, where you play, with whom did you play, and how you played.
If there’s one thing that’s been obvious about this season, it’s that there are a number of quality teams playing. Just looking at the coaches and media polls throughout the season, we have seen a revolving door, not only at the top, but throughout the top 25.
What that means is there are many good teams capable of beating other good teams, and that’s going to make the tournament as exciting as ever. It’s shaping up to be a memorable championship from start to finish. It is also shaping up to be a stressful week for the committee because we have a lot of tough decisions ahead of us. But we’re ready.
One final but important thought about the economy and its effect on the upcoming championships. These are trying times for all us here, for all of you on the call, and for the millions around the country. There’s no safe harbor from the effects of the current financial situation.
As we head into this selection weekend, we are reminded of the changes we implemented in 2002, which places teams, to the greatest extent possible, close to their national geographic area. Since that time, most teams and their fans are traveling shorter distances for tournament games. A savings in costs and missed class time.
We fully recognize that this is a national championship. Our 330 Division I member institutions are located throughout the country. The committee remains committed to this principle to the extent it does not adversely impact fair competition.
About evaluating a team who has had a key player injured: What we are going to do for all teams who have injuries, we will evaluate the team before the injury; we will evaluate the team during the injury; and if a player happens to return, we’ll make every effort to evaluate the team at that time.
But it’s the whole body of work and the quality of the team as it moves towards tournament time. We will continually, throughout the weekend, on any teams that have players that have been injured or who currently get injured, we will maintain constant contact with institutions and the conferences to make sure that we know exactly the current status of the student‑athlete at that particular time.
About the selection committee only having four members who’ve played or coached Division-I basketball: I think what you have is a group of committed, dedicated, knowledgeable, experienced administrators, some of whom have coached, some of whom have created basketball leagues, some of whom have spent their lives in one form or another related to the game, who appreciate the game, who love the game, and know it, and who can bring ‑ by virtue of observation, study and analysis ‑ just what is needed to create the kind of field that makes this tournament great.
It’s evolved from a small tournament to one of the world’s premiere athletic events with these same kinds of people, the same composition of people throughout the country. This year’s committee is the same committee we had last year with only one change. I think the world was pretty happy with last year’s tournament, with the exception of a few teams who didn’t make it.
The other thing is that we have access to a lot of people, a lot of expertise, people who have been in the game, people who have coached the game. We get input from 31 coaches from around the country with their regional advisory groups.
I can tell you this. If you spend time with any one of us or all 10 of us in this room, you would have no doubt about the level of basketball expertise and knowledge that’s going to create this year’s tournament.
About being concerned as the committee chair that something will slip through, ala BYU a few years ago: We have a bracketing mantra. You remember the old saying: ‘Remember the Alamo.’ Here instead of the Alamo, it’s ‘Remember BYU’
Biggest surprise not CP3’s guarantee
So, Courtney Paris surprised quite a few folks during Senior Night when she announced she would repay her scholarship if Oklahoma didn’t win a national championship.
The biggest surprise to me — it took almost a week for the national media to pick up the story.
On Monday, the story was part of the looping scroll on ESPN and the talk of national sports talk radio. The way it was being played up, you’d have thought it had just happened. You’d have thought it was either the hottest of breaking news or the biggest of news scoops.
It was neither.
It had happened five days earlier, for goodness sake.
In this day and age of instant news, the whole thing was perplexing. It’s not like the news of her guarantee didn’t go out on the national wires last Wednesday night; I was sitting next to Associated Press writer Jeff Latzke, and having seen his story, I know that he lead his copy with what Paris said.
I’m just not sure what happened Monday to make all the national types sit up and take notice of 5-day-old news.
Odd.
As unexpected as Paris’s scholarship-back guarantee was, the way the story played nationally was even more unexpected.
Another impressive stat from CP3
The superstars in our midst have been a bit hobbled of late.
First, Blake Griffin suffered a concussion that sidelined him a week. Then, Kevin Durant twisted an ankle that could keep him out of action for a couple weeks. Both were freak injuries, Griffin taking a nearly imperceptible blow to the face, Durant coming down like he has millions of times before but this time hitting the ground awkwardly.
It doesn’t take much sometimes, even when you’re a superhero of sport.
Which brings us to Courtney Paris.
The injuries to Griffin and Durant got me thinking about the Oklahoma women’s basketball star. Paris is nearing the end of her senior season. She is a center in the rough-and-tumble Big 12. She is a stout, physical player.
And she has played every single game of her college career.
It’s pretty amazing when you think about it. Thirty-six games as a freshman. Thirty-three as a sophomore. Thirty-one as a junior. And now, 28 and counting as a senior.
That’s 128 games without a miss. As many remarkable numbers as Paris has posted in her Sooner career, none is much more impressive than that.
You know, after all, that Paris has taken a beating. She is the player that every opponent has schemed for since she stepped onto campus four years ago. She is the one that they’ve double-teamed, triple-teamed, sometimes more.
There have no doubt been times that she’s been bumped and bruised and knocked around, and still, Paris has played on.
Maybe she’s been a little lucky. Goodness knows, the injuries that Griffin and Durant suffered this past week or so were the unluckiest of breaks. There were no major collisions. There were no big hits. And still, they went down.
Lucky or not, Paris has been a Sooner stalwart. You have to think there were times that she was sore or worse. Times when she could’ve asked to sit out. Times most players would’ve done just that.
Still, that never happened.
As her Sooner career comes to a close, Courtney Paris will no doubt be remembered and celebrated for many things. That she missed no games is a testament to her toughness and her fortitude. That, too, should be appreciated.
More from The Q&A: Nyeshia Stevenson
The Oklahoma guard had lots of fun stuff to say when I chatted with her for my weekly Q&A.
Here’s some of the outtakes:
Jenni Carlson: You have some pretty diverse literary interests, too — “Harry Potter” and “To Kill a Mockingbird” among them.
Nyeshia Stevenson: “To Kill a Mockingbird,” I had to read that in middle school. Our teacher made us read it together as a class, and I really liked it. We went into depth with it. “Harry Potter,” we read that as a class, too. I’m like, “‘Harry Potter’? I do not want to read this.” And I’m raising my hand, “Can I read? Can I read?” I read the second one on my own and the third one on my own. I didn’t go any further after that because the books got too big.
JC: You have to be a weightlifter to carry around those later books.
NS: Yeah, I just stopped.
JC: I hear you’ve got some hidden talents. I have to know — are you better at knitting or skateboarding?
NS: Honestly, I’m better at knitting. I just started to skateboard about three years ago, but I’ve been knitting since sixth grade. My principal had this thing where he wanted everyone in the whole school to do clubs. We had to pick two clubs. We had a big list, and we had to number one through 10. Just for a joke, I put knitting. It was like my No. 9 pick. I got put in knitting, and I’m like, “Oh, my gosh.” And I fell in love with it. I went home from school, and I said, “Mom, we have to go to Wal-Mart and get knitting needles and some yarn.” And she was like, “What?” I was like, “We just have to do it.” From then on, I’ve just been knitting.
JC: So, you still do it?
NS: I don’t ever really finish anything. I just start. I have like three things started, and they’re just sitting there not finished. I don’t have enough free time right now.
Chill out, Rock Chalkers
My column about the Oklahoma-Kansas game has caused a few Jayhawk fans to get their feathers ruffled.
Some took exception with my belief that the Sooners would’ve won by double figures had Blake Griffin be able to play. Others thought I was wrong in my critique of Cole Aldrich.
Hey, it’s a free country. Everybody’s entitled to their opinion. But that means I am, too, and I stand by what I said — the Sooners would’ve dominated with Griffin and Aldrich wasn’t as eye-poppingly good as I thought he would be.
Here’s why the Sooners would’ve beat the Jayhawks by double figures — it’s not only that Griffin would’ve scored a bunch of points and snagged a bunch of rebounds, but it’s also that he would’ve settled down his sidekicks. The biggest problem the Sooners had Monday night was that Austin Johnson and Tony Crocker looked like they did three years ago, not like they have the first three-plus months of the season. They threw the ball away. They missed shots. They never settled down.
The truth is, they were trying to do too much in Griffin’s absence.
With Griffin on the floor, they stay within themselves and do only what they can do. Monday with him on the bench, they tried to do things that they aren’t capable of.
It was a recipe for disaster.
A healthy Blake Griffin wouldn’t have just added his bit to the Kansas game. He’d have helped his teammates along, too.
As for Aldrich, I just wasn’t wowed by him. Yes, he put up some nice numbers. Maybe my expectations are too high. Maybe my expectations were of someone as good as Blake Griffin.
Truth is, Aldrich is a nice college center, but Griffin is a beast. My guess is that I spent the whole night thinking about how Griffin would’ve absolutely shredded a front-line as depleted as OU’s was, first by a superstar’s absence, then by big brother Taylor’s foul trouble. The younger Griffin would’ve scored 40 points and grabbed 30 rebounds.
That might be hyperbole, but then again, maybe not. The guy has been spectacular all season, and such crazy numbers are not so ridiculous with him.
All of this might only ruffle more Jayhawk feathers, but I’ll say this much — I’ll be darn interested to see what happens if these two teams cross paths in the Big 12 Tournament.
Sans Griffin, Sooners can take solace
With apologies to Jeff Capel, there was reason for the Oklahoma men’s basketball team to take solace in what happened at Texas.
Saturday night in Austin, a lost superstar meant a lost game for the Sooners. Blake Griffin suffered a concussion, and I don’t know about you, but it was tough watching the big guy on the bench. He had that spaced out look that’s scary to see.
His teammates, though, were sharp. Even without Griffin, the Sooners were within a whisker of beating a good Texas team in a rowdy environment.
The Longhorns triumphed — barely — and afterward, Capel dismissed the idea that there was anything good about the way his Sooners lost, declaring no moral victories for the program. I get what the OU coach is saying, but really, there was plenty to celebrate in the way the Sooners played.
Losing Griffin, after all, will be the biggest concern for this team come the postseason. He could tweak an ankle. He could get into serious foul trouble. Where might that leave the Sooners?
The answer came Saturday in Austin — it would still leave them in pretty good shape.
Now, you can’t lose the best player in college basketball without having a dip. But the Sooners showed that they are still a pretty good team sans Griffin.
Willie Warren is a flat-out gamer. The true freshman was clutch against the Longhorns, scoring 27 points.
Austin Johnson was solid. Check out this balanced stat line — six points, seven rebounds, six assists, no turnovers
Warren, Johnson and the rest of the able-bodied starters all played 35 minutes plus in the game, too. They hung tough, especially the big guys. Texas, after all, has quality depth in the post and played none of its bigs any more than 25 minutes.
There were definitely positives signs for the Sooners even in their loss.
Now, I’m not saying that they are as good without Griffin. With Big Blake, the Sooners are a national championship contender. Without him, they are not. But the good news is, now they know that they can manage if they have to go awhile in a game without him.
Better to find that out now rather than wonder about it when the calendar turns to March.
Day named to honor local standout
Who wouldn’t mind having a day named in their honor?
That’s what Kansas State has decided to do for Danielle Zanotti. The former multi-sport standout from Mustang is a senior on the Wildcat women’s basketball, and Sunday when Oklahoma State plays in Manhattan, K-State will be celebrating “Danielle Zanotti Day.”
It couldn’t have happened to a better person.
Four years ago, Zanotti was selected as one of The Oklahoman/Jim Thorpe Scholar-Athletes of the Year. She was not only bright but also giving and caring and just genuinely nice. None of that has changed. Zanotti, a role player for the Wildcats, has been named to the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll every year she’s been at K-State. Ditto for being Academic All-Big 12.
No wonder K-State has designated Sunday as her day.
By the way, the school is encouraging residents of the Mustang and Yukon area to attend Sunday’s game. Sure, it would be a bit of a drive, but Zanotti has done her hometown and home state proud.
We should all be glad Zanotti calls herself an Oklahoman.
