Charleston is a charming and welcoming city, unless you're Catholic. I was in Charleston, South Carolina this whole weekend, without access to a computer and this great interweb blog. The separation anxiety was crippling. Just my luck, Charleston was hit with six inches of snow (first major snowfall in twenty years, plus the city doesn't own any plows) and their public transportation is lackluster, so I had to drive everywhere thus hampering my drinking. Yet even as far away as South Carolina, the presence of our fair University was felt. First while walking down King Street, I looked into a bar to see the Dayton vs. UMass women's game was randomly on, I didn't even know they were televised. Then I ran into an old friend from Dayton who had moved to Charleston, whom I recognized only after seeing her get out of her car with a giant UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON sticker in the back. Then finally, while catching a drink, I asked the manager to put on the Dayton game, and it turned out his whole family went to Dayton. Small world.
Before I start to sound too much like Doog, lets get to the point of all this. I watched the first half of the SLU game, then with 12 minutes left in the second half, my girlfriend started playing with the, "We're on vacation, no more college basketball!" Not exactly surprising words from a George Washington Alum, but at least I understood that by going back to the house we were staying at, I could finally have some ice cold beers (Landshark for you kids playing at home). Also, I'm just whipped, which as you can tell is a running theme for the men of this blog. Anyway, after Dayton lost a game that I thought we would win, in double overtime no less, I made my feelings known to my girlfriend that it was her fault we lost because she didn't let me watch. Her response, "Whatever, You won't remember this in two weeks."
Crushing I know. Especially since she was right. I won't remember that I didn't see the end of the SLU game or what caused me to miss it, but what I and the selection committee will remember, is that once again UD lost a winnable game to a subpar conference opponent. Before the game, we told you there was no room for error and Dayton was walking on the razor thin line between the NIT and NCAA Tournament. Then we lost. Now where does that leave us? On an even more razor thin line? We're way past the point of having the confidence of assuming victory in any game and our next mistake will more likely be our last. Coming to town is a team as dangerous as any (though I'd consider UD vs. the BR bloggers dangerous at this point) and fighting for the right to make it to Atlantic City.
Dr. John is a personal friend of a blog. I have his digits.The Good Doctor is Coming to Town: Dr. John Giannini is bringing his La Salle Explorers to dreaded Blackburn Court with an 11-13 record (3-7 in conference) and a four game losing streak. Dr. John has been coaching the Explorers since 2005, though I don't remember how he got the job, and had the once proud program on an upward trend, until they started actually playing this year. On paper, La Salle was a dark horse for an A-10 title this year (VERY dark horse) coming off an 18-9 record in 2008-09 that saw 9 conference victories and returned their best player. Reading Blackburn's interview with HC Dr. John from this fall, you get the feeling that Dr. John's optimism is not only justified, but realistic (Also note that Donoher said Duquesne was a lock to finish top 4 in the conference in the comments section). Unfortunately, the season results have been deflating for the program.
La Salle scheduled a lot of top programs this season hoping to increase their RPI profile and cut their teeth of some of their young players, instead they got their teeth broken. They were mauled by the likes of Kansas, Villanova, Oklahoma State, and Binghamton. You read that correctly. The Explorers don't have anything closely resembling a quality win, their best win is over GW, and that was by one point. I'm not going to pretend that I've seen them play a single game this season, so instead of telling you its because they lack an inside/outside presence or a solid zone/man to man defense, let's just hit the stats.
Intermission: Top 5 Winter Olympics Events
1. Men's Short Track Speed Skating: Remember when you used to fight your brother or sister and chase them around the island in your kitchen? Ok, now imagine doing that as an adult, at a higher speed, on ice, with two extra people, and if you don't win your family and country with be ashamed of you and your arranged bride will leave you (only applies to Koreans). Easily the most exciting event in the Winter Olympics and our team is lead by one of our greatest Olympians of our generation (Apollo Ohno) with a fierce rivalry (S. Korea...not North, I know its confusing). What makes this sport so great is that it isn't based on the judges rating of your turns, posture, or anything subjective which ruins a lot of good sports. It's based solely on who wins the race, even if that means taking out the competition. Blackburn missed his true calling.
2. Hockey: It's already a very underrated sport in its professional form, its greatness is amplified in the Olympics. Not only is it the best hockey tournament in the world, but they play on a larger ice and with rules that are adjusted to encourage fast, open play with a lot of scoring and hitting. If I had any idea what was going on, it would be my number one sport.
3. Bobsledding: "Hey lets all fire bullets with humans attached and the first one to hit the wall loses?"
Obligatory Lindsey Vonn picture. God Bless America4. Snowboard Cross: Same idea as Short Track Speed skating but with four snowboarders going on an obstacle course while racing down hill. Unfortunately, it's already over, so lets move on.
5: Downhill: Men's or Women's, it doesn't matter. Watching the people skiing down a two smile stretch of ice at 70 miles an hour, constantly teetering on the verge of disaster. Sounds like a great time to me. They should have prop bets on whether or not the first fall will shatter cheek bones or rip a knee part.
Who To Watch: Rodney Green is La Salle's Alpha and Omega. He's played over 90% of La Salles total minutes and has accounts for 18.5 points (at a 40% clip), 5.5 rebounds, 4 assists, and a steal and a half per game. At 6'5", 210 points Green is a match up nightmare for any team in the A10, just ask Kansas after he dropped 19 on them in a losing effort. The only team that has been able to hold Green to single digits this season is Villanova and their talented backcourt. Don't expect that kind of success defensively against Green. He's going to be a problem from tip off to buzzer, let's just hope we can isolate him, and throw enough looks in front of him to limit his shooting percentage. Green is a do-it-all guard who would really benefit having another talented guard with him, unfortunately I'm not sure La Salle even has another guard on their roster.
Rodney Green: A man to be feared.
The other headliner on the Explorers roster is top recruit Aaric Murray. A consensus top 50 recruit coming out of high school, Murray (6'10, 245) has a lot of God given talent and athleticism, but also has been given the curse of being aware of it. His offensive numbers have been outright erratic the entire season, giving some stinkers like 3 points and 4 boards in 33 minutes against Binghamton and 1-9 from three point range against Xavier, but has also flashed some brilliance, most notably dropping 19 points, 15 boards and 4 blocks against Richmond. Murray's hopes of being a one and done player have been dashed by his inconsistency, but after playing, and out playing, most of the A-10 this season, I'm sure he's going to be licking his chops coming into next season. It's going to be interesting to see how Dayton plays him defensively. He's too quick and athletic for Kurt and Searcy and probably too strong for Benson. He isn't capable of putting the Explorers on his back yet, but expect him to cause havoc when the Flyers are driving the lane.
The rest of the Explorers are a rag tag group of mediocrity and down right brutality. Dr. John is playing his most talented players, but they tend to be unathletic forwards who get chewed up by quick and long swingmen. Yves Mekongo Mbala, a senior forward from New Jersey, contributes a flat 11 ppg and 5 rpg, but would have trouble cracking a starting five on most A10 teams. Junior forward Jerrell Williams gives the Explorers 9 and 6 a game, doesn't shoot much but makes it when he does (46%). Finally, junior forward Steve Weingarten from Bodymore, Murderland has seen an increase in his minutes this season, but hasn't done much with it (4 ppg, 3 rpg). Green and Murray's supporting cast gives them almost nothing offensively or defensively and should be playing in the NAIA. That being said, we're probably going to go down to the wire with them.
Numbers: "Statistics are human beings with the tears wiped off." - Paul Brodeur
|
| PPG | FG% | FT% | 3P% | RPG | ORPG | DRPG | APG | TPG | SPG | BPG | FPG |
 |
LAS |
71.6 |
45.2 |
68.3 |
36.8 |
38.9 |
13.9 |
25.0 |
13.8 |
16.1 |
6.2 |
4.8 |
17.3 |
 |
UD |
70.4 |
44.7 |
66.4 |
32.5 |
39.1 |
12.3 |
26.4 |
14.5 |
14.5 |
6.1 |
3.5 |
20.0 |
|
LAS Opponents |
72.9 |
43.9 |
70.2 |
34.0 |
32.8 |
11.8 |
20.9 |
15.2 |
11.7 |
8.3 |
4.2 |
18.6 |
|
UD Opponents |
61.8 |
39.6 |
65.2 |
33.3 |
32.0 |
9.6 |
22.4 |
11.0 |
14.7 |
5.9 |
3.4 |
19.1 |
According to these fancy numbers Blackburn gave me, we're a better team. How's that worked out for us so far? It's clear La Salle can rebound, and you'd hope so considering they play 4 forwards, but it'll be interesting to see if those are just because they are capable of padding their stats with 5 minutes left in a blow out, or if they'll be diving all over the place. If the Flyers fail to secure a sizeable lead early on the boards, this game might turn ugly.
Predictions and Lies: It's late in the day and I did not at all prepare for this recon, so let's make this quick. Dayton is favored by 11, and it's almost a joke to see that we're ever favored by more than one. Of course it's obvious isn't it? Dayton will crush La Salle because we NEVER LOSE AT HOME. Here's the thing, if this game is close down the stretch, La Salle has Rodney Green to take its shots, who does Dayton have? Whatever, let's just think happy thoughts. Dayton spends most of the game up 12 and in the final minutes La Salle gets some junk baskets to make it an 8 point win for the Flyers. Expect big nights from Wright and CJ because they will be running circles around the Explorers defense, but not much from Marcus because he'll be busy guarding Green. Rob Lowery drives to the hoop and is blocked 3 times, the third and final time ending with Aaric Murray spanking him in front of a confused crowd and a sexual aroused Brian Gregory. Donoher then says in the comments that he could have written this recon, and he's right.
January 10, 2012 
Things are going really well in Flyer land right now. Dayton is "cruising" with a 12-4 overall record to go along with an unbelievable 2-0 conference record. The Flyers are getting some dap from Andy Katz and are sitting pretty in the land known as Joe Lunardi's Bracketology. Things are SO good that Blackburn is seriously contemplating a return trip to Dayton for the first time in nearly 10 years. It's been that kind of year, folks!
Meet and Greet: Who else are we going to start with? All-League, All-World, All-Awesome Andrew Nicholson is still around. While his sexy numbers from last year (20 and 7) have dropped off quite a bit, to a mere 14 and 6, he is still clearly the go-to guy for this Bonnies team. He is also averaging over a block a game and is still pissed about being passed over for POY last season, so look for him to bounce back come conference play IF, and that is a big if (notice the all caps?), he can stay out of foul trouble.
