I aint dead yet
Richard Pryor had a tribute named after him with the above title. Why did I use Pryor? Because if WVU keeps playing this type of defense I'm going to need some crack.
Efejuku (again?) and Hill started fast for Providence, WVU missed some threes and started in a hole. Then when all hope seems lost WVU went on a 19-4 to end the half as the threes started falling. 8 of 17 from three in the first half.
The circle and stand with arms in the air defense worked well at the end of the first half and in the beginning of the second half. Unfortunately, Providence eventually realized that they are allowed to dribble or jump and that defense is spent allowing Providence to creep back into the game.
Frank picks up number 4 with 9 minutes to go. In a four point game the five on the floor: Rob Summers, Wellington Smith, Alexander Ruoff, Darris Nichols, and Da'Shawn Butler. I need LaLa to bring me shots. Immediate 7-0 run, who knew? Putting that group together in the key stretch of the game = huge balls; getting it to work = great coach. Of course if it doesn't you're an idiot, but in this case it worked.
Some quick stats. Providence shot 51% from the field; made all of their free throws and shot 62% from 3, out rebounded WVU, and still lost by 13. How? Tonight we won by the sword. We hit 17 of 32 threes(53%) and WVU outscored Providence by 21 from beyond the arc. I don't think we can keep this up without a little bit of defense though. One more win and we are in, in the meantime I'm going to have a talk with Mudbone.
2 comments:
Rodney told me long ago- while Nichols was in high school- that he prefers his given name, Darris, over Darius.
I was hoping you would mention Smalligans stellar first half performance. He shot one off the side of the board, forgot to catch a couple passes, missed a couple easy lay-ups, and generally seemed afraid of anyone near the paint. He came back into my good graces when he hit a three from the corner, but he is no Lala.
Tonight we may need to be near perfect from beyond the arc. I am a little nervous- but do have faith. We should go rub Jerry's neck for luck if we get a chance.
I didn't even know he had a first name until this year. Previously it was always just Nichols or Grasshopper. The spelling will come eventually.
We could get our picture taken riding Jerry's neck like a banana boat.
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