Film Study 101: Hoosiers vs. Terps

Last night, while putting off my essay for class, I tried a little experiment. With MacBook in hand and remote nearby, I put on the DVR'd Indiana v. Maryland game from last night and tried to really dig in to the details of what, exactly, was happening.

As a non-athlete (at least not past high school) I have never really made a serious effort at Peyton Manning-style film study before. But here are a few unusual things that occurred to me in the first half (second half coming after I finish this paper!):

1) When the starters or top eight guys (including Dumes, Hulls, Elston) are in the game, defense was fairly good. Rivers was doing an outstanding job on Greivis Vasquez early in the game. Creek also played him tough, but both he and Dumes let General Greivis slip over screens to take open threes that really put Maryland back in the game.

Still, the zone was very solid with all of these guys. Capobianco and Jobe are defensive liabilities. I was pleasantly surprised at how hard Jordan Hulls worked on the defensive end, and also at how mobile Tom Pritchard looked at times.

2) Devan Dumes made at least two great leading passes (to Jones and Creek, I believe) that both ended up not counting in his favor thanks to misses or blocks. He looked very heady running the fastbreak on these occasions and also showed exceptional range from beyond the arc. If he's still not 100%, then he's going to be a factor for this team once he gets there.

3) Christian Watford is an amazing athlete. Elston has a similar game but just isn't as springy or dominant. Elston needs to capitalize on his chances - he hurried several putbacks which resulted in wasted possessions. Still, his energy is excellent.

4) Jeremiah Rivers made three Top-Ten caliber plays. His block near the 10-minute mark on Moseley, then his flying steal on the ensuing inbound and fast-break throwdown were all just awesome moments. Actually, make that four, because that twisting reverse layup early in the game was great, too.

5) Hulls looked solid coming in and running the offense. He is more of a three-point threat than Rivers, which could be an X-factor going forward.

6) Verdell Jones looks like a man without a position. He and Creek have very similar skill sets, but Creek may already be as good of a defender and a better three point shooter. Verdell needs to keep driving the basket and taking those pull-ups that he is so good at. He also needs to finish stronger. He failed to draw several should-have-been fouls near the hole. Still, his mistakes are down somewhat.

7) Pritchard, despite a lack of stats, actually played well in the first half alongside Watford. He's one of the team's best pick and roll options.

Anyone else watch the game? Agree? Disagree? Let me know below.

Kevin Coble and the Ewing Theory

I don't want to get too excited about this.

Seriously.

But Northwestern just took down the ACC's North Carolina State 65-53. Last week, they beat ranked Notre Dame and a good Iowa State team to win the Chicago Invitational Tournament.

This is a team that, after losing both 6-foot-8 star Kevin "Big Bird" Coble and top sixth man Jeff Ryan to freakish season-ending injuries, was supposed to be cooked. Done. Dead and buried.

Instead, they are currently 6-1 with their only loss coming to Butler. The Bulldogs will be a 2- or 3- seed come March. And Northwestern was actually in the game for at least a half. Juice Thompson, John Shurna (pictured), Jeremy Nash, and Luka Mirkovic can all really play. Hell, even Kyle Rowley has looked competent at center!

Is it maybe possible that the 'Cats are better without Coble to lean on? Or is this just a fluke? With four games left until the Big Ten season, all of them pretty much automatic W's except Stanford, a 9-2 nonconference schedule is a sure thing.

Anyway, just some food for thought... Northwestern bandwagon, plenty of seats available.

The Indiana Hoosiers' All-Decade Team: Assembly Hall Superstars 2000-2009

It sure has been a long ten years for fans of Indiana basketball. Just a decade ago, Bobby Knight was still working the sidelines in Bloomington. Since Knight's 2000 firing, Indiana has experienced a true roller coaster of highs and lows, leaving fans elated and/or throwing up in their mouths, sometimes in the same season!

A fairy-tale run to the national championship game in '02 under Mike Davis gave way to a series of early-round ousters, the departure of Davis (also known as "Not The General" by Knight faithful), the much-anticipated hiring of Kelvin Sampson and his cell phone collection, a ranking as high as eighth nationally in '08, the ensuing train wreck (I don't wanna talk about it), and the high hopes of the Crean era, which have been seasoned with a healthy dose of humble pie in the form of a 6-25 season, the worst in Hoosiers history.

Yeah, it's been one heck of a decade. So let's take a minute to recognize the players who have done the Cream and Crimson proud through both good and bad.


PG Tom Coverdale (1999-2003)

It seemed like Coverdale was at least thirty by the time he graduated from IU. During a lengthy four-year career, Tom accumulated 500 assists, averaging almost five per game. He is third all-time in Indiana history in the category, and his 178 dimes during the '01-'02 season marked the second-best passing season by a Hoosier.

He was also no slouch while taking his own shots. Coverdale scored over 1,200 points in his career, and his marks of 200-555 from behind the three point line make him second all-time in both categories.

His leadership was also key during the Indiana run to the 2002 title game, and he was named South regional MVP during that tourney.

Honorable Mention: AJ Guyton, Marshall Strickland, Earl Calloway

SG Bracey Wright (2002-05)

If you like me-first shooting guards, then this ten year period in Indiana history has got to be one of your all time favorites. Bracey averaged 17.6ppg throughout his three year career at the Hall, but his .405 shooting percentage indicated the sheer number of possessions Wright claimed in racking up all those points (#15 all-time in scoring).

Bracey gets the nod at SG because Eric Gordon was even more of a ball hog in his one year at Indiana (amazingly enough), and because Wright and Mike Davis actually won an NCAA tournament game (vs. Alabama, 2003), something Gordon couldn't manage.

Honorable Mention: Eric Gordon, Roderick Wilmont, Kyle Hornsby


SF Jared Jeffries (2000-02)

The tall, skinny, and talented Jeffries spent just two years at Indiana before jumping to the NBA. In his sophomore year, he was a second team All-American while averaging 15 points, 7.6 rebounds, and almost three combined blocks/steals per game. He was also the Big Ten MVP that year.

A Bloomington native, Jeffries started all seventy games of his too-brief collegiate career. (picture: we call this the "I shoulda stayed at Indiana!" shot.)

Honorable Mention: Robert Vaden


PF Kirk Haston (1998-2001)

A 'tweener for the All-Decade team, since he only played a season and a half of the 'oughts, Haston nevertheless earned this spot. During the '00-'01 year, Haston was a monster, and helped Mike Davis start out reasonably well in replacing the legendary Bobby Knight.

He averaged 19 points per game while stuffing the stat sheet in every category. He even added an outside shot to his repertoire, shooting almost 38% from beyond the arc on the way to being the first-round pick of the Charlotte Hornets in the 2001 NBA Draft.

Honorable Mention: Jeff Newton, A.J. Moye (led team in rebounds in 2004 despite being only 6'3" - that earns you a picture, man!)


PF/C D.J. White (2004-08)

I have to be honest: D.J. is my favorite player in Hoosiers history. He may not have won a championship, or even gone deep in the tourney, but he became Indiana's bulwark during a tumultuous four year career during which he played for three different coaches.

White averaged around 13ppg and almost 5ppg as a freshman before missing most of the '05-'06 year due to injury.

A solid junior year during which he was paired with the jumbo-sized Marco Killingsworth gave way to a senior season in which Indiana and Kelvin Sampson had some extremely high expectations. Throughout the awful mess that that season would become, White was Indiana's rock.

All he did was come to work every day and dominate every big man he played against. Twenty-two rebounds at Michigan. The sixth-best single season rebounding total in Indiana history. Meanwhile, DJ upped his scoring as well, hitting over 17 a game and showing off a solid jump shot to go with his dominant post moves.

His 17.4-10.6 (pt/reb) season average was, statistically, the best for anybody in the Cream and Crimson, ever. That includes Walt Bellamy, George McGinnis, and Alan Henderson.

Honorable Mention: George Leach, Marco Killingsworth.

Exclusive Preview: The Hoosiers All-Decade Team

This one is exclusive to Armchair Superstar - I'm currently working on the IUBB All-Decade Team and crunching the numbers to figure out who makes the cut. The way it works is... this is a work in progress! First name listed is the current leader for first team. Italics is the second team guy, tentatively, any names below are also in the running.

Please let me know ASAP if you have any feedback, I'm trying to get this polished and in Cheesecake Slideshow Form for B/R and here by tonight!

Point Guard: Tom Coverdale - 503 career assists. #30 in career scoring. Two ten-plus assists games. 200 career 3 pointers.
AJ Guyton - just one year in the 2000's or he'd be in. 16.4ppg over career, #4 on all time scoring list.
Marshall Strickland
Earl Calloway

Shooting Guard: Bracey Wright - led team in scoring x3. #15 in all-time scoring.
Eric Gordon - one of the best single-year scoring in history. Just a single year though.
Roderick Wilmont - was co-Indiana MVP with White one year.
Devan Dumes - led team in scoring last year.

Small Forward: Jared Jeffries - over 1,000 points in just two seasons, and a good rebounder.
Robert Vaden

Power Forward: Kirk Haston - over 1,400 pts for career in 3yr.
Jeff Newton - led team in blocks 2000-2002, #1 total blocks career.

Center: DJ White - best single game rebounding (at Michigan, 1/8/08) by far of the decade. All-American, Big Ten POY 2008, led team in blocks 2005, 2007, 2008.
George Leach - #83 on all time scoring list, 3 7-block games, 3 6-block games
Marco Killingsworth - led team in scoring 2006, blocks 2006.

Sixth Man: AJ Moye - 15 boards at 6-foot-3 once. Still, he may give way to...
Dane Fife (all-time steals leader!)
Kyle Hornsby

Coach: Mike Davis
Tom Crean

Here Come the Hawks

About a week ago Noffke asked me to write a Blackhawks post, so I decided to end my vacation from the golf season early (Hey Noffke the Masters is coming up soon). With the NHL season just a bit over a quarter of the way done, we are beginning to see the identity of each team.

The Blackhawks are on a tear right now. They are riding a 7 game winning streak going into tonight’s game in San Jose. The Hawks are half way through their circus trip and are perfect so far. They enter tonight’s game with a record of 15-5-2 with 32 points, 4 points behind the sharks in the Western Conference. Marion Hossa is set to make his Blackhawks and season debut tonight.

The Blackhawks big 3 (Towes, Kane, and Keith) are set to get extensions that I have been hearing are close to being done but have to work out some cap issues, i.e. trade someone first. With that news out of the way here is what I think about the Blackhawks so far.

Goalies:

Cristobal Huet and Antti Niemi have been solid, but I’m still not sold on them yet. Huet has played better his last few games. Well better is an understatement, he has played exceptional. After the rocky start to the season many were calling for Huet's head and were ready to appoint Niemi as the number 1.

The problem with Huet if you watch is he goes down so early that it leaves the top corners open. If players wait a bit longer with their shot they would be able to put the puck right where Grandma keeps the peanut butter. Huet has been doing better with this recently, but whether or not he can play like this all season I’m not sure yet.

Niemi has played well as the number 2. He got the shutout Sunday night in Vancouver and has some other good games. Niemi though is still a number 2 as of right now. Can he be a number 1? Yeah, he might be able to one day, but to think he can be the number 1 now is asking too much. He is still a rookie and don’t know is can handle the game load of a number 1 goalie let alone a playoff just yet.

Defense:

Part of the reason the goalies have played well is because they have the defense in front of them. Keith and Seabrook have become top blue liners in the league. There are some who think they could be starting for team Canada in the Olympics this February.

As for the others, Nikolas Hjalmarsson has become a decent defenseman for the Hawks. Cam Barker and Brian Campbell are more offensive defenseman with Barker being a sniper and Campbell being able to move the puck up the ice. These two aren’t the best defenseman, but they are still good enough to make this a solid defense group for the Hawks.

Offense:

With the return of Marion Hossa tonight he will only add to an offense that already has no trouble scoring (like the massacre they put on Calgary last Thursday). Hossa could join the line of Toews and Kane which could already make a talented first line even better.

Speaking of Toews, it is blatantly obvious how much he means to this team. With him out of the lineup with a concussion a couple of weeks ago we saw the Hawks offense struggle more often than not. They still scored but not as much as they were. After Toews returned they went on this current 7 win streak.

Kane is an electric playmaker that has good hands. My friend and I always comment on how well he moves the puck and you can notice it more in shutouts. The Hawks offense also includes Kris Versteeg, Patrick Sharp, and Big Dustin Byfuglien. This core group on the offense provides the Hawks with enough scoring.

Overall I think the Hawks are one of the better teams in the West and maybe even the league. They are playing the best hockey right now and I see them making a deep run in the playoffs. It’s still early, but this is a solid team stocked with talent.

Since everyone will be going out tonight since Thanksgiving is tomorrow, watch the Hawks. It will be an exciting game tonight. Most of you will be at a bar anyways, so it will most likely be on already. The Blackhawks are really the only positive thing in Chicago sports these days.

Lance Briggs Has A Hobby

... and you'll never guess what it is.

Full coverage from the Tribune here.

And I feel a little better about my nerdiness. Hooray!

Top Chef Power Rankings

In the finale of the Las Vegas portion of Top Chef, the Chef’s had short time to prepare food for a world class competition full of world class judges. Eli had an ok night, but was clearly #5 in a four person race. The other four get some much needed time off as the head off to Napa Valley for the Finals.

Top Shelf


Kevin "Red Beard" Gillespie



Red Beard took a huge gamble this week, he cooked a way he has never cooked before in his life. Bryan Voltaggio helped him the night before, but the entire time I was watching the episode I was screaming, “Stick with what you know!” His food came out good though and he ended up winning the competition. I think this competition shows the key to winning Top Chef. Red Beard was not the most creative or used the most creative techniques (especially compared to the Voltaggio’s). He was even criticized for “playing it safe” durning judges table. The key though, is he made no mistakes and cooked his food properly. That’s it. That’s why he won this elimination challenge. That’s also how you win the show, cook good food and cook it properly, do that and you’ll win. Richard Blaize probably would have won Top Chef Chicago with his creativity, technique and cooking ability. In the final, he even said it, “I chocked.” He had better ideas and technique but he didn’t cook the food properly.


Bryan Voltaggio



Big props for him for helping out Red Beard. If I was him, I would have said, this is how you do it, but I don’t know if I’d try doing that for my first time 1 challenge away from the final. Bryan did cook a solid meal, but looked a little flustered for only the second time in the season. I think the discussion at the table put it best, if he had had more time, then he would have probably created the winning dish. They could see his dish continuing to develop. I still feel him and Red Beard are the chef’s to beat, I could see either of them winning it all.


They could win, but I’m not putting money on them.


Michael Voltaggio



Micheal was the only chef of the 5 who had been in a cooking competition before. He felt confident in his ability and for the most part did a good job. The thing that cost him his chance to win was when one of the guests at the table found a bone in his fish. Instantly all the judges commented on how that would be throw out immediately in any real competitions. It seemed like his over all dish was good overall. I feel if the Napa Valley he could win if the challenges are more towards his style of cooking, but I feel his brother cooks that style better. I don’t want to doubt Michael, but I don’t think he can over take the top two.


Jen Carroll



Jen had an ok night. She won the quickfire which allowed her to get an extra 30 minutes of cooking. She seemed more organized and didn’t really need the extra 30 minutes and ended up helping out the fellow competitors. I think this break will benefit her the most. She had clearly hit a wall a few episodes ago when she was saying she was ready to go home. She started off the competition as one of the top competitor’s showing her potential in the army episode where she ran the kitchen. I think if she gets back on her game she could win it all, but like I said about Michael, I don’t see her over taking the top two.