Feast Week Recap

Happy Thanksgiving from Mack is Berning. It is very clear that I have a lot to be thankful for right now: The Jazz are in first place, Kentucky just got ran off the court, and Intramural Basketball season is right around the corner. But most importantly, college basketball is finally hitting its stride. Early season tournaments are some of my favorite games of the season. There's no other time to see big time non conference games on sick neutral site courts, other than March, of course. So, from the opening tip-off with Bill Raftery letting me know Michigan St was going mantoman, to the trophy awarding after the final buzzer, this has pretty much been a perfect week. I'll go through what I have learned from the first stretch of college hoops.

#1 Duke is still the team to beat.

Things were looking a little dicey when the Blue Devils couldn't seem to put Marquette away, the same Golden Eagles team that struggled earlier with juggernauts like South Dakota and Wisconsin-Green Bay. They turned it around, though, by putting a beatdown on a very solid Kansas St squad in what was essentially a

home game for the Wildcats (Kansas City). If Kyrie Irving keeps playing like he is now, and Mason Plumlee continues to control the paint, I definitely see Duke riding Kyle "Andrei Kirilenko" Singler to a repeat as NCAA Champions.

#2 The Big East is still on top. Everything started at the Square, where Pitt was crowned champs of the 2K Sports Classic. It wasn't exactly what E. Gordon Gee would call a gauntlet that they ran through, but they beat solid teams in Rhode Island, Maryland, and Texas. What impressed me the most about the Panthers was their rebounding. No team crashes the boards harder than Pitt, particularly Nigerian freshman Talib Zanna. Georgetown looks solid also, having beaten Old Dominion on the road and North Carolina St in the final of the Charleston Classic. Interesting fact is that the Hoyas are ranked in the top 25 of 3 Point % but 244 in free throws. Next up is Villanova, who really impressed me in the NIT Season Tip-Off. The Wildcats are just a well-coached, fundamentally sound basketball team that takes care of the ball, knocks down their free throws, and boxes out the shooter. As you know, I really respect that brand of basketball. Finally, we have UConn, who made a big time statement winning it all in Maui. The Huskies edged out a very good Michigan St team, and absolutely annihilated Kentucky in the final.

Kemba Walker emerged as a true leader of this team, and they will go as far as he takes them. There were talks about Kemba possibly being the best player in college right now, and rightfully so with his 30 PPG. Personally, though, I'd have to pick Jimmer Fredette of the Mormons, but regardless, Kemba is a hell of an athlete, and Connecticut has the horses to hang with anyone, and could be one of the big surprises of the season.

Changing of the guard on the West Coast? One team that did not rise to the occasion this week would be the Zags, who got exposed defensively in losses to San Diego St and Kansas St. Unless they step up the pressure on D and have someone emerge as an offensive threat other than Steven Gray, it's gonna be a sub-par year in Spokane. It's going to have to happen quickly, too, as Illinois, Washington St, Notre Dame, Baylor, Xavier, Oklahoma St, and Wake Forest loom ahead on a brutal non-conference schedule.

While this is bad news for the Bulldogs, it is great for the team that blew them out of the gym in last years WCC Championship, oh yea, and advanced a round further than them in the NCAA Tourney. The Saint Mary's Gaels lost big man Omar Samhan, but have playmakers all over the perimeter with Clint Steindl, Matthew Dellavadova, and the superstar, Mickey McConnell. Saint Mary's can go shot for shot with anyone in the nation, and is claiming its spot among the top mid-major programs. The Gaels have chances to prove themselves against Texas Tech, San Diego St, Vanderbilt, and of course the Zags, before they try to make another run in the NCAA Tournament.

2010-11 Xavier Musketeers Preview Take II

With the season opener only 3 days away now, the anticipation for the upcoming Muskies season is greater than ever...or is it? After last season's heartbreaking exit, many naive fans saw Crawford returning along with everybody but Love, as well as the best recruiting class in Xavier history. Crawford has since wisely decided to go pro, and let's just say the top recruit is ineligible. Add to that their only proven big man is out the first month or more of the season, and the team's sparkplug's ACL is in shambles, and it has now become safe to say Xavier Nation is scurrying to pull the fire alarm. In a nightmarish series of events, the 2010-11 Xavier Musketeer Basketball team is essentially in shams. Oh and did I forget to mention a 63-61 loss to D2's finest the Bellermine Knight last weekend? Big ups to former Visi Vike Nick Holmes for puttin the clamp on Freaser burn, but come on gents, that's real shitty. This team will start the year with only 9 scholarship players active, 3 of which who have never played a minute of college basketball, and two others who go by the names Andrew Taylor and Jeff Robinson, respectively. If the preceding thought does not have Xavier Nation scared shitless, then hats off to you for your Holloway-esque sized balls...and your Justin Martin-esque sized brain. Yet despite all of this, I am here to provide Muskie faithful with a glimmer of hope. So without further (Freddy) ado, your 2010-11 Xavier Musketeers.


The Backcourt...
What's this? A bright spot? Believe it or not, there are some. First and foremost, at least some people on this team know how to win. Dante Jackson will look to surpass Jason Love as the winningest player to ever don a Muskie Uniform with 25+ wins this year, and Tu Holloway knows a thing or two about big games. These two players will be absolutely crucial for this team to have any success. With Redford catching the injury bug, and Justin Martin apparently just being a dumbass, it looks like Mark "Cheeks" Lyons will be the other guard Xavier will lean on. I personally can't stand his lack of composure around the cylinder or his broke ass j-work, but it looks as if I'll have to get used to Cheeks dropping 13 or so a game. The vital signs on Jay Canty seem to be decent, so hopefully he can do the #11 some respect and step up but that is to be continued at this point. And how could I talk about the back court without mentioning its bread and butter: one of the Bomber's and westside's finest, Johnny Mazza. Look for the rainmaker to be activated say around February 19, when the always tough Fordham Rams pay the Cintas Center a visit.


The Frontcourt...
Uhhh...ummm...yeah. With Jameezy McLeezy out 3-6 weeks, the PF and center positions are of obvious concern. But Burnside, small forward is also included in the front court. Yeah you're right, I just now realized that...Back to the action, it looks like Kenny Frease and Andrew Taylor will be the starters until further notice. If Frease hasn't had a Jason Love-esque transformation over the off season in his game, feel free to throw the towel in. I'm optimistic, probably more-so stupid, that this will be the case, but it's usually by year 3 Xavier big men really take off. (Unless your Brandon Cole and you get exponentially worse...but that's a different story) On any other Xavier team, I'd say Jeff Robinson and Griffin McKenzie aren't yet ready to contribute, but there doesn't seem to be much of a choice. You know what you're going to get with Taylor in there. Smart play, white boy D'in it up, possibly 2 layups a game, but that's all we're really looking for at this point. Jordan Latham seems to be more raw than....something that's really raw, but between him, Griff, and Robinson, somebody is going to have to grow up real quick. Heck I think Xavier greats such as Charles Bronson and Boubacar Coly would be looking at playing time on this squad. Needless to say I'm slightly concerned. With Jamel back hopefully in time to take a shit of the Slutler Bulldogs, expect a different story, but until then, get ready to break a few remotes and rupture a view blood vessels, Muskie fans.

The Good...
Butler, Temple, Florida, Wake Forest: 4 games that could very well define the season for the Muskies, all played at college basketball's third rowdiest arena, the 'Tas. Look for Xavier to steal at least two of these games. Note I did not feel the need to put Dayton on that list as a win in Cincy for the faggot flyers would be a sign of the Apocalypse. I would say jinx, but I've been pulling that stunt for 29 years now. On another good note, let's see here, oh yeah Xavier plays in the freaking Atlantic 10. The league has gotten much better as of late, but let's not forget who has won this league the 4 years running. We can only hope the trip to Spokane to take down little brother Gonzaga can prepare the Muskies for brutal trips to the likes of St. Bonaventure and St. Joe's. Let's also not forget Xavier historically tends to actually try in the A10 tourney and bring home some hardware when necessary. Bottom line, this program has been doubted too many times to count, and proven haters wrong con frecuencia. (MIB en Español? Probably not) These guys love playing underdog, and we can only hope last Saturday can be a major wake up call that you lose when you play shitty.

The Bad...
A10 or not, the schedule this year for Xavier is arguably harder than Squints around Wendy Peffercorn. No doubt this squad will be road tested with trips the afformentioned Spokane to face the Zags, a trip across town to the always rowdy 5th/3rd Arena (lolz, no homo), along with conference trips to Charlotte, Rhode Island (who last night proved they were a force to be reckoned with)Dayton, Richmond, and SLU. And how could I forget the dreaded trip north to Oxvegas to face the never tough Miami Redhawks. Odds of Patrick Berning being in attendance? I'll give it a zebro. Ok, ok, I'm done. For any other negatives, simply direct your attention to this entire article.

Am I excited for the 2010-11 Muskies? Obvi bro. Although I am likewise concerned, this isn't the first time. I see this squad grinding out a 23-12 record, winning the coveted A10 tourney, and yeah doing stuff like that. In the meantime, I'll shift my focus to what I do have control of, a Visitation Viking CYO title. With KFW at the helm, there's no doubt that when it comes to making bread he's got the keys the bakery. Alright that's about all I got. Stay golden ponyboy, and S'GOOOOO MUSKIES!!!