There should be some interesting matchups in this one. Hopefully we can take advantage of the ones that favor us and start Big 12 play on the right foot.
Coaching staff is rocking the dressy business attire today. I thought that would be the case. Time to get down to business
Of note: I could not locate Gabby Gregory during warmups and she’s not on the board to start the game.
See? I didn't even say WE need to limit Gabby. The KSU team is as crippled without her as we were without Rori. I expect a much, much more difficult rematch in Manhattan.
Got back from the game after leaving in the 4th quarter with about 6 minutes to go. First, I noticed a new player in warmups. I think this is Giselle Maul. In this picture she's running to shag a ball in warmups. And then, Sydney Carter Isn't there a rule you can't out-dress your co-workers to the point they look bad? When she's walking, there are lots of lights sparkling off her outfit. This was an amazing game to watch in that I don't think I've ever seen KSU play that badly. Also, apparently Vic gave the green light for 3-pointers because wow, I can't believe how many the team started launching. At one point, I was looking at the scoreboard and I saw that KSU had made 7 buckets the entire game. And this was in the 3rd quarter. That's just amazing! And Faye. Thank goodness she transferred to Texas. Her skills are growing.
When did we become a team that takes 25 three point shots? And make 40% (10) of them? Wow. 39%of our shots were from beyond the arc. No wonder Vic was unhappy the entire game. Up 20 at the half and Vic was mad. Went on a 6-0 run coming out of the half and Vic was mad. Up 46 points and still mad. Vic gonna Vic.
Vic just doing what Vic does - making his team better as the season progresses. Morris may be my favorite player - I love the way she gives attitude back to Vic. And he takes it
Shout out to Shay. She was Shay tonight. Stepped up when the team needed her. She is my favorite player. And then, toward the end, Anissa puts on a move and scores! I really enjoyed this game!
It’ll be a long time before I see a more fun move and reaction as Anissa made. What an outstanding Eurostep. And on the open floor and going hard. Impressive. Gratifying to see EVERYBODY jumping for joy.
Glad Hadi was patted on the back by Schaefer. She just gets better and better every game. Really good fundamentals. Soft hands. Except free throw shooter. Very impressive last 4 or 5 games. It just seems she gets it. High basketball IQ.
Eurostep. The ref's just didn't have the heart to call a travel. Loved the celebration though from everyone in the building. Seems like Vic is not very happy with the work ethic of Sonya and Shaylee.
In today’s basketball, the Eurostep is legal. And Anissa did it perfectly. The Eurostep was a fundamental move in Europe from the 1960s on. Used to watch the Olympics and wonder about it. Manu Ginobili popularized it in the early 2000s in the NBA. When I was refereeing during that time, it was just starting to be used by the best college and high school players. It surprised us referees and I called traveling several times. Especially around the basket. We had experts come to our associations and explain why it is legal. It involves the number two…..and referees have trouble counting past one! The dribbler gets two steps and the Eurostep does that. It looks awkward and to us old timers it would always be called traveling in the 20th century. As more European NBA players came, it was just the natural evolution of the game. It gives the dribbler a distinct advantage. It is what it is. It was so shocking to see a small guard, and a walk-on, use it. Way to go Anissa.
No she didn't. She took 3 steps, not two. The first two were a quick shuffle followed by the Euro crossover move that got her to the basket. It was really clear on the TV replays. I'm happy for her, and also happy the refs either didn't see it or decided to let it go.
I just can’t trust those referees! Counting is problematic. Perhaps that’s the reason the girls laughed at my Funky Chicken dance steps in the disco 70’s. But I can still do the Disco Finger cause it involves the number one.
Traveling is sometimes in the eye of the beholder. It’s like holding on the offensive line in football. This season the NBA is making a new and improved focus on calling traveling. The violations being called have almost doubled this year. The players many times a game just change their pivot feet. The NBA head of referees explained that old school, they were teaching the refs to first of all watch for defensive fouls, then go down a list of priorities. They now are training their referees to first watch the offensive guys feet for changes to pivot feet. The NBA has been notorious over the decades for ignoring traveling. Next year it might be something different….like palming the ball. Yes….the NBA is different than college and high school but those youngsters watch and incorporate NBA concepts in their games. The game continues to evolve. Who would have thought we would see fifty three pointers by one NBA team in a game? A new shot evolving……Sky Hook is dead, but The Dirk is now used not only by forwards but small guards. Someday we’ll be wondering about traveling changes. Or not.
