The Sock 'Em, Bust 'Em Board Because that's our custom

Do thank Eron Harris

February 3, 2014 by Mike Casazza

Smitten with Juwan Staten, who Monday was named the Big 12 player of the week? Well, that’s fine and smart, of course, but let’s tilt our heads a little and look at this in a different manner.

Begin with a seemingly benign, but no doubt beneficial decision by a teammate in the final seconds Tuesday night. Oh, that was Staten’s game-winning layup, but watch Eron Harris on this play and see how he makes the heroics a little easier on his point guard.

It’s a cheeky little play where he sees the back of Gary Franklin’s jersey and realizes he and Staten have a chance to win this. He knows he can retreat into the corner and that one of two things will happen. Either Franklin will stay put to defend Staten or Franklin will follow Harris. Either one is a good move for Franklin because Staten has a step on the way to the hoop and because Harris is WVU’s best shooter. He decided to scramble to Harris, which left Staten with one fewer obstacle for his reverse layup.

Useful.

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WVU v. Kansas State: This is true

February 1, 2014 by Mike Casazza
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Amazing what a road win against one of the league’s most talented teams can do for you. West Virginia gets its third-lowest point total of the season, shoots barely 40 percent from the floor, misses 15 of 23 3-point shots and darn near gives away an eight-point lead … but wins.

Afterward the Mountaineers are quizzed about a game against the team that pretty much embarrassed them two weeks ago and, wouldn’t you know it, they’re making you take dictation.

“We feel we need to pay this team back,” point guard Juwan Staten said. “We’ve been in every single game but that one. They came out and hit us in the mouth early. They showed they were tougher than us and they were more physical and they wanted it more – that day. We don’t feel like that’s how it really is.”

Well, how is it really? Well, Kansas State is 1-3 on the road, and that’s all in conference play. The win is against — all together — TCU. The Wildcats only scored 65 points in that one and followed with 60 at Kansas, 64 at Texas and 75 at Iowa State. Shooting percentages? Try 52.5 at TCU, 44 at Kansas, 42.6 at Texas and 42.2 at  Iowa State.

That probably ought not tell us very much. Kansas State struggles on offense (No. 9 in the Big 12 in scoring, shooting and 3-point shooting). Life is naturally harder away from home. But Kansas State has made its name on defense (No. 2 in scoring defense, No. 3 in field-goal percentage defense, No. 1 in 3-point percentage defense). Teams generally don’t guard as well away from home as they do at home, and a lot of that has to do with the home team playing typically above expected norms on offense.

Kansas State has had some off days of defense on the road. Let’s disregard TCU, which might go winless if it doesn’t get one against Texas Tech. At Kansas, Kansas State forced seven turnovers and had just one steal. The Jayhawks are the worst in the league in turnovers and turnover margin, but also helped themselves with 20 assists on 32 baskets on the way to shooting 56 percent from the floor. And a fella named Andrew Wiggins got cozy during the proceedings.

At Texas, the Longhorns threw in a 3 at the buzzer — it happens — but nevertheless won shooting 45.6 percent from the floor, 3-for-12 from 3-point range, 12-for-20 at the foul line and losing the rebounding battle. They had only 10 turnovers, though, and Kansas State had just two steals. Texas point guard Javan Felix wouldn’t stay out of the lane and had 22 points.

At Iowa State, the Cyclones shot 48.1 percent, made half of their 3-point shots and outscored Kansas State 20-12 at the free throw like in a 81-75 win. Melvin Ejim — don’t look now, but he’s leading the Big 12 in scoring — had 20 points on five baskets and a kid named Matt Thomas (that’s not a Wiggin-like joke … I had no idea who Thomas was before the game) came off the bench and made four 3s on the way to 14 points.

Here’s the … the … key, I think. Kansas led by 17 at the half, Texas by four and Iowa State by 12. Kansas State is not engineered to play from behind. It’s built to be a front-runner and to guard and pass and cut and play physical. Get behind and good lock. The Wildcats are 13-1 when they lead at the half and 2-4 when they trail. The largest halftime deficit they’ve overcome to win a game is five points.

The Mountaineers, who, if we’re being honest with one another, don’t enjoy much of a home court advantage, know their duty this afternoon.

“This is a real big game because Kansas State the first time, we went out there and we definitely got stepped on,” forward Remi Dibo said. “We never came close to making it a game. Everyone on the team is really looking forward to this one.”

I know you’re looking forward to this …

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Friday Feedback

January 31, 2014 by Mike Casazza

Welcome to the Friday Feedback, which will spend a little time on Mike Parsons today. I found there to be a lot of good questions and quality commentary in the wake of Tuesday’s news that Parsons was — I think what follows is an appropriate set of words, no matter the circumstances — going away after 35 years.

What I did not find to be good or quality was the baseless, unsupported claim this is a  blow to WVU. Here’s a very simple way to put all of this: There was no need for a person in the position Mike Parsons had. IMG College now manages the multimedia rights. That used to be Parsons’ gig as the man in charge of the Mountaineer Sports Network.

This is to say he wasn’t fired or ousted. Nor is this to say there was or is no need for a Mike Parsons.

I’ll stand in the face of the “That guy sucked!” crowd and tell you he did a lot with scheduling and contracts and television and finances and the like in the past and that he was good at his job. And perhaps the most recent state of MSN wasn’t all that it could be, but focusing on that overlooks what wonders it worked for so many years.

Did he make and have enemies? Certainly. Was MSN assailable? Of course. Doesn’t change that he was a good administrator.

But Mike, isn’t it then a blow to WVU to lose a good administrator? 

Yes and no. You’d like to have good people who are good at their jobs, but I think it’s fair to say that a lot of people are willing to argue against Parsons on both, and at there was, at minimum, a concern about allegiances. And doesn’t WVU have individuals now who handle scheduling and contracts and television and finances and things like that? Parsons did a lot of external stuff when Ed Pastilong was around. Oliver Luck doesn’t strike me as a guy who needs or wants an external guy.

If you’re not familiar with Parsons or you don’t understand the clamor about his exit, that ought to tell you enough about the situation. From a step back from the surface, it’s not that big of a deal, so much so that WVU probably isn’t going to hire another deputy AD … or anyone else in the athletic department. Closer to the source of the news, sure, it’s a big story. Guy who’s been around a while is gone. Smoke no longer billows from inside the Coliseum.

But I understand that’s a minority.

If you see this as a simple business transaction, then Parsons was fired and will get some severance upon his departure, though there are many other questions on the other side of that simple business transaction.

If you’re outraged, it’s probably because you grew to like Parsons and/or dislike Luck and you’re making another trek to the camel’s back.

I’m certain we’ll talk more about this in a bit. Onto the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, be considerate of those around you.

Rugger said:

You would think Markel would acknowledge the perfect pass from Gary “telegraph” Browne. Ingrate!

This is my fault. I believe I said in the game blog that team’s don’t really press WVU because WVU (Staten) is pretty good against the press. This was a press situation and Browne made a silly play. Perfect pass to Markel, though. Indeed.

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Whose time is it anyway?

January 30, 2014 by Mike Casazza

That was from 11 months ago. It was also from the last time WVU played Baylor and that was when Juwan Staten seemed to have lost his mind and either didn’t know the score or how much time was left or both and bobbled the final possession of a loss.

Staten, who was 0-for-9 from 3-point range to that point in the season and hadn’t made one in more than two years, ended up forcing a 3 at the buzzer that was easily blocked. (And perhaps a great indication of how things were and where they are now is remembering the 3 was supposed to go to Kevin Noreen that night.)

Overall, a pretty bad moment for Staten and a pretty bad and telling night for the Mountaineers.

“You’ve got to score,” WVU coach Bob Huggins said. “Taking a shot you can’t make isn’t helping any.”

Tuesday night was WVU’s first game against Baylor since then and not only was there no way Staten wasn’t taking the final shot or free throws, but you had to feel pretty certain he was going to make something good happen. And he did, just like he did in the key moments in the game and just like he has for just about all of this season.

And so we wondered and I inquired: Should the offense go through Staten?

We Scoop & Score at 9 a.m.

by Mike Casazza

Listen live right here and a podcast link will follow soon thereafter. Topics today: Oh, no. National Signing Day! Don’t expect a lot of change in the Big 12 next football season. Does everyone truly understand college basketball’s new rules? More ridiculous road trip tales. And Matt Darnell, who you know as @themightymjd, joins me to talk about the Super Bowl.

Good thing he missed those freebies

January 29, 2014 by Mike Casazza

The most entertaining and most telling part from the final sequence of West Virginia’s win at Baylor Tuesday night was how Juwan Staten handled the possession that ended with his game-winning layup.

Terry Henderson would flash open on the perimeter to Staten’s left with only a few seconds left. Eron Harris would do the same to Staten’s right a couple of seconds after that. Staten never so much as flinched and was intent on taking the final shot because he was so mad about missing two free throws one possession earlier — to say nothing of missing the front end of a one-and-one and contributing to a shot clock violation not long before that.

“I felt like I let the team down missing a couple free throws and felt like I needed to do something,” said Staten, who made a game-winner at home against Virginia Tech last season and missed a game-winner at home against Oklahoma State this season. “I pretty much knew I was the one who was going to take the shot. That was something I’d made up in my mind. I felt like I’d given the game away and it was up to me. I wouldn’t sleep at night if I didn’t do something to win that game.”

He played it perfectly, as did the Mountaineers.

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WVU v. Baylor: Here’s the story

January 28, 2014 by Mike Casazza

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Coincidence? Noted Canadian Brady Heslip is the cover boy for tonight’s program and he gets his looks against WVU’s forgiving defense?

Better question: Concerned?

The Mountaineers, tied with TCU and Texas Tech for the Big 12’s worst 3-point defense, have had two mixed, though critically similar performances against two of the Big 12’s best shooters the past two games. Dusty Hannahs, of course, went all sorts of silly with a 7-for-7 night inside the Coliseum. Phil Forte was uncharacteristically erratic Saturday, missing 8 of 9 shots in Oklahoma State’s victory.

“Different results, Mike. How are them similar?” you say.

That’s 16 3-point attempts to guys you can’t be allowing 16 3-point attempts to — and here comes Heslip, who has a very limited conscience.

“To be honest, if it’s me and I catch the ball and I’m open, I’m shooting it 99 percent of the time,” Heslip said. “At the same time, I’d like to think that I have a high basketball IQ. I know the time and the score. If there’s less than a minute to go and I’m open, I’m going to dribble it out to ensure we win and we don’t give the other team a chance. But other than that, 99.9 percent of the time, I’m letting the thing go. I think every time I shoot it that it’s going in. That’s my thought process.”

That’s his job, of course. The Bears are a tall, long team and they can crush people on the offensive boards (14.5 per game). Kenny Chery is very good at getting in the lane. Isaiah Austin, Rico Gathers and Cory Jefferson demand a lot of attention and sometimes two bodies.

It all adds up to leave Heslip open a lot. Texas Tech passed and pressed the rim a lot. Hannahs would be left open. Oklahoma State had to ad lib without Kamari Murphy and Marcus Smart and the guys they would have run off of Murphy to contest Forte outside were somewhat forced to pay attention to Le’Bryan Nash inside. That’s how it works.

And we hear tonight that Heslip is probably going to start in place of Gary Franklin, which means he’ll definitely have a chance to get going early and he could play more minutes and get more opportunities to do what he does.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Heslip said. “I love playing basketball and obviously specifically for my position I love to be out there and be trusted to take and to make big 3s. I’m not going to go dunk on somebody. That’s not my game. But knocking down 3s is my alley-oop, my highlight reel play. It’s what I’ve done my whole life.”

Let’s do what we do …

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The pot meets the kettle tonight

by Mike Casazza

Three weeks ago today, before playing a Big 12 game, Baylor was 12-1, ranked No. 7 in he country and in most circles thought to be every bit as legitimate a contender as Kansas, Oklahoma State or Iowa State.

Things sure do change. Kansas looks inimitable. Iowa State lost three in a row and the story about DeAndre Kane is his health and no longer his play. Oklahoma State is a much different team on the road in Big 12 play (1-3) and is going to have to do something about Marcus Smart and his ways sooner rather than later.

The Bears, though, have it worse.

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And one more reason WVU lost Saturday

January 27, 2014 by Mike Casazza

Once upon a time, I covered teams that were involved in postseason play and I really, really liked covering postseason basketball. The pep bands, the crowds, the arenas, the high-level of performance and competition, it was all there and it was all you could handle.

For my money, there was no commonly occurring event quite like a three-point play. Buzzer-beaters and overtime games and the like were unique and extenuating events, but three-point plays trumped long 3-pointers and alley oops and other obvious One Shining Moment moments.

For every three-point play, there’s a clearly definable space, a moment that’s both empty and filled with emotion and potential, between the whistle signalling the foul and the reaction that flows freely when the ball goes through the hoop. It’s wonderful.

In more ordinary environments, like regular season games on the fourth Saturday of January, they’re less dramatic. Good luck telling West Virginia they’re not demoralizing, though. 

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More Markel Brown, please

January 26, 2014 by Mike Casazza

I suppose by now West Virginia, and probably you, would rather not see Markel Brown against this season. His 3-pointer beat the Mountaineers in the Coliseum earlier this month and he had two eye-popping dunks as part of his double-double in Saturday’s win at home.

We can debate the better of the two dunks: The two-handed putback at the end of the first half was outstanding, even if WVU’s resistance was decidedly not outstanding (seriously, that’s not healthy).

I prefer the one posted above from the second half, though. That 360 took a unique combination of skill and courage and it’s not like he had a lot of runway to work with there — though, once again, he got an assist from the ever gracious Mountaineers.

But I think what pushes that dunk over the top is his explanation:

“Every time I get a break, I have a great set of athletic ability, it would be a shame to waste it and not do something for the crowd. Fans like to come to the games and see things like that, so I had to give it to them. It’s a great spark for this team, when I do a dunk like that and the crowd gets rowdy, it gives us a boost of energy on defense.”