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

Like clockwork

January 19, 2011 by Mike Casazza

A live look beneath the bleachers at the Charleston Civic Center, where I spy a spare shot clock. This is great news in 2009.

Who’s ready for a fight?

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Watch me pander to the audience, Part II

by Mike Casazza

overtheSEC said:

Mike, you live blogging tonight or is everything about the Civic Center antiquated?

I’m going to give it a shot, but elements will conspire to make it tricky. There’s the late tip and deadline, the entirely unreliable technology within the CCC, but also the fact Chuck McGill and I have also agreed to let the winning side’s beat writer handle the lead story. It’s how we have fun.

Nevertheless, my head will be down for much of the game, so contributions may be limited to timeouts. I’ll again welcome contributions in the comments. I’ll open up a game post later.

Meantime, accept my apology with this killer of time. Pretty simple. Type in a search term, pick the video and prepare to have your fancy tickled and your mind bottled. I’m excited to see what people come up with for this one. I’ll go first: Enjoy!

Watch me pander to the audience, Part I

by Mike Casazza

Bill said:

To h – e – double hockey stick with “quarter gate”. Can we talk about the match-ups here? How does Marsha College match up? What are their strengths and weaknesses?

I’m not calling it “quarter gate” because of my hard line stance against “-gate” gates. Undeniably, though, it’s a storyline and one to get to, and to get past, right away today. As for the matchups, Dr. Bogaczyk handled that with aplomb. I think it’s simple tonight. Three factors and whoever wins two out of three, or sweeps, wins the game:

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Lots of intangibles in the mix tonight

by Mike Casazza

Not one is more obvious than Tom Herrion and the quarter.

“There’s history, there’s tradition and obviously you have somewhat of a split fan base,” he said. “You’re going to have green and white or blue and gold.”

And even before Herrion could coach in this game, a little spice was added. In his last visit for Pitt-WVU in Morgantown last Feb. 3, Herrion was pelted in his cheek with a quarter thrown from the stands.

It elevated the Backyard Brawl instantly, but then two months later Herrion had accepted the head coaching position at Marshall.

“I’m trying to get this win for him,” Herd guard Shaquille Johnson said. “I know it would mean a lot to him.

“Coach Herrion, that’s my man. If that happened when I was on the court the emotions would have been flying.”

I don’t think anything happens tonight beyond some cupronickel-plated taunts and chants and maybe even a few people who brazenly brandish quarters. Actually, I pretty much expect that, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it escalated.

Like, what if something gets thrown on the court tonight? It happens at games and the officiating, which usually triggers such a thing, is routinely bad for this game. But what if someone throws something? Not necessarily a quarter and not necessarily at Herrion. Just something at someone. Yikes. And I joked (kind of ) about this last year — and only after other people … and some WVU people .. brought it to my attention — but what was stopping a fan of the other team from throwing something on the Coliseum floor last year after the initial  incident? Nothing. Tonight? Nothing. And, right away, what would  people think? Who would they blame? Yikes.

The tension inside that gym is really something else and there are occasions where it wouldn’t take much to set off one nucklehead, which might then set off others. Not since J.R. VanHoose threw bows has there been a real incident at this game, something I’ve always admired given the competitiveness and the emotion, but I don’t think there’s been a stage quite like this.

Surely the players and coaches — Aside: Herrion has handled this exceptionally well all the way through — will do all they can to control themselves, but those guys in black and white always interject themselves in this game. So it’s more than the players. And the officials. The crowd is wild and who knows what else. It may be something. It may be nothing.  Hopefully we get a nice little game.

Perhaps this explains his weekend cameo

January 18, 2011 by Mike Casazza

Is it possible The Product was in town — enjoying life at Sargasso and The Rat Pack Lounge — over the weekend for a noble purpose?

Oh, some will say he had tickets to the Steelers game Saturday. A few will have you believe he was cozying up to Dana Holgorsen and some of the money at WVU with obvious intent.

But what if the guy just wanted to make a special delivery?

Nevermind. Wire transfer.

John Flowers feeling good about John Flowers

by Mike Casazza

When teammates were quizzed by we media before the start of the season, John Flowers was the answer to the “Who’s improved most in the offseason?” question. Through this season, those same teammates and his coach, Bob Huggins, have spoken and marveled about how much work Flowers puts into his game — and I have to admit, there are random trips I take through the Coliseum for various purposes and I see Flowers shooting during many of my visits.

Now he’s a able scorer, an accurate 3-point shooter and a reliable free-throw shooter. He’s also understandably and comically confident.

The Mountaineers led by three, 67-64, and one made free throw would make it a two-possession game and put the Boilermakers away.

”I told John to make the first one, miss the second one,” Huggins said. ”He said, ‘you’re going to screw up my free-throw percentage.’ That’s a guy who is a 40-percent career shooter. And I’m gonna screw it up?”

Huggins is to Carey what Carey is to Huggins

by Mike Casazza

Bob Huggins joined Mike Carey in the top 25 Monday — that makes nine men’s teams in the poll — and added to the similarities between the two coaches. They might not look much alike, but watch them on the sideline, get a look at their teams on the floor, and they’re very much the same kind of coaches.

“They’re both really into intensity and playing physically,” said Craig Carey, who is Mike Carey’s son and a walk-on for Huggins’ team. “Instead of running real pretty plays, they’re both more into gritty, tough offense and tough defense.

“They want to get into people. They really like to intimidate and play physical.”

Neither coach is going to recruit the best of the best, although Carey has entertained and landed some elite recruits while at WVU. Mostly, though, those top-shelf players go to top-shelf programs, the kind of places where a coach can pick who he wants and the player is honored to be chosen.

Yet Carey and Huggins win, and usually it’s because they’ve instilled in their players an instinct to want the loose ball, the tough rebound, the critical and-1 more than the opponent. That can trump talent, especially if it spreads to the things both coaches value most.

“They both feel like if they can outrebound people and guard people, they’re going to win most of their games,” Craig Carey said.

I’d pay a $10 cover to go to the bar in Bob Huggins’ basement

January 17, 2011 by Mike Casazza

Behold the house that Bob Huggins (had) built. And please, keep this footage away from Mickey.

Sunday was a good day for WVU

by Mike Casazza

The win against Purdue, believe it or not, snapped WVU’s six-game home losing streak against  top-10 teams. I was surprised to discover that. WVU beat No. 10 Marquette at the Coliseum in 2008 (Whoops: not 2010 … my bad) and then lost six in a row against top-10 teams before beating No. 8 Purdue yesterday in an other one of those increasingly characteristic total team efforts.

Basketball seasons are often best viewed in windows. The conference tournaments are obviously big. The NCAA selection committee looks at a team’s performance in the final 10 or 12 games. Non-conference play matters an awful lot. So on and so forth.

Within all of that are smaller series and what WVU has done in the past four games is significant. The collapse late at Marquette does seem quite a while ago and the execution late against Purdue more or less proved the Mountaineers have moved on and are headed forward.

“This was a last-year’s-team kind of game,” said forward Kevin Jones. “We weren’t worried about not winning. We were more worried about going out there and playing our game. That’s when we’re at our best.

“It’s taken some time for everyone to learn their different roles, but I think you see the progression of this team as we go forward. As long as we keep doing that, we can be a really good team.”

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Have yourself a boilermaker

January 16, 2011 by Mike Casazza

You are looking somewhat live at the Coliseum, as it appeared at 12:35 p.m., a mere 55 minutes before the tip.

Interesting picture.

The students were assembled outside the arena early and signing “100 Bottles of Beer on the Wall” … surely apropos of nothing.

Gus Johnson and Greg Anthony are seated in front of the student section with their backs to the camera as they film their intro. The presence of Oh My Gus! guarantees this game will be one to remember.

Then there’s the two fellas in the front row of the student section, all the way to their left. Prepare yourself …

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