Friday Feedback
January 14, 2011 by Mike CasazzaWelcome to the Friday Feedback, which is, um, all atwitter over John Flowers. Fantastic game last night that deserves the full vetting.
– The 24-point game was his career high … by eight points.
– Add the steals, blocked shots and assists and what they preceded and he chipped in 28 additional points scored by his teammates.
– He had one foul. One!
That’s where things get predictably fun, if for no other reason than because John Flowers is involved.
“The thing I’m most proud of is I didn’t foul out,” he said.
What about starting 6-for-6?
“I was looking at my hand at one point and said, ‘What’s going on?'” Flowers said. “I hadn’t missed a shot yet. Then I missed a 3 and I said, ‘All right, there it is. That’s the John Flowers I know.'”
What about handcuffing Marshon Brooks and holding him to 13 points, well below his 23.8 average?
“I tried to get in his mind a little bit,” Flowers said. “Coach said he was like Kobe Bryant, so I kept calling him Kobe all game. ‘I got Kobe.’ The shot clock would be running down. ‘It’s Kobe time. Don’t let Kobe get the ball.’ But he’s a really good player. A great guy.”
And what about the headband, which was nowhere to be found Thursday night?
“I give them away too much, so they stopped giving them to me,” Flowers said.
And can you teach me how to Dougie? I ask because last night, of all nights, WVU debuted a video that has Flowers doing the dance. And not only that, but the video was revealed after one moment that was completely ridiculous and apropos at the same time.
Cam Thoroughman tried to lob a pass to Flowers for an alley oop, but was off by a few feet. Flowers still caught the pass and flicked it to Kevin Jones for a layup. Providence called a timeout and the video started. Bob Huggins had a hard time keeping his team’s focus in the huddle.
“Coach yelled at us a couple times to pay attention,” Flowers said. “It was pretty funny.”
Let’s tie this all together. At its lowest point(s) this season, it was evident WVU was lacking personality. We’ve said it before, but you need competitors like Devin Ebanks to be a monster every game. You need attitudes like Da’Sean Butler’s that keep it silly when it’s going well and bad. You need someone to stand in front.
And it was Flowers who after the Duquesne game pointed out the Mountaineers were missing voices.
“This is the first time that when I’m sitting on the bench no one is clapping or anything,” said Flowers, who is starting full-time for the first time in his career. “It’s just dead. The old teams, when I was on the bench, I was getting hyped up, standing up and clapping. Everyone was. We need to get back to that. I think it’s very important to just be ready to play. We have to support our teammates on the bench.”
This is not to say Flowers will do that every game now, or even more often than not. He is who he is. He does what he does. That said, he’s their dancing, Go-go listening, Twittering, skit-filming, trash-talking, headband-wearing, shot-blocking presence. He’s valuable in a variety of ways on and off the floor. And now WVU has won three in a row and has a little more swagger, a little more attitude, a little more belief than it had two weeks ago.
KJ can’t become that competitive jester. Ditto Mazzulla or Mitchell. That’s not them and you can’t fool your teammates. Flowers can be that guy and for proof, witness his two-handed dunk/and-one that was followed by a brief body rock in the paint and then an impassioned waving of the arms to get more noise from the fans. Circle it!
Onto the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, maybe don’t go West.
KMS said:
Is it me or did Mazzulla seem to play better last year with the injured shoulder? I was happy with the improvement in the team effort on Saturday and think that Huggs has them on the right track. My biggest concern is still that no leader seems to be emerging. I thought Mazzulla would take that role with his documented aspirations for a future coaching career. But, so far, we seem to be without a leader.
Wait for it …
Parks said:
KMS– I think JF is as close we have. Seems to be the only one that seems energized whether he is in the game or on the bench. He is not yet a leader by example as he can’t seem to stay out of foul trouble but he has been the most consistent (according to Huggs as well) and the best source of energy around. I really expected Mazz to step up as well but we all know come Feb 1 and onward he will be explosive–just never seems to fail. Saturday showed that when this team plays as a unit they can be very good this season.
That was from earlier in the week. Well done!
Continue reading…