(Final post of the day. Traveling back to Morgantown.)
Devin Ebanks was again the best WVU player on the floor Monday and again before a number of NBA scouts. As it was noted afterward, those scouts were near the basket Ebanks scored 12 second-half points as he finished with 17 — on nine shots — and nine rebounds.
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You surely don’t need more than one guess to determine the predominant postgame talking point last night. Another over-officiated affair in the Big East preempted what was, I think, a pretty good game.
But I’m not sure. It had promise, but it was difficult to tell. When WVU and UConn were allowed to play like WVU and UConn and go at one another like a top 10 team and a team that needed to beat a top 10 team, it was entertaining.
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As I sat down Sautrday to write about WVU’s cookie-cutter win against Seton Hall, I went through the comments from the Pitt loss and the Monday after. Then I got to thinking about how the Pirates had turned their season around only to drop the ball late in the expected comeback against the Mountaineers.
So in a short amount of time — a week for WVU, a game for Seton Hall — the way both teams felt about themselves had changed pretty significantly.
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The highlight of last night’s USA-Canada hockey game was not the debut of Eddie Olczyk’s “tremendously tremendous” — I thought it was accurately accurate, to be honest — but the cameo by CEJ.
The disastrous cameo, that is.
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Forget how, uh, well Wellington Smith is playing — for some reason, the Pitt games have never been very kind to him — the all-caps senior from Summit, N.J., is living large no matter what happens during a game. Check out his crib! I really hope this was taped somewhere around Christmas.
Welcome to the Friday Feedback, which asks a provocative question today: Does West Virginia hold the wild card in the NCAA Tournament? Or is it a joker? Either way, Devin Ebanks is a card and however he turns is quite possibly how the Mountaineers turn the rest of the way.
It’s too much of a reach to say Ebanks is the wild card. Certainly there are other touted players on touted teams who in their performance hold the fate of their teams. Good teams that go far will have contributions from good players who lead their teams far.
But just as sure, Ebanks is as integral to any top team as anyone else. You saw it late last year when, right about this time, he hit his stride and the Mountaineers marched in step. This year? Well, his last two games are encouraging.
It’s too easy to look at win/loss splits. Plus, the chances are high his team will win if he plays well. But it’s how he gets to the good games and impacts wins that stands out. Remember, this is a guy who has no plays run for him and uses instinct and movement to put up his numbers.
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WVU has six two-game losing streaks under Bob Huggins, but no three game slides. That hasn’t happened since 2005-06 … and the Mountaineers ended up getting a Big East Tournament bye and going to the Sweet 16.
Not that one has to do with the other, but at least it’s cause for pause in case things go pear shaped tonight.
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Really neat ESPN.com story about life as a college official. And not just an ordinary college official, but Timmy Higgins.
“No question there is more accountability,” Higgins says. “But if you have a problem with it and don’t want to be accountable, you won’t be here. If you work enough, that black cloud is going to find you. It’s inevitable. The question is how long is it going to be over you?”
Higgins is contracted to call Big Ten, ACC and Big East game and this is heavy on Big East material … and seemingly with good reason. Most notable: The evaluation/retention process for Big East officials.
Currently the Big East has 45 officials under contract, and the ones who don’t cut it simply won’t be under contract next year.
“Sometimes we don’t lose anybody, sometimes guys retire by their own choice and sometimes guys aren’t offered a contract,” Hyland says. “There’s no set number. Some years it’s zero, but I’d say the most ever is three or four.”
(Postscript: If you’re even remotely aware of who Higgins is, you probably know and likely anticipate the way he calls blocks during a game. It’s a foot-shufling, arms-pumping production and he often makes sure he’s in an open and visible area to do it. I looked around and can’t find it anywhere. Amazing. Disappointing.)
Turns out he’s moonlighting in a country band, the Davisson Brothers. And the music, it would seem, has had an impact on the Seattle Seahawks fullback.
“It’s been a blast,” Schmitt said. “Music is something that’s always been a part of my life. The Davisson Brothers are a class act. We’re having a lot of fun.
“I went snowboarding one time, and I happened to catch their show. You can’t put a price tag on what I’ve learned from playing with them.”
