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

Busy work

January 22, 2009 by Mike Casazza

I had a teacher in high school who had a habit of showing a video and making us take notes at least once a week. We had block scheduling, which meant I had “A” days and “B” days and one week was A-B-A-B-A and the next was B-A-B-A-B. I used to hate snow days. If an “A” day was snowed out, I could never remember if the next day was A or B. I even had some teachers who did pop quizzes after a snow day and I was convinced it was done to anger me.

Where was I? Oh, the teacher. Anyhow, that class was my first of the day on A days and while I kind of liked the easy start to the day, I also kind of hated that waste of time. The videos were never planned and the stuff was never on a test or a quiz. It occurred to me during my freshman year of college there was probably a reason this teacher chose to show videos on random days and sit behind the desk in the dark for that 90-minute period. Especially on Fridays.

I say this because I eventually saw through the rouse and I don’t want you getting the wrong idea about this post. I went to bed early last night and got up early today, but I have to head to Washington, D.C., now for tonight’s game. I suppose this is busy work, but I happen to think the idea of a West Virginia Mt. Rushmore of sports is a pretty neat discussion.

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Kicking himself for punching that

January 21, 2009 by Mike Casazza

You remember that, right? You remember when Patrick Ewing appeared out of nowhere and blocked Da’Sean Butler’s layup that could have won last year’s game. Oh, the controversy. No matter how many times I watch the video, I can’t convince myself of anything other than it was almost impossible to differentiate between a block and a goaltend.

As you might imagine, Butler still thinks about that play no matter how hard he tries not to think about it. He’s been asked and has asked himself if he would do anything different — pump-fake, pass, dunk, etc. — if he could do it all over again and the answer is no … with an asterisk.

“If I could go back, I’m not going to lie to you, I’d probably lay it up again,” Butler said. “I’d hurt my hand in the Marshall game (three days earlier) when I punched the (basket support).

“I couldn’t really shoot the ball, so I probably would have laid it up. If I had two healthy hands, I would have definitely tried to dunk it.”

Believe it or not, I do like people

by Mike Casazza

I had only a few interactions with Mike Barwis when he was at WVU and was left with the same impression as was just about everyone else who met him: He was an intense and committed coach who had to be both to be as good as he was — and as good as his pupils were — as the director of strength and conditioning. In fact, I rather liked the guy. There was something infectious I admired and frankly coveted about his personality, and he seemed like a pretty sharp guy.

That said, I can’t believe he rode shotgun with P-Rod the past year and didn’t think WVU would come calling for the buyout he apparently still owes the university. 

Shea Browning, the Associate General Counsel at WVU, could not comment specifically Tuesday “other than to say it is an issue that has been brought to our attention and that we are investigating all of our options.”

Moving on …

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An aside

January 20, 2009 by Mike Casazza

We’ve hopefully taken some time the past few days, either publicly or privately, to contemplate the significance of today’s inauguration as well as the progress the country has and, in truth, has not made in the past years, decades and generations. Is it ideal? No, but it’s not to be ignored, either.

I don’t think this is or should be the place to discuss those things, what with it being a WVU sports blog, but I also think it’s timely to look back at the integration of WVU athletics in 1961 and some of the pioneers who’ve made many things possible today.

West Virginia by then was integrated with players like Garrett Ford, John Mallory and Ron Williams starring for the Mountaineers. But culturally, Morgantown was still adapting.

“There was hardly any social life,” Mallory once recalled. “In those days there were maybe 100 black students in the university. Out of those 100, there were only about 12 of those students who were athletes. There were no fraternities for us. During rush they used to bang on our door and when we would come to the door they would say, ‘Oh, we have the wrong room.’ We knew what that was about.”

Garrett Ford, the first African-American assistant football coach in 1970 who later moved into athletic administration, said the players in the mid-1960s were totally unprepared for what they encountered – especially on road trips in the south. At some places, Ford was told that blacks were not permitted outside the hotel after 6 o’clock.

When Jim Carlen arrived in 1966 no coaches on his staff had ever recruited a black athlete. Middle guard Carl Crennel was the first African-American player assistant coach Bobby Bowden had ever successfully recruited.

Joe to be in dunk contest after all

by Mike Casazza

Not the one in Phoenix, of course, but still exclusive and prestigious. I need a credential. Please.

“I’m going to have own private dunk contest at my house. Just me. I’ll be the only one invited.”

The NBA announced Monday that Portland’s Rudy Fernandez had been selected through fan balloting to compete in the dunk contest. Fernandez, a native of Spain, will be the first international player to participate in the event.

Fernandez received 251,868 votes and beat out Russell Westbrook (147,279) of Oklahoma City and Alexander (114,963).

The ballad of Rick and Pat

by Mike Casazza

Pat White is back in Alabama doing his thing, perhaps for the last time, as a quarterback. Practices for Saturday’s Senior Bowl began Monday and one review revealed his early struggles.

No, one review doesn’t cement the week and I’ll give Pat the benefit of the doubt early on. In fact, I’d be stunned if he didn’t light it up one day soon. Seems to me like he embraces a challenge and tries to prove people wrong. In football terms, he’s down a score early in the game. That’s never intimidated him in the past.

And what a past that was — and almost never was. White’s arrival at WVU was a long, determined effort and Rick Trickett was largely responsible for luring Pat from professional baseball as well as SEC football after discovering the quarterback quite accidentally.

“I was at one of his football games,” Trickett said. “They were playing a team with another kid I was looking at. In the first quarter, he had an 80-yard touchdown run, but he must have run 120 yards. Nobody could touch him.

“I was sitting with a boy who had played for me. I said, ‘Where’s his daddy?’ He said, ‘There’s his dad, walking to the bathroom.’ I got up and went down there. I said, ‘We want him and we want him as a quarterback.’

“He said, ‘Well, just get after him.’ So, I started recruiting him hard right then and there.”

#%$&

January 19, 2009 by Mike Casazza

Rudy Fernandez is your fourth and final slam dunk contestant.

Kilicli is a magician

by Mike Casazza

I suppose the “news” is Deniz Kilicli is now ranked No. 28 by ESPNU’s scouting service, which looks nice alongside Dalton Pepper checking in at No. 87 and Dan Jennings getting nominated for the McDonald’s All-American game.

Kilicli continues to rise in the eyes of many, which is pretty much on course for what was expected back in November. He had some low moments early, but he’s been on a tear lately, probably because he has a rather unusual way of scoring.

This 6-9 West Virginia recruit scores the majority of his points in and around the basket and he finishes with either hand.

Want to know why I stopped playing basketball? I couldn’t count the points I scored outside the basket.

Talking points

by Mike Casazza

… from the weekend that was. For your use in elevator rides, trips to the water cooler and other awkward moments on a Monday.

– Alex Ruoff continues to mystify. It must be noted he declined interview requests again Friday afternoon. Superstition?

– Digest this: Best player in the largest classification of Florida high school football.  

– Once-proud rifle program is proud again … and that smallbore school record is in peril. 

– Add a 6-foot-4, 190-pound safety to WVU’s expanding recruiting class.

– Fortunately, WVU doesn’t travel to Providence this season.

Friday Feedback

January 16, 2009 by Mike Casazza

Welcome to the Friday Feedback, which is starting to feel a little like the Radford Highlanders because it, too, is being dominated by Alex Ruoff. The suddenly divisive guard talked and walked his way into the conversation this week by first calling out his team and teammates and then playing well while his teammates, quite frankly, got the hint.

WVU was just better than Marshall from the very beginning Wednesday night and it’s been a while since I saw someone — even Ruoff — run a pregame layup line like he did inside the Civic Center. Then the Mountaineers started 8-for-13 with six assists for an 18-8 lead. Wellington Smith didn’t have it, but Cam Thoroughman came in and gave WVU all it was missing. Yeah, it was the first score, but Cam’s bounce pass to Ebanks for the dunk was a signature play. Is that the first or last time Thoroughman gets double-teamed?

Truck Bryant, who Ruoff warned about a lax attitude before the Marquette game, had a career-high 22 points and was as assertive as ever. As for Ruoff, he didn’t light it up, but he did get 15 points and five assists with no turnovers in 37 minutes and he had at least three plays when he tapped a rebound for a teammate to grab. Heady stuff. Afterward, he addressed the mouthy stuff.

“One thing I always want to do is come out and lead by example and play as hard as I can,” he said. “Some of the things I said after the Marquette game was in-house stuff and I really shouldn’t have broadcast that. A couple of guys read that and it really hit home, but that’s something that needs to stay inside from now on.”

All in all, I’d say he handled the entire situation perfectly and should regret nothing.

Onto the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, make sure you’re doing things the right way. 

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