Loss in SoCon Tourney
Posted: March 6, 2017 Filed under: college basketball, SoCon, Uncategorized, UNCG | Tags: ETSU, Tourney Time Comments Off on Loss in SoCon TourneyThis is has been a great year in UNCG basketball with a record breaking 25 wins. Tonight’s 79-74 loss to ETSU was heartbreaking.
UNCG swept ETSU during season play and there is no love lost between these two teams. Technical fouls and scuffles during the handshakes have been part of their meetings on the court this year.
The Spartans had the energy in the first half of this game and it disappeared at halftime and never returned. Like so many games, however, this one was lost on the free throw line. Those points are crucial and can swing a game as close as this.
Nonetheless, it was a great year to watch the Spartans! In sports, like in life, you gotta shake it off and look forward to the next challenge. And UNCG’s next challenge is a good one…NIT here comes the G!
32 years ago today
Posted: February 23, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized Comments Off on 32 years ago today32 years ago today this piece of American history took place. While my child would have never played for Coach Knight, and chair throwing is blatantly wrong (for which he owned up) there are 2 things that I 
❤ about Bobby Knight- 1) In the time after his coaching retirement, he was the BEST basketball analyst 2) I deeply resonate with the quote about Coach Knight “If there are two things that Bobby Knight hates it is stupidity and a weak defense.”
NCSU had a rough day
Posted: January 8, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized Comments Off on NCSU had a rough dayEvery time NCSU and UNC play the Wes Miller Bobblehead goes up for grabs in Greensboro. He’s been with us for a while and there was never any danger of him making the trek to Derrick’s place today.
The Tarheels dominated a discombobulated looking Wolfpack. I tuned in when the Heels were up 26-4 and that about says it all. The final score was 107-56.
This 51 point margin marks the largest spread ever against an ACC team (previously it was 48 points over FSU in January of 1998). This is the most points the Heels have ever scored against State and the 4th time UNC has scored more than 100 against the Pack.
Wes stays with us until the next UNC-NCSU match up.
So close
Posted: December 9, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized Comments Off on So closeUNCG and Wake Forest tied 75-75 with 18 seconds to go.
Wake wins 78-75. If the Spartans would have hit a few key free throws they’d have brought down their first ACC opponent at home.
The Spartans take the Bulldogs into OT, fall by two
Posted: January 5, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: college basketball, dook college baskeball, Duke, free throws, mars hill, Mercer, The Citadel, uncg Comments Off on The Spartans take the Bulldogs into OT, fall by twoThere have been three games since I have posted so let me catch you up:
1- The New Year’s Eve afternoon game against Mars Hill College was a blow out with the Spartans defeating the Lions 92-48. This game was played in Fleming gym and basketball is a great way to spend a holiday afternoon! Nick Paulos hit a long three at the halftime buzzer to get the crowd to their feet. This game was also where first year player, #1 Marvin Smith, got some significant playing time– 21 minutes. I’m excited to watch him mature into a great ball player.
2- On January 3, Mercer, a newcomer to the SoCon, traveled to Greensboro. They are a tough, team that plays well together, a formidable opponent for anyone. If you will remember, Duke learned that the hard way when the Bears knocked the Blue Devils out of the tournament. In honor of that moment and to congratulate the Bears for their ESPY I did what I do best- glitter up a poster
The only proper way to spell dook
I believe in letting people know when they have done a good job- even if I did want them to loose the game.
UNCG fell 55-76 after trailing for 40 minutes only tying the score once. It was hard, but the Spartans had a hard time connecting from beyond the arc (28%) and their free throw percentage was a paltry 45% (5-11).
3- Tonight, at the game by myself, the Spartans took the Bulldogs to overtime before losing by two 83-85. UNCG got off to a strong 5-0 start and the lead was bantered back and forth. There was a lot of sweat left on the court tonight! The Citadel beat us on the free throw line 85% to our 71%. They only put three of our player on the charity stripe (Locke going 10 times), but those points could have made the difference!
And just for fun:
UNC over UAB
Posted: December 28, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: ACC, basketball, college basketball, UAB, UNC Comments Off on UNC over UABSanta, through his NYC-based elves, left us tickets to the UAB-UNC game, so on this beautiful, warm December afternoon we caravanned to the Dean Dome for a late afternoon game.
Last year UAB surprised UNC in Alabama. This year the Blazers traveled to Chapel Hill and lost 89-58. Marcus Paige and Justin Jackson pulled the Heels away with their three point shots. Paige had been off his shot for the past few games but today connected for 2-6 from beyond the arc. Justin Jackson hit 2-3 of is three pointers. Kennedy Meets was on his game tonight cleaning up under the basket, hitting mid-range jumpers, doing his part from the line. Though, the free throw stars for the night go to Isaiah Hicks (5-6) and Nate Britt (4-4). Those FT percentages win games, especially as conference play draws closer.
Tonight is the first night I paid much attention to the new point guard Joel Berry. The point guard position is a hard one to learn. He is beginning to get his feet under him and blossom (short bursts) in the role. Marcus Paige is shining bright right now, but it is good to see Berry learning how to be a Tar Heel PG.
On another note, while I was hopeful that neither Louisville nor Kentucky would win….Kentucky did.
Elon has UNCG’s number
Posted: December 21, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: basketball, college basketball, Elon, Kentucky, Monstars, SoCon, Space Jam, UCLA, uncg, Wes Miller 1 CommentFormer SoCon rival Elon beat UNCG today 71-64. It has been since January 2010 since the Spartans have bested the Phoenix.
Though in the first half Elon was in desperate need of a break for dribble drills, they had three (if not four, I stopped counting) turnovers on walks. If you move with the ball, you have to be dribbling it. Pretty simple, really. The Phoenix also twice fouled our three point shooter- the dumbest play in basketball. There was sloppy passing on both sides and UNCG just could not get their feet under them.
I am also confused as to why Diante Baldwin did not start. He played 30 minutes, but did not start. The Spartans are more focused with a point guard on the court and Baldwin is the best player for that position-why is he not starting?
As for stats, Elon lead in points in the paint, points off turnovers, and points off fast breaks. Their bench was deep contributing 29 points to our 6. Wes was frustrated and it showed. He was particular animated on the sidelines and with just a few seconds left in the game a Technical Foul was assessed to the bench, but it was on Coach Miller. He was mad and it is always nice to see passion on the sidelines!
Coming off last game’s free throw shooting, this game was marked improvement 23-30 (77%) and 10% better than Elon’s 67%. Of course, the 7 points left on the court would have pushed us into overtime.
Our next home game is on New Year’s Eve in Fleming Gym. Such a fun place to watch basketball.
I would be remiss if I did not mention the halftime score of the kentucky-UCLA game: 41-7. Yes, UCLA scored 7 points in 20 minutes of basketball. Those players in that particular shade of blue scored 24 points before the Bruins put any points on the board. God, I hate Kentucky. But it did lead to this sentence, so there, “This was the most lopsided first half of basketball since the Monstars jumped out to a 66-18 lead on the Tune Squad in the movie Space Jam.”
Cleaning up
Posted: December 21, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: ACC, basketball, college basketball, greensboro college, NC State, uncg 1 CommentI made two blog posts as pages, so I am combining them into one post and cleaning up the blog:
Battle of Tate Street:
While these two schools do not technically share a border, both UNCG and Greensboro College share space on Tate St. They are separated by mere feet, so yesterday’s game at the Coliseum was essentially a home game for both teams. It was an 11:30am start and kids from Guildford County were in attendance as part of the GCS Education Fair.
I was late to the game and walked in with the Spartans down 22-9, but UNCG turned on the turbo and ended the half tied at 41. This was a close game, UNCG never led by more than 7, the Pride led by 15 at one point, and they were tied 9 times. The stats for both teams show why it was such a close game: Free Throw shooting was excellent on both sides- Greensboro College an impressive 92% (12-13) and UNCG 86.4%. This is how free throws should look at all games.
Beyond that, the field goal percentage for each team was 44% for Greensboro College and 45% for the Spartans. The Pride connected on 50% from beyond the arc and UNCG made 30% of theirs.
I would be remiss not to mention the TWO fouls on three point shooters committed by the Spartans. One connected for a total of 4 points for the Pride on a single play and one missed with their shooter making all three free throws. Fouling a three point shooter is the worst play in the book and we did it twice.
What I think helped put UNCG up was help off the bench. UNCG got 21 bench points highlighted by Jordy Kuiper and Diante Baldwin. This was Baldwin’s first game of the season, as he has been dealing with an knee injury, and it is delightful to have a true point guard on the court!
NC State vs Wofford:
There is a particular shade of dark blue that I hate.
Kentucky beat UNC this weekend. It was awful and there’s not much more to be said there.
I was much more stunned by the 55-54 upset of NC State by the Wofford Terriers last night. The Terriers made their late basket and State’s got waved off leaving Wofford up by one.
I’m not sure why I’m surprised. Wofford was last season’s SoCon Champion (UNCG’s conference) and they “returned nearly its entire team from last year’s Southern Conference tournament champions, and is the preseason favorite to win the league again.” Parity is coming to men’s basketball (women’s is a whole other conversation- but “way to go” to South Carolina for being #1 over traditional powerhouses UConn, Tenn, and Stanford this week). Even though the ACC has lost to SoCon before (Va Tech, Georgia Tech come to mind- and we are not talking about when some of those teams were in the SoCon), it is still surprising, but it shouldn’t be. A team like Wofford, with a recent conference championship, returning much of it’s experience and leadership should be a force to be reckoned with. The schools that tend to attract the one and dones (ESPN top10s, height that other conferences can’t recruit, and the NBA’s own rule about being a year out of high school are all details we can discuss) can have flashes of greatness, but schools that build solid teams with leadership and experience- and we can look at mid-major conferences here like VCU’s Shaka Smart- step up to those larger courts and televised games with knowledge and support, from their coaches and each other, to win close games like this one.
Tomorrow UNCG faces UNC at the Greensboro coliseum, their own home court. Will UNC be looking for a recovery win? Will UNCG capitalize on their recent winning ways? Either way, I’ve got GREAT seats!
Tar Heels visit the Spartans
Posted: December 16, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: ACC, college basketball, SoCon, UNC, uncg, Wes Miller 2 CommentsOver 11,000 people trekked to the Greensboro Coliseum today to watch the UNCG Spartans take on the UNC Tar Heels. While there was plenty of Blue and Gold represented, it was practically a home game for UNC since it is only about 50 miles from campus to campus.
The final score UNC 79- UNCG 56. The Tar Heels led the the whole game, but it was not a beautiful game on either side. If I had to describe this game in three words it would be sloppy, hesitant, and unfocused. Both teams had issues with throwing the ball away and poor passing. UNCG, in particular, didn’t follow through on their shots causing some easy points to be missed- not to mention the free throw misses. The 15 points that the Spartans left out of play at the line would have put them in contention for this game. However, the Spartans did find their game in the second half- scoring 39 points- and began to play with more confidence.
Numbers for the Tar Heels will not blow anyone away- 49% FG, 21% from the three, and 69% from the line. UNCG has plenty of room for improvement (hopefully before we meet Elon on Saturday)- 35% FG, 21% three points, and 42% free throw. That is where the Spartans need to practice- 42% is just not acceptable at the college level.
For the Spartans Kayel Locke led with 17 points. Nicholas Paulos contributed 12, including some late threes that brought the crowd to their feet. Diante Baldwin, who did not start the game, added a respectable 13 from the point guard position. It is nice to have a point guard back on the court and my question for Wes Miller is: why is Baldwin not starting? With the leadership he showed today he should be one of the starting five on Saturday.
Seahawks down Spartans
Posted: November 18, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: basketball, college basketball, Seahawks, SoCon, Spartans, uncg, UNCW 1 CommentThe UNCW Seahawks overran the Spartans at the Coliseum opener tonight.
My house is a UNCW/UNCG house divided. Both PJ and I got our undergrad degrees at UNCW. I now have a degree and am working on a second from UNCG. We went into the game tonight wearing different loyalties. PJ with the UNCW shirt and me in my UNCG Blue and Gold. PJ came out on the winning end of this divide tonight- the W beat the G 84-72.
There was plenty wrong from lack of hustle to only making 4-22 three pointers (18%- to UNCW’s 62%). Senior Nick Paulos was in a three drought. He tried to work his way out of it on the court to no avail. It took until about 2 minutes into the second half for the Spartans to wake up and drive the ball on the court. You can’t win games if you only hustle in the second half!
There were a few bright spots. Both RJ White and Tavon Saddler had great blocks. And RJ executed a great steal and lay up. When he took the ball and sprinted down the court I thought I was looking at a quick point guard vs a solid center (please see this video from my favorite point guard- Ty Lawson for comparison)
Overall, the Spartans were sluggish and looking for a foothold the entire night. There are flashes of good to keep you watching, but this teams needs to gel before they face the Heels in December. They only connected on 43% of their field goals tonight and were a paltry 60% from the free throw line. To keep it in perspective, the lost by 12 and left 13 free throw points unaccounted for. Diante Baldwin is out with a knee injury- I hope he heals quickly we could use his ball handling skills on the court!
makeyourfreakingfoulshots 