In some ways it was a terrible weekend. In other ways it was a good one. The common theme was a lot of basketball.
Jayhawk Talk
I’m very glad that I didn’t see a minute of Houston destroying KU. I had this game chalked up as an L ever since KU easily beat the Cougars last month. A 30-point loss, though? I have to admit, that was unexpected.
It wasn’t a huge surprise that Kevin McCullar was ineffective then sat the entire second half. But Hunter Dickinson injuring his shoulder and leaving the game was not on my BINGO card for the day. I’m starting to think the Hoops Gods are punishing KU for not getting the hammer from the NCAA. Or perhaps for us Jayhawk fans for gloating when we didn’t get the hammer. This is shaping up to be a terrible March and lost season for my favorite team.
The Hoops Gods may also be preparing to punish me for talking shit to M every time KU beat Cincinnati in anything this year. If the Bearcats beat West Virginia Tuesday, they play the Jayhawks Wednesday. I’m assuming neither McCullar or Dickinson will play. Good grief.
The KU women also lost their Big 12 tournament game to Texas Saturday. Bad day for the Jayhawks.
HS Hoops
This didn’t really bother me too much, but Kokomo and future Jayhawk Flory Bidunga were playing in the regional round of the Indiana state tournament at the same time KU was losing to Houston. Flory had 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists, but #4 Kokomo lost to #1 Fishers by 14.
Time for him to get in the weight room so he’s ready to compete in the Big 12. Unless he can play next week?
Pacers
The Pacers have been in a bit of a funk lately, sandwiching great games with ones when something just seems off. Their offense, which was bound to regress, isn’t nearly as free-flowing and fun as it was the first three months of the season. Some folks are complaining that trading Buddy Hield messed up the team’s chemistry. While Pascal Siakam has been solid since coming over from Toronto, I wouldn’t say he’s been a dramatic game changer.
The biggest factor is that Tyrese Haliburton has been in a slump. His shooting has gone in the toilet lately, and his already mediocre defense has taken a step back. I wonder if he should have taken longer to come back from his late January hamstring injury, even if that meant missing All Star weekend action.
Anyway, adding to the bad of Saturday was the announcement that evening that Bennedict Mathurin will undergo shoulder surgery and miss the rest of the season. After a slow start to his second year, he had really picked it up lately. He isn’t the shooter Hield is, but he’s a far more complete player and the additional minutes seemed to do him wonders. Until he got hurt.
Blech.
Youth Hoops
Why did I miss the KU game? L had two days of “training camp” this weekend with her travel team. The sessions were way out in Plainfield, about 40 minutes from our house. Don’t ask me why they were out there, I have no idea.
After Saturday’s session we had a team dinner for our first hang as a new squad. Three of L’s teammates from the past two years are back, but the other four girls are new. It was nice to meet the parents and new co-coach. The kids seemed to have fun. L said she really likes everyone so far.
They also had two new girls work out with them both days. I’m not sure if they will officially join the team or not – there’s some intra-program politics involved – but they are both above six-feet tall, which is huge. Literally.
I talked to the head coach after Saturday’s workout and he said one of them has some skill and promise while the other is pretty raw. However, he said that raw girl got a ton of rebounds when they scrimmaged. I suggested he teach her how to throw outlet passes and tell her to just get every loose ball she sees. It would be kind of crazy if we went from no height the past two years, to three girls 5’10” or better this year.
L missed her CHS awards banquet last Monday because she came home from school sick. The team FaceTimed her in so she could participate virtually. She won the Rising Star award, given to the best underclassman. She didn’t seem to think it was all that cool but I thought it was a great way to cap off her first year of high school ball.
Spring Break
M is flying to Florida today for a week in Sarasota with a group of UC friends. She sent us a picture this morning as she walked onto the plane, so her early alarm and Uber to the airport worked ok. We trust her to make good decisions. Still, I have to admit I’m a little nervous. I never went on spring break as a college kid, but I’ve seen movies and heard stories.
We leave for Anna Maria next Saturday. Our trips overlap by one night, so after we land we are going to pick her and her St P’s/CHS buddy up and they will spend that night with us. We haven’t seen her since she went back for second semester, if you don’t count the weekly FaceTimes and calls.
My Stupid Brain
Saturday night I fell into a car research rabbit hole again. I’m an idiot. The issue with these spells is they get my brain cranked up, increase my pulse and blood pressure, and make me a little anxious.
I couldn’t relax and stay asleep so after a couple hours of tossing and turning, I got up to try to re-set my body. Unfortunately I waited too long to do it and I was sitting in my chair, wide awake, when the clock jumped from 2:00 to 3:00 as Daylight Saving Time arrived. Wonderful. I need to lock away all my devices two hours before bed until I actually have a new car.
The rabbit hole gave me more content for posts, though, so you, my loyal readers, are the big winners!