Something I learned tonight

[TD]

I think both Lawrence North and North Central could have beaten both Valpo (University) and Chicago State. Good luck to Valpo High School if they must face either one.

Oden had 26 points in the 1st half & finished with 36 I believe. But Eric Gordon proved why he is so heralded by Illinois coach Bruce Weber. He was outstanding in the third quarter.

[bk]

color=Black][/color]You know I saw part of that game as well. Oden is clearly going to be something special on the next level. The other team had a big kid that also looked very good, anybody know who he was?

In either case, as I watched this game, one thing that came to mind is that ESPN has no business televising high school basketball on a national level with Nike as a sponsor. I understand the sarcasm that either of these teams were better than VU last night, but to me there is no excuse to show a high school game when there are Division I college games on around the country.

I think it also continues to feed the sport hype monster that Nike and ESPN have become. Not to say they are ruining USA basketball, but I think the last Olympics taught us a lesson about where our game has gone wrong and I think broadcasting high school games is certainly contributing.

[Valpower]

As painful as that game sounded, I hope to see it on video. It is very important to understanding the defensive weaknesses of this VU team.

I'm particularly interested in seeing how Seth did when Homer (exasperated) had him defend Parran. To me, it seemed to slow him down and I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. Seth is the only player I've seen that seems to KNOW how to play defense. The rest seem to think that it is as simple as trying to react to your opponent more quickly--which is really just the perfect way to get juked out of your socks or cause you to commit a foul. I guess when you're slower you're forced to read the defense and use your brain.

DEFEND THE BASELINE!

[rlh]

I wasn't planning to post it...but if enough want to see it I certainly can....Trust me valpower...it was ugly, with a capital UG