Tag: IPA’s

The Life of a Freelance Basketball Scout – Game 17 George Mason vs George Washington

The Life of a Freelance Basketball Scout – Game 17

George Mason vs George Washington

 

March 9 – George Mason vs George Washington

IMG_3417

After passing out the night before at 12:15 a.m., after a couple beers and watching some of the Wizards game, I got up around 8:30 a.m. Pretty solid amount of sleep. More than I normally get. I got the kids some cereal and I had some coffee. We then started watching the Wizards game while on the couch! This time consisted of a lot of weird questions that you would expect a three and a five year old to ask. “Is santa claus family?”, “Is God family?”, “Can God see us naked?”. Fun times with the little ones. I also explained to them how Bobby Portis got fouled at the end of the game and the refs missed the call. I then explained Portis should have been shooting foul shots to take the lead. I explained foul shots to them. My son Junior said, “Hey we get shots too, just not the same kind of shots”. He was talking about needles at the doctor, not alcohol. Lets put that out there right away. My wife woke up around 10:20 a.m. We are a team. We take turns sleeping in on the weekends. Once my wife woke up we watched some of an episode of “The Kitchen”, before I had to get ready to leave for Washington D.C. I left for the game at 12:15 p.m. Traffic was pretty typical for a Saturday on the beltway. I arrived at the parking garage at 1:35 p.m. I walked a couple blocks to the arena and entered. After finding my seat, I had a few minutes to eat a couple of pieces of Domino’s cheese pizza in the media room before the game started.

 

The game was never really in question. George Mason has very good guard play. They like to play a quicker tempo than George Washington is comfortable with. They also have better athletes by a pretty big margin. George Mason won 81-65.

 

For Mason I was interested in seeing Otis Livingston II. He is a smaller point guard that has been a mainstay for the last four years. The senior had relatively quiet 14 points, three rebounds and three assists. It seemed like he could have taken over, but decided to get his other younger guard the chance to shine more. Freshman guard Jordan Miller was a perfect six of six on the day. The lengthy, 6’6 left-hander is a dangerous driver and plays both sides of the ball. He has the physical tools to develop into a well-rounded prospect. He had 17 points and nine rebounds. Junior guard Justin Kier was also very solid. He can score or be a factor as a distributor. Kier had 13 points, five rebounds and nine assists.

 

George Washington is a team that lacks athleticism and a bonafide scorer. The man that led them in scoring was their sixth man Justin Williams. Williams is an undersized 6’4 guard/forward. He is just constant energy and effort. He will get loose balls, rebounds or make the correct basketball play. Williams is a great teammate and plays the game with passion. Without him on this senior day it would have been very embarrassing for the Colonials. Williams had 18 points, five rebounds and three steals.

 

After the game I walked a couple of blocks to the parking garage and then battled D.C. and beltway traffic all the way home. The game ended at about 3:45, and I arrived home at 5:15. Overall it was pretty solid timing. I picked my wife and kids up from the house and we went to the bowling alley for my brother in law Kody’s party. I bowled two bad games, ate some cardboard bowling alley pizza and some surprisingly good garlic french fries. We returned home and the rest of my night was watching some basketball and having a few more IPA’s.

 

It was a pretty busy weekend overall. This was my last regular season game and could be the last game I attend in person this year.

The Life of a Freelance Basketball Scout – Game 17 – Minnesota vs Maryland

The Life of a Freelance Basketball Scout – Game 17
Minnesota vs Maryland

The Life of a Freelance Basketball Scout – Game 17

Minnesota vs Maryland

 

March 8 – Minnesota vs Maryland

IMG_3412

After work I made a stop at my favorite liquor store “Christo’s Discount Liquors”, in Glen Burnie. This is the same liquor store that sponsors a soccer team that had a magical run in the US open cup a few years ago. When I was there I picked up a couple of variety pack IPA’s by Heavy Seas and Flying Dog. Both are local Maryland craft breweries. After that I picked up my kids from my brother in laws house. That is where my mother in law was watching the kids. I then went home to prepare to leave for the game. I was still waiting for a credential. I thought that it might be mailed, but it wasn’t. I called the location where I normally pick up my credential and they said that they did not have one for me. I then called and emailed Keith Sneddon of Maryland, and received an email immediately saying they will have a credential at the location for me. I was on my way. It was around 5:15 p.m. when I left. I traveled the back way to I-295 from my house. I know how terrible the road is right now because they are working on it, and it was also sleeting/snowing again. It seems like every game I go to this season it’s either raining or snowing. Crazy. So, I get almost all the way to the location and I decided to double check my email. Good thing I did. I got an email saying my credential will be at media will call instead of the other location. I was running late, which seems to be a theme for me this season. So, I made a quick and inspired left turn onto campus in the bad weather. Pretty ballsy move since I was quickly approaching an intersection. When I arrived at the Xfinity center and I was settled it was only 6:43 p.m. By the grace of God I made it before the game. I then took some pre game notes and ate a half of roasted chicken salad sandwich, pasta salad and half of a roast beef sandwich. I would finish the rest at halftime.

This was a big game for Minnesota and Maryland. For Minnesota they sit on the bubble, but closer to the good side than the bad. Maryland is trying to gain some momentum before heading into the conference tournament and improving their seed for the NCAA tournament. They started the process in doing this by winning 69-60 and it wasn’t really that close. This game was all Maryland from the start. Jalen Smith played one of his better games for Maryland. Stix, as he is known, is still developing his game on both ends. He can do a little bit of everything, but he really needs to work on his body. He will probably test the NBA draft waters to get some advice before returning to school. Stix had 19 points, 3 three-pointers, eleven rebounds and three blocks. If Maryland wants to play deep into March Stix is one of the huge factors for them as a freshman. Bruno Fernando had his usual eleven points and eleven rebounds. Bruno has an energy that no one else on the court can match. He is an all time hype man. Think Lil Jon, just 6’10 and 240 pounds. Anthony Cowan got going for the terps as well. He had 21 points and five assists. Cowan has been very streaky this season. It will really come down to his play to how far Maryland goes.

Minnesota just struggled to score. If Amir Coffey is struggling to score or create Minnesota will lose. They just don’t have enough creators or playmakers on offense. Coffey was stifled early. He only had six points in the first half. He eventually finished with 23 points and six assists. Coffey had a good run to close the gap midway into the second half, but it wasn’t enough. He is a very streaky jump shooter. He is at his best when he attacks the land uses his length and size. Jordan Murphy had foul trouble throughout the game. He never really got to exploit the matchups as much as Minnesota wanted him to. At 6’7 and 250 pounds he is a tough task to guard in the post, but since he doesn’t have much range to extend the defense it can be a problem when the opposition has solid bigs. Murphy did make two three-pointers in the game, but he only had made four on the season. So my point still stands. Murphy is an intriguing prospect.

 

After the game I waited around to attend both press conferences. Richard Pitino’s was pretty short and cut and dry. He knows his team sits in a decent position, but would benefit greatly from another win. As I was waiting for Mark Turgeon’s some local journalists were talking about a few things and I heard the name Steve Buckhantz brought up. Buckhantz is the play-by-play announcer for the Washington Wizards. I have grown up listening to him. His partner Phil Chenier was replaced on the broadcast this past season. Now, news has come out that it looks like Buckhantz will not return next season. I will sure miss his signature “Dagger!” call.

 

After the press conference I walked out to my car, which was in the important people lot, right in front of the arena. I have never parked this close. It was awesome baby with a capital A (channeled my inner Dickie V there). On my ride home I listened to music and sports talk. When I arrived back home around 10:20 p.m. everyone was in bed. I then went into my man cave downstairs to watch the Wizards game I had recorded. I have a projector down there; so, it’s a pretty cool setup. I drank a couple of IPA’s I picked up from earlier in the day and then started nodding off. I didn’t finish the Wizards game. That would have to wait for the morning. I retired for the night around 12:15 a.m. I can’t keep up with the young guns anymore.