Jan. 14, 2008
The Changing Face of College Basketball
As the year 2007 came to a close I had an interesting conversation with fellow Hoya blogger John Hawkes about the changes in college basketball. We were sitting at the Hoya Hoop Club table in front of Section 121 during the Fordham game. I had a similar conversation with another fellow Hoya blogger Mike Karam, at Town Hall as we watched the Hoyas defeat DePaul. There are the obvious uniform changes. We now have the "long" shorts, and the "just visible" socks as opposed to the "shorts" and long tube socks of the 1970's and early 1980's. The major rule changes, especially the shot clock, bonus foul shots, intentional foul rules, and three point shot have really changed the game.
During my college days, ESPN and Dick Vitale were just starting out. It was wonderful being able to see so many college basketball games during March Madness. Georgetown was the prototype physical BIG EAST team in those days employing a very physical full court pressure defense. The Hoyas really changed the way college basketball was played. Also, the ability to run the "stall" was an integral part of being able to close out games. North Carolina and Phil Ford ran the "Four Corners," and we ran the "Double Stack," with John Duren, and Sleepy Floyd. Our physical wars with Chris Mullin and St. John's are still the stuff of legend in New York City basketball. As John Hawkes mentioned to me, you can now watch old Hoya games on MASN and marvel at the changes. The three point line, and the shot clock have really made the game a much more fast paced game. Dribble penetration, and cross court passes are important weapons in attacking a zone, whereas they were once almost forbidden.
This past week I travelled to New York City for a Board meeting and was able to attend the New York Knick game against the Houston Rockets in Madison Square Garden. It made me think about attending the BIG EAST Final last year with John Hawkes at his first BIG EAST tournament. I was proud to see number "33" hanging from the rafters. Houston center Yao Ming wrote some nice words in the Daily News about how Patrick Ewing had greatly helped his development as a center, and how he has greatly helped Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic. Yao could not understand why the Knicks have not already hired him as a coach. With the warm weather I was able to enjoy some time as a tourist, seeing the new skating rink in Bryant Park, and a trip up Fifth Avenue ending at the famous FAO Schwartz toy store. While there, I found the new iPOD store a block away. It is an underground store that was selling iPods and iPhones as fast as they could pull them out of the stock rooms. I have never seen an electronic store so big. We have many important games to play, but I reminded myself that I have to finalize my hotel arrangements for the BIG EAST tournament.
This Saturday we had a marvelous win over UCONN thanks to a 3-point shot by Roy Hibbert. It was a great win for us being able to come in and play for all 40 minutes. I was very impressed with the UCONN team who will be a force again in the BIG EAST.
Connecticut and Pittsburgh have been perhaps the two top teams in the BIG EAST over the last ten years.
Tonight we play a very dangerous Pittsburgh team on the road. As John Reagan mentions in hoyasaxa.com the Panthers have had mid-season injuries to starters Mike Cook, Levance Fields, and Austin Wallace. However, they are still 14-2, ranked #20 by the AP and have an RPI of #9. They are no longer the slower, plodding team with center Aaron Gray at center. Pittsburgh is undefeated at home this year having beaten Duke. Furthermore, no team has won more than once at the Petersen Events Center since it opened in 2002. The Hoyas will be in for a very tough road game at Pittsburgh. You can watch the game on ESPN at 7:00 PM. To find a game watch near you, click here.
If you want to relive the end of the UCONN game one more time you can see it on YouTube.
Cheer for the Hoyas tonight against Pitt!
Hoya Saxa!
We are Georgetown!
Dr. Thomas A. Wong (C'82)
Proud Member of Generation Ewing
