Results tagged “Memphis” from Robert Littal Presents The Infamous BlackSportsOnline

Lastnight was a proven example of why the NCAA Tournament is one of the more exciting times in all of sports. Yeah there's no D-Wade or Lebron or real superstars, even though super freshman from Memphis Tyreke "Too Easy" Evans sure looked like one lastnight. I was Really shocked to see Mizzou drop a hundred on Memphis. I would of bet the house that no one would come close to scoring a hundred on Coach Cals team before lastnight. How about Scheyer and Hendersen getting absolutely shut down by Villanovas defense? I mean there were guys in Hendersens shirt all night long, that help defense on him was serious. It should be exciting to see what happens with tonights games. Just a few observations from lastnight:

1. So Who's Who?
In Lastnight games between Duke and Nova, Memphis and Missouri we seem to have an identity crisis. Coming into these games the offensive game was suppose to be the Nova-Duke matchup, up and down all night long, it actually ended up being sort of a grind it out game until Nova pulled away late. The game between Memphis and Mizzouri featuring two defensive powerhouses ended up with NBA scores. I was shocked to see how well these two teams shot against each other. Memphis seemed to forget how to play defense. Wasn't exactly one of the better coaching performances by Coach Cal. Missouri ran simple curls and double screens all night. Kind of Utah-ed Memphis to death. Looked like the super athletic Memphis probably should of slowed the game down or at least attempted to.

2. UCONN Contraversy?
The UConn alleged recruiting scandal didn't seem to have much of an effect on the Huskies. Coach Calhouns boys pulled through in the 2nd half against Purdue behind Hasheem Thabeet dominance in the paint. The stat sheet says 4 blocked shots but there were plenty of times his mere presence took the will away from the Boilermakers to attempt to go inside.

Now, it has been widely reported, on this site and many others in the sports world, about the plight of one young Darius Miles trying to collect his millions from a contract signed long ago with the Portland Trail Blazers.

When Miles signed his second ten-day contract with the Memphis Grizzlies this past Saturday, the countdown began to see the Trail Blazers be forced to either pay the luxury tax or cut some members of the team due to an $18 million payout for Miles playing in 10 games in a single season.

The countdown is at 1...

More after the jump...

"Any commentator talking about our free throw shooting doesn't know anything about basketball"

Memphis Coach John Calipari.

One thing about making defiant quotes is you better be 100% sure you know what you are talking about because, if you are proven wrong, people will be reminding you for the rest of your life. John Calipari would tell anyone who would listen the entire year that people didn't know what they were talking about when they said that Memphis free- throw shooting would at some point bite them in the ass. To be honest he looked prophetic during the tournament when his team was sinking free throws like they were possessed by Steve Kerr. He smirked and chastised any and everyone who commented that it is easy to make free throws when you are up by 20 but asked what would happened in a close game?

Then it happened and it happened in the most important game of the year with everything on the line (no pun intended). Memphis on the verge of winning the National Championship with their best two players shooting a total of five free throws. If they make two out of five they are champions.

Funny thing though, they only hit one. One out of five. Chris Douglas Roberts and Derrick Rose, hopefully, will be great pros, but similar to Chris Webber, there will always be that chapter when speaking on their careers. They will be remembered as the guys who choked away the Championship from the free throw line.

Mario Chalmers=Serial Killer nothing else to say about that.

Kansas played beautifully. They pounded it inside all night and simply killed Memphis. Brandon Rush did disappear offensively for stretches, but defensively he played his heart out against both Rose and Roberts. Being down 9 points with 2 minutes to go, they could have given up. But they kept fighting, kept clawing, kept coming and, to be honest, of the full 45 minutes of this game, they were the best team.

Definitely a game that will be remembered for a very long time! One that I will remember more for Memphis blowing the game than Kansas winning the game. But this should be a lesson for all those kids out there just practicing 3-pointers and dunks. Take a little more time at the foul line because you never know when it will be you on that line with a chance to win the game for your team. You don't have to be a basketball expert to know that.

I admit it! I was wrong about Memphis. I guaranteed they wouldn't make it to the Final Four. I told you to mark the tape and, when I tell you to mark the tape, I am 99% sure of my prediction. I thought they would lose to Michigan State. They were up 50-20 at the half. I thought they would lose to Texas. They embarrassed the Longhorns in Houston no less.

They made it to the Final Four and I still wouldn't believe. My bracket from the beginning had UCLA winning the title and, unlike most sports media personalities, I am not a hypocrite or a flip-flopper. So, I put together "5 Reasons" UCLA would win the title. However, by my standards, the "5 Reasons" were admittedly weak. But I still had hope. Unfortunately UCLA was never in the game and Kevin "Justin Timberlake" Love became a poster (see video below).

So to all the Memphis fans, I have seen the error of my ways and I apologize for thinking your team that coasted through Conference USA, and shot free throws like Ben Wallace doing the regular season would slip up in the tournament. Obviously, I wasn't paying close enough attention to see this is a team that has the best athletes in the country playing on the floor.

This team can lock you down on defense and run you to death on offense. Derrick Rose already looks like a NBA Star. Chris Douglas Roberts aka CDR is a fearlessly passionate player. I'm sure every North Carolina fan wishes he played on their team. Joey Dorsey simply embarrassed Kevin Love and many UCLA guards who dared to drive to the hoop. It has been a long time since I have seen a team go through the tournament so dominantly.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me four times; well, lets just say I'm no fool.

Memphis 70
Kansas 57