If 300 and Hoosiers Had a Baby, Would It Be Tonight’s Game?
April 6th, 2009
New York, NY
A lot has been made of Michigan State as a team of inspiration, giving hope to an entire state, industry and possibly a nation.
“They have a cause, and any time you have a cause, it’s a great, great thing to rally around.” - Noted Curmudgeon, Jim Calhoun
In his praise of the Spartans Coach Calhoun stoked the fire by pointing out that they played a transcendental game, with energy, tenacity and focus.
So, are the Spartans the college version of Hickory High in “Hoosiers?” In 100 years, will people forget that the movie was about Milan High in 1954 and instead think it’s about the MSU Spartans in 2009? Will they single-handledly pull us out of the Global Recession of 2009?
If you watch ESPN and read the press, you’d think so.
In fact, all that’s missing is Coach Izzo and the team on the floor of Ford Field this morning, asking Raymar Morgan to measure the distance from rim to foul line, and hoop to floor. “I think you’ll find these are exactly the same dimensions of the court back home.” He says. Kalin Lucas and Jimmy Chitwood nod approvingly.
Well, let’s take a break from all the “Dominance vs. Destiny” hype and look at the truth.
There’s no reason to be surprised that MSU is in the final, and there’s no reason to expect a surprise victory. Let’s look at the facts.
First, Skip Bayless is picking MSU. And we all know he’s a moron.
Second, everyone makes a big deal about the “home court advantage” of Ford Field. Well, UNC won by 14 at Duke this year, which might be the hardest place to play in college sports. You have loud, classless fans within feet of the court, screaming some of the most hateful and crass insults a privileged prep-school kid can dream up instead of going to class. With Duke, nothing is off limits: your girlfriend, your family, your looks and sexual orientation are all fair game. So 70,000 auto industry execs going to the game on corporate tickets isn’t going to bother UNC. It does bother me though, since essentially they are rocking on my dime.
Third, Michigan State was a consensus Top 10 pre-season team, almost unanimously picked to win the Big Ten. Last time I checked, the Big Ten was a major sports conference, with 11 teams, each with top-flight facilities, good coaches and a full allotment of scholarships. Although the math skills in the conference are suspect, the athletic skills aren’t. If you can win this conference, you can hang with anyone.
Fourth, this was one of the most competitive college basketball seasons ever. The #1 ranking was won and lost almost weekly in the second half of the season, and at any given moment Pitt, UConn, Louisville, Wake Forest, Duke and yes, Michigan State and North Carolina holding the top spot. If you’ve been ranked #1, no one should be surprised you ended up in the finals.
Finally, the Tar Heels’ talent is head and shoulders above the Spartans. UNC has last year’s Naismith Award winner, Tyler “I Can’t Blink Or Close My Mouth” Hansborough, and the tournament’s best player in Ty Lawson.
Much has been made of the Spartans pulling off a Kansas-like “Danny and the Miracles” victory, but they don’t have a Danny Manning-like talent, and miracles only happen once in a lifetime. That said, they are a deep team of hard-working kids, and they play great team basketball. Unfortunately, they are playing a team with more talent that also plays great team basketball.
If you want a surprise tonight, look out for Danny Green, possibly the fourth best player on UNC. He’s tonight’s dark horse for MVP because he’ll kill MSU with his long range shooting and clutch defense.
So there it is in black and white. Let’s stop romanticizing the Spartans making the finals. And although they’ll be ready and play their hearts they won’t be able to touch UNC. The Heels are deeper, more talented, extremely focused and well-coached.
And they want it. Badly.
How badly? Look at the quote from the usually soft spoken Roy Williams.
"I do realize they have a cause. Well, we also have a cause. We want to win the national championship, period, the end. And if you would tell me that if Michigan State wins, it's gonna satisfy the nation's economy, then I'd say, 'Hell, let's stay poor a little longer.' "
Look for UNC to easily cover the 7 points by half, win easily by 12-14 points.
Sorry, America. We’re gonna stay poor a little longer.
New York, NY
A lot has been made of Michigan State as a team of inspiration, giving hope to an entire state, industry and possibly a nation.
“They have a cause, and any time you have a cause, it’s a great, great thing to rally around.” - Noted Curmudgeon, Jim Calhoun
In his praise of the Spartans Coach Calhoun stoked the fire by pointing out that they played a transcendental game, with energy, tenacity and focus.
So, are the Spartans the college version of Hickory High in “Hoosiers?” In 100 years, will people forget that the movie was about Milan High in 1954 and instead think it’s about the MSU Spartans in 2009? Will they single-handledly pull us out of the Global Recession of 2009?
If you watch ESPN and read the press, you’d think so.
In fact, all that’s missing is Coach Izzo and the team on the floor of Ford Field this morning, asking Raymar Morgan to measure the distance from rim to foul line, and hoop to floor. “I think you’ll find these are exactly the same dimensions of the court back home.” He says. Kalin Lucas and Jimmy Chitwood nod approvingly.
Well, let’s take a break from all the “Dominance vs. Destiny” hype and look at the truth.
There’s no reason to be surprised that MSU is in the final, and there’s no reason to expect a surprise victory. Let’s look at the facts.
First, Skip Bayless is picking MSU. And we all know he’s a moron.
Second, everyone makes a big deal about the “home court advantage” of Ford Field. Well, UNC won by 14 at Duke this year, which might be the hardest place to play in college sports. You have loud, classless fans within feet of the court, screaming some of the most hateful and crass insults a privileged prep-school kid can dream up instead of going to class. With Duke, nothing is off limits: your girlfriend, your family, your looks and sexual orientation are all fair game. So 70,000 auto industry execs going to the game on corporate tickets isn’t going to bother UNC. It does bother me though, since essentially they are rocking on my dime.
Third, Michigan State was a consensus Top 10 pre-season team, almost unanimously picked to win the Big Ten. Last time I checked, the Big Ten was a major sports conference, with 11 teams, each with top-flight facilities, good coaches and a full allotment of scholarships. Although the math skills in the conference are suspect, the athletic skills aren’t. If you can win this conference, you can hang with anyone.
Fourth, this was one of the most competitive college basketball seasons ever. The #1 ranking was won and lost almost weekly in the second half of the season, and at any given moment Pitt, UConn, Louisville, Wake Forest, Duke and yes, Michigan State and North Carolina holding the top spot. If you’ve been ranked #1, no one should be surprised you ended up in the finals.
Finally, the Tar Heels’ talent is head and shoulders above the Spartans. UNC has last year’s Naismith Award winner, Tyler “I Can’t Blink Or Close My Mouth” Hansborough, and the tournament’s best player in Ty Lawson.
Much has been made of the Spartans pulling off a Kansas-like “Danny and the Miracles” victory, but they don’t have a Danny Manning-like talent, and miracles only happen once in a lifetime. That said, they are a deep team of hard-working kids, and they play great team basketball. Unfortunately, they are playing a team with more talent that also plays great team basketball.
If you want a surprise tonight, look out for Danny Green, possibly the fourth best player on UNC. He’s tonight’s dark horse for MVP because he’ll kill MSU with his long range shooting and clutch defense.
So there it is in black and white. Let’s stop romanticizing the Spartans making the finals. And although they’ll be ready and play their hearts they won’t be able to touch UNC. The Heels are deeper, more talented, extremely focused and well-coached.
And they want it. Badly.
How badly? Look at the quote from the usually soft spoken Roy Williams.
"I do realize they have a cause. Well, we also have a cause. We want to win the national championship, period, the end. And if you would tell me that if Michigan State wins, it's gonna satisfy the nation's economy, then I'd say, 'Hell, let's stay poor a little longer.' "
Look for UNC to easily cover the 7 points by half, win easily by 12-14 points.
Sorry, America. We’re gonna stay poor a little longer.
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