Monday, December 22, 2008

Popkin, Mitchell Not Enough; Hall Loses 70-64


What was supposed to be a nice peaceful evening listening to the Prodigal Son and Gary Cohen announce an easy Seton Hall victoryA turned into an actual nightmare. The Hall travelled south this evening to take on James Madison University in what should have been a rather winnable OOC game. Instead, James Madison came out swinging and led at one point by 21 points in the first half. Overcoming their second straight sluggish start, the Hall battled back in classic Hall form, overcoming the 21 point deficit with a combination of steals, three point daggers and pressure D. However, it just wasn't enough.

For the third straight game, Seton Hall relied heavily on their "sprint squad," playing with four guards and Robert "Stix Mitchell" as their "center." Stix actually single handedly kept the Hall in the game, putting up 23 points and grabbing 9 rebounds. However, there is no possible way that Stix can be expected to matchup with the likes of Harangody, Thabeet and Onuaku. Mike Davis and Brandon Walters were virtually invisible tonight playing a combined 20 minutes and zero collective minutes in the second half. With John Garcia out for the next few games, Seton Hall is going to have to learn how to play its young big men, especially when BIG EAST play begins. If Davis and Wawa cant grow a pair of mitts soon, it will be a long, long season for the Pirates - even when John Garcia does return.

Gonzo's reluctance to use either of his backup big men forced him to turn to walk-on Matt "O' Say" Cajuste for a few minutes to spell Paul Gause as he fixed his knee brace. If that's not a slap in the face to Wawa or Davis, I'm not sure what is. Maybe it's a wake up call. Maybe it's the extra motivation they need. The point is - in order to compete in the BIG EAST, Gonzo is going to have to call upon either Mike Davis or Brandon Walters, even when John Garcia does return from his inury. Garcia can not be expected to play day in and dayout on two surgically repaired knees against some of the biggest bodies in college basketball. He is going to need help and someone is going to have to step up. Since I'm not eligble to play yet, it's going to have to be someone else....Ben...??

The other thought that Ben and I kept having was how on earth will Seton Hall compete with the top teams in the BIG EAST if they have to scramble to come from behind against the likes of Delaware, Cal Baptist, IUPUI and James Madison? If they can be go down by 21 to James Madison, what will happen when they play Louisivlle? Or UConn? I've heard many say that Seton Hall plays to its competition. Well that may be true, but where is the mental toughness? If they were to play a high school team, would they lose by 40?

In the lone bright spot of the evening, Ben and I were able to add a new nickname to our list. At roughly the nine minute mark of the second half, the Prodigal Son was true to his name when he coined the nickname "Eu-Genius" in reference to one of Eugene Harvey's circus layups. "Eu-Genius..?" No, Dave Popkin, you're a genius.

Friday, December 19, 2008

What's in a Name: IUPUI



pal‧in‧drome
–noun

1. a word, line, verse, number, sentence, etc., reading the same backward as forward, as Madam, I'm Adam or Poor Dan is in a droop.


It is once again time for our “What’s in a Name” series. This week’s edition will focus on the visiting Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI) Jaguars. While Ben may be the English major, I have decided to take my own approach to analyzing IUPUI's bizarre relationship with the English language.

The visiting Jaguars may have the longest school name in NCAA Division I history. With a whopping 48 letters and 17 vowels, IUPUI is an English teacher’s (wet) dream. Secondly, and the focus of this week’s column, is that IUPUI is one of a few NCAA schools that is a palindrome. A palindrome is “a word, verse, or sentence (as “Able was I ere I saw Elba”) or a number (as 1881) that reads the same backward or forward.” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary) Stemming from the Greek word palindromos, the Greeks used the phrase to capture the backward movement of crabs. I have to imagine that there are at least a few other NCAA schools out there that are palindromes, but IUPUI might be the longest.

The ancient Greeks used the word “palindromos” to refer to the backward movement of crabs, noting that crabs often retraced their steps by moving backwards the same way they move forwards. Having the ability to move backwards and forwards in the same line without altering one’s movements drastically is a lesson that we, as Seton Hall fans, can all learn from. That which may set us backwards – John Garcia’s knee injury, the seemingly everlasting wait for Big Mel and Keon to be cleared, disappointing recruiting news – can just as easily be undone by a few strong steps forward in the very same line.

And that’s all for this edition of “What’s in a Name”

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Seton Hall Music Video

The first of hopefully many Setonia Productions...Enjoy.