Hall Escapes Fifth Third With a Win

Dave and I expect the very best from our players. We want them to give 110% every time. 

On this particular day, however, 110% would not be enough. Given that it was senior day on Cincinnati's home floor, we would need at the very least 5/3 effort, or 166.67%. (Go ahead, check my math, Pete!!)

Yes, that's correct. It took overtime, but our team battled and battled to leave Ohio's famous Fifth Third Arena with a win. Now, it wasn't easy, and even getting to the game proved a challenge. 

After sleeping through our alarm, Dave and I had to high-tail it out of Kentucky. Stopping by Sonic for a little fast food on the way, along with a quick thirty second reenactment of our favorite "reality-style" commercials, we pulled into the arena parking lot just in time. 

You can only imagine our exhilaration when we picked up our tickets at Will Call to find we would be sitting on the floor directly behind the bench!! Yes, there is a God! 

I can say with some certainty we were a part of the team today. When Paul Gause ran out of bounds, chasing a loose ball, Dave was there to give him a high-five. When John Garcia tossed his dirty sweat rag during a time-out, I was there to catch it in my expectant mitts. 

The game was a classic thriller, with a number of blown lay-ups later redeemed with clutch free throws. And while Dave and I were drastically outnumbered, there were a couple other Hall fans in attendance, most notably Sister Stix. Let's just say it's genetic!

For those of you who couldn't make it to arena, here a couple things you might have missed:

- Pistol Pete stands up and claps all the time. So much so that the UC student section would actually scream "Sit down Pete!!" Falcon, if they're calling your name, you must be doing something right!!

- After Stix missed a critical open lay-up at the start of overtime, Coach Bobby G very calmly and soothingly screamed in a earth-shattering voice "RELAX!!!!" Psychology students, this is what we might call a textbook case of the double bind.

- Although the crowd got very noisy towards the end, it was actually a pretty poor showing. Lots of empty seats.

- Nunu missed a couple of shots driving the hoop when it was very clear he was fouled. (From where we were sitting, we could hear the slaps.) Just showin' Eu some love...

All in all, a lot of heart. Okay, well soon our roadtrip adventure will draw to a close, as we prepare for a Big East tourney matchup with South Florida. But not before Dave and I hit up Ohio's famous Camp Washington for the world's best chili. 

My Love

Love and basketball - two peas in a pod that seem to go together even beyond its famed movie title. Just as Seton Hall is always trying to recruit the best players to join their team for the following season, I am also always trying to court the best local prospects in an attempt to join forces with them for my own future.

Upon sending a text message to my top recruit letting her know that I will be in Kentucky until Sunday, I received the following response:

"Oh my god I cant believe it's already Kentucky. You and Ben must be flipping out. I hope that hezel guys hits his threes and gets the foul call...And that sticks performs and that garcias legs stay strong. And who knows maybe Davis wont foul out in two minutes and actually grab a rebound or two. Go shu!"

What do you think? Does she pass the test? Sure, there were some typos, but who ever said love was perfect?

Hall "Blues Out" St. John's; Irving Photo

Seton Hall has not had a single comfortable win against a Big East program in a long, long time. This game came close.

With the arena buzzing, and a "blue out" declared, the fans had a lot to cheer about. Unfortunately, while the night was a great success, there were a couple minor mistakes by the Seton Hall organizers.

A couple tips for the next "blue out:"

1. If you're the guy handing out blue t-shirts to the people sitting courtside, maybe the guy wearing all red with a St. Johns' hat doesn't deserve one.

2. At the Trivia stand, there was a man handing out white Seton Hall t-shirts. At the blue out.

3. The impact of the blue out is a little diminished when the entrance to the Prudential Center is illuminated with 1,000 watt red light bulbs.

But these are just little peccadilloes. On the whole, Dave and I had a great time. He wore blue war paint, and I had a balloon pirate sword. It was the best day of a 7 year old's life.

The game was also quite interesting. Putting aside the player performances, clearly Flagman was inspired by our poll question, as he set a record 8 laps!! Our options only went up to 7, big guy!! Take it easy!! Even though that flagpole is about as skinny as a Mitchell tibia, you know it's got to weigh a lot.

On the court, Garcia played a great first half, moving up and down the floor with relative agility, and even blocking a lot of shots. Hazell had a great shooting night, and Theodore gave a great spark off the bench.

It was also nice to see Kyrie Irving in attendance. One of the Hall's top recruits, Irving sat in the section next to us, and seemed to enjoy the game. Forgetting the fact that he formerly attended MKA, and Dave and I both graduated from rival high school Newark Academy, rest assured that we would happily "squash the beef" between our respective alma matria just to let this kid play the point.

I snapped this shot of Irving after the game, heading into the locker room, where he would surely be greeted with a sweaty hug from Gonzo and a cool handshake from SYMS fashion model, Adubato Roboto.

Check it out!

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.

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”

Seton Hall Music Video

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

Zagoraphobia!!

According to Webster's Dictionary, "agoraphobia" is defined as: "a nervous disorder often triggered by the fear of no easy means of escape." We can only surmise then that Gonzo suffered from an unexpected bout of Zagoraphobia when he bumped into popular blogger Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.net under the bleachers of the Prudential Center after the Hall's thrashing of Columbia. With his salt-and-pepper pho-hawk and Wesleyan education, Adam must have cut a terrifying figure, prompting Coach Gonzo to allegedly call out in fear, cursing and screaming. 

(For the details, check out the full story on SNY.) 

In all seriousness though, this could not come at a worse time for the program. After two solid wins, and the prospect of some positive recruiting news, things were starting to look sunny for this San Juan-bound squad. Whether it's Gonzo being Gonzo, or Zags being infantile, who knows... But here's the real question: How in God's name are Dave and I going to wake up in time to meet our fellow Booster Club members at the airport at 5 am on Thursday????!!!