Opening round matchups: Wisconsin vs. Norflolk State Wisconsin wins 80-51 Georgia vs. Old Dominion ODU wins 74-65 Tomorrow's games: Wisconsin vs. Eastern Kentucky Old Dominion vs. Fordham Sunday's games: Fordham vs. Georgia Norfolk State vs. Eastern Kentucky ___________________________________________ Brian Butch scored 23 points and was 3/3 from 3FG tonight! Holy crap, if he could do that every once in awhile once Big 10 play starts, he'll be a monster! But for now, he's still an underdeveloped talent; putting up huge numbers against Norfolk State isn't quite the same as defeating Michigan State or Iowa... Anyways, there are a couple of interesting teams in this year's Jam. I like the direction Georgia's program is heading, and both Fordham and ODU are mid majors who are very capable of some headline upsets. Hopefully my Badgers will put on a good showing in the Jam to start off the season!
Wow...what happened to Georgia? I know Old Dominion is one of the best mid major teams, but if Georgia wants to have a successful season, this is a game they must win. I did see that freshman forward Terrance Woodbury had 14 pts off the bench; that's a good sign at least, because the two guys that Georgia has starting inside right now aren't exactly too good...
I got goosebumps reading Brian Butch's line. For a 7-0 McDonald's All-American who redshirted his freshman year to put on more weight, I expected huge things from him last season, so when he spent most of the year on the bench I kind of gave up the hope of him being a dominant Big Ten big man, but this performance really restores my hope. I know he probably won't put up anything close to 23 ppg, but if he can just get about 10-14 ppg and 6-8 rpg, then I really like Wisconsin's chances in the Big Ten this season.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Voodoo Child:</div><div class="quote_post">I got goosebumps reading Brian Butch's line. For a 7-0 McDonald's All-American who redshirted his freshman year to put on more weight, I expected huge things from him last season, so when he spent most of the year on the bench I kind of gave up the hope of him being a dominant Big Ten big man, but this performance really restores my hope. I know he probably won't put up anything close to 23 ppg, but if he can just get about 10-14 ppg and 6-8 rpg, then I really like Wisconsin's chances in the Big Ten this season.</div> Quoted for truf!!! If he can just give us something consistent, it'll be a major boost. Double figures and 6 or so boards would do just fine, even though there's potential for much more. This was a very encouraging game for him!!!
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Schaddy:</div><div class="quote_post">Quoted for truf!!! If he can just give us something consistent, it'll be a major boost. Double figures and 6 or so boards would do just fine, even though there's potential for much more. This was a very encouraging game for him!!! </div> I see a lot of Paul Davis in Brian Butch. Their games aren't comparable to a tee, but they do share some similarities. Davis averaged 15.8 ppg and 6.2 rpg his sophomore season after a very disappointing freshman year, so I figured hoping for those kinds of numbers from Butch wouldn't be farfetched at all. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Butch was 3/3 from downtown and he's 7 foot, never heard of this guy....</div> He was a McDonald's All-American and the #1 center in his class in 2003 (a.k.a. the LeBron class). He chose to redshirt the following season, largely in part just to add some muscle to his weak frame. Last season as a freshman he only received 9.7 mpg with Morley and Wilkinson in the frontcourt, but he should see major minutes this season. As for his range, he's not a three point specialist, but he's got a great midrange game for a player his size. I remember watching him in the 2-ball contest, or whatever that All-Star weekend shooting contest is called. He ended up winning the title, showing range as far out as the three point line, although he won't be taking many shots from out there during games.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Voodoo Child:</div><div class="quote_post">He was a McDonald's All-American and the #1 center in his class in 2003 (a.k.a. the LeBron class). He chose to redshirt the following season, largely in part just to add some muscle to his weak frame. Last season as a freshman he only received 9.7 mpg with Morley and Wilkinson in the frontcourt, but he should see major minutes this season. As for his range, he's not a three point specialist, but he's got a great midrange game for a player his size. I remember watching him in the 2-ball contest, or whatever that All-Star weekend shooting contest is called. He ended up winning the title, showing range as far out as the three point line, although he won't be taking many shots from out there during games.</div> Yes Butch was a hot prospect coming out of high school and was the head of a fairly strong center class (if they would have stayed in school) which included James Lang, Chris Taft, Kendrick Perkins, and Jackie Butler all guys that should still be playing college ball now. If Wisconsin can get that kind of production out of Butch every night they can form yet another contender in the Big Ten.
Wisconsin won their second game, also, but this one was MUCH closer. We beat Eastern Kentucky 95-89 in double overtime. That's got to be the most points we've ever given up in the Bo Ryan era (UNC scored 88 on us last year in the tourney). Alando Tucker was a star, with 38 points and 10 boards. Freshman forward Marcus Landry also stepped up, with 19 points, 8 boards and 2 blocks. It seems like the reason we almost lost was that EKU forced a ton of turnovers. They got 16 from us (trust me, that's a TON for a Ryan team) and converted a lot of them into points. They also beat us by 13 points on fast break points, and shot 55% from 3. Ugly win, but hopefully we learn from this and limit our turnovers and tighten up our D from here on.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Kammron Taylor scored 27 points to help Wisconsin beat Old Dominion 84-81 in the championship game of the Paradise Jam tournament Monday night. Alando Tucker, the tournament's most-valuable-player, added 20 points. Arnaud Dahi had 25 points to lead Old Dominion, which took second place in the six-team round robin tournament. Taylor's 3-pointer gave Wisconsin a 79-75 lead with 33 seconds left. Dahi cut the lead back to two with a layup before Wisconsin's Marcus Landry hit four free throws to give the Badgers a 83-78 advantage. Drew Williamson's 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left put the Colonels back within two, but Taylor made one of two free throws to seal the victory. Tucker had scored a Paradise Jam record 38 points against Eastern Kentucky in a 95-89 double-overtime victory Saturday night. Both teams were undefeated coming into the final game of the six-team round-robin tournament. Old Dominion had beaten Georgia and Fordham. Wisconsin had defeated Norfolk State and Eastern Kentucky. Old Dominion held a four-point halftime lead 36-32.</div> Source Great to start the year off winning a tournament! ODU is a very solid opponent, so I'm very encouraged by this win
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting J_Ray:</div><div class="quote_post">Butch was 3/3 from downtown and he's 7 foot, never heard of this guy....</div> That's because an All-American redshirting in college basketball is unheard of...
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting STCBBall3:</div><div class="quote_post">That's because an All-American redshirting in college basketball is unheard of...</div> Having Mike Wilkinson and the other post players we had when he came in allowed us to do that. He was only 215 lbs as a true frosh, and that simply doesn't cut it in the Big 10. We pretty much had to redshirt him.
I wish I could of saw ODU and Wisconsin in this one. I think Old Dominion is going to have a Cinderella run this year.....
