beaverbaseball 10 Report Share Posted November 22, 2005 West Virginia basketball...no good ah? Well they looked pretty darn good to me last night..Should have defeated the #2 team in the country Texas but they could not captalize on foul shots at the end of the game and a no foul call when Aldridge obviously fouls Gansey on the last shot of the game and no call from the zebra http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/columns/story?columnist=katz_andy&id=2232836 KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- West Virginia coach John Beilein was in mid-sentence ,discussing Mike Gansey's gritty play, when suddenly his thoughts shifted to Texas center LaMarcus Aldridge. "Where did Aldridge come from? He wasn't even in the picture," said Beilein, the memory of West Virginia's final possession flashing through his head. "I thought we were going to win ... and then all of a sudden Aldridge blocked it." Aldridge, arms straight up to ensure he wouldn't be called for violating "the rules of verticality," got a piece of Gansey's seemingly open layup -- as well as a bit of body bumping -- in the final seconds to secure No. 2 Texas' 76-75 victory Monday in the semifinals of the Guardians Classic at the historic Municipal Auditorium. Texas will play Iowa in Tuesday night's final (ESPN2, 10 p.m. ET) after the Hawkeyes upset Kentucky 67-63 later in the evening. "I came in for the block and I was worried about fouling him. But I thought it would be better to foul him than give him a wide-open layup and force him to make the free throws," Aldridge said. "I'm feeling real comfortable right now." Aldridge set up the important block by laying in a bucket at the other end off a tipped rebound from Brad Buckman, which followed an errant Kenton Paulino jumper. Aldridge finished with 15 points and 14 boards, his third straight double-double to start the 2005-06 season. The 6-foot-10 sophomore, who didn't play after Jan. 15 last season due to a hip injury, is fully healed in every sense. His body and game are completely healthy. Texas coach Rick Barnes isn't going to say too much publicly but we can tell you that, privately, he is adamant that Aldridge can end up being the best player in the country. And, it's no surprise that NBA personnel in attendance Monday were already abuzz about Aldridge, not Connecticut's Rudy Gay, as having the potential to be the No. 1 pick in the June draft. Of course, that's for a later discussion, but Barnes doesn't doubt its validity. He knows he's got perhaps the top frontcourt player in the country in his corner. "He's so big and he reminds me of [bob] McAdoo," Beilein said. "He's got great hands. He's really good." The Longhorns were hardly sharp, committing 24 turnovers and letting Gansey (28 points) and the Mountaineers slice them up at times. Still, ultimately, the difference wasn't point guard Daniel Gibson (20 points, one assist, nine turnovers), or forward P.J. Tucker (19 points). It was Aldridge and will continue to be Aldridge. "He's incredible, a tremendous athlete and I just love watching him play," said Buckman, a senior. " Playing with him is a treat. I look up to the guy and you don't normally look up to younger guys. The injury made him even stronger." Praise for Aldridge is growing exponentially. Barnes said Aldridge's timing is a non-factor because it's already well-tuned. He got rid of the cheap fouls in the preseason. And, if anyone needs to adjust, Barnes said it's Gibson learning to play with Aldridge and Tucker again after forging ahead without them last winter (Tucker was ruled academically ineligible in the second semester and missed the Longhorns' final 14 games). "He does need to get more selfish and start demanding the ball," Barnes said. Aldridge took just 10 shots, making seven. "If you want the touches then you need to go and get them." As for Tuesday night, Iowa can expect to face a completely different Aldridge from the player the Hawkeyes saw a year ago in beating Texas in the Maui Invitational. He's stronger, more refined and clearly more focused. Iowa coach Steve Alford said as much after beating Kentucky. Iowa, however, will be a stern test for the Longhorns, and notably Aldridge, because of their physical play. According to Iowa's Greg Brunner, who is in the mold of the lunch-pail type of Big Ten players like former Purdue forward Brian Cardinal, the Hawkeyes are defined by their rough style of play. Iowa will be able to exert its physicality on Texas if only Aldridge isn't a factor inside. Tucker can match the toughness, but Aldridge's length could be too disruptive. "We needed this now and we better get used to it," Aldridge said of grinding out a win three games into the season against a ranked team (West Virginia entered the game ranked 14th). Iowa, meanwhile, checks in at No. 20, and the Longhorns have games scheduled against top-ranked Duke, Villanova (No. 5), Oklahoma twice, (No. 6), Memphis (No. 12) and Iowa State (No. 25) among a slate of Big 12 teams that could move into the top 25 this season. "The first thing coach told us in the locker room was that this was like a tournament game, and every tournament game goes down to the wire," said Aldridge, who didn't play in the NCAA Tournament last season because of his injury. "It felt so good after the game. I can't wait to get back to the tournament." If Aldridge is this excited in November, look out come March Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeTownFan 10 Report Share Posted November 22, 2005 Now when people use Pittsnogle as a "VERB" it will mean "CHOKE" instead of "HITTING A BIG THREE" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porchy 10 Report Share Posted November 22, 2005 WVU got ripped.. the no call on the block at the end was terrible.. WVU wins by 1... There was body before the defender got to the ball... I hope those refs are catching hell today!! lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMan 3,569 Report Share Posted November 22, 2005 [ QUOTE ] WVU got ripped.. the no call on the block at the end was terrible.. WVU wins by 1... There was body before the defender got to the ball... I hope those refs are catching hell today!! lol [/ QUOTE ] Would never have come down to a no call if WVU had hit their free throws... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EH31 2,518 Report Share Posted November 22, 2005 I thought they looked pretty good, i dunno about thier depth, but i know they have leadership with gansey(sp) on the floor. IMO they have a very good shot at winnin the big east even though i am a louisville fan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GHS06 10 Report Share Posted November 22, 2005 gansy should have gone up stronger and they should have seen gansy sooner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EH31 2,518 Report Share Posted November 23, 2005 it was a good play by the texas guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaverbaseball 10 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2005 [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] WVU got ripped.. the no call on the block at the end was terrible.. WVU wins by 1... There was body before the defender got to the ball... I hope those refs are catching hell today!! lol [/ QUOTE ] Would never have come down to a no call if WVU had hit their free throws... [/ QUOTE ] very true Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaverbaseball 10 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2005 Looks like they can play with Kentucky to Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EH31 2,518 Report Share Posted November 23, 2005 they lost by 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaverbaseball 10 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2005 It was a good game intill the final 10 minutes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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