During a time out in last night's Gopher basketball game against Ohio State, in Columbus, I went to the refrigerator and, returning, saw that there was a mic in the Buckeyes' huddle and their coach was hollering, "He's a right-hand driver, right-hand driver!" I have a pretty good idea who he was talking about. If by some miracle Daniel Oturu's car keys ended up in his left-front jean pocket, he'd probably retrieve them by reaching across his front and backhanding them out of there with his right hand. Also, if I were a referee, I think I'd be tempted to tell him, "Yes, you got fouled, but I can't stand the sight of you trying to make a free throw."
But a nice win, their first of the year on the road in the Big Ten. Not sure who votes for the Naismith Award, but if it's coaches, Marcus Carr might get one vote out of Columbus. In two games against the Buckeyes this season, he's scored 56 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and delivered 9 assists. As a point guard, he led the Gophers in rebounds last night (7), in addition to points (21, including the game-winning 3-pointer with 4 seconds left). Some teams just don't have anyone who can check him. If they do, they still have to worry about Oturu. If they can guard both those guys, we're in trouble—but it takes at least two athletic guys, one of them of unusual dimensions. This Gopher team is a lot more fun than I thought they were going to be.
I love that Omersa kid. Typical line: 10 minutes, 0 points, 4 rebounds, 4 fouls. Lots of stuff you don't see in a box score, starting with defense and hair. I'm not saying he's great, just fun and easy to cheer for. Pretty sure that when he checks in at least one guy on the other team is thinking, "Hope he guards someone else." Alas, Oturu is the better foul shooter.
Switching over to another channel, I saw Lindsey Graham say that the Democratic house managers are "over trying their case." He hopes Trump's lawyers don't make the same mistake. I take this to be his way of acknowledging that there's more to be said on one side than the other.
Comments