The Missouri Tigers' Gritty Bunch Keeps on Dancing

Daniel Schiller — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 07:45:05 -0400

The month of March has never been too kind to Columbia, Mo.

In 2009 however, coach Mike Anderson and his gritty pack of Tigers are looking to change that and erase Mizzou fans' bitter memories of eliminations at the hands of Tyus Edney and Dwyane Wade.

The Tigers like to refer to their high pressure brand of basketball as "40 minutes of Hell", and so far this March, Marquette, Cornell, and the rest of the Big 12 have not been able to take the heat.

As a result, Anderson has the Tigers in their first Sweet 16 in seven years.

Under Anderson's leadership, this year's Tigers are the poster children for team-first basketball. There are no real superstars on this team, no McDonald's All-Americans, and no "diaper dandies."

Instead, there are transfers, former junior college ballers, and under-the-radar recruits.

Senior forwards DeMarre Carroll and Leo Lyons have been a truly dynamic duo all year long, with both offering great versatility on both ends of the floor.

In the backcourt, junior J.T. Tiller has a been a defensive stud who excels against the opponent's best perimeter shooters and penetrators.

Role players like Keith Ramsey, sharp shooter Matt Lawrence, and freshman guards Kim English and Marcus Denmon have also played pivotal supporting roles for the Tigers, too.

Though this squad doesn't have nearly the national acclaim of Tyler Hansbrough's North Carolina Tar Heels or Blake Griffin's Oklahoma Sooners, that has not stopped them from knocking off big-time foes on the national stage.

In the regular season, the Tigers notched signature wins against the likes of Kansas, Texas, and Oklahoma. Mizzou then made its way though an admittedly watered down Big 12 field to claim its first-ever conference tournament championship, earning a No. 3 seed in the big dance.

As fate would have it, the selection committee sent Missouri to play in Boise, Idaho—the site of Edney's coast-to-coast buzzer beater in 1995.

The demons were somewhat exorcised in the Tigers' first game when they soundly defeated Ivy League representative Cornell 78-59.

What came next, however, was almost an Edney-esque heartbreaker.

The Tigers' second-round game against Marquette broke drastically from their prototypical winning formula.

Usually, teams hang tough for a while, but are worn down in the second half beacuse of Missouri's signature pressure defense.

The Golden Eagles instead fell behind big in the first half, only to emerge from the locker room energized and able to eliminate a double-digit deficit in the final half.

Marquette even pulled ahead in the final minutes, only to be sunk by English's clutch free throws, and a colossal inbound blunder by Lazar Hayward.

Mizzou will need to improve dramatically on its second half effort against Marquette if it is to have any chance of ousting Memphis in the Sweet 16.

Once again, the national opinion is decidedly against Missouri, but a number of X-factors could have the pundits eating their words again.

Tyreke Evans vs. the Mizzou press

Memphis coach John Calipari attributes his decision to shift acclaimed freshman Evans to point guard early in the season as one of the biggest reasons for his team's spectacular performance.

However, Evans' assist-to-turnover ratio hardly evokes memories of Derrick Rose.

If Mizzou can capitalize on Evans' ball-handling and decision-making deficiencies, it will be poised to pull off the upset.

Mizzou's deep bench

Memphis boasts one of the longest and most athletic starting fives in the nation. Mizzou will have to combat this size and athleticism with fresh legs.

Anderson uses a larger rotation than most to keep the full-court pressure engine running strong.

For Mizzou to take out Memphis, its multiple bench options will need to play as well or even better than they have all season.

The Battle of the no-names

So far in the NCAA tourney, both Missouri and Memphis have been bailed out by unexpected contributors.

For Memphis, it was Robert Sallie (whose prior career game-high was 13 points) pouring in 10 three-pointers en route to a 35-point effort against Cal State Northridge.

For Mizzou, it was English's first-half offensive explosion and last-second free throws against Marquette.

The team that wins this matchup will likely be pointing to an unexpected performance from a role player as one of the deciding factors. After all, strong performances from virtual unknowns is what March is all about in college basketball.

For the sake of Mizzou basketball's reputation, morale in Columbia, Mo., and most importantly, this prognosticator's bracket remaining in good shape, here's hoping things go Missouri's way against Memphis.

Phoenix Suns Get Another Mid-Season Shakeup

Daniel Schiller — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 16:50:07 -0500

By now, everyone's heard about the Suns latest big trade, picking up Jason Richardson, Jared Dudley and a second-round pick from the Charlotte Bobcats for Raja Bell, Boris Diaw, and Sean Singletary.

But what does it mean for the team? First of all, it's another sign the Suns are nowhere near the team they were as last as of the middle of last season.

Gone is Boris Diaw, a favorite of former coach Mike D'antoni, and Raja Bell, one of the Suns few established defensive presences.

In comes Jason Richardson, the Bobcats leading scorer and former mainstay in Don Nelson's run and gun attack in Golden State, and Jared Dudley, a gritty, if not overly talented forward.

Richardson brings the Suns something they have sorely needed early this season, and that thing is? I never thought I'd say this, but...offense.

The Suns switch in offensive styles under new coach Terry Porter has been anything but seamless. Points are down, and turnovers are way up, even by two-time MVP Steve Nash.

J-Rich's ability to create his own shot, get to the rim, and shoot the three, will all be a tremendous help to Phoenix's half court attack, and overall offense, as seen already in his 21-point performance in last night's win over the Magic.

Richardson's outside shot might be his biggest addition to the Suns, as their outside game has languished in recent seasons. When he's on, the respect Richardson commands from outside will allow him to put it on the floor and throw in a few more of his legendary dunks.

That above-the-rim athleticism will be a welcome addition that has often been missed, especially when the aging Bell, Grant Hill, and Shaquille O'Neal were all on the floor.

Bell and Diaw will still be missed, as Bell was always good for some solid D, and Diaw was often an instant spark off the bench. The Suns though are weighing those losses against the offensive resume Richardson brings them.

Dudley's impact is not quite as obvious as Richardson's. He will likely be in rotation with Matt Barnes and Grant Hill at SF, and possibly help offset the loss of Diaw with some minutes at the 4.

Dudley does not have an outside shot by any means, and doesn't score particularly well either, but his effort is certainly there, as first seen in his days at Boston College.

Unfortunately, even with Jason Richardson's numerous accolades, his acquisition might not mean all flowers and rainbows in Phoenix. Over time it could prove difficult for him to share the already crowded Suns stage with Amare Stoudemire, Nash, and Shaq.

Stoudemire has already gone on record this season about his frustrations with the team, professing his strong desire to be "the man."

Amare's ability and willingness to co-exist with another star will be vital to the Suns going forward, and certainly to any hopes they have of being a major factor in the playoffs.

This move can certainly be agreed upon as a good if not great trade for the Suns. The last time Steve Kerr pulled the trigger on a high profile swap, there was hardly such a consensus.

Also, not to be lost in this equation, is the Suns acquisition of a second-round draft pick; that's right, they ADDED a draft pick, instead of giving one (or all of them) away, light they've been highly prone to do in past.

The most important thing to take away from this move is that Jason Richardson will help the Suns offense immediately, and could possibly even propel the Suns back to being one of the top teams in the West.

Bleacher Report - Articles by Daniel Schiller

The Missouri Tigers' Gritty Bunch Keeps on Dancing

Phoenix Suns Get Another Mid-Season Shakeup