Thursday, January 23, 2014

Shabazz Napier Named to 2014 Oscar Robertson Trophy Watch List

Another day, another list for Shabazz Napier.

The UConn senior guard was one of 23 players named to the 2014 Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List. Here's the press release:

ST. LOUIS (USBWA) – The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has selected 23 outstanding players for its 2014 Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List. Members of the association's board of directors chose the players to be included on the list as contenders for the Oscar Robertson Trophy.

The award is to be presented to the national player of the year by its namesake at the Devon Energy College Basketball Awards on April 14at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. The Henry Iba Coach of the Year Award and the Integris Wayman Tisdale Freshman of the Year Award will also be presented at the gala to be held annually the Monday following the NCAA Men's Final Four.

Creighton's Doug McDermott, a first-team USBWA All-American last season, headlines the list, while teammates from six different schools – Arizona, Duke, Kansas, Michigan State, Syracuse and Wichita State – are also lauded. Oklahoma State's Marcus Smart, the 2013 Wayman Tisdale National Freshman of the Year and a second-team USBWA All-American a season ago, is also featured. Overall, 10 conferences are represented, led by the Atlantic Coast Conference with five players and the Big 12 Conference with four.

A pair of Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week from this season are included: DeAndre Kane from Iowa State and McDermott. The watch list includes 12 seniors to go with one junior, four sophomores and six freshmen.

Following is the complete watch list:

2014 OSCAR ROBERTSON TROPHY MIDSEASON WATCH LIST
G Keith Appling, Michigan State (6-1, 185, Sr., Detroit, Mich.)
F Cameron Bairstow, New Mexico (6-9, 250, Sr., Brisbane, Australia)
F Cleanthony Early, Wichita State (6-8, 219, Sr., Middletown, N.Y.)
C Joel Embiid, Kansas (7-0, 250, Fr., Yaounde, Cameroon)
G Tyler Ennis, Syracuse (6-2, 180, Fr., Brampton, Ont.)
F C.J. Fair, Syracuse (6-8, 215, Sr., Baltimore, Md.)
F Aaron Gordon, Arizona (6-9, 225, Fr., San Jose, Calif.)
G Gary Harris, Michigan State (6-4, 210, So., Fishers, Ind.)
F Rodney Hood, Duke (6-8, 215, So., Meridian, Miss.)
G Nick Johnson, Arizona (6-3, 200, Jr., Gilbert, Ariz.)
G DeAndre Kane, Iowa State (6-4, 200, Sr., Pittsburgh, Pa.)
F Doug McDermott, Creighton (6-8, 225, Sr., Ames, Iowa)
G Shabazz Napier, Connecticut (6-1, 180, Sr., Roxbury, Mass.)
F Jabari Parker, Duke (6-8, 235, Fr., Chicago, Ill.)
G/F Lamar Patterson, Pittsburgh (6-5, 225, Sr., Lancaster, Pa.)
F Casey Prather, Florida (6-6, 212, Sr., Jackson, Tenn.)
F Julius Randle, Kentucky (6-9, 250, Fr., Dallas, Texas)
G Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State (6-4, 220, So., Flower Mound, Texas)
G Russ Smith, Louisville (6-0, 165, Sr., Brooklyn, N.Y.)
G Xavier Thames, San Diego State (6-3, 195, Sr., Sacramento, Calif.)
G Fred Van Vleet, Wichita State (5-11, 194, So., Rockford, Ill.)
G Andrew Wiggins, Kansas (6-8, 200, Fr., Vaughan, Ont.)
G Chaz Williams, Massachusetts (5-9, 175, Sr., Brooklyn, N.Y.)

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Sunday, February 26, 2012

(C.J.) Fair of Foul? 'Tis the Question

Watching live, I thought Fab Melo should have been called for offensive goaltending. Watching the replay ... meh, maybe not.

Didn't have a good view of the final play, but watching the replay, it appeared Roscoe Smith got fouled by C.J. Fair. No call again, however, and Syracuse wins.

The Huskies certainly thought the refs missed the two calls, though they were certainly very classy about it.

Roscoe Smith:

"I made a strong move and I got fouled, but I think the officials did a good job. You really can’t call a foul in that type of situation. You’ve got to live with it.”


He added: “It’s a tough situation for the referees. They probably didn’t want to have the game decided on that. I got fouled, everybody saw it. If you didn’t see it, it’ll be on tonight."

Andre Drummond concurred: "He got hammered, but there was no call, so … You don’t usually see refs call fouls with five seconds left in the game. It’s kinda rare to see that. It was a 50-50 chance to get that call.”

Said Jeremy Lamb: “He definitely got fouled, he purposely grabbed his arm, but we didn’t get the call.”

George Blaney's rsponse: "Roscoe caught it, went to the rim and didn't get fouled. That's all."

I'm pretty sure Blaney was being sarcastic. He certainly was screaming for a foul on the sidelines. Not the way Jim Calhoun would have, but still ...

As for Melo's potential goaltend on his go-ahead putback slam:

“I thought it was on the rim, but it was just one of those games," said Smith. "It could’ve gone either way. They gave him the putback dunk, so you really can’t do anything about it.”

Asked if he thought Melo interfered, Drummond said: “Yeah, but it’s alright, it happens. It’s part of basketball. Some plays go (your way), some plays don’t.”




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