I hope you enjoyed my blog. I've had a great time in Maui and I hope you all enjoyed the competition on ESPN. Aloha!
11/25/08 - DAY 3 - Game 12
UPDATE: Well that's a wrap. North Carolina beat up on Notre Dame 102-87 to take the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational title. Hansbrough dropped 34 while Lawson had 22 and 8 assists. McAlarney broke his own program record as he hit 10 3-pointers. The All-Tournament Team was Tar Heels Danny Green and Hansbrough as well as Harangody and McAlarney from the Irish. The MVP was Lawson.
What a first half! UNC is up 46-36. Tyler Hansbrough is 7-of-10 from the field including a 3-pointer for 15 points. Ty Lawson has been going coast-to-coast like he owns the place and has 13 points. UNC's Deon Thomspon absolutely posterized Notre Dame's Luke Harangody. The entire place went nuts and was buzzing for close to a minute. I screamed and couldn't believe my eyes. It totally beat out Justin Mason's dunk yesterday.
Basically, UNC is playing a home game, it is so loud and its all from Tar Heels fans. Alright, heading back up, just wanted to make sure you all knew how crazy the atmosphere is inside the Lahaina Civic Center. Who knew 2,400 fans could make so much noise.
11/25/08 - DAY 3 - Games 10 and 11
UPDATE: Indiana beat Chaminade, 81-79. It was a great game, as Chaminade had a three at the buzzer to tie, but it fell short. It's great for Indiana's program to get a win out in Maui, hopefully it propels them to some success this season.
And now, the moment we've all been waiting for — No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 8 Notre Dame. Get your popcorn, your slushi and even your skittles ready because this is going to be a show! Even since the bracket was released when I was an intern this summer, this was the matchup I wanted to see. I feel so fortunate to be able to watch in person maybe the best game of the college basketball season. Get ready because here we go...
Texas topped Oregon, 70-57. Longhorn Damion James was an animal, scoring 21 points and collecting 12 rebounds.
Texas played well in the tournament, destroying St. Joe's in the opening game and nearly beating Notre Dame after a furious last minute comeback.
Currently, ESPN is in the media room getting a shot of tournament trophies. I just helped lift the plastic cube used to protect the trophies — good thing I worked out a ton before I came.
In the battle for seventh place, Indiana and Chaminade are duking it out right now. The Indiana faithful are in full throttle, while everyone else is taking a breather leading up to the big game! North Carolina vs. Notre Dame is all over ESPN right now, including here (http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/index).
As those of you who know me are aware, I like to eat. And this trip has been no exception. The food at the Lahaina Civic Center has been phenomenal. I've had a great cheeseburger, a nice chicken caesar salad, and about 45 pulled pork sandwiches. And yesterday, I knew it was a good day because I got the last brownie! Whoohoo!
Well, I'm heading back upstairs to watch the rest of the game, then....uh oh, Eric Montross is back. He is HUGE!...as I was saying, then I'm going to thoroughly enjoy the championship game. It's on ESPN at 9 p.m. EST, so make sure to watch what could be the best game of the college basketball season.
11/25/08 - DAY 3 - Game 9
Nine games down, three to go. Alabama took care of Saint Joseph's early this morning, 58-48. I spent much of the second half in the ESPN production truck — and you thought the games were intense. Inside the truck, there's constant screaming and yelling to make sure the right shots make it on TV. It's incredible to see these guys get a perfect replay back on the air in just seconds. To get the great shots of Lahaina, one of the guys uses a remote control to maneuver a camera on top of the Lahaina Civic Center. The best part was listening to the producers when their feature on the St. Joe's Hawk aired.
The Hawk, which stands at the end of the St. Joe's bench, is not a mascot, rather a member of the team, according to coach Phil Martelli. The person inside the Hawk is on scholarship at St. Jow's and cannot, for any reason, stop flapping his wings. For instance, I was sitting next to him for about 15 mintues and he took a few water breaks. As he grabed his Gatorade bottle with his right hand, he continued to flap with his left hand — it's very impressive, but also absolutely hilarious to watch.
The halftime show was a free-throw contest. One guy hit 21 of 25 from the charity stripe. Notre Dame coach Mike Brey should sign him up, as the Irish could have used him yesterday at the end of their game against Texas.
Oh, and just in case you were wondering, Alabama coach Mark Gottfried said that on his team saw a whale during their catamaran ride the other night. Keep checking back for the rest of today's action!
11/25/08 - DAY 2 - Games 7 and 8
After a long morning, the clock finally struck 2 p.m., and I got to watch two top-ten teams compete. With both teams bringing a hefty fan base, the Lahaina Civic Center was rocking and I once again felt like a little kid.
So sure I was excited about Texas vs. Notre Dame, but I didn't expect this. With just over a minute left in the game, Notre Dame was up seven. Two Texas 3-pointers and four straight missed free throws by the Fighting Irish, and Texas had the ball with 3 seconds left. After Luke Harangody's second missed free throw, Longhorn A.J. Abrams launched a 70-foot bomb that bounced off the front of the rim, leaving Notre Dame grateful for an 81-80 win. Had Abrams drained it, it would have been an awful loss for Notre Dame.
How good was this game? I had yet to text any of my friends up to this point (trying to cut down on text messaging), but as I watched this game I couldn't help myself. It was definitely one of the best games I've ever seen in person.
Notre Dame's sniper, Kyle McAlarney went off, hitting 5-of-9 from behind the arc. But it was Harangody who stole the show, scoring 29 and grabbing 13 rebounds. He's a unique player, as he has the size of a power forward but plays with the athleticism and agility as a small forward — he's the full package.
Halfway through the second half, point guard Tory Jackson mishandled the ball and it rolled into Harangody's hands near midcourt as the shot clock wound down. He threw up a prayer and it banked in, launching me off my seat for the second time in the game. In the postgame press conference, Harangody said he called the bank, but he should just be happy his shot didn't break the backboard.
The first time I stood up, well, let's just say you might want to watch SportsCenter's Top Ten tonight. Harangody's shot will be up there, but this should be higher. Texas' Justin Mason definitely had some Red Bull before the game, as he played with wings tonight. Driving from the left side, the defense parted like the Red Sea and Mason flew threw the air for an enormous dunk that sent everyone in attendance into a frenzy. As I like to say, it was sick!
Despite the loss, Texas has the potential to be a Final Four team. They have the strength down low and all the athleticism in the world, plus a deadly, late-game scorer in Abrams.
The nightcap featured the best team in the land, North Carolina, versus a not-really-close-to-the-best-team-in-the-land, Oregon. The Ducks' Michael Dunigan threw down a dunk to give Oregon an early 2-0 lead. It looked like the Ducks, with their big front line and their talented point guard Tajuan Porter, could hang with the Tar Heels. I'm going to use that line next time I do stand-up, because that couldn't be farther from the truth. North Carolina toyed with Oregon, making it look too easy in their 98-69 victory. Danny Green scored 21 after scoring a career-high 26 Monday night. No UNC player played more than 26 minutes, a strategy that will pay dividends tomorrow when the Tar Heels face off against a deep Notre Dame team.
By the second half, I got bored of all the alley-oops and fast break dunks by North Carolina, and began to think about their depth — and then I started laughing. They are ridiculously deep. Tonight they started Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington, Danny Green, Tyler Hansbrough and Deon Thompson — the best starting five in the country. Off the bench they played Ed Davis, Will Graves, Larry Drew II and Bobby Frasor, all very good role players. But, the Tar Heels were without Marcus Ginyard, a defensive machine who would likely be the sixth man, as well as freshman Tyler Zeller, who would complement a four-man rotation down low with Hansbrough, Thompson and Davis. So yeah, this team is as deep as they come, wow.
NOTE: Eric Montross, the former UNC star and NBA player, is currently in the press room. He is ginormous and makes Jay Bilas look small. Moving on…
I was happy to see Hansbrough play in Maui after sitting out Monday's game against Chaminade. Roy Williams said in the postgame press conference that he's ""50/50"" on whether he'll play Hansbrough or not and that the decision will be made during pregame warm-ups. The Tar Heels are deep, but would love Hansbrough in the middle to guard Harangody.
As excited as I was to watch Texas vs. Notre Dame, I am that much more pumped to watch tomorrow's championship. It's the best game of the college basketball season thus far, and I get to sit first row for it. Can't wait.
11/25/08 - DAY 2 - Games 5 and 6
For the first time in tournament history, the first six games of the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational have ended in double-digit margins of victory. In the first game, Indiana succumbed to St. Joseph's, 80-54. Despite the fact that the Hoosiers simply don't have the manpower to compete with most Division I teams, it's hard to watch them play without thinking, "Wow, this is neat."
Indiana's fans were loud and very into the game until the last second, displaying extreme loyalty to a program that has never been this low. And head coach Tom Crean was no different. Even when the game was out of reach, Crean coached like it was the national championship. He was clapping, screaming and high-fiving for the full 40 minutes, and I gained a lot of respect for him today.
The Indiana faithful also received great news today. The NCAA ruled that it would not ban the program from postseason play or take away any more scholarships in the wake of its NCAA violations brought on by former head coach Kelvin Sampson. This means that Crean, who has a high-caliber recruiting class for next year, can plow full steam ahead at Indiana.
After the Indiana press conference, Crean was mobbed by the media about the NCAA decision, and he kept saying how great the Indiana fans were. As a Michigan student, it's hard to get all "warm-hearted" about another Big Ten team. But seeing those fans screaming and hollering when one of their players made a layup or dove on the floor, despite the score, showed why college basketball is flat out awesome.
The second game, Alabama vs. Chaminade, wasn't too exciting. The Crimson Tide took out their frustration on the Silverswords and won 78-56. Alabama guard Senario Hillman is disgusting, and Ronald Steele is on his way to returning to the type of player he way before his knee injuries.
Now with the two loser's bracket games over with, it's time to move onto the primetime games, and I am pumped! All I've been thinking about today is Notre Dame vs. Texas — what a matchup. Two top-10 teams, each with All-American caliber-players and high-profiled coaches. Then North Carolina vs. Oregon. Hansbrough is back in action, which should create even more buzz in the arena. Most importantly, Oregon should be able to compete with the Tar Heels as they have a few big bodies down low, as well as point guard Tajuan Porter. Should be an awesome night. Check back later for an update on the final two games.
Oh, and just in case you were wondering, no Blackberrys have been hurt so far today.
11/24/08 - DAY 1
I haven't watched many basketball games that began at 10 a.m., as did the Saint Joseph's versus Texas matchup to kick-off the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational. But Texas' A.J. Abrams had no problem adjusting to the early start. He hit 4-of-5 from behind the arc in the first half and proved that he may have enough firepower to make up for the loss of point guard D.J. Augustine to the NBA. Despite his tremendous shooting from 3-point range, Abrams is not the newest client of the poster company, Fathead. In the second half, he was absolutely posterized by a Saint Joseph's player, leaving the entire Lahaina Civic Center in awe. But the dunk wasn't nearly enough, as Texas proved its superiority on the defensive end, using its suffocating defense to win 68-50.
Then the battle of the state of Indiana began. Both Notre Dame and Indiana traveled extremely well, but the comparisons end there — it wasn't even close. With the Hoosiers losing most of its team after the departure of former head coach Kelvin Sampson, first-year head coach Tom Crean was left with very little. The Fighting Irish had a field day, highlighted by Tory Jackson's 21 points and Kyle McAlarney's 18. Basically, Notre Dame proved to me that they are a national title contender.
I knew they had Harangody and McAlarney, but it was the rest of the team that impressed me. Jackson is a level-headed, quick point guard who can defend well from the top, and the Irish had an array of big-men who can shoot and handle the ball. I was very high on this team after the game, and I'm confident that if Notre Dame meets North Carolina in Wednesday's final, it will be a great game.
The third game featured the Tar Heels and undermanned Chaminade. The Silverswords only had seven players, but they made it a game — for the first few minutes. Then North Carolina remembered it was North Carolina and started to roll. Danny Green had a career-high 26 points, including 11 straight points in the second half. Green was all over the place, hitting 3-pointers and throwing down one-handed alley-oops. North Carolina won 115-70, and it was without three of its significant players. Seniors Tyler Hansbrough and Marcus Ginyard were out, as well as freshman Tyler Zeller, and they still looked like one of the best teams in the country. So yeah, all that talk about the Roy Williams' team being deep is totally justifiable. Sitting just feet from the court, I quickly realized just how fast point guard Ty Lawson is. One time he beat everyone down court and scored on an acrobatic reverse layup, which reminded me of former Memphis point guard Derrick Rose. He doesn't have the explosiveness of Rose, but he has the speed.
After three blowouts, I was hoping for a close matchup between the No. 4 and No. 5 seeded teams, Alabama and Oregon. Before the game started, however, I had to adjust my eyes to the Ducks' jerseys. Known for their creative looks, Oregon had black-on-black jerseys and shorts, as well as green and yellow shoes. They also had Hawaiian flowers in yellow lined down the side of their jerseys and shorts. But the most confusing part of the outfit was the names, which were printed in black. So unless you were 10 feet behind an Oregon player, you couldn't tell what their name was — kind of weird. Oregon was clearly the better team, and showed it with their 92-69 win. Alabama looked in disarray way too much and standing behind coach Mark Gottfried, he definitely wasn't a happy camper.
With four games in the books, I'm really looking forward to today's matchups. Texas versus Notre Dame could be the best game of the tournament when it's all said and done, and Oregon should give North Carolina a run for its money — at least for the first ten minutes.
The story of the day will be the return of Tyler Hansbrough, who Williams said he wouldn't play three straight days, thus his decision to sit the National Player of the Year against Chaminade.
Before I get to work here at the Lahaina Civic Center, I feel it's my civic duty to tell you of what might have been the funniest thing I have ever seen.
Blackberry is one of the major sponsors of the tournament, so they have two people dressed in Blackberrys roaming the stadium. During a timeout, one of the Blackberrys was on the court. While it was jumping around, it slipped and fell hard onto the court —Laying flat on its back, the Blackberry couldn't get up, trying to move its arms and legs, but it couldn't. I thought at first it was a joke, but then the Blackberry's legs and arms started moving all around like it was in real pain. If you've seen A Christmas Story, you will easily recall the scene where the younger son is stuck on his back with too much winter clothes on — that's exactly what happened yesterday. Fantastic.
Make sure to check out all the coverage of today's games on ESPN, ESPN 2 and ESPNU, and stay tuned for another blog after today's games.
11/22/08 - Xbox 360 Players' Party
North Carolina's Mike Copeland couldn't stop smiling.
The Tar Heels must have just won the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational or something.
Or maybe he was named Most Valuable Player.
Oh, it's just because he's in Maui, right? Nope.
Copeland, a longtime video gamer, wouldn't stop showing off his braces after being crowned champion of the Xbox 360 Players' Party, featuring EA SPORTS' NCAA Basketball 09 which just hit stands this week.
He was one of 16 participants, two from each team, who played in a "Sweet 16"s tyle tournament.
Each game consisted of just three-minute halves on four big-screen SONY televisions.
North Carolina's Ty Lawson played in the first round, and his fellow Tar Heels were cheering him on every second. Each time Lawson threw down a dunk with Tyler Hansbrough or hit a 3-pointer with Wayne Ellington, his teammates gave a collective, "Oooooohhhhhh!!!!!"
Wandering around, it was obvious some players and teams were more into it than others. Alabama showed a ton of enthusiasm during their games, but listening to the consensus No. 1 team in the country talking smack and having fun with Lawson and Copeland was priceless.
When the tournament started, it was nearly impossible to catch a glimpse of a game, with what seemed like dozens of 7-footers roaming around every which way.
But when the finals arrived, most of the other teams had cleared out, and I had a perfect view for the highly anticipated matchup.
With Copeland and Lawson playing, they only further helped the notion that North Carolina is just simply unstoppable. What's next? (Seriously, this is ridiculous).
Both players looked intense throughout the game, especially after technical difficulties forced the two players to take a five-minute break to restart the system. Luckily for those in attendance, Head Coach Roy Williams was watching. Williams started off by making some casual, sarcastic jabs at his players during the restart. But with 13 seconds left in the game, and Copeland up by three, Williams didn't hold back when Copeland decided to launch a 3-pointer.
"What the hell are you doing, Michael?" Williams said. "Shoot it again, Michael. Shoot it again." I thought for a moment I was on the court, listening to Williams talk with one of his players. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would ever see a Hall of Fame Coach so invested in a video game. But it was awesome.
Copeland won, 35-30, and this won't be the last time Lawson is reminded of his defeat.
"Yeah, the whole way back home I'll show him the trophy," Copeland said. "I'll keep it out the whole time. He's going to be mad about this."
Aside from the video gaming, there was another moment that stood out. Luke Zeller, a senior at Notre Dame, and his younger brother Tyler, a freshman at North Carolina, were inseparable throughout the evening. Watching them chat up a storm was hilarious, especially since they look identical.
With game day just two days away, many of the players will shift focus from the Xbox 360 court to the court at the Lahaina Civic Center. And for some, like North Carolina's Danny Green, it already has.
"Hopefully we play like Mike did and win."
