Higher Post: Look Who Came to Dinner
...even Bracketologists have a crazy uncle.
Congregation, please stand up….
…because ‘maybe’ laying on the court will earn you a ‘T’.
A happiest Thanksgiving for all the Hoopsters out there! I hope you have been enjoying the festivities of a grand feast week. Whether it be seeing a football school like Auburn win the Maui Invitational, or to see the return of UConn guard (and projected WNBA lottery pick) Azzi Fudd return to play after a long injury, or watching an scrappy San Diego State team knock off a ranked Creighton team. Take that NET ranking!
What is special about Thanksgiving is it’s a holiday we can all celebrate. Holidays like Christmas are special, but they don’t represent everyone. With so much division these days, it’s important to have a day to celebrate all the things you are grateful for - especially before you stampede over your neighbor for that Playstation deal at Walmart come Black Friday.
That said, we always joke about ‘that uncle’ who is going to come and ruin Thanksgiving. You have to invite them, but he’s a disrupter, maybe a little crazy, and no one really wants to hear what he has to say - even though he will say it anyway.
This year, our crazy uncle was UConn head coach Danny Hurley.
Coming off consecutive dominate seasons resulting in back-to-back national titles, Danny Hurley was able to rise to the top in a family of basketball royalty. His brother Bobby was the legendary Duke player winning titles along side Christian Laettner. His father Bob Sr, was the legendary high school coach, winner of 4 national titles, and 26 New Jersey state titles, which he did within his 45 year tenure at St. Anthony’s High School in Jersey City, NJ. Bob Hurley is literally the “UNC Women’s Soccer of High School Basketball”
But, Danny did something neither his father or brother ever did - coach a Division 1 college team to a national title. And, then did it again; all in the modern era of NIL and the transfer portal. So, you imagine he might have a little chip on his shoulder.
This week at the Maui Invitational, it was expected that his UConn Huskies would role over the strong but inferior field, which included Michigan State, Auburn, UNC, Memphis, Iowa State, Colorado and Dayton. This did not happen. Shockingly it was the opposite. They lost all 3 games and Coach did not take it well.
The Huskies first game matched them up with Memphis who beat them (99-97) in thriller that went to OT. However, in the last minute of OT, there was a questionable over-the-back foul called on Liam McNeeley (to be clear - the call was questionable, but not clearly a wrong call) which caused the burly Hurley to go ballistic on the sidelines, yelling and ranting at the officials while pushing his assistants aside as they tried to protect him. The officials promptly ‘T’ed him up, now giving Memphis a chance at 4 free throws - 2 for the foul, plus 2 for the tech. Once Memphis’ PJ Carter sunk all 4 free throws, the game was basically sealed.
When asked about it in the postgame presser, he continued to tear into the refs saying,
“That over-the-back call, at that point in the game, there was no attempt to block out. There was a player on Memphis that made a half-ass effort to rebound that basketball and Liam McNeeley high-pointed that rebound. For that call to be made at that point of the game was a complete joke. Alright? And then for me, I don’t know what happened. I might have lost my balance from the absurdity of the call - or - maybe I tripped. [pause] But if I made that call at the point, I would have ignored the fact that I was on my back"
Just to be clear, he was saying is that he went back after to re-watch the play to see it was a bad call, but then does not remember what he did next, but whatever it was, the refs should ignore it. Um, sure.
Well, here is what I saw. I saw Hurley ride the refs the whole game, as he does. Then, when it was on the line, he didn’t get the benefit of the doubt because why should he? He clearly does not see it this way as he made no reference to take any responsibility for causing a technical which lead to a close game being out of reach. He only said the refs should ignore it. We can argue all day whether or not the foul on McNeely was proper or not, but we cannot argue that getting a technical at that moment didn’t cause harm and likely the game. Hurley took no responsibility for his part, instead pointed blame directly at the officials for a game he lost.
In all seriousness, this is just one game, but Hurley is also a role model who is entrusted to shape and mold young minds - and not just the handful of players on his squad, but also the kids that look up to him, go to his basketball camps, and dream to play for him. There is passion and desire to win and then there is just toxic behavior.
As we sit here now following a contentious election cycle filled with finger pointing, name calling and blame, we don’t need more of this to become norm. We need the opposite.
As a contrast, here is how Kentucky coach Mark Pope responded to a situation of bad calls:
“For me, I want our players to feel the same way I do. The referees actually have no power over whether we win or lose the game. Calls are really hard. If I can be disciplined and keep my focus on the game, I think it helps our players be disciplined and help their focus come what may from refs. What we've done is we all had a really serious meeting with all the players and the whole staff, and we just agreed we would let Lee Anne (Coach Pope's Wife) handle the refs and were just going to work on the game."
May I remind you that Kentucky tried to hire Hurley before they hired Pope.
I will also note that Kentucky is 7-0 and UConn is 4-3. Go Defense.
To Live and Die in LA
Oh, what a difference a day weekend makes. Going into last Saturday, the Bracketology Gods gave us a couple of instant classics. It’s rare when you get two top-6 matchups in one weekend, especially ones that changed the landscape of the short season.
#6 Notre Dame over #3 USC, 74-61:
Hannah Hidalgo vs. Juju Watkins. Anyone reading the Higher Post this season knows I circled this with my permanent Sharpie..what they don’t know is that I did that on my calendar on my iPhone. Oops. Thank Naismith for trade-ins. Anyhow, I was actually as Mohegan Sun for the Naismith Hall of Fame Tip Off, but since Mohegan is also the home of the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun, I expected to get the game on at the sports bar and I did with ease. I did not expect Notre Dame to dominate most of it. In fact, if you look at the head-to-head stats of Hidalgo and Watkins, they are almost identical, which does not tell the story.
Hannah Hidalgo: 39 mins, 24 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds
Juju Watkins: 39 mins, 24 points, 5 assists, 6 rebounds
Notre Dame had a game plan to move fast, out pace the Trojans, and shut down Juju. And for the most part, it worked as Juju got most of her points late in the game as the lead was already built. Juju looked frustrated for a majority of the game with some analysts even feeling the Irish exposed her weakness. We can debate that, but regardless, this has given these super teams a major test they need need for long runs in March. I expect to see both of these teams battling in Tampa in the first weekend of April.
#1 South Carolina upset by #5 UCLA: 77-62
Meanwhile, the ‘other USC’ entered Sunday on an amazing 43-game winning streak, which included a perfect run in March. But, streaks are meant to be broken. I was predicting UCLA to take this because as amazing as the Gamecocks are, they do not have that inside presence we are used to seeing, which the Bruins have in the dominance of 6’7” Lauren Betts. But, that is not how it went down. Betts did have a great game with 11 points, 14 rebounds, and 4 blocks, but it was the entire Bruin team that shared in the scoring, with 5 players in double figures (2 coming off the bench). South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said it best in the postgame presser:
My message [to the team in the locker room] this is what we usually do to teams. It doesn’t feel good when you are on the receiving end of it. But, um, you also know you got beat by a great team, like, executing on both sides, it was beautiful basketball by UCLA. Beautiful - on both sides. I’m on the opposite side of it, but you can’t help but love up on it because it’s fluid on both sides of the ball. They wanted it. Our kids fought but we ran into a buzz saw today.
That was beautiful. Respectful and classy as always. Thanks, coach. And ‘love up on it’ we did.
We Got Next: Games to watch this week (all times EST)
Men’s Games: There are a lot of good games this week, but break out the multi view on Wednesday as hated rivals from the Yellowhammer State head to Tobacco Road to bring moonshine to the bbq at the SEC/ACC Challenge.
#17 Baylor at #2 UConn (Weds 12/4. 6:30p. FS1)
#9 Alabama at #12 North Carolina (Weds 12/4, 7:15p ESPN)
#1 Kansas at #21 Creighton (Weds 12/4, 8:30p FS1)
#4 Auburn at #11 Duke (Weds 12/4, 9:15p ESPN)
Women’s Games: Teams fighting for signature non-conference wins continue to matchup including blue bloods and top 5 matchups.
#8 Oklahoma vs #24 Louisville (Weds 12/4. 5p. ESPN2)
#14 Kentucky at #16 North Carolina (Thursday 12/5, 5p. ESPN2)
#5 Texas at #3 Notre Dame (Thursday 12/5, 7p ESPN)
#18 Ole Miss at #20 NC State (Thursday 12/5, 7p ESPN2)
Keeping up with the Hannahs
Two of my favorite players are not only incredibly fun to watch…but are both named Hannah! I dedicate this section to them. We try and keep up with them during a pivotal season!
Hannah Stuelke (Junior / Forward / Iowa):
The Hawkeyes traveled to Cancun this week for a couple of games in the Cancun Challenge. Unfortunately, they were without star point guard Lucy Olsen, who suffered a major gash on her knee due a fall during practice. Iowa’s strength this season has been their defense, so this would be a chance to see how Coach Jan Jensen changes it up and face adversity of losing your offensive anchor.
First up, representing the Atlantic 10, were the Rams of Rhode Island. Rhody always plays scrappy and made a strong showing against the #22 ranked Hawkeyes, even taking the lead towards the end of the 3rd, to give Iowa a bit of a scare, but the Hawkeyes was just too strong and was able to hold back the formidable foe and remain undefeated.
The next night, however, was Hannah’s night. Taking on a 6-1 BYU Cougar squad, Stuelke came out of the gate with energy and led all scorers with 16 points, with 11 of those in the first half to grab control of the game early. She was a strong presence on both ends of the floor, even taking 3 hard charges that Shane Battier would be proud of.
But, the exciting part was Stuelke hitting her first 3’s of the season. This is the big deal as long range shooting had not been part of her game so far, but something she has been working on in practice as she moves from the 5 to the 4. She has all the potential to hit 3’s, it was just a matter of practice and time. Tonight she felt comfortable and confident firing off 4 attempts and hitting 2.
Pulling her out to the 4 with strong long range shooting moves her game a new level, making her even more dangerous while potentially raising her stock come ‘W’ draft time. I just hope she does not rise too much so my New York Liberty have a chance at her! We should all be ‘Happy Like Hannah'!
And speaking of the Barclays Center (as in home of the Liberty), we will get to see Hannah and the undefeated Hawkeyes in person next Saturday, as the undefeated 8-0 Hawkeyes come to Brooklyn to play resurgent Tennessee team in the first game of a doubleheader in the inaugural Women’s Champions Classic! Iowa/Tennessee will be followed by #2 UConn vs. #24 Louisville. Saying we’re excited is a massive understatement.
Up Next (all times EST):
Saturday 12/7 - #22 Iowa vs. Tennessee: 7p, FOX
Wednesday 12/11 -#22 Iowa vs. #15 Iowa State, 9p FS1
Hannah Hidalgo (Sophomore / Guard / Notre Dame):
…it was the best of games, it was worst of games. So, this is the up and down week for the Fighting Hidalgos. After a statement win last Saturday against USC, the Irish traveled to Grand Cayman for the Cayman Islands Classic and a match up with Hailey Van Lith and #17 TCU. It started just like the last one ended - aggressive play from the Irish. Hidalgo was all over Van Lith as to say to the USA U-19 star, “I got it from here.”. Van Lith racked up 3 fast fouls before halftime resulting in her watching most of the 2nd quarter from the pine.
But this was a Tale of Two Halves as Hailey Van Lith, looked at her team and said, “hold my LeCroix (now in new flavors)” and took the game back, scoring 19 of her 21 points in the second half. Sparks become wildfires as Sedona Prince scored 20 herself to knock off the #3 team in the country.
This was the first time I got to watch this TCU team and I was not impressed in the first half. I was missing the Hailey Van Lith we saw before her detour to Baton Rouge. But, after the second half, I’ll feast on all my words. Welcome back, HVL!
If USC was the midterm, TCU was the pop quiz. You studied for the first one but taken by surprise by the next one. It's time to see how the Irish team responds to the adversity. Luckily, we don’t need to wait long as they go back for the second string of the Cayman Islands Classic today against Utah.
Up Next (all times EST):
Today - #3 Notre Dame vs. Utah (Cayman Island Classic): 5p EST., FloSports
Thursday 12/5 - #3 Notre Dame vs. #5 Texas, 7p EST., ESPN
Five Touches: Passing around the hoops world
FIle under ‘Yikes’: "This seems a little bit dangerous": College hoops fans react to Miami's Hanna Cavinder trying pin drop dance move
Houston, we have a center: Chris Cenac, 5-star recruit and #1 ranked center commits to the Cougars. Rated at .9978 by 247Sports, he is Houston’s highest rated player.
Low hanging Phog: #1 Kansas loses their top player, Hunter Dickinson, to a flagrant 2 and still beats #11 Duke.
Before Candace Parker, there was Lisa Leslie. Parker joins Uninterrupted to tell Lisa’s story, her influence on the game, and on Candace’s career.
Rising from the Ashes: As the Maui Invitation wraps its 40th year, The Athletic looks at Lahaina, Maui and how it is forever changed after the wildfires.
Extracurricular Reading: Sometimes we all need a T.O.
The PWHL second season faces off today! (really more like a first season with real team names and such) And just in time for parka season! Here is everything you need to know going into the season.
Is metformin a cure for aging? The evidence is not so clear: If I cannot extend my lifespan, how will I ever see UMass return to The Dance?
We’ll Always Have “Nothing But Net”: The Athletic looks into knowing when it’s time to say goodbye to aging stars. But isn’t that what the ACC Network is for?
Just Do It! Apparently free agent slugger Juan Soto has offers from the Mets, Red Sox, Yankees and Dodgers and just needs to make a decision - at least for social media’s sake.
Final Seconds:
Ok, that is it for now. Remember to be nice to one another. You never know what others are going through. They might have to deal with with Danny Hurley at the office. Until next week, keep on keeping up…with those Hannahs.
Always live One Shining Moment at a time. Never be boring.