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Friday night with 34 points. Howard had 2
in Shakes & Fidget 22.05.2019 04:46von lebaobei123 • | 90 Beiträge
You dont know them. Not many people do. Days… Weeks… Months… Almost a year has gone by and still… you dont know them. The legendary Robert Montgomery Knight, aka, The General, one of the winningest coaches in college basketball history, strolls in to inspect the troops. He came to see them, to share his wisdom before they march into madness… to see who exactly this rag-tag bunch of players, not blue bloods… scrappers… fighters… winners, were. Coach Knight, the leader of the last college team to go undefeated and win an NCAA title, the 1976 Indiana Hoosiers, shows up at practice in late February to tell them to take it "one game at a time". He is a fan of how they play. "Play Angry". The 2013-2014 Wichita State mens basketball team does just that. But more importantly, plays hard, plays tough and plays together, leading to an NCAA-record 30-0 regular season mark under head coach Gregg Marshall. Saturday, March 1, 2014: Charles Koch Arena, Wichita, Kansas: Senior Night. The final matchup before the conference tourney and the opponent Missouri State is no easy out for the Shockers. This is also the final home game for two Canadian senior forwards, Chadrack Lufile, as well as his best friend, a young man whose last name is famous, not only in the state of Kansas, but on a couple continents, Nick Wiggins. Nick has a younger brother, Andrew who you may know, playing in the same state only two and half hours away, for a program so steeped in tradition, the inventor of basketball was the first head coach of the Kansas Jayhawks, fellow Canuck James Naismith. I got on the phone with Nick Wiggins and Chadrack Lufile post-practice this week to talk life in the shadows and possibly shocking the world. Did you guys know one another before signing at Wichita State? NW: Weve known one another since we were teenagers. CL: We actually went to the same junior college together at Vincennes in Indiana. NW: I signed first. I didnt force him to sign or anything… just told him it would be special for us to go together. Why Wichita State? CL: Nick had narrowed his choices down to Baylor and Wichita State. He talked about his visit, how they treated him, the ambitions of the coaches and players. There was just a feeling; a good feeling about it all. Once Nick decided, I was in, too. We had to take advantage of what looked like a great opportunity in front of us. NW: When we first got here, first couple years, we didnt play as much as wed have liked to but it was always about team. Still, it was tough at times, knowing you could help the team on the court more. CL: My Dads a minister. He has a huge influence on all that I do. Once, wed lost three straight, neither one of us was playing a lot and my Dad prayed for us. Not just us, but the team. I remember telling Nick about it. NW: Yeah, I mean we had 7-8 guys on this team last year who could score 20 in any game, but we share the ball. Thats how play. CL: And then we ended up in the Final Four. We believed... If you had to compare your game to any Wichita State great from the past, who would it be and why? NW: So many great players who have come through here. Id say Cleo Littleton. He was known for his defence and for being a great teammate. I think thats me. CL: X! Xavier McDaniel. He and Antoine Carr, another Shockers legend, came in to to see us last year and really instilled in us to "Play Angry". Thats our thing now: Play Angry. He (McDaniel) told me to box out hard, never let anyone get to the ball before I did, rebound strong, run the floor harder than my opponent, be versatile with my game. We emulate the guys who were here before us. They are Shockers for life! What do you say to the pundits who believe 30-0 is a function of you guys playing in the Missouri Valley Conference, the perceived lack in your strength of schedule and not because youre a great team? NW: Schedule us. Everyone talks KU (Kansas), but they wouldnt play us. We wanted to do it at a neutral site, but they didnt want it. Thats ok, people who dont believe mid-majors can compete with major D-1 schools havent really watched us play. They will find out soon enough. CL: Say what you want about our conference or the teams we beat. Just come play us. We feel like we can compete with anyone. We beat the #1 team in the country in Gonzaga in the tournament last year. Ohio State was #7, Pitt #20. Just play us. Do you think you should be ranked #1 in the country? CL: Honestly, I think we should be! NW: We dont really pay it much attention. It could be almost like a distraction. We dont look past anyone. You still gotta win. The team we play our last home game against, Missouri State, is tough. They had us down by like 17 with about 11 minutes to go in the game before we fought back and won. It was a war. Im sure they wont care that its Senior Night for us when we play them again. They wanna win, too! If Wichita State runs the table by winning your conference tourney, should you be a #1 seed for March Madness? NW: We proved all year we should be a #1 seed. I think the selection committee will do the right thing and give us that. We lost some great guys from last years team and still havent skipped a beat or lost a step. Coach Marshall has us prepared. This will be a special ride to go on with this group of guys. Dream Scenario: Clearly winning it all is the ultimate dream. But, if Wichita State had a chance to play Kansas in the final on April 7 in Dallas, why would it be that much sweeter? CL: Lets Go!!! Do you know how hype that would be?!? NW: If they seed us and Kansas in the same region 1-2, wow, the rivalry... My brother. I believe itll happen. State bragging rights. Man, I would have lifetime bragging rights in my house (laughs)!!! CL: Andrew (Wiggins) would come down to chill and hang with us. Id tell him "Youre not ready for us, Bro (laughs)!" Im no genius or anything, but I believe all of this. All the things that are happening with Wichita State are meant to be. I feel like well meet Kansas, God Willing. And God Is Good... Patrick Omameh Giants Jersey . Smith, who raised eyebrows at the CFL combine in March with his ability on both sides of the ball, confirmed in a statement he tested positive for the anabolic steroid Stanozolol prior to auditioning for league officials. Saquon Barkley Giants Jersey .com) - Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien, Detroit Red Wings forward Tomas Tatar and New York Islanders right wing Kyle Okposo were named the NHLs players of the week on Monday. http://www.giantsrookiestore.com/Customized/. The alley-oop looked easy -- just like everything else after halftime for the Miami Heat. James scored 32 points, Wade added 22 points and eight assists, and the Heat trailed by 11 early in the second half before running away to a 107-88 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. Kareem Martin Giants Jersey . Meanwhile, the Jets extended their winning streak to four and remain perfect under Paul Maurice. Its the Jets second four-game winning streak of the season, the other coming in mid-November. Will Hernandez Jersey .com) - Cincinnati Reds pitcher Mat Latos had an arthroscopic procedure performed on his right elbow last week, the teams official site reported Wednesday.PORTLAND, Ore. -- Damian Lillard couldnt believe when he got a clear look at the rim. With the final buzzer about to sound, he took his shot. "I got my feet squared up and it felt real good leaving my hands," Portlands point guard said. "Once I saw it on line, I said, Thats got a chance." Lillards shot fell and the Trail Blazers stunned the Houston Rockets 99-98 to take their playoff series in six games and advance to the Western Conference semifinals for the first time in 14 years. In the frenzied postgame celebration, Lillard took the public address microphone and shouted "Rip City!" The hometown crowd roared. Portland, making its first playoff appearance since 2011, had been eliminated in the first round in its last six trips, and hadnt advanced to the second round since 2000. "Its a great feeling," said fellow guard Wesley Matthews. "Im excited for Portland, of course excited for us. The grind of the season: Youre a competitor, you want to win, you want to play, you want to advance, you want to be a champion. ... Its unbelievable." Dwight Howard made four consecutive free throws to tie the game at 91 before making a bank shot that put Houston ahead with 3:04 to go. Robin Lopez scored on a tip shot to give the Blazers a 94-93 lead with 2:15 left, setting up a wild finish. Howards layup and foul shot put the Rockets back up 96-94 before Nicolas Batums fadeaway jumper tied it again with 39.9 seconds left. Chandler Parsons scored on a reverse layup with 0.9 seconds left to give Houston the lead. Lillard prevented the series from going back to Houston with his 3-pointer as time ran out. He finished with 25 points. The Trail Blazers said Lillard is the first player to make a buzzer-beating shot to win a playoff series since John Stocktons 3 that led Utah over Houston in 1997s Western Conference finals, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. "He made a hell of a shot," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said of Lillard. Portland will face the winner of the series between San Antonio and Dallas. The Mavericks forced a deciding Game 7 with a 113-111 victory over the Spurs on Friday night. There are five first-round playoff series that have gone to seven games.dddddddddddd LaMarcus Aldridge led the Blazers with 30 points and 13 rebounds. He averaged 29.8 points during the series. After losing the opening two games in Houston, then claiming one of a pair in Portland, the Rockets staved off elimination with a 108-98 victory on Wednesday night to narrow Portlands advantage in the series to 3-2. Howard had 22 points and 14 rebounds, and Jeremy Lin redeemed himself from a poor performance in Game 4 with 21 points off the bench. James Harden led the Rockets on Friday night with 34 points. Howard had 26 points and 11 rebounds as Houston -- which earned the nickname "Clutch City" back in the mid-1990s when the team won back-to-back NBA championships -- failed to become the ninth team to come back from a 3-1 deficit in a best-of-seven playoff series and advance. "It hurts," Howard said. "When you put everything youve got on the floor and somebody hits you with a dagger like that, its a tough pill to swallow." After Lillards 3, Howard went over to congratulate his friend and told him he was proud of him and to go win the title. Aldridge helped the Blazers steal the first two games in Houston, scoring 46 points in a 122-120 overtime Game 1 win, then 43 in a 112-105 victory. The Rockets claimed the first of two in Portland, 121-116 in overtime, led by Harden with 37 points. The series third OT game ended in a 123-120 Blazers win. Aldridge gave the Rockets credit for making the Blazers better. "We felt like they definitely helped us grow. Were so young in the playoffs, but they definitely helped us grow and we feel we should be better for the next round," Aldridge said. "Were happy now, but were not satisfied." NOTES: The Blazers honoured former coach Jack Ramsay, who led the team to its lone NBA championship in 1977, in a moving pregame ceremony. Ramsay died Monday after a long battle with cancer in Florida. ... A fan at the game held a sign reading: "Play like its 1977." ... Lillard has multiple 3-pointers in six straight playoff games, a franchise record. ... 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