Roundhouse Report
By Rich Green
IV Leader Sports Editor and Columnist, March 19, 2009
I really wasn’t sure what to make my column about this
time. I wanted to write about the World Baseball Classic but other than a ho-hum
exit of the Dominican Republic, its just business as usual thus far. I promise
to revise this next issue.
So what could I write about? What do I/ We need in our lives?
I know. Let’s give away some postseason awards for the Men’s
Basketball team.
Before we begin I have to correct an error that I made in
last issue. I had posted the men’s team was 14-15, which in reality they were
15-15 in the regular season. Sorry, Coach.
Now, on to business as usual. These aren’t going to be your
normal MVP awards. I am hoping to have fun with this without making too many
people angry.
I would like to start off with the Dick Butkus lookalike
award. Assistant Coach Chris Herman resembles Dick Butkus more than Dick Butkus
does. He is a suit jacket away from looking exactly like Dick Butkus’ character
in the old timey Saturday morning TV show “Hang Time.”
The Manu Ginobili award for “most instant offense off the
bench I have ever seen from someone who is not from Argentina” goes to Mike
Gills. Mike Gills was fine as a starter but was much more productive off the
bench this year for the Eagles averaging 13.4 ppg. Gills 6’5 frame and
inside/out game made him a dominant presence wherever and whenever inserted.
The Reggie Miller “3 point baskets in your face with extra
style points while looking like Paul Pierce goes to Roosevelt Jones. Jones led
the eagles with 13.6 ppg including a 28 point performance against Kishwaukee in
the opening round of regionals. The first half of that game included five three
pointers in the first 10 minutes of that game.
The Jason Kidd/Chris Paul not so much John Stockton (his
shorts were way too short) “floor general” award goes to Chad Sipovic and Cooper
Westvig. Without these guys I would still be using the term “wildcat” for animal
purposes instead of play calling at my pickup basketball games. More than just a
single word these two were veteran sophomores who commanded respect on the floor
and knew where everyone was supposed to go.
The Derrick Rose “hey coach give me some more minutes in
crunch time” award goes to Jake Strabala, and Tanner Bland. Both freshmen, both
played well enough when in ball games to make a difference. Both hard nosed and
both the do-whatever types. Strabala shot 53% from 3 point range and hustled
more than Rick Ross The Boss. Bland was no slouch himself shooting an impressive
37.7% from downtown on 61 attempts.
The Danny Granger/Joe Johnson “hey give me some more bleeping
respect” award goes to Korby Kasperski and Clayton Cissel. These guys both
logged big minutes for Canale’s Eagles. More than just role players these two
made open shots and played as hard as anybody. They also saw clutch minutes in
big games. These two should be prominent players next season.
The Bruce Bowen/Ron Artest/Anthony Mason “grimy, filthy, in
your face and always the best hair” award goes to Matt Sturdivant. Sturdivant’s
game always went both ways. It showed in his numbers posting a very fine 10
points and 6.9 rebounds a game. He was also third on the team with 34 steals. On
defense he was a disruptor ala Bruce Bowen and Ron Artest.
Last but certainly not least, the Larry Bird “LaMoille will
never be the next French Lick Indiana” award for most phone numbers received
while travelling goes to Brett Barkman. Not really sure if this is true or not
but who cares. Brett was the obvious choice of team leader. At 6’6 and a big
frame his was dominant in the post. Brett led the Eagle’s in rebounding
averaging 7.5 a game. If not for foul trouble most games Brett could have
averaged a double double.
Questions, comments or riducule can be sent to Rich’s e-mail
rgreeniii24@yahoo.com