UGA Men’s Basketball
Weiszer ABH: Mike White, a big Notre Dame fan growing up, puts his Georgia team up against the Irish
“After having players in and out of the lineup due to injuries and COVID in recent weeks, the Bulldogs are back to full strength for now…”
https://www.onlineathens.com/story/...-irish-kevin-white-kario-oquendo/69730208007/
Towers AJC: After long layoff, Georgia Bulldogs face Notre Dame
https://www.ajc.com/sports/georgia-...s-face-notre-dame/LIUOSCEA3VGPHCUO4F3PTBY6GE/
Dasher UGA Sports: Georgia's Frank Anselem is no stranger to Irish
UGASports - Georgia's Frank Anselem is no stranger to Irish
Notre Dame
GAME 11 PREVIEW: IRISH GO DOWN TO GEORGIA
“BOUNCE BACK MODE – UGA
Coach Brey has used the phrase bounce-back mode and here’s why. Notre Dame is 2-0 this season after a loss with wins over #20 Michigan State and Boston U. Dating back to last season, they boast an 8-match win streak following a loss. Thus, they haven’t suffered back-to-back losses since Nov. 29 of last year when they lost at Illinois.
With that said, the next match for the Irish is a pivotal one. It’ll be against a fellow 7-3 Georgia squad, who has already lost to two ACC opponents already in Wake Forest and Georgia Tech.
Interestingly enough, the two sides have only met three times with all three games occurring at neutral sites. That tradition will continue on Sunday when they meet in the State Farm Arena in Atlanta. The Irish lead the series 2-1 and have not met since Nov. 22, 2011.
NOTRE NOTABLES
“The Irish are currently leading the country in fouls per game, only committing an average of 11.6. That has been a Coach Brey staple. In the last 12 years, Notre Dame has only failed to finish among the top 10 in least amount of personal fouls committed just once. They have also led the country in least amount of personal fouls five times.
Next, they rank 3rd in the country in turnovers per game, only surrendering 8.9.
Lastly, if the Irish can get to the free-throw line in late-game situations, look out. They rank 7th in free-throw percentage, converting 80.4 percent from the stripe – leads the ACC as well. Cormac Ryan is the guy you want on the line late in games, connecting on .893 on the year.”
TRENDS
Freshman JJ Starling has recorded back-to-back games in double figures, totaling 27 points. Plus, after a slow start from three, he’s beginning to heat up, knocking down 3-of-6 from three over the last two games.
Cormac Ryan is 15-of-23 (.652) from three over the past four games, averaging 16.3 ppg in that span. That also includes two 20+ point performances.
Lastly, there’s Nate Laszewski who broke free from a three-game single-digit scoring streak with a 20-point performance in the last game vs. Marquette. It marked his third 20-plus point effort on the season.
2 NAMES, 1 DYNAMIC OPTION
Ven-Allen is starting to come into his own, making a great case for more minutes — 3 double-digit scoring performances over the last 6 games.
He doesn’t have a large shooting sample size but when he does get shots up, they are going in. Lubin is shooting a highly efficient 73.2 percent from two and he’s knocking down 64.4 percent from the floor overall, which leads the team. In fact that FG% would rank second all-time for a ND freshman if the season ended today, challenging Harold Swanagan’s 64.5 percent in 1998-99.
He’s also becoming ND’s best defender, leading the team in blocks, averaging 0.9 per game. Case in point, he sealed the win vs Boston U on Dec. 7. Lubin was subbed in for his defense with under a minute left and it paid off, earning a pivotal block and rebound, then converting a free throw on the other end.
NATE’S GREAT START
Nate Laszewski is averaging a career-best 14.9 ppg and a career-high 8.3 rpg.
With four years under his belt, he entered the year with nine career double-doubles to his name and six 20-point performances. Already this season he has three double-doubles and three 20+ point efforts.
ACC individual rankings – Laszewski ranks 14th in scoring (14.9), 4th in FT% (.864), 2nd in defensive rebounds (7.3) and 12th in 3PT FG% (.395). In fact his 7.3 defensive rebounds per game rank 15th in the country.
Lastly, to show how dynamic Laszewski’s style of play is — he’s 1-of-8 people in the country averaging at least 14 points, 8 rebounds and 1.5 three’s, while converting at least .390 from beyond the arc.
THREAT FROM THREE
Notre Dame has recorded double-digit three-pointers in three of the last four games and the one game they didn’t – Boston U – they connected on nine. Over that four-game stretch, they’ve knocked down 41 three-pointers aka 10.3 per game.
Overall on the season, they are averaging 8.7 three’s per game, which would crack the program’s all-time top-10 at the No. 8 spot. The program record is 9.7 set by the 19-20 squad.
The big reason for that – the squad’s big three but specifically Goodwin and Ryan who respectively rank 4th and 6th in three-point field goal percentage in the ACC.
3 players above .400 and one on the verge:
Goodwin – .472 – ranks 4th in the ACC
Ryan – .435 – ranks 6th in the ACC
Hammond – .429
Laszewski – .395
Goodwin has hit some big late three’s early this season – hitting a trey with 2:48 left against USI and 14 seconds left against Lipscomb. The latter was the gamewinner in a 66-65 victory over Lipscomb. Goodwin tied his career high in made three-pointers, converting 6-of-8 from deep. “
https://und.com/game-11-preview-irish-go-down-to-georgia/
Notre Dame Notes
https://und.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GM-11-Georgia.pdf
Recruiting
The 2024’s with Rivals Rankings
Florida
6. Asa Newell SF 6-9 200 Montverde Academy
118. Elijah Duval PG 6-3 175 Stuart
Georgia
5. Airious Bailey SF 6-9 185 McEachern
147. ZZ Clark PG 6-1 165 Overtime Elite
82. Gicarri Harris SG 6-4 180 Grayson
Jabez Jenkins SG 6-3 165 Newton County
Cole Kirouac PF 6-10 190 North Forsyth
Jayce Nathaniel PF 6-8 Lanier
33. Derrion Reid SF 6-7 180 Grovetown
North Carolina
64. Bishop Boswell 6-4 190 Charlotte
38. Paul McNeil SF 6-5 170 Rockingham
https://n.rivals.com/content/athletes/paul-mcneil-jr-274378?view=pv
https://twitter.com/247hshoops/status/1600539004209971201?s=46&t=aTw-UKhezawbeXeDtXM82w
54. Sir Mohammed SG 6-6 200 Charlotte
https://n.rivals.com/content/athletes/sir-mohammed-286509?view=pv
https://twitter.com/coachjonesmpb/status/1603210826969743360?s=46&t=aTw-UKhezawbeXeDtXM82w
42. Jaeden Mustaf SG 6-4 165 Matthews
https://n.rivals.com/content/athletes/jaeden-mustaf-284153?view=pv
https://twitter.com/pobscout/status/1601757555898060801?s=46&t=aTw-UKhezawbeXeDtXM82w
Austin Swartz SG 6-4 165 Charlotte
https://n.rivals.com/content/athletes/austin-swartz-283865?view=pv
https://twitter.com/austin_swartz23/status/1603435083192569856?s=46&t=aTw-UKhezawbeXeDtXM82w
SEC Basketball
Alabama
Alabama.com: What’s the latest on Alabama’s proposed new basketball arena?
“University president Stuart Bell, who oversees Byrne and the athletics department, also addressed the arena’s cost during a meeting with the Rotary Club in Tuscaloosa last month.
“We are certainly working on the design of it,” Bell said, the Tuscaloosa Thread reported. “A real challenge we’ve had over the past 12 months is construction costs and we’re trying to watch and see where those are going.”
Bell told the club, according to the Tuscaloosa Thread, that construction costs had risen 30 to 40 percent.
“[That] is not in our plan to do,” Bell said. “You wouldn’t want to be bidding a project like that today, that’s for sure.”
https://www.al.com/alabamabasketbal...osed-new-basketball-arena.html?outputType=amp
College Basketball
FRIDAY'S GAMES TO WATCH:
Xavier at Georgetown
Florida Gulf Coast at St. Bonaventure
Creighton at Marquette
https://twitter.com/jonrothstein/status/1603709019352227841?s=46&t=aTw-UKhezawbeXeDtXM82w
NCAA.com: Uncovering the surprising early success stories in Ivy League men's basketball
https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketbal...uccess-stories-ivy-league-mens-basketball?amp
California
Nevada Sports.net: How Cal basketball, led by Nevada Hall of Famer Mark Fox, became NCAA's lone winless team
“Essentially, the program has fallen apart since Cal tried to hire Musselman away from Nevada after the Bears lost Cuonzo Martin to Missouri after the 2016-17 season. The Wolf Pack was able to keep Musselman by bumping his salary from $400,000 to $1 million per season as part of a five-year, $5 million pact, which at the time was the largest in school history in any sport.
Musselman, who had deep roots in the Bay Area, twice met with Cal during that coaching search before ultimately pulling his name. At the time, I tweeted, "Source confirms Coach Musselman is staying at Nevada. Sounds like Cal search process was very off-putting. That circus was not appealing." And trust me when I say that source was very plugged into the situation. Musselman's concerns have borne out since he rebutted Cal's interest as the Bears have gone 51-116 since then. Meanwhile, Musselman found a much better gig two years later at Arkansas, which he's turned into a top-10 program and national title contender.
After missing on Musselman, Cal turned to Wyking Jones, who was Martin's assistant at Cal from 2015-17. Jones went 8-24 and 8-23 in two seasons before being fired with $3 million left on his five-year deal. In stepped Fox, who had taken the 2018-19 season off following a nine-year run at Georgia where he went 163-133 overall and 77-79 in the SEC with five postseason appearances (three NIT, two NCAA Tournament).
Fox, who went 123-43 at Nevada with six WAC titles and three NCAA Tournament appearances in five seasons from 2004-09, has been unable to replicate that success at Cal. The Bears went 14-18, 9-20 and 12-20 in his first three seasons before this year's 0-11 start. Cal has two non-conference games remaining, against Santa Clara and UT Arlington, before entering Pac-12 play, where it's likely to be a sizable underdog in each game.
Given the results — a 35-69 record, 15-43 in the Pac-12 — one would figure Fox is on the hot seat. But his contract, which pays him around $2 million per season, runs through 2024-25. After paying Jones $3 million to go away a couple of years ago, summoning $4 million more for a Fox buyout for Cal's cash-strapped athletic department might be too onerous. Injuries have been problematic for Fox's Bears, who have been without probable starting guards, Jalen Celestine and DeJuan Clayton, all season. But Cal also hasn't had much recruiting success after Fox was known for plucking gems at Nevada in future NBA players Ramon Sessions, JaVale McGee, Armon Johnson and Luke Babbitt.
Cal's university administration has drawn the ire of alums of the program who feel like athletics isn't being supported at an appropriate level. Cal lacks a basketball practice facility, something even Nevada has thanks to a donation from Sessions, Fox's first signee as the Wolf Pack's head coach. Cal also has steep academic requirements than impact which recruits the Bears can target. But it's not like the program hasn't had success.
Cal made 14 NCAA Tournament appearances during a 27-season stretch from 1990-2016. During that period, five straight head coaches led the Bears to multiple NCAA Tournament berths, including Lou Campanelli, Todd Bozeman, Ben Braun, Mike Mike Montgomery and Martin. Fox has been unable to replicate anywhere near that success and said he'll take criticism for Cal's current standing.
"I know what I signed up for here," Fox said after a recent loss. "I knew exactly what I signed up for here. I didn't see the pandemic coming, which obviously made it much harder. The 'must wins' in life. That's when you go to the doctor and say, 'Hey, I've got bad news. You've got cancer.' That's the must win. These kids can't feel that kind of pressure. They've got to grow up. We've got to go through the battles. I lean on the processes that I've experienced throughout my life from where I grew up to how I got here. No one put a silver spoon in my life. Every bit of it was earned. This team is going to have to earn their right to win, and that's going to be difficult.
"As I told them: Put the blame on the coach. I'm fine with that. Put all the blame on the coach. These are young guys trying to rebuild, and we've made it harder this year. But we just know if we do things right and we continue to do them right and we get enough people doing it right, you'll get where you have to be."
Attendance has dwindled to 2,328 fans per home game this season, the second lowest among power-conference schools (USC is in last at 2,111). Cal averaged 10,183 fans per home game as recently as 2015-16. National headlines now read, "Will Cal men's basketball ever be good again?" That's the long-term question. The short-term question: Will Cal win a game this season? If not, it'd become the first large-conference school to go winless over a full season since Baylor in 1944-45, a distinction no team wants to match.”
https://nevadasportsnet.com/news/re...famer-mark-fox-became-ncaas-lone-winless-team
Chattanooga (Future Opponny
Men’s Basketball Wins Sixth Straight, Snaps Middle Tennessee’s Home Win Streak During 82-73 Victory on Thursday
“Jake Stephens finished the game as the leading scorer for the seventh-straight game behind a 24-point, 11-rebound performance. All five starters reached double figures in scoring with Jamal Johnson(15), Dalvin White (13), Demetrius Davis (10) and AJ Caldwell (10) rounding out the double-digit scorers…
Jake Stephens led the team in scoring for the seventh-straight game… finished with a game-high 24 points and 11 rebounds… sixth double-double of the season… sixth game this season with at least 20 and nine… added five assists and four blocks
Jake Stephens' thoughts after that win.
"We're resilient. That was a great team. They won 20 in-a-row here. It was a fun place to play and they do a lot of great things with good athletes. That's a great game to win."
https://gomocs.com/news/2022/12/15/...reak-during-an-82-73-victory-on-thursday.aspx
Georgetown
Georgetown opens Big East play tonight at home against Xavier.
The last time that the Hoyas beat a conference opponent?
March 13th, 2021 against Creighton in the finals of the 2021 Big East Tournament at MSG.
https://twitter.com/jonrothstein/status/1603708263941275648?s=46&t=aTw-UKhezawbeXeDtXM82w
Illinois
St. Louis Post Dispatch: How Illinois basketball's offense, defense look drastically different through 10 games
https://www.stltoday.com/sports/col...cle_ddfb9a55-3af6-50e3-8a26-64d535314ccd.html
Indiana
Wichita Eagle: Mike Woodson knows all about Allen Fieldhouse. He wants Indiana to ‘seize the moment’
https://amp.kansas.com/sports/college/big-12/university-of-kansas/article270082032.html
Louisville
Louisville Courier Journal: How Louisville basketball finally showed resilience in Kenny Payne's first career win
https://www.courier-journal.com/sto...lience-in-kenny-paynes-first-win/69730056007/
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Tribune Review: During Blake Hinson's time away from basketball, pick-up games kept him sharp before he transferred to Pitt
https://triblive.com/sports/during-...kept-him-sharp-before-he-transferred-to-pitt/
Rice
Rice’s best player has been Quincy Olivari 6-3 Junior G from Atlanta’s Westlake HS…same HS as Anthony Edwards
2021 Third Team All-Conference USA
Conference USA Player of the Week (Feb. 8, 2021)
2022, 2021 & 2020 Conference USA Commissioner's Honor Roll
2022 NABC Honors Court
This year he is averaging 17.6 PPG 5.4 R 3.1 A 42.2 FG 35.3 3P…
“Man,,, I’ve never scored 1000 points in my life. I always wanted to in high school but never did and it definitely bothered me. Im so blessed, this achievement means a lot to me. All glory goes to God though”
https://twitter.com/quincyolivari/status/1603519402493853700?s=46&t=aTw-UKhezawbeXeDtXM82w
UAB
Alabama.com: For UAB, some SEC teams are braver than others
https://www.al.com/uab/2022/12/jose...ms-are-braver-than-others.html?outputType=amp
NBA
The Ringer: THE TOP 100
PLAYERS IN THE NBA
19 Trae Young Atlanta
35 Dejounte Murray Atlanta
46 Anthony Edwards Minnesota
73 Clint Capela Atlanta
95 John Collins Atlanta
100 De’Andre Hunter Atlanta
https://nbarankings.theringer.com/rankings
The Ringer: LEAGUE PASS PLAYER RANKINGS
17 Anthony Edwards
“ANALYSIS
After a less-than-lovely start he is starting to look like the Edwards we saw last season. It’s a bummer it took Karl Anthony-Towns getting injured to open up a little more driving room in the half court, but that’s where we are. Right now, Edwards is better with clean runways. All those clogs in the lane from two-center lineups—it’s like having a Ferrari and driving it only in neighborhoods.
Ant is burly and audacious, with an affinity for collisions in the sky. Welcomes contact, devours the stuff, finishes anyway. A rim eater, pure and simple. If the word boomshakalaka became a person.
The aerial attacks are sudden and violent. Big into posters, bangouts of all kinds. The windmill’s second nature. Has a laissez faire attitude when it comes to windmills. Very casual with it, it does not pain us to say. Gets so high and hangs so long he starts to float at an angle. Let him get to his launching pad and it’s curtains. Jump if you want to get folded up.
Ask Yuta Watanabe. Ask Gabe Vincent. Ask Juancho Hernangomez. Hernangomez starred in Adam Sandler’s most recent film, Hustle, played a Spanish basketball prodigy named Bo Cruz. Edwards plays the villain in the movie and he is captivating. His character’s name is Kermit Wilts, which is a name Edwards should just adopt. When they meet, Cruz tells Wilts he’s from Spain. Wilts: “Shit sounds wack. Y’all like bull fights over there, right? So here’s what’s gonna happen—you’re the bull. I’m the mother****er with the cape running your big dumb ass in circles. That’s cool?” There is a scene in which Edwards’s character is supposed to dunk on Hernangomez. Hernangomez told reporters: “Anthony tried to dunk on me so hard. He almost broke the ball. I told Ant, ‘Man, I got to block you.’ He said, ‘There is no way I let you block me.’” Damn the script. When Edwards is headed to the cup with a tomahawk in his hands, best treat him like the Zohan—don’t mess.”
https://nbarankings.theringer.com/league-pass-value
Memphis
Memphis Commercial Appeal: Ja Morant gets triple-double, Memphis Grizzlies deliver historic beatdown to Milwaukee Bucks
https://www.commercialappeal.com/st...owout-milwaukee-bucks-game-recap/69717983007/
History
Hoops Birthdays 12-16
Kelenna Azubuike SG Kentucky GS, DAL 2006-2012 12-16-1983 39 YOA
Bill Chamberlain C North Carolina MEM, KY, PHO 1972-1974 12-16-1949 73 YOA
Jimmy Foster PG Connecticut STL, DAL
1974-1976 12-16-1951 71 YOA
Clifford Robinson PF Connecticut POR, PHO, DET, GS, NJ 1989-2007 born 12-16-1966 died 8-29-2020
Clifford Robinson was an original UConn pillar and leaves behind a unique NBA legacy
“New York City. NBA draft. Robinson, a front-row guest following a standout career at UConn, heard 10 names called at Madison Square Garden's Felt Theater, then 20 and more from there.
The first round concluded with Robinson still on the board. So he left abruptly, walking out a back door, onto the Manhattan streets and, as only he seemed to understand, into one of professional basketball's truly unique runs.
"Through a kitchen, I think," said Phil Chardis, the UConn basketball beat writer at the time for the Journal Inquirer of Manchester. "It was pouring rain, pouring. And Cliff is going back to the hotel with the whole Connecticut media contingent following. I yelled 'Cliff!' He stopped, turned around, and that was the most sincere he was in four years of covering him. He was hurt and humbled. He said, 'They don't know who I am.'"
Finally selected in the second round by Portland with the 36th pick, Robinson played until he was 40, scoring 19,951 points (54th all time) in 1,380 games (14th, not including 141 playoff games). He entered the NBA a year after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's final season and lasted long enough to share the court with Chris Paul and LeBron James.
Cliff, Cliffy, Uncle Cliffy as he was affectionately known to Portland Trail Blazers fans and Clifford as he preferred somewhere along the line in an 18-year NBA career, he was intriguing for both his mercurial nature and consistency, beloved in Connecticut for his contributions to a UConn program beginning to show its potential.
Robinson never taped his ankles. He never iced down. He just showed up and played, 461 games in a row at one point. He helped the Blazers to the NBA Finals in 1992, was the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year in 1993 and an All-Star in 1994.
First, though, he changed everything in Storrs. He was a two-time All-Big East player. Those famous photos of players atop the backboard at Madison Square Garden in 1988? They don't happen without Robinson, named to the NIT All-Tournament Team as a junior. He is a member of the inaugural "Huskies of Honor" class and his 00 jersey hangs in Gampel Pavilion.
He scored 1,664 points at UConn, fourth on the program's all-time scoring list when he departed (and now 13th). He is one of five players in Huskies history with two 600-point seasons, joining Chris Smith, Ray Allen, Richard Hamilton and Ben Gordon. The guy could do it all, ahead of his time in college and then in the NBA, a 6-foot-10 forward who could play three positions and guard all five.”
https://www.registerguard.com/story...star-cliff-robinson-unique-player/3447188001/
Jeff Ruland C Iona WAS, PHI, DET 1980-1993 12-16-1958 64 YOA
Jan van Breda Koff SF Vanderbilt DAL, VA, KEN, NJ 1974-1983 12-16-1951 71 YOA
Mark Williams C Duke Charlotte 2022-present 12-16-2001 21 YOA
Orlando Woolridge SF Notre Dame CHI, NJ, LAL, DEN, DET, MIL, PHI 1981-1994 born 12-16-1959 died 5-31-2012
“A 6-9, 215-pound forward from Mansfield, Woolridge played as a freshman on the Notre Dame team that advanced to the 1978 NCAA Final Four in St. Louis. He went on to average 11.0 points and 4.8 rebounds as a sophomore, 12.2 points and 6.9 rebounds as a junior and 14.4 points and 6.0 rebounds as a senior in 1980-81. He still ranks 36th among Irish career scorers with his 1,160 points. He earned third-team All-America recognition as a senior from United Press International.
Woolridge connected on 65 percent of his field-goal attempts (156 of 240) s a senior for the top figure in that category over the last 30 years. Part of an impressive Notre Dame class that also included Kelly Tripucka, Tracy Jackson, Stan Wilcox and Gilbert Salinas, Woolridge helped the Irish to a four-year combined mark of 92-26 and four appearances in the NCAA Championships under former Irish coach Digger Phelps — highlighted by the ’78 Final Four berth and a ’79 Midwest Regional title game appearance against Magic Johnson and eventual champion Michigan State. He joined Tripucka and Jackson as captains of the 1980-81 squad.
Woolridge played on Irish squads that defeated four top-rated teams — Marquette in 1977-78, DePaul in 1979-80 (he hit two free throws with 19 seconds left in the second overtime), then Kentucky and Virginia in 1980-81. Against Ralph Sampson and the Cavaliers (Virginia had won 28 straight games), Woolridge hit the game-winning, 16-foot jump shot at the buzzer in the 57-56 Notre Dame victory.
Woolridge was a first-round pick in the 1981 NBA Draft, as the sixth overall selection by the Chicago Bulls. He played with the Bulls from 1981-82 through 1985-86, the New Jersey Nets from 1986-87 (20.7 points per game) through 1987-88, the Los Angeles Lakers from 1988-89 to 1989-90, the Denver Nuggets in 1990-91 (25.1 points and a career-high 6.8 rebounds per game), the Detroit Pistons in 1991-92 and 1992-93, the Milwaukee Bucks in 1992-93 and the Philadelphia 76ers in 1993-94. He finished with career NBA averages of 16.0 points (13,623 career points), 4.3 rebounds (3,696) and 1.9 assists. He played in Italy in 1994-95 and 1995-96. Woolridge averaged 22.9 points per game with the Bulls in 1984-85 while playing with Michael Jordan.”
https://und.com/former-notre-dame-basketball-player-orlando-woolridge-dies-at-age-52/
Weiszer ABH: Mike White, a big Notre Dame fan growing up, puts his Georgia team up against the Irish
“After having players in and out of the lineup due to injuries and COVID in recent weeks, the Bulldogs are back to full strength for now…”
https://www.onlineathens.com/story/...-irish-kevin-white-kario-oquendo/69730208007/
Towers AJC: After long layoff, Georgia Bulldogs face Notre Dame
https://www.ajc.com/sports/georgia-...s-face-notre-dame/LIUOSCEA3VGPHCUO4F3PTBY6GE/
Dasher UGA Sports: Georgia's Frank Anselem is no stranger to Irish
UGASports - Georgia's Frank Anselem is no stranger to Irish
Notre Dame
GAME 11 PREVIEW: IRISH GO DOWN TO GEORGIA
“BOUNCE BACK MODE – UGA
Coach Brey has used the phrase bounce-back mode and here’s why. Notre Dame is 2-0 this season after a loss with wins over #20 Michigan State and Boston U. Dating back to last season, they boast an 8-match win streak following a loss. Thus, they haven’t suffered back-to-back losses since Nov. 29 of last year when they lost at Illinois.
With that said, the next match for the Irish is a pivotal one. It’ll be against a fellow 7-3 Georgia squad, who has already lost to two ACC opponents already in Wake Forest and Georgia Tech.
Interestingly enough, the two sides have only met three times with all three games occurring at neutral sites. That tradition will continue on Sunday when they meet in the State Farm Arena in Atlanta. The Irish lead the series 2-1 and have not met since Nov. 22, 2011.
NOTRE NOTABLES
“The Irish are currently leading the country in fouls per game, only committing an average of 11.6. That has been a Coach Brey staple. In the last 12 years, Notre Dame has only failed to finish among the top 10 in least amount of personal fouls committed just once. They have also led the country in least amount of personal fouls five times.
Next, they rank 3rd in the country in turnovers per game, only surrendering 8.9.
Lastly, if the Irish can get to the free-throw line in late-game situations, look out. They rank 7th in free-throw percentage, converting 80.4 percent from the stripe – leads the ACC as well. Cormac Ryan is the guy you want on the line late in games, connecting on .893 on the year.”
TRENDS
Freshman JJ Starling has recorded back-to-back games in double figures, totaling 27 points. Plus, after a slow start from three, he’s beginning to heat up, knocking down 3-of-6 from three over the last two games.
Cormac Ryan is 15-of-23 (.652) from three over the past four games, averaging 16.3 ppg in that span. That also includes two 20+ point performances.
Lastly, there’s Nate Laszewski who broke free from a three-game single-digit scoring streak with a 20-point performance in the last game vs. Marquette. It marked his third 20-plus point effort on the season.
2 NAMES, 1 DYNAMIC OPTION
Ven-Allen is starting to come into his own, making a great case for more minutes — 3 double-digit scoring performances over the last 6 games.
He doesn’t have a large shooting sample size but when he does get shots up, they are going in. Lubin is shooting a highly efficient 73.2 percent from two and he’s knocking down 64.4 percent from the floor overall, which leads the team. In fact that FG% would rank second all-time for a ND freshman if the season ended today, challenging Harold Swanagan’s 64.5 percent in 1998-99.
He’s also becoming ND’s best defender, leading the team in blocks, averaging 0.9 per game. Case in point, he sealed the win vs Boston U on Dec. 7. Lubin was subbed in for his defense with under a minute left and it paid off, earning a pivotal block and rebound, then converting a free throw on the other end.
NATE’S GREAT START
Nate Laszewski is averaging a career-best 14.9 ppg and a career-high 8.3 rpg.
With four years under his belt, he entered the year with nine career double-doubles to his name and six 20-point performances. Already this season he has three double-doubles and three 20+ point efforts.
ACC individual rankings – Laszewski ranks 14th in scoring (14.9), 4th in FT% (.864), 2nd in defensive rebounds (7.3) and 12th in 3PT FG% (.395). In fact his 7.3 defensive rebounds per game rank 15th in the country.
Lastly, to show how dynamic Laszewski’s style of play is — he’s 1-of-8 people in the country averaging at least 14 points, 8 rebounds and 1.5 three’s, while converting at least .390 from beyond the arc.
THREAT FROM THREE
Notre Dame has recorded double-digit three-pointers in three of the last four games and the one game they didn’t – Boston U – they connected on nine. Over that four-game stretch, they’ve knocked down 41 three-pointers aka 10.3 per game.
Overall on the season, they are averaging 8.7 three’s per game, which would crack the program’s all-time top-10 at the No. 8 spot. The program record is 9.7 set by the 19-20 squad.
The big reason for that – the squad’s big three but specifically Goodwin and Ryan who respectively rank 4th and 6th in three-point field goal percentage in the ACC.
3 players above .400 and one on the verge:
Goodwin – .472 – ranks 4th in the ACC
Ryan – .435 – ranks 6th in the ACC
Hammond – .429
Laszewski – .395
Goodwin has hit some big late three’s early this season – hitting a trey with 2:48 left against USI and 14 seconds left against Lipscomb. The latter was the gamewinner in a 66-65 victory over Lipscomb. Goodwin tied his career high in made three-pointers, converting 6-of-8 from deep. “
https://und.com/game-11-preview-irish-go-down-to-georgia/
Notre Dame Notes
https://und.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GM-11-Georgia.pdf
Recruiting
The 2024’s with Rivals Rankings
Florida
6. Asa Newell SF 6-9 200 Montverde Academy
118. Elijah Duval PG 6-3 175 Stuart
Georgia
5. Airious Bailey SF 6-9 185 McEachern
147. ZZ Clark PG 6-1 165 Overtime Elite
82. Gicarri Harris SG 6-4 180 Grayson
Jabez Jenkins SG 6-3 165 Newton County
Cole Kirouac PF 6-10 190 North Forsyth
Jayce Nathaniel PF 6-8 Lanier
33. Derrion Reid SF 6-7 180 Grovetown
North Carolina
64. Bishop Boswell 6-4 190 Charlotte
38. Paul McNeil SF 6-5 170 Rockingham
https://n.rivals.com/content/athletes/paul-mcneil-jr-274378?view=pv
https://twitter.com/247hshoops/status/1600539004209971201?s=46&t=aTw-UKhezawbeXeDtXM82w
54. Sir Mohammed SG 6-6 200 Charlotte
https://n.rivals.com/content/athletes/sir-mohammed-286509?view=pv
https://twitter.com/coachjonesmpb/status/1603210826969743360?s=46&t=aTw-UKhezawbeXeDtXM82w
42. Jaeden Mustaf SG 6-4 165 Matthews
https://n.rivals.com/content/athletes/jaeden-mustaf-284153?view=pv
https://twitter.com/pobscout/status/1601757555898060801?s=46&t=aTw-UKhezawbeXeDtXM82w
Austin Swartz SG 6-4 165 Charlotte
https://n.rivals.com/content/athletes/austin-swartz-283865?view=pv
https://twitter.com/austin_swartz23/status/1603435083192569856?s=46&t=aTw-UKhezawbeXeDtXM82w
SEC Basketball
Alabama
Alabama.com: What’s the latest on Alabama’s proposed new basketball arena?
“University president Stuart Bell, who oversees Byrne and the athletics department, also addressed the arena’s cost during a meeting with the Rotary Club in Tuscaloosa last month.
“We are certainly working on the design of it,” Bell said, the Tuscaloosa Thread reported. “A real challenge we’ve had over the past 12 months is construction costs and we’re trying to watch and see where those are going.”
Bell told the club, according to the Tuscaloosa Thread, that construction costs had risen 30 to 40 percent.
“[That] is not in our plan to do,” Bell said. “You wouldn’t want to be bidding a project like that today, that’s for sure.”
https://www.al.com/alabamabasketbal...osed-new-basketball-arena.html?outputType=amp
College Basketball
FRIDAY'S GAMES TO WATCH:
Xavier at Georgetown
Florida Gulf Coast at St. Bonaventure
Creighton at Marquette
https://twitter.com/jonrothstein/status/1603709019352227841?s=46&t=aTw-UKhezawbeXeDtXM82w
NCAA.com: Uncovering the surprising early success stories in Ivy League men's basketball
https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketbal...uccess-stories-ivy-league-mens-basketball?amp
California
Nevada Sports.net: How Cal basketball, led by Nevada Hall of Famer Mark Fox, became NCAA's lone winless team
“Essentially, the program has fallen apart since Cal tried to hire Musselman away from Nevada after the Bears lost Cuonzo Martin to Missouri after the 2016-17 season. The Wolf Pack was able to keep Musselman by bumping his salary from $400,000 to $1 million per season as part of a five-year, $5 million pact, which at the time was the largest in school history in any sport.
Musselman, who had deep roots in the Bay Area, twice met with Cal during that coaching search before ultimately pulling his name. At the time, I tweeted, "Source confirms Coach Musselman is staying at Nevada. Sounds like Cal search process was very off-putting. That circus was not appealing." And trust me when I say that source was very plugged into the situation. Musselman's concerns have borne out since he rebutted Cal's interest as the Bears have gone 51-116 since then. Meanwhile, Musselman found a much better gig two years later at Arkansas, which he's turned into a top-10 program and national title contender.
After missing on Musselman, Cal turned to Wyking Jones, who was Martin's assistant at Cal from 2015-17. Jones went 8-24 and 8-23 in two seasons before being fired with $3 million left on his five-year deal. In stepped Fox, who had taken the 2018-19 season off following a nine-year run at Georgia where he went 163-133 overall and 77-79 in the SEC with five postseason appearances (three NIT, two NCAA Tournament).
Fox, who went 123-43 at Nevada with six WAC titles and three NCAA Tournament appearances in five seasons from 2004-09, has been unable to replicate that success at Cal. The Bears went 14-18, 9-20 and 12-20 in his first three seasons before this year's 0-11 start. Cal has two non-conference games remaining, against Santa Clara and UT Arlington, before entering Pac-12 play, where it's likely to be a sizable underdog in each game.
Given the results — a 35-69 record, 15-43 in the Pac-12 — one would figure Fox is on the hot seat. But his contract, which pays him around $2 million per season, runs through 2024-25. After paying Jones $3 million to go away a couple of years ago, summoning $4 million more for a Fox buyout for Cal's cash-strapped athletic department might be too onerous. Injuries have been problematic for Fox's Bears, who have been without probable starting guards, Jalen Celestine and DeJuan Clayton, all season. But Cal also hasn't had much recruiting success after Fox was known for plucking gems at Nevada in future NBA players Ramon Sessions, JaVale McGee, Armon Johnson and Luke Babbitt.
Cal's university administration has drawn the ire of alums of the program who feel like athletics isn't being supported at an appropriate level. Cal lacks a basketball practice facility, something even Nevada has thanks to a donation from Sessions, Fox's first signee as the Wolf Pack's head coach. Cal also has steep academic requirements than impact which recruits the Bears can target. But it's not like the program hasn't had success.
Cal made 14 NCAA Tournament appearances during a 27-season stretch from 1990-2016. During that period, five straight head coaches led the Bears to multiple NCAA Tournament berths, including Lou Campanelli, Todd Bozeman, Ben Braun, Mike Mike Montgomery and Martin. Fox has been unable to replicate anywhere near that success and said he'll take criticism for Cal's current standing.
"I know what I signed up for here," Fox said after a recent loss. "I knew exactly what I signed up for here. I didn't see the pandemic coming, which obviously made it much harder. The 'must wins' in life. That's when you go to the doctor and say, 'Hey, I've got bad news. You've got cancer.' That's the must win. These kids can't feel that kind of pressure. They've got to grow up. We've got to go through the battles. I lean on the processes that I've experienced throughout my life from where I grew up to how I got here. No one put a silver spoon in my life. Every bit of it was earned. This team is going to have to earn their right to win, and that's going to be difficult.
"As I told them: Put the blame on the coach. I'm fine with that. Put all the blame on the coach. These are young guys trying to rebuild, and we've made it harder this year. But we just know if we do things right and we continue to do them right and we get enough people doing it right, you'll get where you have to be."
Attendance has dwindled to 2,328 fans per home game this season, the second lowest among power-conference schools (USC is in last at 2,111). Cal averaged 10,183 fans per home game as recently as 2015-16. National headlines now read, "Will Cal men's basketball ever be good again?" That's the long-term question. The short-term question: Will Cal win a game this season? If not, it'd become the first large-conference school to go winless over a full season since Baylor in 1944-45, a distinction no team wants to match.”
https://nevadasportsnet.com/news/re...famer-mark-fox-became-ncaas-lone-winless-team
Chattanooga (Future Opponny
Men’s Basketball Wins Sixth Straight, Snaps Middle Tennessee’s Home Win Streak During 82-73 Victory on Thursday
“Jake Stephens finished the game as the leading scorer for the seventh-straight game behind a 24-point, 11-rebound performance. All five starters reached double figures in scoring with Jamal Johnson(15), Dalvin White (13), Demetrius Davis (10) and AJ Caldwell (10) rounding out the double-digit scorers…
Jake Stephens led the team in scoring for the seventh-straight game… finished with a game-high 24 points and 11 rebounds… sixth double-double of the season… sixth game this season with at least 20 and nine… added five assists and four blocks
Jake Stephens' thoughts after that win.
"We're resilient. That was a great team. They won 20 in-a-row here. It was a fun place to play and they do a lot of great things with good athletes. That's a great game to win."
https://gomocs.com/news/2022/12/15/...reak-during-an-82-73-victory-on-thursday.aspx
Georgetown
Georgetown opens Big East play tonight at home against Xavier.
The last time that the Hoyas beat a conference opponent?
March 13th, 2021 against Creighton in the finals of the 2021 Big East Tournament at MSG.
https://twitter.com/jonrothstein/status/1603708263941275648?s=46&t=aTw-UKhezawbeXeDtXM82w
Illinois
St. Louis Post Dispatch: How Illinois basketball's offense, defense look drastically different through 10 games
https://www.stltoday.com/sports/col...cle_ddfb9a55-3af6-50e3-8a26-64d535314ccd.html
Indiana
Wichita Eagle: Mike Woodson knows all about Allen Fieldhouse. He wants Indiana to ‘seize the moment’
https://amp.kansas.com/sports/college/big-12/university-of-kansas/article270082032.html
Louisville
Louisville Courier Journal: How Louisville basketball finally showed resilience in Kenny Payne's first career win
https://www.courier-journal.com/sto...lience-in-kenny-paynes-first-win/69730056007/
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Tribune Review: During Blake Hinson's time away from basketball, pick-up games kept him sharp before he transferred to Pitt
https://triblive.com/sports/during-...kept-him-sharp-before-he-transferred-to-pitt/
Rice
Rice’s best player has been Quincy Olivari 6-3 Junior G from Atlanta’s Westlake HS…same HS as Anthony Edwards
2021 Third Team All-Conference USA
Conference USA Player of the Week (Feb. 8, 2021)
2022, 2021 & 2020 Conference USA Commissioner's Honor Roll
2022 NABC Honors Court
This year he is averaging 17.6 PPG 5.4 R 3.1 A 42.2 FG 35.3 3P…
“Man,,, I’ve never scored 1000 points in my life. I always wanted to in high school but never did and it definitely bothered me. Im so blessed, this achievement means a lot to me. All glory goes to God though”
https://twitter.com/quincyolivari/status/1603519402493853700?s=46&t=aTw-UKhezawbeXeDtXM82w
UAB
Alabama.com: For UAB, some SEC teams are braver than others
https://www.al.com/uab/2022/12/jose...ms-are-braver-than-others.html?outputType=amp
NBA
The Ringer: THE TOP 100
PLAYERS IN THE NBA
19 Trae Young Atlanta
35 Dejounte Murray Atlanta
46 Anthony Edwards Minnesota
73 Clint Capela Atlanta
95 John Collins Atlanta
100 De’Andre Hunter Atlanta
https://nbarankings.theringer.com/rankings
The Ringer: LEAGUE PASS PLAYER RANKINGS
17 Anthony Edwards
“ANALYSIS
After a less-than-lovely start he is starting to look like the Edwards we saw last season. It’s a bummer it took Karl Anthony-Towns getting injured to open up a little more driving room in the half court, but that’s where we are. Right now, Edwards is better with clean runways. All those clogs in the lane from two-center lineups—it’s like having a Ferrari and driving it only in neighborhoods.
Ant is burly and audacious, with an affinity for collisions in the sky. Welcomes contact, devours the stuff, finishes anyway. A rim eater, pure and simple. If the word boomshakalaka became a person.
The aerial attacks are sudden and violent. Big into posters, bangouts of all kinds. The windmill’s second nature. Has a laissez faire attitude when it comes to windmills. Very casual with it, it does not pain us to say. Gets so high and hangs so long he starts to float at an angle. Let him get to his launching pad and it’s curtains. Jump if you want to get folded up.
Ask Yuta Watanabe. Ask Gabe Vincent. Ask Juancho Hernangomez. Hernangomez starred in Adam Sandler’s most recent film, Hustle, played a Spanish basketball prodigy named Bo Cruz. Edwards plays the villain in the movie and he is captivating. His character’s name is Kermit Wilts, which is a name Edwards should just adopt. When they meet, Cruz tells Wilts he’s from Spain. Wilts: “Shit sounds wack. Y’all like bull fights over there, right? So here’s what’s gonna happen—you’re the bull. I’m the mother****er with the cape running your big dumb ass in circles. That’s cool?” There is a scene in which Edwards’s character is supposed to dunk on Hernangomez. Hernangomez told reporters: “Anthony tried to dunk on me so hard. He almost broke the ball. I told Ant, ‘Man, I got to block you.’ He said, ‘There is no way I let you block me.’” Damn the script. When Edwards is headed to the cup with a tomahawk in his hands, best treat him like the Zohan—don’t mess.”
https://nbarankings.theringer.com/league-pass-value
Memphis
Memphis Commercial Appeal: Ja Morant gets triple-double, Memphis Grizzlies deliver historic beatdown to Milwaukee Bucks
https://www.commercialappeal.com/st...owout-milwaukee-bucks-game-recap/69717983007/
History
Hoops Birthdays 12-16
Kelenna Azubuike SG Kentucky GS, DAL 2006-2012 12-16-1983 39 YOA
Bill Chamberlain C North Carolina MEM, KY, PHO 1972-1974 12-16-1949 73 YOA
Jimmy Foster PG Connecticut STL, DAL
1974-1976 12-16-1951 71 YOA
Clifford Robinson PF Connecticut POR, PHO, DET, GS, NJ 1989-2007 born 12-16-1966 died 8-29-2020
Clifford Robinson was an original UConn pillar and leaves behind a unique NBA legacy
“New York City. NBA draft. Robinson, a front-row guest following a standout career at UConn, heard 10 names called at Madison Square Garden's Felt Theater, then 20 and more from there.
The first round concluded with Robinson still on the board. So he left abruptly, walking out a back door, onto the Manhattan streets and, as only he seemed to understand, into one of professional basketball's truly unique runs.
"Through a kitchen, I think," said Phil Chardis, the UConn basketball beat writer at the time for the Journal Inquirer of Manchester. "It was pouring rain, pouring. And Cliff is going back to the hotel with the whole Connecticut media contingent following. I yelled 'Cliff!' He stopped, turned around, and that was the most sincere he was in four years of covering him. He was hurt and humbled. He said, 'They don't know who I am.'"
Finally selected in the second round by Portland with the 36th pick, Robinson played until he was 40, scoring 19,951 points (54th all time) in 1,380 games (14th, not including 141 playoff games). He entered the NBA a year after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's final season and lasted long enough to share the court with Chris Paul and LeBron James.
Cliff, Cliffy, Uncle Cliffy as he was affectionately known to Portland Trail Blazers fans and Clifford as he preferred somewhere along the line in an 18-year NBA career, he was intriguing for both his mercurial nature and consistency, beloved in Connecticut for his contributions to a UConn program beginning to show its potential.
Robinson never taped his ankles. He never iced down. He just showed up and played, 461 games in a row at one point. He helped the Blazers to the NBA Finals in 1992, was the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year in 1993 and an All-Star in 1994.
First, though, he changed everything in Storrs. He was a two-time All-Big East player. Those famous photos of players atop the backboard at Madison Square Garden in 1988? They don't happen without Robinson, named to the NIT All-Tournament Team as a junior. He is a member of the inaugural "Huskies of Honor" class and his 00 jersey hangs in Gampel Pavilion.
He scored 1,664 points at UConn, fourth on the program's all-time scoring list when he departed (and now 13th). He is one of five players in Huskies history with two 600-point seasons, joining Chris Smith, Ray Allen, Richard Hamilton and Ben Gordon. The guy could do it all, ahead of his time in college and then in the NBA, a 6-foot-10 forward who could play three positions and guard all five.”
https://www.registerguard.com/story...star-cliff-robinson-unique-player/3447188001/
Jeff Ruland C Iona WAS, PHI, DET 1980-1993 12-16-1958 64 YOA
Jan van Breda Koff SF Vanderbilt DAL, VA, KEN, NJ 1974-1983 12-16-1951 71 YOA
Mark Williams C Duke Charlotte 2022-present 12-16-2001 21 YOA
Orlando Woolridge SF Notre Dame CHI, NJ, LAL, DEN, DET, MIL, PHI 1981-1994 born 12-16-1959 died 5-31-2012
“A 6-9, 215-pound forward from Mansfield, Woolridge played as a freshman on the Notre Dame team that advanced to the 1978 NCAA Final Four in St. Louis. He went on to average 11.0 points and 4.8 rebounds as a sophomore, 12.2 points and 6.9 rebounds as a junior and 14.4 points and 6.0 rebounds as a senior in 1980-81. He still ranks 36th among Irish career scorers with his 1,160 points. He earned third-team All-America recognition as a senior from United Press International.
Woolridge connected on 65 percent of his field-goal attempts (156 of 240) s a senior for the top figure in that category over the last 30 years. Part of an impressive Notre Dame class that also included Kelly Tripucka, Tracy Jackson, Stan Wilcox and Gilbert Salinas, Woolridge helped the Irish to a four-year combined mark of 92-26 and four appearances in the NCAA Championships under former Irish coach Digger Phelps — highlighted by the ’78 Final Four berth and a ’79 Midwest Regional title game appearance against Magic Johnson and eventual champion Michigan State. He joined Tripucka and Jackson as captains of the 1980-81 squad.
Woolridge played on Irish squads that defeated four top-rated teams — Marquette in 1977-78, DePaul in 1979-80 (he hit two free throws with 19 seconds left in the second overtime), then Kentucky and Virginia in 1980-81. Against Ralph Sampson and the Cavaliers (Virginia had won 28 straight games), Woolridge hit the game-winning, 16-foot jump shot at the buzzer in the 57-56 Notre Dame victory.
Woolridge was a first-round pick in the 1981 NBA Draft, as the sixth overall selection by the Chicago Bulls. He played with the Bulls from 1981-82 through 1985-86, the New Jersey Nets from 1986-87 (20.7 points per game) through 1987-88, the Los Angeles Lakers from 1988-89 to 1989-90, the Denver Nuggets in 1990-91 (25.1 points and a career-high 6.8 rebounds per game), the Detroit Pistons in 1991-92 and 1992-93, the Milwaukee Bucks in 1992-93 and the Philadelphia 76ers in 1993-94. He finished with career NBA averages of 16.0 points (13,623 career points), 4.3 rebounds (3,696) and 1.9 assists. He played in Italy in 1994-95 and 1995-96. Woolridge averaged 22.9 points per game with the Bulls in 1984-85 while playing with Michael Jordan.”
https://und.com/former-notre-dame-basketball-player-orlando-woolridge-dies-at-age-52/
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