Post by BleedingOrange on Apr 4, 2013 20:36:15 GMT -5
Did any of you catch the McDonald's All Star game last night? It was typical of an all-star game, with absolutely no defense, set plays, organization, or team ball, so it wasn't exactly pretty. Here are my thoughts...
First of all, I thought Isaac did pretty well considering the competition he was playing with. He pretty much filled the stat sheet: in 17 minutes, he had 7 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and a block. I could have sworn I saw him get a second block and a steal, but it's possible I was watching another player (the West team wore black and gray camouflage uniforms that made their numbers invisible). He only went 2-7 from the field (2-5 from three), but a lot of those were bad shots that he took simply because that was the order of the day... shoot it as soon as you touch it. The rest of the players were doing it, so he figured he better get his points whenever possible. I'm sure he'll be much more accurate when operating out of a real offense.
He did hit a tough three pointer with a guy in his face, and seemed to be very light on his feet and mobile. I couldn't gauge his defensive or passing skills, since he really got few opportunities to do either in such a free-for-all, disorganized game, but overall I was very impressed.
I didn't care for the complete and total lack of respect for about half of the kids on the court by the announcers (McD game alum Jalen Rose and Jay Williams, and some random ESPN dude). Of course, they sucked off the big names (Parker, Wiggins, the entire Kentucky roster) even when they weren't really doing anything, and ignored the action on the court while they talked about how amazing Calipari's recruiting class was or speculated where Wiggins would decide to go. They didn't even mention Isaac's name when he checked into the game, and the first time they mentioned him was when he hit his first three pointer. They had also been putting up a graphic around the players when they went to the free throw line that showed their stats and bio, but when Isaac shot his free throws, they zoomed in on one of the "name" players and ignored him. (Yeah, I'm being a bit petulant, but dammit, I wanted Ike to get his props!!)
The thing that really got me pissed was when the guys on his team kept hogging plays and taking ridiculously bad shots instead of spreading the wealth. There were several times when they had a fast break going and Hamilton was running down the wing wide open for a three or a dunk, and the guy with the ball ran straight into a quadruple team and flung up a brick instead of dishing the ball.
On another play, Hamilton had a beautiful block (which went uncredited by the announcers) and came down with the ball. He had a guy running at him, so he passed it to Aaron Gordon (some hot dog headed to Arizona) and then ran down the court with him on a 2-on-nothing break. Now the noble move would have been for Gordon, who already had almost 20 points at that point, to reward the guy who just made the defensive play that started the break... but instead he just runs down and dunks it, and gets every bit of credit from the commentators for such an amazing play. Ike even tried to high five him as they came back down the court, and Gordon barely even looked at him. So who gets MVP? Gordon, who finished with 24 points off of several dunks set up by other players who were actually PASSING the ball.
I am completely biased, of course, but to me it was less of an all-star game and more of a showcase for a select few players. The rest were mere afterthoughts in the grand scheme of things, and I barely even heard their names during the telecast.
Overall, it was awesome that a UTEP recruit was even on the court when so many other talented players were probably watching the game at home and cursing to themselves for not getting an invite, and that's the most important thing. Even though Hamilton didn't get nearly as much credit as he deserved, at least he was there and played some good minutes. I'm extremely excited to see this kid wearing the orange and blue next year!!
First of all, I thought Isaac did pretty well considering the competition he was playing with. He pretty much filled the stat sheet: in 17 minutes, he had 7 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and a block. I could have sworn I saw him get a second block and a steal, but it's possible I was watching another player (the West team wore black and gray camouflage uniforms that made their numbers invisible). He only went 2-7 from the field (2-5 from three), but a lot of those were bad shots that he took simply because that was the order of the day... shoot it as soon as you touch it. The rest of the players were doing it, so he figured he better get his points whenever possible. I'm sure he'll be much more accurate when operating out of a real offense.
He did hit a tough three pointer with a guy in his face, and seemed to be very light on his feet and mobile. I couldn't gauge his defensive or passing skills, since he really got few opportunities to do either in such a free-for-all, disorganized game, but overall I was very impressed.
I didn't care for the complete and total lack of respect for about half of the kids on the court by the announcers (McD game alum Jalen Rose and Jay Williams, and some random ESPN dude). Of course, they sucked off the big names (Parker, Wiggins, the entire Kentucky roster) even when they weren't really doing anything, and ignored the action on the court while they talked about how amazing Calipari's recruiting class was or speculated where Wiggins would decide to go. They didn't even mention Isaac's name when he checked into the game, and the first time they mentioned him was when he hit his first three pointer. They had also been putting up a graphic around the players when they went to the free throw line that showed their stats and bio, but when Isaac shot his free throws, they zoomed in on one of the "name" players and ignored him. (Yeah, I'm being a bit petulant, but dammit, I wanted Ike to get his props!!)
The thing that really got me pissed was when the guys on his team kept hogging plays and taking ridiculously bad shots instead of spreading the wealth. There were several times when they had a fast break going and Hamilton was running down the wing wide open for a three or a dunk, and the guy with the ball ran straight into a quadruple team and flung up a brick instead of dishing the ball.
On another play, Hamilton had a beautiful block (which went uncredited by the announcers) and came down with the ball. He had a guy running at him, so he passed it to Aaron Gordon (some hot dog headed to Arizona) and then ran down the court with him on a 2-on-nothing break. Now the noble move would have been for Gordon, who already had almost 20 points at that point, to reward the guy who just made the defensive play that started the break... but instead he just runs down and dunks it, and gets every bit of credit from the commentators for such an amazing play. Ike even tried to high five him as they came back down the court, and Gordon barely even looked at him. So who gets MVP? Gordon, who finished with 24 points off of several dunks set up by other players who were actually PASSING the ball.
I am completely biased, of course, but to me it was less of an all-star game and more of a showcase for a select few players. The rest were mere afterthoughts in the grand scheme of things, and I barely even heard their names during the telecast.
Overall, it was awesome that a UTEP recruit was even on the court when so many other talented players were probably watching the game at home and cursing to themselves for not getting an invite, and that's the most important thing. Even though Hamilton didn't get nearly as much credit as he deserved, at least he was there and played some good minutes. I'm extremely excited to see this kid wearing the orange and blue next year!!
