SB Nation User Blog: Laughing Stock

Coppin State, Nebraska @ USC: Box Scorin'

Laughing Stock — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:19:36 -0000

Well like most people this past weekend I was busy spending time with my family and busy traveling so I didn't get to see either of these games, but there are a few nice little insights to be taken from the box Scores. First off, the Coppin State game from all appearances went about as well as could possibly expected. The 31 point victory was keyed by strong team shooting including nearly 50% three point shooting and a staggering 39 to 16 rebounding advantage. So what if they feature only one starter taller than 6'5"? A win is a win, and although it certainly doesn't mean USC is a good team, it does mean that they aren't an absolutely horrible team at the very least.

The Nebraska game is another story though, and although it was nice to see that the Trojans were competitive with a 51-48 loss, the box score shows a lot of missed opportunity. The veterans (ie players who saw significant minutes at the end of last season) Dwight Lewis, Marcus Simmons, and Nikola Vucevic were a combined 3 for 22 from the field. That is almost unspeakably awful, I mean if those three would have hit on just 25% of their shots with all else being equal they would have won the game. On the flip side, Marcus Johnson and Alex Stepheson both shot 50% or higher on their way to 10 and 13 points respectively, but combined for an absolutely miserable 6 of 15 free throw shooting. If the Trojans would have had had just one player hit their shots and make their free throws then the game would have been a W by the looks of things. Although, for whatever its worth, the Trojans as a team played like garbage and gave the ball away like nobody's business (see 17 turnovers) and still almost won.

The biggest positive from the weekend though has to be the play of Donte Smith. Against Coppin State Donte hit 3 three pointers on 5 attempts to go with with a pair of assists and three steals against one turnover. He was not so hot against Nebraska though, giving up 4 TOs and not a single assist or steal, but he was 4 of 4 on shooting including a couple of threes. I think its becoming clear that Donte could become a valuable spot up shooter, but is unlikely to develop into a big time distributor or disruptor. Thats OK though, if he can bring the ball up court and hit his open shots on a consistent basis then the team may very well have a serviceable PG.

Its also worthwhile to point out that for the weekend Johnson and Stepheson combined for 50 points on 16 of 27 shooting along with grabbing a total of 29 rebounds. Not too shabby at all, and I think it is reasonable to expect Stepheson's numbers to continue to improve as he gets his conditioning back and sees more playing time. Its early, but add him to Vucevic and Washington (well, once the Spring rolls around) and SC has the best front court in the Pac 10.

Next up for the Trojans is a top 5 ranked and very talent heavy Texas team. I hate to wish for a moral victory, but if O'Neill can just find a way to keep it close then I think it could do wonders for the team's perception of themselves and their performance against Georgia Tech and in conference. Really, its not an exaggeration to say that this could be a season defining game for a team that has decent talent but lacking in depth and consistency. USC has had a penchant for hanging with and at times outplaying superior teams in recent history (UT & UNC in 06-07, KU & Memphis in 07-08, and OU & MSU in 08-09) so let's hope the team can shake off the disappointing loss to Nebraska and give it their all on the Road.

LMU @ USC: Woulda Coulda Shoulda

Laughing Stock — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:01:06 -0000

Bumped - P

Can a picture say a thousand words?

What a disappointment after the UCR game. The fact of the matter is that yes, USC's lack of depth hurt them and the outside shooting just was not there like on Tuesday night, but SC still should have won this game. And actually, early in the second half the Trojans had a fairly comfortable 10 point lead, and it appeared as though everything was going to go according to script. Some poor coaching decisions combined with strong shooting by LMU though quickly closed the gap and ultimately lead to the loss.

I have to give Loyola-Marymount some credit. Thy got open looks outside the arc in part thanks to a lax defese and they hit their threes for a staggering 6 for 11 completion rate. Besides that though our players didn't help things by turning the ball over on consecutive possessions late in the game while also going only 5-9 on free throw attempts in the second half.

Let's rewind a bit though because like I said SC had a double digit lead early in the second half. In fact things did not really go sour until the midway point of the half, which was really strange. With over eleven minutes left Loyola had already committed six fouls. With a strong lead and foul trouble it just makes sense to either work the ball inside or attack the basket as the Tigers would be forced to try to make defensive plays and likely commit fouls. And at that point fouls meant free throws for the Trojans. Free throws also have the added benefit of giving the depleted roster more rest, slowing the game down, and reducing fast break opportunities.

But instead SC tried to respond to LMU's shooting with jumpers of their own, except their shots just weren't falling and it was easy to see that the players were getting exhausted on both sides of the court. Honestly, in spite of these mistakes USC would have won if they had the entire roster available, but knowing full going into this game that this would not be the case they had to play smarter. Its also worth noting that the team seemed a bit deflated after Kasey Cunningham went down with a possible knee injury, and he was really bringing it on both ends of the court.

So enough with the negative, let's talk some positives. Kid Euro was absolutely great for the second game in a row. He had game highs with 19 points on 8 of 13 shooting and 11 rebounds, and was second on the team with three assists and two steals. Marcus Simmons also had an efficient 11 points (66% shooting) while playing his signature D while performing at a much higher level on the offensive side of the court than anything he showed last year. In fact, for now it seems like Simmons is the only guard we have who is comfortable attacking and slashing towards the basket. Dwight Lewis on the other hand had a rough night, but thats to be expected from time to time and its encouraging to see that he won't have to be the teams only offensive option as the season moves along.

All in all I'd say don't get too worked up about this loss. Sure its frustrating and USC should have found a way to win, but they will be almost different team against Coppin State with the likely return of Alex Stepheson (injury) and Marcus Johnson (eligibility). If they lose that one with a full 8 man rotation, then its time to start worrying!

FIGHT ON!

UCR @ USC: A Very Pleasant Surprise

Laughing Stock — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:32:26 -0000

Bumped...Thanks LS! - P

I was debating about whether to go to this game tonight. Really, it seemed just as likely that USC would lose as they would win, but I am pleased to report that it was well worth the trip and that it seems that Kevin O'Neill may have a very competent team on his hands. Certainly I would be hesitant to describe any of the players as "spectacular" or even "explosive" but if very competent gets a comfortable win over a potentially dangerous opponent then I'll take that any day.

[Dwight Lewis splits his defenders and shoots out of the triple team]

All the pieces just came together so nicely. Dwight Lewis scored 22 points on 50% shooting and made 3/5 three pointers. Nikola Vucevic looked like he bulked up over the summer and picked up where he left off from a strong NCAA tournament with 18 points and 8 rebounds while showing off a nice mid range jumper. Kid Euro's skill set will really make him a tough match up, and when all is said and done don't be too surprised if he ends up second team all Pac-10. But the nicest surprise of all was seeing Marcus Simmons not only play tough defense (forcing a couple of turnovers) with occasional hustle plays around the basket, but also creating some offense, getting to the line, and hitting on a couple of jumpers including a tre.

To add to those standout performances Donte Smith hit most of his open shots and seemed much less reckless than last year. O'Neill also made very nice use of his bench and regularly rotated in Davis Rozitis and Evan Smith (who saw 33 minute of playing time) to keep players fresh. E. Smith even hit a couple of shots and I really think that he'll become a Michael Roll style role player who can come off the bench to hit some deep jumpers. I also have to say that it was great to see Kasey Cunningham back on the court, but man he looks like he was living on the streets for the past year or something. I think I might start calling him "the old man".

SC won the game through tough defense and by hitting their open shots. It was really as simple as that. Now is this sustainable? USC has been notoriously poor at outside shooting in recent years so I guess we'll have to wait and see on that. It will also remain to be seen how the Trojans will consistently generate offense and how they respond to teams that use more on the ball pressure. For now though the positives of having an athletic defense along with the prospect of continually adding talent as the season progresses to a team that already appears to be competent far outweighs any concerns for now.

Yeah, believe it or not there is legitimate reason for hope, and the Trojans have at least a chance to suceed in the wide open Pac-10. Its going to be one hell of a season!

EDIT: Just noticed this. Thanks to the Husky Men's BBall Blog (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/huskymensbasketballblog/2010292059_pac-10_mens_bas_1.html)

The Trojans and UCLA each played a Big West team this week. That's where the similarities end. USC beat UC Riverside, which is expected to finish fourth in the conference while the Bruins lost to Cal State Fullerton, which was picked fifth.

Interesting...

A Nice Start to USC's Basketball Season

Laughing Stock — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:34:25 -0000

OK, I guess not technically our season, but ucla lost to Cal State Fullerton in double OT 68-65. Really a very sloppy game for both teams. It seemed like the bruins were taking far too many outside shots and not developing the inside out game when the three just wasn't there. At the same time though CSUF could not finish near the rim to save their lives and it seemed like neither team really wanted to win.

So of course tonight USC hosts UC Riverside which features former Trojan Kyle Austin who was selected pre-season first team all conference. And honestly SC could very well lose this game; Alex Stepheson is dealing with knee inflammation issues and Kasey Cunningham being listed only as probable. Also both Leonard Washington and Marcus Johnson are not eligible to play (although its only for two games for Johnson, have to wait till December for Washington).

I still think the Trojans have the edge with a (likely) starting lineup of Donte Smith, Dwight Lewis, Marcus Simmons, Kasey Cunningham, and Nikola Vucevic, but if they want to win they're going to have to build a lead in the first half and hold it with tough defense as they have almost no bench whatsoever. Well unless you consider a freshman guard recovering from a separated shoulder, a walk on point guard, and an unknown rail thin Latvian giant a bench. Its gonna be a tough battle, and I'm going to try to make it out and grab some pics.

Again thanks to .gif2009 and the somethingawful forums. Happy bye week! You can find the original...

Laughing Stock — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:00:12 -0000

Again thanks to .gif2009 and the somethingawful forums. Happy bye week! You can find the original here: http://i34.tinypic.com/2s0zlvc.gif and the full play here: http://i38.tinypic.com/2qv40sl.gif

Thanks to .gif 2009 from the somethingawful forums. Happy bye week! Original available here:...

Laughing Stock — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:56:14 -0000

Thanks to .gif 2009 from the somethingawful forums. Happy bye week! Original available here: http://dest.tv/images/152fj94.gif

Really cool Aaron Rodgers v Brett Favre art from the somethingawful.com forums. Of course there is...

Laughing Stock — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 05:55:55 -0000

Really cool Aaron Rodgers v Brett Favre art from the somethingawful.com forums. Of course there is the Steelers game first, but who is looking forward to sweeping the Packers for once?

Jay Cutler looking a bit oblivious. What's the deal with the QBs of our division rivals making...

Laughing Stock — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 03:38:13 -0000

Jay Cutler looking a bit oblivious. What's the deal with the QBs of our division rivals making themselves look completely ridiculous? Nice helmet catch though. (EDIT: For some reason the animated gif is loading correctly, so you can see the original here).

Aaron Rodgers, "DRAGON PUNCH". Plus the timing of the touchdown graphic at the bottom is absolutely...

Laughing Stock — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 17:32:20 -0000

Aaron Rodgers, "DRAGON PUNCH". Plus the timing of the touchdown graphic at the bottom is absolutely priceless.

Hat tip to Trojan NYC

Laughing Stock — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 04:14:13 -0000

Hat tip to Trojan NYC