NIT loss, the day after
COUGARS
We just made the C to D stroll at SeaTac, so we finally have time to check out the reports from last night. With the late starting time and the limited access, we don't have our usual comments, but we do have some thoughts. Read on.
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• A couple random thoughts and questions … Where did Klay Thompson's shot disappear to? The freshman struggled the final four games of the season, failing to score in double figures in any of them. His 1 of 11 game against UCLA was followed by a 2 of 11 effort Tuesday night. And many of those shots were good looks in rhythm. His struggles took one of the three main legs out from under the Cougars' offense. ... Where did Marcus Capers' shot appear from? The freshman hit 3 of 5 attempts and all three makes were jumpers from 10 to 15 feet. That may have been the most pleasant aspect of the defeat. Unless, of course, it was Mike Harthun's career-high 14 minutes. The freshman played with better poise and contributed on both ends. ... Was this DeAngelo Casto's best game? It might have been. The freshman – sense a trend here? – did a passable job defending Diamon Simpson, keeping him off the offensive glass for the most part, and showed once again his offensive game is improving. Six points and five rebounds in 24 minutes just hints at what's to come. ... How much better is St. Mary's with a healthy Patty Mills? Talking with observers ranging from sports writers to an administrator to fans, they all agree the Gaels are a different team when he's hitting on all cylinders. The matchup Monday with Stephen Curry should be a classic and definitely worth watching.
• Now on to the links. We had the quick and dirty version of our story here and the cleaned up mess in the paper here. Freelancer Howie Stalwick had this piece for the Times. There was also this short blog post at the P-I. Is this the future? ... The San Francisco's Steve Kroner has his game story while there was this from the San Jose Mercury News.
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• That's it for this morning. It's time to start thinking about spring football, which starts next Thursday. We're working on a weekend story. And we want to take a final look at the basketball season. We'll post as events warrant. Until then …
