give thanks

sitting in bergen county, awaiting beloved guests, we conjure friends and places far flung.  veritably i see kentucky, arkansas, the dakotas, seattle and brooklyn – all possessed of america’s hardwood love and especially blessed this season.  for lo, we have been vouchedsafe a glorious victory.  indeed, the columbia lions, undaunted by their close loss to a resilient marist squad, traveled to the green rim of philadelphia and humbled the villanova wildcats 75 – 57.  true,  jay wright’s five has struggled the last two seasons to regain its accustomed ncaa tournament cred but they are not unreasonably considered a top 100 team, and i don’t think i mischaracterize the outcome of the contest when i say it was a generational win.  i can’t remember so significant a triumph since autumn ’76 when coach tom penders loosed alton byrd, ricky free and juan mitchell on a rutgers crew that had beaten the lions by 30 the previous year (while on its way to the final four) and ran the scarlet knights out of madison square garden. then, as on tuesday just past, we caught glimpse of a thrilling, bright future.  now, as the boys travel to san francisco for a holiday tournament, let us hope coach smith continues to refine their habits as they point toward the challenges of december and the not distant trials of the  ivy schedule.

prefatory jubilations aside, whence this elevated enthusiasm?  allgame’s attentive readers recollect that late last season i urged coach to consider going to the 2 – 3 zone as his primary defense.  (those who dozed may want to revisit “linsanity at levien” as well as “buzzer beater”).  so imagine my elation last saturday when the lion five came onto the floor at levien in precisely this configuration.  the loss to marist revealed the vulnerabilities of the scheme as well as what the boys still need to learn about it, but also convinced me of its fitness for this squad.  down along the baseline, the starting trio of sophomores alex rosenberg and cory osetkowski and senior center mark cisco is long and mobile.  these three fellows are spelled by tough senior john daniels and new comers zach en’wezoh, isaac cohen and maodoh lo.  later this autumn we hope they will be additionally reinforced by skylar scrivano.  regardless of the combinations,  they all need to improve their rebounding within the zone, but then again this is an issue for almost any team playing the 2 – 3.  only coach  jim boeheim has managed to consistently solve the problem.  we earnestly hope for hard work and improvement in this regard from the frontcourters.  denying opponents second shot opportunities will be crucial for the lions’ success.  up top, the lion guard rotation features senior brian barbour, the team’s sparkplug, rehabbed sophomore steve frankoski and first year grant mullins, a breath of canadian fresh air.  the backcourters are quick and aggressive with mullins and frankoski especially closing down passing lanes while helping the big boys to pressure the corners.  they have to work on getting back up top a step and a half more quickly, as they can be hurt by good outside shooters.  this was exactly the case against marist red foxes who rode a trio of scrappy, accurate snipers to a 67 – 62 win.

at the offensive end, the young lions will be very important.  so far this season, alex rosenberg’s performance has been critical.  when a.r. plays well, columbia is very tough.  when he struggles, the boys in blue do too.  mark cisco has been slow out of the blocks offensively so far.  against marist he could not score in the post and was inconsistent with his mid-range jumper when he bounced outside.  he barely appears in the villanova scorecard.  cory osetkowski has some range but must look for his shot more aggressively.  in the marist match, he had 5 points in the first three minutes and then did not score again until very late in the contest.  he must become a reliable step out four.  steve frankoski, on the other hand, has not seen a three point opportunity that he doesn’t like.  when he is on, columbia’s dribble drive scheme is tough.  when he’s off, they struggle for points.  finally, the ball is truly in brian barbour’s hands.  the point controls columbia’s destiny.  we know of a certainty that in close second halves he will be eager to drive the middle and move to the charity stripe where he is a better than 90% shooter.  the more often that happens, the more wins for the blue.

so please, as you ponder whether that last dollop of mashed potatoes requires a final spoonful of gravy, as you dab apple pie from your lips, remember what brings us together on this greatest of holidays.

peace out and d up,

paulie b