Off The Boards by Jack Scheuer – February 7, 2018

Off The Boards

By Jack Scheuer

February 7, 2018 Edition

Isn’t it past time that the NCAA changes the ridiculous One-and-Done rule, which is nothing but a complete charade?  A perfect example is at Kentucky, where 20, 000 fans cheer their heroes at every home game, even though several of those 10 freshmen “student athletes” will not be around next season. And then there is this: How many of those future pros do you think attend classes following the final game of the season?  Also, how many do you suppose ever return to graduate?  I would think that the Academics at the schools who have players departing after one season, would be very concerned about the situation.  On the other hand, maybe they are all big time basketball fans.

Bottom line: One-and Done should be definitely changed to at least Two-and-Flew.

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Coming into this week, Duke topped the nation in scoring at 89.6 points per game.  Oklahoma, led by offensive machine Trae Young, is second rolling up 89.2 points a game, followed by Villanova, averaging 88.4. Virginia, as usual, was the defensive leader, giving up just 52.3 points per contest.

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Penn’s big win at Princeton last night gives the surging Quakers a leg up on their dive to the Ivy League title. It was their the second win over the Tigers this season, and completed the first sweep since 2008.

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Trivia Time :

Who holds the Division 1 all-time record for most made free throws? Hint: He played for a major college within the past 25 years.  Answer at the end of the column.

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That Joel Embiid is something special is obvious, but the big man should really work on cutting down his turnovers.  He has 166 this season, tops among all the other true centers in the league.  The only other big man close is Dwight Howard who has turned it over 155 times.

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This and That: St. John’s did Villanova a nice favor by upsetting Duke.  Now there’s no way the Cats’ will have a let-down against the Red Storm tonight at the Wells. … Meanwhile, former star Josh Hart is getting more minutes with the Lakers, and putting up some decent numbers…. Drexel (4 wins in a row) hosts Towson tomorrow night in search of it’s longest unbeaten streak since 2014-15.   Towson defeated the Dragons by 22 earlier in the season…. Can  anybody explain why Lou Williams is about to be moved to his 7th team?  All he ever does is provide solid offense, usually off the bench, no matter who is his employer. His career average is an impressive 18.2 points per game….Temple seems to have gotten it together.  The Owls have won 3 straight, scoring at least 80 points in each of those games.  Freshman guard Nate Pierre-Louis has  been a factor in the turn-around…..B. J. Johnson has a chance to be the first Explorer to win the A-10 scoring title since Donnie Carr in 1996- 97…..Last night’s defeat at Davidson was the 5th straight loss for struggling Saint Joe’s…..The Hawks, playing without two injured starters, are last in A-10 in scoring, and next to last in free throw shooting…..And what ever happened to Jimmer Fredette?

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Answer to Trivia Time : Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough connected on 982 free throws out of 1,241 (79.1%). Nobody else has made more.

 

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