Offiical Pre-Season NIT Thread

[Saulbadguy]

#2 Wake Forest Demon Deacons vs George Washington...on ESPN2. Experimental rules in effect.

[Dr. Johnny Fever]

Go Columbus Thailers.

[ArrowheadHawk]

go gw lets lose the wf champion talk and continue the KU talk

[ChiefsCountry]

It east coast crap anyway.

[Skip Towne]

Aw c'mon, George Washington has been dead for a couple hundred years.

[Boozer]

Aw c'mon, George Washington has been dead for a couple hundred years.

Sad to see those grade school pals pass on?

[Saulbadguy]

Sad to see those grade school pals pass on?
Skip isn't that old. He did vote AGAINST George Washington, though. Haven't you heard him..."Don't blame me, I voted for the other guy!"

[Saulbadguy]

35-33 Wake Forest with 6 left in the 1st half..and ESPN analysts have only slobbed over Chris Paul 37 times.

[DJay23]

35-33 Wake Forest with 6 left in the 1st half..and ESPN analysts have only slobbed over Chris Paul 37 times.
Chris Paul is a fine player, but the hype around him is too sickening. The day analysts (other than Jay Bilas) grow a brain and actually ANALYZE the game and it's players, is the day I'll actually not have the tv on mute during anything but a KU game.

[DJay23]

Where's KingPriest? The #2 team in country is only leading by 6 w/ a minute left in the first half at home versus and far inferior team.

[HolmeZz]

You guys would trade Miles for him in a heartbeat.

And George Washington's not a push over. Most think they'll win the A-10.

[DJay23]

You guys would trade Miles for him in a heartbeat.

And George Washington's not a push over. Most think they'll win the A-10.
I would not trade Miles for anyone. Aaron Miles is the perfect point guard for KU. He doesn't look for his shot, instead he PASSES first, which is what a point guard should do. KU has enough people who can score. I'm a little disappointed that this Chalmers kid we're getting next year sounds a little like the Chris Paul type. Lead your team by creating for others, not being a one man show.

[HolmeZz]

You're calling Chris Paul a shoot-first point guard?

[DJay23]

And Digger opens his mouth and proves my point.

He says KU is overrated at number 1. No 3 point shooters.

Heard of J.R. Giddens, Digger? How about his 40% from beyond 3?

He sites the game at Nebraska saying we played horrible road defense last year. Fair enough. But did he bother to look at trends? How about the end of the season and how well the team came together?

Eat it Digger. Hater.

[DJay23]

You're calling Chris Paul a shoot-first point guard?
Well I haven't watched much of this game, but when you're a point guard and lead your team in scoring at the half, that's usually not a good thing.

The "point" is, if you lose just that one man for a game, there goes your general AND your leading scorer.

[HolmeZz]

Well I haven't watched much of this game, but when you're a point guard and lead your team in scoring at the half, that's usually not a good thing.

You probably should watch the game then.

It's not a good thing when you're the only one scoring. He isn't the only one scoring. He's a point guard who can pass when he has to AND score when he has to; something Miles isn't.

I'm not gonna argue against Miles being better for the Kansas system though. You'd know better than I would. :p

[Infidel Goat]

I'm a season ticket holder, so I just returned from the game.

Chris Paul is a minor deity in Winston Salem--and rightly so.

He splits defenders like a ginsu knife, rarely takes bad shots, creates lay ups for himself and teammates, and he causes foul problems for those who try to guard him closely.

If he goes pro this year, he should be the #1 pick (imo).

Still, I hope he has the good sense to stay in school for the full four years (a la Tim Duncan). Lawrence Joel is becoming a fun place to watch basketball--and this team should be even better next year.

Without Paul, WFU is a top twenty team. With him, they'll contend.

Wake still has the same weaknesses as last year, though. They have suspect perimeter defense and they shoot poorly from the free throw line.

Go Deacs!

--Infidel Goat

[DJay23]

You probably should watch the game then.

It's not a good thing when you're the only one scoring. He isn't the only one scoring. He's a point guard who can pass when he has to AND score when he has to; something Miles isn't.

I'm not gonna argue against Miles being better for the Kansas system though. You'd know better than I would. :p
The stats I saw at the end of the game had Paul with 25 pts and 5 assists. Don't get me wrong I think the guy is phenomenal. I wouldn't mind one bit if he played in Lawrence. I admire that he went to his hometown team.

It's personal preference I guess. I'd prefer my point to have excellent passing skills first, a quick first step and penetration ability second, solid defensive skills third, and scoring ability 4th. It seems Paul may have all of those in abundance. But when you are playing as a team, I think it makes more sense to fill roles rather than cross them. I want my points coming from the paint or from a slasher/jump shooter, not the guy who's supposed to spread the ball around. In the end though, points are points no matter who puts them on the board.

If Paul goes down, season is effectively over for Wake. If Miles goes down, KU's season is in jeopardy, but I feel confident that Mike Lee (and Russell Robinson) would do an adequate job in his stead. I doubt Wake has any 3 or 4 guys on the bench who could compensate for all that Paul does for Wake.

[DJay23]

I'm a season ticket holder, so I just returned from the game.

Chris Paul is a minor deity in Winston Salem--and rightly so.

He splits defenders like a ginsu knife, rarely takes bad shots, creates lay ups for himself and teammates, and he causes foul problems for those who try to guard him closely.

If he goes pro this year, he should be the #1 pick (imo).

Still, I hope he has the good sense to stay in school for the full four years (a la Tim Duncan). Lawrence Joel is becoming a fun place to watch basketball--and this team should be even better next year.

Without Paul, WFU is a top twenty team. With him, they'll contend.

Wake still has the same weaknesses as last year, though. They have suspect perimeter defense and they shoot poorly from the free throw line.

Go Deacs!

--Infidel Goat
Great insight thanks. The crowd was really into the game. Sounded fun!

[Infidel Goat]

If Paul goes down, season is effectively over for Wake.


So untrue. This team has so much more depth and talent than they had during the Tim Duncan years.

Paul was joined on the Jr. Olympic squad by Justin Gray this year. Eric Williams would have been on the team if he didn't come down with a mystery illness during the tryouts.

Visser is probably as good as Williams. And Songalia (who was awful last year coming back from an injury) was once good enough that he was voted first team preseason ACC.

Strickland, Downey, and Levy would start at a bunch of schools.

Wake Forest will wear out most teams because they have depth and play up tempo. They'll lose a handful of ACC games (and probably a few other--like their game at Illinois this year), but they are hardly a one person team.

On a very good night, they could beat KU without Chris Paul. That's the type of talent they have.

I'll call 26-6 pre-NCAA tourney.

--Infidel Goat

[DJay23]

So untrue. This team has so much more depth and talent than they had during the Tim Duncan years.

Paul was joined on the Jr. Olympic squad by Justin Gray this year. Eric Williams would have been on the team if he didn't come down with a mystery illness during the tryouts.

Visser is probably as good as Williams. And Songalia (who was awful last year coming back from an injury) was once good enough that he was voted first team preseason ACC.

Strickland, Downey, and Levy would start at a bunch of schools.

Wake Forest will wear out most teams because they have depth and play up tempo. They'll lose a handful of ACC games (and probably a few other--like their game at Illinois this year), but they are hardly a one person team.

On a very good night, they could beat KU without Chris Paul. That's the type of talent they have.

I'll call 26-6 pre-NCAA tourney.

--Infidel Goat

Again good insight. Some things I didn't know. I totally forgot about Gray.

Songalia? Seems like he was a senior when Duncan was a freshman! How many more years of eligibility could he possibly have?

Anyway, that record sounds about right. Because of the tougher conference, Wake will lose it's share of games compared to teams in less imposing conferences. IMO they'll end up a 2 seed in their comfort region in the tourney.

I don't know about all this, "Beating KU without Paul" stuff, but then again, maybe I've bought into the oral sex every magazine, website, and TV analyst has been giving to Paul this preseason.

Good Luck this year!

[DJay23]

Again good insight. Some things I didn't know. I totally forgot about Gray.

Songalia? Seems like he was a senior when Duncan was a freshman! How many more years of eligibility could he possibly have?

Anyway, that record sounds about right. Because of the tougher conference, Wake will lose it's share of games compared to teams in less imposing conferences. IMO they'll end up a 2 seed in their comfort region in the tourney.

I don't know about all this, "Beating KU without Paul" stuff, but then again, maybe I've bought into the oral sex every magazine, website, and TV analyst has been giving to Paul this preseason.

Good Luck this year!
Then again, on a good night any top 25 team can beat any other top 25 team on a given night.

[teedubya]

i was thinking how funny it would have been if a Mizzou fan had started this thread.

[HolmeZz]

Visser is probably as good as Williams. And Songalia (who was awful last year coming back from an injury) was once good enough that he was voted first team preseason ACC.

Songalia's long gone, dude. I think you mean Danelius.

As for Wake's depth, it's great. I like Downey and Strickland a lot.

[Bearcat]

#2 Wake Forest Demon Deacons

I watched the last 15 minutes, and it was almost like watching an NBA team... no ball movement and bad shot selection. Then again, when you shoot 70% for the half, I guess it doesn't matter :shrug:

[Swanman]

35-33 Wake Forest with 6 left in the 1st half..and ESPN analysts have only slobbed over Chris Paul 37 times.

Typical ACCSPN dumbassery. I can't wait until Wake comes into Champaign and Deron Williams shows the country on national TV that he deserves to be regarded as a top guard as well. That game may be the best matchup of the season up to that point but both teams should be in the top 5 when they play.

[Infidel Goat]

Again good insight. Some things I didn't know. I totally forgot about Gray.

Songalia? Seems like he was a senior when Duncan was a freshman! How many more years of eligibility could he possibly have?

Anyway, that record sounds about right. Because of the tougher conference, Wake will lose it's share of games compared to teams in less imposing conferences. IMO they'll end up a 2 seed in their comfort region in the tourney.

I don't know about all this, "Beating KU without Paul" stuff, but then again, maybe I've bought into the oral sex every magazine, website, and TV analyst has been giving to Paul this preseason.

Good Luck this year!

Yeah. I meant Danelius (but was right on the preseason All ACC part last year). Songalia was playing for Sacramento a few years back, but I'd guess he's back in Europe right now. I wish I could suit Songalia and Josh Howard up again. And at least I didn't conflate Danelius with Ricky Peral whose wife, incidentally, may be my wife's new doctor . . .

I'd guess we'd beat KU without Paul about half the time on our home court. Without Paul, we'd be lucky to win 1 in 10 at Allen Field House. In other words, KU would clearly be a better team than Wake without Paul. With Paul, I'd guess the home team would win 75% of the time at either location.

KU (from my days growing up in Kansas) is still my second favorite team so I'll always root for them unless they meet Wake in the tourney. I'm jacked up to have season tickets for Wake this year. I'll usually be one of the idiots in section 213 (behind the giant Tim Duncan jersey), but last night a buddy of mine got us an invite from an assistant athletic director--so I was sitting with he and Jerry Haas--and was a stones throw away from Andy Katz and Mugsy Bogues.

--Infidel Goat