OBSERVATIONS: Points, point, points and more points. . .and four defeats

By Hal McCoy

UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave, sitting in my La-Z-Boy while Nadine does her four miles on the treadmill. . .and when she is finished we both are in the same spots.

—Dr. George Barber is neither a medical doctor nor a hair-trimmer.

Dr. Barber is a basketball coach at Greenville University, a Division III liberal arts school in Greenville, Ill. with 875 students. He employs a method of play he calls ‘The System.’

And how does ‘The System’ work? It employs a game-long full-court pressure defense and the Panthers take the first available shot. That means a blizzard of three-point attempts.

How is it working? So far Greenville is 0-and-4 and in fairness the Panthers are playing Division I schools.

The results so far:

(-)Murray Stater 173, Greenville 95.

(-)Samford 174, Greenville 99.

(-)Kansas City 138, Greenville 97.

(-)Illinois State 177, Greenville 105.

Greenville plays in the Division III St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and does much better against teams its own size. Last season, Greenville defeated Fontbonne, 200-146.

Against Samford, Greenville trailed at the half, 102-50. In its most recent gamer, Illinois State scored 93 points in the second half. Illinois State lost a game this year to Ohio 94-67.

Dr. Barber has coached at Greenville for 21 seasons after serving as an assistant to Rick Pitino when the University of Kentucky won the national championship in 1992.

For the record, the highest scoring college basketball game in history was enacted in 1992: Troy 258, DeVry 141. The highest scoring game between two Division I school happened in 1997: TCU 153, Texas-Pan American 87.

So far this year, Greenville has been filling in for teams that opt out of games due to the Covid-19 virus. And the Panthers are looking for games.

Well, Purdue-Fort Wayne canceled its game with the Dayton Flyers scheduled for UD Arena next Tuesday. Is Greenville available?

—QUOTE: From former North Carolina State coach Norm Sloan on the zone defense: “I hate it. It looks like a stickup at 7-Eleven. Five guys standing there with their hands in the air.” (At Greenville, defense is an obscene word.)

—Bill Walton II: Finally, during all his jabbering during the Davidson-Texas basketball game, Walton said something interesting. He went on a long diatribe praising former University of Dayton guard Johnny Davis.

Walton and Davis played together in the NBA for the Portland Trailblazers and among many things Walton said: “Johnny Davis is the fastest player I ever saw on a basketball floor. And it remains so to this day.”

Walton, though, never mentioned that Davis played at UD. He was too busy talking about his playing days at UCLA.

—So see if I have this right. The Denver Broncos lose all their quarterbacks to Covid-19 protocol and are forced to keep their date with the New Orleans Saints. They played the game without a true quarterback. They got waxed, 31-3, and completed one pass the entire game.

But the Baltimore Ravens lose their quarterback and some other players to Covid-19 protocol and the NFL postpones their game against the Pittsburgh Steelers about four times before forcing them to play Wednesday afternoon.

What did Denver do to tick off the NFL hierarchy? Does somebody other than Cleveland Browns fans despise Broncos general manager John Elway?

—Why do accomplished and well-trained broadcasters keep sticking size 12s in their mouths.

Former Bengals broadcaster Chris Collinsworth is one of the best football analysts in any broadcast booth. But he opened wide and inserted a Cole Haan in his mouth this week during the Steelers-Ravens game.

He said he was shocked that so many women in Pittsburgh were fans and knowledgeable about pro football. Ouch.

The blowback from women nearly blew him out of the booth. . .as it should have. He meant it as a compliment, but in these politically correct days it is Type-A sexist. It was like saying he is shocked that so many men are fans and knowledgeable about women’s tennis or women’s soccer.

—QUOTE: From humorist Will Rogers: “There are two theories to arguing with a woman. Neither works.” (Write that down, Chris.)

—Middletown native Kyle Schwarber was non-tendered by the Chicago Cubs and becomes a free agent. Pout? Blast the Cubs? Blow up Wrigley Field?

Not Schwarber, a genuine class act. He left a message on Twitter that ended: “. . .I’m forever grateful for my teammates, coaches, staff and the fans. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart. Until we meet again.”

And Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo is Public Enemy No. 1 to Reds fans and pitcher Amir Garrett, but he is a hero to many.

The Anthony Rizzo Foundation donated 500 meals and 200 cups of coffee to staff members working with Covid-19 patients in Illinois and Florida hospitals.

—QUOTE: From British novelist/journalist Jilly Cooper: “Never drink black coffee at lunch because it will keep you awake all afternoon.” (And here I thought all Britishers drank tea. And I’m one of the lucky ones. I can drink black coffee at 9 p.m. and sleep all night like a hibernating grizzly.)

—Played a horse this week at Tampa Bay Downs called Whispering Rose. It stumbled to its knees out of the gate and quickly fell 15 lengths behind the pack. It recovered to finish fourth, just out of the money. Such is horse racing.

—QUOTE from cantankerous journalist H. L. Mencken: “The dumbest animal on the planet is a horse, other than than the horse’s owner.” (To say nothing of the degenerates who wager on them.)

—Somebody recently opened a ‘Wild Axe Throwing’ establishment in Beavercreek. Alcohol is available. Now what could possibly go wrong?

Is Ed Ames the instructor? Look it up, kid, under Johnny Carson axe-throwing incident.