Off The Boards
By Jack Scheuer
December 20, 2017 Edition
One big difference between college and NBA coaches is the way they respond when annoyed by something a player did or did-not do during a game. It’s not unusual to see a college coach go face-to-face with the offender. Frequently with a little bit of salty language involved, or during a timeout, blast his team in the huddle. Rarely, if ever, do you see an NBA coach, with the possible exception of the lovable Gregg Popovich, jump on a player in an angry way. Practice may be a different story, but come game time, you hardly ever see a pro player get singled out publicly. This probably explains why Mr. Bob Knight has never been an NBA coach.
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Hopefully, La Salle’s B.J. Johnson won’t miss too much time because of his recent ankle injury. The 6-7 junior is scoring at a 21.8 clip, and pulling down 9 rebounds a game. He also makes 84.8 of his free throws and handles the ball well. Several pro scouts have made favorable comments about the Lower Merion grad.
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Trivia Time: Who holds the Saint Joseph’s record for consecutive free throws made in one season? Answer at the end of the column.
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Don’t know if you’ve seen him but Oklahoma’s Trae Young can really play. The 6-2 freshman point guard, who hails from Norman, OK, put up 29 points with 10 assists in the Sooners win over then # 3 Wichita State, then followed that with an NCAA record-tying 22 assists and 26 points against Northwestern State last night. He is averaging over 28.5 points and 10.5 assists per game on the season.
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This and That: Former Sixer Lou Williams keeps piling up points wherever he plays. Now with The L.A. Clippers, his 6th team, he’s averaging 19.9 points per game…..A personal observation: Philly hoop fans should be glad that Speedy Morris is in our city…..Hats off to Zach Spiker, who is doing a very nice job with his over-achieving Drexel Dragons who play Loyola tomorrow…..That TV sports show Speak for Yourself is well-named; everybody speaks at the same time…..Ex-Owls overseas: Ryan Brooks and T.J. DiLeo are playing in Germany, Scootie Randall is in Japan…..Marquette guard Marcus Howard is a perfect 36 for 36 from the line this year…..Zach Collins, who as a freshman, helped Gonzaga to reach the finals last season, is playing for the Portland Trail Blazers….On Friday, Jay Wright takes his #1 Wildcats to meet his former team, Hofstra, for the first time. The game is at the Nassau Coliseum…..Also on Friday, Temple visits Georgia and La Salle is at Bucknell.
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Answer to Trivia Time: During the 2007 season, Pat Calathes made 38 in a row,
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And a Happy Holidays to all, and to all, a very Hoopy New Year.
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