I must admit at the outset that I have not watched much basketball in the last two decades. I never missed a home game during my four years at NU and had purple-seat season tickets for a more than a decade thereafter, but turned away from the game in the '90s. There were three reasons for this: (1) The expansion of the NCAA tourney combined with a Big Ten tourney to make the regular season pointless. Few remember, or care, who wins the Big Ten - it simply does not matter. All that matters is who is selected for the NCAA tourney and who makes the final four. When winning or losing games makes no difference, I find it hard to watch them. (2) The guys cannot shoot! It is frustrating to watch games in which nobody can shoot. I even see layups being missed. Today's players have great moves, but forget to put the ball in the basket. (3) Palming the ball, which is really traveling, is never called.
So, the success of the 'Cats last year brought me back, at least to the TV if not to McGaw Hall. The problems persisted, but I still reveled in the luxury of watching a winning basketball team. However, what I see again this year is very poor shooting. This problem produces losses, boredom, and frustration - both for fans and players. Where is Jeff Gross?
So, the success of the 'Cats last year brought me back, at least to the TV if not to McGaw Hall. The problems persisted, but I still reveled in the luxury of watching a winning basketball team. However, what I see again this year is very poor shooting. This problem produces losses, boredom, and frustration - both for fans and players. Where is Jeff Gross?
