Dory, Timon, Twilight Bark and the 2011 Old Spice Classic

By Paul Casey Gotham

Three days and twelve games sit in the rear view mirror. Dayton reigned supreme at the 2011 Old Spice Classic. DePaul, Indiana State and Minnesota registered winning records. Arizona State, Fairfield, Texas Tech and Wake Forest take with them 120 minutes of game experience.

Wins and losses are one thing. How a team can improve and grow from the experience; now that is what is most important. Teams face a few more non-league games before conference play begins. It won’t be long before the urgency of March shifts from sub-conscious to conscious. Maybe it already has.

What, if any, clues can fans gain from the events at the ESPN Wide World of Sports this past weekend? Join me as we wade through these games using as a lens the characters who roam the grounds of Walt Disney World.

General Joe Potter

One of the three sea-faring vessels which transport visitors to the Magic Kingdom – the place where dreams come true. For the many Flyer Faithful who turned the HP Field House into South Dayton for the Thanksgiving weekend, their vehicle for dreams coming true was General Archie Miller.  The last time Dayton won an in-season tournament was 2008.  UD went on to win a first-round game in the NCAA tournament that year.  Will the Old Spice championship become a springboard for UD? Tonight’s game against the University of Buffalo could prove an interesting test. The Flyers will have to avoid any signs of a hangover. The Bulls can get up and down the floor.

The Sorcerer

Granted, Kevin Dillard didn’t have anyone like the mischievous Mickey Mouse deliberately  causing problems for him. Three games of basketball offer enough possible pitfalls. The redshirt junior point guard weaved his way through defenses striking an impressive balance of when to dish, shoot and drive. He turned in a double-double during the championship handing out 10 dimes while cashing in 19 points for the champions. Dillard’s play over the past weekend might have the A10 pollsters reconsidering the Flyers pre-season sixth place finish.

To the rescue

Who saved Wendy when she jumped from the plank? Peter Pan. Dayton’s run to the title might not have happened. Then along came Josh Parker and a 13-point outburst as the Flyers walked their own plank at the end of the first half against Fairfield. The Stags were threatening to take momentum into the break when the guy known as “Juice” went off for three consecutive 3s to go with a layup and a pair from the charity stripe.

Chim chim-in-ey chim chim-in-ey

Bert, from the Disney classic Mary Poppins, turned chimney sweeping into art form.  Unafraid to get dirty he proclaimed “a sweep is as lucky as lucky can be.” Dayton’s Chris Johnson knows no boundaries when it comes to getting it done for his team.  Sure, Johnson has averaged double-digit points the last two seasons. When the Flyers needed someone to get on the floor, there was Johnson and Parker sliding across the hardwood creating a turnover early in the second half against Fairfield. Moments later, Johnson was giving up at least 25 pounds in the post while slowing down the Stags’ Rakim Sanders.

Just can’t wait to be king

It must have seemed like a lifetime ago that Matt Kavanaugh was named All-Ohio at Centerville High.  The junior forward played a total of 337 minutes his first two years at Dayton.  Like Simba coming out of the jungle to claim his rightful throne, Kavanaugh notched his first career  double-double versus Wake Forest and followed that with 11 boards against Fairfield and six in the championship game.

Announcing his presence

There never was any overlooking Thumper.  The rabbit let everyone know he was in the area with a persistent pounding of his paw. It was hard to ignore Minnesota’s Trevor Mbakwe last weekend. Mbakwe’s block of Cleveland Melvin‘s dunk attempt received the widest of wide-eyed reactions. Melvin attacked the cup at full speed when he reared back for what looked like an emphatic jam. Mbakwe calmly put one hand in Melvin’s way ceasing all forward momentum. DePaul led 48–37 at that point. Minnesota went on to win. Mbakwe logged a double-double and took a charge in the lane during the game’s final minute as Melvin thought twice about going for another dunk.

Unfortunately, Mbakwe’s suffered an ACL injury in the championship game and is lost for the season.

10,000 years… 

…can give you such a crick in the neck. Minnesota coach, Tubby Smith, deserves three wishes from Aladdin’s lamp. To say Smith has run into a stretch of bad luck in Minnesota delves into understatement. Mbakwe’s injury is just the latest challenge facing Smith. The one-time national champion coach has dealt with an assembly line of injuries, ineligibility, legal issues and defections during his time in the land of 10,000 Lakes.

Hey! No force fields

Dash loves open spaces. It gives the son of Mr. Incredible a chance to use his super-hero speed.  Minnesota’s Rodney Williams also benefits from space. The 6’7″ forward made the DePaul Blue Demons pay for their insistence in playing up-tempo with a trio of open floor dunks that effectively rattled the roof.

Dunk #1

Dunk #2

Dunk #3

Short-term memory loss

That is the affliction faced by Dory – the blue tang from Finding Nemo who adds to the struggles endured by Marlin in search of his thrill-seeking son. Appreciating Dory’s plight can help one understand the play of Indiana State’s R.J. Mahurin.

“He remembers the plays we get him shots,” said Sycamore head coach, Greg Lansing. “But he doesn’t remember the other plays. ”

Like Dory implores Marlin to “keep swimming, keep swimming,” Mahurin keeps shooting. The sophomore forward came off the bench and gave Indiana State three double-digit scoring performances over the weekend. In twelve minutes of playing time against Texas Tech Mahurin hit 3-of-5 from the field including 1-of-3 from behind the arc as ISU pulled away from Texas Tech, 60-49.

“He’s got courage,” Lansing said of the Rockville, Indiana native. “R.J. doesn’t care. He’s got the guts to step in and take big shots and make big shots.”

In 30 minutes of playing time over the weekend, Mahurin knocked down 11-of-18 from the field contributing 31 points to the cause. At 6’8″ he creates matchup problems.  He can put the ball to the floor for one or two dribbles and create his own shot, but he is at his best roaming the baseline for catch-and-shoot opportunities.  While not grabbing many rebounds, he is still active on the glass and requires opponents to deal with his size. At the same time, he makes it difficult for a post player to chase him on the perimeter.

Speaking of the Sycamores…

 Hi Ho! Hi Ho! It’s off to work we go…

The Sycamores whistle while they work on the defensive end. Rare is the occasion when one can catch a team (not to mention a college team) doing defensive drills in pre-game warmups. The Sycamores bust out the shell drill prior to tip-off. And they break it out with enthusiasm executing pinpoint movement on the flight of the ball. Five guys all hanging on the same string. It was great stuff to watch.

Their defense was on display throughout the three days, but one sequence in particular stands out. The Sycamores forced Texas Tech into three air balls and one shot clock violation in six possessions.  ISU’s defense creates headaches when they get five players between the ball and the rim.  Their weakness is on the glass. Minnesota wore them out with 13 offensive rebounds for 11 second chance points. Mix in a couple of turnovers and undefended baskets at the other end, and that is what Lansing and his crew will need to improve before the Missouri Valley season.

Continuing with ISU…

The twilight bark

Pongo, Perdita and their 101 spotted progeny take the spotlight, but one can not overlook the efforts of all those other canines that aid the escape from Cruella deVil (If she doesn’t scare you, no evil thing will). One in particular, the Great Dane, makes it happen as he is the one at the center of the barking chain.

ISU has the capability of hitting threes in bunches. They went 10-21 against Minnesota. Mahurin, Jordan Printy and Carl Richard all have to be defended behind the arc. Myles Walker is the Great Dane creating space on the perimeter by doing work in the paint. Opponents have to defend Walker. He works on every possession whether with or without the ball making it difficult for opposing defenses to stretch out on the perimeter.

The blue hat

ISU’s Jake Odum thrives on being tight spots. The sophomore point guard is more comfortable slithering and twisting his way through a crowded paint than a wooden stirring stick at the local Sherwin-Williams. Odum often teeters on disaster as he hangs suspended over the baseline before releasing one-handed, shovel passes to open teammates. Like Mickey, who needed plenty of the Sorcerer’s aid, Odum makes his mistakes. He turned the ball over on 14 occasions during the weekend. But his 23 assists, including 12 in a triple-double versus Fairfield, far outweighed the setbacks.

Give me some fin

No one is going to say that De Paul’s Brandon Young is as laid back as “Crush” – the turtle from Finding Nemo.  But the sophomore guard possesses that abstract quality of letting the game come to him. Young’s line for the weekend: 20ppg, 5apg, 2spg and 2topg. All while shooting better than 50 percent (22-40) from the floor. He has range (5-10 behind the arc). He has mid-range. He can create his own shot. He can catch and shoot.

Shere Khan

There is no other way to describe Fairfield’s Rakim Sanders than a man-eating Bengal tiger. Sanders bounces opposing players around the paint in a manner akin to Rodney Rodgers during his Wake Forest days. Maybe Iona isn’t the favorite in the MAAC. That being said, is the Metro-Atlantic in line for an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament?

Clearly, you’ve never been to Singapore

If only Fairfield’s Ryan Olander could stay out of foul trouble. The 7′ center has great touch around the basket as at least one NBA scout commented over the weekend. Olander scored the Stags first eight against Dayton only to find himself, like Captain Jack Sparrow, in a predicament of his own devise sitting with two fouls ten minutes into the game. Olander played no more than 23 minutes in any of Fairfield’s three games.

Sit down before you hurt yourself

Traveling with a Wart Hog and a king in waiting can give a person an inferiority complex. Especially when you are a Meerkat.  Timon makes up for his lack of size with witty quips. Wake Forest’s Tony Chennault brings a chip on the shoulder to the court. The Neumann-Goretti product needs no imploring to drive the ball into the lane. Philly toughness on display. The Demon Deacons are young. They are a year away, but don’t write them off yet.

International flavor

Disney’s Epcot gives visitors a sample of a trip around the world.  The Old Spice Classic brought players from all over the globe.

Arizona State: Jordan Bachyinski (Calgary, Alberta), Jonathan Gilling (Kingstad, Denmark) and Ruslan Pateev (Moscow, Russia)

Dayton: Alex Gavrilovic (Strasbourg, France)

Fairfield: Vincent Van Nes (Dorchester, England)

Indiana State: Mangisto Arop (Alberta, Canada)

Minnesota: Oto Osenieks (Riga, Latvia) and Maurice Walker (Scarborough, Ontario)

Texas Tech: Dejan Kravic (London, Ontario), Ty Nurse (Vancouver, British Columbia) and Kader Tapsoba (Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso)

Wake Forest: Nikita Mescheriakov (Minsk, Belarus)

Batten the hatches the season is upon us.