Miah Makes A Difference; Paul Will
Friday - December 21, 2011
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The University of Hawaii men’s basketball team got a significant boost with the addition of Miah Ostrowski.
Available earlier than la st year because the UH football team failed to qualify for a bowl game, the starting receiver shifted into point guard mode very quickly. After just two practices, Ostrowski started against UC-Davis. In 24 minutes he registered eight assists and only three turnovers.
But more than the stat line, Ostrowski brings stability and composure to a team that requires those qualities. His understanding of pace and spacing is a beautiful thing to watch. When running the fast break, he artfully draws a defender before making a pass to a teammate filling a lane.
You hope freshman guard Shaquille Stokes will be able to incorporate Ostroswski’s virtues into his own game.
Hawaii enters a stretch of seven home games this week, and head coach Gib Arnold has delivered the message that you have to bring it in practice if you’re going to play in the games.
In the UC-Davis game, Vander Joaquim, Zane Johnson, Joston Thomas and Stokes all watched the opening tip from the bench. And the intensity level was raised.
This is not the most talented Rainbow Warrior team, but it has a real post presence and couple of good perimeter shooters. It also has some depth, but this group will be carried by defense and great effort.
And they’re really fun to watch.
NBA watchers are making a huge fuss about the trade that moved Chris Paul to the L.A. Clippers. The hope is that Paul teaming up with Blake Griffin will make the Clippers a success at the box office and in the standings.
The trade that could be as big as any thus far might be the deal that brought Tyson Chandler to the Knicks, giving them one of the league’s best front courts, with Chandler flanked by Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudamire. Still, the guard situation is a question mark.
And nobody has changed its roster more than the champion Dallas Mavericks. Owner Mark Cuban subscribes to the “you gotta move if you wanna improve” theory. It will be odd watching Lamor Odom wearing blue and white, and Chandler, Caron Butler and JJ Barrea playing elsewhere. But then this is the man who let Steve Nash get away!
The rushed and compressed 66-game schedule is not universally popular, and might be tough on older teams such as the Celtics and the Spurs. But by playoff time, there’s a pretty good chance that the lockout will be ancient history and all but forgotten.
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