Loading ...The other White meat
11 comments
by webstaff | Tuesday, December 12, 2006 - 7:36 pm UTC
As a journalist, it is imperative for us to perform objectively and not pick favorites. That’s why you don’t see us cheering on press row or wearing jerseys to games.
That rule of journalism is the exact reason why I don’t have a favorite player on the Hoosier basketball team. That rule of journalism is the reason why I don’t pick favorites or campaign for specific player’s playing time. I don’t touch that conversation. I let Coach Sampson make those decisions.
But if you really, really twisted my arm, and this is purely hypothetical, and I had to choose someone because my life depended on it — it would be Mike White. At first, it was a little bit of a running joke (laughing with, not at you Big Mike), but after looking at his statistics I think it’s time to make the case for “The other White meat.â€
The Hoosiers are 3-1 in games that White plays double-digit minutes in. The only loss on White’s record came in the Duke contest, where White played 25 minutes and pulled down eight rebounds. Outside of Suhr, no one played with more energy that night, and Mike, not D.J. helped keep the Hoosiers in the game.
White’s season low in minutes came against Butler (2) and Kentucky (5) – both which resulted in Indiana losses.
The Louisiana native is second on the team in minutes per rebound, pulling down a board every 4.1. Surprisingly, White is second to Rod Wilmont, who comes in with a rebound every 4.4 minutes. D.J. White is third, with 3.6.
I’m not ignorant to some of White’s faults. He is a lot closer to 6-foot-4 than he is 6-foot-3. His foul shot is medicore. And he doesn’t really have much range. But he’s a bruiser. He gets a lot of rebounds and keeps the ball alive. With a guard orientated offense, the Hoosiers could use an extra guy rebounding and not looking to get his own shot off.
Like I said, I’m a journalist, I don’t take favorites. I don’t tell Coach Sampson how to do his job. I’m totally neutral. People look at me and think I’m Swedish. And I most certainly, do not take favorites. That being said, if you really made me choose somebody…
I sure would like to see more of “The other White meat.â€
I think our win-loss record with Mike White in games has much more to do with our opponents than Mr. White’s contribution to the team.
Plus, it’s Swedish.
You’re right, the opponents most likely played a large role in that record. But I think that proves that Sampson isn’t comfortable putting White in against the tougher teams.
It could also be that Mike has a really tough time defending the taller physical guys on the other end of the floor. It does not do much good to get rebounds if they can score on you at will.
The biggest problems with White are that he can’t defend taller players, he can’t hit free throws, and he can’t finish under the basket. I agree that he should see more time than he did against UK, cause he is a beast, but he needs more basketball education on how to play to his strengths. He needs to front in the post when he’s defending a taller players, and he needs to be instructed not to go up in traffic. He either misses the layup when they could have gotten the ball back outside and reset the offense (for our purposes here, we’ll call it an offense, mostly because in spite of its simplicity and lack of motion, it’s still better than the Davis version of the 4-around-1 where the post player stands out at the top of the key), or he gets fouled then goes to the line to miss a couple free throws.
i wouldn’t call yourself a journalist if i were you. your grammer and writing ability grade out at the junior high level. btw, there’s no such word as orientated.
Dude, orientated IS a word. Plus he can spell. I bet if you asked him, he could spell GRAMMAR.
Eric is right, orientated is a word and I can spell. Watch:
H-y-p-o-c-r-i-t-e.
I would say my writing ability is at least…high school sophomore level, anyways.
Weren’t the Swiss notorious for being neutral…not the Swedish?
the word is “oriented”. you probably think “notated” is a word, too. on the plus side, you are a good spellar.
as an aside, i think the math quiz (anti-spam) is limiting responses from your hoosier faithful
From http://www.askoxford.com (that’s Oxford, as in the folks who put together a little dictionary you may or may not have heard of).
Which is the correct spelling: ‘oriented’ or ‘orientated’?
It really doesn’t matter: it’s a matter of personal taste. Orientated is currently preferred use in general British use. Oriented is prevalent in technical use, and in the US.
Orientate means to turn to the East, as in the Orient. To orient oneself (small ‘O’) is to familiarize, whereas to be oriented around something is to be centered around it. Object orientation means centered around objects and comes from to orient not to orientate.
unless matt is british, i would surmise he is under 30 and a product of our embarrassing education system and therefore doesn’t know any better