On the morning of April 11, 2011, University of San Diego basketball coach Bill Grier received a surprise visit at his home from two FBI agents who told him that one of his former players, USD's alltime leading scorer Brandon Johnson, and another ex-USD player named Brandon Dowdy were being charged in federal court at that very moment with trying to fix games.
That information was shocking enough, but when the agents told Grier about the third defendant linked to USD basketball, former assistant coach T.J. Brown -- a man Grier thought highly of even as he dismissed him in 2007 to make room for his incoming staff -- Grier almost had to take a knee. "This thing shook me to my core," Grier said. "It really hit home for me when one of our players approached me and said, 'Coach, I don't know how much of my career was real.'"
On the morning of April 11, 2011, University of San Diego basketball coach Bill Grier received a surprise visit at his home from two FBI agents who told him that one of his former players, USD's alltime leading scorer Brandon Johnson, and another ex-USD player named Brandon Dowdy were being charged in federal court at that very moment with trying to fix games.
That information was shocking enough, but when the agents told Grier about the third defendant linked to USD basketball, former assistant coach T.J. Brown -- a man Grier thought highly of even as he dismissed him in 2007 to make room for his incoming staff -- Grier almost had to take a knee. "This thing shook me to my core," Grier said. "It really hit home for me when one of our players approached me and said, 'Coach, I don't know how much of my career was real.'"
Okay let me respond to this post. I follow the Summit League about as close as anyone. I have personally seen Oakland play twice and seen them on tv about a dozen times. Reggie Hamilton is an amazing athlete and I honestly think he has a legit shot to work his way through the D-League and make an impact in the NBA. His biggest problem is going to be his size but that has not stopped other players. I think this guy is instant offense and could be a great 6th man eventually.
That being said the fault of this game had to do with the OAK head coach. I said all along that the way SUU plays basketball OAK can run them out of the arena (sort of like what Bo Kimble and Hank Gathers used to do but of course not at that level). Their game plan is to get more shots than you and convert at a higher percent = WIN. They don't expend much energy on the defensive end of course that leads to turnovers at times.
Now the OAK head coach appearently believed they had this game in the bag because about the 10 or 12 minute mark he starts slowing the game way down which is playing right into the hands of SUU. This game them time to reset their strong half court offense and also allow them to catch their breath to make one final run. If OAK continued to run all game there is NO WAY and I mean NO WAY SUU wins the game let alone covers. OAK could have named the score and would have won by at least double digits.
Did Hamilton make mistakes... HELL YES. Those turnovers were just sloppy but in fairness a couple of them were fumbled by his teammates. The miss free throws killed me the most especially from an 88% free throw shooter with the game on the line but if you watched the game you could see on his face that he was nervous as hell. Momentum completely shifted to SUU and basically Hamilton and OAK chocked/$hit the bed. In no way or shape do I believe Hamilton or OAK shaved points or attempted to lose the game. OAK has been the gold standard in the Summit League for some time and they have a lot of pride. I cannot tell you how many times OAK and their fans took over Frost Arena in Brookings, South Dakota. That is a long ways from Rochester, MI.
It was a BAD loss yes. OAK should have covered and won absolutely but that is all it is. Sometimes you get luckier than $hit and sometimes you get unluckier than $hit. That was your night last night. Just move on and forget it. BOL!
Okay let me respond to this post. I follow the Summit League about as close as anyone. I have personally seen Oakland play twice and seen them on tv about a dozen times. Reggie Hamilton is an amazing athlete and I honestly think he has a legit shot to work his way through the D-League and make an impact in the NBA. His biggest problem is going to be his size but that has not stopped other players. I think this guy is instant offense and could be a great 6th man eventually.
That being said the fault of this game had to do with the OAK head coach. I said all along that the way SUU plays basketball OAK can run them out of the arena (sort of like what Bo Kimble and Hank Gathers used to do but of course not at that level). Their game plan is to get more shots than you and convert at a higher percent = WIN. They don't expend much energy on the defensive end of course that leads to turnovers at times.
Now the OAK head coach appearently believed they had this game in the bag because about the 10 or 12 minute mark he starts slowing the game way down which is playing right into the hands of SUU. This game them time to reset their strong half court offense and also allow them to catch their breath to make one final run. If OAK continued to run all game there is NO WAY and I mean NO WAY SUU wins the game let alone covers. OAK could have named the score and would have won by at least double digits.
Did Hamilton make mistakes... HELL YES. Those turnovers were just sloppy but in fairness a couple of them were fumbled by his teammates. The miss free throws killed me the most especially from an 88% free throw shooter with the game on the line but if you watched the game you could see on his face that he was nervous as hell. Momentum completely shifted to SUU and basically Hamilton and OAK chocked/$hit the bed. In no way or shape do I believe Hamilton or OAK shaved points or attempted to lose the game. OAK has been the gold standard in the Summit League for some time and they have a lot of pride. I cannot tell you how many times OAK and their fans took over Frost Arena in Brookings, South Dakota. That is a long ways from Rochester, MI.
It was a BAD loss yes. OAK should have covered and won absolutely but that is all it is. Sometimes you get luckier than $hit and sometimes you get unluckier than $hit. That was your night last night. Just move on and forget it. BOL!
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