Sunday conversation is starting to worry about Quentin Goodin

Joel

Can someone who watched the game today tell me what’s wrong with my son?

Bryan

He is in love with his jumper.

Donnie

Especially long stepback twos.

Joel

Well it got him thoroughly outplayed by true freshman and zero-star recruit Braden Norris, a 5’11” white kid who weighs about a third of what Q benches. Meanwhile, Q got 33 minutes. Do we have nobody who can play while a member of the coaching staff explains to Quentin the expected point values of shots from various places on the floor?

Bryan

I might be armchair quarterbacking here, but part of it has to be that when he drives and gets contact, which is where he excels, he often is going to get the brunt of it on his left shoulder, which he is still wearing a brace on and seems to me like he is favoring.

Scruggs was solid at point, right up until the refs took him from 2 fouls to 4 fouls in the time it took Paul to commit exactly 0 fouls.

Brad

He looked lazy to me, and he kind of has all year. He’s not crisp with the ball around the top (an accusation that can also occasionally leveled at Naji) and, like the other guys said, he’s really willing to rely on that jumper.

One play really stood out to me re: not working. Oakland missed a shot and Naji had worked hard to get position and seal. While he held his man off, Q stood stock still and let his guy zip in and grab the board. Guard rebounds are infuriating, especially when the guy who gets it should be no physical match.

Bryan

Again, it might be laziness or it might be that a month ago his shoulder was dislocated and he is still wary of it getting bumped. I am not necessarily he is right to be, just that he is a college kid who really wants to help is team but is worried about aggravating a recent injury.

Joel

For what it’s worth, I’ve had the same injury Q has. It’s one of many ways we’re very, very alike. I picked it up almost 15 years ago and it still bothers me, so I get why he would be ginger with it. On the other hand, he’s not performing and the portion of the schedule where that’s viable is going to be gone in another month. If he’s hurt, he should rest. If he can go, he needs to. Limbo isn’t helping anyone.

In other news, Markus Howard just dropped 45 on 17 shots against Kansas State. I’m sure he won’t destroy us at least twice this year.

Brad

I don’t see us going any better than .500 in the conference this year with this defense. We allowed a point per possession to Oakland, Creighton probably isn’t terribly scared. Happy Buckeye Death Day, everyone!

Joel

I know you basically can’t maintain an erection unless you’re being needlessly contrary about something popular, but I’m kind of with you on this one. The absolute and unearned arrogance of Ohio State football fans makes it a little bit gratifying every time something bad happens to the program. I’d be ready to see them get the death penalty except for how it would sadden Bry and your lovely wife.

Enough about that though. Part of me thinks X was playing down, part of me wonders if maybe we’re just okay this year. I can see us winning 11 games in conference, but I can also see us winning like 5. The potential is there, but at some point in time you need to actually put the horsepower onto the road or it’s fairly meaningless.

Bryan

I think we can take some hope from the 2004 squad. They obviously lost a huge, program changing piece from the year before in West and took until February to find their feet despite being quite talented. Once they got their ducks in a row and started doing what they were good at, they turned out to be an incredible team. No one watching that team beat Oakland by 10 (almost the exact same score) would have predicted an Elite Eight run, but they got there in the end.

I realize that a major difference is that Matta was not a first year coach, but I am just saying that November and December struggles do not necessarily spell doom for a team that is replacing this much talent.

Also, I think you probably grossly overestimate the amount of college football I watch.