Thank You Venoy

Thank you Venoy Overton. Thank you UW basketball. It is because of you that I have put the failings of UW football, the Mets and the Panthers as well as the future failings of the Devils and Nets behind me. I am just giddy that you guys are back. You see, you play an exciting brand of basketball that makes me fall in love with you every time I see you. Now I know that there will be some rough spots (like when the Cougs slow the game down and make you run a half-court offense or when some stupid team in the NCAA Tourney throws a zone at you), but those are just speed bumps meant to slow you down. Just seeing you play all-out defense is enough to make me come back for more. Your games are track meets and I'm not sure anyone can keep up.

I love watching Venoy bug the hell out of his opposition. He is the Claude Lemieux of college bball - you know, the guy who opposing teams hate to play against, opposing fans love to taunt, and the guy who teammates LOVE to play with. He is not the most physically gifted offensive player, but he gets under your skin on the defensive end. You might be able to keep him out of your head for awhile, but at sometime you are going to snap. Maybe it will be a turnover. Maybe a stupid foul. Hell, maybe you'll give him a cheep shot. And then he's got you.

Combine that with the defensive tenacity of Isaiah Thomas and Justin Holliday and the dominating inside presence of Matthew Bryan-Amaning on the block and it is going to be a long game. It will be impossible for this team will hold opponents to less than 50 points a game because of their up-tempo style, but they are going to score more than their opponents. They are going to force turnovers and they are going to push the ball down the court. I'm not sure there is a better team in the open court than the Dawgs.

So yeah, it is going to be fun. I am quietly optimistic that this will be the year the Dawgs make it past the Sweet 16, but as was the case with recent years I am a little worried about their lack of height. They create mismatches against most teams when they play small ball, but if they are forced to play some Big East team with three 7-foot giants come tourney time, we might be in trouble. Still, that is in the distant future. For now, I am going to sit back and enjoy every moment.

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