Post-up? Double-down?
In the previous post I traced my roots through a pigskin upbringing and revealed my late life introduction to basketball. There is so much to catch up on … so much to learn. How long has it been since I went to a basketball game? Let’s just put it this way - that was when the “girls” team was six players, and as I recall the balls were still square. As I watch the games and listen intently to the sports pronouncers, I marvel when they talk about doubling down as I try frantically to figure out just what the hell they’re talking about. But before I get that one nailed, they mention that so-and-so is posting up. Whaaaa…? Huh? Did what in the paint?
Sure, I know the basics … have since high school when I went to games primarily because I dated a cheerleader who had to be there, and I surely would not want to let her down! She could shake her very large pom-poms better than any of the others, except maybe that guy they had on the cheerleading squad. But he wasn’t my type … ‘nuf said.
Developing roundball fever this year, and following it into the Big Dance (the NCAA Tournament for those of you who are as uninformed as I was last year), I have learned the following astounding facts:
- The Final Four does not include an ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference) team for the first time since the earth cooled.
- For the first time since 1975, the Final Four does not include a team from the ACC, Big Ten, Big East, or Big 12 conferences. The SEC has two. GO SEC!
- For the first time since 1980 and the second time since the NCAA began seeding in 1979, the Final Four contains no No. 1 seed.
- I now understand the difference between a 3-2 zone and a popcorn machine.
- George Mason U. (whoever they are, wherever they are from) is only the 2nd team in history to make the Final Four from a seed position as
lowhighbad as No. 11.
Some other things that I haven’t quite figured out yet:
- What the hell is a seed?
- In the womens’ game, why do they still call it man-to-man (often shortened to just man) defense?
- Why do they use a possession arrow instead of a jump ball on a tie-up?
- And then there’s that little matter of post-up and double-down…
5 Comments so far
I haven’t followed basketball for years, but I do remember when I was in an all girl high school in the early 50’s, it was our one big sport. Guards only played half court. Isn’t that weird. It was as though, we were too delicate to run the full length.
I grew up in a family that LOVED sports…all kinds. I was a cheerleader in high school and became even more familiar with all the various terms…particularly in basketball and football. I always felt like I had a handle on what was going on. I’m no different as an adult. I still LOVE sports. Living in a suburb of Chicago…I was glued to the television for every game of every season during the Chicago Bulls’ magnificent run. If ever there’s something I don’t understand, I just have to ask my son, Joe; who is a walking encyclopedia on any stat, term or player of ANY sport. I don’t expect it will change; and I’ll leave this earth a diehard Cubs fan…without ever seeing aWorld Series Trophy. Hey, at least we had the White Sox last year. -Joy
Yo, Joy… Go Cubbies!
I actually know the answers to a couple of your questions:
A couple of years ago, I got sick of wondering and not knowing, and so I looked the definition of “seed.” One of its meanings is to “place.” So, a seeding in a tournament is a placing, a ranking (in this case, according to someone’s sense of a team’s strength relative to that of the others in the tournament). Your beloved Tennessee Volunteers, for example, were seeded 2nd in their bracket in this year’s tournament (UConn was the #1 seed in that bracket), the same as the mighty Texas Longhorns in theirs (Duke being the #1 seed in THAT bracket).
Some years ago, the college game switched to the possession arrow on tie-up situations because, it was felt, the jump ball slowed down play. Another, unofficial, reason, I think, is that I have heard announcers say on TV that referees HATE doing the toss for jump balls (too hard to get it right).
John, thanks for edifying us. On the jump ball situation, I think it must be the second one - refs hate it. If they were so concerned about slowing the play or lengthening the game, they would have done something about all the timeouts they allow, especially the ridiculous ones called by an airborne player as they are sailing out-of-bounds with the ball.