Mon Feb 16, 2009 12:18 pm EST
Want to see something awesome? Correction: Want to see two awesome
things? Watch college basketball. It's happening all around you.
It is rare enough that college hoops gets not one, but two utterly
dominant, clearly-playing-in-the-wrong-league big men in, say, a five-year stretch. Who was the last one, Greg Oden? Even GODE didn't put up
numbers like this. In 2008-09, we have two of these guys in the same
season. If you haven't been doing so already, this is your call to
enjoy it. You don't want to miss performances like these:
Hasheem Thabeet, Saturday vs. Seton Hall: 39 minutes, 25 points, 20 rebounds, nine blocks, ONE FOUL, 10-of-13 from the field.
Blake Griffin, Saturday vs. Texas Tech: 31 minutes, 40 points, 23 rebounds, 16-of-22 from the field.
Yes, you may feel free to read them over and over. I have. It's already
Monday. These things happened on Saturday, you've likely read three or
four game recaps and seen the highlights and still -- still -- I feel
obligated to talk about them. They're just that beautiful.
Of course, neither performance was against top-tier talent, but if
anything that goes to show just how far Thabeet and Griffin are above
the rest of the NCAA. Average college talent falls low in their wake.
They are world-destroyers, bent on collegiate basketball dominance. For
Griffin, performances like that prove his continued stature as the most
pro-ready player in next year's draft. For Thabeet, they prove that
people who doubt his worth as a lottery pick -- who think his
offensive game is adequately bad that he shouldn't be held in such high
regard -- are completely wrong. You draft nine blocks and one foul. You draft it high, and you pay it a lot of money. Sometimes, basketball is just that simple.
The Dagger is a college basketball blog edited by Jeff Eisenberg. Email him, and follow him on Twitter.

Posted Jan 28 2010
Posted Jan 28 2010
Posted Jan 28 2010
Edited by MJD
Edited by 'Duk
Edited by J.E. Skeets
Edited by Greg Wyshynski
Edited by Matt Hinton
Edited by Chris Chase
Edited by Jay Busbee
Edited by Jay Busbee
Edited by Steve Cofield
Edited by Chris Chase
Edited by Chris Chase
Edited by Brooks Peck
Edited by Andy Behrens
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