Watching Kansas run and shoot last Saturday against Marquette in the Final Four, I had a thought: What's that they're playing?
It's been a long time since I saw that type of game. It made me dizzy.
They don't play that sort of basketball around here anymore. They don't play it a lot of places.
Whatever happened to freewheeling, run-and-gun basketball? Did it go the way of Pete Maravich?
In 2003, the basketball teams in Utah are consistent winners. Four of the state's five Division I colleges made the NCAA Tournament. The Jazz are about to enter the playoffs for the 20th straight year. I can't knock the results.
But I can knock the method.
Would someone please fire up an unscheduled three-pointer just for the fun of it?
When's the last time someone took 30 shots in a game because he was "feeling it?"
If that happened today, Rick Majerus would be on him like an angry hornet.
That's the problem with basketball in Utah. It's successful but uninteresting. The local teams are stuck in the same basic mode. They come down and set up. They pass . . . and pass . . . and pass. They check the shot clock to make sure they don't shoot too early, often passing until seven seconds remain before launching into their attack.
They work on the premise if they pass enough, and remain patient, someone will get an open shot. Problem is if they miss, it's a long wait until the next one. Anyone who is "feeling it" that night will probably lose his rhythm as he waits.
They seem more concerned about getting points off their defense than their offense.
The Utes of this season regularly passed up good shots looking for perfect ones. If the opposing defense played well, they would end up taking a desperation attempt at the end of the shot clock. Sometimes they even took the same shot they passed up at the start of the possession.
They were scared they'd get yelled at if they shot too soon. Worse yet, they might get yanked from the game.
Same thing with the Jazz: Pass, screen, pass, screen, pass and, oh yes, shoot.
It's like driving through a construction zone — lots of stops, obstacles and detours. And if you're lucky, a brief open space.
I'd just once like to see someone set the cruise control on 90.
I laughed this year at the NCAA Tournament when people kept referring to the Runnin' Utes. Please. They stopped running in the 1970s.
The quick answer to such criticism is that none of the teams in Utah are terribly athletic. If you can't run with the big dogs, grab one by the tail.
So go get a few more athletic players. It's been done before.
Majerus has made a career of managing tempo. Though he is a fine coach, his teams aren't the most entertaining. Not one of his teams ranks among the school's top 10 in scoring average. The 1965-66 Utes averaged more than 95 points a game. This year's Utes averaged 66 points a game. Billy McGill (1960-62) scored 60 in a single game!
Likewise, the Jazz have played conservatively for years, driving between the white lines, trying never to take a quick shot unless it's an uncontested breakaway. Rarely if ever do they get fancy. It makes me wonder if Dr. J could have played for the Jazz.
He'd probably have been benched for hot-dogging.
In another era, coaches would tell their players to look for their shot; if it wasn't available, pass. Nowadays it's look for a pass first, second, third and never take a shot just because you're feeling hot.
While some players thrive under such a system, others — such as Britton Johnsen and Andrei Kirilenko — would do better with more freedom.
The deliberate approach isn't a Utah-only thing. Teams around the country are backing out and taking it slow. Of the 27 highest single-season NCAA scoring averages, none has occurred since 1994. Since Loyola Marymount's scoring-crazed days of the late '80s and early '90s, there's been an erosion of high-scoring teams. (The 1991 LMU team scored 186 points in one game.)
I've watched enough years of ball-control basketball that I would now like to see the Jazz score 120 points in a game. I want to see the Utes and Cougars run someone into the ground and beat them by 40. I want to see 10 dunks in a half. I want basketball to be entertainment, not just business.
And I want to know where I can get a videotape of Pete Maravich highlights.
E-mail: rock@desnews.com