Skilled, Willful, Arrogant and...
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Obnoxious. The 80% Marcus Smart who plays winning, intuitively highly skilled collegiate basketball is a competitive force to be reckoned with. The 20% posturing flim-flam in-your-face performer is a private and public detriment, the eventual cost of which will torment any NBA franchise brave enough to gamble on the positive returns for a shaky investment. Last night Marcus Smart presented a testament to the mercurial person and player he really is. No escaping the juxtaposition of a marvelously shining yet disappointingly tarnished gifted athlete. Even while willing his team to victory he cannot avoid the tawdry gametime maneuverings and glib verbal taunts which illuminate his inherent psychological makeup. As a total package Marcus appears to be on track to become a sleepless nightmare for the coach and general manager who must pay the boundless cost of his controversial and challenging grandstanding. One thing for certain: the franchise which inherits him should now know full well the ups and downsides of the player being drafted.
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@REHawk great post! NBA guys will kill him, he won’t be taunting, won’t be on the floor.
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Last year I was impressed that he came back to play for OSU. This year he has shown us all the REhawk wrote. So happy we don’t have this kind of cr*p going on at KU, and if I were an NBA coach I wouldn’t risk him.
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@REHawk so will smart win tonight?
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@Crimsonorblue22 Tonight?
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@REHawk ha ha, the Oscars!!!
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@Crimsonorblue22 Good one. I was a little slow on that too.
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A question, I heard some of the Espn guys say regarding the tourney, that osu shouldn’t be penalized for losing while smart was out, for punishment!!! Well, if we sit out Embiid does that work for us, even if it’s health and not an assault?
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Something Dana O’Neil of espn.com touched on after Smart’s incident at Lubbock and subsequent suspension is how absent Travis Ford is in this whole saga. It was apparent again last night. After a horrible first half, espn’s sideline reporter (wasn’t Holly Rowe or Doris Burke, some gal I’d never heard of) asked Ford after Smart’s first half struggles, how do you get him back on track. Her response was that he sorta shrugged and said something to the effect of “I hope he has a better second half.” You hope? Top notch coaching there Travis. Shortly into the second half Marcus Smart came down the court and bricked a ridiculous 3 point attempt, prompting Jay Bilas to say that Ford needs to take him out to let him know that kind of selfish shot selection isn’t OK. Nothing. Ford left Smart in the game. It’s apparent that Ford just let’s Smart run roughshod over him and has absolutely no control over his team. Another thing that struck me last night was the sideline reporter saying that even after a 16-3 start, Ford felt the team was “disjointed.” Yet, we all know he did nothing to act upon this feeling, instead he stood idly by watching Smart implode and in essence sink their season.
I know we’ve all grown accustomed to trashing the coaching abilities of Scott Drew & Rick Barnes (and to a lesser extent, Bruce Weber), but Ford may be the worst offender of all.
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@icthawkfan316 Very, very true. It’s the reason why Ford may still be on the hot seat. OSU has three (kind of 4) really talented players on their team, and Ford provides nothing as a leader.
In terms of talent, it’s as if he’s got a supermodel in bed and doesn’t know what to do. The fact is, he’s not a very good coach. What’s been killing me all day is that we played sooooo horrible last night and still should’ve won that game by double digits.
Lost in all of Smart’s BS is that Markel Brown is the best player on that team. It’s funny to me how he sneaks under the radar the way he does. He doesn’t rely on theatrics to get his points like Smart does, he just plays ball. I don’t really know what to say because I find myself liking Markel Brown while Smart represents everything that is wrong with basketball.
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@MoonwalkMafia funny! Supermodel! Agree about Brown! Need to watch osu-ksu? I think tomorrow. Never know what smart will do or maybe, just maybe, someone will make him pay for the flopping!
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Smart made Ellis looks like a judo champion in that act. I wish that was real. If Ellis is that strong, we will sure get the NC as we will have a trio of Bruise Brothers!
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You nailed that post! And you did what many of us can’t do… you did in with few words! Bravo!
I watch some pro ball… but only a few teams and some of the playoffs.
In the old days, there were teams like the Detroit Pistons. Laimbeer and crew were the bad boys of the league. If a team like that still existed, I could see them licking their chops to obtain Smart. Smart could easily turn the corner and just become a total bad boy.
But I don’t know if there are any of those teams today… with a reputation for controversy and chips on their shoulder of another variety… more of a chip about their manhood. Something eating on a guy who wants to push back too hard and it isn’t really relating to basketball.
I used to like Marcus Smart. I liked his tough, competitive nature. But he crossed a line where he sold out his dignity for a cheap call. That bothers me more than a player who runs his mouth. Some players are so gifted at winning psychological battles (like from running their mouths). In that sense, it becomes part of the game and can impact outcomes. Should it be a part of the game? Yes it should, because basketball is a game for humans, not robots. And psychology is a part of all aspects of our lives. We will never get to the point where we sterilize aspects of our lives. Fears, emotions, intimidation… it is part of the human experience, and it will remain in basketball.
Concerning Smart’s comments that he wasn’t going to let us cut down the nets in Stillwater… big deal. He did what he had to do to get up to win the game. He may have helped his teammates lift their games, too. It’s just chatter… in that regard, he’ll fit perfectly in the NBA because it is full of chatterboxes. Eventually, the people that talk too much have to eat their words anyways. Marcus will probably spout out again soon, and there is a good chance he will help motivate another team… it may even be us!
This is one area where I don’t jive with Jay Bilas. I feel like he is trying to remove the human factor in basketball, to the point where it becomes robotic. His latest rant concerns college coaches and their reactions on the sidelines. He doesn’t want coaches exploding and screaming at refs. I’ll stop watching basketball if the game keeps going in Bilas’ direction. He is a stiff guy and he is forcing his stiffness into the game. It is also in his idea of removing contact from basketball. I’d rather watch a chess match than watch a game that fits his idea of basketball.
