Rosiak has a blog now .. it's probably better than his stories, as they're sanitized for the masses. It should definately be on your reading list.
Here's his entry for today:
http://www.jsonline.com/blog/index.aspx?id=308&month=2&year=2007Saturday's tidbitsMarquette Golden Eagles coach Tom Crean, hit hard by the flu bug on Tuesday, was feeling slightly better on Saturday despite losing his voice for a spell in the morning.
And while he wasn't making excuses he noted afterward that Dominic James, Wesley Matthews and Jerel McNeal were all feeling under the weather to varying degrees along with some of their teammates.
Matthews was the hardest hit. Crean said the sophomore guard spent much of Friday vomiting, and Matthews even had to leave the floor of the Verizon Center at one point in the second half to vomit again.
Crean said he'd taken precautions during the week to keep away from his players in an attempt to keep them from catching the same bug he had.
"I haven't been around them," Crean said. "In practice (Friday) I wasn't in huddles and things like that. I couldn't talk. I have been very careful to have as little contact with them as possible. But there's something going around."
Uphill battle: With Matthews under the weather and Jerel McNeal battling foul trouble for much of the game, the struggles of James and freshman backup David Cubillan (1 for 8 shooting) were magnified.
"We're so dependent on our guards to play well," said Crean. "And when they don't, or when they're not able to due to health and things like that, it really affects us."
Reeling: Despite a poor shooting night against Providence, Crean said he was nonetheless pleased with James' floor game against the Friars. He had seven assists without a turnover in 34 minutes.
James neither shot nor ran the team well against Georgetown. He was 2 for 17 from the floor and had three assists to go along with two turnovers.
The sophomore guard is now 3 for 24 from the floor overall in his last two games and 0 for 10 from three-point range.
"I just have to get back to doing the things that I’m accustomed to - give my teammates good looks at shots, not worry about my own shots," he said. "My shot selection today probably looked very poor and that probably just comes from not getting my teammates involved enough."
Crean said James' admission he played a poor game did little for him.
"I'm not interested in guys taking responsibility. I'm interested in guys coming back and doing something about it," Crean said. "Looking at things after a loss really makes no difference. It's what you can get done during the game and what you're willing to do in the next one.
"The practices will be intense. If you like to get better, move the ball, they'll be fun. If you don't, it'll be tough. Because we have got to go home and get better in a short period of time in order to go on the road again."
Going deep: Junior forward Ousmane Barro put up his second straight double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds while freshman forward Lazar Hayward got back into the starting lineup and responded with a collegiate-high-tying 14 points in 14 minutes.
Also of note was the fact that Crean played nine players in the first half because of Matthews' illness and McNeal's foul trouble - including the seldom-used Mike Kinsella and Lawrence Blackledge.
In all 10 players saw action. Senior forward Jamil Lott was the lone scholarship player not to get into the game.
"Ousmane just continues to play at a high level," Crean said. "(Blackledge) came in and was solid for us, Mike Kinsella was solid for us. But the bench got shorter in the second half with Wes and in the first half with Jerel."
Shooting around: MU next plays Wednesday against DePaul at Allstate Arena. The Blue Demons (14-11, 5-6) beat Notre Dame, 67-66, on Thursday...
Crean and his assistants wore black sneakers as part of Suits and Sneakers, an annual event to raise awareness for cancer research held by the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the American Cancer Society...
Georgetown freshman guard Jeremiah Rivers, son of all-time MU great Glenn "Doc" Rivers, was scoreless in eight minutes against his father's alma mater...
Among the luminaries in the crowd was former National Football League commissioner Paul Tagliabue, a Georgetown graduate...
Many all-time Hoya greats were in attendance for Georgetown's introduction of its all-century team at halftime. Garnering the biggest cheers were Patrick Ewing and Reggie Williams, who were in attendance, and Allen Iverson, who was not...
