comes in Brown from the
highest grade level,
my peeps and welcome to the all things basketball podcast with your boy G D.
known to be charging oriental
medals and medals,
shame.
Is by Vince
In this episode, I'll be covering women's college basketball guys.
I have the big 10 championship game, also the SEC championship game
Mead Gr gettin his
and all the fireworks there.
brother from the
Also the ACC championship game as well as the Pac 12 championship.
home Orange
Also, I'll be talking about some injury news in the NBA and your players
of the week. So just sit back, relax and enjoy the show.
OK, guys, it's your boy G D.
Back with all things basketball with G D.
Podcast and this episode, I will be doing my week 19 recap guys.
A lot of news here, a lot of news, so we will get right into it.
This past week, we saw a lot of championships in the collegiate women's game.
So we're going to start off there, guys.
I want to zero in on four games that took place on Sunday.
First, we start with Iowa.
Iowa wins their big 10 championship beating Nebraska in overtime.
Ninety four to eighty nine in a game where Caitlin Clark.
She actually got off to a slow start, guys.
She started the game over nine from three
and she ended up in the first half with four points.
But as the old saying goes, you can't keep a good woman down.
So she ends up in the game with 34 points and a lot of key points
in that over time as well.
She would finish with 34 points, 12 assists, seven rebounds and three steals.
Fantastic game for Caitlin and mind you guys,
along the way in the tournament, Ohio State got upset.
In fact, they got upset in the quarterfinals.
So that kind of cleared the path for Iowa a bit
because you would have had the rematch between Iowa and Ohio State
on neutral grounds, of course, but that wasn't to happen, guys.
So you have that.
And then on the losing side for Nebraska, Alexis Markowski,
their center, she had 23 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, two steals.
And then Natalie Potts, 21 points, nine rebounds, two steals.
So with that said, Iowa looks like they're going to end up with at least
a one or two C guys could possibly get a one depending on how the
committee looks at things.
So it looks like Iowa is in a prime place heading into these tournaments.
So of course, we'll see how that goes.
Moving on to the next game, one that I caught a bit of.
And that was the ACC championship between Notre Dame and North Carolina State
with Notre Dame winning that 55 to 51 in a game where NC State actually led
after three by two points, 43, 41, but Notre Dame was not to be denied.
Hannah Hidalgo.
This is actually my first game that I got to watch her play.
And she was good in this game, guys.
Twenty one points, six assists, six rebounds, two steals for her.
So Hidalgo, the freshman sensation, leading her team to the ACC championship.
So you got to take your hat off to her and Neil Ivy, the coach over there.
Doing a great job with that team.
It has that team poised at a nice C going into the tournament.
So definitely Kudos to Notre Dame for getting it done.
Moving on to the prime game, guys.
And this was in the SEC championship.
South Carolina against LSU.
We saw these two battle back in late January, guys.
A game where LSU led most of the way and then let it slip away from them in the
four quarter as Angel Reese got into foul trouble.
And in this game, it was pretty much nipping tuck in the first half.
South Carolina with Lee by four, 36 to 32, thanks to a late run in that first
half by South Carolina, named the first half of the season.
South Carolina, namely Malaysia, Fulwally, their rookie sensation over there.
And then in the second half, it was just rough.
The whole game was rough, to be honest with you guys.
We'll get to the little scuffle in a minute.
But I think it was incumbent upon the referees to kind of hone in the physical
play because there was a lot of it, guys.
But in the end, South Carolina prevails 79 to 72.
And a game where LSU was down one of their key players last year, Poa,
she went down for them in that Auburn game where she had what they
are demonetized as a concussion.
But she's coming along nicely from all the reports I'm getting.
So we hope to see her in the NCAA tournament.
So in this game, Malaysia, Fulwally, she ends up with 24 points and two steals.
Thus winning the tournament MVP.
And then you have Angel Reese.
She finished with 15 points, 13 rebounds on that hobble ankle that was
pretty much swallowed up on her, but she toughed it out.
Anisa Morrow, 19 points for her, 10 rebounds for steals.
And you got other contributions.
Vlajaye Johnson, she had about 12 points and then you can't
count out Haley Van Liff as well.
But guys, the real attention is on the scuffle that took place very late
in the game, maybe about two and a half minutes to go where Vlajaye Johnson,
she intentionally fouls Fulwally.
And then from there, her and Ashlyn Watkins, because she did kind of a
aha sort of thing in Flajaye's face.
And Flajaye kind of gave a little shoulder shove.
And then Camilla Cardoza knocks Flajaye to the ground, which sparks both
benches to kind of get into it a little bit.
So much so that Flajaye's brother, who was in the stand leaps over and
comes to the court to try and get at Cardoza.
My new Cardoza is about six, eight.
And then if you include her high hair, she's probably close to seven feet.
But nonetheless, thankfully the police there was able to contain him.
Yeah, it was just a mess.
And, you know, you go on social media and all these kind of places.
Angel Reese, she went the other way because she had tweaked that ankle.
So she was definitely not getting herself into any kind of fights or anything
like that.
It wasn't even a fight to begin with, be honest.
One player shoved the other player and then everybody just got
testy about it.
So that was about the size of that.
It took a while for the race to begin with.
It took a while for the refs to kind of sort things out.
And then when the dust settled, they threw Cardoza out the game.
And then now she's going to be suspended for the first game of the NCA
tournament.
And then the players that left the bench for each side with the exception
of Deanna Pow Pow, the South Carolina team had their five starters plus
pow pow, whereas LSU just had their five starters that was on the floor at the
time.
They lost all their bench players, so they had to play the rest of the game
that way.
And then you have after the game, Dawn Staley, she immediately apologizes
when she was interviewed.
She apologized for the team's behavior and so forth and that she takes
accountability for what happened on the court.
And then also in the post game, she reiterated what she said while she was
on the court there.
Whereas Kim Mulkey, she was in her press conference and she basically said
she wished that Cardoza would have pushed Angel Reese like that.
And basically citing that a player Cardoza side should be picking on
Flajie and knocking her down like that.
So that that should have been between the two players that were joined
at each other and not for Cardoza to be in the mix.
Here's what I will say, because a lot of people are killing Kim Mulkey on
social media and then on these different shows.
And it's funny because, you know, the Michelle Obama slogan, when they go
low, you go high.
Well, Kim Mulkey, she's not from that school.
When you go low, you basically go lower, which is funny because one of the
people critical of her, and I love the guy, is the guy who's
Shannon Sharp.
He was definitely critical of Kim Mulkey for saying that, but he's the
same guy who says when they go low, he goes to the basement.
So, so I got to push back a little bit on Shannon Sharp with that one.
Here's what I'm going to say in terms of Kim Mulkey, because, you know,
people have come out and they already don't have a great love for Kim Mulkey
for a variety of reasons.
The strange relationship she has with Britney Griner and then also even her
as a player when she used to play, she was on a winning team, La Tech,
that won all the time.
So you have that built in as well.
And, you know, her showy outfits and things like that.
Here's what I'm going to say.
I actually think it's an instance where two things can be true.
I thought the way Dawn handled it, massively, wonderfully, she took
accountability for her team and that was just awesome.
Wonderful.
And at the same time, Kim Mulkey is standing up for her player, a smaller
player, and you got to remember something guys.
I think this gets lost in the whole analysis of what Kim said.
Kim was that small player when she played feisty.
So she kind of identifies with Flajie in that situation to be a little feisty.
I think that gets lost.
Kim Mulkey was once a player and she was one of those players who didn't
back down, no matter what the size of the person was.
So I think that gets lost in the whole deal, but she was protecting her player.
And you know what's funny too, if this was a male coach saying this, we
wouldn't even be talking about it.
We would not be going off the rails about it.
It's the fact that it's a woman's coach saying this about a woman player
on another team who should be pushing their taller player.
Again, if this was a male coach saying this, it wouldn't even be a headline.
So I think that's the whole thing about the whole situation that kind of gets
me to have a raised eyebrow about it.
Hey, I stand with Kim Mulkey as far as that goes.
You want your coach to be standing with their player in that
regard and a lot of people will say, Oh, why Angel Reese didn't go up in there.
She had just rolled an ankle guys.
So she is not going to go up there and, you know, start tussling with people.
And then you have this crowd that says, Oh, she didn't go in there because
her and Flage got beef.
I mean, come on guys.
That is so far from the truth.
And the fact that she had to go on social media and kind of explain herself
is what's wrong with social media to begin with.
That's my opinion in that regard.
So I'll just leave it right where I left it at.
So South Carolina gets to win.
And of course, there'll be a number one seed, obviously, probably in the South,
I would imagine.
And in terms of LSU, I bet not see them lower than a two C guys.
They've been tough all year long.
All their losses were early in the season.
They played a tough conference tournament here, one in which they lost players
left and right.
They had players with injuries and so forth.
So I think the committee should take all that into consideration and get no
lower than a two C.
I'd be stunned if they get lower than a two C, to be honest with you.
That's all I say about that.
And then the final game that I'll talk about is the Pac 12 championship,
Pac 10 championship.
The final game I'll talk about is the Pac 12 championship.
From what I'm told, this is going to be the last one in terms of that conference.
So it was a contest between USC and Stanford and mind you, the prior meeting,
that's where Juju Watkins, another freshman dynamo.
She scored 51 points against Stanford for a win.
And in this game, she wasn't so great guys, but USC got to win anyhow.
74 to 61, a game where they led at the half by nine and then they just ended
up cruising to victory.
In this game, guys, like I said, Juju was off only nine points for her to a 15
shooting and three rebounds.
But mind you, the prior game guys against UCLA, she rolled her ankle.
So she was less than 100% in that championship game.
She was helped out by her teammates.
Mackenzie Forbes had a fantastic game.
26 points, five rebounds, three steals.
And Mackenzie Forbes, a senior, she's a transfer out of Harvard.
So you're talking about going from that situation to the big time here at USC.
And she performed very well.
Also, you got contributions from Kayla Padilla.
She had 13 points and four rebounds and Ray Amarsha with 10 points and 18
rebounds for her two steals.
And on the Stanford side, Cameron Brink, 19 points, 10 rebounds, six blocks guys.
And then Kiki Arifin, she had 18 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
So USC wins that last Pac 12 championship.
And this puts them in a very good place, guys.
We're looking at a one or two seed for them.
Stanford, I'll be interested to see what kind of seed they get.
Probably maybe knocked down to a three seed, perhaps that Pac 12 was very
competitive guys and for USC to prevail, you definitely take your hats off to them
for what they accomplish. So that is your wrap up as far as the championship Sunday
goes. We're still waiting to see teams like UConn, what they do in the Big East
tournament, teams like Texas, teams like Oklahoma and their Big 12.
Also Gonzaga, you look and see what they do in their championship
tournament over there as well.
So a lot of things still on the line.
Guys, and more than likely, I'll cover it in the next recap.
All right.
So with that said, let us turn our attention to the NBA players of the week.
Luca Donkage for the Dallas Mavericks.
Guys, he's been on a tear as of late guys.
In fact, he's had a six game 30 point triple double streak, which is a record
in the NBA.
So Luca doing big things there.
But during this week, he was two and one.
He got victories at Detroit and then at home against Miami.
The one loss was against the Indiana Pacers guys.
Luca for the week, 37.7 points per game, 10.7 assists, 10.3 rebounds and
over a steel per game guys.
He shot it from the field, 51.2% from three.
He shot 38.4 and then from the free throw line of his 20 attempts, he missed only two.
But Luca, I tell you what guys, he's putting up MVP type numbers.
Despite the fact that his team, they are nine games over 500 as of this
recording, they're in eighth place, but they're only two games out of that six C guys.
And bear in mind to that a team like Minnesota now without Carl Anthony towns.
And you got teams above you like the New Orleans Pelicans, the Phoenix Suns and
the Los Angeles Clippers.
So if any of those teams were to stumble a bit, maybe Dallas can rise up, but
definitely Luca is playing MVP basketball right now where his place would be amongst
those being considered is tough to say, but he's definitely balling at the right time.
Late in the season, you want to see that.
So we'll see what happens with Luca and his Dallas Mavericks.
In the East player of the week, DeMar DeRosen of the Chicago Bulls.
His team went three and one for the week.
Guys, they all they wins were on the road guys and as well as the one loss.
They beat Sacramento.
They beat Utah.
They beat Golden State.
And then they did lose to the Clippers.
DeRosen for the week, nearly 30 points per game.
Six point three assists and five and a half rebounds for him.
Shot it from the field.
55%.
And guys, you know, he does a great job.
A lot of threes, but he did make five out of 14 for the week.
And then at the free throw line out of 27 attempts, he only missed two like Luca did.
So Chicago kind of in that bottom rung there, maybe they can climb into the play in
picture, but they got a lot of work ahead of them to do that guys.
So that is your players of the week.
Now let's talk injuries.
Stuff guys. All right, we will start with Russell Westbrook.
I had talked about it in the previous recap about the broken hand.
He's week to week guys following hand surgery and that he injured on March 1st.
For the Clippers right now, Russ is considered week to week.
So they'll take it on a week by week basis.
How he does.
I don't foresee him coming back to the team.
I don't foresee him coming back.
Maybe the beginning of April because Russ is a guy.
He sees tough as nails.
So possibly you'll see a April return for him.
We'll see how that goes.
And then Scotty Barnes, remember he injured it the same night as Russ for the
Toronto Raptors.
He's out indefinitely after a hand injury as well.
And he had surgery on the hand.
So we'll see what happens.
My guess for him, they're saying indefinitely, but I think at this point,
Toronto's probably wants to take a knee on the rest of the season.
So I think they'll probably hold out Scotty Barnes.
I'd be stunned if he were to return before season's end.
Russ, on the other hand, you know, his team is in playoff contention.
So I see more of the pressing need for Russ to come back than a Scotty Barnes.
That's the way I'm looking at that.
All right, so let's continue.
Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
He's been out guys since February 28th.
He's had that bone bruise in his knee.
Perhaps we'll see him this week.
Not sure about that as of yet, but I'm sure the Cavaliers want to
proceed with caution.
The only thing guys is that things are so bunched up in the east that you
really can't afford to have too many slip ups.
So if I were to gather, perhaps we'll see him this week.
We'll see.
And then also his teammate, Evan Mobley, out for at least a week with an ankle
injury.
So the news gets even worse for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Mind you, you had Darius Garland out for a while.
He's back now.
And then now you're without Donovan and Evan.
Cleveland Cavaliers is going to have to man the ship until
reinforcements are on the way.
Let us move on.
Bismac-Bianbo.
And what was the scary situation guys for the Oklahoma City Thunder?
He was hospitalized after collapsing while on the sideline during a March
six game versus the Portland Trailblazers.
Bit of a scary sight.
I saw the video of it.
No serious medical issues were found and he was cleared to play which he
ended up doing on March 10th.
So in a matter of a couple of days after he was cleared for play and he
ended up playing guys.
So what start as a scary situation turns out what I would say probably
dehydration maybe that sometimes that could kind of get to you if you're
not hydrated enough.
So that could be the case here.
I'm just making a guess here, but Bismac-Bianbo.
He's okay guys, thankfully.
So that's a bit of good news.
Carl AFNITOWNS.
I mentioned he suffered the Torminiskis and that was on March 4th and that
was versus the Portland Trailblazers.
So he's out for a month guys.
Huge blow to the Minnesota Timberwolves who are right now in the
third spot in the West.
They're only about two games up on the Los Angeles Clippers.
So definitely something you want to keep an eye out for.
Hey, listen, they can't afford to slide down too much.
They got kind of a nice cushion beyond the Clippers.
So if they were to fall, I think at this point, could they fall out of the
sixth spot?
It all depends guys.
It depends on the health of guys like Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert.
You're going to need those guys to be healthy.
And Mike Connolly, you know, you never know with him.
He has hand string history there.
So they're going to have to be healthy going down the stretch.
So we'll see what happens with them.
Ben Simmons guys has been ruled out for the rest of the season guys and
what is being deemed as a nerve impingement in his lower back.
So the Brooklyn Nets pretty much airing on the side of caution.
They shut him down for the season.
Guys, this has been a pretty difficult situation over there.
He's only played in a matter of a couple of years, 51 games.
I think that was what I saw.
That's not good guys.
So with Ben Simmons, the good news for the Brooklyn Nets coming up is his last
year of his deal that will pay him next year.
40.3 million dollars.
So that money will come off the books following the 2024-2025 season.
Would you be able to move that contract?
Maybe somebody would want that expiring contract just so they could have that
money fall off their books.
I guess there's intrigue in that regard.
But I think a lot will depend on what he does in the off season going into
the training camp, the preseason and into the season.
I think at this point right now, I don't think anything will happen as far as
him being moved or anything of that nature.
I'm talking when the season's over, of course, guys.
We'll see what happens.
I don't think I could say any more about it than that, but you wish Ben Simmons
well, whatever's ailing him, you wish all the best for him and that he can get
back on the court doing something he knows how to do.
Let me just put it that way.
With that said, let's move on to another Ben.
Ben Maffarin of the Indiana Pacers.
He's the undergo shoulder surgery guys.
So he's going to be out for the rest of the season.
The Pacers, they're airing on the side of caution by having Maffarin.
You know what?
You got this shoulder thing going on.
Let's just shut you down.
We're doing okay.
We're doing all right, but we need you for the future.
So they do the right thing in that regard.
He played 59 games for them, averaging 14 and a half points, four rebounds to assist.
You saw him during All-Star weekend when the MVP for the Rising Stars Challenge.
So you know the promises there, guys.
He shot at 44.6% from the field, 37.4 from three, and then over 82% from the
free throw line.
So Ben Maffarin, an important piece in terms of the future of the Pacers.
So they're doing the prudent thing and keeping him out for the rest of the season.
So of course we wish the best for him as well.
Let us move on.
More recent injuries, guys.
Alperin Sengun, who's had a very good season under the radar for the Houston Rockets.
He was carted off with a lower leg injury, guys.
MRI is to come.
So he's out indefinitely from the early reports I'm hearing, guys.
It's a bit of good news.
The MRI looks pretty clean.
So it looks like he dodged a major bullet.
So for the moment, he's out indefinitely.
Right now, they're 29 and 35.
They are four and a half games out of the last playing spot.
So tough break for Houston.
If they were to try and climb, you have so little gains, not much time.
Will he be back before season's in?
Not too sure, guys.
If you're Houston, you definitely want to think towards the future.
You don't want to rush him back and things were to get worse.
So I say more likely than not, you've probably seen the last of Sengun for the season.
That's what I would say if I were running the Rockets.
Running the Rockets and then the final injury.
I'll talk about Steph Curry, guys.
He suffers an ankle injury.
He know ankle injuries has been his bugaboo just about his whole career.
And he suffers one March 7th against the Chicago Bulls.
He's going to be out two games and he's actually to be re-evaluated on March 12th.
Haven't got any word in that regard.
So you're hoping that it's minor, it's not anything too serious.
And you know, they're in the play in position as well right now.
Looking to kind of climb up.
They have been playing well as of recently to lose Steph would be a major blow for them.
So you're hoping that Steph can get back on the court quick, fast in a hurry.
All right, guys.
So what I'll do is I guess I'm going to have to break it up, guys.
So I have another bit of news to give you.
So we're going to split this up.
It'll be a two-parter, guys.
All right.
So with that said, I'll see you on the other side where we'll have more news, guys.
Once again, thank you as always.
All Things Basketball with GD.com.
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