College Basketball By The Tweets: Bill Self Dancing, Michael Carter-Williams losing, #NCAAOscars
Posted by Nick Fasulo on February 27th, 2013
Remember back in the fall when North Carolina State was the trendy pick to contend for a Final Four berth? Following a Sweet Sixteen appearance, C.J. Leslie was coming back to lead a team with a solid point guard and top flight freshman class. Everything was coming up roses in Raleigh. Then the Wolfpack even seemed to meet expectations, too, opening the season 14-2, including a win over then No. 1 and undefeated Duke. But on Saturday Mark Gottfried’s team lost to its rival North Carolina, a team who was supposed to be trending down this season. They’re now 8-6 in ACC play and have the look of a team whose fangs have been blunted, becoming the latest casualty to the rigors of conference play.
Anyone need a hotel room in Atlanta in early April, check Raleigh’s Craigslist.
— Ben Swain (@thedevilwolf) February 23, 2013
Sometimes, you gotta peel back the onion before assuming a team is solid on paper.
Bill Self and the Tremendously Fast Cycle of Twitter
Last week Kansas took on Kansas State. The highlight? That would be Bill Self dancing. Or shuffling. Or Harlem Shaking. Or intuitively doing something to spark a flurry of social media activity. The response is a perfect case study in how sports GIFs and memes are digested at a rapid pace. Take a look:
Here was the immediate reaction.
Bill Self Electric Slide dot gif
— Andy Glockner (@AndyGlockner) February 21, 2013
Bill Self shuffle dot gif.
— Adam Rowe (@DukeHoopBlog) February 21, 2013
Bill Self shimmie dot gif
— Nate Kotisso (@natekotisso) February 21, 2013
Followed by the delayed reaction, which in Internet time is like 20 seconds after the event occured.
Bill Self clearly learned proper footwork
— Doug Gottlieb (@GottliebShow) February 21, 2013
Bill Self, please come dance at my wedding.
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) February 21, 2013
Then, if it is worthy, @Bubbaprog hops into action.
ANIMATED: BILL SELF HAMMERTIME 30fram.es/Xmj1Mh
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) February 21, 2013
Followed by a someone asking for something more.
Whoever is in charge of putting James Brown music to Bill Self shuffle – go on ahead and do that now.
— Scott Van Pelt (@notthefakeSVP) February 21, 2013
And suddenly, the wish is granted, thanks to a random dude with the right resources and the right level of initiative.
GIF w/ Sound: Bill Self does M.C. Hammer bit.ly/13jsdkd
— Andrew DeWitt (@DeWittCBS) February 21, 2013
OK you win. RT @matt_guilder: @eamonnbrennan heres bill self dancing with cant touch this music bit.ly/15wM03F
— Eamonn Brennan (@eamonnbrennan) February 21, 2013
Seriously. This took all of 27 minutes to unfold. The Internet has evolved so prolifically that its current state is analogous to passing against a defense rather than trying to dribble through. It’s so much faster and effective.
#NCAAOscars
So Lincoln totally got screwed out of the Best Picture win, right? Not only was Argo thrown through the Hollywood ringer before making it to final cut, it was pretty obvious exactly how it was going to play out once Affleck arrived on the scene. Anyway, agree to disagree, the Oscars certainly provide a good opportunity to offer up some mid- to late-season superlatives for college basketball. Props to Dave Krupinski for getting this started, it should have had more legs and participation, here are a few that I found scattered throughout Twitter.
Best Drama… Notre Dame vs Louisville 5OT #NCAAoscars
— Dave Krupinski (@DaveKrupinski) February 23, 2013
Best Comedy: The SEC #NCAAOscars
— Rob Dauster (@RobDauster) February 23, 2013
In memoriam: Iowa’s at-large hopes #ncaaoscars
— Josh Creek (@ChrgeFrwrd) February 24, 2013
#NCAAoscars RT @johnmitch365: @davekrupinski Cody Zeller would be the best supporting actor to Oladipo.
— Dave Krupinski (@DaveKrupinski) February 23, 2013
And my favorite, which took a bit of a different approach…
Tarentino’s collar and tie have lost institutional control. #NCAAOscars
— Tom Kinslow (@TomKinslow) February 25, 2013
Backlash Against Michael Carter-Williams
Who is having the worst week ever in college basketball? That would arguably be Syracuse’s Michael Carter-Williams, whose recent late-game decisions have generated some serious consternation among Orange fans. As his team let two key conference games slip away with the sophomore running the point, check out the hate that is becoming louder and louder:
Following the loss to Georgetown
Hey CBS, could we find some crying children in the crowd? I would really like to see some crying children right now.
— TheUConnBlog (@theuconnblog) February 23, 2013
Voting for Big East player of the year is now closed.
— rickbozich (@rickbozich) February 23, 2013
Billy Edelin was a better point guard than MCW
— Chris Boody (@cmboody17) February 23, 2013
#Syracuse‘s Michael Carter-Williams said the Cuse was better than #Georgetown Coach THompson III said “God Bless Him” lol yup #Hoyasaxa!
— Glidehoyas (@Glidehoyas) February 23, 2013
Youll never hear a Hoya talk the way Michael Carter-Williams did before this game. The Gentlemen of Georgetown, all of them
— Adam Ramadan (@adamnramadan) February 23, 2013
Following the loss to Marquette
The NBA can have Michael carter Williams.. I don’t even want him anymore
— Michael Brusa (@BillBrusa) February 26, 2013
Michael Carter Williams u ready for the NBA bro? Us Cuse fans are ready for u to go!
— John Missert (@JMizz0323) February 26, 2013
Michael Carter Williams belongs at the same end of the bench as all the white guys on Syracuse. #guyblows
— Caleb Kotwica (@ckotwica23) February 26, 2013
I don’t know if he’s just lost interest in the college game or slipping, but MCW’s ish has been very weak all February.
— Nick Fasulo (@nickfasuloSBN) February 26, 2013
Rack City, too.
Michael carter williams looks like tyga
— Brett Mitchell (@brettmit01) February 23, 2013
http://www.twitter.com/nickfasuloSBN
pretty sure bill self dancing gif was at the OSU game
there certainly wasn’t as much to be stressed about for KSU