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.
