One of the funnier plays I've seen recently from USC/UCLA last night

[Russ Smith]

First half, Darren Collison is guarding Daniel Hackett of USC and someone loses one of his shoes. The ball goes inside and someone quickly tries to grab his shoe and put it on. In the corner of the camera you see an arm go down, grab the shoe, and throw it out of bounds. it was obvious it was Hackett who threw the shoe out of bounds but we didn't know until the dead ball that the shoe was Collison's, not Hackett's!

Collison had tried to grab it, Hackett picked it up first, and threw it out of bounds into the first row. It was pretty funny and given hackett's history not all that surprising.

Later in the half Collison got fouled on a play where Drew Gordon got the offensive board. Hackett apparently didn't like how aggressive Drew was so dead ball he whacked the ball out of Drew's hands and out of bounds. Gordon with his hands up, was jawing with Hackett, turned, and ever so slightly hit Hackett in the jaw with his right elbow. NO force behind it at all but Hackett let out a loud yell, recoiled like he'd been hit by OJ Mayo again, and started staggering holding his jaw.

The refs didn't see it so they quickly went to the table to check the replay and see if Gordon needed to be kicked out. Floyd was clearly asking for a flagrant, Howland was clearly saying "he's acting." After a few minutes they came back, no foul, Collison shooting the FT. Floyd then went ballistic and got warned to get back in the coaches box.

And the announcers yet again joked about why is it every USC game something happens and Daniel Hackett is always right in the middle of it?

Gordon said today it was accidental, his face impacted my elbow!

 

[DWKB]

During the Mich St KU game, Collins is driving to the basket and there are like, three MSU players flailing away at him and the ball. One of them swings wildly behind him as Collins slides past and smacks him dead in the nose. Blood everywhere.

Izzo is miked for the game, and after the commercial timeout we get the "sounds". No foul called and Ed Hightower is heard explaining to Izzo why. "He ran into the guys hand, no foul". After all, bloody noses happen all the time when a guy holds his hand out and the other player runs into it.

 

[Gaddabout]

This reminds me of the Bill Walton story where he threw his shoe at the ball. He got 'T'd up and objected because, as Walton explains, there's no rule in the book against throwing shoes at the ball. The ref tossed him for "violating the spirit of the game."

If only that judgment could be applied on a wider, less discretionary basis.

 

[Russ Smith]

This reminds me of the Bill Walton story where he threw his shoe at the ball. He got 'T'd up and objected because, as Walton explains, there's no rule in the book against throwing shoes at the ball. The ref tossed him for "violating the spirit of the game."

If only that judgment could be applied on a wider, less discretionary basis.

In this case I think it was a no call both ways, Gordon could have got a t easily. But the rule is hitting or punching the ball is a T, and Hackett clearly did that before the Gordon elbow. I think they watched the tape and just said look we can T both guys up, the elbow wasn't bad enough for an ejection. But why give both guys a T it's a big game, warn them both, and play on.

I'd just never seen one player grab a shoe away from teh guy who lost it and throw it out of bounds before.

The Collins play DKWB describes unfortunately happens all too often. In the same USC game, Hackett hit Aboya in the face intentionally. I didn't see it watching the game but it was pointed out later and I saw it on watching the replay last night. No blood drawn but could have easily he hit him right in the face while flailing away ala Ginobili.