A NEW GAME
New 3 on 3 NCAA Tournament has a chance to become a big deal
Joe George
Apr 1, 2018, 9:59 pm
Team Big 10 celebrated a victory. Steve Woltmann/Intersport
SAN ANTONIO -- The hottest new trend in basketball has arrived, and it’s 3 on 3 basketball. In the last two years, we have seen the emergence of Ice Cube’s Big 3 Basketball League, the announcement of 3 on 3 coming to the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo and over the weekend in San Antonio, the inaugural 3 on 3 National Championship debuted. The premise was simple for the first National Championship of its kind; each conference was represented by four-man rosters led by seniors who had zero eligibility left. Every game the team won, they won a thousand dollars with the National Championship team winning 50 grand. The inaugural champions came from the Big Ten being represented by Purdue, Minnesota, Indiana and Ohio State.
The games are played to 21 points in increments of 1’s and 2’s, and the game doesn’t stop after a score. After each basket, that team has to simply get behind the 3 point line, and they keep playing. The first to 21 points wins, and so the game doesn’t drag on and on, the games are played with a 12-second shot clock and a 10-minute game clock. The games are fast paced and can be a ton of fun to watch. The big question is if it will be a must-see event at future Final Four’s or if it will fizzle out.
“It’s really cool to play in the first one and I think this is something that has already gained some traction and can be around for awhile.”
That was the sentiment for Amanze Egekeze, a Senior from Belmont representing the Ohio Valley, and I tend to agree. It’s different, played in a small gym and watching kids throw a thousand dollars up in the air after a victory, is worth the price of admission alone. Coverage and participation will be the biggest challenge for this event. I was disappointed that Rob Gray wasn’t representing the American Team as he was eligible to and that is the biggest challenge that I see. These guys already played a long season and in theory, could walk away with zero dollars only getting a free trip to the site of the year’s Final Four. Money is great, but injury for potential pros is a huge red flag and from what I was told only a few NBA teams were represented by scouts anyway.
When it comes to coverage, they live streamed everything on Twitter and then ran the semifinals and finals on ESPN 2. I knew I was going to San Antonio, but until I saw a player tweet that he was playing, I had zero idea the event was happening. The crowd wasn’t massive, and neither was the media coverage. Getting the big name guys to compete will be what elevates the play, interest level of other players and overall media coverage.
I’ve grown to become a big fan of 3 on 3 basketball and believe this event could have some sustained success going forward. Overall, I would give it a B; the event was fun, competitive and entertaining. The only thing it really lacked was star power but handing out $105,000 over a three day period should surely go a long way.
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With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
Catch Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan. We drop two episodes every week on SportsMapHouston's YouTube channel. You can also listen on Apple Podcast, Spotifyor wherever you get your podcasts.