NBA 2K and the Olden Days

I, similar, I’m sure to many of you, spend two hours each Sunday night glued to the television. In a time where much of what we view can be paused and fast-forwarded, the thrill of bolting up from the couch to go to the bathroom or get a nice pan of nachos cooking has, for the most part, been lost. But I simply cannot miss a moment of “The Last Dance.” Michael Jordan’s jeans, Scottie Pippen’s voice, Phil Jackson’s shoulders, or Dennis Rodman’s explanation of how one learns to rebound a basketball. Sure, due to advances in technology, I could pause if my break is a bit longer than the commercial break, but then I would not be watching in real time and the tweets rolling hot off the presses would whoosh right over my head. 

But this is not an article about “The Last Dance.” That would be low hanging fruit. Articles on “The Last Dance” are a dime a dozen, with talk of it dominating the sports news world. No, this is an article about what “The Last Dance” has made me realize about basketball as a whole, and more specifically, NBA 2K. 

I’ve always been a huge fan of the throwback teams part of NBA 2K, allowing me to play as teams that I was, for the most part, not able to watch live because I was not alive. Nothing beats shooting a terribly inefficient game with Allen Iverson, as he is wont to do, and maybe sometimes winning. Or coming to the pleasant realization that yeah, Clyde Drexler is super good. Or lamenting the absence of Reggie Miller and Charles Barkley between each game. 

“The Last Dance” has brought about a certain sense of nostalgia—or an equivalent word that can be used on something that I actually never experienced—regarding the last 60 years of basketball. And while this has, in turn, increased my use of NBA 2K historic teams, it has also reignited my disdain for NBA 2K20. 

NBA 2K20 is a trash game with impossible post-play and stupid moves. And that, combined with my roommate owning our copy and taking it home with him during Coronavirus—but mostly because it sucks—has got me playing 2K19, a far superior game with manageable post-play and more fluid moves. 

Typically the new 2K comes out, and I never look back. But this step back into 2K19 has got me wanting more from the 2Ks of years past. Maybe the celebrities of NBA 2K13, such as Brian Baumgartner, the man behind Kevin Malone of “The Office.” Or maybe a Career mode with much less story. But mostly, and I would take this over anything else in a heartbeat—bring back the historic team courts. Let us play as historic teams on their original courts, no three-point lines, with the camera all grainy-like. 

It’d be a blast. So, ride the high of “The Last Dance” and all the classic highlights myself and so many other basketball fans are watching right now, and 2K, go all in on historic teams and make a game that doesn’t suck. 

Covenant Soccer Comes to an End

On one Saturday, two hours away from one another, two Covenant soccer seasons came to a close. The Covenant Women's Soccer team ended their season with a 5-0 loss to Maryville. And several minutes later, the Covenant Men's Soccer team lost 4-2 to North Carolina Wesleyan in a penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw. Both Scots teams put up great seasons, with the women's team going 10-6-3 overall and 6-1-1 in conference, with their only conference loss being to the eventual Conference Champion Maryville Scots. The men’s team put together a historic season, finishing with an 18-2-2 record overall and 13-0 in conference, a school best. 

The Lady Scots had eight players contribute to their goal scoring this season, led by an exceptional 10 goals from USA South First Team All-Conference recipient Kailey Burrell ’22, with Kyra Duble ’21 adding another 9 goals. Addy Cronan ’20 led the team when it came to setting up goals, notching 5 assists on the season, with Kyra Duble and Lizzy Hightower ’20 right behind her with 4 assists each. Burrell and Duble recorded nearly half of the teams total points, Burrell with 23 and Duble with 22. 

Freshman Lucy Sandhoff held it down in goal this season, starting each one of the Lady Scots’ 18 games, and recording 90 saves over the course of the season. 13 of these saves came in an exceptional performance against Greensboro in the Conference Semifinals, including two outstanding saves in the penalty shootout that eventually gave Covenant the win.

With the end of another season, the team will say goodbye to five seniors—Riley Battenfield, Addy Cronan, Abby Gienapp, Lizzy Hightower, and Anna Robertson, who said of the season, “From the outside looking in, it may not seem like we finished the season the way we wanted. However, we know that we fought fiercely with such resilience through persistent injuries and setbacks. Making it to the finals was well deserved for this team.” The team will return some exceptional young players and the future looks promising for the Lady Scots. 

Just like the women’s team, the men’s season came to a close in the Conference Championship. The season ended in a penalty shootout that saw North Carolina Wesleyan come out on top. The Scots, however, put together an exceptional season. They finished the regular season with an undefeated conference record, making them regular season conference champions. Twelve Scots contributed to the goal scoring this season, led by 14 goals from Mercer Stout ’22 and 12 goals from Josh Brower ’20. Brower also chipped in on the assisting, dishing out 13 through the season, with Jesse Riggs ’20 coming up behind him with 8 assists. Brower finished the season with an outstanding 37 points, and Stout with another 31. 

Paul Lemay ’20 spent his final season in goal, and made it one to remember. He played in and started 17 of Covenant’s games, allowing only 10 goals and making 58 saves. These stats were good enough to earn Lemay USA South Goalkeeper of the Year, an impressive achievement. He is joined in the top four USA South honors by Coach Scott Bosgraf, who, in his third year as head coach for Covenant, received USA South Coach of the Year. Six players earned USA South All-Conference First Team—Stout, Brower, Riggs, Lemay, Noah Lee ’21, and Jay Patterson ’23. 

Now that the season has reached a close, the team will say goodbye to nine seniors—Brower, Lemay, Riggs, Anthony Buzzeo, Connor McGimsey, Matt Morefield, Colby Pepper, Seth Robinson, and Blake Thomas. While this group will be missed, the Scots keep a number of young and talented players, such as Austin Berry ’22, who said of the team this season, “Everyone stepped into their role well and did what they needed to do no matter how big or small their role was.” 

This goes to show how well a season can come together when each player buys into their role and plays under the system of a great coach. Congratulations on awesome seasons to both of the Scots Soccer teams. We look forward to what you have in store for next season!

An Inside Look at the Covenant College Men’s Soccer Team

This season, and the journey along the way, has been super exciting. We have battled through big players getting injured at crucial times in our season, close games, early season struggles, long road trips, rain delays, etc. Every season has those ups and downs, but that’s what makes it fun.

As I reflect on our season, here is a list of the huge moments that stand out to me: Josh Brower’s game tying goal late in the Greensboro game, which led us to winning the Regular Season Title in OT (if y’all don’t know, Josh is a freak athlete); watching my boy Jack Allen getting his first goal on Scotland Yard; Anthony Calbo doing his thing and dancing in front of the fans at Scotland Yard after scoring a great header; the continual PK battle between Paul Lemay and Jesse Riggs at practice; the bench team dancing along with the best fans in the world on our home turf; Chef Lee finally getting USA South Awards for his masterful defending; the Dairy Queen run after winning the Regular Season Title; Jesse’s PK against Maryville; our service project, which put the motto “Not For Self” into action; Coach Bosgraf singing Party in the USA (he has the best voice on campus); Coach Van Holland and Amanda Van Holland expecting a child; and finally, finishing with a 13-0 record, the best conference record in Covenant College Men’s Soccer history. 

This is the most fun team I have been a part of. As a senior, I am very thankful for all the coaches, players, and fans who have made my soccer experience at Covenant College unbelievable. The season did not end like we imagined. We lost in the Conference Final to North Carolina Wesleyan in penalty kicks. But playing soccer at Covenant College has given me amazing life long friends. Shout out to my fellow seniors, I love y'all. Go Scots! Not For Self!

Defense Wins Championships

First, the Tennessee Vols bandwagon is wide open, and coming from someone who has been a Tennessee fan from the time that he was in the womb, jump on. If not, we will see you in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. 

Next, the Philadelphia 76ers will win the 2020 NBA Finals and I will tell you why. Why? Defense. Over the crazy NBA offseason, the Sixers somehow procured the greatest defense to ever grace an NBA court. General manager Elton Brand received Josh Richardson out of a sign and trade deal with the Miami Heat for a player who hasn’t even made an appearance this NBA season (as of October 28th). I hope your baby is doing very well, Jimmy Butler. Then the Sixers front office made the biggest splash this offseason by signing Veteran big-man Al Horford. This is adding to the already astonishing lineup of Tobias Harris (the most underrated player in the NBA), Joel Embiid (best center in the NBA, you're a joke, Jokic), and of course Ben Simmons (2018 Rookie of the Year, the next Magic Johnson, and nicknamed “I’ll shoot a three-pointer if you can ever stop me from scoring 25 a night on 85% FG shooting in the paint”). All of this, plus the fact that the 76ers drafted Naismith Defensive Player of the Year, and 2 time Pac-12 Defensive player of the year, Matisse Thybulle. 

So, with a starting 5 of Simmons, Richardson, Harris, Horford, and Embiid, Thybulle coming off the bench, and Mr. Mike “Gets into fights at Eagles games and has neck tattoos” Scott, the Philadelphia 76ers are scary to say the least. Let’s jump into the numbers just to prove all of you poor little Philly doubters wrong. 

Start with the future Co-MVP Ben Simmons. Standing at a stout 6’10” and 230 lbs, this man can guard literally any position. He has been known to intimidate anyone on the court and lockdown superstars such as Lebron James. Last season, he had 112 steals, 61 blocks, and 525 defensive rebounds. Please keep in mind that this man is only 23. Next, Josh Richardson has been coming into form and has been said to be an up-and-coming defensive superstar. He had 79 steals (down from the previous year, in which he had 121) and 34 blocks (also down from the previous year, in which he had 75). While not impressive, he has much potential to be tapped into by the wonderful player development staff of the Sixers. Tobias Harris, who has finally come into his own and is morphing into an NBA superstar in front of our very eyes, can also hold his own on the defensive side of the ball. Though what is more important here is the two big men for the 76ers. Al Horford, also known as the only stitching that held the “team” of the Boston Celtics together, is a perfect match for future Co-MVP and DPOY Joel Embiid. Al Horford is the definition of hustle and ensures that not many people will be scoring in the paint this season against the Sixers. 

To be fair, making it to the Finals should not be hard. Who is going to stand in the way? The Celtics? Maybe when you have a starting center that doesn't get concussions from walking into the ceiling. The Bucks? I mean yeah, maybe. But I would like to see Mr. Antetokounmpo score consistently in the paint on this defense. Honestly, I can’t even name any more teams in the East. So, for all you doubters out there, Sixers in 6 over the Clippers in June. Please prove me wrong.