Union’s top sports writers offer their best (and worst) analysis from Union’s basketball games versus West Alabama.
For the real fans:
Michael Chapman: Bria Gaines is the X-Factor for a Union title run
The Lady Bulldogs’s most impressive offensive performance of the year also happened to be the first time this season Bria Gaines was at full strength and playing her regular 20-22 minutes. Gaines was Union’s leading scorer a season ago and looked even stronger against West Alabama with 24 points and three incredible blocks on the defensive end.
Before Wednesday, while Union was the best team in the Gulf South, they looked somewhat vulnerable on the interior. Sara Lytle was the only real scoring threat down low and teams like Lee were able to take her out of the picture with physical play and some help from the refs on those “bang-bang” plays. The presence of a healthy Gaines gives Union a more physical player to counteract that strategy and give Lytle and Anna Lea Little a chance to play at their more natural power forward spots.
Union is ranked 6th in the country, but Gaines’ return might just make them the favorite to upset unanimous #1 Ashville next month in the Final Four.
Cameron Woodard: Athleticism = Tyree Boykin
In a wild and chaotic game against West Alabama, Union’s Tyree Boykin decided he came to play. And did he ever.
Despite being only 6’0″ tall, Boykin’s 188 pound frame screams muscle and determination. Going on a run at the beginning of the second half, the leader was no other than Boykin, hitting two threes that sprung the crowd to its feet. It’s this kind of play that sets Boykin apart. Not only is he putting the ball in the basket, he’s making the players around him better. Boykin’s athleticism makes him a crucial playmaker, setting up post-scoring plays for Charlie Wilson and 6’10” Pedro Da Silva. With the help of a reliable guard in Alex Keel, it was a perfect opportunity for Boykin to knock down critical shots. His athleticism spreads the floor, opens up passing lanes, and masterfully illustrates that fundamentals trump size under pressure.
Tyree Boykin did Tyree Boykin things, hitting a corner three with half a minute to play, showing off his cool and reliable composure during the big moment. His ability to move off the ball is what gives the amount of space he needs to knock down three pointers, which in case you didn’t know, he made 6 of… out of 10. With that high percentage from deep, it wasn’t surprising Boykin finished with 32 points and a big fat “W” for the Bulldogs.
Seth Horton: Union needs a step team
Okay look, I understand that Union is a very white school and 80% (a conservative guess) of the student body doesn’t know what a step team is. BUT LET ME TELL YOU! Steppers give life to basketball games. If we put a team together and let them preform at halftime, all of Lane College would show up just to support the steppers. I’m not sure we have the people to put one together yet so right now we could just throw Cedric Davis and me out there until we recruit a few people. Give me a year and a faculty advisor and we will have the entire Fred DeLay shaking every home game.
Nathan Chester: I don’t think this is hype music…
As I began my long trudge through the rain to make it to Fred DeLay, I was excited. And why wouldn’t I be? After a long, painful day in which I hadn’t been able to find my wallet (God bless Safety & Security), I was finally going to be able to just sit back, relax and enjoy two basketball games. Even if I only made up one third of the student section at the time, I was still going to have fun.
I entered the gym, sat down on the first row, and that was when I heard it. As both of the Women’s teams began to make their way onto the court, the speakers began to blare Hillsong.
Hillsong. At an NCAA basketball game. Needless to say, I was triggered.
Now, let me make one thing clear here. Union University is a private Christian university that can do whatever it wants. If it wants to play contemporary Christian music during a shoot around, it can. However, this is beyond laughable. I went to Briarcrest, a private Christian high school in Memphis, and we never had music like this playing before games.
If there’s one thing that can be said about this, it’s this: context is important. Anyone who was an athlete in high school knows that they needed music that would hype them up before games. Music like Hillsong is great in a worshipful setting, but in my not-so-expert opinion, it has no place in sporting events. Athletes need something different to help them prepare for games.
And if you were to ask Union athletes about this, something tells me that the majority would agree with me.
Woody: I’m analyzing basketball before the game even starts
For some odd reason, the pre-game shoot around before the opening tip is incredibly important to me and several other fans who made elephant like noises behind me the minute someone jumped four feet off the ground. Dunks make me think the other team is going to have a heavy inside presence, and too much stretching could mean a lack of physicality. Either way, I was investigating players before they even took off their warm ups, which may lack merit, but always seems satisfying to the casual fan.
In the intense, dramatic moments before Union’s showdown against an athletic West Alabama backcourt, there’s nothing that stands out more than the consistency and fluidity of men knocking down three pointers with ease. As both Union and West Alabama’s collegiate athletes (who I always find taller than expected from the front row) pop shots from the free throw line, I find myself enthralled and quickly judgmental. It’s apparent that not only am I judging the opposing team’s skill level based on the amount of jump shots they swish, but I’m already predicting the outcome of the game.
West Alabama showed off with some early two-handed dunks and a one-handed poster that made me wonder if I’ve seen this dunker starting for the Utah Jazz recently. But this wasn’t Donovan Mitchell; it was a West Alabama team proving they had the thunder and lightning to impress, and maybe intimidate, a sparse crowd. I stared at the West Alabama performance with anxiety. In my silly mind, the pre-game shoot around was indicative of the game to come, but my eyes shifted towards the other end of the court to a sudden change in play. The shoot-around for Union had intensified with structure and flash.
Following a series of lay up drills focused primarily on fundamentals and quality passing, Union once again showed professionalism that West Alabama potentially lacked. This series of crisp, intentional movement was finished off by a smooth, windmill dunk by 6″7 Tevin Florent.
Perhaps it was the smooth shoot-around or the 32 point downpour from Tyree Boykin, but Union ultimately scraped by with a 75-73 win over West Alabama, proving my acute pre-game observations to be….just that. Or maybe it was just the Nike leggings.
For the casuals:
Chap: Layup Lines Luck
Disclaimer: the following is a completely shameless plug for the writer’s podcast, which you should definitely listen to.
Tyree Boykin had a career-high 32 points, including a game-tying three pointer with 39 seconds left, in Wednesday’s win over West Alabama. But let the record show that this performance came just a day after appearing on the Layup Lines Podcast. Some have said this Layup Lines Luck was “just a coincidence,” but let’s take a look at the other two athletes who have made their first appearance on Layup Lines in the past year. Union volleyball players Abbie Rahn and Taylor Chiaro both also set career highs the day after their first appearances on the show. Rahn had 15 kills against Valdosta State (that record has since been broken), and Chiaro picked up 25 digs in the same game.
So, if you want luck to befall you this week, listen to Layup Lines. Boykin’s episode can be found in the Cardinal and Cream sports section.
Horton: How far we have fallen
Gary Payton has fallen far from grace. After his illustrious years with the Supersonics in Seattle and a few years bouncing around the NBA, he retired at the age of 38 back in 2007. 10 years later, at the age of 49, he is playing D-II college basketball for West Alabama. He now wears 23 and goes by the name “Charles Eaton.” Unfortunately, his skill in the NBA did not translate well to Division-II NCAA basketball. Payton finished with 18 total points making just six of his 20 shots from the field, two assists, and seven turnovers.
