Tuesday night I checked out Bobby Capbobianco (as did IU assistant Tim Buckley, see above) as the No. 7 Loveland Tigers traveled a few minutes up the road to take on the No. 4 Mason Comets in a battle between two former conference rivals from Greater Cincinnati.
It was a low scoring affair as the Tigers upset the Comets 37-34. Capobianco scored a season-low 11 points, but he hit three of four free throws and pulled down a critical offensive rebound in the final minute to give Loveland (4-2) its fourth straight win.
1st Quarter: The teams tipped off just after 7:50 p.m., and Capobianco missed a three-pointer, traveled and missed a fade away jumper in the early minutes. With his team down 5-2, Capobianco regained his composure as he forced a jump, ripped down a board and laid one up, and tipped in another basket to pull his team with one. He ended the first quarter on a sour note with two missed free throws, following another travel and foul in earliler possessions.
2nd Quarter: Capobianco had a quiet second quarter, and continued to look sluggish as he is not all that quick, did not put his arms up on defense, and picked up his second foul midway through the period. Capobianco left the game with 4:29 to go in the half with the score tied at 14-14. The IU recruit sat for the remainder of the half, but his team finished on an 8-0 run. The Tigers were quicker without Capobianco, and Mason looked as if they had not prepared for Capobianco-less team.
3rd Quarter: Both teams picked up the intensity after the intermission. Early on Capobianco made a pair of quality plays off the ball that led to a pair of two-point buckets from his teammates. The Loveland center also grabbed a few boards, but he did not score in the third period despite a few good looks.
4th Quarter: Capobianco still did not impress early in the fourth as he missed a jumper from the free throw line and picked up his third foul. Mason was making it difficult on him as they threw two guys on him. The 6-foot-8 big man grabbed a couple rebounds and made a nice Kyle Taber-esque tip out to his teammate on the defensive glass before picking up his fourth foul.
Though Loveland held on to a 32-30 lead, the home crowd was making it tough as they got louder and louder. The Tigers pushed the lead to four with 45 seconds to go, but Mason brought it to 34-32 with 23.9 seconds to go.
Loveland inbounded the ball to Capobianco who gave it up and eventually got it back before being fouled with 11.7 seconds left. Despite the Black Hole's greatest efforts, Capobianco calmly swished the front end of a 1-and-1, before sinking the second to push it to 36-32.
Some fans on each side of the gym left to beat the traffic, but the game was not over. A quick layup by Mason made it 36-34, and Capobianco's teammate, Adam Engel, was fouled with 5.2 to go on the clock. Engel missed the 1-and-1 free throw (insert Chris Engel joke here), but Capobianco grabbed the offensive board.
"Yeah, that's what I'm talking about!" yelled Capobianco, sitting on the ground after being fouled.
Capobianco made the first free throw to put his team up by three, and despite missing the second, a game-tying desparation heave from Mason was way off. 37-34 Final.
Final Stats:
- My unofficial calculations: 11 points (3-9 FG, 5-8 FT), 12 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 turnovers, 4 fouls
- FAVC Sports box score: 11 points (3-11 FG, 5-8 FT), 18 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 turnovers, 4 fouls
The Not So Good
- Lowest point total (11) thus far, despite telling mehe's fully recovered from his foot injury
- Looked sluggish for much of the game
- Won't be one of the quicker guys at IU next year
- Did not look too effective on perimeter, though he could be asked to play out on the wing some next year
- Does not have a a big vertical leap
- Had three or four inches on every Mason post player, yet did not dominate like he often does
- This was just one game, and it was against a quality opponent
- The player he guarded most of the game had just two points (1-8 FG) and only five rebounds
- Boxes out well
- Drew several fouls
- Was double-teamed much of the game
- Nearly every screen he tried setting near the top of the key was ineffective because his teammates failed to do the fundamental v-cut and use his big body to their advantage
- Teammates also struggled to get him the ball inside despite his height advantage
- Showed ability to make clutch free throws
- Played stellar on-ball defense
- Displayed ability to slash to the basket
- Vocal, high basketball IQ (even discussed fouls with refs to learn what he had done wrong)
- Coach Buckley was there and will be able to help him learn from this game
- Tom Crean and assistants will be able to guide him more than any high school coach could
- Capobianco's only 18 and he will fill whatever role he is asked to take next year (and not be forced into a major role right away like some of this year's freshmen)
- He will be quicker next year once he gets to work with strength and conditioning coach Jeff Watkinson
Oh, and I spoke with Buckley after the game and he seems like a really great guy. He said it was his first chance to watch Capobianco because of big man's recent injury. On Monday, Capobianco told me both Buckley and Crean were likely coming to watch, but the IU head coach never made it. He did watch Derek Elston play on Tuesday, however.
