UConn vs Kentucky Monday night
I don't think Kentucky actually beat us. I'm starting to think destiny beat us. (And Wisconsin, and Wichita, and Louisville, and even K. St.)
On that note... let's go Huskies!!! Keep it out of SEC country Shabazz.
Sure, but he ain't Robert Horry either... At least not yet.
I tell my team no allowed 3s. I'd rather them get a contested 2 than a wide open 3 pointer for the very likely win.
I will take solace in that.
God. It's depressing that it's still a legitimate question.
At least we know we can beat UConn.
sad soup
only because watching finese guards who can shoot and actually slash is more entertaining than watching power guards who bull rush and can only shoot last second dagger threes.
Let me know who wins.
if they can stay on the floor, maybe their guards are a little quicker? And can cause a little havoc when Kentucky is on offense?
I'm searching for what UConn can do. It sure seems like way way better basketball was being played on our side of the bracket.
This tourney has been one of the best in memory. Lots of close games."upsets", and dramatic shots. Maybe UCOnn will figure out to put one of the 60% FT shooters on the line, late in the game, instead of letting the Harrisons get off.
For real? I think this tourney has been one of the worst I've ever seen. Few star players, no compelling story lines, a horrible title game matchup, inconsistent officiating, and some pretty poor basketball all the way around. It's been awful.
Don't forget about the media's non-stop love for Kentucky.
I think it has been one of the weakest tournament fields, but I definitely think it's been an exciting as hell stretch, with some really great games.
What about the year Duke one it? I felt like that was one of the worst title teams ever.
threads tonight in that exact vein.
That was definitely one of the worst title teams ever (they beat Butler).
Very emblematic of the kind of team that could shuck and jive its way through a weak modern-era field and snare a title.
Who else do you look back at that would be similar? Rollie's Villanova? Pervis and Crum's Louisville? Well, it turns out those teams were pretty damn good if you actually look at who was on the floor. And instead of going through Butler, they had to prove their mettle by going through absolute beasts who were guarding the gate.
Kentucky, and one and two and dones, is the way of the future. Wisky almost pulled off a Hoosiers type effort but couldn't run the picket fence. We can thank super AAU teams for the one and done philosophy.
I would agree officiating has been questionable, but it has been consistent/even within games. If you believe Dayton's run, any of Kentucky's five games, MSU's games vs Virginia and UConn, NDSU,Harvard,et.al for starters were not terrific games - then we have different definitions of exciting basketball. I personally like back and forth, last possession games and "upsets" - not sure the NCAA committee watches games because many of the seeds were way too low., but that is a discussion for another day.
Really? Few star players: Napier doing his Kemba Walker/Trey Burke impersonation, Julius Randle getting a double-double in every game, Payne going for 40+ in the first round, Florida's upperclassman and Kentucky's freshman advancing to the Final Four.
Compelling Storylines: a 7 vs 8 championship isn't enough for you? Harrison hitting 3 straight game winning 3s, Kentucky being the first team to beat 3 of the previous season's Final Four teams, Duke losing to Mercer along with a slew of upsets and buzzer beaters.
I can't make tangible arguments for officiating or quality of basketball but just because our run wasn't as magical as last doesn't make this a terrible tournament.
...who got three minutes, one rebound and missed a shot and who I didn't realize had even played until I checked the box score, no one that saw the floor for Kentucky tonight will ever get a degree from the university, or even came to the school with the possibility in mind.
And that's got me wondering about something that I think first hit my brain watching a few minutes of Findlay Prep and Oak Hill or whatever prep school was playing in that national HS tournament on ESPN earlier today, and comparing that to the high school basketball I see at my alma mater every Friday night.
I still go, all these decades later, because the kids represent a community I was part of. I went to school with the father of one of the players, my sister went to school with the father of one of the assistant coaches, they all live on the same streets I grew up on and they take classes in the same buildings I once did. If they didn't, if they'd come in from all over the country or world for a year or two of high level basketball to get ready for their upcoming, and hopefully single, year of college hoops, I'd have no interest whatsoever.
Does it work that way in college sports too? Is there a point where the players could be so disconnected from the student body that you would lose interest? Does it matter that the players attend classes? That some of them graduate? Or is the name on the shirt enough?
My tone might be wrong here--I don't mean for this to be a rhetorical question. Kentucky fans don't seem to mind, that's for sure.
explicitly states that his mission is to showcase 5 star freshmen and put them in a position to be one-and-dones, it's not like what happens there is vastly different than what Beilein is creating at Michigan. Morris, Burke, Timmy, Nik, GR3, McGary, and maybe LeVert will all leave Michigan before getting a degree.
For one thing that was sort of my point; for a second, Horford and Morgan play more than three minutes per game. (Not to mention Albrecht and others, but these two we can be certain of....)
There is some distance between some and zero. Is there a line, anywhere? What if schools hired professional athletes to represent them who weren't actually students at all?
Last time Michigan lost in elite 8 to Arkansas...we know how that went.
and here is a frustrating thing.
Do you think if Dekker was at Michigan, he wouldn't have been a much more solid bet to leave after year 2, and be well set up for it?
With a guy like Dekker, Ryan seems to do a good job of bringing them along, but bringing them along slowly - not too fast.
I think Dekker would be in no brainer position to leave if he had been coached by our staff for two years, and yet the reward there belongs to Bo Ryan, who will have a sick team next year if this is the outcome.
I want a winning team -
and that's a surprise?
How does this show any of these things that you mention?
No, I don't give a fig about the Wisky kids and their degrees - I'm not thrilled about them being potentially unstoppable next year. And Wisky kids go to class, which makes it much more likely they can get their degrees eventually, even if it doesn't happen in the first 4/5 years.
I can't even follow the logic of your post.
Bo Ryan is an evil genius - that much I'm sure of - even in getting a kid like Hayes, it's another example of a perfect kid for the college game with one flaw that will keep him from the NBA - lack of height for the position he would play - Bo is very good at having a strategy in this current era of CBB.
But please, lay out for me what it is I'm supposed to be rooting for so that I can be a great fan like you.
but yes, to a certain extent, through some combination of player development by Beilein and staff, individual work by the players themselves, and availability of the resources to put in the work, a few of our players may have developed a mite bit faster than would be ideal. And although people would say we seem to be doing fine even with the departures from last year - and yes, it's been awesome - the #1 difficulty we had in standing up to Kentucky's onslaught was youth. 3* and 4* players need multiple years to develop the physical strength/stoutness to provide resistance to that kind of power game (5*s are often physical freaks who step on campus physically ready - see: Aaron Gordon, or even Poythress who comes off Kentucky's dang bench).
On to Wisconsin, this part sort of surprises me that people would view this as all that hard to understand. One, Ryan has done a genius job of identifying players who are likely to be four year players, but players of elite value - see: Brust, Gasser, probably Hayes, etc.
Two, you really don't know how a coach can slow a player from blowing up on the NBA radar? Ryan eased up on the reins slightly this year, but Wisconsin is way more systems-based than we are. Wisconsin also strongly emphasizes a five man game, and team offense over individual offense which lessens the likelihood of a player blowing up. It's a testament to Kaminsky's unique offensive talent that he emerged as he did late. But what did he average, like 13 points a game, in that system?
Systems don't necessarily slow down a player's development, but they can keep a player under wraps. Does Michael Jordan ring a bell?
As to Dekker, honest question, just looking at his skill set - you don't think he would have been in a position where he pretty much had to go pro at the end of this season if he was playing in our system and with our player development? It may just have been a sophomore slump, but I have a hard time seeing how he wouldn't have been a lottery pick by the end of this year if his uniform was maize and blue. Not saying he should have come here or anything - he's a Wisconsin kid - but just that I'm a little surprised at where he was at by the end of the season in light of where I thought he would be (and many shared this view) when the season started.
a team of one-and-doners hero-balling their way to the title game.
Of their last four games, we were the furthest from knocking them off and we still had a chance to go up 1 in the final minute. This D-league team would lose series against every team they've played so far but K-State. It's awful that their team (and that moron who tattooed "Kentucky 2014 National Champions" on his leg 6 months ago) might be rewarded
GO UCONN
Bo Ryan finally got what he deserved a loss, nobody in Divison one basketball influences the refrees more, I am glad Kentucky won they should have never beat Michigan but I am glad the Badgers are out. I can't stand Wisconsin basketball at all.
Well, if anyone is interested, here's how the comparison stats look:
|
Offense
|
Kentucky | Connecticut |
| Points/Game | 75.3 | 72.1 |
| Avg Score Margin | +8.5 | +8.7 |
| Assists/Game | 11.2 | 12.3 |
| Total Rebounds/Gm | 40.4 | 34.9 |
| Effective FG % | 50.1% | 51.7% |
| Off Rebound % | 41.8% | 28.6% |
| FTA/FGA | 0.517 | 0.388 |
| Turnover % | 14.8% | 15.1% |
|
Defense
|
Kentucky | Connecticut |
| Opp Points/Game | 66.8 | 63.5 |
| Opp Effective FG % | 45.9% | 44.6% |
| Off Rebounds/Gm | 13.0 | 8.1 |
| Def Rebounds/Gm | 24.2 | 22.9 |
| Blocks/Game | 5.9 | 5.7 |
| Steals/Game | 4.7 | 6.8 |
| Personal Fouls/Gm | 18.4 | 17.9 |
1) Freshmen improve during the course of the year (Kentucky was preseason #1)
1A) Dilution of talent - top players leave early, leveling the playing field.
2) Format of tournament: getting hot at end of year negates season's work. How come when it happens in NFL or NHL no one here complains? Same with B1G money maker ...err tournament.
3) NCAA committee doesn't know what it is doing. Or does and really has agendas for things like making Wichita State's run as hard as possible, and seeing TV match ups like OSU v Dayton, or Louisville v Kentucky.
Florida was considered the best team because of their seniors. Which of those seniors will ever play in the nba? It's doubtful there will ever be an experienced team with nba talent in college again.
maybe its just me but I despise KY and its one and done NBA farm system..its ruining College BB AND Calipari whose previous two teams before KY BOTH went on NCAA Probabtion and its NCAA wins vacated is everything that is WRONG with college sports...KY hires a KNOWN cheater then turns its campus into a NBA farm system where athletes could care less about getting a education or going to class for that matters its ALL about the NBA Money...I dont watch pro sports much because of this....the bad news is KYS system is working....
Stauskus, GR3 and McGary PLEASE come back and you will be the preseason No 1 and fav to win it all next year....
I hate Calipari, but his team is really playing some good basketball. I'm reluctantly pulling for UConn (I hated them for a while, but Ollie seems to be a great young coach).
UK wins (Young is a solid player, and I like their depth more than UConn).