NCAA March Madness 2024

[stpeteirish]

The big Canuck came to play

He certainly did. I thought if Edey had a big game Purdue whould win. Wrong. The other four guys were non factors except for Braden Smith. Teo Heisman was right; UConns "other four" is way better than Purdue's.

 

[RDU Irish]

Clingan did exactly what he needed to do so the rest of the UCONN players could play outstanding defense. Clingan forced Edey to work fairly hard for all the points he got. While Clingan was in the game, Edey only had a couple of opportunities to score quickly and easily. Clingan forced Edey to use energy and clock. When Clingan was not in the game, Edey scored quickly with little to no effort. UCONN had to either just give up the points (while they were up big with clock running out) or try and double Edey which is not what UCONN wanted to do. Edey got his points, but the Purdue offense was shut down other than that because Clingan didn't require double team help.

Hurley has UCONN in a great place.

Smothering the perimeter with an athletic and lengthy roster - let Edey work a bit to eat but let him eat. Good game plan that has taken Purdue down more than once. Clingan gets the attention for size but he makes the rest look smaller than they are. Diarra is the shortest at 6'2" and ridiculously athletic coming off the bench. Spencer is the shortest starter at 6'4". Castle 6'6", Karaban 6'8", Stewart 6'7" and all can run the floor all damn day. That is a problem for most teams running 6' nothing guards and might not have anyone over 6'9" on the roster. Purdue guards were completely neutralized.

Edey gets a bad rap as a prospect b/c he isn't a bouncer IMO. He is a freaking plow horse. He does get up and down the court and play the whole game so it's not like he is necessarily "slow". His strength and leverage is ridiculous and his length allows him to cover more ground/air space than people realize. Some ways reminds me of Shaq in his raw power/size game and using contact to neutralize defender's ability to get vertical to contest shots since they are working so hard to hold their position. That team without Edey might not make the NIT. Kudos on the development.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

Donovan has been on record that he has no interest in going back to the college game, but money does talk. Calipari was butting heads with the AD, because he felt the AD was getting too involved. Sounds like Calipari already had a foot out the door, as someone on the radio reported yesterday that Calipari made inquiries about the Ohio State game when Holtmann was canned.

I laugh imagining Billy Donovan taking the Kentucky Wildcats to Gainesville to play the Gators on Billy Donovan Court.

I think it's absolutely hilarious and speaks to the state of sports in this century.

 

[NDohio]

Smothering the perimeter with an athletic and lengthy roster - let Edey work a bit to eat but let him eat. Good game plan that has taken Purdue down more than once. Clingan gets the attention for size but he makes the rest look smaller than they are. Diarra is the shortest at 6'2" and ridiculously athletic coming off the bench. Spencer is the shortest starter at 6'4". Castle 6'6", Karaban 6'8", Stewart 6'7" and all can run the floor all damn day. That is a problem for most teams running 6' nothing guards and might not have anyone over 6'9" on the roster. Purdue guards were completely neutralized.

Edey gets a bad rap as a prospect b/c he isn't a bouncer IMO. He is a freaking plow horse. He does get up and down the court and play the whole game so it's not like he is necessarily "slow". His strength and leverage is ridiculous and his length allows him to cover more ground/air space than people realize. Some ways reminds me of Shaq in his raw power/size game and using contact to neutralize defender's ability to get vertical to contest shots since they are working so hard to hold their position. That team without Edey might not make the NIT. Kudos on the development.

Yep - the game plan was excellent. The other thing it did was wear Edey down. He was a non-factor defensively in the second half. All the energy Clingan forced him to use on the offensive side was beneficial to UCONN's offense.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

John Calipari departs Kentucky after 15 years, saying the program 'needs to hear another voice'

There were too many people for John Calipari to thank by name, and too many moments to single out from one of the most fulfilling chapters of his career. Calipari stepped down as Kentucky's men's bas...

www.yahoo.com

Tony: If I'm going to lam it, I'm going with a fucking package. I'm not going to be like fucking Mickey Mazucco. The poor prick only had five minutes to run. He ended up in some rat infested motel down in Elvis country.

Furio: What is that?

Paulie: Anywhere there are no Jews or Italians.

John Calipari always goes with a package.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

I have a very hard time seeing Donovan leaving the NBA, but the Bulls are sort of in purgatory right now. They're not really contenders but not really tankers for lottery picks. He also works for a team that is being run by Jerry Reinsdorf's son, so the intent to actually win is closer to none than most franchises and his superiors are probably going to have jobs for a very long time so if it really goes off the rails the head coach is the fall guy.

He left Florida a long time ago in terms of "college sports have changed" years. I'm sure Kentucky would throw a ton of money at him, but he's going into an entirely new world when it comes to The Portal and NIL, which we've discussed plenty out here in the last few years.

Again, it comes down to who wants the job and where the connection is made.

 

[SeekNDestroy]

Did everyone know that Caitlin Clark originally committed to Notre Dame when Muffet was still the coach? I just found out. Man, what could have been…

 

[ozzman]

Did everyone know that Caitlin Clark originally committed to Notre Dame when Muffet was still the coach? I just found out. Man, what could have been…

She told the Iowa coach she wasn't going there but never made the call to ND before she changed her mind. Still, what could've been

Being Caitlin Clark: Inside the world of the player who redefined the game

She overcame trust issues and chartered a yacht. Now Caitlin Clark is ready for March.

www.espn.com

 

[Rockin’Irish]

Did everyone know that Caitlin Clark originally committed to Notre Dame when Muffet was still the coach? I just found out. Man, what could have been…

I read that recently as well……apparently her parents were all for ND but in the end she wanted to stay close to home.

 

[Big23Head]

 

[Rockin’Irish]

Mark Pope has done pretty well as a coach on the collegiate level but he doesn‘t appear to be the cat’s meow, so to speak. He is a UK graduate though. It would be interesting to know how/why he is the guy that UK has settled on, big change from Calipari.

 

[Irish#1]

Looks like Scott Drew was their first choice, but turned them down.

Scott Drew turns down Kentucky, to remain Baylor coach

Scott Drew, who won a national title at Baylor in 2021, has a close relationship with Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart but ultimately decided to remain the Bears' coach, saying he wants "to bring more championships to Waco."

www.espn.com

 

[Irish#1]

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

Mark Pope has done pretty well as a coach on the collegiate level but he doesn‘t appear to be the cat’s meow, so to speak. He is a UK graduate though. It would be interesting to know how/why he is the guy that UK has settled on, big change from Calipari.

He's 0-2 in NCAA Tournament games but he's a former player. Drew turned them down, Hurley and Donovan likely wanted zero part of it and would not entertain it. They had to act fast, and as more and more of these big college jobs open (Alabama Football) the faster they're going to want to have someone in place if for nothing else other than optics.

Hubert Davis at UNC, Jon Scheyer at Duke, Mark Pope at UK. All alums who replaced big time coaches who won National Championships. I don't know if that is a pattern, but it certainly is interesting.

 

[RDU Irish]

I think NIL changes the landscape for these blue bloods that always took the top 10 recruits every year. Now that all the cash is above the table everyone has a shot at those top guys, IMO.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

I think NIL changes the landscape for these blue bloods that always took the top 10 recruits every year. Now that all the cash is above the table everyone has a shot at those top guys, IMO.

Perhaps, but right now Rivals has the 2024 class topped with Duke at 1 and Kentucky at 2. Duke signed four 5 star players and UK got three.

UNC is 8th but they took two 5 star players.

 

[RDU Irish]

Perhaps, but right now Rivals has the 2024 class topped with Duke at 1 and Kentucky at 2. Duke signed four 5 star players and UK got three.

UNC is 8th but they took two 5 star players.

Well that wishful theory went to shit quickly.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

Well that wishful theory went to shit quickly.

LOL. IDK, maybe for 2024, I can offer you the third ranked class in ......Rutgers?

 

[RDU Irish]

I do find basketball rankings interesting in that 1/3 of rosters hit the portal every year and your top 10 prospects only have a one or two year college shelf life. Unless they are instant impact - how valuable are those recruits fresh from HS? Why bother developing project players when you can swipe proven 20+ year olds from mid majors and broken programs?

 

[Irish#1]

Perhaps, but right now Rivals has the 2024 class topped with Duke at 1 and Kentucky at 2. Duke signed four 5 star players and UK got three.

UNC is 8th but they took two 5 star players.

NIL probably plays a part, but they will continue to get top kids just because of who they are, for a while at least. If Scheyer or Davis have a number of years where they miss the S16, E8 or FF, recruits may not be as enamored with the name.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

NIL probably plays a part, but they will continue to get top kids just because of who they are, for a while at least. If Scheyer or Davis have a number of years where they miss the S16, E8 or FF, recruits may not be as enamored with the name.

Scheyer and Davis were assistants under K and Roy Williams for a good amount of time. They got to see how the sausage was made when it comes to recruiting.

Calipari set a new kind of bar with recruiting at UK early on and he forced the rest of the big guys to adapt, including K and Roy. I really have no idea what Pope is going to be capable of when it comes to recruiting at UK, but as we found out with Ty Willingham, blue blood programs do not just recruit themselves. Not to mention that the SEC has seen a significant rise in recent years when it comes to putting resources into basketball.

Scott Drew put together a very good class at Baylor and has been consistent there for a long time. It's understandable why UK went for him and it's understandable why Drew said no.

 

[Irish#1]

Scheyer and Davis were assistants under K and Roy Williams for a good amount of time. They got to see how the sausage was made when it comes to recruiting.

Calipari set a new kind of bar with recruiting at UK early on and he forced the rest of the big guys to adapt, including K and Roy. I really have no idea what Pope is going to be capable of when it comes to recruiting at UK, but as we found out with Ty Willingham, blue blood programs do not just recruit themselves. Not to mention that the SEC has seen a significant rise in recent years when it comes to putting resources into basketball.

Scott Drew put together a very good class at Baylor and has been consistent there for a long time. It's understandable why UK went for him and it's understandable why Drew said no.

I don't know how many schools use this kind of succession plan, but it it can be hit or miss. Painter was HC at Southern Illinois when he was hired at Purdue. He was given the title of Associate HC knowing that Keady was going to be retiring the following year. Having played for Keady gave him a unique perspective on the culture of the program. Same with Davis and Scheyer. Mike Davis was an assistant under Knight, then was promoted to HC. He was great his first two years with Knights recruits, but it was downhill after that. Maybe the key is a guy that played in the system, then spent time as an assistant learning the culture from the coaches perspective. Also helps to have mentors like Coach K, Keady and Williams. Yet, as soon as I wrote this I remembered Matt Doherty who played at UNC then coached there and was a flop. IIRC he didn't spend time as an assistant under Dean Smith.

Salaries at a lot of schools are on par with UK, so why put up with the pressure of unrealistic donors and fanbase if the money isn't significantly better?

 

[IRISHDODGER]

 

[yankeehater]

Basketball is different than football in that it takes a few players to build a competitive roster. A small amount of NiL cash allows the mid-majors to possibly compete with the blue bloods. Footballs takes a ton of cash. I think you will see the playing field in hoops level even more as long as the NiL rules don't change.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

I don't know how many schools use this kind of succession plan, but it it can be hit or miss. Painter was HC at Southern Illinois when he was hired at Purdue. He was given the title of Associate HC knowing that Keady was going to be retiring the following year. Having played for Keady gave him a unique perspective on the culture of the program. Same with Davis and Scheyer. Mike Davis was an assistant under Knight, then was promoted to HC. He was great his first two years with Knights recruits, but it was downhill after that. Maybe the key is a guy that played in the system, then spent time as an assistant learning the culture from the coaches perspective. Also helps to have mentors like Coach K, Keady and Williams. Yet, as soon as I wrote this I remembered Matt Doherty who played at UNC then coached there and was a flop. IIRC he didn't spend time as an assistant under Dean Smith.

Salaries at a lot of schools are on par with UK, so why put up with the pressure of unrealistic donors and fanbase if the money isn't significantly better?

The context of how and why Mike Davis ended up HC at Indiana is a pretty unique scenario. I'll leave it at that.

Painter was undoubtedly a succession plan because he was associate HC for one season, then took over the following.

Hubert Davis was a UNC assistant from 2012-2021. Jon Scheyer was a Duke assistant from 2014-2022. I doubt they were both hired with the intent of one day being the guys who took over those programs, but they both stayed and didn't take an HC job anywhere else for nearly a decade. It wasn't a one and in situation like Painter succeeding Keady. What interests me most is that they're all former players/alums of the schools where they are now coaching. Enter Pope at Kentucky, who started out at Washington and ended up at UK in the 90s.

I think succession plans are to be done by athletic administrators at their own risk, as is hiring alums. Really depends on what they feel might be best, but I'd agree that in the end it is ultimately hit or miss. What Purdue did seems to have worked. Painter has been there nearly twenty years.