whitesoxfan99

It is truly incredible how little talent there is on the floor for a national championship game.

QUOTE (Brian @ Apr 4, 2011 -> 04:49 PM) Sounds like Barnes is staying at UNC. Smart move. I know he got better as the year went along and was one of the best in the country by tournament time but I think a complete season on the college level would be good for his pro game. Meh. You can improve just as much and probably more by playing in the NBA and Barnes appears to be a very hard worker so I have no doubt even if he was getting paid that he would put in the work. Get the money when you can get it.

Sounds like Smart is going to stay at VCU. They lose 4 out of their top 5 players so this is an interesting decision considering it is pretty likely they won't even be in the NCAA tournament next year. It will be interesting to see if Smart was just a flash in the pan or if he is a legit coach over the next few years.

QUOTE (danman31 @ Apr 4, 2011 -> 12:02 AM) Sure as heck would be better than keeping this guy. (Please be Gene Chizik) Difference of course is that Haith sucked for 7 years not 2 and there are no Guz Malzahns in college basketball and I doubt Missouri will be buying the best player in college basketball.

QUOTE (danman31 @ Apr 3, 2011 -> 11:15 PM) Mizzou just hired Frank Haith? WTF? Really hoping this isn't true, but it's sounding pretty real. Zen, I think you should be thanking my school for taking this s***ty coach off your hands. WTF. Wow that is a f***ing terrible hire. I would be f***ing furious if I was a Missouri fan. One NCAA tourney in 7 years and never finished above .500 in the ACC. Yikes.

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 3, 2011 -> 04:08 PM) That UCONN team played better in the NCAA Tournament than any team this century, in my opinion. Teams had absolutely no shot against them, as their worst starter was probably the best player in the tourney (R. Anderson). Not bad to go with Okafor, Ben Gordon, Boone, Villanueva, Armstrong, T. Brown, etc. They only beat Duke by 1 in the final 4. But that Duke team was also loaded with Deng, Williams, Redick, Duhon, and Ewing. I still wish that Illinois team had been on the other side of the bracket from Duke and UConn because they would have had a great shot at making the final 4 with how they were playing at the end of the year.

QUOTE (danman31 @ Apr 3, 2011 -> 03:32 PM) If UConn wins tomorrow it will only be the second time a team that wasn't a No. 1 seed won the national title without beating a No. 1 seed. The other was UConn in 2004. Go figure. UConn beat Duke who was a No. 1 seed in the final 4 that year and that UConn team was the best team in the country but had some injuries during the season IIRC which is the only reason they weren't a No. 1 seed.

I'm sick of Will Ohman already.

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 3, 2011 -> 12:32 PM) That VCU/Butler game was terrible last night. One thing is for certain to me, and that is I don't want to have to watch two "underdogs" play each other again in the Final Four. When they play other, big name teams, it's exciting. When it's against each other, not so much. Both games were terrible, that was some horrid basketball played last night.

QUOTE (dasox24 @ Apr 2, 2011 -> 10:49 PM) But hey, at least Cal made his 1st Final 4. Until this one is also taken away for something completely out of Calipari's hands because he is just unlucky.

QUOTE (Wanne @ Apr 1, 2011 -> 02:20 PM) sick of hearin' the Tribe announcers whining about the zone already.... As long as you are consistent and complain about it when Hawk does it each and every time the Sox are losing this year.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Apr 1, 2011 -> 11:41 AM) You'd think they'd have tried to make it a bit different, jesus, way to make something awesome seem annoying now. This could still end up being hilarious, but this just comes off as incredibly unoriginal and a complete money grab which is what I expected from the beginning. I wasn't excited about the sequel from the minute it was announced for this exact reason.

QUOTE (Chet Kincaid @ Apr 1, 2011 -> 10:03 AM) I'm hooked on British tv shows. Hu$tle, Life on Mars, Ashes to Ashes, even Doctor Who. Hu$tle and Life on Mars (the original UK version, not the crappy one on ABC) is a really good show. DCI Gene Hunt is the funniest character on tv. Try The Inbetweeners if you like British comedies.

QUOTE (Brian @ Mar 31, 2011 -> 07:43 PM) Makes it look like same move but moved to Thailand. Guess I shouldn't be too surprised. Not surprised. This might still be funny but not impressed at all by that trailer and comedy sequels are generally disappointing and unoriginal.

Jacob Tucker is an unreal dunker. Wow

QUOTE (danman31 @ Mar 31, 2011 -> 03:45 PM) Bruce Weber at SIU: 15-12 (t-5th MVC), 20-13 (3rd MVC; NIT 2nd round), 16-14 (t-4th MVC), 28-8 (t-1st MVC; Sweet 16), 24-7 (1st MVC; NCAA 1st round) Bill Self didn't make the postseason until his fourth year at Oral Roberts and that was the NIT. He didn't make the tourney in his first year with Tulsa and went 9-5 in the WAC in year two (with a tourney appearance). Tom Izzo didn't make the tourney until his 3rd year at Michigan State. Generally everyone does exactly what you just said. I think that's fairly clear at this point. Unless you can get a Matt Painter type (and really, meh) who is potentially frustrated at his major job, Shaka is the most attractive candidate. And it wasn't until Weber established SIU as a top program in the MVC and Self went 32-5 with an Elite 8 did they step up to major conferences. I was just saying when they were hired they generally have had more success in their leagues than Smart has. Smart also inherited a program that had won three straight CAA regular season titles and a first round pick. Like Self he has the great tourney run going for him though and as I've said, I think he is a good candidate I just would be a little concerned that he has finished 5th and 4th in the CAA (which is a solid conference but still) with quite a bit of talent on his roster for that conference.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Mar 31, 2011 -> 01:57 PM) Still, how many of those coaches that you're talking about have been to a final four when they were at their mid major job? Like I said, I have no clue whether this guy is going to be something special or if he'll be a bust down the road but at least for the next couple of years he should be able to ride this momentum into some pretty solid recruiting classes at a bcs school. He would certainly be on my short list for Illinois just not at the top. I'm just more pointing out how ridiculous it is nationally that suddenly Smart is this brilliant coach based on a fluke 5 game run.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Mar 31, 2011 -> 01:46 PM) Arent we all fans of coaches that made their way in mid-majors before they got their shot? Generally those coaches didn't finish 5th and 4th in their conferences, miss the tourney their first year and were one shot away from missing the tourney their 2nd year. Smart has had an incredible run but VCU's performance last year and prior to the tourney this year leaves a ton to be desired. They have played out of their minds and shot way above their capabilities for a 5 game stretch but that doesn't make him a great coach. But I do agree that any time you hire a mid major coach you are getting an unproven commodity so you just have to wait and see how he does at a bigger job.

QUOTE (maggsmaggs @ Mar 31, 2011 -> 12:39 PM) I found it interesting how Boozer was better last night with no Noah. I really think it's a product of those two not getting a ton of practice time together early in the season. I think next year they will really start to gel. Best thing about both is that they are really good passers for big guys, and once they get into a rhythm together, I think there will be some great interior passing between them. Playing the Timberwolves has a lot to do with that as well.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Mar 31, 2011 -> 10:11 AM) I know about the Guenther situation and really hope its not renewed. You said the OU/Weber stuff was terrible timing with Guenther leaving soon. Why is it terrible timing? Do you think Weber is scared to be under another AD? His contract runs for a few more years, so it would be hard to fire him immediately. It is terrible timing because obviously ideally you want an AD to be in place to hire the basketball coach and i don't want Guenther running the search. They should get try to get Jerry Colangelo involved if Weber does take the Oklahoma job and basically let him make the decision on who the next coach is.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Mar 31, 2011 -> 07:49 AM) How so? His contract is up this summer (I forget the exact date) and President Hogan is not a fan so I would be really surprised to see his contract renewed.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Mar 31, 2011 -> 09:31 AM) I agree with you on this. I guess maybe he would go to Marquette cause its where he's from, but that job isn't opening up anytime soon. Why would he wanna go to Oklahoma? Jeff Capel made the Elite 8 two years ago as a #2 seed, and two sub-.500 seasons later, he's gone already. There's some pressure to win in Norman as well and it's not exactly a basketball powerhouse. Capel's recruiting had also completely dried up and he had major scandals with his recruits last year which played a major role in his getting fired. I think Oklahoma is basically looking for a coach who will make the tourney most years (which I think Weber would do there, and I still don't think he is a bad coach but it clearly is broken at Illinois and I'm not sure it can be fixed at this point, a change of scenery might do him so good) and most importantly keep the NCAA from sniffing around the basketball program since their last two coaches were Sampson and Capel. The last thing Oklahoma wants it NCAA attention on the basketball program leading to investigation of their sacred football program.

QUOTE (hitlesswonder @ Mar 31, 2011 -> 09:40 AM) I agree the team has talent, but it's mostly at one position (wing) and I'd be very worried about the C and PF spots. It's certainly possible for them to be good, I just think it unlikely since I thought they would be good this year with fewer question marks than next season will have. I agree with everything you say about Smart. In fact, I think Imrem's column in the Daily Herald suggesting Illinois give up on basketball if they can't hire Smart was the most ridiculous thing I've read in a while....and I read internet message boards. Like I've said I've given up on making predictions on Illinois under the current regime until they actually prove it on the court but Illinois will have depth pretty much everywhere next year (assuming Richmond is back) with the C position being the big question mark. Egwu and Leonard have a ton of talent and potential but haven't proven anything yet. At PF you would have Richmond, Griffey, Shaw and Henry can play there a bit. If Richmond comes back I'm not worried about that position because that is where I think he sees the most minutes. On the wings they are fine obviously. And at PG between Maniscalco and Abrams I see no reason they won't get at least competent play.

QUOTE (hitlesswonder @ Mar 31, 2011 -> 08:44 AM) I didn't think he'd leave initially, but now I'm thinking it's actually pretty likely. With Guenther leaving the writing is probably on the wall and Weber is smart enough to know that next year's Illinois team is likely to be pretty bad. With OU he gets a contract to take him to retirement plus more money per year. OU has better facilities than Illinois and he wouldn't have to deal with Jereme Richmond there. I think he's gone. For Illinois, there's no way they hire an elite candidate (like Smart) under the current circumstances and I imagine they'd lose a recruit or two. They would save money by not having to buyout Weber's contract when firing him. The team won't be bad next year, too much talent for that. It is just a question of whether they are extremely mediocre like the last two years or the players live up to their potential and they compete for a Big 10 championship. Based on the last two years the former is probably more likely but you never know. Also, I love that Shaka Smart has a fluke run through the tourney and suddenly he is an elite candidate nationally. He has a team that shot 36% from 3 for the year shooting close to 45% from 3 for the tourney and they are taking a ton of them. The guy may end up being a phenomenal coach and I do like his personality and demeanor but he finished 5th in the colonial last year and 4th this year with pretty talented teams. He also lost to Georgia State, USF and Northeastern this year.

As down as I am about weber this is freaking terrible timing with Guenther likely out as AD in June or July.