The Official March Madness Thread

[primushead]

On to the Final Four!!  

I'm really hoping for a MSU/UNC rematch in the title game...that would be sweet.

[tower]

On to the Final Four!!  

I'm really hoping for a MSU/UNC rematch in the title game...that would be sweet.

That would be just fine with me as well however we both have lots of work to do to get there on Monday.  I'd like to get another shot at UNC with a healthy Suton, added experience under our belt, and an Izzo game plan that would benefit from playing you once.  That being said, I'm concerned about getting past UConn...maybe I'll send Calhoun a cell phone...

[capt. scotty]

Well I guess I was off on MSU not having a chance against Lousiville. They def impressed and Suton was huge. I dont know if it was their D or not, but them holding T-Will and Samuels to what I can remember like 2 points was definitely the difference. Williams was solid on the boards and assists, but Lousiville lives and dies with him scoring.

I cant see Nova beating UNC, they have too much depth and star power. Id expect UCONN to beat MSU, but if MSU can take Lousiville off their game like that, they can do it to UCONN.

IMO, Ty Lawson should be the #1 overall pick in the draft, and Blake Griffin should be #2. If I remember correctly, a lot of people were saying Griffin won't be able to translate his game to the pros, kind of like Hansbrough. I think they're crazy. I think Griffin will be a borderline all star in the NBA for a long time.

[capt. scotty]

That bastard for Mizzou who missed that layup with 1 second left lost a lot of people money. Motherfucker  >:(

I'm sure he feels real bad for you, jackass.

Sorry your team lost

[Ruckus]

What Grinds My Gears:

Up here in ACC/Big East Country, everyone shits on the Big Ten and bad, boring basketball.  I get it.  Recently, the Big Ten has not recruited the top talent in the country but their style has succeeded to some extent in the tourney over the last decade.  What bothers me is that the sports talking head bash it as slow, boring b'ball based on defense and rebounding.  These same people worship the Ravens for their tough D and running game.  What gives? >:(

[tower]

They're talking heads, that's what gives.

Everyone from Dickhead and Dugger to the CBS announcers, to the panel on Sports Reporters all kept referring to MSU's slow down style.  MSU wants to run, run, run...notice how quickly we get the ball inbounds after a made shot.  A few of the Big Ten teams want to slow it down like Wisconsin but not all.  The refs in the Big Ten contribute (Hightower! Where's he been all tourney?) by calling and stopping the game repeatedly.  MSU can't wait to get out of the Big Ten for reasons that were shown yesterday v. Louisville.  We ran when we could but we also can be patient and run offensive sets.  

One thing that was mentioned after the game was that we "out toughed" Louisville and I agree with that.  Louisville has good players and Pitino is a good coach but I don't know that they're particularly tough and when it ain't easy and fun they seemed to respond by shrinking and quitting.  Still can't believe Pitino didn't make more adjustments at halftime trying to get T-will more involved.  Now nobody gives us a chance against UConn even though they've lost twice to Pitt who Pitino said is very much like MSU, hmmm.

[ycartrob]

Everyone see this yet?

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peeTvaQ9fqE[/media]

[primushead]

^
^
^

I was shocked when I saw that...at first I thought it was just the coaches' heads posted on other bodies, but apparently not.

Pretty funny, I must say.

[capt. scotty]

is it just me, or does anyone else think its like 4.7 times cooler when the games are on a court like the 1 in Indianapolis where the court is elevated and the benches are like dugouts??

I think its badass. I hope the court is like that in Detroit

[tower]

Me no like the games on a football field.

[tower]

How bad a hire would Calipari be for UK...that guy ain't a top level coach.  He's a recruiter but can't coach his way out of a paper sack.  If he has to go against good competition regularly he'll be lucky to be 20 wins every year.  The dribble-drive offense is akin to rolling the ball out and to say they were the best defensive team is just silly.  They played in C-USA which contains the School for the Blind I think.

Still I would find it mildly entertaining being no fan of UK or UL but living in Louisville.  

[capt. scotty]

How bad a hire would Calipari be for UK...that guy ain't a top level coach.  He's a recruiter but can't coach his way out of a paper sack.  If he has to go against good competition regularly he'll be lucky to be 20 wins every year. The dribble-drive offense is akin to rolling the ball out and to say they were the best defensive team is just silly.  They played in C-USA which contains the School for the Blind I think.

Still I would find it mildly entertaining being no fan of UK or UL but living in Louisville.  

You cant be serious. There's a few coaches who are strategically better than him (and Izzo is 1 of them), but look at the talent he's acquired at Memphis, let alone Marcus Camby at dot on the map UMass. Put him at Kentucky, and he's annually getting the talent that Roy Williams and Jim Calhoun get and then some.

If you dont think he could coach a 20 win team 9 out of 10 years in the SEC, you're crazy. He'd instantly be the best coach in the SEC

[capt. scotty]

Me no like the games on a football field.

so its better to put them over ice in hockey arenas?

[MickeyReds]

go nova!

Once again ;)

[tower]

How bad a hire would Calipari be for UK...that guy ain't a top level coach.  He's a recruiter but can't coach his way out of a paper sack.  If he has to go against good competition regularly he'll be lucky to be 20 wins every year. The dribble-drive offense is akin to rolling the ball out and to say they were the best defensive team is just silly.  They played in C-USA which contains the School for the Blind I think.

Still I would find it mildly entertaining being no fan of UK or UL but living in Louisville.  

You cant be serious. There's a few coaches who are strategically better than him (and Izzo is 1 of them), but look at the talent he's acquired at Memphis, let alone Marcus Camby at dot on the map UMass. Put him at Kentucky, and he's annually getting the talent that Roy Williams and Jim Calhoun get and then some.

If you dont think he could coach a 20 win team 9 out of 10 years in the SEC, you're crazy. He'd instantly be the best coach in the SEC

I'm serious, he's a great recruiter of talent but not so ethical.  He left UMASS in a hurry with sanctions to follow.  That Final Four in 96 has been vacated due to violations with aforementioned Camby.  With the talent he recruits he does win some games but not because of coaching, sheer talent.  But when the going get's rough the character issue will rear its head.  It won't bother me if he gets the job, I'm not a UK fan but I do think it's a terrible hire.  This is NOT the guy to lead UK back to the national elite.

[ycartrob]

How bad a hire would Calipari be for UK...that guy ain't a top level coach.  He's a recruiter but can't coach his way out of a paper sack.  If he has to go against good competition regularly he'll be lucky to be 20 wins every year. The dribble-drive offense is akin to rolling the ball out and to say they were the best defensive team is just silly.  They played in C-USA which contains the School for the Blind I think.

Still I would find it mildly entertaining being no fan of UK or UL but living in Louisville.  

You cant be serious. There's a few coaches who are strategically better than him (and Izzo is 1 of them), but look at the talent he's acquired at Memphis, let alone Marcus Camby at dot on the map UMass. Put him at Kentucky, and he's annually getting the talent that Roy Williams and Jim Calhoun get and then some.

If you dont think he could coach a 20 win team 9 out of 10 years in the SEC, you're crazy. He'd instantly be the best coach in the SEC

I'm serious, he's a great recruiter of talent but not so ethical.  He left UMASS in a hurry with sanctions to follow.  That Final Four in 96 has been vacated due to violations with aforementioned Camby.  With the talent he recruits he does win some games but not because of coaching, sheer talent.  But when the going get's rough the character issue will rear its head.  It won't bother me if he gets the job, I'm not a UK fan but I do think it's a terrible hire.  This is NOT the guy to lead UK back to the national elite.

Marcus Camby accepted 28K from sports agents at UMass, that had nothing to do with Calipari.

and with all due respect, if he can lead Memphis back to the national elite, Memphis, he can do it at Kentucky. The question is can he get his stars to stay in college and not jump to the NBA.

To say he's a "recruiter" and not a coach is like saying he drinks coffee but he's not a coffee drinker. You can't be a coach without being a recruiter, it's part of the job description.

Sounds to me like you got some beef with the Pitinos and Caliparis of the world. You're not Greek, are you?  ;) You're not a Bobby Knight fan by any chance, are you?

[tower]

Yea but some guys recruit and coach and graduate players and aren't slimy.  Camby is the kind of character he recruits and that's not good.  

Not Greek, just don't care for slick cats.  Pitino apparently dislikes Calipari, I'd guess because he's a Pitino wannabe.  But Pitino is twice the coach Calipari is.

I'll stand by my word, Calipari is a bad hire for UK...but go ahead, I don't mind.

[ycartrob]

 Camby is the kind of character he recruits and that's not good.  

Camby is a good guy who made a poor decision. Some 20 year-olds don't have the maturity to say no when 28K is shoved in their face, and he got caught; shit like that happens a lot, they just usually don't get caught.  Show me one other major infraction by Camby in the past 13 years.

[capt. scotty]

How bad a hire would Calipari be for UK...that guy ain't a top level coach.  He's a recruiter but can't coach his way out of a paper sack.  If he has to go against good competition regularly he'll be lucky to be 20 wins every year. The dribble-drive offense is akin to rolling the ball out and to say they were the best defensive team is just silly.  They played in C-USA which contains the School for the Blind I think.

Still I would find it mildly entertaining being no fan of UK or UL but living in Louisville.  

You cant be serious. There's a few coaches who are strategically better than him (and Izzo is 1 of them), but look at the talent he's acquired at Memphis, let alone Marcus Camby at dot on the map UMass. Put him at Kentucky, and he's annually getting the talent that Roy Williams and Jim Calhoun get and then some.

If you dont think he could coach a 20 win team 9 out of 10 years in the SEC, you're crazy. He'd instantly be the best coach in the SEC

I'm serious, he's a great recruiter of talent but not so ethical.  He left UMASS in a hurry with sanctions to follow.  That Final Four in 96 has been vacated due to violations with aforementioned Camby.  With the talent he recruits he does win some games but not because of coaching, sheer talent.  But when the going get's rough the character issue will rear its head.  It won't bother me if he gets the job, I'm not a UK fan but I do think it's a terrible hire.  This is NOT the guy to lead UK back to the national elite.

So how many wins will he have next year if he goes to UK, brings a few of his top recruits with him, and Jodi Meeks stays like he says he will so far?

Id bet more than 20, and thats in his first year at a program in a major conference that didnt dance the year prior

[tower]

 Camby is the kind of character he recruits and that's not good.  

Camby is a good guy who made a poor decision. Some 20 year-olds don't have the maturity to say no when 28K is shoved in their face, and he got caught; shit like that happens a lot, they just usually don't get caught.  Show me one other major infraction by Camby in the past 13 years.

On December 16, 2006, Camby was involved in the infamous Knicks-Nuggets brawl.

On June 14, 1997, Camby was arrested on charges of marijuana possession in South Windsor, Connecticut after police stopped him for a driving offense.[23] On July 1, 1997, he agreed to a plea deal that required him to complete 16 hours of community service, in exchange for dismissal of the drug charge. Charges against Camby were dropped after he fulfilled the community service.

I'm not saying he's a terrible guy but Calipari deals in recruiting with talent first, character second.  He's shady and brings baggage and drama.  See this article http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20090331/COLUMNISTS01/903310363.  I'm not saying Izzo should (or would) go to UK or that Izzo hasn't had a player or two have some off-court troubles but Calipari, IMHO, is not a quailty hire.