sludevil
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Posts posted by sludevil
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Ollie is much too high. He has no track record. Of course Beilein has just as many final fours as Ollie does and is #9. He's also too high.
My top 5 would be Donovan, Izzo, Self, Pitino, Calipari with Coach K father down the list. Everyone says Boeheim has lost his fastball, Coach K has too.
I'm with you on Boeheim, as he's just never done it for me (if I have to hear one more talking head go on about the zone...). And I agree that a good argument can be made for putting K outside of the top 5 - especially if we're cabining discussion to the last season or two - but let's not put him out to pasture just yet. The dude's last championship was in 2010, and he has the #1 recruiting class coming in (in addition to his duties with USA basketball).
Otherwise, even though he couldn't coach his way out of a paper bag, Calipari deserves his high ranking. He's the most successful recruiter out there, and that recruiting success has generally translated onto the court. And as someone else mentioned, I think there's something to the fact that he's managed to achieve that success even while asking McD's AAs to share the ball and - gasp - come off the bench. That in itself is a pretty noteworthy achievement.
Ollie, Beilein, and Marshall are too high. Miller (11) and Self are too low. Bo Ryan I'm of two minds about. He's a good coach, but this (including this upcoming season, in which he should be in the championship discussion) is definitely his peak, and I would expect him to recede back to the norm in coming seasons. He's a good coach, and his teams are always gonna be good, but his system (and, for that matter, his school) just doesn't lend itself to top-flight recruiting. Elite recruits want flashy plays and big moments; they generally don't want solid, slow-paced, fundamental basketball.
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The full ranking is now available. The top 10:
10. Kevin Ollie
9. John Beilein
8. Gregg Marshall
7. Bo Ryan
6. Bill Self
5. Rick Pitino
4. Mike Krzyzewski
3. Tom Izzo
2. John Calipari
1. Billy Donovan
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Really skip? How about a little more ingenuity? Seven points and three points .. like I haven't heard that somewhere before. And, by the way, I say make the posts you so describe thinner .. lik ein arean football. Make 'em earn it.
Big Three: Football, basketball and baseball.
Secondary Sports: Hockey, Wipe-Out/Most Extreme Elimination Challenge, tennis (majors) and golf (majors).
Bullcrap: Soccer, lacrosse, cricket, volleyball, anything starting with "X", WWE, anything involving "Dew," Tour de Frank, rugby, Australian rules football, surfing, ping pong, and so on ......
Blatant WWE trolling.
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It looks a lot like the new ACC logo (which, in turn, resembles the Big East logo). I was never a fan of the old A10 logo, so I'm on board with the change.
Edit: ^ Apparently looks a lot like the Arena Football League logo, too. I guess everyone's using the same marketing firm?
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Thanks for the updates, torch. Really cool to see what these guys are doing overseas.
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Tatum apparently playing well at the KD Skills Academy. He's one of three underclassmen there.
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So maybe this is close-minded/sexist/xenophobic/whatever, but I'm bothered by soccer players and the culture around them. The flopping and writhing around, the metrosexual (is that still a term? I don't know) haircuts and grooming - it doesn't jive well with "traditional" American masculinity, which is something I associate closely with sport. Granted, I'm not a huge fan of the sport itself - it's not the most exciting thing in the world - though I appreciate the strategy and skill involved, and I think it's cool that the whole world is participating in this thing. But then I turn on the TV and see guys who look like they spent the two hours before the game in the salon, and I see other guys being gently tapped (or not touched at all), and then hitting the ground like they've suffered a massive injury. And that just loses me completely.
(And I realize that other sports aren't guilt-free in this area. Basketball has a flopping problem - and that bothers me, too - but no sport has these things to the same extent and in the same combination as soccer.)
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Jabari can't play for everyone.
It's a shame, I know. (Though after Jabari's workout with the Cavs, I would've picked Wiggins first, too.)
Also, our old friend TJ Warren just went 14 to the Suns.
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One of the draft guys was reporting last year Gilbert wanted Oladipo and the front office wanted Bennett. That appears to be driving the indecision.
Looks like the front office lost the argument this year. I guess picking Bennett will do that.
Also: Gordon goes 4 and Smart (!) goes 6. Were these teams watching the same games that I was?
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The day has arrived. Sounds like Cleveland is internally split between Parker and Wiggins, though is aggressively trying to trade out (to the Magic?). Wonder if the success of their last #1 pick is giving them cold feet.
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Are you connected to Jayson or his family?
Nope, only to Duke.
Edit: Just to clarify my previous comments: word tends to get around quickly when shady things are afoot in a recruitment. Duke is staying on top of this kid (trying to make that Tatum/Giles/Smith package actually happen), and I haven't heard anything that would raise eyebrows. Have heard great things about him personally, though.
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Yeah, it definitely goes on, but it's nowhere near as common as some people seem to think (e.g., whenever Calipari pulls a top recruit). Often it's the kid's handlers - parents, guardians, coaches, "family friends" - who first make it clear the kid is taking offers, rather than a program making the first move (although that happens, too). But Tatum is a good kid - and I think there's a lot of truth to the belief that, generally, if programs feel they don't need to expose themselves to unnecessary risk, they won't. And, in Tatum's case, they aren't, at least not yet.
Like I said, he's a good kid - and if we land him, we'll be getting a kid with a lot of integrity, and a good head on his shoulders (beyond being an outstanding basketball player).
(Full disclosure: I have no idea how things work in college football these days. Though if you're looking for a good book on the subject - at least as it existed a decade or so ago - I really enjoyed Illegal Procedure by Josh Luchs.)
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Tatum is a clean recruitment. He's a good kid, with good parents. (Granted, that won't stop a coach from making first contact with respect to benefits. But I bet this one stays clean.)
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Just to throw something else out there: a source close to UF (who has been reliable in the past) seems pretty convinced Tatum is staying in the Midwest. I didn't get that same impression out of the Duke camp, but there it is. Also, the fact that Tatum is explicitly denying rumors that location is going to play heavily in his decision makes me think location is going to play heavily in his decision.
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I think we are either going to end up in Tatum's top 2-3 schools or not in the running at all. We have a pretty unique recruiting pitch. If he buys it, we have a great shot. If he doesn't, we have no shot against teams like Kansas and Kentucky.
So far, things look overwhelmingly positive.
Agreed. It basically comes down to the hometown hero angle vs. the bright lights and deep pockets of the traditional powers. Assuming we keep pushing, I think we'll remain a serious contender; the hometown thing seems to hold a lot of sway with this kid and (importantly) his parents, and that's something the blue chips can't offer.
But a lot can (and will) happen between then and now. If nothing else, though, it's fun to be in the race.
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How desperate is Crean? He's never mentioned in the schools Tatum says he is considering and he calls him at the stroke of midnight? Didn't he have a more plausible recruit to call then?
And I'm sure he had plenty of bad things to say about every other school on that call, too.
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Interesting that all the schools he mentions by name (except Kansas?) don't really seem to be strong contenders for him.
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Dude, it was a joke.
Gotcha, lack of sleep is making it so I can't read too good.
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Thank you for proving my point. 38 universities ranked better.
Dude, 39 is still a solid ranking. (SLU is 101.) And, beyond the ranking, UC-Davis seems to enjoy a pretty good reputation generally in the academic community.
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There's still some basketball going on. The U18 team is stocked with top prospects, though their games up to this point haven't been very competitive. Otherwise, it's tough - there isn't much in the way of recruiting right now, and I have a tough time watching old games. Cardinals are in season, though.
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I would go Parker 1, as he seems the safest bet, even if his ceiling is lower than the other two. Wiggins 2 for the awesome potential, even if it has yet to be realized. Embiid 3 because I would be terrified of a big with back and foot problems, but you can't let his talent slip out of the top 3. Exum 4.
For what it's worth, I think this draft is deep but not overly talented. Teams have a good shot at picking up solid players pretty much throughout the first round, but there isn't a ton of top-end talent there.
I'm not sold on Randle. I think he can be a solid bench player, but he doesn't do any one thing extremely well, and I have doubts about his ability to transition to the NBA.
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Lol. You don't get it. These "flaws" or "issues" come out in the months leading up to the draft every year. 90% of it is a play by teams who hope to see certain players fall to them in the draft. Every team leaks these supposed issues but in reality little to nothing has changed from a few months ago. Do you actually think NBA executives just in the last three months discovered that Wiggins is a "head case" or Parker may not be able to play defense? etc. etc. They've been following these guys for a few years now. Three months and a few workouts isn't going to do much to change their perceptions of the players.
Can guys rise and fall due to the pre-draft workouts? Sure. But that is very rarely going to be the type of guys you're talking about.
...yeah, no kidding. But dude asked what happened to the most hyped draft class in the last several years, and that's what happened. These kids were hyped to kingdom come coming out of high school, and they just didn't live up the hype. I don't think it was NBA GMs doing the hyping, but maybe we travel in different circles and you know something I don't. In any case, though, the ESPN-watching public was led to believe this class was filled with superstars. Then they played college ball, and it turned out reports of their talent may have been exaggerated. (And, just to be clear, that level of hype definitely doesn't come around every year. For example, this incoming class isn't anywhere near the Parker/Wiggins hype.) I'm not sure what your response has to do with anything, but, hey, maybe I just read it too quickly.
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Embiid healthy is Michael Olowakandi part II.
6 months ago this was supposed to be the deepest draft in years. Now Nik Stauskas is getting taken in the top 10. What happened?
Hype didn't play out. Wiggins is a head case and may have trouble realizing his potential. Parker has conditioning issues and may or may not be able to play defense. Embiid has injury concerns and is still learning the game of basketball. Exum never played college ball. Randle is a bit of a tweener. Smart took a big hit this season. The list goes on. There are lots of "pretty good" players in the bunch, but I wouldn't feel confident betting on any of them to make an all-star game.
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You mean Greg Oden + being able to shoot, pass, dribble, and having only played basketball for a handful of years? Gotcha
Oden in the sense that Embiid is also a top prospect big man, and also has huge red flags concerning his ability to stay healthy. (And here I'm just talking about his back issues, which should sound alarms for any team thinking of selecting a big. Though his new foot injury doesn't help, either.)
Embiid could end up a great pick, and probably has the highest ceiling of any of the top 3 prospects. But between learning the game of basketball and staying healthy, he's far and away the riskiest.
ESPN Top 50 Coaches
in Billikens.com Main Board
Posted
Undefeated in a bad conference. It's an accomplishment, no doubt, but let's keep it in context - his best wins (by far) were us and Tennessee - and, on any given night, he could be found playing the likes of Drake, or Illinois State, or Northern Iowa. I think the Final Four is a much bigger deal, but even there he caught some pretty favorable breaks (landing Gonzaga as the 1 seed, getting LaSalle in the Sweet 16). In other words, I think he's a good coach, but I'm not convinced his recent success is the norm or whether it's more an aberration.
On the other hand, if we're only looking at the last one or two seasons - and basing things primarily on wins - then, yeah he should probably be top 10. But, hell, then guys like Brad Underwood should be right there, too. I just need a bigger sample size with Marshall - and it seems we'll probably get it sooner rather than later when he jumps to a bigger program.