Reply to thread

Message: [QUOTE="LStudfellow, post: 5232990, member: 5436"] I understand your knee jerk reaction in saying this... but I believe the title of his best game of coaching here still resides in last year's championship game. Yes, putting a serious scare and almost beating arguably the #1 team and odds on favorite to win this year's title is obviously an elite coaching job by Dan and the entire staff. Kudos to him, them and the entire team. But giving yesterday's performance that moniker of "best coached game" and therefore taking it away from the NCAA championship game last year is the same as saying yesterday's game planning was more impressive than the scheme to cover Zach Edey 1-on-1 while concentrating efforts to keep their guards and wings from going off. Particularly when it looked early on as if it might not be working when Edey had already scored 14 of their 23 points, was dominating us and they held a 2 point lead on us 12 minutes into the game. The commentators on the broadcast were questioning the strategy, and I am sure so were many of us. Of course now we all look back in 20-20 hindsight and say it was absolutely the right move, and proved to be a brilliant stroke of genius. But to say we all knew it was going to work the way it did as it was happening early on would be a total lie. No one had implemented such a strategy against Purdue so effectively. Edey tired out, the Purdue guards and wings never did get untracked and we won going away. And deciding not to double on Edey was the singularly most important strategic coaching move that helped give us the edge we needed to win the game, and the title. So in my mind, particularly with what was at stake (you have to take that into account too), yesterday's coaching job as good as it was still has to fall in line behind last year's championship game against Purdue. I personally put last year's Title game plan and coaching right up there with the decision in the 1999 Title game against Duke to guard Elton Brand with the big-to-big strategy that helped sway that game just enough in our favor to win. 2024 vs. Purdue Hurley and staff was every bit the equal of 1999 Calhoun and staff vs. Duke. That says it all in my book. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach