Elite 8 Games Thread

[superjohn]

5 years for phone calls. So this is payback……good for him. I thought it may have been “significant” but that was during the time the NCAA was fully engulfed in their era of abusing their power.

I am rooting for them more now that I was reminded how stupid it all was.

It was excessive and seems ridiculous now but I believe he was head of the rules committee or something like that when he made hundreds of calls knowingly breaking the rules and he compounded things by lying about all of it. Then to do it again when he was coach at Indiana was bonkers.

 

[WrenchFan69]

Not getting outbid on Pettiford would have changed this season exponentially. He's exactly what we were missing offensively

 

[gsmooth]

Not getting outbid on Pettiford would have changed this season exponentially. He's exactly what we were missing offensively

I know (sigh). I have been lamenting this all season but even moreso when he was torching Ashworth and Creighton and then Michigan.

 

[jibsey]

Broome 17 and 11 at the half

 

[Sibeerian]

It was the Raftery of times, it was the Lappas of times.

 

[storrsroars]

Good thing Broome has a week to heal. Don't know if Auburn really needs him to close this one out.

I've watched a few Auburn games and just don't recall Caldwell being so active or such a monster.

 

[HooperScooper]

I've watched a few Auburn games and just don't recall Caldwell being so active or such a monster.

Didn't UConn recruit him?

I picked Auburn in my pool to go to the Final Four but I'm not rooting for them. Just can't do it.

 

[gsmooth]

Good thing Broome has a week to heal. Don't know if Auburn really needs him to close this one out.

I've watched a few Auburn games and just don't recall Caldwell being so active or such a monster.

I love watching Cardwell play. He knows his role and makes winning plays as a glue guy and energy and hustle player.

 

[navery12]

Didn't UConn recruit him?

I picked Auburn in my pool to go to the Final Four but I'm not rooting for them. Just can't do it.

Yes he's the recruit of the infamous reports of him being on campus for a visit all weekend with a bunch of insiders weighing in, then it came out a few days later he was never even on campus

 

[BGesus4]

if there’s an Auburn Duke final we will have officially experienced the antithesis of a threepeat

 

[Husk1esB2B]

if there’s an Auburn Duke final we will have officially experienced the antithesis of a threepeat

why? I have nothing against auburn

 

[Dove]

Incredible hockey on ESPN2. UConn trying to beat Penn State. Overtime.

 

[storrsroars]

tuned in just in time to see PSU score the game winner.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Multiple times.

Yes, he violated NCAA rules, but at this point in time, how much worse of an offense were his behaviors than those of people who post on this forum in super high volumes?

Is there some, any, or no point at which his prior offenses recede into the background, and cease being more than historical fact?

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Feels like Barnes ceiling - which isn’t a bad thing. I’d be shocked if he ever gets over the hump.

It's not unlike Few not winning a National Championship - something missing that people will remember. Either could change the final disposition, though the landscape keeps changing, and the years keep piling up.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Yes he's the recruit of the infamous reports of him being on campus for a visit all weekend with a bunch of insiders weighing in, then it came out a few days later he was never even on campus

That was a great thread, with, among other things, notable contributions from Chief, learning how tight-lipped Hurley & staff were, and speculations that Caldwell was a rude to flush internal leakers, emerging with Javonte Ferguson choosing UConn over Kansas, and paving the path for out-recruiting Willard for Sanogo. And I think all of this was in the wake of Underwood spiriting away Kofi Cockburn in a late plot twist.

 

[Mr. French]

I have a feeling if everyone here said Sampson was a cheating scum, superjohn would be combatting that argument saying it was barely anything.

 

[UCLJ0211]

All four number one seeds again for the Final 4. First time since 2008. Makes for some good games but I wish there was a Cinderella or two this year.

 

[Deleted at users request]

This kind of represents the change in college hoops over the years.

2 NBA MVPs, greatest UNC college career ever, and the guy who also hit one of the most clutch shots in cbb ever.

Vs

Cooper Flagg and a bunch of people too old to be on their parents insurance.

And Cooper Flagg and his squad may walk through them because they have actual NBA talent and not guys who are just good because they are old.

 

[RuffRuff]

This kind of represents the change in college hoops over the years.

2 NBA MVPs, greatest UNC college career ever, and the guy who also hit one of the most clutch shots in cbb ever.

Vs

Cooper Flagg and a bunch of people too old to be on their parents insurance.

And Cooper Flagg and his squad may walk through them because they have actual NBA talent and not guys who are just good because they are old.

Not sure I'd reduce it to that. Auburn is old, yes. They have NBA players on their roster. Clayton is a true AA. We have 4 of the to top 10 KP teams of all time in this F4. KP goes back to 1999.

People want to poopoo the quality of hoops these days, but between conditioning, analytics, offensive sets, the play is better than what we saw back in the "old days". Kids these days go through top level training from the age of 14. Maybe the raw player was better back in the day, but the overall quality is better today. When you watch all the rim run dunks, lobs, cutting, intricate sets, these were few and far between back when iso ball reigned supreme.

 

[Deleted at users request]

Not sure I'd reduce it to that. Auburn is old, yes. They have NBA players on their roster. Clayton is a true AA. We have 4 of the to top 10 KP teams of all time in this F4. KP goes back to 1999.

People want to poopoo the quality of hoops these days, but between conditioning, analytics, offensive sets, the play is better than what we saw back in the "old days". Kids these days go through top level training from the age of 14. Maybe the raw player was better back in the day, but the overall quality is better today. When you watch all the rim run dunks, lobs, cutting, intricate sets, these were few and far between back when iso ball reigned supreme.

If everything is so much better why is American basketball starting to fall behind?

 

[RuffRuff]

If everything is so much better why is American basketball starting to fall behind?

70% of NBA players are American. It's not so much about American's falling behind as it is basketball growing internationally.

 

[Deleted at users request]

Not sure I'd reduce it to that. Auburn is old, yes. They have NBA players on their roster. Clayton is a true AA. We have 4 of the to top 10 KP teams of all time in this F4. KP goes back to 1999.

People want to poopoo the quality of hoops these days, but between conditioning, analytics, offensive sets, the play is better than what we saw back in the "old days". Kids these days go through top level training from the age of 14. Maybe the raw player was better back in the day, but the overall quality is better today. When you watch all the rim run dunks, lobs, cutting, intricate sets, these were few and far between back when iso ball reigned supreme.

I mean, yuck man look at this. And a freshman is still one of the best players on the team.

 

[RuffRuff]

I mean, yuck man look at this. And a freshman is still one of the best players on the team.


View attachment 108312

I thought you liked development - these guys have average about 7 years of it each.

Mazara looks like he could have 4 kids.

 

[Deleted at users request]

70% of NBA players are American. It's not so much about American's falling behind as it is basketball growing internationally.

And those international guys are taking over the league. If we listed the top 5 players in the NBA we probably wouldn’t name an American. France might come to our house and whip us for gold in 2028.

In 2024, the best American players were guys who were developed in the old days before analytics in there upper 30s. If this way is so much better why aren’t there guys coming out better than these ones?