February General CBB Discussion Thread

[Excalibur]

It's also worth noting that for all the talk of Michigan destroying teams this year they are now 14-12 against the spread. They are and should be the favorite, but they are much closer to the field than a runaway favorite despite what people want you to believe

They have had their hiccups, but their A game is significantly better than anyone else's.

 

[bendm]

My point is that it was a poor recruiting cycle, theory being coaches not as focused after the B2B.

At least you stopped beating around the bush

 

[RuffRuff]

They have had their hiccups, but their A game is significantly better than anyone else's.

They'd be undefeated if not for Whisky coming in and surprising them with their Center and PF going 8-14 from 3.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

They have, which is definitely a good sign for them. It's just interesting to see the narrative around a team like Michigan who has played up and down to their competition all year versus the narrative around UConn doing the same thing this year. And the fact it's coming from UConn fans makes it even weirder

I think that’s a bit of generalizing the situations of the two. We peaked early (due to competition, remains to be seen about our peak in playing) while Mich had a huge stretch early of blowouts but have also continued to beat very good to great teams. We are also 9-17 ATS, so 14-12 is a significant bit better.

I wouldn’t call it weird seeing some narrative from our fans. I’m not saying they would demolish us or even beat us in a neutral setting, just simply that they have been impressive. I think even some of the most loyal UConn fans can admit that while we’ve been winning, a lot of it hasn’t necessarily been impressive.

 

[superjohn]

They'd be undefeated if not for Whisky coming in and surprising them with their Center and PF going 8-14 from 3.

They would've lost to Wake if Wake didn't choke. They would've lost to Penn State if PSU had their best player and didn't choke at the end.

 

[FightOnCT]

I meant the whole class - McNeeley was a reactive get as we got him late. I often wonder if they had to do it all over again, if they would have gone with Reed given he's not exactly the prototype for the system.

Reed wasn’t a miss regardless of prototype

 

[RuffRuff]

They would've lost to Wake if Wake didn't choke. They would've lost to Penn State is PSU had their best player and didn't choke at the end.

And Uconn would have........ Does it bother you if another team is good? Whisky went 15-34 from 3 that game, it was an outlier. They are the team to beat, as recognized by the quality of their roster months ago, thank you. It wasn't hard to see, yet people like you can't stomach acceptance of it for whatever bizarre reason. It's weird. You're bringing up games in the first couple weeks of the year with team that was made up entirely of transfers.

Hopefully we get a shot at them in the F4 and pull off an outlier.

Reed wasn’t a miss regardless of prototype

He's the one grab.

 

[jibsey]

They have had their hiccups, but their A game is significantly better than anyone else's.

Just get us a shot at them and we’ll take our chances.

 

[Excalibur]

I meant the whole class - McNeeley was a reactive get as we got him late. I often wonder if they had to do it all over again, if they would have gone with Reed given he's not exactly the prototype for the system.

Hard to take this comment seriously. Was Adama the prototype? We desperately needed muscle and defense at the 5, and that's what we got. He's a plus defender. Every defensive metric backs that up.

 

[superjohn]

And Uconn would have........ Does it bother you if another team is good? Whisky went 15-34 from 3 that game, it was an outlier. They are the team to beat, as recognized by the quality of their roster months ago, thank you. It wasn't hard to see, yet people like you can't stomach acceptance of it for whatever bizarre reason. It's weird. You're bringing up games in the first couple weeks of the year with team that was made up entirely of transfers.

Hopefully we get a shot at them in the F4 and pull off an outlier.

He's the one grab.

No, I'm just calling out your nonsense. If you're going to say they would be undefeated if the other team didn't shoot well while disregarding the games they should've lost you're going to get called out on it.

Wake was in the first couple of weeks of the season, Penn State certainly was not.

Michigan was 13 for 23 from three last night, it was an outlier.

You change who the team to beat is every couple of weeks. Sorry if I'm not impressed with your definitive proclamations which are always changing.

 

[Excalibur]

As for prototype. Samson and not Sanogo?

Our "prototype" is a generationally great 7'2" defender. Who knew?

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Pretty much confirmation that Cronin was in the wrong

That is just a stupid post by you.

There is a direct correlation of people who think cheap shots are cool and their level of cowardice in real life. Thank you for confirming that.

 

[navery12]

I think that’s a bit of generalizing the situations of the two. We peaked early (due to competition, remains to be seen about our peak in playing) while Mich had a huge stretch early of blowouts but have also continued to beat very good to great teams. We are also 9-17 ATS, so 14-12 is a significant bit better.

I wouldn’t call it weird seeing some narrative from our fans. I’m not saying they would demolish us or even beat us in a neutral setting, just simply that they have been impressive. I think even some of the most loyal UConn fans can admit that while we’ve been winning, a lot of it hasn’t necessarily been impressive.

Everyone is entitled to their opinions, but it's weird when even if we haven't improved as much as some would like we also haven't really dropped off either. We have leveled off at an elite level which seems like something fans should be excited to watch

 

[KingAG]

And Uconn would have........ Does it bother you if another team is good? Whisky went 15-34 from 3 that game, it was an outlier. They are the team to beat, as recognized by the quality of their roster months ago, thank you. It wasn't hard to see, yet people like you can't stomach acceptance of it for whatever bizarre reason. It's weird. You're bringing up games in the first couple weeks of the year with team that was made up entirely of transfers.

Hopefully we get a shot at them in the F4 and pull off an outlier.

He's the one grab.

Are you a bot? I’m seriously starting to question lmao. You pull the same card anytime someone disagrees with you. “Why are you offended someone else is good”. It’s so strange.

 

[Waquoit]

Using terms like "reactive get" is a tell of an unserious person. Why are so many of you getting sucked in to the circle jerk?

 

[aceboon]

That is just a stupid post by you.

There is a direct correlation of people who think cheap shots are cool and their level of cowardice in real life. Thank you for confirming that.

the self-projection is hilarious, everybody knows your m.o. and nobody takes you serious

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Our "prototype" is a generationally great 7'2" defender. Who knew?

Same guy who said Scheyer cracked the code on roster construction in the portal era last year: get a generational talent and then surround him with literally anyone you want from high school or the portal.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Everyone is entitled to their opinions, but it's weird when even if we haven't improved as much as some would like we also haven't really dropped off either. We have leveled off at an elite level which seems like something fans should be excited to watch

Oh i’m excited to watch every game, even knowing that Big East games can be grueling and slogs. I didn’t expect us to improve significantly from our OOC, for the simple reason that we played so well. I think the peak in our season thus far was that 4 game stretch where we beat Kansas, Illinois and Florida. It’s hard to find a better peak by any team. But it’s also fair to say since then, a lot of the time we have played down to competition to a degree.

All that being said, I expect us to win every remaining reg season game and the BE tournament because we are the best team in the conference.

 

[RuffRuff]

Using terms like "reactive get" is a tell of an unserious person. Why are so many of you getting sucked in to the circle jerk?

You think grabbing McNeeley after he backed out of Indiana in April was a planned recruitment? We never targeted him during his normal recruitment. So yeah, it was reactive.

Our "prototype" is a generationally great 7'2" defender. Who knew?

I'd say a lob threat rim protector. It's an amazingly integral part of the offense when it's running well. There is only one Clingan, but something a bit more in that mold, like the 30 euros running around these days. AZ just let one go into the portal to UNC because they had multiples. Tarris was a get, he just doesn't fit the offensive system as well.

 

[uconngb]

A reactive get?

Was Okafor a reactive get? How about Kemba? How about Bazz? How about Boat? How about Daniels? How about Cam?

What is the prototype for the system?

I guess a "reactive get" doesn't count. This guy......

 

[uconngb]

They'd be undefeated if not for Whisky coming in and surprising them with their Center and PF going 8-14 from 3.

They'd also have a loss to Penn St if the Nittany Lions didn't spit the bit at the end. What's your point?

 

[Kolumbo]

Dirty play builds on itself, and I don’t like watching street fights in basketball games. Cronin made the right move.

Cronin is getting skewered all over the place for ejecting his own player and for his postgame interview. That was the type of play we'd see Ajax make. It really wasn't a dirty play and there was no intent to injure.

 

[HW611]

You think grabbing McNeeley after he backed out of Indiana in April was a planned recruitment? We never targeted him during his normal recruitment. So yeah, it was reactive.

I'd say a lob threat rim protector. It's an amazingly integral part of the offense when it's running well. There is only one Clingan, but something a bit more in that mold, like the 30 euros running around these days. AZ just let one go into the portal to UNC because they had multiples. Tarris was a get, he just doesn't fit the offensive system as well.

 

[RuffRuff]

Are you a bot? I’m seriously starting to question lmao. You pull the same card anytime someone disagrees with you. “Why are you offended someone else is good”. It’s so strange.

One can't state that they are a recent shooting outlier away from being undefeated without another guy rushing to defend it by pulling up some first week history. They are a total portal team that took a little time to gel and then went on to curb stop in Vegas, a much more accurate picture of who they are based on current play. It's not like I'm pulling for these guys. It's just weird as there is a consistent group ready to pull out their data, guns, whatever to try and disprove why another team isn't that good.

 

[Lafayette]

If St John’s ends up a 4 or 5 seed, they could be an interesting matchup against the Wolverines in the sweet 16 with their own 3 big lineup.

Michigan’s guards will eat St John’s guards for breakfast. I do not like St. John’s chances on a neutral court vs top 5 teams. They may get to the elite 8 but doubtful.

 

[aceboon]

these crazy buyouts for non-elite coaches never make sense to me. I don't even think the elites should have this type of language in their deals but Mick Cronin and Jerome Tang having $22M/$18M buyouts is insane

 

[superjohn]

One can't state that they are a recent shooting outlier away from being undefeated without another guy rushing to defend it by pulling up some first week history. They are a total portal team that took a little time to gel and then went on to curb stop in Vegas, a much more accurate picture of who they are based on current play. It's not like I'm pulling for these guys. It's just weird as there is a consistent group ready to pull out their data, guns, whatever to try and disprove why another team isn't that good.

You can of course state that and then others will of course bring up that Michigan should've lost to Wake and Penn State and that Michigan had an even bigger three point shooting outlier last night than Wisconsin did when they played Michigan.

Also, keep pretending Penn State was the first week of the season. I already corrected you but you're still at it.

 

[Excalibur]

Michigan’s guards will eat St John’s guards for breakfast. I do not like St. John’s chances on a neutral court vs top 5 teams. They may get to the elite 8 but doubtful.

Mara is likely to erase Zubi as well . . .

 

[gsmooth]

Dude, who said I’m offended? This is why I hate engaging with you lmao. I said this ealier in the year when we were comparing our team to 23 and 24 UConn. Was I offended then? I’ve been very consistent. I don’t compare non champions to champions. If they finish the job compare away. You want to compare last years Florida to 24 UConn compare away. But we don’t know if they are bulletproof. We know that 24 UConn was bulletproof. Just a premature comparison imo. The chances they pull off what 24 UConn pulled off are extremely thin. I don’t think it’s a fair comparison to them.

I can see both RuffRuff's point of view and yours.

I do think it's a compliment for future great teams to be compared to UConn 2024 because it really shows that team's staying power on greatness. That back to back really made an impression on college basketball fans. It's why no one in Maui felt sorry for us UConn fans after they went 0-3 because as much as we loved the back to back titles, those fans of Maui of other teams as well as fans of other teams not in Maui remember how helpless they felt and the inevitability they felt when UConn steamrolled their way to those titles. Just read the fan forums of Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky, Gonzaga and more while the 2023 and especially the 2024 NCAAT runs were happening. It's kind of like when people talk about the 1985 Chicago Bears.

However, I see what you are saying, too, about comparisons being premature. I remember on the Hartford Courant fan forum in 2006, when forum members, and even Hartford Courant beat writers, were talking about how that 2006 team after they blew out Seton Hall by 41 pts, was like the 2004 team. I called BS on that immediately saying that 2006 team had not accomplished anything, let's pump the brakes on put away the annointing oil. Years later Calhoun revealed he never got a comfort level with that 2006 team like he did with the 2004 team and the 1999 team.

 

[RuffRuff]

Mara is likely to erase Zubi as well . . .

Hard to know, can a guy like Zubi get into his body and draw fouls? But you're probably right.