Final Four Tonight

[the Q]

Their cheerleaders are even good looking. They’re on a roll.

Direct correlation between talent and good looking cheerleaders?

It works for nova and us, on opposite ends

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I know that but Brunson, Bridges, and Spellman are all basically better than anything he's ever had.

This board always overreacts to the last game. Kyle Lowry says "hello".

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Duke would have been torched by Villanova. That would have been fun.

I don't think Kansas played bad D. Villanova moves the ball so well and breaks down defenders off the dribble for kick outs so effectively that they are just hard to stop.

I think the final is going to be a fun game between two very good offensive teams.

 

[ecasadoSBU]

Did Nova need the breakup of the big east for this to happen?

I think that is a legit question. I'll give my opinion of what I think has happened. I watch a ton of Big East basketball in the past and in the present.

I think in the pre-2013 Big East the balance of powers had shifted to the College Football programs and public schools in the league which had larger enrollments, bigger brands, more TV exposure, and money (because of football). Now that those teams are gone the league has competitive parity between all its members (private, small, non-football) which has allowed for a resurgence of Villanova, Seton Hall, Providence under the new alignment while the schools that left (to football playing conferences) which had previously held competitive advantage in the B.E against the basketball-only programs lost that advantage when they entered the all-member football leagues.

At the end of the day... Syracuse doesn't shine in the ACC even with the March success... Pittsburgh doesn't either... Or Boston College... That league is southern centric and Duke/North Carolina run the basketball league no matter what happens.

 

[champs99and04]

Big East back in the Championship game. Villanova beats 3 Big12 teams to get there. There is no doubt that the Big East/ACC own College basketball!

The Big East is a damn good league but at this point it's kind of lame to tie the conference flag to what they're doing. Nobody else in that conference has really made a dent in the tournament and their best coaches get snatchd by other schools.

 

[superjohn]

This board always overreacts to the last game. Kyle Lowry says "hello".

You named one player who played for him a dozen years ago, well done. Brunson is also a way better college player than Lowry was, have to wait to comment on his NBA career.

By the way I watch a ton of Nova games and have said they are the best team in the country since early in the season, I'm not the prisoner of the moment guy you're looking for.

 

[superjohn]

The Big East is a damn good league but at this point it's kind of lame to tie the conference flag to what they're doing. Nobody else in that conference has really made a dent in the tournament and their best coaches get snatchd by other schools.

Still 60% of the league in the tourny this year, 70% last year and most likely 2 of the last three national championships won. We used to have most of the board arguing the AAC was better than the Big East, and a few vocal people saying the Big East couldn't even survive.

 

[champs99and04]

It's the shot with the fewest points per possession of anywhere on the floor:
- the shooting percentage is only marginally higher than a 3, but worth 33% fewer points
- you never get fouled

If you're shooting 50% on the 18-foot 2-pointer, you're better off stepping back a few feet and shooting 40% on the 22-foot 3-pointer.

My least favorite part about the modern game is that it gives every dork on the block a chance to let everyone know how smart they are.

What they miss is that the threat of the mid-range shot contributes to making those other shots so effective. What they also miss is that by the time everyone hires a math teacher to coach their team, mid-range shots will become valuable again because every team will take measures that are more and more extreme to prevent the three and easy two. Interestingly, Syracuse - the program that plays the defense supposedly most susceptible to giving up threes - has seen their golden age overlap with the analytics movement. Why? Because they play a defense that forces a lot of isolation. Incidentally, a high percentage of mid-range shots are isolations, and a high percentage of isolations are forced by the increasingly switch-happy defenses that understand the numbers.

That doesn't mean you're wrong and it doesn't mean I didn't nearly kick my dog a few times this season while I watched Larrier chuck up atrocious shots, but I do think it's easy to miss the correlation, especially when those bad shots are often a manifestation of a bad team rather than a dumb coach.

 

[champs99and04]

Still 60% of the league in the tourny this year, 70% last year and most likely 2 of the last three national championships won. We used to have most of the board arguing the AAC was better than the Big East, and a few vocal people saying the Big East couldn't even survive.

It's too bad Whitehead didn't stick around, it really felt like Seton Hall was one player away from being a national player these last two years.

 

[superjohn]

It's too bad Whitehead didn't stick around, it really felt like Seton Hall was one player away from being a national player these last two years.

Agreed, whether it was Whitehead sticking around or Trevon Duvall coming in. They were always missing that point guard which would have allowed Carrington to slide over.

 

[ecasadoSBU]

The Big East is a damn good league but at this point it's kind of lame to tie the conference flag to what they're doing. Nobody else in that conference has really made a dent in the tournament and their best coaches get snatchd by other schools.

lol... To have one team reach the championship game is enough for a conference. It speaks volumes of the league. because it means that the top is really good... and Xavier was really good also, made it to the E8 last year, and got upset this year.

the coach snatching will continue to happen forever unfortunately. there is not enough money to keep them. the good thing is that you can still buy yourself a pretty respectable coach which can realistically compete for championships with $1.5-3 million a year. The Dukes, and LVille of the world will always overpay and drive up salaries

 

[Chief00]

This is why Ollie had to go. Wright understands the math. Dunks and 3s. That’s it. Ollie was 180 degrees from that. He didn’t defend the 3 with enough emphasis and didn’t build a team to take them.

I agree, he never adjusted defensively to the power of the 3. Always one step behind coming from some help assignment.

 

[EBonz30]

I think in all this, you can have a lot of different takes and points as far as why Villanova and Michigan are in the title game and why both seem to have mastered the ability to be highly successful programs even over the programs of blue bloods in the last 5 years or so.

I think it’s two main reasons....

1. John Beilien and Jay Wright might be the two best basketball coaches in the nation.

2. Both programs recruit one high 5 star/McDonalds All American recruit each year (Nova has been more successful in landing them) and then the rest of the recruits are 4 stars. It gives both programs the ability to have players stay longer and to have experience and to actually take to the coaching of both phenomenal coaches. Both coaches are able to build a culture.

I will leave you with this last point, when was the last time that Duke and Coach K played a 2-3 zone as their main and only defense? What Duke puts on the court is talent but not one ounce of what Coach K actually wants his players and team to play like, he can’t build that culture.

I believe until the rule changes I am hoping Hurley follows the avenue of success from Wright & Beilien in trying to land that one high level recruit and then surround the rest of the class with 4 Star recruits.

 

[CTBasketball]

Paschall and Donovan Mitchell both played AAU together in a program tied with Kemba Walker - he was in and out of all their practices and games in the offseason.

Sucks KO couldn’t use that link when we needed to recruit them.

 

[TyroneShoo]

I'm guessing Uconn prob would have landed Paschall if they wanted him. I doubt he chooses Fordham over UConn.

 

[lange10]

I'm guessing Uconn prob would have landed Paschall if they wanted him. I doubt he chooses Fordham over UConn.

He chose Fordham early on despite having a slew of offers/interest from big programs. If Tom Pecora (HC @ Fordham who recruited him) wasn't fired after Paschall's freshman year he might still be there. When Paschall transferred, UConn reached out but went hard after Larrier instead. Pecora was one of Jay Wright's assistants too, so Nova was a natural landing spot.

 

[BugsyCT]

False.....was on TBS last year as well. Maybe even the prior year too, can't remember. But definitely last year.

Nope - pretty sure the final game was on CBS last year. Maybe the team gamecasts on TBS/TNT?

Anyway, I don't like the recent trend of all these FF games on cable networks. With the price of cable now not everyone can afford it.

 

[FriarJ]

You named one player who played for him a dozen years ago, well done. Brunson is also a way better college player than Lowry was, have to wait to comment on his NBA career.

By the way I watch a ton of Nova games and have said they are the best team in the country since early in the season, I'm not the prisoner of the moment guy you're looking for.

Arch and Josh Hart were excellent players as well. Hart especially.

 

[champs99and04]

lol... To have one team reach the championship game is enough for a conference. It speaks volumes of the league. because it means that the top is really good... and Xavier was really good also, made it to the E8 last year, and got upset this year.

the coach snatching will continue to happen forever unfortunately. there is not enough money to keep them. the good thing is that you can still buy yourself a pretty respectable coach which can realistically compete for championships with $1.5-3 million a year. The Dukes, and LVille of the world will always overpay and drive up salaries

As I said, the league was really good. That that Nova team lost four games in the conference - and has yet to even be tested out of conference - tells you all you need to know. The fact that St. John's was sitting at like 0-10 in conference when they knocked off Duke tells you all you need to know.

Nova is just playing at a level right now that transcends the conference. At least for me, as a Big East fan, it's gone from rooting for Nova to bring notoriety to the league to hoping someone else makes that next step. Other programs have gotten close, but it feels like there hasn't been that elite level talent that really makes a team scary. Of course, there's been some bad luck, too - Whitehead and Bentil both left could-have-been loaded teams early to fetch non-guaranteed deals (I think Whitehead has one now), Mo Watson tore his ACL right as Creighton was looking like a national contender, Edmund Sumner tore his ACL/left early, etc.

If everyone comes back for St. John's, including Marcus LoVett, who went down when they were 6-1, perhaps they could emerge as a threat. Georgetown could be a factor if Govan returns, Providence brings in a good recruiting class but will miss Cartwright/Bullock, and Xavier will lose a lot but also retain plenty of talent. One team to watch out for is Marquette, their 2016 class - with Markus Howard and Sam Hauser - is coming of age, and the highest ranked recruit of that bunch, Brendan Bailey, should be back from his Mormon mission. Seton Hall brings in Taurean Thompson, a big impact transfer from Syracuse, but they're obviously losing the four seniors and should take a step back.

Losing Waters, in hindsight, has to sting for Georgetown, even if they did hire a new coach in the process. And the Jalen Smith's of the world (Baltimore kid who went to Maryland) are the type of players Patrick Ewing will have to woo in time if Georgetown is going to get back to being one of the prominent programs in the northeast.

 

[ecasadoSBU]

As I said, the league was really good. That that Nova team lost four games in the conference - and has yet to even be tested out of conference - tells you all you need to know. The fact that St. John's was sitting at like 0-10 in conference when they knocked off Duke tells you all you need to know.

Nova is just playing at a level right now that transcends the conference. At least for me, as a Big East fan, it's gone from rooting for Nova to bring notoriety to the league to hoping someone else makes that next step. Other programs have gotten close, but it feels like there hasn't been that elite level talent that really makes a team scary. Of course, there's been some bad luck, too - Whitehead and Bentil both left could-have-been loaded teams early to fetch non-guaranteed deals (I think Whitehead has one now), Mo Watson tore his ACL right as Creighton was looking like a national contender, Edmund Sumner tore his ACL/left early, etc.

If everyone comes back for St. John's, including Marcus LoVett, who went down when they were 6-1, perhaps they could emerge as a threat. Georgetown could be a factor if Govan returns, Providence brings in a good recruiting class but will miss Cartwright/Bullock, and Xavier will lose a lot but also retain plenty of talent. One team to watch out for is Marquette, their 2016 class - with Markus Howard and Sam Hauser - is coming of age, and the highest ranked recruit of that bunch, Brendan Bailey, should be back from his Mormon mission. Seton Hall brings in Taurean Thompson, a big impact transfer from Syracuse, but they're obviously losing the four seniors and should take a step back.

Losing Waters, in hindsight, has to sting for Georgetown, even if they did hire a new coach in the process. And the Jalen Smith's of the world (Baltimore kid who went to Maryland) are the type of players Patrick Ewing will have to woo in time if Georgetown is going to get back to being one of the prominent programs in the northeast.

Got you. Totally understand what you mean now.

Btw, worth noting: LoVett's parents said he played his last game at St. John's already. It's a shame. That Ponds/LoVett duo had so much potential