NCAA Hoops Off season 2015

Post by **Shirley** » Mon Apr 13, 2015 2:58 pm

Dammit. Reports are flowing that Justin Anderson is declaring for the NBA. He was a lot of fun to watch.

UVA will still be very good next year, but maybe not preseason top-5 anymore.

Post by **Shirley** » Thu Apr 16, 2015 11:38 am

NC State had a bad day yesterday. Many were picking them as a preseason top ten team next year, but leading scorer Trevor Lacey decided to forego his final year and turn pro. He's a very good college player, but I seriously doubt he'll get drafted. Two hours later, backup forward (and frequent starter) Kyle Washington announced that he's transferring. I think Washington might have been the second-leading returning scorer once Lacey left.

State could still be pretty good, but nowhere near as good as they would have been.

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Sat Apr 25, 2015 8:35 am

Varum Ram, Maryland walk on, who made the big stop against Valpo at the end of the game announced he is returning. One of a handful of Indian NCAA hoops players, he will graduate in May with degrees in neurobiology and physiology, but come back for a Masters (had to sit a year when transferring from Trinity to Maryland)

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Tue Apr 28, 2015 6:04 am

Eli Carter leaving Florida (started his college career at Rutgers). Michael Frazier II and Chris Walker have already said they are leaving.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Tue Apr 28, 2015 6:43 am

I think Donovan is gone.

Post by **Shirley** » Tue Apr 28, 2015 8:13 am

Very interesting article at the Duke Basketball Report about one and done players over the past 10 years.

http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/201 ... -and-dones" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Ignore the author's blatant conflating of correlation and causation (he's a sportswriter, and an old one at that). The most interesting stuff is the raw data on top 10 players and just how many leave after one year. And how few stay for four. I had no idea the correlation was quite that strong.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Tue Apr 28, 2015 8:30 am

I saw a pretty good article on Coach Shesheffsky after they won. Good in the fact that he is doing it the way Cal has been doing it and yet the spin has been different. K is a tremendous coach. He recognizes trends and now has two titles in the span when Cal has been at Kentucky. The reason? He's a better in-game coach than Cal.

Post by **Shirley** » Tue Apr 28, 2015 8:37 am

AB_skin_test wrote:I saw a pretty good article on Coach Shesheffsky after they won. Good in the fact that he is doing it the way Cal has been doing it and yet the spin has been different. K is a tremendous coach. He recognizes trends and now has two titles in the span when Cal has been at Kentucky. The reason? He's a better in-game coach than Cal.

In fairness, only one of K's titles involved a Cal-like one-and-done-led team. The 2010 team was very experienced. In fact, Kyle Singler is one of the rare top-ten players over the past decade to play all four years.

K is a better coach than Cal, but honestly not by much. I've been very impressed at how well Cal's Kentucky teams (and late Memphis teams too) played team defense. To get guys like that to buy in to team D is no easy feat.

One key difference between the two though is that K still preaches and builds unity and a sense of belonging to a greater whole. I'm not sure Cal really believes in that. He instead preaches individual success and seems to largely trumpet recruiting successes and first-round draft picks as goals rather than means.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Tue Apr 28, 2015 8:38 am

Didn't Calipari just get 7-10 future pros to share minutes over the course of an entire season?

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Tue Apr 28, 2015 8:39 am

For sure on your last paragraph. But he's open about it and doesn't pretend otherwise. Obviously he wants to win, but he wants these kids to be successful first and foremost. He's a tremendous man-manager, to borrow from soccer parlance.

And yes, this past year was the first true 1-done team, but I think he was smart enough to recognize the writing on the wall of the college landscape. Some coaches either won't or can't do that.

Post by **Shirley** » Tue Apr 28, 2015 8:44 am

mister d wrote:Didn't Calipari just get 7-10 future pros to share minutes over the course of an entire season?

Yes, and I said that I'm pressed with how he gets those kids to play team D. However, in how they otherwise play and in how he talks about his teams and players, it seems that the motivation is not so much team success or program legacy, but instead in how these guys can position themselves for the NBA. It's all about prepping themselves for the next level - and they better go ahead and leave because he's bringing in new talent to take their minutes.

It's a subtle difference, but I think it matters when the games get big and tight (which they very rarely did for this Kentucky team).

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Tue Apr 28, 2015 8:48 am

I think a big part of the team defense is the way the NBA is evolving now as well. These kids see that the best players are two-way guys for the most part and that's how you keep getting dem checks.

Joe K · Post by **Joe K** » Tue Apr 28, 2015 9:08 am

Shirley wrote:
mister d wrote:Didn't Calipari just get 7-10 future pros to share minutes over the course of an entire season?
Yes, and I said that I'm pressed with how he gets those kids to play team D. However, in how they otherwise play and in how he talks about his teams and players, it seems that the motivation is not so much team success or program legacy, but instead in how these guys can position themselves for the NBA. It's all about prepping themselves for the next level - and they better go ahead and leave because he's bringing in new talent to take their minutes.

It's a subtle difference, but I think it matters when the games get big and tight (which they very rarely did for this Kentucky team).

I think you're overgeneralizing based on the Harrisons taking bad shots at the end of the Wisconsin game. Calipari's stars have been very willing to share the ball on offense and many have wound up with much less gaudy individual stats than if they played elsewhere. Anthony Davis, who is a bona fide NBA superstar averaging 24 ppg, was 5th on the 2011-12 team in shot attempts. MKG, who went #2 in the draft that year, was 4th. In my opinion, K's advantages over Calipari have far less to do with philosophy then with ability to make in-game adjustments -- particularly in the late game. And couldn't you say that a lot of Duke's success in close games this year was due as much to Tyus Jones' individual brilliance as it was to team-first philosophies?

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Tue Apr 28, 2015 7:53 pm

Terps apparently recruiting Rasheed Sulaimon. The kid who was dismissed by Coack K is expected to get his degree this spring from Duke.

Rex · Post by **Rex** » Fri May 01, 2015 10:00 pm

Jaylen Brown committed to Cal tonight. Gonna be awkward when someone explains to him that it was the University of California and not Coach Cal.

garyclark · Post by **garyclark** » Sun May 03, 2015 7:55 am

I kind of see both points here. To try a slightly different take, when Cal talks, he seems to lead with his individual players. When K talks, he tends to lead with the program.

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Mon May 11, 2015 1:44 pm

wlu_lax6 wrote:Terps apparently recruiting Rasheed Sulaimon. The kid who was dismissed by Coack K is expected to get his degree this spring from Duke.

And he commits to Maryland

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Mon May 11, 2015 6:44 pm

Memphis transfer Pookie Powell is La Salle's second former top 100 recruit of the offseason and third on the roster. La Salle is now the frontrunner to win the 2016-17 NCAA championship.

Post by **brian** » Mon May 11, 2015 7:06 pm

Didn't get any press but after Bowling Green's coach got fired for (essentially) grabbing women's asses in a bar basically everyone on the team quit or transferred. Last I heard they had like 4 scholarships on roster for next season.

DSafetyGuy · Post by **DSafetyGuy** » Mon May 11, 2015 7:28 pm

brian wrote:Didn't get any press but after Bowling Green's coach got fired for (essentially) grabbing women's asses in a bar basically everyone on the team quit or transferred. Last I heard they had like 4 scholarships on roster for next season.

My sympathy for BG is non-existent, as people wrote "white power" and drew a swastika on the sidewalk at the house of Louis Orr, the basketball coach who preceded the recently fired one.

howard · Post by **howard** » Mon May 11, 2015 7:34 pm

Did they at least spell his name right?

(oh, wait, that was bouie, not louie.)

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Mon May 11, 2015 7:39 pm

Seems like kids who think the school, not the coach, is responsible for the firing is some additional self-selective house cleaning. Good for Bowling Green.

Post by **brian** » Mon May 11, 2015 7:51 pm

Oh I don't have a lot of sympathy either. Just noting news that probably didn't get a lot of press. Reminds me of my first year at Central. A promising young coach was fired (justifiably) for calling his players "n-----s". Central basically was forced to field a team of walkons for 5 years while that coach went on to become the head coach at Akron and win three MAC titles. Oh wait, in fact he is still the head coach there.

Joe K · Post by **Joe K** » Mon May 11, 2015 8:04 pm

brian wrote:Oh I don't have a lot of sympathy either. Just noting news that probably didn't get a lot of press. Reminds me of my first year at Central. A promising young coach was fired (justifiably) for calling his players "n-----s". Central basically was forced to field a team of walkons for 5 years while that coach went on to become the head coach at Akron and win three MAC titles. Oh wait, in fact he is still the head coach there.

I guess when you get to coach LeBron James in high school it makes it pretty easy for you to look like a coaching genius and re-climb the coaching ladder.

DSafetyGuy · Post by **DSafetyGuy** » Tue May 12, 2015 10:57 am

howard wrote:Did they at least spell his name right?

(oh, wait, that was bouie, not louie.)

Just a symptom of the AD who got run out, er, transferred, when the sanctions on the basketball and football programs came down.

Bensell · Post by **Bensell** » Fri May 15, 2015 1:21 pm

No real surprises in the offseason rule changes proposal:

College basketball is getting a 30-second shot clock.

After playing with the cycle at 35 seconds since the 1993-94 season, the continued bottoming in the amount of scoring at the Division I level has convinced the NCAA men’s basketball rules committee to reduce it to 30 seconds starting in 2015-16 following nearly four days of meetings in Indianapolis.

The committee had debated the shot clock length a year ago but opted to stay at 35. This time, despite the preference of chair Rick Byrd to remain there, the committee voted to make the move.

The rules committee wants to change timeout rules, as well, cutting the allotted number from five per team to four, with only three per team permitted to be carried over into the second half. When a team calls a strategic timeout within 30 seconds of a typical media timeout – the 16-, 12-, 8- and 4-minutes marks of each half – that will replace the media stoppage.

The committee wants officials to be more emphatic about resuming play when the second buzzer has sounded to indicate the timeout window has expired.

The rules committee also will ask officials to enforce rules against physical contact and to give the same verticality protection to offensive players that is accorded defenders.

As per the committee's decision, the 2016 NIT Tournament will also feature an experimental rules change, allowing players six personal fouls instead of the five the game currently allows.

The no-charge arc will be expanded from three feet to four feet, which is the standard in the NBA.

Among the less impactful (but still logical) changes that are proposed:

1. Eliminating the prohibition against dunking in warm-ups.

2. When officials review a potential flagrant foul, any faking by the allegedly fouled player will be penalized.

3. Minor technical fouls, such as hanging on the rim, will be penalized by one free throw.

4. Elimination of the five-second closely guarded rule.

5. Allowing officials to use reviews to check if the shot clock has been violated.

I really like the timeout changes but I don't like the elimination of the 5 second rule. The rest of them seem OK to me.

Post by **brian** » Fri May 15, 2015 1:31 pm

The timeout rules were really needed. I'm all in favor of those.

Post by **Shirley** » Fri May 15, 2015 1:39 pm

Interesting stuff. My thoughts:

30 Second shot clock - I'm on record saying I'm against this, even though it will probably greatly help my team. It's going to lead to more uniformity in playing styles. We might get a few more points, but at the cost of uglier basketball.

Timeout changes - Awesome. I'd have preferred they drop to 3 timeouts, but I'm happy with this step in the right direction. Actually, the rule about rolling in the TV timeouts if they are close to called timeouts pretty much makes up for that. That's a huge improvement.

Reduce contact and protect verticality - if they actually do this, it's great, particularly the verticality part. If refs would call that aspect of the existing rules correctly, they could work harder to eliminate the charge call.

6 fouls - Stupid, stupid, stupid. Why? This goes against the point of shortening the shot clock and calling a tighter game.

5-second closely guarded rule - I'm fine with this. Often times, it's seemed like an arbitrary rule. With the shorter shot clock, there's really no need for this anymore. The flip side is that it might further incentivize defenses to just pack it in for the 2-025 seconds it takes to force a bad shot. Again, you're gonna see a LOT of teams move to a Pack Line defense in the next couple of seasons.

Giff · Post by **Giff** » Fri May 15, 2015 1:41 pm

Agreed on the timeout rules. I always hated it when a coach would call timeout close to the TV one. I'm genuinely surprised they are going that though.

Post by **brian** » Fri May 15, 2015 1:44 pm

Giff wrote:Agreed on the timeout rules. I always hated it when a coach would call timeout close to the TV one. I'm genuinely surprised they are going that though.

Yeah, seems like the TV partners would have pushed back on that.

Post by **Shirley** » Fri May 15, 2015 1:57 pm

brian wrote:
Giff wrote:Agreed on the timeout rules. I always hated it when a coach would call timeout close to the TV one. I'm genuinely surprised they are going that though.
Yeah, seems like the TV partners would have pushed back on that.

Exactly. I never even thought to hope for that change, since I assumed it would never fly. Go figure.

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Tue May 19, 2015 4:27 pm

Terps are vegas favorites
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc- ... -favorite/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Wed May 20, 2015 8:49 am

Kids with sexual assault accusations are the new market inefficiency.

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Wed May 20, 2015 9:18 am

Pretty remarkable that the NCAA made a move that could marginally effect the bottom-line.

The 30-second shot clock is going to be interesting. It didn't really make much of a difference in the NIT, but... NIT level teams? I do agree it's going to effect certain teams, including "my" team (Michigan) that like to run the shot clock down and run an offense that opens up the defense for open perimeter shots. Wisconsin is another team in that group.

That said, you could also make the argument that they will still run the clock down and it doesn't change the fact that those types of teams are already built for high efficiency and this only increases the attempts.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Wed May 20, 2015 9:20 am

I was fine until you did it twice. "A", not "E".

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Wed May 20, 2015 9:24 am

mister d wrote:Kids with sexual assault accusations are the new market inefficiency.

It's going to take someone like Sulaimon suing the shit out of Duke, or that guy from Yale who had his Rhodes Scholarship yanked because of unsubstantiated, anonymous allegations to change that system.

I don't think people understand how fucked up the process is on most campuses. I understand and support the effort to stamp out sexual assaults. But unless/until they can keep the male's name out of the public domain, there is a huge problem.

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Wed May 20, 2015 9:24 am

mister d wrote:I was fine until you did it twice. "A", not "E".

Yeah, I get lazy with that.

howard · Post by **howard** » Wed May 20, 2015 4:48 pm

Nonlinear FC wrote:I don't think people understand how fucked up the process is on most campuses.

I imagine the worse, and I'm probably not too far off. Rape is horrible. False accusation of rape, or mistaken accusation is also really bad.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Wed May 20, 2015 7:14 pm

The risk is protecting (enabling) 19 rapists to shield the 1 maybe falsely accused.

howard · Post by **howard** » Wed May 20, 2015 7:47 pm

Which is considerable, if you or your son is that one.