NCAA Basketball 24-25

[Nonlinear FC]

I don't think Larranaga sounds like an old man yelling at clouds on any level. He's 100 percent correct and we've been talking about this consistently for over a year.

You need contracts and transparency. This sport is full of bag men who don't want to give up their power broker in the shadow roles.

[Nonlinear FC]

Because I often swim in D3 waters, I'll just put this here:

https://www.si.com/high-school/news/pro ... jfrmymg4m6

The flip side of all this NIL discussion is that an upcoming settlement in federal courts could eliminate hundreds of D1 programs (non-revenue) and affect thousands of student-athletes.

[EnochRoot]

I don't think Larranaga sounds like an old man yelling at clouds on any level. He's 100 percent correct and we've been talking about this consistently for over a year.

You need contracts and transparency. This sport is full of bag men who don't want to give up their power broker in the shadow roles.

Plus, watching players walk out the door from a final four team is just freakin whacked. It shows you how broken all of it is.

[Shirley]

I don't think Larranaga sounds like an old man yelling at clouds on any level. He's 100 percent correct and we've been talking about this consistently for over a year.

You need contracts and transparency. This sport is full of bag men who don't want to give up their power broker in the shadow roles.

Yeah and I’ve seen some really bad takes online about it. I don’t know it’s so hard for people to get that it’s great that players are finally getting their cut AND that the way it’s working now isn’t the right way for the sport.

[Nonlinear FC]

It's truly a function of the black and white, bullshit way the media covers things. Everyone as to have a "take" and there's a ton of zero sum arguments that don't reflect reality.

I don't think there's a single person on this board who disagrees that players should be compensated. That's not the issue.

[EnochRoot]

Remember the ESPN Sunday morning show, ‘The Sports Reporters’? I’m too lazy to look it up (much less know how to do it), but I’m sure the public’s appetite for it was far less than it ever has been for ‘Pat McAfee’.

[Giff]

I loved that show.

[A_B]

I don’t like to wish ill on anyone but mcafee suffering a catastrophic Voice injury wouldn’t make me mad.

[DaveInSeattle]

In the Gonzaga-UCLA game yesterday, Gonzaga lost one player in the first half to a flagrant 2, and had a flagrant 1 called in the second half for a elbow swung on a clear out.

And then on the game deciding play, the UCLA player absolutely decks the Zag defender with an elbow...and the Zags get hit with the foul. And the refs didn't even go look at the monitor.

Just maddeningly inconsistent.

[sancarlos]

So, this Florida State NIL lawsuit thing is wild, eh?

[mister d]

One of the kids was a La Salle transfer who was solid as instant offense but $250K for a year seems wild. Either way, if they promised it I hope he gets 10x that.

[rass]

In the Gonzaga-UCLA game yesterday, Gonzaga lost one player in the first half to a flagrant 2, and had a flagrant 1 called in the second half for a elbow swung on a clear out.

And then on the game deciding play, the UCLA player absolutely decks the Zag defender with an elbow...and the Zags get hit with the foul. And the refs didn't even go look at the monitor.

Just maddeningly inconsistent.

And then their private jet almost crossed a runway that was being used for a takeoff by another plane.

[Nonlinear FC]

So, this Florida State NIL lawsuit thing is wild, eh?

I'm a broken record on this topic.

[Shirley]

So, this Florida State NIL lawsuit thing is wild, eh?

I'm a broken record on this topic.

It really is. There are so many aspects to it, and for it to be Hamilton, who's one of the most liked coaches in the game, is pretty surprising. I read today that apparently the team - those 6 guys and maybe more - were very close to boycotting their game against Duke last year. It definitely helps explain why his last few FSU teams has so underperformed. Things off the court are a mess.

For the millionth time, it's a great thing that players are finally getting a direct financial cut, but this way of doing it is so broken.

[wlu_lax6]

Terps go west for that classic B1G matchup against the Washington Huskies.

Though it will be the norm moving forward, this will be the second straight season Maryland has played a true road game on the West Coast. The Terps defeated UCLA last season at Pauley Pavilion 69-60 on Dec. 22.

Prior to that game, Maryland had not played a true road game in the Pacific Time Zone since Feb. 19, 1990 when they won 64-62 at USC.

Maryland has only played six true road games on the West Coast prior to the Washington/Oregon trip: once at USC, twice vs. UNLV (1978, 1985), and three times at UCLA (1973, 1981, 2023). The Terps are 2-4 in those games.

[Shirley]

I went to my second-ever game at UVA's John Paul Jones arena this weekend. I was there to see UVA lose at home to Louisville for the first time ever. Tony Bennett dominated the series, going 19-2 against the Cards. The 20 point loss was also the worst home loss in nearly 15 years. I picked a great one!

[DaveInSeattle]

I went to my second-ever game at UVA's John Paul Jones arena this weekend.

The bass player from Led Zeppelin bought the naming rights to the UVA arena?

[Shirley]

I went to my second-ever game at UVA's John Paul Jones arena this weekend.

The bass player from Led Zeppelin bought the naming rights to the UVA arena?

He had to do something with all of those Monty Python and the Holy Grail residuals.

[DSafetyGuy]

Otto the Onion.jpg (61.62 KiB) Viewed 1230 times

[Shirley]

lol

[brian]

Not often you see the #1 team in the country down 59-28 late in the second half.

[Nonlinear FC]

MI had a nice swing through LA, taking down USC and absolutely running UCLA off the court late in their game last night. I know folks don't care. The reason I'm bringing it up is this REMARKABLE tantrum thrown by Mick Cronin.

https://247sports.com/college/michigan/ ... 243730381/

Like, it's one thing to show some frustration... That is probably 7-8 minutes of a tirade against your entire team. We'll see how they react, I guess.

[Nonlinear FC]

I know I'm shouting into a cloud, but just to put a pin in the Cronin stuff... He's putting 100 percent of that game on his players being soft. Ok.

You had a guy who was a power forward last year, and who is not a true D1 center in size and substance, guarding one of the larger and more skillful centers in the B1G. Ok, fine. You also decided, for whatever reason, to never roll help over to double the guy at any point.

M's center went off for 36 points.

But, yeah, it's all about player effort, Mick.

[Shirley]

Wow. Cronin's always been an asshole, but that's a whole other level.

Honestly, if I were the AD, I'd strongly consider firing him on the spot for that. Is that supposed to be leadership? That lack of accountability and the huge ego of "I should be coaching the Lakers" disgusts me.

[Nonlinear FC]

Dude entered a B1G season without a true center.

Good luck, my dude.

[rass]

Saw some headlines earlier, but just read the ESPN piece.

Fun time to have to hop on a plane for a cross-country flight and then all stay together for 3 or 4 nights for two east coast games.

[Giff]

At least the air quality will be better.

[rass]

If any of you overachievers make a NJ joke to kiss up to the coach, I'll punch you.

[DaveInSeattle]

Saw some headlines earlier, but just read the ESPN piece.

[HaulCitgo]

Dude entered a B1G season without a true center.

Good luck, my dude.

Fwiw college teams haven't needed a true center for 15-20 years

[Giff]

[DaveInSeattle]

Watching the Gonzaga - U San Diego game. Steve Lavin's tan is magnificent.

[mister d]

[Nonlinear FC]

Dude entered a B1G season without a true center.

Good luck, my dude.

Fwiw college teams haven't needed a true center for 15-20 years

Oh, yeah, I get that. I think you'd agree, however, that if you're going to run a slightly smaller lineup you should have contingencies for when you face a true #5. And the point I was making is that the Bruins are going to face more than a handful of teams with large, skillful #5s in the B1G.

This coach called a kid soft even though he's giving up 30 pounds and at least 3 inches to his opposite number. This coach is calling an entire team, one of the best defensive teams in the country, soft off of one bad game. His plan for the "center" at least in his presser, was just foul the guy. Ok, cool, coach, and when you bring in the guy off the bench who's even less able to handle it (not to mention had zero offense) due to foul trouble... Genius.

This is a weird variation of the Tom Izzo school of "this was all my fault, now let me shit on the players that pissed me off tonight." This just took to a higher level by proclaiming himself the toughest guy in the room and pointing to his almost 500 wins at the age of 53... While shitting all over his players and coaching staff.

Asshole.

[Shirley]

Yes, Cronin is a raging asshole. And a poor leader.

That said, he's still a much better coach than Ron Sanchez who probably needs to work on his resume. I can't imagine that he's going to parlay his interim title at Virginia to the full-time job. UVA currently has their worst KenPom ranking ever, including all the Dave Leitao years and the latter Pete Gillen years.

Time for me to start cruising the list of young coaches kicking ass at their current job.

[EnochRoot]

Yes, Cronin is a raging asshole. And a poor leader.

That said, he's still a much better coach than Ron Sanchez who probably needs to work on his resume. I can't imagine that he's going to parlay his interim title at Virginia to the full-time job. UVA currently has their worst KenPom ranking ever, including all the Dave Leitao years and the latter Pete Gillen years.

Time for me to start cruising the list of young coaches kicking ass at their current job.

IMO the guy who was going to get poached to lead a big program was South Florida’s Amir Abdur-Rahim (43 years old). Except he died a few weeks before the season started due to complications that arose during some medical procedure.

[Nonlinear FC]

Um.

[Giff]

Um.

20 points through 25 minutes?

[Nonlinear FC]

Sorry, my "um" was 100 percent not relevant.

That took 14 minutes to type. I'm in a zone.

[Giff]

I thought maybe you were watching MSU v Washington for some reason.