The Swamp

UH is just so damn good.

I’d be fine with them winning it. They were the funnest team around when I started following, and seeing The Dream and The Glyde at the Final Four would be boss as hell. Bust out the red and white polka dot towels while they’re at it.

It’s all over.

Shirley wrote: ↑Sat Mar 09, 2024 3:47 pm

DSafetyGuy wrote: ↑Fri Mar 08, 2024 7:21 pm Great guy, but a bad fit from the jump. Went over this last year when it was announced he was returning for this season.

Fortunately for Syracuse, it seems likes Red Autry has gotten off to a pretty good start. Not great, but solid (and better than last year under Boeheim).

Their defense is absolute garbage. Their offense has benefitted from some occasional extremely hot 3-point shooting from Chris Bell and Judah Mintz's ability to draw fouls. They've basically been a lot better against teams in their weight class but cannot hang with legitimate competition. Eight of their 11 losses are by 15 or more points and they are 1-7 against teams that are projected in the tournament at bracket matrix.com, including six of those blowouts.

In Autry's defense, he's had to get by with a roster shortened by two season-ending injuries (one before the season), a couple backup centers being mostly in-and-out for various health reasons, and having to kick a player off the team last month. He's done well, especially considering that he's dealing with a short roster (both height and numbers), but they still have a ways to go. He also had some curious lineup decisions early in the season before his hand was forced (started a 6'6" two-guard at power forward, playing his best power forward at center exclusively until one three-minute stretch about four weeks ago).

Yeah, they aren't up to historic Syracuse levels yet, but Boeheim didn't leave him much (other than Mintz, who's quite good). The last two teams were pretty poor and clearly only built around the idea of getting the ball to his son(s). I hope Autry pans out, because the ACC's coaching talent pool has been severely drained over the past several years. We really need Autry, Stoudamire, and Shrewsberry to turn out to be good coaches. They've all gotten off to solid, if unspectacular, starts. All three are gonna miss the tournament, but all improved their KenPom ranking from the previous year.

So the women’s SEC final against South Carolina and LSU got a little chippy, to say the least.

Shirley wrote: ↑Sun Mar 10, 2024 10:36 am Yeah, they aren't up to historic Syracuse levels yet, but Boeheim didn't leave him much (other than Mintz, who's quite good). The last two teams were pretty poor and clearly only built around the idea of getting the ball to his son(s). I hope Autry pans out, because the ACC's coaching talent pool has been severely drained over the past several years. We really need Autry, Stoudamire, and Shrewsberry to turn out to be good coaches. They've all gotten off to solid, if unspectacular, starts. All three are gonna miss the tournament, but all improved their KenPom ranking from the previous year.

The biggest thing Boeheim left is the offense, which is minimal sets and players allowed to essentially freelance to get their shots (that they should take because they can make them). As a result, they move less and set fewer screens than most teams, to the hindrance of their offense. They have basically hung impressive offensive numbers on mediocre teams in part due to Mintz getting to the foul line a ton and a surprisingly long hot streak from three for Chris Bell.

I was unsurprised to see Joe Girard put up career-best shooting numbers across the board at Clemson this year and found him shooting over 70% from the field and 67% from three in their two wins over Syracuse amusing. Funny how tailoring your offense to what your players can do makes them more productive.

L-Jam3 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 10, 2024 5:11 pm So the women’s SEC final against South Carolina and LSU got a little chippy, to say the least.

Yeah, that escalated quickly. Cardosa got her money's worth with that forearm. Yeah, they'll be playing a 16 seed and it won't matter for the game she misses, but the best ability is availability!

I just watched the extended highlights, and, man... The refs allowed WAY too much off the ball stuff and taunting. And it started early.

In the least surprising coaching news imaginable, Louisville finally put the Kenny Payne era out of its misery.

In all my years of following college hoops, I can't think of a more disastrous coaching tenure. Given the status of that program and just how unbelievably awful his two teams were (KenPom 290 last year and a greatly improve 198 this year) - it's hard to top. The closest I can think of was Matt Doherty's tenure at UNC - but he looks like John Wooden compared to Payne.

L-Jam3 wrote: ↑Sat Mar 09, 2024 6:08 pm I’d be fine with them winning it. They were the funnest team around when I started following, and seeing The Dream and The Glyde at the Final Four would be boss as hell. Bust out the red and white polka dot towels while they’re at it.

Houston is still coached by Kelvin Sampson, right?

Fuck that guy...how long until he gets them put on probation?

Am I missing something about Kelvin Sampson? I know he’d blow up phones of his recruits, but I don’t see that as anything egregious. That’s not Penn State/Larry Nasser/Baylor players murdering their teammate bad.

L-Jam3 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 14, 2024 10:02 am Am I missing something about Kelvin Sampson? I know he’d blow up phones of his recruits, but I don’t see that as anything egregious. That’s not Penn State/Larry Nasser/Baylor players murdering their teammate bad.

Yes, his violations seem quaint on that scale. But he got busted doing that at Oklahoma, got fired...then got hired at Indiana and did exactly the same thing again.

Guy is a really good coach, but views the rules as optional.

My first instinct is to always defend something Houston-related, but I've always "hated" Sampson stemming from his days at OU. Then he became a Rockets assistant who did wonders and now has UH a favorite for the championship. So, I've softened my stance. But it was back in full force when they played Baylor the other day. The second he's a coach of another team (even though I think he retires here), my hate will reappear.

One of my favorite memories was greatly inconveniencing him during the 2003 Final Four. We were walking down the ramps after the games were over and we noticed he was walking behind us with his wife. One of my good friends at the time was a huge OU fan, so I thought I'd ask him for his autograph and I'd give it to my friend. As soon as I did, others started to recognize him and he was surrounded as we walked away.

Damn, UConn is good. They just slapped Xavier around by 27.

Edited removing a horrifically bad error.

Giff wrote: ↑Thu Mar 14, 2024 10:53 amOne of my favorite memories was greatly inconveniencing him during the 2003 Final Four. We were walking down the ramps after the games were over and we noticed he was walking behind us with his wife. One of my good friends at the time was a huge OU fan, so I thought I'd ask him for his autograph and I'd give it to my friend. As soon as I did, others started to recognize him and he was surrounded as we walked away.

You didn't really inconvenience him unless he was in a really hurry to get home.

DSafetyGuy wrote: ↑Thu Mar 14, 2024 1:47 pm

Giff wrote: ↑Thu Mar 14, 2024 10:53 amOne of my favorite memories was greatly inconveniencing him during the 2003 Final Four. We were walking down the ramps after the games were over and we noticed he was walking behind us with his wife. One of my good friends at the time was a huge OU fan, so I thought I'd ask him for his autograph and I'd give it to my friend. As soon as I did, others started to recognize him and he was surrounded as we walked away.

You didn't really inconvenience him unless he was in a really hurry to get home.

I dunno man, being stuck on a ramp at the Superdome seems super inconvenient no matter how fast you care about getting somewhere. It's all humid and shit.

You know, I thought Sampson was a solid coach at Oklahoma, but not a great one. And then he fucked up at Indiana. It's wild to seem him step up at Houston to being truly elite. You don't really see coaches do that late in their career like that. But he's done over the past ~4 seasons at Houston has been pretty epic. Only missing a title at this point - although you could argue that 4-straight top 5 KenPom finishes is harder than getting hot one month and winning a title.

Seems like his stints in the NBA might've helped. I can't believe he's been at UH for 10 years.

Devin Carter is a straight-up superstar. Scary to think how good PC would have been this year if Hopkins hadn't gone down.

Jerloma wrote: ↑Thu Mar 14, 2024 8:34 pm Devin Carter is a straight-up superstar. Scary to think how good PC would have been this year if Hopkins hadn't gone down.

Dude straight up looks like he’s 8 years older than the guys he’s playing with, but he finished HS in ‘21.

Why does the last leg of the parlay always screw you over?

UVA won the Virginiaiest game ever last night. They struggled all night to string together any made baskets. They trailed nearly the entire game before grabbing the lead with a minute to go. They hadn't helped their cause by missing seven straight free throws (including a front-end) in the second half. It seemed like they had finally wrapped up a tough win when they forced a late miss. But after a scramble for the rebound, BC threw in a wild long two at the buzzer to send it to OT. There, UVA finally hit a couple of threes and ended up winning by 6 - their largest margin of the game.

This team is a mess but somehow manages to win quite a bit. It's just that when they lose, they tend to collapse and lose by large margins, so their efficiency ratings are negatively skewed relative to their actual W/L success.

Survive and advance

A_B wrote: ↑Fri Mar 15, 2024 6:43 am Why does the last leg of the parlay always screw you over?

That's actually not a bad thing. If the first leg had screwed you over, you would have bet the last leg again and lost it twice.

A_B wrote: ↑Fri Mar 15, 2024 6:43 am Why does the last leg of the parlay always screw you over?

Send me your tips for next week. Watching Thursday in a casino.

Villanova finding a way to play themselves out of their all-but-guaranteed tourney spot for the second year in a row is really fun. I'm happy about that.

degenerasian wrote: ↑Fri Mar 15, 2024 9:58 am

A_B wrote: ↑Fri Mar 15, 2024 6:43 am Why does the last leg of the parlay always screw you over?

That's actually not a bad thing. If the first leg had screwed you over, you would have bet the last leg again and lost it twice.

Nah, that's not how I bet. I don't chase it. Shoot it was a 10 bet to win 120 ish. I don't go chasing hedges on tiny bets. Florida needed three more points. Alas.

A_B wrote: ↑Fri Mar 15, 2024 10:35 am

degenerasian wrote: ↑Fri Mar 15, 2024 9:58 am

A_B wrote: ↑Fri Mar 15, 2024 6:43 am Why does the last leg of the parlay always screw you over?

That's actually not a bad thing. If the first leg had screwed you over, you would have bet the last leg again and lost it twice.

Nah, that's not how I bet. I don't chase it. Shoot it was a 10 bet to win 120 ish. I don't go chasing hedges on tiny bets. Florida needed three more points. Alas.

That was my downfall. I'd make a full day parley and if it broke early, a half day parlay etc....

Now my parlays are just within a short time frame. Like the NFL early games on Sunday are perfect. Win or lose i'm done at 4pm.
March Madness, just one session at a time.

Tennis is the worst because of the uncertainty and staggered start times.

Giff wrote: ↑Thu Mar 14, 2024 3:33 pmSeems like his stints in the NBA might've helped. I can't believe he's been at UH for 10 years.

He does a great job recruiting to his style of play (not a great half-court offense, very aggressive defense, and pounding the offensive boards). That's not for everybody, particularly the first part.

And my original comment was about a joke about how he wasn't coaching at that Final Four.

Juwan Howard out at Michigan.

Maryland’s too cheap to do the right thing and can Kevin Willard, but it’ll happen soon enough.

san carlos... One of the early front-runners is Rams coach Niko Medved.

Pretty relieved Manuel (AD) didn't drag this out. Rip off the bandaid and move on with the entire field to look at. Beilein, while I love what he did for the program, absolutely fucked them by leaving when he did.

Nonlinear FC wrote: ↑Fri Mar 15, 2024 3:41 pm san carlos... One of the early front-runners is Rams coach Niko Medved.

Pretty relieved Manuel (AD) didn't drag this out. Rip off the bandaid and move on with the entire field to look at. Beilein, while I love what he did for the program, absolutely fucked them by leaving when he did.

I know the coach at CSU is highly regarded, so as long as they are successful in Fort Collins, it is just a matter of time until he moves to a more prominent position. Such is life for a mid-major.

I saw him mentioned for the Louisville job as well.

I don’t really belong here but I just randomly realized that I’m more likely to watch an entire game from the women’s tournament than the men’s this year. It’ll probably be 0-0 if I’m honest but there we are

Is there a more unlikable coach than Dan Hurley?

Dave Bliss?

Giff wrote: ↑Fri Mar 15, 2024 8:51 pm Is there a more unlikable coach than Dan Hurley?

He was a real twit for his first few years in college, no real surprise he coaches the same way.

mister d wrote: ↑Fri Mar 15, 2024 9:13 pmDave Bliss?

He’s not coaching anymore dummy.

L-Jam3 wrote: ↑Fri Mar 15, 2024 9:14 pm

Giff wrote: ↑Fri Mar 15, 2024 8:51 pm Is there a more unlikable coach than Dan Hurley?

He was a real twit for his first few years in college, no real surprise he coaches the same way.

I don’t know if that guy actually got kicked out but I love Pitino telling him not to leave.

Yes mister d I realize Pitino has had his own issues!

Wouldyousayhisreactionwasjustifiedorpremature???