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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Mar 21, 2023 12:15:03 GMT
He couldn't carry Pistol Pete's floppy socks!
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 27, 2023 11:40:41 GMT
So, UConn, Florida Atlantic, Miami, and San Diego St. ... just like everyone's brackets predicted, right?
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Apr 1, 2023 14:06:57 GMT
Well, this didn't take long:
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Post by Kapitan on Jun 17, 2023 22:11:59 GMT
Not quite college, but leading to it: I spent much of the past two days in an increasingly sweaty, stuffy, hot suburban high school gym watching many of the state's (and two neighbors, North Dakota's and South Dakota's) best high school basketball players in a showcase for college coaches. As usual, among the programs watching were coaches from the Big Ten, Big 12, Big East, ACC, Pac-12, as well as the Missouri Valley, Summit, and other mid-majors (plus regional D2 and D3 schools), and players ranged from national Top 100, high-major players to guys just hoping to keep it going after high school. There were about 120 guys there.
I won't get into details on the players, most of whom you'll never hear of even if you're a college basketball fan. (Some, I guarantee you will!) But this is one of my favorite sports-related things of the year these past four or five years that I've been attending. Yes, some kids annoy the hell out of me by seeming not to understand the potential rewards of doing well--or not understanding what doing well is--in this environment. But many just exude the joy of playing basketball, game after game, drill after drill.
I watched a couple of young points guards who just finished their freshman years, Cedric Tomes and Jayden Moore, both of whom excel in the role of point guard. The REAL role of point guard. They both can score, but they lead. They pass. They defend. They run. They pass ahead rather than dribble it up themselves. They've both got some flair, sure, but they play to win. Tomes, in particular, would watch games and talk with "old heads" about what was going on, even as his fellow high schoolers were off hanging out amongst themselves. The kid can't be more than 16 years old, maybe less! Moore calls to mind a--maybe the--Minneapolis legend, Khalid El-Amin with his style and charisma on the court. These guys are in contention for being the best player of the 2026 class, and they're both sure-fire high-major D1 players.
They weren't alone. But again, there were kids for whom a D3 or JuCo future would be a success. And they were fun to watch, too. I'm always amazed by the talent, but also delighted by the energy of it all. I didn't attend a single Timberwolves game this past season, despite having had some really great seats offered on occasion. But I took a day off work for this, and wouldn't have missed it barring something like a death in the family. So much fun. Who'd have thought back-wrecking bleachers, the choice between starvation and unhealthy concession stand food, annoying parents and hangers-on, etc., could be so much fun...?
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jun 18, 2023 12:10:22 GMT
Happy Trails, Bob Huggins:
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Post by Kapitan on Jun 18, 2023 12:26:04 GMT
Happy Trails, Bob Huggins:
What's quite a coincidence is, I was just talking to a friend about how great a player we were watching this week would be if he accepted the West Virginia offer he got from Bob Huggins. Casmir "Cash" Chavis is a 6-3 athletic phenom, not much of a shooter but a really tough kid, a helluva defender, and a guy who can get to the rim anytime. A perfect Huggins guard. And then later the same day I see Huggins got a DUI and is out.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jun 20, 2023 12:37:54 GMT
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Post by Kapitan on Jun 20, 2023 12:40:17 GMT
Larry Brown is going to die in a hot gym during a basketball practice someday--and I don't think he'd have it any other way. The ultimate lifer.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jul 12, 2023 0:33:58 GMT
What is Bob Huggins doing? He can't be expecting to keep his job.
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Post by carllove on Jul 12, 2023 1:08:15 GMT
What is Bob Huggins doing? He can't be expecting to keep his job.
Yeah - That’s not going to happen. Good try though. I’m going to miss him coaching though. He could probably get another job somewhere, but isn’t he retirement age? I guess that fact doesn’t affect Larry Brown, Joe Biden or Nancy Pelosi though. I’m out of the game, as soon as I get Medicare.
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Post by Kapitan on Jul 12, 2023 12:09:26 GMT
Huggins is 69, so certainly on the higher end for major college coaching, but also not among the very oldest.
I doubt he believes he's going to get his job back. It's probably more just a play for a settlement of some kind.
He's a good enough coach that you'd think he could get another job, but he also comes with a LOT of baggage at this point. Between the repeat alcohol incidents at multiple schools and the "hot mic" slurs this offseason, I'd assume major-conference schools would stay away. Maybe a mid-major would think it's worth it, or maybe he'll get some kind of pro job. (Not head coaching, but skills development, scouting, etc.)
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jul 12, 2023 12:22:37 GMT
If Huggins is trying for some kind of settlement, I think he's in for a battle. Obviously I don't know the legal ramifications, but West Virginia University has been quick to respond to reports. It appears they'll take a stand.
I wonder if Huggins will attempt a Rick Pitino-like comeback, starting with a low(er) profile job and working his way up/back. At Huggins' age and with his problems, I have to wonder why he would want back in today's college game, including all facets.
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Post by Kapitan on Jul 12, 2023 12:29:49 GMT
If Huggins is trying for some kind of settlement, I think he's in for a battle. Obviously I don't know the legal ramifications, but West Virginia University has been quick to respond to reports. It appears they'll take a stand.
I wonder if Huggins will attempt a Rick Pitino-like comeback, starting with a low(er) profile job and working his way up/back. At Huggins' age and with his problems, I have to wonder why he would want back in today's college game, including all facets.
That would surprise me to some degree, too. The entire culture of nothing but marketing/fundraising, and all the NIL and transfer stuff, must drive him as crazy as it does most other older coaches. That said he WAS a pioneer along with Tark in making new rosters almost annually via transfers all along anyway. But that's also why I could imagine him coaching pros. He could get away from the university bureaucracy stuff, the regulations, and all of that.
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Post by Kapitan on Jul 12, 2023 15:46:03 GMT
Huggins isn't the only major-college coach with some employment-related drama: Northwestern's most successful football coach ever, Pat Fitzgerald, had his 2-week suspension announced Friday suddenly converted into termination for cause on Monday, both punishments stemming from an investigation into alleged hazing (that included sexual harassment or even abuse) within the program. The hazing itself seems to be mostly confirmed as happening; the controversy is whether Fitzgerald knew about it and can be held responsible. With him being owed $40 million on his contract, obviously the details matter to him, as he won't receive the money if the termination for cause stands. College football being what it is, I'd expect another school--probably a Big 12 or SEC school, the south being more football-crazy and typically willing to take such risks--to hire Fitzgerald sooner than later, maybe after a year off or doing some TV/media gig. For Northwestern, the move is risky on the field. Fitzgerald's 211 games and 110 wins are both more than double the next-best numbers by any coach in program history, and his .521 winning percentage is the first better-than-.500 result since the legendary Ara Parseghian went 36-35, .501, from 1956-63. (Parseghian left Northwestern for Notre Dame, where he went on to win two national championships and have great success.) The school is far from guaranteed to replicate or top Fitzgerald's relative success with its next coach. www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/37996312/attorney-says-northwestern-fired-coach-pat-fitzgerald-cause
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Post by Kapitan on Jul 27, 2023 18:16:33 GMT
Conference realignment continues: Colorado is apparently returning to the Big 8/12/10/12/11 just a decade or so after having left it to join the Pac-10/12/9/whatever.
I like it because in my mind, Colorado has always been in the Big 8/12. That's where they were in my formative years, and I never quite remembered they'd gone out west. Granted, they're returning to a Big 12 that will include Cincinnati and S. Florida, among others, which still blows my mind a little. But despite hating conference realignments generally, at least this one is a team going home.
The poor Pac-Whatever. Losing two powerhouse cash cow programs to the Big 10 and now Colorado, apparently mostly over an inability to lock up a strong media deal. Well, with three major programs gone, that media deal is less likely to be a good one, now, which only makes it more likely that Washington, Oregon, Arizona, and other programs being courted will depart for greener pastures.
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