Ongoing pro/college basketball thread (2023-24)

[RainMaker]

At least he played basketball. I'd be more upset that they put in a bunch of executives and announcers.

[Edward64]

No controversy in UConn vs Alabama.

Congrats to the Huskies.

[Edward64]

A blast from the past.

Hogs basketball are looking for a new HC. I read the below this morning and said, hmmm name sounds familiar.

Sources: Arkansas set to interview 2 candidates for men’s basketball job

Mississippi State Coach Chris Jans and University of Arkansas-Little Rock Coach Darrell Walker are scheduled to interview for the vacant University of Arkansas men’s basketball coaching job Sunday, sources told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Glad he's being considered but don't really know how good he'll be, his recent UALR record isn't that impressive. Also, didn't know he was a HC for the Raptors & Wizards pre-2001. I seem to recall his nickname was "skywalker".

Walker, 63, was the Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year after leading the Trojans to a 21-13 record this season and share of the OVC regular-season championship. He also won Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year in 2020 when UALR won the regular-season conference title with a 21-10 record. His overall record at UALR in six seasons is 82-99.

An All-American guard at Arkansas as a senior in 1983, Walker played 10 seasons in the NBA and was an NBA head coach for the Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards. He also was a long-time NBA assistant coach, and a head coach in the WNBA and CBA.

[Atocep]

Jans is a great coach, but awful human being.

Will Wade would probably make the most sense. He's happy to wait out the right offer though and wanted $4 mil per year from WVU. He's like making a deal with the devil. There's a lot going on that you have to be prepared to deal with.

Amir Abur-Rahim is another guy that should get consideration there.

[Edward64]

Congrats to South Carolina and the perfect season.

[Kodos]

They were impressive for sure.

[RainMaker]

Calipari to Arkansas. Wow.

[Swaggs]

Some pretty heavy smoke suggesting that Calipari is deep in negotiations for the Arkansas job. I guess it would be a mutual parting.

Gonna cause a shockwave to see who ends up at UK. I’d guess Hurley will be their first call.

[Edward64]

Nice! Calipari & Petrino and the Hogs backed with NIL money from Waltons, Jerry Jones and Mr. Tyson. The $ for Calipari must be pretty nice.

How did it happen? Kentucky's Calipari is the new Arkansas coach - ESPN

Calipari can win a national championship at Arkansas. Everything is in place to consistently compete at the top of the SEC and push for Final Four berths. Musselman didn't quite have the regular-season success to match, but he had the Razorbacks within a game of the Final Four in back-to-back years. The key for Calipari is whether he will change his outlook on roster construction. He'll be able to recruit at a high level in Fayetteville, but Calipari can't continue to build with only one or two transfers. There has to be a mix of high schoolers and veterans, and he'll have the NIL budget to build a roster in that way.

[Ksyrup]

It's less than at UK.

[Ksyrup]

He just knew he had to get out on his terms. Apparently expressed interest in Ohio State too.

[Ksyrup]

As someone here in Lexington said - he finally read the room.

[HerRealName]

The rumor that I heard was that Cal was asking Ohio State for more NIL money than they spent on football last year. That was pretty much the end of that conversation.

Edit: Cal was asking for far more per player budget for NIL than the football per player amount. Something like 4 - 1. At Ohio State. I'm sure there was laughter.

[Ksyrup]

Who knows if this works out for UK in the short-term, but this seems like a good set of circumstances for them. Much of the fanbase wanted Cal gone - not just for the multiple underperforming teams, but the way he handled criticism was getting pretty tiring. Even after the Oakland loss, basically throwing the team under the bus and never taking any responsibility for the lack of Xs and Os. Now, they are out from underneath a $33M buyout.

Barnhardt looks pretty bad, though. Just backed Cal, did a big interview with him, and then it appears he was kicking the tires at multiple schools to get out.

Conventional wisdom sounds like they make a run at Hurley and Billy Donovan, then work down the list. Nate Oats? Take a run at Scott Drew - would be a great get plus a slap in the face to Louisville? They just have to avoid a Billy Gillispie situation. I assume that means Bob Huggins is a no-go, lol.

[Ksyrup]

Oh and of course I forgot the funniest option - Rick Pitino.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by HerRealName

The rumor that I heard was that Cal was asking Ohio State for more NIL money than they spent on football last year. That was pretty much the end of that conversation.

Edit: Cal was asking for far more per player budget for NIL than the football per player amount. Something like 4 - 1. At Ohio State. I'm sure there was laughter.

He was the king of the 1 and done era but now that everyone is paying players his X's and O's are being exposed. He's never been strong there, but his dribble drive offense did a great job of showcasing the 1 and dones and helped prep them for the next level.

He's not a good coach for the portal/NIL era. He'll win enough to keep most places happy, but not at Kentucky or any other blue blood with national title expectations.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I assume that means Bob Huggins is a no-go, lol.

Huggs has been convinced he's getting nearly every open job this off-season and his family is trying to get him to retire. No one is calling.

[GrantDawg]

It feels like Calipari and Pitino have been coaching forever.

[Swaggs]

I read that Tre Mitchell (a pretty good, but not great college basketball player for Kentucky) has played for 4 schools in the past 4 years and all 4 coaches have lost their jobs within a year of him leaving:

UMASS - Matt McCall
Texas - Chris Beard
WVU - Bob Huggins
Kentucky - John Calipari

The last three all lost or changed their jobs fairly unexpectedly. McCall made it into the next season, but was fired before the end of the year.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Atocep

He was the king of the 1 and done era but now that everyone is paying players his X's and O's are being exposed. He's never been strong there, but his dribble drive offense did a great job of showcasing the 1 and dones and helped prep them for the next level.

He's not a good coach for the portal/NIL era. He'll win enough to keep most places happy, but not at Kentucky or any other blue blood with national title expectations.

Yeah, I don't see this as a good move for Arkansas. He's a pretty bad in-game coach who relied on huge talent advantages over the years. Not sure he's going to get that advantage at Arkansas like he had at Kentucky.

Musselman is a much better coach.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Not sure he's going to get that advantage at Arkansas like he had at Kentucky.

The NIL budget bump says that might not be so true (assuming he's willing to use it)

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

The NIL budget bump says that might not be so true (assuming he's willing to use it)

He had 2 lottery picks on his Kentucky team this year (both might go top 5). Probably 5 guys altogether who will be NBA players on that team. Getting talent isn't the issue at Kentucky. They have more raw talent than any team in the country.

[Ksyrup]

Yep. That's been the bone of contention with fans. He can't coach. This team has had bad 3 point D for the entirety of the year. Beginning in November. They didn't or couldn't fix it. It's why they went out in the first round. They have talent, but no one to coach them.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

They have more raw talent than any team in the country.

Problem is that word "raw". In the bought & paid for professional NCAA of today, the one & dones are gonna cut it, even less so against guys playing their 5th or 6th year of hoops for their 3rd or 4th team.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Problem is that word "raw". In the bought & paid for professional NCAA of today, the one & dones are gonna cut it, even less so against guys playing their 5th or 6th year of hoops for their 3rd or 4th team.

That's how he chose to construct his team. There was nothing stopping him from grabbing some solid juniors and seniors in the portal to round out the roster. Or just recruiting guys who wouldn't be 1-and-done. His best player this year was a Senior too.

UConn is doing it with young talented players too. They just have a vastly superior head coach. If you gave Hurley that Kentucky team, they'd be in the Final Four.

[Atocep]

My first calls would be to Hurley, Drew, and Oats. After that it gets dicey. Pearl would probably take the job right now if they would agree to making his son HCIW. That's the hang up he's having with Auburn right now on an extension.

[RainMaker]

I think all 3 of them would be upgrades. Hurley with Kentucky backing would be scary.

[Ksyrup]

I think Oats is the most realistic. Could move from FB school to basketball school, $18M buyout but compared to what UK just saved with Cal, almost a bargain?

[Edward64]

No info yet on the incentives.

Sources - John Calipari finalizing 5-year deal with Arkansas - ESPN

Calipari's contract is expected to have an overall base salary of slightly less than the $8.5 million he's making at Kentucky, sources told ESPN. However, the deal is expected to be incentive-laden with the ability to pass that number.

The contract is expected to be completed in the next 24 hours.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I think Oats is the most realistic. Could move from FB school to basketball school, $18M buyout but compared to what UK just saved with Cal, almost a bargain?

Yeah I don't see Hurley leaving UConn but with Kentucky he at least takes the call. Drew hasn't shown any interest in leaving Baylor. He knows he has it good there. Oats is a hell of a coach and could improve his situation a great deal jumping over to Kentucky.

[Swaggs]

I have always considered there to be six NCAA “blue bloods:” UCLA, Kentucky, Kansas, UNC, Duke, and Indiana, but I think UConn now having six titles, with 3 different head coaches, has to put them ahead of Indiana and (hot take) maybe even Duke at this point. At least until Duke proves they can win a title without Coach K

[JonInMiddleGA]

Down goes Foul Ming, so good on UConn I reckon.

[Atocep]

UConn was good enough to let Edey get his without changing up their approach too much. As I said earlier, these teams that don't have the talent level of UConn would have been better off just letting him eat in the paint, trapping their guards, pressure them, and try to get them out of their style of play. Giving heavy minutes to the last big on your bench because your other guys got in foul trouble in the first half isn't a winning strategy.

Edey was 15-25 for 37 points and 10 boards, but UConn bigs mostly stayed out of foul trouble. Clingan had 4 fouls, but still played 31 minutes.

[Swaggs]

Gotta give Edey his props on conditioning and avoiding fouls. Being 300 lbs and playing like 95% of the teams’ minutes in these high stress games is impressive to me.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Swaggs

I have always considered there to be six NCAA “blue bloods:” UCLA, Kentucky, Kansas, UNC, Duke, and Indiana, but I think UConn now having six titles, with 3 different head coaches, has to put them ahead of Indiana and (hot take) maybe even Duke at this point. At least until Duke proves they can win a title without Coach K

My vote is Duke & Indiana stays.

Let's just go ahead and make it 7 blue bloods.

[Ksyrup]

Oats has apparently publicly stated he's not leaving Alabama.

UConn's offense was actually a beautiful thing to watch. They were simply playing at a higher level than anyone else in the country.

[Kodos]

Apologies to Cuervo, but watching Purdue get crushed last night felt good. I may never get to see IU win another championship, but at least I didn’t have to watch Purdue win. And it was nice that the outcome was never in doubt.

[Lathum]

I was in a pretty big bracket pool. $4500 total. I came in second for just over 1k. It was actually a tie so it came down to final score. The guy who won did so easily. I picked 70-63 so was two points off. The other guy said 97-93!!! I likely take second anyway but man he made it easy.

[albionmoonlight]

March Madness is still the best event in sports.

You get the combination of the best team winning in the end, but the fun of a total Cinderella who shouldn't have even made the tournament making the Final Four.

Nothing else gives you that mix.

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by Lathum

I was in a pretty big bracket pool. $4500 total. I came in second for just over 1k. It was actually a tie so it came down to final score. The guy who won did so easily. I picked 70-63 so was two points off. The other guy said 97-93!!! I likely take second anyway but man he made it easy.

I picked Connecticut to win it all, but I was behind everyone else who did :-)

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by Lathum

I was in a pretty big bracket pool. $4500 total. I came in second for just over 1k. It was actually a tie so it came down to final score. The guy who won did so easily. I picked 70-63 so was two points off. The other guy said 97-93!!! I likely take second anyway but man he made it easy.

Congrats

[Thomkal]

So I finished 11,565,400 in ESPN's Men's Bracket Challenge-yeah me? I did much better in the ladies bracket where I picked mostly chalk because there still seems to not be a lot of parity there yet.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

I picked Connecticut to win it all, but I was behind everyone else who did :-)

yeah. You had to have both teams to have any hope.

[Ksyrup]

I won the office pool. A cool $80!

Regarding Calipari, it seems awfully strange that news broke about 36 hours ago and it's still not confirmed/done. I guess he's dotting i's/crossing t's to make sure all of the commitments (NIL, etc) are documented. Still seems like it is taking longer than you'd expect given how long the news has been out.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I won the office pool. A cool $80!

Regarding Calipari, it seems awfully strange that news broke about 36 hours ago and it's still not confirmed/done. I guess he's dotting i's/crossing t's to make sure all of the commitments (NIL, etc) are documented. Still seems like it is taking longer than you'd expect given how long the news has been out.

My conspiracy mind wonders if UK leaked it so that he doesn't back out.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

So I finished 11,565,400 in ESPN's Men's Bracket Challenge-yeah me? I did much better in the ladies bracket where I picked mostly chalk because there still seems to not be a lot of parity there yet.

After getting UConn's NCAA tournament win correct in my bracket, I end up at 75.6% percentile (like 7.5 millionth place) in the ESPN bracket stuff.
That's despite the fact that Uconn was my only correct pick in the final four AND in the elite eight.

My women's, uh, not good. My last correct pick there was Iowa in the E8. Finished in the 23rd percentile, quite possibly my worst women's bracket ever I think.

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

After getting UConn's NCAA tournament win correct in my bracket, I end up at 75.6% percentile (like 7.5 millionth place) in the ESPN bracket stuff.
That's despite the fact that Uconn was my only correct pick in the final four AND in the elite eight.

My women's, uh, not good. My last correct pick there was Iowa in the E8. Finished in the 23rd percentile, quite possibly my worst women's bracket ever I think.

I had iowa over SC so i was sitting pretty good there had iowa won.

[GrantDawg]

Latest on Calipari: He still, as of this moment, has not had any contact with UK AD Mitch Barnhart, sources say. Seems he's waiting on approval on his Arkansas contract (any hour now) before finalizing the divorce with Kentucky. The expectation is that will happen later today.

— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) April 9, 2024

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Apologies to Cuervo, but watching Purdue get crushed last night felt good. I may never get to see IU win another championship, but at least I didn’t have to watch Purdue win. And it was nice that the outcome was never in doubt.

Nah, having seen IU/Purdue from the other side I get it. In a way though, not having the outcome ever in doubt was easier on my nerves. UCONN was the better team so it doesn't feel as bad. (I don't know if my son shares that line of thought, haven't talked to him yet.)

The fact that it was UCONN though is a bit annoying; despite visiting there in Younger Kid's round of college visits, I've never had a positive view of any of their teams (to put it nicely). And to add a Hurley to that mix... uke:

[Kodos]

Yep. I can understand that. I tend to root against the UConn teams too.

And I get the Hurley thing too. The Duke win over IU in 1992 is still the game that I would most like to reverse the outcome on. So Hurleys are not my favorite people either.