NCAA Tournament Thread

[Joneslab]

Cal to his credit has tried to go out and remedy things in the program the last couple of years.

He spoke openly about our need for more shooters and he recruited Grady and Fredrick to this team. Also he clearly saw a weakness on the coaching staff and he brought Antigua and Coleman back on.

When looking at what needs to happen now, it's very technical stuff. Not sitting on leads, late-game tightness, blown free throws at critical times. I.e. basketball stuff.

Much more difficult to fix that kind of thing.

[Spiritof96]

Nova could have 3 NCAA's in 6 years
Duke could have 2 NCAA's in 7 years, 3 in 12 years, 4 in 21 years
Kansas could have 2 NCAA's in 14 years
UNC could have 4 NCAA's in 16 years

Since Cal has been here
Duke, UNC, Villanova and UConn have won more championships
Kansas has been more consistent and could win one this year.
I am a Cal fan but that's not getting it done.

I don't think I was aware that all of them were on that list. I think the retrospective of how good Cal's run has been isn't going to be kind.

[GOCAT15]

Only FF that could be worse is Louisville in there instead of Nova. Even without the birds in it I am waking up in the middle of the night sweating from the nightmares this FF is causing me.

And the thought that we not only beat two of them, we literally annihilated them.

[justford]

Cal to his credit has tried to go out and remedy things in the program the last couple of years.

He spoke openly about our need for more shooters and he recruited Grady and Fredrick to this team. Also he clearly saw a weakness on the coaching staff and he brought Antigua and Coleman back on.

When looking at what needs to happen now, it's very technical stuff. Not sitting on leads, late-game tightness, blown free throws at critical times. I.e. basketball stuff.

Much more difficult to fix that kind of thing.

I would add to the list: using time outs, how to play against a zone, using a zone, and running plays to get the ball in bounds. Like you said just basketball stuff.

[GOCAT15]

I would add to the list: using time outs, how to play against a zone, using a zone, and running plays to get the ball in bounds. Like you said just basketball stuff.

Literally just correct those four things and it would've gave us many more wins, not Rocket science.

[Catgrad7072]

Maybe less screaming, foot-stomping and acting the fool on the sideline would help fix some of these small things.

[PadCatFan]

I listened to the Geno Auriemma interview after the women's game that got UConn to the final 4. He talked about the more limited opportunities as you age. And he talked about the responsibility to get the players to the opportunity to win a national championship that they went to UConn for. Totally different from Cal.

[85 Fly]

Best worst case scenario for me is Duke does not win!

[Joneslab]

I listened to the Geno Auriemma interview after the women's game that got UConn to the final 4. He talked about the more limited opportunities as you age. And he talked about the responsibility to get the players to the opportunity to win a national championship that they went to UConn for. Totally different from Cal.

I agree.

But it has to be said that this past team we saw doesn't have many guys on it who were coming to college to play in the NBA.

This team was virtually made up of "college players." So blaming the whole one-and-done thing--or Cal's general mindset about one-and-dones--doesn't fit for this team.

Which, ironically, kinda makes things worse. Because if we can't blame it on the one-and-done culture it comes back to one thing: bad coaching.

[DA#23]

So blaming the whole one-and-done thing--or Cal's general mindset about one-and-dones--doesn't fit for this team.

I'm not going to try to argue that a Kellan Grady is analogous to Malik Monk, but there are many similarities as Grady had one year of eligibility left, wasn't previously on the NBA draft boards, and came to UK for one year as a last chance to get there.

He was a one and done at UK and came here for the same reasons. Not for UK but for what UK could do for him. Transfer Portal players, in their one year free agency craze, are awfully flipping similar to the previous one and done.

[George]

I'm not going to try to argue that a Kellan Grady is analogous to Malik Monk, but there are many similarities as Grady had one year of eligibility left, wasn't previously on the NBA draft boards, and came to UK for one year as a last chance to get there.

He was a one and done at UK and came here for the same reasons. Not for UK but for what UK could do for him. Transfer Portal players, in their one year free agency craze, are awfully flipping similar to the previous one and done.

We just have to hope they bring with them an added bonus of experience and maturity. Once we got to the tournament, the lack of the former was revealed to be a major problem.

[Joneslab]

He was a one and done at UK and came here for the same reasons. Not for UK but for what UK could do for him. Transfer Portal players, in their one year free agency craze, are awfully flipping similar to the previous one and done.

In fairness transfers were killing it all over the country this year. North Carolina has one right now that would've maybe got us to the FF if we had him. Kansas has one who's had a tremendous tournament. They were all over the place this year on really good teams.

And obviously ours were really good, one in particular.

I think you can win titles with a couple transfers, a couple of star freshmen. I don't know if what happened to this team was really an indictment of transfers but was more of an indictment of the particular team in the last three weeks and its coach. The Malik Monk team and the PJ Washington team I don't think were an indictment of one-and-dones; I think they just simply lost really close games that could've gone either way.

[Spiritof96]

He was a one and done at UK and came here for the same reasons. Not for UK but for what UK could do for him. Transfer Portal players, in their one year free agency craze, are awfully flipping similar to the previous one and done.

I don't think that is true at all.

I was a student-athlete that transferred in a sport no one cares about ages before there was a portal. I certainly can't speak for every transfer, but in my case, I moved to find the best experience for me and that included a total commitment to the team. I was 100% committed to the team at place A. while simultaneously realizing after two years that it wasn't the best place for me. I transferred to place B., sad to leave but excited about the next stop. At the next stop, I was 100% committed to my new team and contributed no less than any teammate and a daresay was more invested in the team than some "senior leaders" who had been there 4 years.

Every person on the earth balances self-interest against group interest. You only get one opportunity to have some experiences and EVERYONE is looking to maximize that short window of opportunity.

I don't think the desire to quickly move onto your ultimate goal necessarily equates to not caring about your college stop. When I was in high school I desperately wanted a spot at the next level, when I was in college I desperately wanted a shot at the next level. I was still ALL in on the team where I was.

I'm sure there are those that are only out for themselves or get the balance wrong, but for most, it isn't only about themselves.

[Dwight Schrute]

The coach K era has ended, and we have a title game where UK beat both participants by a combined almost 50 points. Ugh.

[Catgrad7072]

we have a title game where UK beat both participants by a combined almost 50 points. Ugh.

........ the ultimate morale victory!