SEC Tournament Thread: Semis

[George]

This helps, too: https://x.com/buccigross/status/1901...Zh-MhBNSFA_htg

[TrueblueCATfan]

Until Pitino retires, i will never feel comfortable knowing the best coach in college basketball isn't coaching at the University of Kentucky.

Coach of the year,

I agree...In his 2nd year what he has done at St John's is remarkable

[justafan]

Meh, no one doubting he's a great coach. I'm just curious at the "greatest ever" and which/what metric(s).

Take the St. Johns argument - no disputing he's done great this year - but to tie it to St. Johns records the past 20 years is more of a knock on admins. inability to hire a decent coach. Also, lets see how he does in the tourney. FF and I might jump on the bandwagon.

To discount Coach Ks and Woodens accomplishments because they did it all at one school means we should discount Rupps accomplishments as well. Its a strange argument to me.

[George]

Meh, no one doubting he's a great coach. I'm just curious at the "greatest ever" and which/what metric(s).

Take the St. Johns argument - no disputing he's done great this year - but to tie it to St. Johns records the past 20 years is more of a knock on admins. inability to hire a decent coach. Also, lets see how he does in the tourney. FF and I might jump on the bandwagon.

To discount Coach Ks and Woodens accomplishments because they did it all at one school means we should discount Rupps accomplishments as well. Its a strange argument to me.

No one’s discounting the other greats; I’m saying Pitino’s accomplishments are arguably more impressive because he wins everywhere, regardless of the program’s strength or stability. And you say St. John’s is more a knock against admins, but why not look at it as Pitino winning despite their possible incompetence?

[TrueblueCATfan]

I'm going with Florida today...I just can't cheer for that ugly orange

[Joneslab]

I put Pitino and K above Wooden. Coaching in the age of parity changes things.

Ironically I think I’d put Rupp above Wooden only because Rupp was integral to the design of the sport. He was there as the game was literally being re-invented from the peach basket era.

[justafan]

And you say St. John’s is more a knock against admins, but why not look at it as Pitino winning despite their possible incompetence?

Because no one is disputing his ability to win. He's a great coach. The issue is discounting the others (K and Wooden) just because they did NOT leave their team.

Q: why did he leave Iona? A: one-bid conference. If he's the greatest, that shouldn't be an issue, right?

[Jeff ROCKober]

I put Pitino and K above Wooden. Coaching in the age of parity changes things.

Ironically I think I’d put Rupp above Wooden only because Rupp was integral to the design of the sport. He was there as the game was literally being re-invented from the peach basket era.

I list mine as:
Wooden, Coach K, Rupp, Dean Smith (hate him for the four corners), Pitino, Knight, Roy Williams. Pitino would be right there with Coach K or better if he had stayed at UK longer. This easily can be argued as it was easier to win during Wooden's era, and with his semi pro players, but what a run he had.

Back to the game- Tennessee is a great team but if you can get to 70 points- there is a great chance you will beat them. Florida looks too strong and athletic. Tennessee is going to have to hit from outside to win this one and ironically the have more 3's than Florida. (6 to 5) Florida with only two turnovers. Pretty impressive against a great defensive team.

[George]

Because no one is disputing his ability to win. He's a great coach. The issue is discounting the others (K and Wooden) just because they did NOT leave their team.

Q: why did he leave Iona? A: one-bid conference. If he's the greatest, that shouldn't be an issue, right?

I still think you’re coming at this from the wrong angle. It’s not about discounting the others; it’s about crediting Pitino for additional challenges.

[Joneslab]

Looking at it from that angle and giving credit to coaches who stuck for long times at one place, it's an interesting thought experiment to think about where Pitino would have been had he built a Coach K-like legacy at Kentucky.

You can what-if that one to death, but I can see the logic in some ways of discrediting Pitino for jumping like he has--sometimes by his own volition, sometimes not.

Staying and having to re-invent yourself as a coach at one school as the game changes around you is a particular kind of challenge. How Coach K faltered in the mid '90s only to come back in the late '90s and early 2000s to field more champions is super impressive.

Pitino has shown that he has a historically good edge at reclamation projects. I think that's probably about his uncanny focus and motivational skills, not only of players but also adults around him. To build St. John's like has has goes beyond just coaching into a complete overhaul of the culture of the basketball program. It wasn't quite like Kentucky after Shame, but it was still pretty bleak around there.

[justafan]

I think everyone would believe Pitino would have built a Coach K type legacy at UK (assuming no Sypher+NCAA*2 type issues).

But he didn't. I don't think being fired by UofL should be waved aside either. Through his actions (or inactions if you're going that route) UofL is technically down a NC and FF.

So we're talking about raw "coaching ability" vs. "success" - I believe those have different meanings here.

[TrueblueCATfan]

Florida wins SEC championship and will be a 1 seed

And we scored 106 points on them in OT

[George]

Todd Golden, of IG stalker/pervert fame, is your conference tournament champ.

[Matt Dillon]

Pitino has shown that he has a historically good edge at reclamation projects. I think that's probably about his uncanny focus and motivational skills, not only of players but also adults around him. To build St. John's like has has goes beyond just coaching into a complete overhaul of the culture of the basketball program. It wasn't quite like Kentucky after Shame, but it was still pretty bleak around there.

When you label someone the GOAT at anything you're most likely traversing a slippery slope due to variables, but coach Pitino's ability to rebuild programs is the main thing I base my thinking on. My opinion is that it's easier to maintain a successful program once you've established positive history and a winning tradition than it is to build or rebuild one that's down. I believe that's one of the primary reasons for fb success at places like Bama and Ohio St. while schools like UK have so much trouble getting over the hump.

[KentuckyWild2020]

I'm curious how yall come to the conclusion he's the best ever? I'm not being flippant here, I'm curious.

Because all he does is win win and win. Most importantly everyone knows including Family members, Church members,Community leaders ,all of the above that IF Pitino didn't take the Boston job, people would be asking Coach K who? Roy Williams? John Calipari who? Donavon who?,the list goes on and on.

In reality at Kentucky, he was just getting started.