The College Basketball Post

[lnmymind]

Originally Posted by JamesOnNT

He's not gonna be the savior of anything .. he's not that good.

Seriously

 

[yungmatt]

Originally Posted by JamesOnNT

He's not gonna be the savior of anything .. he's not that good.

 

[johnnyredstorm]

2nd coming of Felipe Lopez.

Btw apparently I was on TV a whole lot today

 

[allen3xis]

I love his game, but no, he's not a savior.

Nor do I believe UMD is a legitimate option.

 

[allen3xis]

Bracketbusters match ups are made today.

Siena has a home game for that and hopefully they match up Davidson so I can go harass the little prick.


They probably pair Davidson/Butler tho.

 

[seymore cake]

Damn Al... Espn has made you hate Steph now???

 

[cadillacflow]

Originally Posted by true 3 blue

We're tied in the BE with ND and Gtown, who would've thunk it?!

 

[jamesonnt]

UConn vs L'Ville

 

[allen3xis]

ESPN has little to do with it

I got Louisville tonight. Just cause they're home.

 

[messiahchild]

Uconn got this.

-Kemba>Sosa in high school
-Kemba>Sosa in college.

 

[cadillacflow]

Not to say Uconn won't win, but if the game comes down to Sosa vs Kemba, I'll be very suprised.

 

[philballa09]

Steph

Davidson/Butler is a lock.....LU is prolly going to play JMU/ MurrayState

i wanna play either Wichita State/Niagara/Rider

 

[seymore cake]

Originally Posted by MessiahChild

Uconn got this.

-Kemba>Sosa in high school
-Kemba>Sosa in college.

this is true but I want them to lose cause we lost our 1st week as #1

 

[true 3 blue]

Originally Posted by CadillacFLOW

Originally Posted by true 3 blue

We're tied in the BE with ND and Gtown, who would've thunk it?!

I'm poppin bottles by my damn self

 

[seymore cake]

^ I hope y'all get Siena

 

[messiahchild]

Originally Posted by Seymore CAKE

Originally Posted by MessiahChild

Uconn got this.

-Kemba>Sosa in high school
-Kemba>Sosa in college.

this is true but I want them to lose cause we lost our 1st week as #1

What Uconn ever did to you???

I mean assuming if we eliminate the years of 99' and 04' from ever happening....

 

[seymore cake]

MessiahChild wrote:

---

Originally Posted by Seymore CAKE

Originally Posted by MessiahChild

Uconn got this.

-Kemba>Sosa in high school
-Kemba>Sosa in college.

this is true but I want them to lose cause we lost our 1st week as #1

What Uconn ever did to you???

I mean assuming if we eliminate the years of 99' and 04' from ever happening....




Upon reading that 1st sentence I was in a state of confusion like "Did he really just ask that" then I read the 2nd sentence

I'll never forgive Trajan Langdon for that last play in 99.... I secretly hated Ben Gordon during his 1st few yrs here as a Bull, but now that he'sallowed his greed to come out and publicly affect my squad I can confess my disdain for him outloud. Feels like a wieght has been lifted off my chest too.

with that being said... Let's Go Ricky!!!!

 

[craftsy21]

what time they announcing these bracket buster games?

 

[allen3xis]

6:30 on ESPNU

 

[craftsy21]

Originally Posted by allen3xis

6:30 on ESPNU

are they announcing the full TV schedule or just the slate of games, with the tv to be determined further down the line?

 

[allen3xis]

TV Schedule, I believe.

 

[craftsy21]

nowitness is really gonna hate me for this one now...

Griffin's numbers are great, but …

Friday, January 30, 2009 | Print Entry

Posted by Doug Gottlieb

There is not really any argument that over the past three seasons the most dominant player in college basketball has come from the same conference and played essentially the same position. The Big 12 has remade itself as a proving ground for future pros, as over the past two years, Kevin Durant and Michael Beasley have been drafted with back-to-back No. 2 picks. And with the utmost certainty, I tell you that Blake Griffin will go no lower than that.

While we have been blessed to watch these three phenoms destroy the formerly defensive-oriented Big 8-SWC mix that eventually became the Big 12, we must ask ourselves: Are these guys this good? Or is this league this bad at defending that position?

In fairness, Durant was far more perimeter-oriented, but in college he was simply an impossible cover since he played the 4 spot. Whether Beasley played the 4 or the 5 (like Griffin) is irrelevant. What is important is the similarity in their size and their dominance of the big men in this league. Upon further review -- and this from the man who believed at the start of the season that Griffin would be national POY -- Griffin is terrific, but he benefits greatly from not being in the Big East.

Forgive me if you are a fan of Connor Atchley, Marshall Moses, Robert Lewandowski, Chinemelu Elonu or Kevin Rogers, but the Big 12 big men are simply not up to snuff. Compare the competition Griffin would see if he were in the Big East this season: Arinze Onuaku, Luke Harangody, DeJuan Blair, Samardo Samuels, Jeff Adrien, Hasheem Thabeet, Lazar Hayward and Greg Monroe might pose quite a different challenge for the most dominant player in the college game.

It allows us to look back at Durant and Beasley as well and realize that Durant went up against more traditional power forwards, as he played a perimeter 4 who posted up only on occasion. Beasley played in the extremely weak North, matching up with overmatched Colorado, rebuilding Iowa State and slow-footed Alex Maric of Nebraska. In addition, with Tim Floyd long gone from the league, there is not a team that will go box-and-one and triangle-and-two nearly as much, and few teams play deliberately and "gap" you defensively. The Big 12, especially the South, plays closer to an ACC up-tempo style, without the depth of the athletes that were in the Pac-10 last year or the Big East this year.

Does that mean these three players aren't special? No. But it is odd that three similar talents come from three different teams in the same league.

The argument is not all that different from football, in which the Big 12 quarterbacks were very good college players but feasted on weak defenses, unlike those in the SEC.

If you look back over the past three seasons, Iowa State, Colorado, Oklahoma State, Baylor and Texas Tech have had a paucity of defense inside, and with Nebraska not having anyone taller than 6-foot-8 in their starting lineup, it is no wonder these freakishly talented ballers have taken Big 12 defenses apart. While this should not in the grand scheme of things take away from what Griffin is doing to the Big 12, it does lessen the ridiculous 20-point, 15-rebound performances he is shredding the record books with.

Speaking of Oklahoma …

I do not know what has gotten into Austin Johnson, but right now he is playing better than any point guard in the Big 12. Even Sherron Collins has had bouts with inconsistency, notably the Nebraska game in which he played terribly, terrifically, terribly and terrifically, all in the same game. Johnson has made big shots; not turned the ball over; and, since the Arkansas loss, has steadied the OU ship into the waters of a No. 1 seed.

One more Griffin note before moving on: Has anyone else seen a player take such physical abuse and never so much as go chest-to-chest with the foe who hacked him? Griffin has been hit below the belt by USC, tripped by Utah, bloodied at Kansas State and beaten on by Oklahoma State -- and yet he calmly annihilates the opposition.


I see what Gottlieb was trying to say - but i don't know if i agree with the comparison between big xii QBs and big xii star forwards of recent years. Still - an interesting discussion starter i guess.

 

[tmay407]

Originally Posted by Craftsy21

Compare the competition Griffin would see if he were in the Big East this season: Luke Harangody

Griffin would absolutely murder Harangody. At least 50 and 25.

 

[scuse7]

Originally Posted by tmay407

Originally Posted by Craftsy21

Compare the competition Griffin would see if he were in the Big East this season: Luke Harangody

Griffin would absolutely murder Harangody. At least 50 and 25.

But not Blair or Thabeet. More guys too

I can see where he is coming from

 

[allen3xis]

Did a nice job of not including Cole Aldrich and Craig Brackins to make his argument look better.