Exile on Waveland

Beautiful.

Oh, no doubt he'd do very well. He's slimy though. The Final Four he took UMass to is no longer recognized, though, as you said (at least as far as I know) he hasn't been implicated in Camby hiring an agent. I want UK to hire Crean. Mainly because I don't like UK and am always weary of how good they might be. :wink:

Well, 89 or 93, sounds like Prior is pitching better. Which is encouraging.

Prepare to be surprised. Not saying I agree with it, I vehemently don't, but everyone places him that high.

What backcourt player are the Pacers eyeing? They have huge voids at both guard spots. That GS will put them in mediocrity for many years... That's the problem-it seems like 9 of the top 10 picks are big men. The problem for the Pacers is if they don't get a top 10 pick, they won't have a pick in the draft at all (1st or 2nd round) and that definitely won't help them get any better. If they get a top pick, they may just have to pick a big man and blow up the team through trades. Agreed. They certainly aren't in an enviable position. If they get a pick, the best idea may just be to draft a big guy, blow the team up and build around Granger-Williams-draft pick. If they don't get a pick? Ugh. Unless they can do something bold and creative, it will probably just be time to move O'Neal.

What backcourt player are the Pacers eyeing? They have huge voids at both guard spots. That GS will put them in mediocrity for many years... I really don't know. I don't follow the NBA as closely as other sports. It's hard to say as they may not even have a draft pick. They do really, really need an talent/athleticism infusion at guard. Thing is, if they do end up with a pick, the best players available will likely fall into the Granger/Williams category of forwards. The best big guys will be gone and it may be too high to pick any of the guards. Unless the lottery could smile on them...

McRoberts is gone. He's been talking about "when" he leaves early for the NBA since high school. And, according the ESPN link, he's signed with an agent. Regardless, he's gone. He'll be picked in the lottery, and he'll make a team very disappointed. Duke is going to make the tournament next year. They won't be great like past Duke teams, but let's be realistic. Julian Wright would be a top-10 pick, no doubt, but he's stayed true to that three years to graduate plan. We'll see, though, I figure he'll end up leaving. Keep losing Pacers, keep losing...

I don't think Thad Matta will leave for UK this year, however, I really don't think OSU will be his last job. He'll jump to the NBA or a program like UK at some point. I've always been very worried about Matta to UK. Don't want to see that happening. OK, seriously, you really want Calipari? Really?

It's great hire by Minnesota. Tubby did quite a good job at Kentucky, no maybe not up to their expectations, but UK was very successful under him. His recruiting may not have been great, but the man can coach. This just makes the Big Ten stronger, which will only continue if Kruger goes to Iowa as rumored and if Michigan hires a real coach for a change. As for Kentucky, I'm sure Donovan, Gillespie and maybe even Matta will be rumored but their message boards seem to believe that Crean is the leader. If you ask me, I think that's a little underwhelming for a program of Kentucky's stature. I know I seem to be in the minority on that, though.

Yes, yes I have. I can't wait till next season. :D I'm pretty sure Afflalo is going pro after the season but there have been recent hints that he won't go if UCLA doesn't win it all. Even if Arron turns pro, I'll be happy as long as Collison returns for his junior year. Lorenzo Romar said that if Kevin Love - as a HS senior - was on the Bruins this year, UCLA would have gone undefeated. :) It would certainly be my guess that Afflalo turns pro. That's completely a hunch, of course. I'd also guess that would be UCLA's only defection. I know nothing, but surely Collison will return. Not having seen him play, it seems Love will/may be exactly what the doctor ordered for UCLA. I feel the same way about Gordon to IU, though UCLA was better to start with. I don't think Collison is ready but UCLA has no PG behind him next season (Russell Westbrook is a 2 playing 1 right now) so having him back is very important. Having a post presence like Love (and one as good as Love) would be so huge for this perimeter-oriented team. Losing Collison and Afflalo would be a huge blow, especially if there isn't a heir-apparent at point guard. Side note, last year I was in LA -- first time ever in California -- and went to UCLA's campus and got to walk down onto the court at Pauley Pavilion. Not sure if I was supposed to, but I love how colleges almost always leave their gyms unlocked (at least during the day). That was quite a treat. Edit: It's going to be very interesting to see who leaves for the NBA. Unlike most years, almost every top tier team is loaded with underclassmen and wouldn't lose a whole lot, if anything, to graduation. There are only a few teams at the top guaranteed to be worse next year -- while many could be better.

Yes, yes I have. I can't wait till next season. :D I'm pretty sure Afflalo is going pro after the season but there have been recent hints that he won't go if UCLA doesn't win it all. Even if Arron turns pro, I'll be happy as long as Collison returns for his junior year. Lorenzo Romar said that if Kevin Love - as a HS senior - was on the Bruins this year, UCLA would have gone undefeated. :) It would certainly be my guess that Afflalo turns pro. That's completely a hunch, of course. I'd also guess that would be UCLA's only defection. I know nothing, but surely Collison will return. Not having seen him play, it seems Love will/may be exactly what the doctor ordered for UCLA. I feel the same way about Gordon to IU, though UCLA was better to start with.

Eccentric is one way to put it. I'll enjoy watching Pink Floyd go nuts having to deal with OJ. :) ETA: http://deadspin.com/sports/high-school-basketball/oj-mayo-signing-off-in-style-245625.php Yeah, I saw that. Mayo is a character -- and I don't think in a good way. Floyd's a good coach, but we'll see how he handles Mayo. He seemed slightly apprehensive in the article, and, I know this isn't he same, but he's fared much better in college than in the NBA, home of spoiled egos. Speaking of recruits, have you seen Kevin Love play? There's a short article about him in the recent Sports Illustrated, if you haven't seen it. Second question, is Afflalo going to stay in school? If so, UCLA is going to be a monster next year. They likely will anyway, but especially if there are no NBA defections.

Bleh, I'm missing two. The ones I have left are Florida, SIU, UCLA, North Carolina, Georgetown and Ohio State. The other games will be won by Oregon and Texas A&M. I haven't done terribly well to this point, but I've got all my elite eight teams left, so I've got a chance.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/21/sports/ncaabasketball/21usc.html?_r=2&ref=sports&oref=slogin&oref=slogin I really don't know what to say about this. Article's about O.J. Mayo, eccentric.

Voted thrice. Good luck.

I'm very happy about this. I'm also very impressed with Lou so far -- logic seems to be involved in decision making for him, unlike his predecessor.

That's really unfair on Lavin's part, I think. Indiana and UCLA are (were) both good defensive teams -- and when two really good defensive teams square off, it's likely to be an ugly game. UCLA is 7-1 in the tournament the past two years, pretty good, don't you think, Lavin? Ben Howland is an awesome coach. Easily on the top coaches in the nation. Steve Lavin? Um, not so much...I certainly wouldn't be surprised if Lavin is jealous and/or bitter.

Purdue's definitely a team to track, but they'll almost certainly take a dip next year. Losing Landry and Teague is a huge blow -- those two accounted for a huge part of their offense. I'm a huge fan of Kramer, I think that kid is going to a great four-year player for them, but they return less than most Big Ten teams do. As for their recruiting class, it's outstanding. I don't think it offers as much instant impact as some of the other Big Ten classes, however. Moore is likely to quite good next year, and Hummel and Martin may be too. Johnson is extremely skinny though and may take him a couple years. He's skilled and athletic though and does promise to be a very good player for them. Finally, with the way Big Ten teams are recruiting all of a sudden, Purdue is going to have to keep it's recruiting damn near this level to compete yearly at the top. That will be more difficult with IU once again a factor in in-state recruiting and the possibility Michigan hires a real coach (though since their past three coaches are Steve Fischer, Brian Ellerbe and Tommy Amaker, I'm not sure how likely that is).

I'm going to end up 5-3 for both yesterday and today. On the good side, I have seven Elite 8 teams still alive and all four Final Four teams. I'm 9-5 for the second round. I've lost two Elite 8 teams, who I knew were longshots (Maryland and Kentucky), but I've got all Final Fours left. I haven't done so well, but all my elite eight and final four teams remain, so I've got a chance, I guess.

I'm a Pac-10 supporter and always think it's underrated, but Wazzou simply wasn't that good -- at least not on a national level. Three teams into the sweet sixteen would be mighty impressive, though, by seeding, that's how many were supposed to get there. WSU should have won that game though. They don't have the athletes, but they had the discipline, defense and coaching to get into the Sweet 16. They're a solid team, but not overly impressive in any fashion. Wazzou was also lucky by being placed in what was likely the weakest four-team bracket of the entire tournament.

I'm a Pac-10 supporter and always think it's underrated, but Wazzou simply wasn't that good -- at least not on a national level. Three teams into the sweet sixteen would be mighty impressive, though, by seeding, that's how many were supposed to get there.

Go Bulldogs and AJ Graves!!! (White River Valley!!! -- not that I went to high school there)

Crap, picked the wrong team to beat Wisconsin in round two. Figured GT/UNLV would do it, but I went with Georgia Tech. Crap.

Agreed.

Well, yeah, the Big Ten has to play two #1 seeds and a #2 seed, whereas the Big East plays a 3, a 7 and an 11. The Big Ten was also supposed to go 3-3 (by seedings) and went 5-1. The Big East was supposed to go 5-1 and went 3-3, including Marquette getting smoked by Michigan State.