Exile on Waveland

He's not a good coach but it's still amazing when you fire a guy with a 61-31 record, 2 NCAA's and a good recruiting class coming in. I wonder if Tubby would be in play there? This article/the quotes seems to confirm my opinion that Wake has itself a very good AD: http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog/_/name/katz_andy/id/5067873/wellman-gives-reasons-firing-gaudio

He/she should be guillotined too.

No, that's fair.

No, same state and class as Carlino (well, same state Carlino is currently in at least). Oh I guess I missed that part of your post. Carlino was 2011 right? Who are the other in state guards that year? Hmmmm. Jeremiah Davis? Let's hope I'm right. He'd be the highest ranked recruit Crean has landed at IU (only by one spot, but still).

No, same state and class as Carlino (well, same state Carlino is currently in at least).

Not completely untradable, but his no trade rights make it virtually so. You don't think he would have some interest in moving to a contender at the deadline if the Cubs were out of it? (I expect the Cubs to re-sign him anyway, though.) It's possible, but he also already has a WS ring and multiple playoff appearances. He's not desperate to play for a winner. And his NTC (or 10/5 rights) makes him less valuable in a trade since it may force a team to offer an extension to get him. There's probably not much point in trading him, you'd probably be better off with an arbitration offer and taking him back for one year or getting picks. Yeah. I'm tempted to say the Cubs should re-sign him anyway -- for a reasonable price, if that's even possible -- unless they can net some really good prospects for him (which I doubt).

Tijan Jobe's been granted a hardship waiver and is getting another year of eligibility How'd you know? NCAA Champions 2011!1!!!111!! Seriously though, my connections are nowhere near what they once were. I haven't necessarily heard anything specific -- insinuations only -- but have definitely been told that some positive news is expected. This has been corroborated by some rather cryptic posts on the Peegs premium board -- yeah, yeah message boards, ha ha, I know that's a lame source. I think though, at the very least, IU/the staff believes some good news is coming. As to what. Well, I'm assuming an assistant coach to replace Roshown McLeod is soon in the offing. While his leaving was good news, I don't believe his replacement is the good news. I think it's most likely tied to the de-commitment of Carlino and a replacement guard from the same class and state (no, not THAT one). Perhaps more, I hope more, but that would be my initial guess.

Not completely untradable, but his no trade rights make it virtually so. You don't think he would have some interest in moving to a contender at the deadline if the Cubs were out of it? (I expect the Cubs to re-sign him anyway, though.)

I wasn't really excited until the evening before opening day. The last two games have sapped most of the excitement from me, though I am looking forward to being able to sit down and watch a full game this weekend. I am, however, excited to see some the progression of some of the younger players: Soto (will this year be more like 2008 or 2009, or between?), Castro (when/if he's called up, a young shortstop prospect is always exciting), Wells (did the Cubs catch some luck here?), Marshall (forgotten man no longer. . . ?), Colvin (wiser posters than I believe he should be in AAA, but I'm excited to see him nonetheless), etc.

Thanks Slugger_16.

Oh man, that shirt's great. I'm assuming it's available most everywhere one would expect (totally planning on a "let me google that for you" response)?

I'm no Purdue lover but I don't consider that laughable. Assuming Hummel recovers fully -- and that is actually a big assumption, I think -- Purdue is clearly a preseason top-5 team. At this point I wouldn't rank them No. 1, due to Hummel's status and the loss of two senior guards that I think may be bigger than some Purdue fans think. They do have two incoming freshman guards that figure to be better offensively though. And Butler absolutely is a preseason top-5 team. They were the national runners-up, should return most everyone, have a nice recruiting class, and finished No. 12 in Pomeroy.

DItto Inari. That's been my Cubs hat for years now. Though, when I want to switch things up, I go with the hat Vance posted.

Not for everyone. :| I think IU may be getting some good news soon. Verdell Jones is trasnferring? :wink: I have heard that discussed, but, no, I don't think so. Evidently his father thinks he wasn't allowed to shoot enough ( :shock: ).

Not for everyone. :| I think IU may be getting some good news soon.

Yep. Patterson, Wall, Cousins, Blesdoe and Orton are all going pro. I would bet Bledsoe and Orton will be back though. I would bet you're wrong. Why would Bledsoe come back? He's going to be a top-15 pick almost certainly.

He's not a good coach but it's still amazing when you fire a guy with a 61-31 record, 2 NCAA's and a good recruiting class coming in. I wonder if Tubby would be in play there? It is amazing, but perhaps that's because the administration used foresight and even more surprisingly understands basketball. I hate to reduce everything to Indiana, but what if IU had fired their coach who wasn't a good coach when he had a 67-38 record, three NCAA's, one national runner-up, and had just brought in a good recruiting class? Something tells me they don't go 29-29 over the next two years, then hire a cheater* two years after then sink into an abyss. Of course, this analysis is dependent upon Wake actually being able to lure a good coach and not some ersatz Gaudio. *It's possible with the ineptitude of IU's previous administrations they would have hired a cheater, but I think the Davis abomination made them desperate to win immediately.

Well, he's an awful coach. Though pretty clearly a good recruiter.

That's all fair. I don't disagree with any of it really. My initial post wasn't directed at people claiming Izzo to be the more successful tournament coach over the past 15 years, instead it was directed at people claiming Izzo is better overall or has been better overall the past 15 years (outside of the tournament).

I would disagree that Coach K "messed up" the 1999/Brand team. That team went 37-2, 16-0 ACC, and lost in the title game. Their first loss was a last second full-court inbound play to a good Cincinnati team in Alaska (going off memory here), then they lost by three to an outstanding UConn team that finished 34-2. While I do believe that Duke team should have won the title, they had an amazing season and lost a close game to another really, really good team.

First, I missed this point: Duke may have been in the easiest region, but they still had arguably a tougher path to the Final Four than Michigan State. Michigan State played Nos. 12, 4, 9, and 6. Duke played Nos. 16, 8, 4, and 3. So you can knock Duke's region, but Michigan State didn't have to go through Kansas-Ohio State. Other teams did the heavy lifting for them in the region. Second, I simply do not agree that Michigan State wins the title if Lucas plays. This is a ridiculous leap in logic that (i) they automatically win; (ii) a title this year makes Izzo better than Coach K; and (iii) this year is the only reason I think Coach K is better. As to the last point, I think Coach K is better because he's had more sustained success than Izzo. Well we have to agree to disagree. I think that what Izzo has done has been much more impressive considering I think the deck is always stacked for K and Duke. The ACC has basically had to apologize two different times for referees blatantly giving games to Duke on the road in conference play. It's subjective, but maybe you're right and Duke does get all the breaks now. However, do you believe that's always been the case? I mean, the second Coach K stepped onto Duke's campus they got all the calls (despite records of 17-13, 10-17, 11-17)? Surely not; so, at some point, he had to be winning without the help.

First, I missed this point: Duke may have been in the easiest region, but they still had arguably a tougher path to the Final Four than Michigan State. Michigan State played Nos. 12, 4, 9, and 6. Duke played Nos. 16, 8, 4, and 3. So you can knock Duke's region, but Michigan State didn't have to go through Kansas-Ohio State. Other teams did the heavy lifting for them in the region. Second, I simply do not agree that Michigan State wins the title if Lucas plays. This is a ridiculous leap in logic that (i) they automatically win; (ii) a title this year makes Izzo better than Coach K; and (iii) this year is the only reason I think Coach K is better. As to the last point, I think Coach K is better because he's had more sustained success than Izzo.

If we're talking in tournament results, it's still Izzo by a decent margin. Coach K: 30 years, 11 Final Fours, 4 National Titles. Izzo: 15 years, 5 Final Fours, 1 National Title. However, Michigan State has been a No. 1 seed only three times under Izzo and they made the Final Four all three times and they've been a top-four seed only two other times (No. 4 in 1998, Sweet 16 and No. 2 last year when they made the title game). Each time Izzo's been a favorite to make the Final Four, Michigan State has and they've also made the Final Four twice as a No. 5 seed. Duke's been a No. 1 seed 11 times, a No. 2 seed another seven times and a No. 3 seed five times. They missed the Final Four five times as a No. 1 seed and only made the Final Four once when seeded lower than No. 2 (and that was as a No. 3). In terms of seed and how the team was expected to do. Izzo: Overperformed five times, played to seed six times, underperformed twice (as a No. 6 and 7 seed) in 13 tournament appearances. Coach K: Overperformed 6 times (though not since 1994), played to seed seven times and underperformed 13 times in 26 tournament appearances. Duke lost in the second round twice as a No. 2 seed and in the Sweet 16 four times as a No. 1 seed. That's six times they lost two rounds sooner than their seed would dictate. So Coach K's teams have done worse than their seed said they would every other time they appeared in the tournament. If we're looking at regular season stuff, then it's tough to tell because then you get into which school can get and does get the better recruits and whether those recruits did better or worse than expected during the season. Obviously Coach K's teams have done a hell of a lot better during the regular season which is why they get a top three seed nearly every year. But my original statement was just about tournament performances and there's no doubt in my mind that Izzo does a better job come tournament time. Izzo's current stretch in the tournament may be about the best stretch of tournament coaching ever. However, that cannot be the only analysis. For one, this is Izzo at his peak. At Coach K's peak, he went to seven Final Fours in nine years and won two titles. It's not as easy to say Izzo has done x in 15 years, he'll do the same x in the next 15 and match/trump Coach K. Coaches have peaks just like players, and Coach K is past his. Izzo has been a better tournament coach over the past 15 years, I'd say, yet Coach K has won more titles and only been to two less Final Fours during that time period. It's also salient that Michigan State was preseason No. 2, while Duke was No. 9. So Duke has a better regular season, Michigan State underachieves (albeit injuries were a factor) and Izzo gets credit for overachieving in the tournament (which they did)? Finally, I know everyone likes to believe Duke is always ridiculously talented -- and they certainly are sometimes, e.g., 1991-92, 1999 -- but that's not always the case. Coach K was extremely successful in the mid to late 80s with what I don't think can be considered overwhelming talent. Same with this year.

I'll stand by my argument that that there's no comparison between the 2 when it comes to actual coaching. I'd say you're right. Coach K is clearly better. Because he had the easiest region compared to the others and coached a team full of McDonalds All Americans to a title, while getting the benefit of the doubt on calls the entire way? Again, a lot of them are McDonalds All Americans because they're going to Duke, not because they're actually that good (with some obvious exceptions). This is one of the least talented teams to win the title in recent memory. I'm not going to get into an officiating argument, though I definitely have Duke officiating wounds from 1992.

I'll stand by my argument that that there's no comparison between the 2 when it comes to actual coaching. I'd say you're right. Coach K is clearly better.