🏀 KuBuckets Archive

WSU turned the game into a physical rock fight. No surprise that they didn't get a majority of the calls because they tried to turn up the physicality of the game. There were stretches where nothing was being called either way, which is probably how Marshall wanted it to slow down Monk and Fox.

Marshall is at a bit of a crossroads with Wichita State. He has gotten to the point where his teams are going to be good year in and year out, but unless he can upgrade his talent and athleticism, he can't take down a team like UK. Yesterday's game was exactly what Marshall wanted, and yet they still lost.

The way I see it, that may be the only thing that gets Marshall to leave WSU - not the money, but the fact that he can't win the big one because he won't get enough talent to beat all of the elite teams.

You could argue that Marshall and Calipari coached to a draw yesterday, but Calipari had the better players, so he's playing this week, while Marshall gets to go and work on recruiting better players. WSU upgraded the depth of their talent from the last time they played UK (although their peak talent was probably lower), but they still didn't have anyone that could handle Fox one on one. That was basically the game.

I thought it was pretty even overall. A couple of bad calls (both on Jackson, oddly enough), but that was about it. Michigan State probably howled over at least one of the calls against their big man, maybe two. Overall though, pretty evenly whistled.

The T on Vick really depends on what was said more than anything. It didn't look like much on TV, but if he said something that crossed the line, I can understand it. I didn't like the call, but the official called it so quick that I do wonder what Vick said.

That was the only really iffy thing, and unless you know what Vick said, it's impossible to truly judge.

@BShark

Scott Drew has put together a good basketball team. I would guess that the winner of Baylor/S. Carolina will probably beat the winner of the other game.

On the other hand, I am really happy for Frank Martin. Always thought he was a very good coach and am glad that he is having some success after K-State stupidly ran him out of town so they could hire Bruce Weber. I wonder how much KSU fans are regretting that decision right now? Wouldn't mind seeing Martin make a run to the Final Four.

@Texas-Hawk-10

I am rooting for Starks to win the job. He could get the program really going if he is as good on the field as his athleticism and hype suggests.

Indiana can throw money at Marshall, but unless they are willing to make him one of the three highest paid basketball coaches in the country, I don't know that the money (and accompanying pressure) of going to Indiana trumps what he already has at WSU.

Marshall's salary was almost dead even with Crean's for last season - less than $23,000 difference in total base pay, and Marshall probably hit enough of his bonuses to out earn Crean by quite a bit this year if they were in a similar ball park.

That means Marshall would need to get Bill Self money to move to Indiana (somewhere between $4.5 and $5m to make it worth the time). That's a ton of money, but that's the offer you have to make if you're Indiana, otherwise there's no attraction for Marshall to even consider it.

@wrwlumpy

It's possible that the racial tension at Mizzou has forced their hand in hiring a minority coach to try and get things back on track. That's got to at least be a partial consideration with the issues that have come up the last few years (and the things that have happened prior to that that we know about).

@JayHawkFanToo

As much as I hear Indiana fans complain about Crean, I don't know. I don't think Martin is great, but Crean isn't very good.

@JayHawkFanToo

Honestly, the difference is not as big as some may think. Euroball is about a step below the NBA, but a half step above the D-League, and about 4 steps above D1 ball. The Australian league, while not having the top end talent of D1 ball, has probably a higher average talent base. It's not like you could pick a random rotation guy from a random Big 12 team and plug him into the lineup for a pro team in Australia. So Aussie ball is probably a step and a half below the D-League, if not just a step.

And on top of that, Ferguson is a pro right now. He's learning how to practice like a pro, and how to prepare like a pro. You can't get that in college because of the restrictions on practice time.

Jennings demonstrated how valuable that experience was by coming right over to the NBA and starting for a team that eventually made the playoffs. He was at least as ready for the pros as any OAD has been, particularly considering where he was drafted (late lottery).

@BShark

Let's recall that Brandon Jennings averaged only 6.3 points per game in his one season of Euroball. He was a double figure scorer for each of his first six seasons in the NBA.

One season of Euroball doesn't necessarily mean that Ferguson won't be productive in the NBA.

@Texas-Hawk-10

If Self is more on your timetable, I agree that Haase moves up that list.

If Self is more on the timetable I mentioned above, Haase is likely too far along to be in the running.

@Texas-Hawk-10

I figure Self is 54 now. He will probably coach into his mid 60's, so that's 10-12 years. That should fit right into Miles' timeline. KU will want to hire a coach in his early to mid 40's at that point. It doesn't make much sense for KU to hire someone already in their 50's or later, as you point out, which probably eliminates a guy like Haase if Self coaches more than 5 or 6 more years (and I think he will).

The chance that Haase will want a job like KU in 10 years is iffy. If Haase does well between now and then, there's a chance he could get a job like UNC when Roy Williams retires (Williams is 12 years older than Self). If he doesn't do well, there's a chance that he wouldn't be a candidate. Simply put, the fact that Haase is already a head coach at a major conference means that he probably won't be a candidate when Self retires either because he already has a really good job (UNC or similar at the college level, or NBA) or his stock is down and KU won't consider him.

KU's post Self coach is likely in his 30's right now and is probably not a college head coach at this moment (either a HS coach or a college assistant). That coach probably played at a high level in college and maybe got a cup of coffee in the NBA, but it's doubtful they were a longtime NBA player (thinking Collison or Hinrich here because those guys would get an NBA assistant job before they got a college job and that lack of head coaching experience would probably keep them from being considered for the KU job).

Aaron Miles checks all of those boxes.

The play really was messed up by the bad relay throw. When the pitcher bobbled the throw, it messed up the timing and Salvy's positioning. You see the throw took Salvy right into Butera's path. It's a bad break, but fortunately not serious for Salvy.

Aaron Miles would probably be my top pick to replace Self eventually, but to do that, he needs to get a HC job first. I would have no problem seeing him get a mid major job in a couple of years and cutting his teeth there before moving up to a more major conference to get ready to take the job when Self decides to retire.

Give me Iona over Oregon (14 over 3) or Xavier over Maryland (11 over 6). Also Middle Tennessee State over Minnesota (12 over 5)

The weaker overall at large pool means that many of the middling seeds just aren't strong teams. I just genuinely don't think a lot of these teams are very good.

Iona can push the pace and Oregon is without one of their top defensive players and three point shooters. Maryland is from a very weak Big 10, while Xavier is from the Big East, likely a stronger conference this year. Minnesota another iffy Big 10 team that just may not be ready for prime time.

Final Four at minimum.

This is Kansas. You don't put together this kind of team just to make it to the Sweet 16. You're the #2 overall seed. You want a title, or at least a chance to play for one.

The Big 12 has three locations that are usable - KC, OKC, Dallas. The women's tournament has done okay in all three locations. The men's tournament has not done well anywhere other than KC. I think part of the challenge for the men is that you have to get local buy-in, and ISU fans are less likely to make the trip to OKC (probably an 8 hour drive) or Dallas (probably like 13).

ISU is one of the best traveling fan bases in the conference. Cutting their numbers in half or more, you lose a lot of fans, especially since their fans traditionally stay the entire weekend when in KC. That's huge since none of the Texas schools will make up for that if the tournament moves to one of the other two locations.

Devonte needs to show consistency.

The NBA scouts have seen the skill level that makes him an NBA player. The NBA season is long. Even great players have to be able to bring it at a certain level during that stretch (usually games 45-70) when the season is starting to get long and the end of the regular season is nowhere in sight.

Devonte needs to step up his consistency and show that he can play more than just when the big lights are on.

@jayballer54

KU has been the most consistent team on that list. They have been good that entire stretch.

Just about every other school has missed the tournament at least once, and some on that list have had outright bad stretches.

It ultimately goes back to the discussion we have here constantly - what's worth more, consistency or overwhelming greatness. UConn has three titles in this period, same as KU in the last 70 years.

Kentucky was basically bad for half of this time, yet they are fifth because Calipari turned them back into an absolute monster of a program.

I'm torn on this. I like knowing that KU will be good every year, but I also want to lift the big crown as much as the other power schools.

@BShark

Doubtful. Weber's amnesia is a choice, not an accident.

It looks like Ballock is considered just off the top 100 (I believe he was ranked in the 90s at one point last year). He's the 26th rated SG and the 25th rated SG is ranked 94. Either way, he's much better than anyone KSU has incoming.

I like this year's team because I look around and see a bunch of guys that will do whatever it takes to win.

Frank will take over. Devonte is unafraid to take (and make) big time shots (the Mario Chalmers gene).

And then there's Josh Jackson. Josh will do whatever he needs to do to help us win. He will defend. He will rebound. He will score. He will pass. He will do whatever needs to be done to get this team over the finish line. That's a characteristic that we have lacked for a few years, but it's something that you need.

Think about Villanova's Josh Hart. Does everything for that team. Will do whatever needs to be done to get Villanova a win.

Every championship level team needs a guy like that. KU finally has one, and as an added bonus, that guy is a surefire lottery pick talent.

@BShark

Ballock actually isn't ranked in the top 100.

The Creighton player is another SG, Ty-Shon Alexander from North Carolina. Creighton likely has two players ranked higher than anyone that KSU will sign for next season - so far KSU has signed a 2-star player and two unrated players, and has a pair of three stars considering, as well as another unrated player.

Compare that to Creighton, which has signed two four stars, and has another four star considering them, as well as a couple of three stars.

Weber is recruiting like he is still at a midmajor. Sometimes those guys hit, which can lead to a strong season, other times they miss and you end up in the middle or at the bottom of the conference.

Lets understand one thing - there are no awards for degree of difficulty in coaching.

What I mean is, so what if Weber almost wins with 3 stars against 5 stars. This is D1 basketball. You're in a major conference. You should be recruiting 4 star players. That simple.

Look at the ESPN 100 for basketball recruits. Look at where some of those players have signed:

VCU, Miami, Iowa, Illinois, Butler, Virginia Tech, Western Kentucky, Xavier, Colorado, Cal, Creighton, Seton Hall, Auburn, St. Louis, Arizona St., Arkansas.

If you can't recruit against that level of schools, you shouldn't be in a major conference. The A-10 is on that list, lower level ACC teams, lower level Pac-12, lower level SEC, Sun Belt, Big East, lower level Big 10. The fact that Weber can't get 4 star players is, in itself, a knock on him. It's his fault he isn't getting a higher rated (and more talented) players. Recruiting is part of the job and he's just not good enough at it to be at a major conference school.

Weber has brought a midmajor approach to a major conference.and that is going to limit his success.

@Blown

I honestly don't mind that bracket. Purdue is not a scary 4 seed, Virginia isn't a scary 5 (although their defense is very tough).

I don't worry too much about the other half of the bracket because there's too much that can happen before we see a 2 or 3 seed anyway. I worry about the 8/9 and the 4/5 because that's our half of the bracket. Wichita State would be tough as an 8 (probably underseeded there), but I wouldn't worry about the rest.

@JayHawkFanToo

Kansas City has always been a KU lean, but Mizzou can still recruit there and in StL, which can help turn that program around pretty quick with the right leadership.

People in the KC area were upset they left the Big 12 because it took them out of the area rivalries, but I think the move has been overall a positive for Mizzou, although their teams have struggled the last couple of years.

It's not an automatic fix, but MU is in much better shape to recover than K-State is, even though the Mizzou program is further down than KSU is right now. KSU doesn't have a clear path to recovery. Mizzou does.

Mizzou is the type of program a solid coach could turn around fairly quickly. Lots of good instate recruits from both the KC and StL areas to build from. Regionally, can recruit pretty easily to hotbeds like Chicago, Indianapolis or Memphis.

Kim Anderson was overmatched from the start. I am guessing that whoever gets the job this time will not have much if any ties to Missouri, but will be a strong recruiter to establish a good base. Mizzou won't make the mistake of trying to turn a D2 coach into a D1 coach. They may pluck someone from a midmajor, but it will be an up and coming guy.

I doubt they make a run at Romar because even if they get Porter out of the deal, that only helps them for one year. Larry Drew would be interesting, but I don't know how strong a recruiter he will be.

They better hope they win Saturday against Texas Tech and in their first Big 12 tournament game, otherwise they will probably have a lovely time playing in the NIT.

K-State's only wins over likely tournament teams are Baylor, West Virginia, Oklahoma State and Colorado State. They have an iffy loss to Tennessee, another iffy loss to TCU (likely not going to make the tournament because of their loss to KSU), a terrible loss to Oklahoma and an unhelpful loss to Texas Tech.

KSU basically has 7 total wins against the top half of D1 basketball. It will be incredibly difficult for them to make the tournament if they don't win their next two games.

A win against Texas Tech followed by a win against either Baylor or West Virginia probably gets them in. A loss to Texas Tech, and then a loss to Iowa State probably keeps them out. They would add a win against Texas, but the Horns aren't going anywhere, and if they were to get upset by Texas, they would be done.

I was incredibly critical of Landen Lucas last year, but I think much of that was justified. He rebounded very well, but he was a negative on offense because he was an absolute non-threat for most of the season. Towards the end of the year, he started scoring more (mostly on dunks off drives, but occasionally on a direct post feed), which meant that teams could not simply ignore him on the floor.

That has carried over to this year. You can't totally ignore Lucas. You don't have to gameplan around him, but you can't overlook him in the gameplan, either. He's shooting in the 60's, and he's taking about 5 shots a game. That means you can basically book him for 7 or 8 points every time out, plus he's going to grab 8-9 rebounds while he's at it. That's solid production from the 5th option on the floor.

I think it has helped tremendously that Self has operated with Landen as the fifth option rather than trying to make him a primary option simply because he is a post player. That has helped Landen's efficiency and his overall effectiveness.

The Big 12 regularly produces a lot of very solid teams and generally avoids having any outright terrible teams. Once TCU stepped up, the Big 12 hasn't had an outright awful team in the conference. Even Texas and Oklahoma, the bottom 2 in the conference this year, can punch with the middle tier teams in other conferences.

The problem is that at the top, there's Kansas and no one else. Baylor this year, but generally, it's KU and a bunch of 4-6 seeds in the tourney. That means that if KU underperforms, it's highly possible the Big 12 doesn't have a team go past the Sweet 16 because the conference is full of solid but not great teams.

The Big 12 hasn't had a lot of teams rise to the level of national contender, which limits the greatness of the conference. Blake Griffin's last OU team, that Frank Martin KSU team, last year's Sooners, this year's Baylor team, the DJ Augustin led Texas squad, TJ Ford's Longhorns, some of those Kelvin Sampson OU teams, Eddie Sutton's last couple of OSU teams and that's probably about it. We're talking about maybe a dozen non-KU title contenders from the conference in the last 15-20 years, and less than 5 in the last 6 or 7 years.

That's why it's important that Smart succeed at Texas, and that Drew figures it out at Baylor (I think he has), and that K-State finds a competent coach, and ISU remains solid, etc. The Big 12 needs to have other strong title contenders, not just a bunch of solid teams that can crack the top 25 at some point.

@JayHawkFanToo

I fear you may be right.

Embiid is heading for one of three career arcs

1. The Greg Oden - never gets going because he can't stay healthy, out of basketball completely within another two years.

2. The Ralph Sampson - healthy briefly, but never able to reach his full potential before injuries derail him. He's able to stick around a while, but never becomes what he could have.

3. The Bill Walton - has a few truly great seasons and can have a title contender built around him, but injuries eventually limit him to being a very good backup because his body just can't handle the minutes workload.

We are in Oden territory right now, but Embiid can get to Sampson or Walton range if he can stay on the court for a couple of years straight.

@wrwlumpy

If it's me I'm saying Duke, Louisville, Kentucky and UCLA.

I hate re-matches, so Duke and Kentucky are no brainers. I worry about Louisville's press and UCLA's explosive offense.

The seedings are supposed to snake around, but some of that is affected by conference affiliation.

For example, if everything is assigned purely by seed, the following overall seeds would go to the following regions:

Region A - 1, 8, 9, 16, 17, 24, 25, 32

Region B - 2, 7, 10, 15, 18, 23, 26, 31

Region C - 3, 6, 11, 14, 19, 22, 27, 30

Region D - 4, 5, 12, 13, 20, 21, 28, 29

That's the top 8 seeds in each region by overall seeding breakdown. However, things change when you start working with conference affiliation.

Here's that same list, but with team's assigned by RPI from today's NCAA site (obviously this isn't how the seedings will actually break out, but it gives us something to work with):

Region A - Villanova, Kentucky, Arizona, Minnesota, Virginia, Creighton, West Virginia, Wisconsin

Region B - Kansas, Baylor, Butler, UCLA, St. Mary's, VCU, Xavier, Arkansas

Region C - Louisville, North Carolina, Gonzaga, Cincinnati, SMU, Notre Dame, Maryland, Middle Tennessee St.

Region D - Oregon, Florida, Florida State, Duke, Purdue, Dayton, Oklahoma State, South Carolina

That's all four regions, 1-8. One rule is that conference foes cannot meet prior to the E8. In region C, SMU and Cincinnati would potentially meet in the Round of 32. That means one of them has to move, but you can't create another bad matchup with that move. Wisconsin and Minnesota in Region A would be a potential S16 matchup that shouldn't happen, but because they are lower seeds, they don't get priority.

Additionally, Regions B and C would likely swap 2 seeds to avoid having the top seeds in those two regions both be from the same conference (Big 12 and ACC). Everyone would claim that they put KU and UNC in the same region for the storyline, but the truth is that Louisville and UNC should be split up, and Baylor and KU should be split up, so UNC and Baylor would flip regions in this hypothetical bracket. That same logic would likely move Creighton out of Region A and Xavier out of region B.

So we would likely end up with the following top 8 in each region (overall seed listed):

Region A - Villanova 1, Kentucky 8, Arizona 9, Duke 13, Virginia 17, VCU 23, West Virginia 25, Arkansas 31

Region B - Kansas 2, North Carolina 6, Butler 10, UCLA 15, St. Mary's 18, Creighton 24, Maryland 27, Middle Tennessee St. 30

Region C - Louisville 3, Baylor 7, Gonzaga 11, Cincinnati 14, Purdue 20, Notre Dame 22, Xavier 26, South Carolina 29

Region D - Oregon 4, Florida 5, Florida State 12, Minnesota 16, SMU 19, Dayton 21, Oklahoma State 28, Wisconsin 32

Region A switches it's 4, 6 and 8 seeds, with Duke moving into the 16 spot to separate from Florida State in D.

Region B exchanges it's 2, 6, 7 and 8, but again, it's just a move of one spot up or down.

Region C switches out its 2, 5, 7 and 8, again staying within one spot up or down.

Region D trades it's 4, 5 and 8, and has the largest mover, with Wisconsin (32) replacing the 29 spot and Minnesota (16) trading places with Duke (13).

People would point to Louisville and Cincinnati in the same region, or UNC and KU, or Florida and Florida State as storyline matchups.

Villanova would cry foul that Duke is moved into their region, but you can't leave Duke in D (Florida State) or move them to B (UNC) or C (Louisville), so they have to go to A.

And that's how brackets get made, or made into a mess.

@Blown

I was more referring to the secondary ticket market. I would be very careful of buying outside the arena because you have no assurance of real tickets, as @mayjay correctly points out. Plus, when paying with cash, if you're out the money, there's not a lot you can do to get that money back.

The third party sites offer guarantees, and most credit cards also have fraud protection against fake tickets, so you're in good shape to not lose any money if you buy from a site vs. buying from a stranger outside the arena.

@jayballer54

You ride with him because you will need him later. There will be a game in the tournament where KU needs him, and, if you stick with him, he will reward you. Same thing with Vick, and Bragg as well.

Think back to 2008. In the E8 against Davidson, guess who was the leader for KU that day? Tied for the leading scorer and second in rebounding that day, not Brandon Rush, or Darrell Arthur, or Mario Chalmers. Nope, the guy was Sasha Kaun putting up a 13/6 that day, with a 6 for 6 from the field. KU doesn't win that game (and the national title) without Kaun coming up with that performance.

Maybe that guy is Bragg. Maybe its Vick. Maybe its Svi. I don't know who it will be, but we will need someone at some point that is not Frank, Devonte or Josh.

I would suggest going to Tulsa because there will be seller's for the round of 32 games and you can probably get a better deal. Tickets in KC will be tough to get without spending a fortune if you don't already have them.

Check multiple third party vendors (not just Ticketmaster, but StubHub and Tickets for Less). You may find a deal. I think all three sites let you set up alerts for ticket prices and availability. This will save you some time so you don't have to check the sites every day.

Shooters sometimes run cold, but we also know that Svi can get really hot really suddenly. I am not so much worried game to game, but we will need one really hot game from him in the tournament, probably either in the S16 or E8. That's the one that counts, and if he can deliver then, this cold stretch won't really matter.

@ralster

If I had to rank the coaches on a scale, it would be Self at the top with a score of 100. Huggins and Kruger would be next, with scores in the high 80s. Smart would be in the high 70s, followed by Drew and Dixon in the mid-70's. Beard and Underwood would follow in the high 60's, then Prohm in the mid 60's and Weber in the high 50's.

There's more distance from Kruger to Smart than there is from Smart to Drew and Dixon.

I think Smart is a good coach. I have watched his work with USA basketball and he knows his stuff. He had success at VCU and I think he will succeed at Texas once he gets his roster right. I don't think Texas is interested in firing him because they know it would be a huge mistake to have to re-shuffle the entire roster again.

@BeddieKU23

Not sure he has much choice recruiting to Lubbock. That may be the model that KSU needs to pursue as well. They just can't compete trying to win HS recruits over KU, OU and other strong regional programs. They are just a half step above WSU in terms of recruiting. Juco may be their best chance.

@BShark

I'd agree with most of that, but I would have Smart much higher than you do (probably between the Kruger/Huggins pair and Drew/Dixon). I think Weber and Prohm are at the bottom. I am impressed with Beard, though I need to see him recruit. I think Underwood was a sneaky good hire for OSU, but there's no way they crack what I consider my top six (Self, Huggins, Kruger, Smart, Drew, Dixon).

I think I have to agree with @mayjay here. The biggest CBB stories last night to me were

1. Villanova losing to Butler
2. Duke upset on the last second shot by Syracuse
3. Cal blowing the lead and losing to Oregon
4. KU winning the 13th title.

Part of that is that KU, going into last night, was up 3 games with 4 to play. Losing the streak at this point was going to require losing two more home games, plus losing at Texas and at Oklahoma State, plus have Baylor sweep their last 4, including a trip to Hilton and a home game against West Virginia.

Given the situation and the schedules, the chances KU wasn't getting at least a share of 13 at this point were basically 0. Baylor is likely to lose at least one game and KU is unlikely to lose more than two of their remaining games. 13 was pretty secure.

It's a big story, to be sure, but that story was going to be written either last night, or on Saturday, or next week...

Cal losing to Oregon was a big deal. For one, Cal was in a position to move a seed line with the win. That would have been a very high quality win. They lead basically until the last three minutes of the game. Huge loss for Cal. Big win for Oregon to stay in the conversation for a one seed.

Duke was also in that one seed conversation, but the loss probably takes them out of that talk and could get 'Cuse into the field with a strong finish. That Duke loss might cost the ACC a top seed as a conference because if Duke or Louisville wins the conference tournament, but UNC wins the regular season, there's a chance that all of those teams have 7 or more losses. KU, Gonzaga, Villanova and either Oregon or Arizona as potential number ones with better resumes than a mystery ACC team (with the Pac-12 winner getting sent out of region as the lowest #1.

Villanova's loss was big because it probably moves Butler up a seed line by sweeping the defending champs. That's not something to take lightly.

In the grand scheme, KU's win was the least impactful of the four major storylines, and probably the least surprising given that I doubt many people would have picked TCU to upset KU in the Fieldhouse.

@BShark

I think Weber has the issue of making too many excuses for his team. When you make lots of excuses, that flows down to the rest of your team and breaks their resolve. They tend to quit when things get tough because that's when the excuses start to flow.

@Kcmatt7

Weber is probably either the worst or second worst coach in the Big 12 right now. He wants to act like a big time Power 5 coach, but, as we saw at Illinois and now KSU, he just doesn't have the skill in any of the areas (retention, recruiting, in-game, preparation) to maintain a mid to high level program in a Power 5 conference.

I wouldn't be surprised if KSU didn't win another game this season (remaining schedule is at OU, at TCU, home for Tech. They are leaking serious oil and, if they don't pull it together and win some games, they will go from a 15-4 start to missing the NCAA tournament entirely. That should be a fireable offense, but with KSU, who knows.

The crazy thing is, if they win their last three and win one in the Big 12 tournament, they would make the NCAA field at 21-12 (9-9 in conference). Big 12 is getting at least six teams in the field, so finishing sixth with a .500 record would be enough to get a bid, especially if they knocked off either Baylor or WVU in the first round of the conference tourney.

@mayjay

I have a sneaky suspicion that we may be taking Russian oil before too long.

Preston is going to be a nice player at KU.

I don't worry too much about his fit. We can continue to play four out on offense, which will give Doke space to operate in the paint. I don't think Doke is quite ready to operate in a crowd. I was hoping his passing would improve this year, but the injury took that off the table.

Without Doke improving his passing, we need to make those double teams come from a long ways away so the reads are easier. Having a guy like Preston out on the perimeter makes life a lot easier for Doke. Doke will have all summer to work with that group on getting the ball from the post back out to the perimeter for shots and drives. He demonstrated a nice comfort level catching lobs. Once he gets strength back in that wrist, that should improve even more as he gains a feel for the game.

On defense, Preston should be able to do a bit more inside than Josh because he won't be as undersized as JJ is down there. Josh's athleticism and strength allow him to cover for the size he's giving up, but a high quality four could punish him on the block simply because he's giving up too much height. Preston won't have that problem because he's a couple of inches taller and already about 15 pounds heavier than Josh (and that's before he gets on campus to work with Hudy).

Preston may also be a big help to Bragg, who's development has somewhat stagnated. Maybe he can help push Carlton out of his current rut and help him become the type of player that his skill level suggests.

I think Shaka will do fine at Texas. He has gotten off to a rough start, in part because he inherited a weird roster (5 seniors that he needed to play, only two true PG on the roster, no shooting among his wing players, etc.).

And in his first year, he finished fourth in the conference, which was actually a bit of a surprise to me, as I thought he would struggle more last year.

His two transfers have basically been no help. His best perimeter guy was suspended halfway through the season (a tough call to make when you're struggling, but the right decision). You can stare at that roster for as long as you want and you won't find a PG on there.

He has some good interior players and a couple of solid wing scorers, but has nobody on the roster that can figure out how to get them the basketball.

The good news for Smart and Texas is that he gets a few guys off the roster, including Cleare, a solid player that just doesn't fit with the style they want to play. If he adds a PG with any skill, an athletic big man and another wing guy, this team could jump back up the rankings very suddenly next year.

Shaka is a good coach. He just needs to revamp that roster.

@Kcmatt7

It will be hard to keep those guys right now because we don't have the on-field results to back it up, but I disagreed with Mangino and Snyder on this idea from the beginning. If you want to truly compete on a national level, you can't do that with 2 and 3 star players. You just can't make up that talent gap.

It's telling that, for all of the recognition and accolades that Coach Snyder has garnered in his career (deserved, in fact), he only has two conference titles to his record, and only won 4 division titles in the Big 12, despite coaching in the weaker division for 12 years. His Big 12 division finishes are as follows, 4 firsts, 3 seconds, 2 thirds, a fourth, a fifth and a sixth. And remember, by the time the Big 12 was born, KSU had already been to three straight bowl games, so this was no longer a program trying to get up from the trash heap.

If you limit yourself to 2 and 3 star players, you put a ceiling on your program that you will never break through. Beaty hasn't gotten on-field results yet, but he has shown that he isn't going to just put a ceiling on the potential of the program.

@JayHawkFanToo

I saw that, just wanted to get the facts out there to support what you had said. It's weird thinking back to that '08 team and realizing they tied for the conference title as good as they were (and would have lost the tie breaker). Your post brought to mind the ties with Texas. I had to look up the tie with OU.

Let's remember that the streak would not be at 13 if titles were not shared regardless of head to head results. In 2005, 2006 and 2008 KU was the #2 seed in the Big 12 tournament even as co-champ because they lost their only matchup of the year with Oklahoma (2005) or Texas (2006, 2008 ). Basically, 3 of Self's first five titles were ties, and KU was on the short end of all of those ties.

Only once in the four times that there has been a tie for the conference did KU actually win the season series (vs. KSU in 2013). If not for the rule sharing the crown in the event of identical records, we would only be working on title #9, not 13.

@Kcmatt7

Just as important is the fact that if that class falls apart, they lose the other two Seattle guys (HS teammates Davis and Nowell). They can't afford to lose Porter and two kids that grew up in Seattle. That would be a disaster for the program.

I still think Romar gets fired next year, or the year after, but you can't give away a once in a lifetime chance to turn the program around by getting Porter (and keeping a couple of local kids) in the fold.

@Kcmatt7

Can't argue with any of what you posted. The issue is that if Romar gets fired and they can't keep Porter, UW is even worse next season. Fultz is gone to the NBA, and if there's no Porter, they have zero firepower either coming back or coming in.

Washington is bad this season. If they fire Romar, they will be worse next year. If they keep him, they might be better next year. Like I say, if they keep him, they can just fire him next year. If they fire him now, they are basically punting on next season, too.

The amazing thing about this streak is that UConn does not hiccup. They do not slip. They just roll over the next team in their path. They don't come out flat. They don't blow a lead. They don't have an off night. It's actually really amazing.

I've been around undefeated teams in both high school and college. It's really difficult to not have that one night where you just don't have it, or there's foul trouble, or a great player goes off against you, or whatever. UConn has been able to avoid all of that for 100 straight games, playing the best teams in the women's game along the way.

Yes, UConn is favored in just about every game they play, and is more talented. But how often have we seen KU, a team that is usually favored and more talented, fumble away a game. That does not happen to the Lady Huskies. Or at least hasn't happened for the last two and a half years.

It was only a matter of time before Calipari moved into the USA Basketball pipeline. He has a system that maximizes the natural skill and talent of his players.

For the U19 team, USA always has lots of physical talent. Calipari is honestly the best coach to maximize that talent. If he is guard heavy, he can go DDM. If he's post heavy, he can do what he's done at UK the last few years. If he's more balanced, he can hearken back to his pre-Derrick Rose days at Memphis (secretly some really good teams in that stretch).

USAB is a machine. It was only a matter of time before they added Calipari to that.