Back and forth between two classics

[SWC75]

It's kinda fun when you don't really care who wins.

 

[adk(roc)CUSE]

It's kinda fun when you don't really care who wins.

Agreed. You can just appreciate it for what it is

 

[llandz]

I actually think Pay Pal Cal had to coach this year. He took what was suppose to be the college dream team through a lot of struggles, and turned them into men in the end. He had to get them to work together, which they were not doing most of the season. Doesn't mean I like him, but he earned some respect here this week.

 

[SWC75]

I've been watching NCAA games since the 60's but I really fell in love with the tournament when ESPN had it back in the mid 80's and they had one first round stretch of six consecutive games they went to, (none involving SU) that had a minute to go and could go either way and they all went down to the last possession with both teams having a chance to win. This was only two games but it reminded me of that.

 

[llandz]

Also it looks like Pitino did not shake the hands of the Kentucky players. He shook Calipari's hand and then walked away. That is terrible if it happened that way.

 

[Briancuse]

Also it looks like Pitino did not shake the hands of the Kentucky players. He shook Calipari's hand and then walked away. That is terrible if it happened that way.

He shook paypal cal's hand and one of his assistants and then bailed.

 

[llandz]

Even blow by Dixon shakes the players hands. You keep going down the line, not turn around and walk away. No class at all. Coaches are suppose to act like adults, and set good examples. And don't bring up JB in the Duke game, because these are two very different things. JB did not basically diss the kids.

 

[OrangeDW]

I was actually rooting for Kentucky. As much as I dislike Kentucky and Calipari and that whole scene, I was rooting for them. Why? Because Pitino is basically the biggest asswipe coach I've ever seen. Go home Rick!

 

[zeekay]

I actually think Pay Pal Cal had to coach this year. He took what was suppose to be the college dream team through a lot of struggles, and turned them into men in the end. He had to get them to work together, which they were not doing most of the season. Doesn't mean I like him, but he earned some respect here this week.

That's the most basic prerequiste of being a coach. This is high school level skill-set to make a team play together. He still has 7 NBA players on the roster and no other team is close in terms of raw talent. Getting a less talented team to play above their ability and advance far is real coaching (Shaka Smart etc.).

 

[llandz]

You are correct Zeekay. That is the joy of college basketball. I guess I overstated my admiration of what Calipari has done this year. I think it was more of a "at least he had to coach" as opposed to the players just falling into place. But in no way will I compare what he just did with what the Mercer coach did.

 

[br801]

I've been watching NCAA games since the 60's but I really fell in love with the tournament when ESPN had it back in the mid 80's and they had one first round stretch of six consecutive games they went to, (none involving SU) that had a minute to go and could go either way and they all went down to the last possession with both teams having a chance to win. This was only two games but it reminded me of that.

That's was (and is) exciting and all, but I don't understand why the starting times for the Sweet 16 games need to closely overlap. There are only two sites each day -- why not stagger the starts so that viewers can see the last 10 or 15 minutes of each game without having to miss the late stages of another game?

 

[CuseFaninVT]

That's the most basic prerequiste of being a coach. This is high school level skill-set to make a team play together. He still has 7 NBA players on the roster and no other team is close in terms of raw talent. Getting a less talented team to play above their ability and advance far is real coaching (Shaka Smart etc.).

I think it has to be one of the hardest jobs in all of sports to get kids with bigger egos than even the coach to actually play for the team and not just for themselves. Especially when you consider their entire lives (HELLO AAU - TALKING TO YOU HERE) they've done what was best for them and them alone. And Cal seems pretty good at it.