Meanwhile, Virginia continues to roll...

[PeteCalvin]

It look Boeheim a decade to break through and get to a Final Four. Bennett is an awesome coach and will get there soon enough.

Hopefully by knocking off Duke, UNC, UK and/or KU along the way.

 

[cliftonparksufan]

It look Boeheim a decade to break through and get to a Final Four. Bennett is an awesome coach and will get there soon enough.

JAB got there in his 11th season and he was 42 years old. Bennett is in his 13th season and is 49 years old. Jay Wright was 48 when he got to his first Final Four and 55 when he won his first NC.

It's not easy and there is no guarantee that Bennett will get there. He is an accomplished coach but like others have said, a lot has to happen to get there.

 

[dollarbill44]

Yup. And all that plus a dollar gets you a cup of coffee at McDonalds if you are a senior citizen.

McDonald's coffee is underrated.

 

[73CAV]

McDonald's coffee is underrated.

Dunkin' Doughnuts has $2 cappuccinos between 2 PM and 6 PM on Wednesdays!

 

[Newhouser]

They have a great program and Bennett does the least amount of sideline whining in the sport. Right now their program is above ours by quite a bit for me because the regular season proves more IMHO than a tourney run you can't control.

 

[CousCuse]

They have a great program and Bennett does the least amount of sideline whining in the sport. Right now their program is above ours by quite a bit for me because the regular season proves more IMHO than a tourney run you can't control.

You can't be serious. Every sport is defined by playoff success, not the regular season. That's crunch time, when all the marbles are on the line. I'm sure you know that but want to take a back handed swipe at Coach Boeheim.

 

[Newhouser]

You can't be serious. Every sport is defined by playoff success, not the regular season. That's crunch time, when all the marbles are on the line. I'm sure you know that but want to take a back handed swipe at Coach Boeheim.

The narrative changes based on SU's recent arc. When we won 28 games and got beat in the tourney in the 2nd round all that mattered was the regular season. It's a personal thing but I'm more impressed with a dominant regular season than a 3 game win streak.

 

[CousCuse]

The narrative changes based on SU's recent arc. When we won 28 games and got beat in the tourney in the 2nd round all that mattered was the regular season. It's a personal thing but I'm more impressed with a dominant regular season than a 3 game win streak.

OK.

 

[orange79]

You can't be serious. Every sport is defined by playoff success, not the regular season. That's crunch time, when all the marbles are on the line. I'm sure you know that but want to take a back handed swipe at Coach Boeheim.

I know you don't want to hear this, but not every nice word said about another program is a back-handed swipe at {insert name of SU team/coach here}. Stop it.

 

[CusefanATL]

Well we are willing to help change that - lose to us and drop a seed or 2.

if they lose 1 game to us and win the rest, they are unanimous overall #1 seed.

2 games vs DUke will be must watch TV Jan 19 @duke and Feb 9 @uva

 

[Cusefan0307]

If we played like UVA some of the posters saying they are so great would poo poo the pace guaranteed.

 

[jncuse]

You can't be serious. Every sport is defined by playoff success, not the regular season. That's crunch time, when all the marbles are on the line. I'm sure you know that but want to take a back handed swipe at Coach Boeheim.

I have no interest in taking a shot at Boehiem, but the level of recent regular season success is a MUCH better indicator of future regular season AND future post season success, then the level of recent post season success.

Their program is in great shape.

 

[CousCuse]

I know you don't want to hear this, but not every nice word said about another program is a back-handed swipe at {insert name of SU team/coach here}. Stop it.

Tony didn't look like such a great coach when his best player was hurt and out during the tourney last year. I have stood up for coach Boeheim for 40+ years. From the days before the title when the haters motto was "Boeheim sucks", to today when it's much more covert and under handed. And I always will.

 

[CousCuse]

I have no interest in taking a shot at Boehiem, but recent regular season success is a MUCH better indicator of future regular season AND future post season success, then recent post season success.

Their program is in great shape.

The last few seasons with sanctions have been difficult to play all out and not get guys exhausted or injured during the regular season while trying to get the team playing its best ball for the post season. This year the QB has been injured, which isn't a continuation from the past years issues but I guess looks like it to some people.

 

[Sgt Cuse]

The narrative changes based on SU's recent arc. When we won 28 games and got beat in the tourney in the 2nd round all that mattered was the regular season. It's a personal thing but I'm more impressed with a dominant regular season than a 3 game win streak.

I agree the narrative seems to change. I remember posters here not being too pleased as SU was cruising through great regular seasons but not going as far as we would have liked in the NCAAT. Then it was all about the tourney. The posts asking why we can't be like MSU and develop through the regular season and peak at NCAAT time. Now a lot of those posters have flipped their position. Do you seriously think that if SU had lost as the one seed, that JB wouldn't have taken any heat?

I would like to see SU get back to more of a prominent role in the overall discussion of top in the league. I think SU is on the right path, just some early hiccups this year. And while the season isn't lost, seems like a need to firm up the center position somehow (if we got I Stewart I think we would be there for next year).

 

[73CAV]

Tony didn't look like such a great coach when his best player was hurt and out during the tourney last year

Actually, I don't know if I've ever been prouder of our coach than after his interview following that loss. The wins are great, but the dignity and character are priceless. And, I also recognize that without the wins, those other qualities won't keep a coach employed, but it is just so nice to get them all in the same package. For Virginia fans, these are 'the good ole days'!

 

[Fly Rodder]

If we played like UVA some of the posters saying they are so great would poo poo the pace guaranteed.

SU does play like UVA but without the efficient offense. Complaining about pace isn't done in a vacuum.

 

[Eric15]

You can't be serious. Every sport is defined by playoff success, not the regular season. That's crunch time, when all the marbles are on the line. I'm sure you know that but want to take a back handed swipe at Coach Boeheim.

Postseason success is obviously what we celebrate and hang banners for. But strong regular seasons are a better predictor of the true strength of a program than mediocre regular seasons accompanied by Cinderella runs.

Virginia is an extremely healthy basketball program right now even though they haven't broken through to a Final Four yet.

 

[Cowtown]

And, quite frankly, it continues to amaze me. I look at their players, and other than Hunter, who's a potential NBA player? Guy? No way, in my opinion, as he's not very athletic at all and he likely couldn't get his shot off consistency at that level.

You have to give Bennett a ton of credit though, as UVA has been ranked in the top 5 consistency now the past 3-4 years and have won consecutive ACC titles. It's a testament to playing a team sport completely together as one, as they seem to be the epitome of "team" in every aspect of the word.

Interesting point. NCAA and NBA are different. NCAA is about basketball, while the NBA is about making money with a basketball.

 

[Cusefan0307]

SU does play like UVA but without the efficient offense. Complaining about pace isn't done in a vacuum.

I'm not disagreeing, but I'm getting ahead of the posters who complain about pace when in reality if you are efficient it means split.

 

[jncuse]

I have no interest in taking a shot at Boehiem, but the level of recent regular season success is a MUCH better indicator of future regular season AND future post season success, then the level of recent post season success.

Their program is in great shape.

Just wanting to make myself clear. I think its a more accurate measure for maybe up to 3 years.

But in the mid to long term we are still comfortably ahead of Virginia. That is part of the brand, legacy, resources that we have. And whether some want to criticize JB for some modern day issues (I think which is fair), the brand value we can use moving forward is almost entirely due to him,

 

[FrancoPizza]

I agree the narrative seems to change. I remember posters here not being too pleased as SU was cruising through great regular seasons but not going as far as we would have liked in the NCAAT. Then it was all about the tourney.

But that's the thing - for the longest time we were spoiled by good-but-not-great regular seasons. The complaint at one time was: why can't we ever have a great regular season wire-to-wire like those UConn and Villanova teams? And then 2009-10 and 2011-12 happened. We finally added "occasionally great" to consistently good. And then somewhere around the time Ennis stepped foot on campus the ship started to spring leaks.

Not sure where I'm going with this but I'll echo the sentiment that a strong regular season is a much better indicator of the program's health purely due to a much larger sample size. The volatility of the NCAA tournament can be smoothed out over the long haul if a team is consistently good. We've had our Richmonds and Vermonts. A team like Virignia will eventually break through if they keep cranking out protected seeds.

 

[FrancoPizza]

It's a personal thing but I'm more impressed with a dominant regular season than a 3 game win streak.

Not to mention the months of November, December, January, and February are a lot more fun when we're good. Especially with these long winters.

 

[orangecuse]

If we played like UVA some of the posters saying they are so great would poo poo the pace guaranteed.

Yeah, to some extent, possibly. Winning is ultimately what matters (and UVA has at least during the regular season been impressive, W wise), but I doubt very much unless you are a UVA fan or an SU one, or simply rooting against either, I can't imagine many fans from a national standpoint tuning in as they both play a brand of ball that isn't much fun to watch.

 

[CousCuse]

Actually, I don't know if I've ever been prouder of our coach than after his interview following that loss. The wins are great, but the dignity and character are priceless. And, I also recognize that without the wins, those other qualities won't keep a coach employed, but it is just so nice to get them all in the same package. For Virginia fans, these are 'the good ole days'!

He is a good coach. I'm just saying even a bright coach like him will have a difficult time over coming injuries to key players. Which is what our coach has been dealing with this season.