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Message: [QUOTE="SWC75, post: 1231973, member: 289"] OTHER TOPICS: Duke was playing Connecticut on TV and they talked several times about that game. That led to the discussion of other college teams. “It’s hard to beat Duke. Duke is one of two elite teams in the country, with Kentucky. And they don’t lose much in New Jersey….Connecticut is good. They have tough kids going after you full time. They had two tough losses and could be 6-1. It’s difficult to take consecutive losses on buzzer shots from the deep corner. Of course they’re all difficult to take. Connecticut barely got by St. Joe’s in the first game of last year’s NCAA tournament. They probably should have lost….Duke is very good but anyone can give you a game if you don’t play well. Arizona is right there. So are Gonzaga, Wisconsin and Louisville…It’s too early to tell how this Duke team compares to pas Duke teams. Their best three players are freshmen. ….San Diego State can’t shoot- they may be a rose shooting team than we are…..Wichita State was down to Alabama by 11 with five minutes to go and won by one. Alabama lost their best players but they might be a team to watch….Miami is good. They have two good transfer guards. People sometimes don’t factor that in. Kansas had a bad night against Kentucky but they beat Georgetown and a good Utah team. ” Would Jim rather coach at a place like Wichita State, where the players play for four years or Duke or Syracuse, where you lose them so quickly. “We have to plan for guys to leave so we have to keep recruiting. Duke has better players than Wichita State but for not as long.” Personal observation: We talk about how balanced college basketball is, compared, at least to football because you only need 5 starters rather than 22. But imagine how balanced it might be if players stayed for four years. Yes, Duke and Syracuse might have quite a line-up. But they also wouldn’t be able to bring in busloads of top recruits. Those kids would be more likely to go elsewhere so they could play immediately. I think the mid majors and power conference also-rans would be better for it as well. Athletic Directors are now being replaced nearly as often as coaches. “People want change. There’s a lot more movement. AD’s used to be in office for 25-30 years. You never know what it’s about. There could be a conflict with the University president. At Pitt two football coaches moved to a better job- Arizona State and Wisconsin. It’s not his fault. “ You’re not going to get Jim Harbaugh unless you go big. Michigan is the only college job he’d want. There’s not that many big name coaches out there.” Jim repeated his amazement that coordinators are now getting 1.2 million a year. “A few years ago they got $3-400,000.” He said he believes that both Bob Stoops and Nick Saban have contracts that go up when another coach signs for a record salary because they are both guaranteed to be the highest paid coach in college football. How would that work? Wouldn’t their salaries go to infinity and each one went up? Jim hasn’t seen the new football indoor practice facility. “It looks good from the outside. It might turn 3-4 players a year. They can now practice year around.“ Matt mentioned that spring football “has been moved up a couple of weeks. Unofficially, the Spring Game will be on April 4th.) Some NFL player, asked about the concussion issue, said “I’d take ten years off my life to play NFL football”. JB suggested he might feel differently at 70. Gomez noted that the player was “25, single, with no kids.” JB wondered how much money Jay Cutler could get on the open market right now. “He’d be an upgrade over some quarterbacks but he hasn’t got it done in Chicago. “ He thinks Rex Ryan will be doing TV next year. “The Jets didn’t spend money. They have no quarterback. And they don’t have much other stuff, either.” Will football ever come back to Los Angeles? “I don’t know. There’s not a push for it. They need people who have money.” I guess there’s none of those in LA. “I think it’s a bargaining chip for owners who want a new stadium. “If you don’t build it, we’ll move to LA.” It’s pretty crazy. I’m shocked. He didn’t much care that the Titans and Jaguars were on TV that night. “The only ones who do are fantasy football fans. I’m not into that stuff. It’s crazy. My kids are into it.” Right now, Jim’s fantasy is probably a Syracuse basketball team that doesn’t throw the ball away. They also discussed the NBA: On Rondo being traded by the Celtics to the Mavericks: “The Mavericks have a good team and got a good point guard. The Celtics got a couple of good players- Crowder form Marquette and Brandon Wright is a potentially good player- and some picks and will work their way back up. “ On Carmelo Anthony being told to consider shutting it down for the year: “If you have an issue you have to do what the medical people tell you. But he’s not thinking about surgery, I don’t believe. They’ve been playing some close games and without Melo they’re not close. The Triangle offense requires shooters. There are no screens. You have to make the proper reads. The Knicks don’t the personnel for that. They don’t have the personnel for any offense. They are starting two guys who average 5 points a game. You’ve got to score a lot of points to get you up there and their defense isn’t going to stop people….Down deep he must feel that the move to Chicago would have been a good move. He might have lost money but not much. He felt the Knicks could get better but they aren’t.“ JB watched that Grizzliies –Spurs game. The Grizzlies stopped the Warrior’s winning streak and now they’ve beaten the Spurs. It was a heck of a game, really well-played on both ends. Memphis is really good. Oklahoma City has some momentum. Golden State might be the best teams. The Clippers are 17-9 and would probably be the 2nd or 3rd best team in the East.” The Spurs are going on a long road trip. “It must be the rodeo. But they can play on the road. If Parker rests, that puts more pressure on the others. They are gradually showing signs of getting older.” “Clay Thompson may be a better shooter than Seth Curry. This summer we had 25 practices They’d have shooting competitions and Clay got the better of him most of the time. Steve Kerr is the best shooting coach in the NBA- and they don’t even need him. “ Cleveland “has too many guys who need the ball- LeBron, Kyrie, Love, Dion. They all want the ball.” Poor Michael Carter-Williams is getting used to losing games in the NBA. “After you are used to losing 3-4 games a year, losing 3-4 in a week is a difficult transition.” The Sacramento Kings traded away Isiah Thom as. “That was an owner involved trade. Now he’s talking about getting Chris Mullin as a coach. He was a great player but he’s never coached.“ Gomez said the owner wanted the “Cherry Picker Offense”. I’ve never heard of it but Jims aid “The other team would score on every possession and you’d score on ly 2/3 of the time. You’d lose every game by 25.” Maybe that’s why I’ve never heard of it. Gomez, seeking to broaden the conversation, asked Jim what he thought about normalizing relations with Cuba. Yes, JB has an opinion on that, too. “It’s bene going on a long time. 50 years. They are our closest neighbors. Sometimes freedom comes after you open it up and people see what it’s like to have stuff. But the Republicans will fight it until Obama leaves office. Then they'll claim it was their idea." Is a trip to Cuba on JB's 'bucket list'? "No, it's not on that list.” Jim is “second to Santa Claus in putting things under people’s trees in Central New York, (thanks to his book). “I’m just trying to get wins. That’s all we’re doing.” Gomez noted the long line of fans at Delmonico’s asking for Jim’s autograph or to take a picture with him. Jim had no problem with it . “It’s when the fans aren’t there that you’re in trouble.” [/QUOTE]

Verification: What is a Syracuse fan's favorite color?