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Message: [QUOTE="SWC75, post: 3272547, member: 289"] PART 2 Looking around the conference, Matt Park noted that “Georgia Tech went outside the conference and beat Morehouse. Duke held Pitt off.” JB: “Pittsburgh is much improved. They have really good young players. All these teams people are knocking are good. Notre Dame, Georgia Tech Boston College and Wake Forest are much better. Virginia Tech is good and Miami beat them. There’s no weak spot these teams can all play. BC-Louisville was close for a long time. Jordan Nwora scored 37 for the Cardinals. If he gets his shot, he’ll make them. Notre Dame stole the ball against Florida State, got a 5 second call and then a no call on a foul or they might have won.“ Gomez later said that Top 5 teams have a record number of losses to unranked teams this year: 15. “It’s college basketball – once you get past the top 10 it’s anybody’s ball game. We’re getting more equity every year.” (I guess we’re going for stocks rather than bonds.) “The quadrant system doesn’t take account of strength of schedule.” (?!?) “It will be hard to figure out who should get in this year.” On the national scene: “Teams are emerging. Baylor, Duke, Kansas and Michigan State are coming on. Gonzaga is very good. I thought Kentucky was coming on but they were behind most of the game against Vanderbilt. Ohio State was #1 and lost 5 of 7. Michigan is on a losing streak. Auburn reached #4 without any wins against tier 1 teams. Dayton is very good. San Diego State is very good. To be undefeated you’ve got to be good.” On Kobe Bryant: “He had a huge impact on the game in a lot of ways. He taught the younger players on the Olympic team how to work hard and play hard. He would have done amazing things the rest of his life. He was already doing them. He was really smart like Magic. Early in his career he was kind of stand-offish, focused on being the best player he could be. He was the guy who could make the play we needed to win. He and Jordan were similar, both 6-6 jump shooters who could defend. They were the most competitive players I’ve ever seen.” Was Jordan as inclusive of his teammates as Kobe alter became? “Jordan was very inclusive of his teammates, except for the guy who had to guard him in practice. Pippin, Kerr, or Paxson got the ball when Michael was double-teamed. He let Olajuwon win a couple of championships by going to play baseball or he might have won 8 in a row.” What was the impact of Kobe’s death on the players on the current Syracuse team, as they grew up with him dominating in the NBA: “There was a tremendous impact on all our players everyone else. His daughter was almost like a son, doing everything he did. I love watching my sons play but I enjoy watching my daughter play just as much. I love her enthusiasm of the game.” Coach also expressed sympathy to the Altobelli family and the others involved, including a pilot with 20 years experience. “I guess you’re still better off trying to avoid accidents in a helicopter than in a car, (according to the statistics ).” “Olympic guys have been playing 100 games a year so you don’t have to tell them much. They know how to win. You just have to motivate and manage them a little.” Jim recalled that Kobe told him at the Olympics “Coach, if you have something to say, just say it.” JB: “In the NBA, Kobe came out when he wanted to come out and went in when he wanted to go in. But he allowed us to decide that in the Olympics.” Coach recalled Kobe coming in to beat Spain, who had the second best team. “They always expected to beat us in the Olympics and when the World Championships were in Barcelona but they never did.” Coach let out an audible cackle. Jim remembers Joe Bryant missing a lay-up against us in the 1975 NCAAs that allowed us a week later to get to our first Final Four. He played for LaSalle and the game was in the Palestra in Philadelphia. Danny Schayes had said that he played against both Joe, (who was in the NBA from 1975-83) and Kobe (1996-2016). Danny played from 1981-1999. The Orangewomen who have been slumping, were playing Virginia Tech. “They should be better than them but they were supposed to be better than Wake Forest, too.” Actually the Hokies are a good team, (15-5) but Q’s team beat them 67-65 for a much needed win. The Super Bowl: “I haven’t thought about it. Great coaches and great teams. It should be a good game. Mahomes is a great player.” Matt called him “an incredible physical specimen with a great arm.” Gomez later discussed some of the prop bets being offered: Will any player use a prop in his end zone celebration? JB: “I thought they couldn’t do that anymore.” Even though they aren’t in the game, will Joe Buck of Troy Aikman mention the Patriots. JB: “At least 10 times, probably 15.” Will a fan run on the field? JB: “50-50”. Who will tackle him? “A security guard.” I missed the first part of the next one: what would happen more times, something or “Joker” getting Oscar wins” JB predicted “Joker” would win with 3. Will Turmp tweet during the game? JB: “without a doubt.” On Coach K’s comments on the Cameron student section: “He hasn’t done that for a year. Every once in a while you’re going to have a rant about that. Coach K was sticking up for Capel, one of his players, against the students.” [URL unfurl="true"]https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/29/us/duke-mike-krzyzewski-cameron-crazies-pitt/index.html[/URL] Jim recalled one time when he grabbed the microphone to address the crowd when some idiot threw an orange at Patrick Ewing. He also shouted at the crowd when somebody said something about Danny Schayes. Coach was not aware of the new format of the NBA All Star game, where the first three quarters would have separate scores and would determine which team captain’s charity gets a certain amount of money. In the fourth quarter they add the scores up and use the “Elam Ending” that is used in The Basketball Tournament”, where the first team to achieve a set score wins. Coach doesn’t think much of the ‘Elam Ending’ [ATTACH type="full"]176119[/ATTACH] “We’ve been playing this game for a long time and don’t want it to change.” The New York Knicks “are in the middle of nowhere. It’s been bad drafts and bad contracts. They just haven’t been run well. Meanwhile the Celtics made some great trades and draft picks to get the right guys. The Sixers took a while but not they are good. Milwaukee got the Greek Freak. Toronto gets guys from nobody ever heard of who are good. Free agents aren’t interested in the New York with all the traffic and where do you practice? Kevin Durant will come back like gangbusters.” The Astros have named Dusty Baker their new manager. “He knows how to manage. They have good players and a good team. The fans might be upset but they don’t have the same impact in baseball that they do in other sports.” Paul in Syracuse works for Franco’s Pizza and offered to bring one down when JB retires. (tbonezone is ordering it now). He wondered how Mike Hopkins is doing out at Washington. JB: “ They started off good but then lost their point guard. They don’t really have a back-up. They have a strong front line but they’ve lsot 4-5 games by 1-2 points. I’ve known Mike since age 14 and have a long history with him.” Gomez offered some “outrageous stats in college basketball history”: “Who scored the most points in their debut game?” “Who had the most 50 point games in a season?” “What team made the most consecutive three pointers in a game?” “Who had the only quadruple double? “ “Who fouled out in the shortest time?” “What’s the most combined steals by both teams?” “What’s the fewest points by both teams in a half?” [/QUOTE]

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