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Message: [QUOTE="SWC75, post: 903348, member: 289"] WITH GOMEZ: They talked about this contest to see who can come up with a “perfect” NCAA bracket with winners in all 67 games. JB: “I don’t know how you could do that. Maybe with a computer you could come up with all the possibilities and submit each one. I think one guy won a couple of years ago.” Actually the odds are 1 in 9.2 quintillion: [url]http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/eye-on-college-basketball/24416823/warren-buffett-dan-gilbert-offering-1-billion-for-perfect-tourney-bracket[/url]. So I don’t think submitting every possible sheet is an option. I called in my question about Michael Gbinije. I said that he looked so good in this You-Tube clips, with three pointers, pull up jumpers and drives to the basket, that it seemed that he could help us more on offense than he has: [media=youtube]IBNV9ixxPyU[/media] I acknowledged that in highlight films, the shots always go in, (JB laughed), and that this was against high school completion- but if the college completion isn’t guarding him, shouldn’t he be able to do these things now? “Every player did what you saw in high school. High school has nothing to do with college. He’s been out of basketball for two years. He didn’t play at Duke and sat out a year here. It’s harder to get to the hoop in college. He’s tentative. It takes a long time for him to get the three off. He needs space. Teams are giving him space and he’s knocked down some threes. He’s got to learn when, where and how to penetrate. He has to get more comfortable on the court. He’s not big enough to be a three. It takes time to make the adjustment. He helps on defense and can be a better offensive player but that will take some time. He’s not really a point guard. We lose our point guard when Tyler comes out. It’s difficult to get him more minutes. Trevor Cooney got more minutes and got more comfortable. Some guys can play for 10 minutes and play well. Some can’t.” Gomez asked how a coach handles the player’s transition from being stars in high school to fighting for playing time in college. JB: “They are all stars. They have to manage their emotions. They all want to play. We will do what we have to be successful. Some don’t want to wait. That’s why we have 400-500 transfers a year. Most of them aren’t successful at their new place.” Stan called in and asked how Jim has managed to be so consistently successful over the years. “Good coaches and great players. The assistant coaches do so much to get the players ready every day.” They discussed the USA basketball team. “Half the national team guys won’t play this summer. Durrant might play because he loves it. LaMarcus Aldridge will play. He’s a big talent. In the end Jerry Colangelo decides who will be on the team. He runs USA Basketball, with some input from Coach Krzyzewski and the assistants. They talked about Olympic security. “You can never say nothing is going to happen. You are never going to stop a guy or two who decide to strap on a bomb.” Kobe Bryant made a statement that he didn’t think basketball players learn much in college and that he didn’t see the point of the “one and done” rule: [url]http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/eye-on-college-basketball/24418076/kobe-bryant-college-hoops-really-isnt-teaching-players-anything[/url] He said that players who went right to the NBA have done better than players who went to college for a year or two. JB: “He’s talking about 4-5 guys. The rest haven’t made it. An argument can be made for a great player. But the NBA doesn’t want to deal with that. If high school players can go right to the NBA they lose motivation to study in high school. You can learn quite a bit of basketball in one year of college if you are a talented player. There’s no way of knowing who is going to make it. Half the first-rounders in the last couple of drafts aren’t in the NBA. NBA teams have a roster of 12 guys and have three other guys who practice with them. . It’s tough to beat 3-4 guys who have contracts out if you aren’t one of the top 10-12 players in the draft.” Phil Jackson was asked who would beat who one on one, the match-ups being Shaquille O’Neal vs. Dwight Howard, Larry Bird vs. Magic Johnson, Lebron James vs. Kevin Durrant and Michael Jordan vs. Kobe Bryant: [url]http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/24418099/phil-jackson-says-michael-jordan-would-beat-kobe-bryant-1-on-1[/url] JB agreed with Phil’s picks. “If they are both in their prime, Jordan wins.” They also talked about feats such as Wilt Chamberlain scoring 50 points in 7 consecutive games, (JB said he also got 20+ rebounds a game and once led the league in assists). Magic Johnson once had 8 straight triple-doubles. Oscar Robertson isn’t impressed- he once averaged a triple double for a season. There have actually been four quadruple-doubles in NBA history but no quintuple doubles: [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_(basketball)#Quintuple-double[/url] They talked about the struggles of North Carolina and Duke. The Tar Heels, “haven’t been physical and tough. They don’t get out and run. Their defense hasn’t been good. They haven’t shot well.” Gomez quoted Roy Williams as saying that he’s had to spend too much time coaching effort. JB: “You shouldn’t have to coach effort. I keep hearing about coaches motivating players. It’s your responsibility to play hard. You’ve got to want to work at it.” About Duke: “They don’t have a big guy inside. But they out-rebounded Miami by about 20. They have good players” Taylor called in and said how much he was looking forward to the Duke game. JB: “The Duke game is a ways away. I don’t think about it.” He does thinks about those students camped out in below zero wind chills to get tickets. “It’s pretty cold to be hanging around outside but it’s great that they do that. We’ve had a couple cold nights. But this is winter in Syracuse”. As I type this up, a weatherman is saying that the “unseasonably cold weather will continue”. To what other season would this weather be appropriate? Taylor added that Jim should “retire and run for the Dome exits”. JB: “I didn’t hear that.” Somebody wondered “What pro sport is the hardest to play?” Gomez repeated Ted Williams assertion that the hardest thing in sports is to hit a baseball. JB: “TV makes high level sports look easy. Hitting a baseball is very hard. Being a quarterback and having 300 pound guys after you and completing a pass down the field is hard. Pro athletes are so good at what they do that you have to admire and respect them.” Nick wanted to talk about Richard Sherman. JB: “You shouldn’t interview people in the heat of the moment. Let them shower and come into a news conference. People don’t understand how fired up you get on a football field. It’s a physical tough game.” Gomez noted that CJ Fair was in a headline on ESPN. JB said it was “about four year players”. I was unable to find that article but I did find this one you might like: [url]http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/92793/syracuse-is-americas-best-team[/url] Pat called in and wondered which college basketball games JB prefers to watch. He primarily watches teams that we are going to play, especially in the conference. JB says he does the same and he thinks fans are watching more and more ACC games rather than watching our old Big East rivals such as Louisville, Connecticut and Georgetown. Of course, Louisville will be an ACC next year- and Maryland won’t. Go figure… Pat said he always does the opposite of what regular callers Dro and Vito do and for that reason he doesn’t treat the games as matters of life or death. Coach Boeheim said “It’s not life or death- for you guys.” [/QUOTE]

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