We Are Finally Back

[BostonOrange]

One of my big criticisms of JB a few years ago was that we were almost always 'pretty good' but rarely VERY good. In a 17 year stretch from 91-08 we were above a 4 seed exactly once - a 3 seed in the NC year of 2003.

Well...assuming a 1 seed this year we will have put together a 4 year stretch were we have had 2 one seeds and haven't been WORSE than a 3 seed. That is quite a run. An Elite program kind of run. Now, of course, we have yet to make it count. But I'm a firm believer that the key to winning championships is being there over and over, year in year out.. Look at Coach K, Dean Smith, and Roy Williams - for years they 'couldn't win the big one'. But...they kept putting highly seeded teams out there and eventually it happened, and it happened multiple times. We caught lightning in a bottle in 2003, but really I think it is just now that we are back to where we were as a program in the 86-91 era. And one of these years it's going to pay off in March.

 

[NKR1978]

I honestly have more faith in Scoop than I have anyone since Carmelo to get us to the Final Four. No idea if we get there, but this team has shown time and again that they can make a play or get a stop when they absolutely need to.

 

[Upstate]

I honestly have more faith in Scoop than I have anyone since Carmelo to get us to the Final Four. No idea if we get there, but this team has shown time and again that they can make a play or get a stop when they absolutely need to.

You hit the nail on the head. Scoop has been the rock the second half of the BE schedule when the team needed him. We go as far as he takes us.

 

[rstone7727]

Being a long time fan, I think I am finally starting to understand how incredibly difficult it is to win the NCAA tournament. You can get every single recruit you ask for, have a healthy team all year long, have a great regular season, do well in your conference tournament, then lose in the 2nd-3rd round. You are playing teams that are perfectly capable of beating you on any given day. As great as this season has been for us and UK, there is a more than good chance neither of us will win it all.

 

[HoustonCuse]

Being a long time fan, I think I am finally starting to understand how incredibly difficult it is to win the NCAA tournament. You can get every single recruit you ask for, have a healthy team all year long, have a great regular season, do well in your conference tournament, then lose in the 2nd-3rd round. You are playing teams that are perfectly capable of beating you on any given day. As great as this season has been for us and UK, there is a more than good chance neither of us will win it all.

No doubt. Winning six in a row on neutral courts against the best competition is insane. It's so difficult I would say it was impossible except that some team has to win it.

 

[SUalldway]

You hit the nail on the head. Scoop has been the rock the second half of the BE schedule when the team needed him. We go as far as he takes us.

Thinking now that it was a stroke of good fortune that Scoop had to sit out a season. To have even a shot at a national championship, the moon and the stars have to be aligned.

 

[orange2win]

No doubt. Winning six in a row on neutral courts against the best competition is insane. It's so difficult I would say it was impossible except that some team has to win it.

Disagree. You don't have to win six in row on neutral courts against the best competition. The reward for being a number 1 seed, is that the first three rounds are most likely against glorified cupcakes.

 

[Alsacs]

Agree about Scoop he has been BY FAR AND AWAY the best guard during Big East play. We need Triche or Waiters to be the Goose to his Maverick to win this whole thing. Being a 1 seed means you get 2 easy opponents and then if your bracket blows up and about 1 in 4 every year do you can get a 12 or 13 seed in the sweet 16, but the last 3 all tough.

 

[mountaincuse]

Disagree. You don't have to win six in row on neutral courts against the best competition. The reward for being a number 1 seed, is that the first three rounds are most likely against glorified cupcakes.

Not going to see three glorified cupcakes any longer, too many good teams.

 

[suthrills]

Disagree. You don't have to win six in row on neutral courts against the best competition. The reward for being a number 1 seed, is that the first three rounds are most likely against glorified cupcakes.

Glorified cupcakes?
Being a 1 seed allows you one cupcake game then it's real competition.
After that any team can beat any other team, which is why it's the greatest sporting event going.

 

[jdubs30]

Scoop is no doubt important in getting to New Orleans. But I (and I don't think anyone else does either) don't think for a second that if Scoop has a 0/7, 4 assist/4 turnover game we'll automatically lose. Quite simply, we need A LOT to go wrong to lose.

 

[donniesyracuse]

Well...assuming a 1 seed this year we will have put together a 4 year stretch were we have had 2 one seeds and haven't been WORSE than a 3 seed. .

Had the 2003-2004 recruiting class not been a bit of a disappointment and the 2004-2005 recruiting class not been a complete waste, I think this great stretch would have started much sooner.

 

[Knicks411]

Thinking now that it was a stroke of good fortune that Scoop had to sit out a season. To have even a shot at a national championship, the moon and the stars have to be aligned.

Just remember this post when you read a post saying Cooney should lose the red shirt this year.

 

[Rocco]

Had the 2003-2004 recruiting class not been a bit of a disappointment and the 2004-2005 recruiting class not been a complete waste, I think this great stretch would have started much sooner.

Are you saying TRob wasn't money against Rutgers? Watkins was rolling a fat one as the ball went in. It was beautiful.

 

[SourShoes]

. We need Triche or Waiters to be the Goose to his Maverick to win this whole thing.

Maverick Killed Goose.. just sayin

 

[IthacaMatt]

Disagree. You don't have to win six in row on neutral courts against the best competition. The reward for being a number 1 seed, is that the first three rounds are most likely against glorified cupcakes.

Third round is against a 4/5 seed. That is a top 20 team in the Sweet 16. Once you get tot that point, even if you are a 1 seed, there are no "cupcakes".

 

[IthacaMatt]

Are you saying TRob wasn't money against Rutgers? Watkins was rolling a fat one as the ball went in. It was beautiful.

Part of it was Boeheim's loyalty / stubbornness to stick with role players from the 2003 team over the new recruits. Since we were a pretty young team when we won the title, those guys hung around for 2 or 3 more years in starters roles and ed the development of the Nichols/Watkins/Roberts class. Those guys could have been better if they had gotten a little more playing time a year earlier in their careers than they did. In retrospect, we should have redshirted all 3 of them.

 

[BostonOrange]

Scoop is no doubt important in getting to New Orleans. But I (and I don't think anyone else does either) don't think for a second that if Scoop has a 0/7, 4 assist/4 turnover game we'll automatically lose. Quite simply, we need A LOT to go wrong to lose.

You bring up a very good point, because the likelihood of Scoop having at least one of those games is pretty good. He's had two of them in our last 6 games (Gtown and Lville) and we were able to win them anyway. Let's face it...all of our guys throw in some clunkers except for KJ who is pretty consistent. We just can't have them all stink on the same night.

 

[jdubs30]

You bring up a very good point, because the likelihood of Scoop having at least one of those games is pretty good. He's had two of them in our last 6 games (Gtown and Lville) and we were able to win them anyway. Let's face it...all of our guys throw in some clunkers except for KJ who is pretty consistent. We just can't have them all stink on the same night.

Good thing it's hard to imagine a night where KJ AND Scoop AND Fair AND Waiters AND Triche are all off. Then of course we have Southerland and Melo.

 

[senorpalmer]

Part of it was Boeheim's loyalty / stubbornness to stick with role players from the 2003 team over the new recruits. Since we were a pretty young team when we won the title, those guys hung around for 2 or 3 more years in starters roles and ed the development of the Nichols/Watkins/Roberts class. Those guys could have been better if they had gotten a little more playing time a year earlier in their careers than they did. In retrospect, we should have redshirted all 3 of them.

Definitely could have red-shirted Watkins, he might have proven useful on the 08 team that was ravaged by injury and just missed the tournament. Maybe Roberts, though the 04 team would have been down to 8 scholarship players in that case post-Edelin, with one of them being the very seldom used sophomore Matt Gorman. Nichols ended up playing a vital role in that team's transformation post-Edelin, sliding in to the starting SF spot with Pace going to the 2. That team went from being a strong offensive team to a strong defensive team as a result. Red-shirting him would not have been an option.

 

[fairfaxcuse]

One of my big criticisms of JB a few years ago was that we were almost always 'pretty good' but rarely VERY good. In a 17 year stretch from 91-08 we were above a 4 seed exactly once - a 3 seed in the NC year of 2003.

Well...assuming a 1 seed this year we will have put together a 4 year stretch were we have had 2 one seeds and haven't been WORSE than a 3 seed. That is quite a run. An Elite program kind of run....

I miss the glory days of...three days ago.

 

[orange2win]

Third round is against a 4/5 seed. That is a top 20 team in the Sweet 16. Once you get tot that point, even if you are a 1 seed, there are no "cupcakes".

Of course. My point was made in jest, but with a measure of truth.

Example - last year's #1 team was Ohio State. They faced UTSA in the first round (who??) and George Mason in 2nd round. Definately cupcakes. In the S16 they were knocked off by Kentucky (ranked #11). KU subsequently lost to UConn.

As you say, there are no easy S16 games, but the #1 seed will not likely meet a Top 10 team, even in the S16. This greatly increases the odds of the #1 seed making it to the E8.

 

[OttoMets]

Are you saying TRob wasn't money against Rutgers? Watkins was rolling a fat one as the ball went in. It was beautiful.

Now that is a prescient post.

 

[BuffOrange]

One of my big criticisms of JB a few years ago was that we were almost always 'pretty good' but rarely VERY good. In a 17 year stretch from 91-08 we were above a 4 seed exactly once - a 3 seed in the NC year of 2003.

Well...assuming a 1 seed this year we will have put together a 4 year stretch were we have had 2 one seeds and haven't been WORSE than a 3 seed. That is quite a run. An Elite program kind of run. Now, of course, we have yet to make it count. But I'm a firm believer that the key to winning championships is being there over and over, year in year out.. Look at Coach K, Dean Smith, and Roy Williams - for years they 'couldn't win the big one'. But...they kept putting highly seeded teams out there and eventually it happened, and it happened multiple times. We caught lightning in a bottle in 2003, but really I think it is just now that we are back to where we were as a program in the 86-91 era. And one of these years it's going to pay off in March.

That is absolutely the key and it's still mind-numbing that so many people don't get that.

 

[jimsonjunction]

Good thing it's hard to imagine a night where KJ AND Scoop AND Fair AND Waiters AND Triche are all off. Then of course we have Southerland and Melo.

True, and this is what has made us so hard to defend. You can't take away any one guy and have a discernable advantage. In my opinion, there's one thing that threatens this team's success more than any of those guys playing a bad game... Fab getting in foul trouble. Fortunately, he's done a good job avoiding fouls and staying on the court, but if we run into a team with a good big man and Melo picks up some cheapies, that's when I'll start to get nervous.