NCAA Tourney 2006 Discussion Thread [R]

[HighburyGoon]

I've still got Nova, so there's a pulse...

[Bluto11]

if Memphis had won I would be in great shape. the only team i have in the final four now is LSU. If I could've gotten LSU and Memphis in, with GMU in and hoping Florida knocks of Nova I would have had a shot because of my strong opening rounds.

[HighburyGoon]

I had Memphis, Conn, 'Cuse and 'Nova.

[OklahomaGunner]

I had BC, UCLA, UConn, and Texas.

A week ago I felt REALLY REALLY good. In the last two days I like Cannon went from critical to fatal.

[topcatcole]

Un-befreakin-lievable. Go GMU whatever-you-ares!!

Talk about peaking at the right time- but of course, they did have a virtual home field advantage playing in the DC regional :D

[antifan]

Anti, I'm sure this is past but with my job I MUST speak up.

I cover recruiting for a living...in college basketball with the AAU coaches, high school coaches, families, shoe camps, etc.

EVERYONE is giving hand outs, I won't argue with you because some I have tried to and they'd rather have their illusion, but it's reality man.
So you're saying that every single NCAA program is corrupt. And every single college coach pays off all their players? Call me naive, but i just don't believe that's true.

[feej92]

http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/men/1143123

someone on yahoo picked the final four. then again, he probably has 64 different accounts and 64 sets of picks :p

[jwaldman11]

So you're saying that every single NCAA program is corrupt. And every single college coach pays off all their players? Call me naive, but i just don't believe that's true.
Just from my experiences, the coaches don't always know what's going on, or at least try not to find out. The boosters are the worst offenders. I will say that, while at SU, I found it odd that several football players were driving around in brand new SUVs.

However, I agree with anti that not all programs do that kind of thing. While I'm not sure which side is in the majority, it's a case of some schools that do cheat making a bad name for the schools that don't. Today was a perfect example. You have a smaller school that just had a group of kids who busted their ass against a group of pros lead by a coach well-known for his "win at all costs" recruiting mentality. It was nice to see the little guy smack the big guy around.

[jwaldman11]

http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/men/1143123

someone on yahoo picked the final four. then again, he probably has 64 different accounts and 64 sets of picks :p
That man should just win regardless of what happens in the next round.

[OklahomaGunner]

So you're saying that every single NCAA program is corrupt. And every single college coach pays off all their players? Call me naive, but i just don't believe that's true.

As I said...some don't want to believe. So be it.

[evanpemsocr]

That man should just win regardless of what happens in the next round.

wow! well apparently ucla is going to beat florida in the final.

[antifan]

As I said...some don't want to believe. So be it.
I just wonder if your perspective is a little warped by living in Barry Switzerland? I can understand that financial incentives are likely necessary to lure top atheletes to do a 4 year bid in Oklahoma, but i doubt that's true everywhere. Case in point, Joakim Noah, the kids dad is a millionaire tennis player, do you think he chose Florida because they have a great young coach and a great school with sunny climate or because some overweight booster slipped him the keys to a Hummer? Just because thats the way it works in OK, don't assume that its true everywhere.

[phishy]

I just wonder if your perspective is a little warped by living in Barry Switzerland? I can understand that financial incentives are likely necessary to lure top atheletes to do a 4 year bid in Oklahoma, but i doubt that's true everywhere. Case in point, Joakim Noah, the kids dad is a millionaire tennis player, do you think he chose Florida because they have a great young coach and a great school with sunny climate or because some overweight booster slipped him the keys to a Hummer? Just because thats the way it works in OK, don't assume that its true everywhere.

you do realize you are using the most extreme examples..

grant hill, chris collins, joakim noah...
cmon jp... :rolleyes:

[n4100]

you do realize you are using the most extreme examples..

grant hill, chris collins, joakim noah...
cmon jp... :rolleyes:
Ok, extreme examples, but do you really think "every school" is giving up stuff? That's what was implied by OKGooner. I'm having a hard time picturing a D-II school offering anything other than a free-ride which is all a lot of those kids are looking for and which isn't illegal.

[antifan]

you do realize you are using the most extreme examples..

grant hill, chris collins, joakim noah...
cmon jp... :rolleyes:
I'm using those examples to prove my point (and you can add Mike Dunleavy Jr. to the list of rich Dukies). Look, I'm sure that there are plenty of kids who are going after whatever they can get for there talents, and fair enough to them. But i also believe that there are a lot of student atheletes who just want to be the best, play with the best, compete with the best, and win. They want to go to good schools and learn basketball from great coaches. To lump them all in with the shady coaches and rent-a-players is just ridiculous.

[OklahomaGunner]

I just wonder if your perspective is a little warped by living in Barry Switzerland? I can understand that financial incentives are likely necessary to lure top atheletes to do a 4 year bid in Oklahoma, but i doubt that's true everywhere. Case in point, Joakim Noah, the kids dad is a millionaire tennis player, do you think he chose Florida because they have a great young coach and a great school with sunny climate or because some overweight booster slipped him the keys to a Hummer? Just because thats the way it works in OK, don't assume that its true everywhere.

Yeah...also the land that produced Shelden Williams. :)

And Phishy is right, you can keep picking these EXTREME examples, but how about Chris Duhon? Slidell, La....not exactly a cultural mecca.

I would say on a whole that the vast majority of player's recruitment is on the up and up, it's for the upper echelon recruits that things get nasty. Go check out any athletic dorm in the country...take a look at the cars in the parking lot....I can almost guarantee you that most basketball scholie kids at ANY school....can't afford a new explorer with 20 inch rims.

Again, it's my job man, I've visited numerous college campuses, and nothing changes from one to another.

Football recruiting, is dirty in spots, here and there...but without the AAU involvement people are more easily regulated and sanctioned. In hoops, it's dirty man, it's just bad.

But, now I've gone on longer than I ever intended, but you can assume that I know something about one school and a coach that hasn't been coaching in college for 20 years. :)

I can understand that financial incentives are likely necessary to lure top atheletes to do a 4 year bid in Oklahoma, but i doubt that's true everywhere.

OK, I have to edit...I missed this little gem on the first go around.

A) I guess I missed the part where Durham, NC was a tourist hotspot. Wonder why the football team is shat with all the young kids dying to be there?

Hell, at least you could stand behind Coral Gables, or LA, or Boulder, or even Austin but you're going to mock something from...DURHAM?

B) Lexington, Kentucky, Gainesville, Florida -which you referenced and home to one of the nation's highest crime rates-, Lawrence, Kansas, Durham, NC, Chapel Hill, NC, Syracuse, N.Y.

Need I go own of the cultural metropolises that recruit well EVERY year?

[OklahomaGunner]

Ok, extreme examples, but do you really think "every school" is giving up stuff? That's what was implied by OKGooner. I'm having a hard time picturing a D-II school offering anything other than a free-ride which is all a lot of those kids are looking for and which isn't illegal.

No, it's definitely not at every school, not even the majority.

I mean, who pays money for a 6-foot PG without a great first step and best quality is that he's a coaches son? Those are in every small town in the country. :)

Just some of the top kids of which a group Duke brings in EVERY year.

Of course every fan thinks their team is the exception to the rule, so Anti's response is not only expectable, but one that I could sub in for almost any fan of a school in the country.

[antifan]

I would say on a whole that the vast majority of player's recruitment is on the up and up, it's for the upper echelon recruits that things get nasty.Sorry, i'm thought you said this:
EVERYONE is giving hand outs, I won't argue with you because some I have tried to and they'd rather have their illusion, but it's reality man.
Go check out any athletic dorm in the country...take a look at the cars in the parking lot....I can almost guarantee you that most basketball scholie kids at ANY school....can't afford a new explorer with 20 inch rims. How do you know where those kids got there cars? When i was in college, i know that some of the players made their money the old fashioned way... by selling drugs.
Again, it's my job man, I've visited numerous college campuses, and nothing changes from one to another. So you've visited Duke's campus and seen the players luxury cars with your own eyes?
Football recruiting, is dirty in spots, here and there...but without the AAU involvement people are more easily regulated and sanctioned. In hoops, it's dirty man, it's just bad. I believe thats true, but so many of the bad influences are agents and hangers on, not people affiliated with the schools.

But, now I've gone on longer than I ever intended, but you can assume that I know something about one school and a coach that hasn't been coaching in college for 20 years. :) Who are you talking about?


OK, I have to edit...I missed this little gem on the first go around.
A) I guess I missed the part where Durham, NC was a tourist hotspot. Wonder why the football team is shat with all the young kids dying to be there? Obviously they aren't paying their players enough money. :rolleyes: Or maybe its because they haven't had a good Football program since Spurrier left. Like i said before, atheletes want to play for winning teams.
Hell, at least you could stand behind Coral Gables, or LA, or Boulder, or even Austin but you're going to mock something from...DURHAM? I've never been to Durham, but the parts of North Carolina that i have been to were really nice. Also last time i checked, Duke was one of the top academic schools in the country.
B) Lexington, Kentucky, Gainesville, Florida -which you referenced and home to one of the nation's highest crime rates- Gainsville Florida is the crime capital of America? i wonder why all my relatives who go to school there never mentioned that, they said it was a really cool town with a beautiful campus, i didn't know it was like Detroit.

Lawrence, Kansas, Durham, NC, Chapel Hill, NC, Syracuse, N.Y. Need I go own of the cultural metropolises that recruit well EVERY year? All the schools you mentioned have great basketball programs and go to the NCAA tournament almost every year. But according to you players only go there because they kick out the most cash?

Look i don't really know if Duke's program is dirty or not, but if you want to convince me that it is, show me some evidence other than "Everyone else is doing it, so they must be too"

[yossarian]

Obviously they aren't paying their players enough money. :rolleyes: Or maybe its because they haven't had a good Football program since Spurrier left. Like i said before, atheletes want to play for winning teams.
I've never been to Durham, but the parts of North Carolina that i have been to were really nice. Also last time i checked, Duke was one of the top academic schools in the country.
Gainsville Florida is the crime capital of America? i wonder why all my relatives who go to school there never mentioned that, they said it was a really cool town with a beautiful campus, i didn't know it was like Detroit.


Without getting into the heart of this debate as far as which programs are dirty and which are not....I just thought I'd comment on the towns:

Durham is a dump. Duke has a very nice campus and is a very good school academically....but being a good school has nothing to do with the town. See Yale, New Haven.

Chapel Hill is a quintessential college town and is very cool and very pretty (not as great as Athens, but close....;) ).

Gainesville is also almost purely a college town too and as those go it's just okay, not great, but not bad either. I'm very surprised by that crime stat OK posted. I'd have to see a link to believe it.

Never been to Norman, so I can't comment.

Okay, carry on.

[feej92]

Okay, carry on.

erm, Go BRUINS???

i'm stoked. this is all icing on the cake. had no real notions of getting this far.