College Basketball Thread 2013-14

[Funketown]

Kentucky shot 31.8% from beyond the arc this season. Odds are they won't hit threes like they did against Michigan (7/11). They're a talented team, but on the level weaker than a typical final four opponent.

[patrickgpe]

http://painttouches.com/2014/03/30/yahoo-marquette-targeting-duke-assistant-steve-wojciechowski/

 

I would love this hire for Marquette. Kind of a Buzz Williams type coach. Only concern is that after Coach K retires, he could leave us for Duke.

[GAME05]

oddsmakers have it Kentucky at -2.5, not that odds have a whole lot of meaning. i think it was Wisconsin +4 against Arizona.

 

help me out, people who know more than me. what should i be scared about with Kentucky? what should i be optimistic about?

 

i'm a little worried about Kentucky's size and ability to get second-chance points against Wisconsin. Randle looked completely lost against the double-team tonight, but it's not really Wisconsin's style to double-team a player. i'm worried about points in the paint for Kentucky and a tendency for Wisconsin to give a high OPP FG%. it's a lot of small Wisconsin guys against big Kentucky guys. at the same time i wonder that while Kaminsky may get bottled up, Wisconsin will have a lot more room to shoot the 3. also that Kentucky forces very few turnovers and Wisconsin commits very few. i'm excited! i'm nervous!

 

but either way Bo Ryan really deserves this attention. i remember passing him by at the athletic center in Platteville all the time.

[Baldkin]

Sam Dekker guarding Randle is going to be a huge issue, especially if Cauley-Stein can go, and Kaminsky is on him.

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

They always talk about Jerry's World being a special place for the Packers.

 

Rodgers will likely be in town, so hopefully that's good karma.

 

By Saturday night (let's just start there), I hope it gets renamed Frankie's World.

 

And maybe the Brewers will have 4 wins by tip-off

[fondybrewfan]

The biggest question mark probably will be dribble penetration. If the Harrison twins get in the lane it could be a long day. Kentucky has been shooting better in the tournament but they are simply not a very good outside shooting team.

 

Dekker on Randle will be an issue; but we also have to give credit to Dekker and UW in general for completing shutting down Gordon of AZ. Similar athletes although Randle is bigger.

 

I was expecting Kentucky to be a slight favorite. It should be a pretty solid game that I think could go either way. Kentucky has been playing great and making all the tough shots at the end. I really think UW has got a decent shot; most people will probably be picking Kentucky though.

 

I don't think Kentucky is any more athletic than Arizona was. And I know everyone will say it but I would like to think Bo and his veteran team that plays tough defense will makes things difficult on Kentucky. Kentucky isn't even in the same stratosphere defensively as Arizona. Especially if Cauley Stein doesn't play

[jjfanec]

The reason to optimistic is Kentucky is not a good shooting team normally. They dont have a single guy who shoots over 35% from three on the season and they were lights out against Michigan. They start three guys who are under 43% from the field. So they shot out of their minds and got seemingly every board and only won on a last second 3. UW is a better rebounding team and better defensive team than Michigan. Kentucky gave up a lot of open looks due to Michigan's great ball movement. UW's ball movement is just as good. If the Badger's hit their open looks, keep Kaminsky out of foul trouble, and rebound like they are capable I think they win the game

[fondybrewfan]

I don't know if I could handle Wojo as the Marquette coach. I always hated him as a player and generally think of him as a giant turd. That being said most major college head coaches probably are giant turds already.

 

I want UW to win so badly partly because I despise Calipari so much. Nothing bad to see about Donovan or Ollie.

[Menotti80]

I don't know if I could handle Wojo as the Marquette coach. I always hated him as a player and generally think of him as a giant turd. That being said most major college head coaches probably are giant turds already.

 

I want UW to win so badly partly because I despise Calipari so much. Nothing bad to see about Donovan or Ollie.

 

 

Wojo is my favorite player of all time. He and the '95 Duke team made me a huge college bball fan. Needless to say I have all fingers crossed that they hire Wojo

[homer]

UK's bread and butter on offense is grabbing boards and getting to the line. UW typically limits both. I like this matchup for Wisconsin. They will score on UK.

[fondybrewfan]

Martin is now out for Marquette as well. It appears to be Wojo at this point.

 

As far as I know Wojo has no Midwest of WI connections; curious to see how he would do on the recruiting trail. Specifically regarding Stone and Ellenson in the 2015 recruiting class.

 

Also I wonder if WI's run may make it easier to convince Stone or Ellenson to stay in school. Both of those guys look like they would fit in perfectly at UW. Both can hit an outside shot and in general are multi dimensional.

[yoshii8]

Wojo was hired as MU's new coach. I think it's a quality hire.

[paul253]

If MU ever wants to shed it's appearance as a stepping stone program they need to stop acting like it. Hiring assistant coaches and coaches from small time schools with good basketball teams reeks of stepping stone program. Go out and offer what it will take to get an established coach.

[FVBrewerFan]

If MU ever wants to shed it's appearance as a stepping stone program they need to stop acting like it. Hiring assistant coaches and coaches from small time schools with good basketball teams reeks of stepping stone program. Go out and offer what it will take to get an established coach.

 

You mean small time schools like UWM (Bo Ryan) or bring in an assistant coach (Shaka Smart) like VCU did? Just two quick examples, but there are a ton of great coaches who started out as an assistant or HC at a smaller program. Wait...come to think of it they ALL did.

 

This "big splash" stuff is great for ESPN, but it doesn't win games or build a program.

[patrickgpe]

I really don't think it matters where they come from. I would rather get a young hungry coach than a coach like Howland who has some baggage (having no control of players at UCLA). The problem is that they have to keep them. The problem is that Marquette consistently makes good basketball hires and when teams in the Big 10 or ACC come calling they will take any job in the conference. I am worried that Wojo will become a great coach, only to leave for Duke once Coach K retires in 5 years and Marquette would be back to where they are now.

 

I don't know how you correct this. The Big East has a ceiling I believe of where it can be and its under the ACC and Big 10.

[bigmac87]

If MU ever wants to shed it's appearance as a stepping stone program they need to stop acting like it. Hiring assistant coaches and coaches from small time schools with good basketball teams reeks of stepping stone program. Go out and offer what it will take to get an established coach.

 

As far as I know, Marquette spends more money on basketball than any school other than Duke. They play in an NBA arena and have world class facilities at the Al. I don't know what constitutes "offering what it takes to get an established coach", but as far as what MU can actually control/offer it's one of the best jobs there is.

 

As far as Coach Wojciechowski leaving for Duke when Coach K retires, there is going to be a long list of folks who want that job. If he does well enough at MU that Duke wants him to be K's heir, that's fine with me.

[MJLiverock]

I've never rooted against Marquette or felt any animosity towards the basketball team despite my Badger blood but hiring Wojo makes me rethink that stance. I absolutely hated him as a player and just seeing and then hearing him in the ACC tourney reminded me again my loathsome feelings toward Wojo.

[FVBrewerFan]

I may be the only 50/50 MU/UW fan, so I can be objective about this hire, and I honestly have no idea if this is a good hire or not.

 

I will say the MU job has a lot going for it, true. But there is also no denying it is not a top-tier job, even though it pays like one. Like it or not, the Big East is now a mid-major conference.

[bigmac87]

I will say the MU job has a lot going for it, true. But there is also no denying it is not a top-tier job, even though it pays like one. Like it or not, the Big East is now a mid-major conference.

 

I think that depends on what you mean by top-tier job. I can agree MU may not be a top-tier program. Addressing it from the standpoint of "MU needs to offer something more to show it's not a stepping-stone", I think MU is doing the best it can on that front. It's a top-tier job as far as pay and facilities. Not necessarily top-tier in terms of exposure/competition/conference.

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

Here in the Triangle, the local folks think Marquette is a good fit for Wojo. Basically, the idea is he needs to prove he can win somewhere, and a good coach can and will win at a program like Marquette.

 

Many are questioning whether or not this is his "vitae" move, undergone so that he can show some head coaching success for when Coach K retires in 5-10 years. So that gels with some of what's been brought up here. Generally, I think people are really interested to see if he can actually succeed. There's a little more skepticism about Wojo than about Johnny Dawkins at Stanford and Chris Collins at Northwestern.

[RockCoCougars]

I think some skepticism of the MU hire is warranted. The Coach K 'coaching tree' has not really been very fruitful over the years. Quinn Snyder had a short run at Missouri a few years back, but he's long gone. Full disclosure, I'm a 'Duke hater' who believes that much of their success has more to do with their ability to pick and choose from the McDonald's AA teams than it has to coaching.

[paul253]

but there are a ton of great coaches who started out as an assistant or HC at a smaller program. Wait...come to think of it they ALL did.

 

That doesn't mean you have to go out and hire an assistant coach in the hopes he turns into a successful coach. You can set your sights higher and go out and get the guy that already is a successful coach. With the success MU has had over the past decade or so they shouldn't be having to pick a new coach every 5 years. WoJo may be a very good hire and a very good coach. But if he is successful and if he's still around when 67 year old Coach K retires you and I both know he'll more than likely end up at Duke.

 

How do you resolve this issue? I don't know. Maybe invest more in facilities? Maybe pay assistant coaches more? Maybe set your sights higher in coaching search (I would have loved to see them make a run at Tony Bennett from Virginia)?

 

All this being said I really hope this hire works out. MU is going to have a very different looking team next year and with the the success many Big East teams had recruiting this year MU can't afford to play like they did this year.

[brwrsfan]

I think it's a bit too soon to say that if successful Wojo would be gone to Duke when Coach K retires. It's certainly possible, but Duke will have it's pick of 95% of the coaches in college basketball when it's job opens. He may get considered, but there will certainly be a plethora of candidates to choose from.

 

That said, I'm not a huge fan of the hire. There had to be some reason so many teams have interviewed him and not hired him. Plus I despised him as a player, but we'll see I guess.

[FVBrewerFan]

but there are a ton of great coaches who started out as an assistant or HC at a smaller program. Wait...come to think of it they ALL did.

 

How do you resolve this issue? I don't know. Maybe invest more in facilities? Maybe pay assistant coaches more? Maybe set your sights higher in coaching search (I would have loved to see them make a run at Tony Bennett from Virginia)?

 

 

MU already has t0p tier facilities and a budget higher than just about anybody for assistant coaches. Sure it would be nice to get Bennett or someone like that but it's not realistic. Would have been nice if Wiggins and Embiid went to MU- same issue really. The trick is to find someone who is about to become an elite coach. Is that Wojo? No idea but we shall see. My guess is he's a better coach than Buzz, but is he as good or better at recruiting? That remains to be seen. Will be very interesting to see what players transfer, and what happens to the commits for 2014.

[paul253]

Sure it would be nice to get Bennett or someone like that but it's not realistic.

 

I'm not sure why that's not realistic. If he's not interested he's not interested but MU could have probably given him a significant raise from what he's making now. I would have preferred Ben Howland as well. He's a very established coach having had a ton of success at both Pitt and UCLA. Plus given his age it's probably safe to assume he wouldn't be using MU as a stepping stone to a better job. But it is what it is. I think WoJo will probably end up being a better coach than Buzz. I thought Buzz did a terrible job at developing the talent he recruited. He was constantly getting consensus top 100 guys only to sit them on the bench and/or watch them transfer somewhere else. I predict Va Tech will go nowhere with him because it's a football school in a very tough conference. I don't think he'll be able to attract the same caliber recruit that he was able to get at Marquette.