Welcome back to the greatest sport in the land. Practices started nearly two weeks ago, so I'm a little late on this thread. But we've still got about 4 weeks until games start.
Part 1 - 2013 recap. If you want, feel free to ignore this and move on to Part 2. But otherwise indulge me for a moment as it's not every year your alma mater gets to celebrate a National Championship.
I start with post-season. The rest is just a prelude. 5OT at Notre Dame means nothing, except it was the last loss Louisville suffered, and they went on to win 16 straight.
So, highlights of the last real Big East Championship. Louisville fought back from 16 points down with 16 min left in the game to win running away with a 17-point victory and back-to-back championships. Key plays by Kevin Ware and freshman Montrezl Harrell sparked the comeback. Peyton Siva joined Patrick Ewing as the only 2-time BE Tournament MVP. Louisville chose not to cut down the nets, since they had the ones from 2012, and also because they were focused on a bigger prize.
Flash forward to the regional final against Duke. Highlights (no gore). Kevin Ware goes down with one of the most gruesome injuries seen on live TV. His teammates are in tears, save team co-captain Luke Hancock who immediately goes to his injured teammate and comforts him until the medical staff has stabilized him. The Cardinals look flustered, but then in the second half, in the words of Mike Krzyzewski, "they boom you". Louisville runs away with a 22 point victory and again chooses not to cut down the nets.
Final Four. Wichita St. Louisville down 12 with 12 minutes to go. What happens? Just like Kevin Ware predicted in his interview 4 days prior... "I think Tim Henderson will come in and hit a couple 3s". Which he did, cutting the lead to 6, and sparking another Louisville comeback. Highlights.
So, one game to win it all. Spike Albrecht comes out on fire when starter Trey Burke goes out with foul trouble in the first half. He scores 17 points (previous season high 7) while leading Michigan to a 35-23 lead. Then this happens: Luke Hancock's 4 3s in a row, plus a steal and alley-oop from Siva to Harrell, and Louisville is back in the lead in less than 3 minutes. 2nd half is close, but the Cardinals get the win, 82-76. One Shining Moment from CBS. Luke Hancock becomes the first non-starter to win MOP of the Final Four. His dad, very sick from cancer, made the trip to Atlanta for the only 2 games he saw his son play live during the year. He passed away in June. Just one of the stories about the young men on this team and how they suffered but persevered. From Peyton Siva driving a car at age 13 to track down his dad and talk him out of suicide to Luke's father, and through the Ware injury seeing the team come together... these guys have been through a lot, they are stand up young men, and pretty good basketball players to boot. Will never forget this team.
Champions again after 27 years. Whew. Here's another awesome tribute video to all 3 Louisville championship teams. And another special look at just the 2012-13 team, with many season highlights, including Chane Behanan's "Dunk of the Year" against DePaul.
And yes. Coach Pitino fulfills his promise to the team and gets a tattoo because... National Championship!
Ok... that was fun, for me anyway.
I'm in. Dunno if this is the year the Aggies find their way out of the desert, though.
From the original NCAA Basketball 2013-2014 Season Catch-All thread I put up almost a week ago :-p:
Looks like ESPN is not the only outlet for hype:
It's all good. I should have linked. And the celebration is over. Everybody is 0-0.
Kansas has a hell of a team this year, but I am already tired of the one and dones. I know why Self has gone this route, but it would be nice to have guys for a few years to watch develop.
Looking over that list I found a name that makes me feel old: Roy Devyn Marble, SR, G, Iowa. I was in HS when his dad, Roy Marble, was playing for Iowa in the late 80's.
I hope the Transfer U train keeps rolling @ Iowa State this season. They say we had some good players sitting out last year.
Stele, what is up with Louisville's lame non-conference schedule? They have 11 "warm-ups" before playing Kentucky. There is literally not one interesting Louisville game to watch before December 28th.
The UNC game will add to schedule strength. I wish there was a good way to show those other games.
Kansas plays Wake, but not show are games versus USC or Villanova, and one of Xavier, Iowa, UTEP, or Tennessee.
But Kansas also has #4 Duke, #10 FLA, and #23 New Mexico. They also have a game versus unranked Georgetown that at least has some national appeal.
I just found a schedule in which you have to talk up Western Kentucky is kind of a problem. One thing Self has always done at KU is provide a tough non-conference schedule against powers and good trap games like Georgetown and Wake Forest. I believe it helps them going into the Big 12 that they have already been playing tough games. It also drives a lot of revenue, which is why I was surprised there was such a lack of marquee games for Louisville, since Louisville generates a healthy revenue stream.
Well, I'm hopeful Charleston's effort against Louisville next Saturday resembles the game in Louisville 2 years ago and not last year's debacle. Charleston btw joins the Colonial which is definitely a step up from the SoCon..
Top 100 countdown continues with 60-41
Also CBS Sports did the same thing without the daily countdown. Top 20 highlighted for the fun of it:
1. Andrew WigginsKansas
Vitals: 6-8 | Fr. | G
Comment: Wiggins is projected as the consensus No. 1 pick of next June's NBA Draft. So he's only spending one year in college. And, as you can see by this ranking, he's expected to have a terrific season and maybe lead Kansas to a 10th straight Big 12 title. -- Gary Parrish
2. Marcus Smart
Oklahoma State
Vitals: 6-4 | Soph. | G
Comment: Smart passed on the chance to be a top-five pick to return to Oklahoma State. He's capable of leading the Cowboys to the Final Four. -- Jeff Borzello
3. Doug McDermott
Creighton
Vitals: 6-8 | Sr. | F
Comment: McDermott is the premier scorer in college basketball. Don't get caught up in his NBA potential; enjoy him in his final year of college hoops. -- Matt Norlander
4. Russ Smith
Louisville
Vitals: 6-1 | Sr. | G
Comment: Smith was the best player on the nation's best team last season. His return to Louisville for his senior season will give the Cards a chance to repeat as national champions.
5. Julius Randle
Kentucky
Vitals: 6-9 | Fr. | F
Comment: Wiggins is getting more attention among the nation's freshmen. But Randle is a physical specimen ready to dominate. -- JB
6. Jabari Parker
Duke
Vitals: 6-8 | Fr. | F
Comment: Parker was The Best Since LeBron® before Wiggins was The Best Since LeBron®. The Chicago native is the real deal because the game comes naturally to him. He's a great decision maker, a true 3 and a player that's going to contribute in just about every way. -- MN
7. Gary Harris
Michigan State
Vitals: 6-4 | Soph. | G
Comment: Harris battled injuries most of last season and has done the same this preseason. But he should be healthy soon and good enough to become the Big Ten Player of the Year. -- GP
8. Aaron Craft
Ohio State
Vitals: 6-2 | Sr. | G
Comment: One of the nation's premier defenders and leaders, Craft is ready to take on a bigger offensive role with DeShaun Thomas gone. -- JB
9. Jahii Carson
Arizona State
Vitals: 5-10 | Soph. | G
Comment: Smart enters the season as the nation's best point guard. I can see a world where Carson is considered better by February. Averaged 18.5 points and 5.1 assists last season. Those numbers will go up. -- MN
10. Aaron Gordon
Arizona
Vitals: 6-8 | Fr. | F
Comment: Gordon averaged 16.2 points and 6.2 rebounds in the 2013 FIBA U19 World Championship, where he was USA Basketball's MVP. That performance secured his place as a projected future lottery pick. -- GP
11. Mitch McGary
Michigan
Vitals: 6-10 | Soph. | F
Comment: The sophomore big averaged 14.3 points and 10.7 boards in the NCAA tournament; can he do that consistently this regular season? -- JB
12. Andrew Harrison
Kentucky
Vitals: 6-5 | Fr. | G
Comment: Harrison is believed to be second only to John Wall in terms of UK point guards under John Calipari. At 6-5, 210 pounds, he's built tremendously well and will be a force because of his size and vicious, attacking personality. -- MN
13. Willie Cauley-Stein
Kentucky
Vitals: 7-0 | Soph. | F
Comment: Cauley-Stein could've been a lottery pick despite serving a reserve for much of his freshman season. He's the best of three future NBA bigs on the Kentucky roster. -- GP
14. Rodney Hood
Duke
Vitals: 6-8 | Soph. | F
Comment: After transferring from Mississippi State and sitting out last season, Hood is recovered from an Achilles injury he suffered in the summer. -- JB
15. Adreian Payne
Michigan State
Vitals: 6-9 | Sr. | F
Comment: Payne is a beast of a forward for Michigan State and said to be in great shape and ready to dominate the league. He plays taller than 6-9 because he gets above the rim on both ends. -- MN
16. Montrezl Harrell
Louisville
Vitals: 6-8 | Soph. | F
Comment: Rick Pitino told me this summer that he expects to coach Harrell for just one more season. This will be college basketball's breakout player, most think. -- GP
17. C.J. Fair
Syracuse
Vitals: 6-8 | Sr. | F
Comment: Underrated nationally, Fair is the focal point of what should be one of the deepest frontcourts around. He can score in different ways. -- JB
18. Glenn Robinson III
Michigan
Vitals: 6-6 | Soph. | F
Comment: Robinson's NBA stock should be for the better after returning to school. He has a smooth stroke and a great pro body. -- MN
19. Semaj Christon
Xavier
Vitals: 6-3 | Fr. | G
Comment: Christon is a pro point guard who mostly operated off the radar last season because Xavier was done, relatively speaking. But NBA scouts saw him plenty. -- GP
20. Shabazz Napier
UConn
Vitals: 6-1 | Sr. | GComment: The Huskies are looking to rebound after last season's postseason ban. It will be up to Napier to lead the way. -- JB
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The stinky thing about this list is that three of them, Gary Harris, Mitch McGary, and Glen Robinson played their high school ball in Indiana and the likes of IU, Purdue, or Notre Dame couldn't successfully recruit them.
Kansas has a tune-up tonight before facing Duke in four days. Starting PG Nadir Tharpe is out for a one game suspension due to an exhibition game he played in while in Chicago this summer. While going with a freshman PG won't hurt them tonight, it would have been nice to get Tharpe work before Duke.
Game is on ESPN3 if folks want to see Wiggins do his thing in his first home game at Kansas. Should be fun.
Eager to see what Ollie does in his 2nd round with the Huskies this year.
I'm 3,000 miles away, but lucky enough that it's on ESPN2.
Well, Charleston kept it interesting for a half at least.
I'm cheering for you guys to go 30-something and 2... or 3 if we play you in conference tournament. ;)
We had no business winning that game last night. I'm going to chalk the whole experience, on both sides, up to first night jitters.
Badferret wrote:Well, Charleston kept it interesting for a half at least.
Way longer than that. 3 point game with 6:47 left. Then, boom, 13-0 run and overall 22-3 run to finish the game.
Of course Louisville was ice cold in the first half. Like 2-10 on 3s, and some really open looks. And when they can't score they can't press, so the game stays close. But once things get going, boom.
Yeah, watched the Dawgs vs. App live, and caught the replay. The Cardinals defense/pressure is still like a blitzkrieg when they get it going. Still, much better effort by CofC this year, and if they had hit just a few more outside shots, maybe they could have put more pressure on UL. I do think Charleston is a legitimate threat to win the Colonial in their first year in the league. There is real talent with Barry and Chealey and they will only get better as they get experience.
Jabari Parker looks legit.
Charleston bounced back nicely at home with a great comeback against Charlotte.
They were down fourteen with seven minutes to go. Down six with :26, and won it on a last second layup.
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