The Bushes of College Basketball
It's funny that Bill Self became the coach of Kansas after Roy Williams left for North Carolina, because Self is like the A- version of Williams and the Kansas program is like the A- version of the North Carolina program. This season Williams and Self guided the two most talented teams in college basketball to the regional finals, but their seasons ended there short of satisfaction in similar style.
Willams and Self are the George and Jeb Bush of college basketball - charming southern drawlers with an innate ability to convince people to follow them. Along with Florida's Billy Donovan, they are the best recruiters in the nation. Every year, they get the best talent available. But neither can be considered to have a brilliant basketball mind, and th
ey frequently get outsmarted in critical situations.
ey frequently get outsmarted in critical situations.Kansas' opponent in the regional final was UCLA, a hungrier, more experienced, clutcher, less mistake-prone, shallower, less talented 2 seed. Kansas lost because of UCLA's defense, because they turned the ball over too much, because Bill Self was unable to find innovations to take advantage of KU's superior talent, and because Self gave too many crunch-time minutes to freshman guard Sherron Collins.
North Carolina went up against Georgetown, a hungrier, more experienced, clutcher, less mistake-prone, shallower, less talented 2 seed. The Hoyas were able to come back against UNC because Tar Heel players kept jacking up bad threes and other rushed shots despite the low-post potency of Tyler Hansbrough and Brandan Wright. Roy Williams did nothing to turn the tide, eschewing endgame logic, momentum-halting timeouts, and court leadership as if the regional final was an October practice.
My bracket wasn't the greatest. I misfired on a couple darkhorse Final Four picks in Pittsburgh and Texas, and was eliminated fairly quickly in my pool. But I am proud to have chosen Florida over Ohio State in the final, as I recognized these two teams as the most likely of the super-talented squads to win five games, due to superior coaching, patience, malleability, and maturity. I decided not to pick KU or UNC for the Final Four, though I was convinced they were the two most talented teams. Something didn't feel right. These teams are the Ba
d Guys from the Generic Sports Movie - bigger, faster, more talented, but sullen, void of personality, and not as clever. And if you looked real close, you could tell they just didn't want it as much.
d Guys from the Generic Sports Movie - bigger, faster, more talented, but sullen, void of personality, and not as clever. And if you looked real close, you could tell they just didn't want it as much.The remaining four teams displayed a little more fortitude, a little more determination, and a little more intelligence than their Elite Eight counterparts, and that is why they will be playing for the championship this weekend in Atlanta.
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Congratulations to PiMaster, who crushed my pool and wrapped up the $1600 prize before the Final Four has been played.
posted by GnightMoon @ 3:22 PM
5 Comments:
HAHAHA like a virus the PI pic is spreading across the world wide web.
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unlike the flu, there is no shot to ward off the pi picture infection.
Viox' name is Pimaster? It wasn't like I had that much respect for him before, but now, I mean, sheesh....
And I lived through the Bill Self pain for so many years...IL had so many talented teams that did nothing in the tournament with him. Then Webber came along and took us to the championship game with Self's recruits while he was busy busting out in the first round. Now, Webber couldn't recruit his way out of a paper bag. At least from here on out we'll have overachievers instead of Self's underachievers.
That Illini team should not have made the final four. Lute should ahve retired after that loss in the Elite Eight. Salim Stoudamire racked up 37 points a couple nights ago. Hassan Adams and Channing Frye were led by the most inept point guard in the history of the world. I'm crying now.
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