whitesoxfan99

People really like Arizona as a final four type team? They aren't a great defensive team and they feasted on bad competition in the Pac 10. They weren't particularly impressive against good teams this year. Williams is a beast but I just don't see that team as a final four team.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Mar 14, 2011 -> 12:50 PM) I cant believe I'm saying this, but Illinois has the talent to beat KU, and I think could really push the Jayhawks. I really hope they play like they can play. They could and because this team seems to like to make losing as painful as possible for the fans, I'm pretty much expecting them to play well and beat UNLV and then be playing well against Kansas but have the game look like any number of games this year where they play well for 30-35 minutes before pissing down their leg and losing in as painful of fashion as possible. This season wouldn't be complete without one last giant kick in the nuts.

QUOTE (maggsmaggs @ Mar 13, 2011 -> 05:34 PM) Haha, Illinois plays former coach Lon Kruger in the first round and then if they win, plays former coach Bill Self in the second. The last three Illinois coaches all in the same part of the bracket. I have Illinois winning the first (homer pick) and then getting annihilated in the second. That wouldn't be painful enough. If Illinois wins against UNLV they will be playing very well against Kansas remember who they are and proceed to have an epic collapse.

QUOTE (kjshoe04 @ Mar 13, 2011 -> 05:37 PM) The tournament has really lost a lot of its charm the last copule of years. The same old story is getting old. There is no way that the Big 10 deserves 7 teams while Missouri St. has to go to the NIT. It's bulls***. 73rd in Sagarin's rankings, 81 on Kenpom, and their best wins were against a non-tourney team.

QUOTE (maggsmaggs @ Mar 12, 2011 -> 03:22 PM) So does Illinois get in or not guys? Lunardi is the best in the business and he says yes right now, so I will say yes until he says otherwise. They will probably benefit from a horrible bunch of bubble teams this year. Every single bracketologist has them in. Usually as a 10 or 11.

And the only possible scenario that could keep Illinois out of the tourney might be happening. Lose today, MSU beat Purdue so MSU, Illinois and Michigan are all close (and I think all 3 get in). PSU currently housing Wisconsin (albeit a lot of time left). IF PSU was to win today and tomorrow it is possible that Illinois is the Big 10 team that gets left out (although any of those 4 could get left out or all 4 could get in).

QUOTE (fathom @ Mar 11, 2011 -> 05:29 PM) So Scott Drew is lobbying for any and every possible job. He's trying to get LSU to can Trent Johnson so he can go there. Scott Drew sucks and anyone that hires him is f***ing stupid. He cheats and still can't win.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Mar 11, 2011 -> 05:29 PM) Francis had a nice career for a while; Brand was legit before he got injured; Lamar Odom is an above average player. Baron Davis was pretty solid for a while before injuries got the best of him; Rip was pretty solid. 5 of the top 6 picks (see guys named above) all had a few well above average seasons in this league. Bender was the one full blown bust. Wally Z wasn't anything special but he was a solid role player till back injuries got the best of him. Shawn Marion has been good, Jason Terry is a machine 6th man, Andre Miller a very underrated above average point guard. In fact, the 1999 draft was a pretty damn deep draft that produced a lot of quality players. No full on star, but a lot of good players and plenty of all stars. That draft was solid, the draft that sets the bar for failure was the 2000 NBA draft.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Mar 11, 2011 -> 05:26 PM) Let's be honest, there's no much of a chance of Weber getting canned. If they make the tourney (which they should and probably will) I agree. If they don't, all bets are off and there will be a ton of pressure on the administration to get rid of Weber.

QUOTE (fathom @ Mar 11, 2011 -> 05:25 PM) Grant wants 3 million a year to leave Alabama (makes 1.8 now) and won't sign a clause saying he won't leave for Florida. Don't forget that Donovan's contract stated he couldn't leave for the NBA for 5 years after the debacle a few years ago, so Donovan might be looking to go to the NBA soon. And I would offer him that money. Maybe he leaves for Florida maybe he doesn't but I am a believer in hiring the best coach possible and I think Grant is that guy. Will Guenther do that? f*** no he won't because he is a freaking joke.

QUOTE (maggsmaggs @ Mar 11, 2011 -> 05:20 PM) I don't even know if he would leave for Illinois. It's not what it once was. Illinois' best bet is a mid-major coach with success. Illinois is a much better job and Grant would be walking into a really good situation talent wise with the 2011 class and the current freshmen and sophomores.

QUOTE (maggsmaggs @ Mar 11, 2011 -> 04:28 PM) Bruce Weber is a pretty mediocre coach after all. Illinois is definitely on the bubble now. Just fire Weber and bring in Chris Collins from Duke. I am sick of Weber's offenses scoring five points in the last 10 minutes of games. He will now blame the team for a lack of heart, grit, etc. in the media interviews. Instead, he should blame himself for being a s***ty coach who can't close. No thanks on Collins. Duke assistants have pretty much sucked at other programs and I would rather go after a guy who has done a good job as a head coach elsewhere. Think big and offer Anthony Grant a monster contract to try to pry him from Alabama.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Mar 10, 2011 -> 07:53 PM) Going to have to side with thxfrthmmrs on this. Everyone already knows he's a great defender, so no issues there, and while he's not a great shooter he's decent. He isn't half the creator that Rose is but he can move with the ball, and is a threat to score, especially with defenses preoccupied with Rose. He would get some wide open looks at threes, too. He'd fit into the 2 guard spot perfectly (he was never really a PG...). I understand why they gave him away, and I'm not bitter about it or anything, but I wish he was on this team right now. Hinrich is not and has never been a great defender.

I forgot to include this in my initial post but Gus Johnson.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Mar 10, 2011 -> 10:48 AM) He seems like a complete douche, doesn't he? I got that same vibe from him. He will fit in well at Northwestern then.

So there are rumors that Sam Maniscalco is going to transfer to Illinois from Bradley next year to finish out his college career. He has one year of eligibility left (medical redshirt for this year) and IIRC he can be immediately eligible if Illinois has a grad program that Bradley doesn't that Mansicalco enrolls in. I think this would actually be a really big get for next year because it would take a ton of pressure of Abrams and give Illinois another ball handler and shooter. When he was healthy he was a very good player for Bradley his sophomore and junior years.

QUOTE (dasox24 @ Mar 8, 2011 -> 10:05 PM) Is that for real? I feel like it had to be photoshopped. How does that happen? Ingram hasn't played for Illinois since '05. Yeah it is legit and what is really crazy about that is it isn't like those pictures even correlate to any particular team or year. McCamey never played with any of the other 4. Ingram only played with Carter and McBride. Just bizarre.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Mar 7, 2011 -> 05:30 PM) I was thinking that earlier too, not that it matters a whole lot but still seems off. There is a 4 way tie so you look to head to head among the 4 teams. Illinois was 3-2 against MSU, PSU, and Michigan. Michigan was 4-1.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Mar 6, 2011 -> 10:53 PM) If they haven't figured it out yet, they're just not going to. I'm sorry but they're just not as good as everyone(myself included) thought, talent be damned in this case. I still wonder how that team would look running the triangle (or any form of offense really) where everyone is involved. I still don't think there is any doubt the talent, role players included, is good enough to win a title. But something is definitely missing, and the last week has me really doubting the Heat as well.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Mar 6, 2011 -> 05:25 PM) Missouri St always gets jobbed on SOS, lol Don't lose to every decent team you play in the non-conference and it wouldn't be a problem.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Mar 6, 2011 -> 04:21 PM) Sycs win. Never in a million years would I have thought that InSU would be the representative this year for the Valley. God this league sucks. Yeah I was looking at Missouri St.'s resume to see if they had a chance at an at large bid but their resume is absolutely awful except for their RPI. No top 50 wins and only 3 top 100 wins for the entire season just doesn't give you any chance.

Could be a fun finish in the MVC championship game. Missouri St. has been horrendous in the 2nd half but just hit a big 3 to get within 1 with a little under 30 seconds left.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Mar 6, 2011 -> 03:36 PM) I don't think I've ever seen a team so talented disappoint so often. Oh, and hey Spoelstra - RUN A DIFFERENT OFFENSIVE PLAY EVERY NOW AND THEN. I get that LeBron is amazing and can create his own shot with a dribble/drive, but s***, you can be a bit more creative than that. They run no offensive sets at all. I'm not the biggest Phil Jackson fan in the world but if you gave him the Heat's roster they would be basically a lock for the title.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Mar 6, 2011 -> 03:34 PM) The call on Miller was the right one, prolly should've been one on Noah though as well. Too bad so sad, Rose was getting mauled all game and they weren't calling s***, so oh well. I agree Rose didn't get calls, but I disagree about that being the right call. You had 3 guys going for a loose ball and Miller nudged Deng if anything.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Mar 6, 2011 -> 03:31 PM) Wow refs really let them play at the end, great win. I'm shocked they didn't call Noah for that bump when they called the really weak loose ball foul on the other end. I thought any contact would be whistled there.