Ostensibly Hoops

[Jungle Rat]

Dayton was the talk of the tourney. Until last night.

[Saint]

well, I just watched Real Sports on HBO and now I think that UNC, along with probably the entire NCAA, is a fraud when it comes to graduating football and basketball players. I'm sure there are other so-called student-athletes who get passes, too, but most of it is where the money is: football and basketball. The only defense of UNC is that the report seems to indicate the situation stems from the eligibility rule change that lowered admission test scores but stated 50% of a program's athletes had to graduation to be eligible for the postseason.

There won't be any sanctions for UNC and I am positive that some version of what is happening there is going on at every big-time Div. I sports program. But UNC will take the fall for it and rightfully so. Just like nearly everything else in our society, money has taken over and overturned everything in its wake.

if there aren't any sanctions then what fall are they going to take? a tv news report?

"everyone is doing it" is not a valid excuse.

the fall from their lofty perch of being one of the top academic public universities to being just like everyone else.

"Everyone else is doing it" isn't an excuse for UNC or any other big-time NCAA program. and per that report, everyone is indeed doing it because the NCAA rules change pretty much created the situation.

When was the last time you heard of a player being "academically ineligible?" It doesn't happen anymore and it's not because a school is all of a sudden being transparent and has a solid tutoring program...

[Saint]

I"ll let myself get excited about our chances if we beat Michigan.

Michigan is a 40% 3 point shooting team that won the big 10 with another big 10 team already in the final four.

We'll have our hands full and then some today.

The bigger issue isn't whether Florida beats us for the 4th time - its that Cal took a team on the brink of disaster and turned it around.

You think he's killing recruiting now - good god - just be able to walk into a kids house and tell him that he *CAN* take a starting 5 of freshmen and get them to a final four, he can take kids that NBA scouts saying should stay another year in school at least mid season and have them first round draft picks by April.

If we get to the final four - and lose - Cal will still own recruiting for the next 5 years. While I can't imagine winning the national championship and I refuse to even consider it - it would take this discussion to a new level.

If we lose to Michigan today - there will be a mixed bag of reviews about the season as a whole, but much, much fewer people will call it a disappointment

Come on, those kids don't care about turning it around. His only recruiting spiel has to do with where they'll go in the draft.

[hedge]

We would've been playing Virginia today if either of us had made it this far...

[eCat]

I"ll let myself get excited about our chances if we beat Michigan.

Michigan is a 40% 3 point shooting team that won the big 10 with another big 10 team already in the final four.

We'll have our hands full and then some today.

The bigger issue isn't whether Florida beats us for the 4th time - its that Cal took a team on the brink of disaster and turned it around.

You think he's killing recruiting now - good god - just be able to walk into a kids house and tell him that he *CAN* take a starting 5 of freshmen and get them to a final four, he can take kids that NBA scouts saying should stay another year in school at least mid season and have them first round draft picks by April.

If we get to the final four - and lose - Cal will still own recruiting for the next 5 years. While I can't imagine winning the national championship and I refuse to even consider it - it would take this discussion to a new level.

If we lose to Michigan today - there will be a mixed bag of reviews about the season as a whole, but much, much fewer people will call it a disappointment

Come on, those kids don't care about turning it around. His only recruiting spiel has to do with where they'll go in the draft.

I didn't say they did, what I said was he can tell them that by mid season that everyone on the team had played themselves out of the draft except Randle and by the end of the year with his "tweaks" (whatever the hell that is if anything) he got them back into the draft.

[eCat]

I'm going to be out of the house by the end of the game today - will have to listen on the radio.

If we lose it won't be sour grapes I'm not posting here - just that I"m not home.

[crotch]

Michigan by 4

Michigan 71

Kentucky 67

Florida and Michigan in the National Championship ......

[Cletus]

well, I just watched Real Sports on HBO and now I think that UNC, along with probably the entire NCAA, is a fraud when it comes to graduating football and basketball players. I'm sure there are other so-called student-athletes who get passes, too, but most of it is where the money is: football and basketball. The only defense of UNC is that the report seems to indicate the situation stems from the eligibility rule change that lowered admission test scores but stated 50% of a program's athletes had to graduation to be eligible for the postseason.

There won't be any sanctions for UNC and I am positive that some version of what is happening there is going on at every big-time Div. I sports program. But UNC will take the fall for it and rightfully so. Just like nearly everything else in our society, money has taken over and overturned everything in its wake.

if there aren't any sanctions then what fall are they going to take? a tv news report?

"everyone is doing it" is not a valid excuse.

the fall from their lofty perch of being one of the top academic public universities to being just like everyone else.

"Everyone else is doing it" isn't an excuse for UNC or any other big-time NCAA program. and per that report, everyone is indeed doing it because the NCAA rules change pretty much created the situation.

When was the last time you heard of a player being "academically ineligible?" It doesn't happen anymore and it's not because a school is all of a sudden being transparent and has a solid tutoring program...

It happens at Georgetown every year. And, it's almost always GU ineligible not NCAA ineligible.

[Saint]

But you don't hear too much about it because GU hasn't been in the power elite for awhile. And apparently there's not really such a thing as "NCAA ineligible" anymore.

It's too bad that UNC decided the money was more important than its academic integrity.

[Saint]

I"ll let myself get excited about our chances if we beat Michigan.

Michigan is a 40% 3 point shooting team that won the big 10 with another big 10 team already in the final four.

We'll have our hands full and then some today.

The bigger issue isn't whether Florida beats us for the 4th time - its that Cal took a team on the brink of disaster and turned it around.

You think he's killing recruiting now - good god - just be able to walk into a kids house and tell him that he *CAN* take a starting 5 of freshmen and get them to a final four, he can take kids that NBA scouts saying should stay another year in school at least mid season and have them first round draft picks by April.

If we get to the final four - and lose - Cal will still own recruiting for the next 5 years. While I can't imagine winning the national championship and I refuse to even consider it - it would take this discussion to a new level.

If we lose to Michigan today - there will be a mixed bag of reviews about the season as a whole, but much, much fewer people will call it a disappointment

Come on, those kids don't care about turning it around. His only recruiting spiel has to do with where they'll go in the draft.

I didn't say they did, what I said was he can tell them that by mid season that everyone on the team had played themselves out of the draft except Randle and by the end of the year with his "tweaks" (whatever the hell that is if anything) he got them back into the draft.

Cal can and will definitely use that as a recruiting tool, I just don't know how much that matters to the level of players he's after.

[AlabamAlum]

Somewhere Floater is in front of a Braille TV and smiling.

[hedge]

That ball probably would've gone in, but that looked like basket interference on UK to me...

[Jungle Rat]

Somewhere Floater is in front of a Braille TV and smiling.

Heh

[Jungle Rat]

Didn't Mook go to Dayton?

[Saint]

there's no way UK loses this game

[Saint]

And with that, this tournament now becomes about Kentucky.

[Fifer]

Final Four Baby. Great job CATS

[Bklyn]

Crazy game...and decided by the Cat I'm most critical of. I'm watching it in Vegas and the dude next to me at the bar was hoping that Harrison did not take a 3 (let alone make it) at the end because he wound up losing on the game. Then he hoped to get a foul called so Michigan could hit at least one FT. Always interesting to watch the interests when they fall on gambling lines.

[Jungle Rat]

No way ANYBODY wants anything to do with UK right now.

[Saint]

I think UK kills Wiscy and then will face Fla. for the 4th time after losing the first 3. If somehow UConn tops Fla., this final will have all the drama of the '96 championship game. Or the '98 final.

go ahead and give UK title No. 8.