Ostensibly Hoops

[Saint]

haHA! (Sorry but that was funny)

Rankings right now are worthless given the players who still haven't signed and the uncertainty over who is coming back. But it's generally safe to go with Kentucky, Duke, Kansas, North Carolina, Louisville and Michigan State in the top 10.

[AlabamAlum]

Hahaha.

[eCat]

you know if we had alot of time on our hands, we could create a KenPom rating equivalent for college referees

think about it - if we did it right - come up with formula that was unbiased and more or less objective, and then kept tabs on refs during games - we could create a database that I believe 100% would have mass appeal to college sports fans.

If we're at a point where we believe refs can control the outcome of games and if you take into account that after every game there is a segment of fans who talk incessantly about the refs, and then throw in the media - perhaps not formally but on twitter and various blogs, etc talking about ref quality

you could create a site that would generate a ton of traffic and interest.

Heck, there may be something already and I'm not aware of it.

But at the end of the day, if you were credible, you could actually influence college sports - because if you have a game where a ref has a rating of say 36 out of 125, and your site deems a ref to be effective at say 70 or higher, then people are going to raise a stink about this ref at their game, and the refs themselves will have a vested interest in at least reviewing your site to improve.

I recognize that refs just aren't free to do whatever they want - I'm sure they have professional reviews, peer reviews, etc and they receive a ton of feedback from the leagues, but that never really filters down to the fan or even the media in most cases.

Of course to do this it would take hours and hours of dedicated game watching, plus formulating and entering the data. Something that would require probably a staff of 80 people. But once you establish yourself as a credible site, there is money to be made there - significant money - and not from bullshit ad click revenue, but consulting, network appearances - you'd be a Joe Lunardi, Mel Kiper, John Clayton type - and if you branched out into pro sports - you might even get to the point where you have the power to effect the spread.

[crashcourse]

seemed like a lot of calls were missed or just plain wrong this year. I dont know if it really affected any game except the 3 pointer goaltending game but certainly the final 4 had their share of really questionalbe calls the last 5 minutes of both wisconcin games

[eCat]

this isn't about me being a butthurt fan though.

I just see an opportunity to do something I think is cool

Think about how many times whatever sports team you follow this year where the fans had a conversation about the play calling either before the game or afterwards. Its a facet of every sporting event now and no one as far as I know is capitalizing on it.

[Saint]

Refs are constantly under review by their licensing organizations, much more so than coaches or players. I think what you're saying sounds like making that review process more transparent but how are you going to assess their performances? Having fans do it via TV is not really a credible, or viable, manner.

[aTm]

I have a suspicion that the conclusion you would come up with would be that most refs are similar in accuracy and mostly unbiased which would be boring.

[AlabamAlum]

I would like them to be required to be interviewed by the media post game.

[Jungle Rat]

I think goldie should handle this.

[eCat]

Refs are constantly under review by their licensing organizations, much more so than coaches or players. I think what you're saying sounds like making that review process more transparent but how are you going to assess their performances? Having fans do it via TV is not really a credible, or viable, manner.

fans no, but people are who trained to view a game in an unbiased manner with a specific set of criteria to look for.

until I'm convinced differently, I would have to believe that every potential game altering call or not call made by a ref is going to be scrutinized by the game announcers - hell the refs use the game playback now to make their decisions real time.


and ATM may be right, but I'm not sure you can explain away some anomalies, for example, UK fans are all too aware that one ref, Dough Shows I believe, has called multiple technical fouls on Calipari and has ref'd in 6 losses out of 10 - so for a coach that seldom gets a technical and has a winning percentage of around 74%, that's quite a bit of coincidence going on there

the real danger would be that the site creates exactly what you said though - that over time, having a structure that analyzes the tendencies of refs would then result in refs all falling within an acceptable range - there would be no outliers and then the site would be taken for granted. You'd have to really get into micro-analysis with a much finer margin of error - but once that is established, once you did have an outlier - the heat that would generate to correct the behavior would be intense - and probably effective.

If there is a ref that is on the take, has a bias or is generally incompetent - he/she wouldn't have the ability to continue over multiple games without it being recognized.

[hedge]

I think you would find that the elite teams tend to get more calls (and no calls) that go their way. In short, eCat, don't rock the boat. UK has benefited from the current system far more than they have been hurt by it. Ye're delving into matters best left let lie, boy!

[crotch]

UK call presser tomorrow at Joe Craft Center for players to announce decisions.... Harrisons, Towns, Stein, Lyles, Booker and Johnson are expected to declare for draft.

[hedge]

Maybe ya'll can get some championship caliber players next year...

[crotch]

Maybe ya'll can get some championship caliber players next year...

Skal Labissiere


From CBS Sports...

The Kentucky recruit basically dominated from the beginning to the end of practice on Tuesday, outplaying another potential 2016 top-10 pick in Thon Maker by a considerable margin in their matchup. His fluid athleticism is readily apparent at every turn, whether it be on defense where he contested just about every single Maker shot on the perimeter, or on offense where he was terrific in the pick-and-roll and pick-and-pop, as he has terrific instinctual awareness of where to find the soft spot in the defense. He already has an incredibly soft touch, and his range seems to have increased out to the college 3-point line (he attempted a couple of NBA level 3s, but they didn’t look as comfortable mechanically). He was the best player on the floor Tuesday, and I was told it was a similar story on Monday by others. Like everyone here, he still has a way’s to go, but it wouldn’t shock me if he ended up as the No. 1 recruit in the 2015 high school class.

From Draft Express...

The Kentucky-bound 7-footer and #1 prospect in our 2016 Mock Draft turned heads as soon as the ball rolled out on Monday afternoon with his size, developing body, athleticism and smooth shooting stroke. The Haitian big man gave NBA scouts and executives a glimpse of his monster potential in the 5-on-5 sessions on Tuesday. Labissiere showcased his rare blend of size, athleticism and shooting ability by making plays at the rim on both ends, while knocking down a post turnaround over Maker’s 7-3 wingspan and drilling a pick and pop jumper with his smooth, high release. Labissiere wasn’t perfect, but his potential as a two-way, versatile big man who can score inside and out was most certainly on display. The 7-foot, 216-pound athlete figures to be a handful for Team USA on both ends of the floor.

[The Anti k*]

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[eCat]

I want Thon Maker at UK

glad Poythress is staying as well as Lee.

Johnson isn't ready to leave , IMO but as they say, you can't teach height. He isn't as polished at Daniel Orton and Orton couldn't get 2 years in the league.

The problem is that Dakari may not earn his way into the starting lineup next year and what NBA prospect is going to come back for a 3rd year to be 7 in the rotation?

[eCat]

I think you would find that the elite teams tend to get more calls (and no calls) that go their way. In short, eCat, don't rock the boat. UK has benefited from the current system far more than they have been hurt by it. Ye're delving into matters best left let lie, boy!

that may be true - certainly it goes both ways. But I can't remember a year where fans have complained about the refs more than this year.

[crotch]

I want Thon Maker at UK

glad Poythress is staying as well as Lee.

Johnson isn't ready to leave , IMO but as they say, you can't teach height. He isn't as polished at Daniel Orton and Orton couldn't get 2 years in the league.

The problem is that Dakari may not earn his way into the starting lineup next year and what NBA prospect is going to come back for a 3rd year to be 7 in the rotation?

Booker would be the key to next year's team.... he needs one more year of experience before declaring.

[eCat]

I want Thon Maker at UK

glad Poythress is staying as well as Lee.

Johnson isn't ready to leave , IMO but as they say, you can't teach height. He isn't as polished at Daniel Orton and Orton couldn't get 2 years in the league.

The problem is that Dakari may not earn his way into the starting lineup next year and what NBA prospect is going to come back for a 3rd year to be 7 in the rotation?

Booker would be the key to next year's team.... he needs one more year of experience before declaring.

Well I kind of agree but Booker got way too much favorable press this year to stay. He was gone by January

I don't begrudge any of though. They seem like genuinely good kids (yes, even Harrison) - kept their asses out of trouble and spent time in the community while dealing with the demands of playing ball.

I hope they all end up millionaires.

[The Anti k*]

J.P. Tokoto declared for the (W)NBA. I hope this means we're getting a forward who would rather go strong to the basket, instead of checking his hair in the backboard.