Refreshing

[al would]

Generally I don't watch the NCAAT if UNC is out of the mix but for whatever reason this year I've watched a good bit of the NCAAT and I got to say the play in the NCAAT is one helluva an upgrade from what we've endured from the ACC and UNC this past season and it's great to see college players actually putting forth 40 minutes of effort and team ball on both ends of the court and playing through some grown man contact without throwing up their arms and sashaying back to the other end of the floor. I've been watching and supporting UNC bball since the mid 60's and about the only thing I can realistically ask for the next UNC squad is to put for something that resembles effort and enthusiasm for what they are doing on both ends of the floor. In other words back to traditional UNC bball.

 

[Heelicious]

Generally I don't watch the NCAAT if UNC is out of the mix but for whatever reason this year I've watched a good bit of the NCAAT and I got to say the play in the NCAAT is one helluva an upgrade from what we've endured from the ACC and UNC this past season and it's great to see college players actually putting forth 40 minutes of effort and team ball on both ends of the court and playing through some grown man contact without throwing up their arms and sashaying back to the other end of the floor. I've been watching and supporting UNC bball since the mid 60's and about the only thing I can realistically ask for the next UNC squad is to put for something that resembles effort and enthusiasm for what they are doing on both ends of the floor. In other words back to traditional UNC bball.

Totally agreed. Seems like a vast upgrade from ACC in terms of athleticism, game plan/approach, and pure effort

 

[heels05champs]

The SEC has really upgraded their head coaches with all of that football money rolling in. Their teams are showing pretty well so far with Alabama having a real shot to get to the final four.

I agree that seeing teams play with heart is awesome to see. What we saw this year was painful to watch and some games just embarrassing.

 

[Heelicious]

The SEC has really upgraded their head coaches with all of that football money rolling in. Their teams are showing pretty well so far with Alabama having a real shot to get to the final four.

I agree that seeing teams play with heart is awesome to see. What we saw this year was painful to watch and some games just embarrassing.

Alabama was the #1 overall seed, probably ranked #1 most weeks of anyone this year, odds on favorite in Vegas to win it all - none of that wins games, but if all teams play their A games - Alabama wins it all, walking away. With Kansas and Arizona out, and injuries on other teams like UCLA - I don’t see anyone left that can nearly match up with Alabama. I think Texas may be closest. They housed Kansas twice late in the season.

Brandon Miller is best player in college and Alabama goes about 10 deep with at least 8 who would start over anyone on the heels.

They have good experienced guards too.

I think sec and big 12 are far above ACC. Next I’d put pac 10 then ACC.

(In my original bracket I have Tennessee Ucla Texas and Alabama in the final four, and Alabama beating Texas for the title).

 

[WoadBlue]

Interesting is that Miami is now comfortably up on IU, which killed its program for 2 decades by firing Knight and then hiring a string of people who should not have gotten the job. Larranaga is old as the hills, but that means he also is an old fashioned coach. So Larranaga's team clearly looks much better coached in every sense than UNC.

 

[WoadBlue]

FDU vs. FAU is a fun game to watch.

 

[alabamaheel]

The SEC has really upgraded their head coaches with all of that football money rolling in. Their teams are showing pretty well so far with Alabama having a real shot to get to the final four.

I agree that seeing teams play with heart is awesome to see. What we saw this year was painful to watch and some games just embarrassing.

You hit it on the head. The sec has done some major upgrading on their head coaches for the last few years. And it’s made all the difference too.

 

[dtodd4475]

Interesting is that Miami is now comfortably up on IU, which killed its program for 2 decades by firing Knight and then hiring a string of people who should not have gotten the job. Larranaga is old as the hills, but that means he also is an old fashioned coach. So Larranaga's team clearly looks much better coached in every sense than UNC.

Calvin Sampson has done pretty dang well after they ran him out of town.

 

[sdingeldein]

I agree about watching the effort and execution. Just not there with UNC. I keep going back to the last many years of Roy's career where he said that he had never had to coach effort before. Coaching certainly plays a role but the players are part of the generation that came to college after 2012, part of the social media generation. Why some schools wind up with hard nosed players and some don't, I can't quite put my finger on it.

Also noticeable is the athleticism of the teams in the tournament. We don't have great athletes that are rim rattlers, high flyers. Lots for HD to fix in the UNC program.

 

[gobblercalls]

Also noticeable is the athleticism of the teams in the tournament. We don't have great athletes that are rim rattlers, high flyers. Lots for HD to fix in the UNC program.

UNC basketball success has never been predicated on having premier athletes. The success was always more about the system, coaching, skilled players, and the preparation. The '82 team may have been an exception. Even then though, Doherty started at SF and he was no where near a super athlete. We've had an abundance of skilled players though! Felton(05) and Lawson(09) were obviously gifted with speed, but those teams also had May(05) and Hansbrough(09), 2 big men with average athleticism. Ellington was a great shooter but not an exceptional athlete. Same with Danny Green. Has there ever been a more "unathletic" NCAA championship team than the 2017 team? I'm not saying we didn't have very good athletes, but few I would call great athletes in the mold of Stackhouse and VC. I don't know, maybe AAU ball has hurt us more than we think.

 

[gunslingerdick]

Alabama was the #1 overall seed, probably ranked #1 most weeks of anyone this year, odds on favorite in Vegas to win it all - none of that wins games, but if all teams play their A games - Alabama wins it all, walking away. With Kansas and Arizona out, and injuries on other teams like UCLA - I don’t see anyone left that can nearly match up with Alabama. I think Texas may be closest. They housed Kansas twice late in the season.

Brandon Miller is best player in college and Alabama goes about 10 deep with at least 8 who would start over anyone on the heels.

They have good experienced guards too.

I think sec and big 12 are far above ACC. Next I’d put pac 10 then ACC.

(In my original bracket I have Tennessee Ucla Texas and Alabama in the final four, and Alabama beating Texas for the title).

I think Houston is the best team and will win it.

Teams I would be ok with winning it:
SDSU
Princeton
K-State
Xavier
FAU
Houston

Teams I do not want to win it:
Bama
Texas
Arkansas
UCLA
UConn
Gonzaga
Creighton
Miami
Michigan St
Tennessee

 

[alabamaheel]

I think Houston is the best team and will win it.

Teams I would be ok with winning it:
SDSU
Princeton
K-State
Xavier
FAU
Houston

Teams I do not want to win it:
Bama
Texas
Arkansas
UCLA
UConn
Gonzaga
Creighton
Miami
Michigan St
Tennessee

I hear you. The only team left that I don’t want to win is bama. I hear enough head roaring from football. I can’t imagine if they won one in basketball. Same for auburn.

 

[dtodd4475]

UNC basketball success has never been predicated on having premier athletes. The success was always more about the system, coaching, skilled players, and the preparation. The '82 team may have been an exception. Even then though, Doherty started at SF and he was no where near a super athlete. We've had an abundance of skilled players though! Felton(05) and Lawson(09) were obviously gifted with speed, but those teams also had May(05) and Hansbrough(09), 2 big men with average athleticism. Ellington was a great shooter but not an exceptional athlete. Same with Danny Green. Has there ever been a more "unathletic" NCAA championship team than the 2017 team? I'm not saying we didn't have very good athletes, but few I would call great athletes in the mold of Stackhouse and VC. I don't know, maybe AAU ball has hurt us more than we think.

They were all mega talented 5 star packed teams. May and Hansbrough were mega talents coming out of high school coming in with the mega talent hyper athletic perimeter guys you mentioned. To say UNC has not had creme of the crop talent, winning was about, system, coaching, and skill is beyond a stretch.

 

[gobblercalls]

They were all mega talented 5 star packed teams. May and Hansbrough were mega talents coming out of high school coming in with the mega talent hyper athletic perimeter guys you mentioned. To say UNC has not had creme of the crop talent, winning was about, system, coaching, and skill is beyond a stretch.

Where did I say UNC didn't have 5 stars and ultra talented players? I specifically said skill was more the reason than athleticism. Why don't you tell me how athletic May was, or Hansbrough, Jackson, Johnson, or the whole 2017 team! They were great basketball players without being great athletes. If you think the biggest part of the past success wasn't about the system, the coaching, and having skilled players then we'll just have to disagree.