What was wrong about what I said? LeBrick James is playing for his job?

unless you root for Arizona.... I'm really dont care for college or pro basketball... but its the best sport to play!!!

I started going to the U of A in '01. The year that Salim Stoudamire hit that shot against OK State in the Sweet 16... (then they blew like a 14 pt lead to Illinois w/ like 3 mins left in the Elite 8)... was the only year I was proud of the Arizona bball squad.

They always played the worst defense. It was all about "me me me" it seemed like... and they take nights off whenever they feel like it.

Lute Olson was a poor college BBall coach in this decade.... granted he had off court issues this whole decade also.

I'm MUCH more of an Arizona football fan than basketball. And our football team SUCKED the whole decade until 2008.

Curry will play in the NBA and he will be successful. He's not playing against Ivy League teams every night. He led his team very far in the tournament last year. Watch how he beat Georgetown. He put 29 on Duke. He put 40 something on Oklahoma. These are major college teams and he still scores in bunches. There is always a place in the league for a guy with his shooting ability. If Craig Hodges, Steve Kerr, Tim Legler, hell, even his dad Dale made it in the league, Steph will be there too. He's got much more game than all of them. He can handle the ball and he's a pretty good passer too. He's not one-dimensional at all. I get so tired of the so called "experts" always saying this guy or that guy can't play in the pros. Stop trying to pigeonhole guys and just let them play. Those same experts said Ryan Leaf, Akeli Smith, Alex Smith and a host of others would be great pros then say a guy like Tim Tebow can't be. Tebow is a WINNER. Give me him over all of those other guys because he knows how to get the job done and he's proven it over and over at the highest level of the college game. They said Darren Sproles couldn't play. Ask the Colts if that's true. They said Earl Boykins and Tyrone Bogues couldn't make it. I think they did ok. Talent and heart can take you further than your combine numbers.

Thank you Mr Cliche who would rather watch Rider/Drexel because they play hard.

If playing 12 minutes a game as a 7th or 8th man is sucessful then you may be right. However you like Joe fail to understand that all the players like Sproles, Boykins and Bogues had tremendous physical attributes (speed) that Curry lacks. Not to mention that they are all bit players on medicre teams. I get sick of people who are willing to overlook a players obvious flaws because they are "winners". Curry is a complimentary player at best in the NBA. I said his ceiling was probably Sleepy Floyd who was far better than Boykins or Bogues. What he is most likely not is a starter for a good team or even a rotation player until he shows he can handle a different role. He isnt the modern George Gervin. And by the way the "experts" that see college stars that wont translate into pro stars are right far more often than not.

Yeah, you're so superior because you'd rather watch Knicks/Thunder. :rolleyes:

I guess it's cliche to like sports more when the game actually matters to the competitors. Or maybe you just have your head up your ass and won't listen to a differing opinion.

Oh go scout Bishop Ford....

Well... they do, even if it isn't always pretty. Both teams are pretty terrible this year and it was still a good game. Randomly enough, that's the only basketball game I've actually attended this year and I know you just made up that matchup.



Side note, we beat them every year except the year that mattered the most.

That POS Laettner was a so-called "winner" in college. What happened in the pros again?

Rider rents trucks

God DAMN your offense is terrible this year. 25% from three and 38% on twos? Where are Chris Fouch and Kevin Philip?

Just their graduates. :p

Last I heard, Fouch injured and Philip redshirting. No big deal, because (a) 80% of students at Drexel are in 5 year co-op programs academically and (b) we are terrible this year anyways so no use in wasting a year of eligibility.

Shouldn't you be at the barn?

Ok Mom

I think this is very true. The myth that the NBA guys aren't playing hard is way off. People think a guy like Chris Bosh is not playing hard or Michael Beasley is not playing hard because of their facial expressions or the smoothness they play with. Let me assure you that you can't go for 22 and 10 a night in the NBA if you aren't playing hard. It's impossible. They are playing as hard as the college guys, if not harder. The main reason is because they still have pride. Nobody wants to get embarrassed out there on national tv. The thing is these guys are SO GOOD that they sometimes make the difficult look easy. But they are playing hard.

The analogy to a watered down grade one race is a good one. I have that argument all the time. We might see some close, exciting games during the year. A game like UNC vs. Duke may include five or more future NBA players and be high in quality. But it's NOTHING like an NBA game. The quality of play in the NBA is light years beyond anything you will ever see in a college game. Dick Vitale did an NBA game the other night and he couldn't be more clear in his assessment that the NBA game is much better quality wise.

You are also correct when it comes to talking about the influence coaches have. There are some exceptions, guys like Coach K, Roy Williams, Calhoun, Izzo, and a few others. But most of these guys have little influence when they have a star player. They know for the most part that the star will be one and done and if there's any chance of trying to get them back for a second or third year, they coddle to them like crazy. O.J. Mayo had free reign at USC. Kevin Durant didn't even attend school in the second semester at Texas. Don't believe all that rah rah, playing for my school stuff. It's probably true at Siena or Vermont or Penn...but it's not true at the big time schools. Those guy are playing mostly to showcase their games for the NBA or Europe.

Um, there are usually what, five or six one-and-done players in college basketball every year? Yet at the "big time schools," it's totally about showcasing for the league? Nice generalization genius.

And if you watched Celtics/LeBron last night, you'd know why the NBA sucks. The focus isn't the game, and it never will be. Instead it's about promoting the star and trying to justify obnoxious ad campaigns. Dan Shulman thinks "we are all witnesses." Thanks Dan, good to know. Can I have it my way at Burger King too?

I agree with much of what you say here. A couple of interesting things. You assure me that a guy that puts up 22 and 10 a night is playing hard. I Agree. There is only ONE guy in the NBA doing that though and thats Al Jefferson and I havent heard anyone ever accuse that guy of not playing hard.

You can't look at just stats to determine effort. Effort is more intangible. Effort is going to show more on the defensive end. Thats still hard to quantify though because points allowed on defense is more a reflection of tempo and style of play than effort.

Pros often do give a lot of effort but the other side of your argument would be that the pros dont have to put out as much effort to produce a decent game. Certainly not saying that is always the case but it is a valid argument.

Pro crowds are nowhere near as crazy and as influential as college crowds. Like it or not, crowd intensity can have a major impact on players. That does effect effort especially on the defensive end.

Well, I'm not a genius but thank you for thinking that I am. Now, there may be 5-6 one and done guys but there are also plenty of guys that are sophomores, juniors, and seniors that also trying to play for the NBA. Guys like Tyler Hansborough, Stephen Curry, Blake Griffin, etc., guys that are not one and done but will be obvious NBA players. There are several guys at schools like Duke, UNC, and UConn that aren't one and done that will be in the NBA and they are trying to hone the games and work on the things that NBA scouts tell them they need to work on. Curry is a prime example. Everyone knows he can shoot the ball better than most NBA players. But at his size, he's likely going to have to be a point guard in the league. So that's why he's playing that position in this year, to get more experience at it and show the pros that he can do it. And it's important to note on this subject that just because all of the players at the big time schools don't go to the NBA doesn't mean that they don't have the mentality that says they think they belong there. I'd bet that 90%+ of the guys that sign on at top 10-20 schools feel like they are going to be in the NBA after college. I also said that not only are they showcasing their skills for the NBA but for Europe too. There is very good money to be made playing in Europe and Russia.

I didn't mean exactly 22 and 10. I was just saying a big time producer. It could be 25-8 or 19-12. Or even 27-7-7.

No, he's playing the point because Jason Richards graduated.

This is completely false of course.

That is NOT why he's playing the point. It's part of the reason but the biggest one is because of what I said. I'm sure of it.

And as for the statement about the guys believing they will be pros, I suggest that you go to one of the camps for high school seniors to be. Go to one where they invite the top 150 juniors and poll them and see how many think they will be in the NBA. If you don't come up with 135 or more, I'd eat my hat. At that age, after being "stars" all through school, they have unrealistic evaluations of their own talents. Trust me, I know this from personal experience.

Joe they ALL think they will make it. Send a PM to Storm Cadet and ask him what he see and hears FIRST HAND. And if you see a NBA player on St' Johns roster let me know.

As for the quality of announcers i give you Billy Packer and Dick Vitale...

I watch both college and pro hoops and I dont hate college and some NBA matchups wind up **** (like any game involving the Dallas Mavericks). But the quality of play in college simply isnt very good anymore, even at the higher levels. I wonder how anyone can enjoy watching particular players play then stop watching them once they go on to play in the pros?

Quality of play, I agree, isnt even close to what it use to be. Competitiveness is but the players as a whole arent nearly as good. That part is impossible to debate.

I watch a ton of hoops as well. One NBA team I have enjoyed watching lately is the Thunder believe it or not. I watched them the first week of the season and I would have bet that they were the worst team in the league. Things have changed. They are young and learning to play together and win and Durant is developing into a really fine player along with Westbrook and Green. check them out if you havent seen them play. They play hard most every night.

Vince Carter plays hard every night? :eek:

I know what you are saying.

Cut this **** out. This is your defense of everything. "I know this for a fact." Is there any subject you don't have inside information on? Polling All-American teams is different from what you said. And as for St. John's, all I'll say is that I wouldn't go there looking for the bastion of athlete's realism.

How is it different? My original statment was that 90% of the guys that sign on to top 10-20 teams. How is that different than polling the all-American teams? Who do you think are the players signing on to those teams? Or maybe you think the all-Americans are signing on at Bradley and Marist and the top teams are getting the leftover scrubs. The all-Americans and the players going to the top teams are ONE AND THE SAME! It's not different.

I actually agree with KG on this point. He's saying that until proven otherwise and they face reality that they are NOT an NBA talent, they have been told by everyone so many times that they will be an NBA stud they think it. 90% seems like a reasonable estimate.

Now I give up.