2015-2016 NCAA BASKETBALL SEASON

[Zimbra]

Wisconsin announces that Bo Ryan will retire at seasons end

 

Goddamit, why couldn't he have retired after last season, gone out on a high note, and UW could have chased Smart or Marshall?

 

Oh well, I'll enjoy his victory lap, even if the team won't be very good.  We'll see where the program goes from here.  I'm guessing Bo's lead assistant gets a crack at it for a year or two, but unless he's the second coming they'll go for a sexier hire soon.

[Zimbra]

KU just won the World University Games Championship!  They beat Germany in 2OT in the finals.

 

Wayne Selden was a beast through almost all the tournament.  He's playing with more energy and explosiveness than he has in the past 2 years, so hopefully that means he's over all of his lingering injuries and can step up this year.

[Greggulator]

I just went to something called THE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT. It's this single elimination, winner-take-all $1 million going on across the country. The northeast regionals are being held like five minutes from my house so I had to go to this.

It was SUPER fun and completely weird. I cannot recommend this enough.

 

For instance: I saw a team that was intramural players from Lynchburg University play a team that had Michael Sweetney, Demarr Johnson, Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Xavier Silas and a roster of high level D-1 guys. The coach of the team with NBA players was wearing cammo shorts and these day-glo sneakers and was acting like Pat Reilly. This team was running a half-court trap up by over 50 with six minutes left in the second half. They also had some 7'1" dude who used to play at Rutgers swatting shots everywhere. It was awesome. The Lynchburg team had this 5'4" woman on the team. I saw her run into a pick set by Michael Sweetney, who now weighs at least 350 pounds. I talked with her afterwards about it. She said she didn't know the pick was coming and ran into former lottery player Michael Sweetney's crotch with her head. He was in a lot of pain and she apologized but he said it was cool.

The best game was between these two teams loaded with good players like Chaz Williams, George Beamon and Demetrius Conger. Derek Character (former Laker) was on one of these teams. This game was really entertaining and akin to an early round NCAA Tournament game in terms of quality of play. There were so many great play and shots. One team had a putback with a second left to go up by two. The other team's 75-foot bomb rimmed out. It was just great.

Syracuse has a team called BOEHEIM'S ARMY. It has Hakim Warrick, Demetrius Nichols, and Eric Devandorf. And, oh yeah, their player-coach/last man off the bench is LAWRENCE FREAKIN' MOTEN!

The last game of the night was 20th and Olney, comprised of players from my alma La Salle. They only had six guys -- one dude who was supposed to play is at NBA Summer League and the other had a Europe try-out. This was super fun. They played a team of mostly D-3 guys, but with some guys who went to Northeast Conference-type schools sprinkled in. 20th and Olney pulled it out at the end off despite being absolutely gassed.

This is a seriously fun oddball event. I'm all in.

[Pete]

The finals are at Fordham in August- I may have to check it out.

[Greggulator]

The finals are at Fordham in August- I may have to check it out.

 

I would 100% go to this if my schedule allows. I had to miss today's game because of some plans and am kicking myself for not worming out of them. The La Salle vs. Syracuse game was nasty. Cuse won by 1 in OT and there were a few ejections after a near-brawl. One of our players threatened to break Eric Devendorf's leg in the parking lot supposedly. There was security at the games I went to but not a ton, so it could have gotten pretty playground real quick. Awesome.

A game like that at Rose Hill (one of the best gyms in the country) would be amazing.

[Greggulator]

I am watching the Sweet 16 round of The Basketball Tournament. It is awesome.

The GM of The Dirty South team is a professional debt collector and is wearing a Calloway Golf hat. They're playing Overseas Elite, a team that has CJ McCollum's big brother (who is one of the best Europe/China players in the world), along with Myck Kabaongo who was kicked off of University of Texas and Travis Bader, the all-time leader in NCAA basketball for most three pointers made.

[Greggulator]

The Basketball Tournament is so absurdly great. It is so baffling.

One of the semi-finalists is ANTS ALUMNI, a team comprised of the 2013-14 D-League champion Ft. Wayne Mad Ants. How the hell did this team get together? Was this some magical team that became a brotherhood? Did Chris Porter name Matt Bouldin the godfather of his twin daughters?

Some of these teams feel so incredibly shady. They're like AAU teams but with borderline NBA guys/former college stars. This is a $1 million winner-take-all tournament. What, some guy pulling down $500K or whatever in a top-flight European league is going to risk popping an ACL for a chance to win $75K? I get the alumni team -- a chance to play with your old college friends and the like sounds super fun. It just feels like there are some sleazy dudes running some of these teams (hello, team named after a Baltimore clothing store) that make absolutely no sense.

One of these teams was Armored Athlete. Former Xavier/Arizona great Mark Lyons was on this team.

I mention him because ESPN is covering this thing. Dan Dakic was covering this and went out of his way to bury Mark Lyons. I mean, Lyons wasn't having a good game but Dakic was saying the craziest stuff about him! "Mark Lyons is only about Mark Lyons" and the like. 

I love this so much.



 

[muhammedboehm]

I'm pretty sure but could be wrong that ESPN is covering it cause it has roots at grantland

[Greggulator]

I think it is more a total lack of original planning for ESPNU that they can produce easily since everything is at one location, at least for the two final rounds.

Grantland lent its name to a team put together by Matt and Luke Bonner. I love those dudes but they don't really push the needle.

[Zimbra]

I think it is more a total lack of original planning for ESPNU that they can produce easily since everything is at one location, at least for the two final rounds.

Grantland lent its name to a team put together by Matt and Luke Bonner. I love those dudes but they don't really push the needle.

 

You're underselling the peak whiteness of the Grantland team.  They also had Bibby, White Chocolate, Scalabrine, and were coached by Michael Rapaport.

[Greggulator]

The Basketball Tournament Semifinals are today at Fordham's Rose Hill Gym. Team 23 (largely a bunch of guys I've never heard of originally from the Arizona area) taking on Ants Alumni, better known as the 2013-14 D-League champion Ft. Wayne Mad Ants. Team 23 started the game with an and-one dunk that was absolutely insane. Like, a historically insane dunk. Dude was about three feet above the rim. Very Blake-like.

Making today's event surrealism art at its finest and best:

1) ESPN'S Jeff Goodman interviewed a Team 23 player's wife. She asked, in the process of the interview, if he could hold baby wipes since her hands were full with their child in her lap.

2) There is a college band playing at this thing. I assume it's members of Fordham's band, who are prepping for the upcoming FCS season. But it really could be any random group of people who showed up to play.

This is the best.

[Greggulator]

THE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT has finished. Overseas Elite (CJ McCollum's brother Errick, Myk Kbongo, DJ Kennedy, Paris Horne start for Overseas. Travis Bader, the all-time NCAA 3-point shooter, came off the bench) beat Team 23, who were dudes from the Phoenix area with various levels of college/foreign pro experience. It was a really good game and akin to a well-played NCAA Tournament game. The dude Devin White on Team 23 was THE TRUTH and could not miss. I think he had like 36. Overseas Elite won 67-65 after Team 23 could not get a shot off despite having the ball with six seconds left or so. They had no idea what was going on.

 

Most importantly, I found out that the guy who put this thing together was at one time a producer for TIM AND ERIC on Adult Swim. Now this whole strange tournament makes a lot more sense somehow.

This was such a weird, strange, oddball event. I am so glad it exists and hope it continues every year.

[Pete]

Team 23 started the game with an and-one dunk that was absolutely insane. Like, a historically insane dunk. Dude was about three feet above the rim. Very Blake-like.

Hey now! Bradley's own Zach Andrews.

[Zimbra]

SMU is banned from postseason play this year, gets 3 years probation, and Larry Brown is suspended 30% of the season.  Sounds like there's a good chance Brown will be done entirely.

[Greggulator]

SMU is banned from postseason play this year, gets 3 years probation, and Larry Brown is suspended 30% of the season.  Sounds like there's a good chance Brown will be done entirely.

 

I actually had the over in "SMU hiring Larry Brown leads to NCAA punitive actions."

 

The SMU message board is really awful. There's a lot of "THE NCAA IS THE WORST!" and "YOU ARE PICKING ON US!" and "YOU DIDN'T DO THIS TO X SCHOOL FOR Y THINGS!" I mean, yeah, the NCAA is the worst but not because of this. Your school hired a guy known to play fast-and-loose with NCAA regulations when he was a college coach who is in his 70s and no doubt wanted to get SMU on the map as quickly as possible. WTF did you think was going to happen?

The Rutgers football message board is also wonderful. The head coach tried to pressure the teacher of Introduction to Dance (the easiest A imaginable) to forgive a player who failed a class where the only requirement is to "go a few times." And then he helped "edit" the player's make-up paper so he could stay eligible. And then this player was one of a bunch of players arrested for a serious of felonies that include home invasions to rob college marijuana dealers. And another player was just kicked off the team for allegedly throwing his ex-girlfriend to the ground after a game a few weeks ago. And this is shortly after all sorts of other nonsense involving the athletic department over the past few years.

My reaction if I was a Rutgers grad: "I am ashamed of my school and we need to change everything about our athletic department." The RU message board community: "The Star-Ledger has it out for us for all of these negative stories about our program. We really need to allow these things to happen to get better at football."

Still, ALL of these are better than the Penn State communities when the JoePa/Sandusky news was unfolding. What a bunch of awful, delusional people without any sense of priorities whatsoever. (And how the fuck does that program NOT get the death penalty for everything there? But I digress.)

[kenyabaxterZXW]

http://deadspin.com/former-louisville-players-describe-school-using-strippe-1737564216

 

Seems like Louisville was the place to be.

[supremebve]

http://deadspin.com/former-louisville-players-describe-school-using-strippe-1737564216

 

Seems like Louisville was the place to be.

How the hell is this the only comment on this story?  Seriously, Pitino has to go right?  If Reggie Bush can have his Heisman taken away and USC have their wins vacated for something his parents did 200 miles away, Pitino can't dodge this going on in an on campus dorm can he?

[Zimbra]

Honestly, unless someone can dig up some documentation directly linking Pitino to this I think he skates.  He seems to have quite the knack for deflecting blame.

[supremebve]

Honestly, unless someone can dig up some documentation directly linking Pitino to this I think he skates.  He seems to have quite the knack for deflecting blame.

Umm...he's the head coach of the basketball team.  In the athletic dorm they had strippers and prostitutes running in and out for a period of 4 years.  How many secrets do you think are kept in a college dorm?  How many times were you on campus and had to call someone to let you in their dorm?  You have to either have a key and/or an escort to get into a dorm.  Who were the RAs at the time?  Basketball isn't football, school is in session for essentially the entire season.  That was the athletic dorm, there are only 15-20 basketball players.  Who were the other athletes, and were they involved?  If not, you can't tell me no one complained in 4 years.  Those parties couldn't have been quiet.  Then there is the question of where did all that money come from.  A bunch of strippers and prostitutes can't be cheap, and I'm willing to bet that the coaching intern didn't pay out of his pocket.  No one there is allowed to get paid, and strippers and prostitutes don't work for free.  Rick Pitino at least heard about this. 

 

Jalen Rose's comment, the part that doesn't happen everywhere the COMBINATION of strippers, prostitution AND DORM.  The stupid part about this, is that they did it on campus in an on campus dorm.  This should be bigger than Rick Pitino and the basketball team, this is something that happened over 20 times over 4 years in a university dormitory.

[Zimbra]

I'm sure he knew about it. Lord knows if he instigated it or not; it certainly wouldn't surprise me.  But I think the AD falls on his sword for this before Pitino does.

[muhammedboehm]

Even if Pitink didn't directly know the NCAA loves the term lack of instutional control which this would fall under.

[Greggulator]

I'm thinking the punishment is a year out of the tournament and Pitino walks away after this season without any official blame given or admitted.

This is the NCAA we're talking about here. The same organization that:

1) Told Baylor they couldn't play out-of-conference games for one season and took away a few scholarships after an insane amount of violations that stemmed from the coach trying to get his team to slander their recently murdered teammate (killed by another member of the team) to avoid any suspicion.

2) Told Penn State they couldn't play in any bowl games and took away some scholarships after institutional failures that allowed for multiple children to be sexually assaulted. And then a little bit later, the NCAA essentially walked back their sanctions.

3) Said nothing really bad happened in its initial investigation of UNC sports, and hasn't done anything after the lid was blown off the insane amount of academic fraud that has gone on at that school.

You'd think the sport's governing body would tell those schools: "Look, you need to handle your business way better than this. You're not going to have this team for a season or two until you get this together, and you're going to have to do X, Y, and Z to make sure you're following the rules. And if you aren't, then you're done."

Garbage people.

[Greggulator]

Also: Russ Smith wasn't recruited too much for most of his high school. My alma La Salle offered him and he supposedly verbally committed. Pitino swooped in a little after that and he ended up there and was a fabulous college PG. We all assumed that one of the real big boys piggybacked on the work of a mid-major and liked what they saw. That happens. But now we're second guessing our school's policy of not having a basketball-only dorm where coach-funded stripper parties happen.

[Kuetsar]

We all know the penalty: Western Kentucky is going on probation for 5 years and lose two scholarships. . . .

[EVA]

On one hand, it's hard to imagine Pitino didn't know this was going on.

On the other, it's also hard to imagine Pitino knowing this was going on and allowing it to continue, if only because he's been around the game long enough to know that there are far easier, less conspicuous ways to use sex to entice recruits than hosting fucking team-sponsored, thousand-dollar orgies in the athletic dorm. That's like a rank amateur's misconception of how you're supposed to cheat in college athletics.