College Basketball Thread

“Go Cardinal!”

“They are dayhiker, we only have TWO teams in the Final Four.”

“Florida beat LSU twice this year, and Florida got beat twice by Tennessee. Pretty impressive, Mr. Volunteer.”

“I would have to look it up, but I believe Tennessee was 2-1 against Final Four teams.

3-2 against elite 8 teams”

“Duke - gone
NC - gone
Nova - gone
Texas - gone
UConn - gone
Memphis - gone
Ohio State - gone

George Mason - Final Four

Ditzes who filled out their brackets based on uniform colors will likely win all the pools!”

“Bama was 2-2 against Final Four teams. We were 1-1 against LSU, 1-0 against UF, and 0-1 against UCLA.”

“The SEC lost a lot of its top talent to graduation and the NBA last year.

Florida finished second to Tennessee in the regular season SEC east division this year.

South Carolina just won the NIT for the second year in a row.

Two SEC teams are in the final four.




It seems that my perception of the SEC as a weak basketball conference was way off the mark.






Spring Practice started this week! Bring on college football season!”

“Our spring season ends Sat.

Congrats on the Final 4.”

“�Florida might have been #1, but they're not the best team in the country.

Play a schedule like Duke, then you've got a claim.

Florida will be lucky to have a number 3 seed for the tournament. Even if they were ranked #1 in the AP.�

arclite
8:33:21 PM
1/21/06


I never get tired of being proven wrong by a good argument. And FLORIDA provided a VERY good argument.




The announcers said that it might have been the most dominating National Championship team victory EVER. All five starters were in double figures, the defense was smothering, and UCLA looked confused and intimidated from the beginning.


I must also admit to being a bandwagon jumper-on-er. The only complete games I watched this year were their last two. But what a magnificent two games! They dominated George Mason and then destroyed UCLA.

Florida becomes one of six programs in the nation to have won National Championships in Football and Basketball.




Violin, you are so perceptive. I was very jealous that our women�s basketball team didn�t have the wonderful run through their tournament as did Rutgers.

But this somewhat manages to make up for that pain.




Spring Practice was postponed because Urban Meyer went to the game� dang! He's going to have the basketball guys deliver an inspirational speech to the football guys about the value of coming together as a complete team.

Another National Championship in football for the GATORS... can't you taste it? Tastes sorta like chicken... only better.






IT�S GREAT�...TO BE�...A FLORIDA GATOR!!!”

“Their play was truly amazing arclite. It must have been especially exciting for you, but it was thrilling to see basketball played at that intensity.

You folks do have to get rid of that stupid Gator chomping thing you do with your arms though. At least for national television.”

“They are fun to watch, violin. So is that GATOR "chomp!"


The thing that�s so much fun to watch is that they exemplify teamwork. They are what team sports is all about.

Before the media latched onto Noah (because the media has to have a hero) these guys thought of themselves as a no-name team. Noah doesn�t consider himself any more important to the team than anyone else. Florida isn�t a couple of superstars and a supporting cast. This is a true team.

I�m tired of the gigantic egos in professional sports. When �big-name� players aren�t listening to their coach because they make more money, and feel they are more important to the team, it�s out of control.

These kids listen to their coach. They trust his judgement to look at the big picture and to know what�s best for the team. All of them come from good families. They are good students. They have been humble, respectful, gracious, and polite. Only time will tell what fame does to them.

So far, these kids, and Billy Donovan, have been class acts who represent the University of Florida well.


These kids play with passion and a love for each other. They�re having fun, but they�re focused on accomplishing their goal. Taurean Green is a good 3-point shooter. He didn�t have a good shooting night against UCLA, but his ball handling was superb. Cory Brewer turned the ball over a few times. But his defense was smothering. Each of these players brings something to the table. They support one another because they all contribute something to the team.

This is what teamwork is all about.”

“Army women's basketball coach dead at 28

By MICHAEL HILL, Associated Press Writer
April 7, 2006

Coach Maggie Dixon, who at age 28 led the Army women's basketball team to its first NCAA tournament berth last month, died after suffering heart arrhythmia.

Dixon died Thursday night at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, N.Y., U.S. Military Academy spokesman Lt. Col. Kent Cassella said. A memorial service was scheduled for Friday afternoon at West Point.

Dixon was hospitalized in critical condition after suffering an "arrhythmic episode to her heart" Wednesday at the U.S. Military Academy, said her older brother, Pittsburgh men's basketball coach Jamie Dixon.

Dixon said his sister collapsed and was taken to the intensive care unit of Westchester Medical Center.

"She ... went to the house of a friend for afternoon tea where she said she wasn't feeling good and she collapsed," said Dixon, who read a prepared statement from the hospital.

He said he had breakfast with his sister earlier Wednesday and that she had apparently been feeling well.

Jim O'Connell, a spokesman for the Westchester County medical examiner's office, said an autopsy was scheduled for Friday.

Army gave Dixon her first head coaching job last October. Six months later, she led the team to its first bid in the women's field. The rookie coach's accomplishment gained extra attention because her brother led the Panthers to the men's tournament at the same time.

The Dixons are believed to be the first brother and sister to coach in the NCAA tournament in the same year. Army lost 102-54 to No. 6 Tennessee in the first round.

"I just loved the energy that Coach brought to practice every day and the way she never gave up on us, always believed in us," guard Cara Enright said. "She would tell us to 'Use what you've learned here at the academy and apply it to basketball."'

Members of her team were with Dixon's family members at her bedside Thursday.

West Point Superintendent Lt. Gen. William Lennox Jr. said the entire community was heartbroken by her death.

"From the time Maggie arrived here, her enthusiastic 'no limits' approach earned her the respect and love of everyone," he said.

The North Hollywood, Calif., native had hoped to play in the WNBA after graduating in 1999 from the University of San Diego. But the Los Angeles Sparks cut her after a tryout in May 2000. She went into coaching with encouragement from her brother.

"He said, `If you want to do this coaching thing, do something drastic,"' Dixon told The Associated Press last month. "That's what I did."

She held a number of positions under DePaul coach Doug Bruno after walking into his office and introducing herself. She eventually became his top assistant in May 2004.”

“Oh crap!”

“Everyone pitched in during Gators' dominant run
By Pat Forde
ESPN.com

INDIANAPOLIS -- For five straight years, Florida's marches through March were short and not terribly sweet. The Gators were always in the NCAA Tournament -- and always back out after the first weekend.

This time, Florida stayed until the end, and in the process, scorched Bracketville to the ground. The final embers were still smoking at the RCA Dome late Monday, after the Gators put a Zippo to UCLA's britches, 73-57.
The Bruins might own dances past, but this waltz was all blue and orange.

A program that couldn't finish became a juggernaut that couldn't be beaten, and only once could even be threatened. Florida won its games in this dance by 26, 22, four, 13, 15 and a sweet 16 points. The 16-point average margin of victory was the highest by a champion in five years.

The onslaught was capped off by an unprecedented title-game beatdown of a higher seed.

The last time a lower seed won on the Biggest of All Mondays by this many points? Never, at least since they started publicly seeding teams in 1979.

"I felt like we were going to win this game by a large margin when we came in," versatile wingman Corey Brewer said. "Nobody gave us any respect all year. We proved it. We took our respect."

Actually, respect for the Gators mushroomed over the past three weeks, to the point that they were the common-sense favorite entering the Final Four. But they had to endure the America's Team talk before playing George Mason, then got an earful on Sunday about how were they ever going to penetrate that UCLA defense.

"All our guys heard about for the last day and a half was how great defensively UCLA is," Florida coach Billy Donovan said. "I don't think our basketball team got a whole lot of credit about how good they are defensively."

They get all the credit now, after turning this Final Four into a crashing anticlimax to a riveting tournament.

Send a fruit basket to the Georgetown Hoyas, the only team capable of even scaring the Gators in this Tournament -- and the only team that held a second-half lead on them. And give a nod to Mason, the uber-underdog that actually performed like the second-best team in Indy.

With every easy victory it became clearer that Florida was the class of this tourney, and it was never clearer than Monday night. UCLA had all the tradition, but the Gators had almost all the talent. They appeared to know within minutes after tipoff that they were vastly superior.

"They played to perfection tonight," said UCLA guard Arron Afflalo.

They got little slices of perfection from almost everyone who took off his sweats.
Start with Joakim Noah, whose development has been so spectacular that it looks like the result of time-lapse photography. The Final Four's Most Outstanding Player had 16 points, nine rebounds, three assists, a title-game-record six blocked shots and one blown kiss at the hotties on the UCLA dance team. Mr. Romance also set records for most blocks in a Final Four (10) and in an NCAA Tournament (29).

Noah probably doesn't grasp the impact he's had this March, but when 25 kids show up at the Nike All-American Camp in July with ponytails, he'll have an idea.

"This is the best I've ever felt in my life," Noah said, still riding the bliss of the moment. "You work so hard for these moments, and it's so worth it. You're like on a cloud. Not only does it feel good, it smells good. It tastes good."

Proceed to point guard Taurean Green, who might have had the best 1-for-9 shooting night in Final Four history. Green had eight assists and just one turnover against a UCLA perimeter defense that has made life miserable for point guards throughout this event. The previous five point guards to play against the Bruins -- some of whom are considered among the best in the country -- recorded a total of 13 assists and 15 turnovers.

When Donovan made the decision to attack UCLA's defense with a drive-and-dish, pick-and-roll game plan, he put the offense largely in Green's hands -- and Green came through brilliantly.

"Taurean did a great job running our team," Donovan said. "He made great decisions. He put a lot of pressure on their defense in the middle of the floor."

Credit Lee Humphrey, who dropped in 10 Final Four 3-pointers. Just like Saturday, it was Humphrey who effectively ended the drama coming out of halftime with a salvo of 3s.
Don't forget Brewer, who stuffed his stat line with 11 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals in 37 minutes. And that doesn't even reflect the smothering he put on Afflalo, holding UCLA's leading scorer pointless for more than 28 minutes.

And credit Noah's supporting cast on the interior: Al Horford and backup big men Adrian Moss and Chris Richard. They combined for 29 points and 13 rebounds, passed crisply to each other and totally dominated UCLA in the paint.

Moss' play was especially revelatory. The fifth-year senior's career appeared to be ending with a whimper, with 10 points scored in his last nine games. But the only senior on the roster came to life Monday with a stunning nine first-half points and six rebounds overall.

"Boss man," Noah said admiringly of Moss. "He's the leader of this team. I'm just proud to be his teammate."

Noah's teammates undoubtedly are saying the same thing today. His play was the biggest part of a big Tournament turnaround for Florida from years past.
last edited: 4/07/06 7:09:44 PM”

“THAT�S IT!

The National Championship celebration at the O-Dome in Gainesville is over.

The announcements have been made.

These are some great family oriented people. Billy Donovan has loved living in Gainesville and raising his kids here. He loves the University of Florida. He has appreciated the support of the fans and administrators.

These players are great kids. They�ve had fun going to school, playing basketball, soaking up the love from the fans, and living together as brothers.


All traditions have started somewhere.

Billy Donovan said he wants to build a basketball tradition at Florida. He loves it here!




And oh yeah�

�The entire 2006 National Champion Florida basketball team will return intact next year!!!”

“And oh yeah�

�The entire 2006 National Champion Florida basketball team will return intact next year!!!�
arclite

Not denying your quote, but where did you get this information.”

“Arclite, congrats on your team. Btw, just watched that special about your new QB coming in this fall. Seems like a good kid.”

“Record Pts Pvs
1. Florida (63) 33-6 1,788 11
2. North Carolina (9) 23-8 1,704 10
3. Kansas 25-8 1,636 12
4. Pittsburgh 25-8 1,407 16
5. LSU 27-9 1,399 19
6. UCLA 32-7 1,394 t7
7. Ohio St. 26-6 1,391 6
8. Georgetown 23-10 1,271 23
9. Wisconsin 19-12 1,197 -
10. Arizona 20-13 1,157 -
11. Alabama 18-13 1,106 -
12. Duke 32-4 1,051 1
13. Texas A&M 22-9 868 -
14. Memphis 33-4 811 4
15. Boston College 28-8 772 t7
16. Marquette 20-11 554 -
17. Washington 26-7 487 17
18. Connecticut 30-4 399 2
19. Creighton 20-10 384 -
20. Syracuse 23-12 367 21
21. Texas 30-7 366 9
22. Kentucky 22-13 332 -
23. Georgia Tech 11-17 262 -
24. Nevada 27-6 212 20
25. Tennessee 22-8 203 18
Others receiving votes: Wichita St. 181, S. Illinois 131,
Gonzaga 129, Xavier 99, Florida St. 65, Louisville 62, Villanova
37, Illinois 31, Hofstra 24, Arkansas 20, San Diego St. 19, DePaul
16, Indiana 16, Oklahoma St. 13, Virginia Tech 8, Bucknell 6,
Michigan 6, Houston 5, Southern Cal 5, Kansas St. 4, Akron 1, BYU
1, George Mason 1, Missouri St. 1, Oregon 1.


It's painful seeing mid-majors rated above Illinois. But hey, that's ok, it's the beginning of the season. Florida wasn't in the top 25 at the beginning of last year. Look how that turned out.”

“It's good to see Duke not in the top 5.”

“Bama needs depth at the PG so that starter doesn't have to play 40 mpg again. We could be pretty good this year, which will be a welcome relief after this past football season. Yes, I said past because we don't have a snowballs chance against LSU or Auburn.”

“It will be interesting to see the new coach at IU.”

“Who'd they hire again? I don't recall.”

“Kelvin Sanctions.... I mean Sampson.”

“Ha Ha! Very funny! Loose any recuits lately? Mooooohahahahahahaha!

Kelvin Sampson who use to coach at Oklahoma is the new coach.”

“Gordon to change commitment from Illinois to Indiana

Eric Gordon, one of the top high school guards in the nation, changed his mind and will commit to Indiana.

The 6-foot-3 senior guard from North Central High School in Indianapolis committed orally to Illinois in November, but he will announce he's attending Indiana during Hoosier Hysteria on Friday night, his father told the Indianapolis Star.

Chuck Jones, the athletic director at Gordon's high school would not say what Gordon's plans were, but he told ESPN.com Gordon spoke to the coaches at Indiana and Illinois and would make a public announcement of his plans in the next 24 hours.

Should his commitment stick, it would be a boost for coach Kelvin Sampson, who arrived at Indiana under a cloud of recruiting violations during his tenure at Oklahoma. It would also reverse the trend of top in-state players leaving Indiana, which plagued previous coach Mike Davis.

Gordon, ranked No. 1 in the class of 2007 by Rivals.com, was the subject of recruiting rumors this summer but told ESPN.com at the the time he intended to honor his commitment to Illinois.

Asked about recruiting players who had verbally committed, Illinois coach Bruce Weber said it was not accepted in college basketball.

"In football, it's always been known to be open game, but that hasn't been the case with us," Weber said this summer when Gordon was getting attention from Indiana. "If you have a kid [orally] committed, then for that eight or nine months you don't recruit anyone else. So you lose all that time recruiting other kids, because you have one committed. Ask 98 percent of the coaches, and they'll tell you that they stop calling kids once they [orally commit]. We do. Most do it."”

“Nope, haven't lost any recruits with any upright moral character lately.

IU has brought a level of sleaze into the conference and many of the coaches have expressed disgust at Sampson's antics.

The best line I have heard concerning this came from Deron Williams. When asked what he thought about Gordon going back on his word to Illinois, he replied "I don't know who that is."

Good luck Eric. You screwed over a program that has produced some of the best young guards lately. Let's see how you fare at IU.”

“November 3- Florida/Kansas
December 23- Florida/Ohio St.


Those should be good match-ups. We'll learn something during those games. It'll be interesting to see if Florida's players can keep their focus and intensity.

All five starters returning creates some expectations. It also puts a big target on your back.




If their football fans can tear down their own goalposts, I think it's highly likely that Bama fans will overrun their court if they beat us.”

“The Kansas game on the 25th should tell us something about the two programs this year. If Kansas doesn't start having some more success, especially with the talent they have right now, Bill Self might get run out of town. We'll see if the gators still have the fire since now they've been to the peak.

I think OSU has something to prove before they can be placed in the top 5. No doubt, Oden is a force, but will they gel? They might end up on the learning curve that Kansas was on last year and finish with (what their fans consider) an underperforming season.

As far as OSU's game with Florida goes, there seems to be a good chance that Oden will still be sitting out due to his injury. Sans Oden, they might not be considered a top 25 preseason team.”

“Ohio State couldn't muster enough talent to shine Florida's shoes.”

“Okay, what happened to Kansas last night? At home, losing to Oral Roberts? Yikes!”

“Tennessee is in the preseason NIT final four. Nice exposure and our Freshman appear to all be real.”

“Dunadan - Looks like those good christian boys trampled some wheat.”

“Good game this evening...

MSU vs. Texas”

“Damn, the injury bug already, two Illini starters are out 4-6 weeks.

It looks like that Kansas/Florida matchup might not show us much about the teams. (unless the Gators get exposed by losing)”

“I'll just be sitting this thread out this year.”

“Bucks ranked #5 and rising. If florida even gets an invitation to the dance this year, I predict they'll be out by the second round.”

“Correction, OSU is ranked #4, with 1 first place vote. Overrated florida has the other first place votes. Itr looks like one voter won't have egg on his/her face when the Bucks take it all at the Big Dance!”

“Rev, lets start a thread to argue about nothing...I am with you...sorry But I lost interest in College Thugball years ago.”

“We're #10 in the latest AP poll and beat Iowa last night in a tournament in the Virgin Islands. Our center was in a car wreck last week. His gf was killed in the accident. He seems to be doing ok, but that would be a tough spot to be in.”

“WOW...day was that a theme from a Soap opera last year?”

““Correction, OSU is ranked #4, with 1 first place vote. Overrated florida has the other first place votes. Itr looks like one voter won't have egg on his/her face when the Bucks take it all at the Big Dance!”

You have football Buddha, don't get greedy.”

“GO ZAGS!”

“ROCK
CHALK
JAYHAWK
KAYYYYYY
UUUUUUUUU
!!!!!!!!!!
The Jayhawks took a lump from unheralded Oral Roberts. Hope they right their ship before they play Florida on 11/25.”

“Bama is #6 in one poll and #7 in the other. Roll Tide Roll !!!!”

“OH MY!!!!!!! After arclite's hapless loss at the hands of Dunadan's Jayhawks, look who now holds the rank of #1 in

BASKETBALL AND FOOTBALL!!!!!!!!

”

“Congratulations on a hard fought win, Dunadan.

Unfortunately I turned the game off at half-time. I can’t remember when Florida played so poorly. I read a book.

Kansas looked as if they were playing very well. They had more energy. They out rebounded Florida. They played better defense. They got our big men into foul trouble early in the game. And I was quite surprised when the stats showed Kansas shot around 50% from the field for the half because I would have put the number around 90%. Meanwhile, Florida was throwing bricks. And while Florida fans were watching the FSU rivalry game, it appeared as if the entire state of Kansas made the trip to Las Vegas to cheer their team. It was a Kansas home crowd.

So imagine my surprise when I turned the game on late and they were tied!!! How the heck did that happen? I turned the game off again just before it went into overtime because Florida continued to look pathetic to me. If they meet again, Florida will need to bring their "A" game to win.

But it went into overtime? Kansas won by two points? If Florida can play that poorly and still take Kansas to overtime, Ohio State doesn’t stand a chance in Hogtown.”

“I'll check this thread again in late February.”

“Exactly what Roam said. Defeats like this are good for a team.”

“I'll check back in March. That's when all the basketball that matters will be played.”