I won't lie. I wasn't a Cal fan. I made it known on the previous site many times regarding Memphis in the early 2000's. However, like Billy Donovan and Rick Pitino (who I both put in the same category at the time), it was more about his demeanor and approach, being a "slickster." I also HATED the way Memphis played. It was pretty brutal to watch, especially some of his "good" teams in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Those teams weren't as talented, and it showed when they got into the NCAA's against more talented teams who could shoot and had better skill players.

I'll be honest, until Memphis in 2008, I never really thought as Calipari as a "cheater." Did he operate on the fringe in my opinion, yes, but so did Pitino, Donovan, Barnes, Calhoun, Roy Williams, Boeheim, etc...he was no different than any high-profile coach who people didn't really like his personality. None of those guys are in the mold of K or Tom Izzo where nobody every really has a bad word to say about them character-wise.

Azubuike24;1461500 wrote:None of those guys are in the mold of K or Tom Izzo where nobody every really has a bad word to say about them character-wise.

I might disagree with part of that statement, but that shouldn't surprise anyone. lol

Well, yeah. I guess I meant the national media. I've read a few "things" about Tom Izzo, but he's just one of those guys that all opposing fans, while they might not like his style or what not, never take shots at for recruiting or attitude or the way he comes off. That's more about what I meant.

I'll also say that I really liked Pitino when he was at UK. For the few days that Billy Donovan "to UK" was a done deal, I started to really like that idea. The minute Calipari got hired, I supported it. A lot changes when a guy becomes apart of YOUR program.

You (and Wildcat) as a UNC fan, HAVE to say there was something similar when Roy Williams came to UNC. Same with KU fans on the other end. All of the sudden, a guy that could do no wrong, was all of the sudden the devil, and vice versa.

Azubuike24;1461537 wrote:
You (and Wildcat) as a UNC fan, HAVE to say there was something similar when Roy Williams came to UNC. Same with KU fans on the other end. All of the sudden, a guy that could do no wrong, was all of the sudden the devil, and vice versa.

Yeah, of course. Roy was a Carolina guy to begin with, though, so it was a little different in that regard.

I'm quite certain that no coach at this level is completely clean. Some try to be cleaner than others, but that nature of college athletics makes it nearly impossible to be completely pure. It's kind of a shame that it has to be that way, but that's part of the game.

Bill Raftery leaving ESPN to do big east games with Gus on FS One. So much announcing dominance.

Mulva;1465225 wrote:Bill Raftery leaving ESPN to do big east games with Gus on FS One. So much announcing dominance.

That is going to be so damn fun to listen to

wildcats20;1465235 wrote:That is going to be so damn fun to listen to

Co-sign. Probably the best announcing news I've heard, well, maybe ever since announcing news is never big. I won't give a shit if it's Providence and DePaul, that will be fun to listen to.

Bill's my favorite. Can't wait.

Just booked my hotel in Chicago for the Champions Classic.

Ohio State released the non conference schedule and I think its the shittiest one I've ever seen from them. Pathetic for having a very experienced team that should be playing high level opponents.

Terry_Tate;1466342 wrote:Ohio State released the non conference schedule and I think its the shittiest one I've ever seen from them. Pathetic for having a very experienced team that should be playing high level opponents.

Isn't that just the worst as a fan?

I hate the way Crean schedules. I have him a pass during the rebuilding, obviously, but last year was pretty pathetic...and this year, while (the team is) not as good, is still pretty pathetic.

Wow that OSU schedule is a joke. I swear if they wind up with no Saturday night B1G games I'll stab someone. Fucking stupid to have every big game at 1 on a Sunday, those games do not even compare to a Saturday Primetime game. Plus what college kid gets super pumped for a 1 PM game

Laley23;1466604 wrote:Isn't that just the worst as a fan?

I hate the way Crean schedules. I have him a pass during the rebuilding, obviously, but last year was pretty pathetic...and this year, while (the team is) not as good, is still pretty pathetic.

Yeah, I was in a bad mood today then saw that and it just set me off, lol. No real games to look forward to until Big Ten season basically. What a fucking joke, if I had season tickets to home games I'd stop this year, 10 fucking home cupcakes, what a joke. Get fucking Louisville or Texas or a PAC 12 team or Georgetown or Syracuse or someone. How the fuck can your schedule just be Maryland and Marquette and Notre Dame and no one else? An entire non-conference schedule wasted. Hopefully they get seeded 2 seeds lower than they deserve because of that bullshit so they never do it again.

Alright, that will hopefully be my last schedule rant there, lol. I'll have another one though when Craft averages 18 a game in the non conference portion and everyone thinks he's good on offense then they play someone good in the B1G and he goes 4/16 and starts shooting 35% every game. Then LJ and whoever else will call me stupid for saying Shannon Scott is better.

Ok, I need to go to bed now, this is getting out of hand.

Terry_Tate;1466753 wrote:Yeah, I was in a bad mood today then saw that and it just set me off, lol. No real games to look forward to until Big Ten season basically. What a fucking joke, if I had season tickets to home games I'd stop this year, 10 fucking home cupcakes, what a joke. Get fucking Louisville or Texas or a PAC 12 team or Georgetown or Syracuse or someone. How the fuck can your schedule just be Maryland and Marquette and Notre Dame and no one else? An entire non-conference schedule wasted. Hopefully they get seeded 2 seeds lower than they deserve because of that bullshit so they never do it again.

Alright, that will hopefully be my last schedule rant there, lol. I'll have another one though when Craft averages 18 a game in the non conference portion and everyone thinks he's good on offense then they play someone good in the B1G and he goes 4/16 and starts shooting 35% every game. Then LJ and whoever else will call me stupid for saying Shannon Scott is better.

Ok, I need to go to bed now, this is getting out of hand.

I just wish we had a better ACC opponent than Maryland...

What are everyone's thoughts on Brad Stevens? As alluring as $22 million and the Celtics are, it really is difficult to believe that he left for the NBA. If any of the young, up-and-coming coaches in the college game today fit the Coach K or Bobby Knight mold, it was certainly Stevens. I really thought, in the end, he'd give K a run for his money for the all-time wins record -- that is, after Stevens, as I believed he one day would, took over reigns the of one the game's blue bloods. It could still happen, especially if his tenure in Boston anything remotely resembles that of Rick Pitino's, but he'll likely lose a good four years if things do not work out, which would make the already arduous task of approaching 1,000 wins even tougher.

Surprising move, and as a fan of the college game, it saddens me to see Stevens go. Butler's high-profile presence was good for the sport. Sort of deflating, in a way.

We discussed it on the NBA thread.

I think it's a great move. He's making big jack. Look at all the other "big names", Calipari, Pitino, Saban, Spurrier and others. Go to the pros, fail miserably, get a great job back in college and all are at the very, very top of their sport again.

You will always get another shot in college once you reach Stevens' level, and even more for him considering even a terrible showing in the NBA, there is still allure of what he can do at a "major program" in college.

The biggest losers here are the possible places he might have gone in college. Duke and Indiana, most notably.

Azubuike24;1467704 wrote:We discussed it on the NBA thread.

I think it's a great move. He's making big jack. Look at all the other "big names", Calipari, Pitino, Saban, Spurrier and others. Go to the pros, fail miserably, get a great job back in college and all are at the very, very top of their sport again.

You will always get another shot in college once you reach Stevens' level, and even more for him considering even a terrible showing in the NBA, there is still allure of what he can do at a "major program" in college.

The biggest losers here are the possible places he might have gone in college. Duke and Indiana, most notably.

This, I think, is where a great deal of my sadness and deflation stems from. God, would I have loved Stevens at Duke.

Like you say, however, that opportunity might still be there if things should go awry with Boston. Rick Pitino is a shining example of this.

The problem is the timing for a college program.

He will get at least 2 years of no judgement in Boston. He has a 6-year contract, and unless something really strange happens, he's only going to leave the pros if he fails.

Whoever would want him back in college, would have to have their job open congruently with his leaving Boston. He might then pull the whole "sit out a year or 2 and wait for the best offer." These things usually take time. I don't see him back in college for at least 6, possibly 7-8 years. I don't see K staying that long. The rate he's going, I don't see Crean hanging at IU that long. Pitino, at Louisville (another possible destination for Stevens), I don't see him staying that long either.

Heck, the college basketball landscape will be vastly different by time Stevens comes back. Pitino, K, Roy may all be retired, Calipari won't be at UK for more than another 6-8 years.

I think he's set up to fail in Boston. It's a no brainer to make that jump, though.

Definitely agree that Stevens is set up to fail. Though, the $20 million he'll pocket will make the inevitable fall much easier. That type of financial windfall is not something many people ever experience, and being a money guy who once worked as an accountant for Eli Lilly, Stevens made what he believed was the right play. Good for him.

I'm starting to think about it with a different frame of mind. From a Duke or Indiana fan's perspective, or a fan of any other team who has ever had the dream of landing Stevens one day, the primary obstacle always standing in the way of acquiring Stevens was luring him away from Butler. He really appeared to love it there and I could have fully envisioned him remaining in Indianapolis for the entirety of his career. We now know that he'll leave for the right offer. So, as Az pointed out above, if Stevens' run in the NBA fizzles out after four or five years, several of the blue bloods -- Duke, North Carolina, Indiana, Kentucky -- could be in the right position at the right time to grab what would be the then 40 or so year-old former Butler head coach.

On the other hand, this move came at the absolute worst time possible for Butler. Not only does Stevens' departure coincide with several big 2014 recruits who were still in the Butler mix, but also as the program prepares to play in its first year of competition in the Big East. They better have extra security next season in the mezzanine of Hinkle, because season ticket holders are going to be suicidal.

Matthew Graves also has to be on death watch. He was Stevens' associate head coach and next in line at Butler for the past several seasons, until leaving to take over as head coach at South Alabama in March. Graves was reported as saying that he was "shocked" over the move and that it came out of nowhere.

Fans have to be stunned.

Just a hunch, if he fails at the nba level I think he goes to North Carolina after Roy. Unless Roy retires in the next 2-3 seasons

Trey Lyles tweeted "well that's a huge disappointment" after the news broke. Surprisingly, Butler was one of the final 5 for the Indiana native who is a consensus top 5 player.

I do agree, the big loser here is Butler.

Not only that, but Nolan Berry, a top 25 center in the incoming class of 2013, was just quoted as saying yesterday that he is going to "keep his options open." That, of course, is player's speak for "I am talking with other teams as I speak." If that were not the case, he would have said that he committed to a school, and not a coach. Which, as we all know, is a large majority of the time not the case.

I also wonder about Kellen Dunham, Butler's sharpshooter who was the number 16 rated two guard in the class of 2012, and whether he'll consider moving on or stick with the Bulldogs. Depending on who is hired as the next head coach, this mid-summer shift could prove disastrous for Butler. Definitely a sucker punch to the stomach of the program.

Former Bulldog point guard Brandon Miller the next head coach at Butler.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/bigeast/2013/07/06/butler-brandon-miller-new-coach/2488257/