2017 NCAA Tournament

Shadowlight

Shadowlight

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Having Duke and UCLA crash out are the two biggest disappointments but UCLA's defense was shaky all year. Duke had the pieces to take it all the way though. Wisconsin had a better than expected year and for what it is worth a few cheering up points Showalter and Happ played well although foul trouble for Happ was tough . Lonzo Ball was HORRIFIC last night. He was one of the main reasons UCLA came up short. In fact his play in general has gotten worse down the stretch of the season. Fox clearly outplayed him and was obviously quicker and more athletic. Too much hype for this dude. The third best player on Kentucky last night was Derek Willis. He missed some three pointers but overall he was all over the place and did hit two huge three pointers late that helped put the game away. Too bad he is a senior but he is a good athlete and an important cog for a young KY squad. Canyon Barry is a senior bench player for FL and has not really played great during the tournament but he can heat up fast and had a key block down the stretch last night. He is a very good leaper and like his Grand Pa shoots free throws underhanded.
Tonight there are two or three guys worth a grain of salt to me at least. Svi played well for Kansas in his last game so hopefully he makes some more noise. Gonzaga has two bench players that the NBA are monitoring. Zach Collins who is immense and Tillie a French player who is an outstanding athlete. Macura of Xavier is a good all around player. None of the above mentioned white guys are the designated stars of their teams but all of them are capable of having big games as we head down the stretch. Let me just add another thought. Remember when Grayson Allen burst out of nowhere and played great in the title game three years ago? Just saying even though some of the teams we were rooting for are gone not all hope is lost.
 
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celticdb15

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-Piss poor free throw shooting did Wisconsin in. They had opportunity to put that game away down the stretch but couldn't hit key free shots. Typical UW teams are GREAT at the line...

-Once again UW was in foul trouble all night and also thought UCLA wasn't getting any calls their way either. Whistle happy refs with SEC bias it seems.

-Agreed with Shadowlight. Ball was exposed by UKs guards. He forced too many shots and passes and got torched on defense. His hype train has officially been derailed.

-It was a pleasure watching Koenig and Showalter at guard over the last four years. This SR class won 115 games and 4 straight Sweet 16 Performances. Badgers also have made NCAA Tourney for 19 years straight.

-I guess go Gonzaga?!
 
Riggins44

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Freethinker said:
Well tonight was crushing. I don't think I'll be watching very much of the tournament from here on out.

I suppose the winner of Gonzaga and Xavier would be the best option.....
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That's how I felt. I will watch the Gonzaga game tonight and they are worth rooting for going forward, but that's it. A few teams have 1-2 white players in their rotation (Oregon, Xavier, Kansas) but no players that generate much interest for me. But it's not like things are terrible. I'm still psyched the Patriots won the Super Bowl.
 
Riggins44

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Shadowlight said:
Having Duke and UCLA crash out are the two biggest disappointments but UCLA's defense was shaky all year. Duke had the pieces to take it all the way though. Wisconsin had a better than expected year and for what it is worth a few cheering up points Showalter and Happ played well although foul trouble for Happ was tough . Lonzo Ball was HORRIFIC last night. He was one of the main reasons UCLA came up short. In fact his play in general has gotten worse down the stretch of the season. Fox clearly outplayed him and was obviously quicker and more athletic. Too much hype for this dude. The third best player on Kentucky last night was Derek Willis. He missed some three pointers but overall he was all over the place and did hit two huge three pointers late that helped put the game away. Too bad he is a senior but he is a good athlete and an important cog for a young KY squad. Canyon Barry is a senior bench player for FL and has not really played great during the tournament but he can heat up fast and had a key block down the stretch last night. He is a very good leaper and like his Grand Pa shoots free throws underhanded.
Tonight there are two or three guys worth a grain of salt to me at least. Svi played well for Kansas in his last game so hopefully he makes some more noise. Gonzaga has two bench players that the NBA are monitoring. Zach Collins who is immense and Tillie a French player who is an outstanding athlete. Macura of Xavier is a good all around player. None of the above mentioned white guys are the designated stars of their teams but all of them are capable of having big games as we head down the stretch. Let me just add another thought. Remember when Grayson Allen burst out of nowhere and played great in the title game three years ago? Just saying even though some of the teams we were rooting for are gone not all hope is lost.
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Ball really did underperform in that game while Fox was outstanding. T.J. Leaf is going to be an excellent player for the rest of his career and in the NBA. I like your thinking about Grayson Allen. Something unforseen could happen in this tournament.
 
Riggins44

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Well Gonzaga has reached their first Final Four so that is a good thing. Mark Few is a very respectable coach and has always been very white friendly so let's hope that continues. As we've all stated the team this year is blacker than previous versions but maybe Few will continue to have a white friendly roster going forward. Karnowski is one of the focal points of this offense. He has the size and skill to be a starting NBA center. He is quite agile and quick for a 7-1, 300 pound bull of a man. He is a good passed out of the low post, has a good jump hook, and is left-handed which is an advantage. Zach Collins will step in as the Zags starting center next year. Collins was an All-American in high school, so if the press was forced to vote a white player an All-American he must be very good. He will probably have a breakout season not year like Domantas Sabonis had last season. Hopefully he doesn't jump to the NBA after next season but stays to lead the Zags to another Final Four. Tillie could start at the 4 next year as well.

On Oregon, Payton Pritchard is an outstanding talent and phenomenal example of a white team-first player. His high school team won four (!) Oregon state championships, an incredible achievement. He will be a starter and leader of the Ducks for another three years.

On Xavier, JP Macura is a very good player who is only a junior and will be back next year. Sean O'Mara is a junior who will be returning also, maybe as a starter.
 
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Riggins44

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After the victory Few said "Our culture is just so strong. This was a culture win, and a culture statement, and I couldn't be prouder." What a great perspective for a coach and a program.

Just read that Zach Collins is being considered as a first round pick if he goes pro not after next season, but THIS year. That would suck if Gonzaga doesn't have him next season.
 
Shadowlight

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I agree Riggins, Collins leaving for the NBA would be awful. His potential is off the charts. Collins and Tillie could form a fearsome dynamic twosome at Gonzaga for the next few years.
I think two people who have had halos around them have been exposed this tournament.
I am not a huge fan of Bill Self and I think another year without making the Final Four might start some rethinking on him at Kansas. Even though Svi was playing well last night he kept yanking him in and out of the lineup. Svi only attempted 7 shots but was the only Kansas player who hit over 50% of his shots. I know Self won a National Championship in 2008 but Memphis blew that game rather than Kansas winning it. He has great regular seasons but in this business you have to make noise at the Big Dance and it seems he can't adjust to adversity. I don't think he will get canned (just yet) but I would be glad to see another coach at Kansas.
Lonzo Ball reminds me of a girl ( an analogy not literally of course) you start going out with and you think she is the nicest kindest most caring person in the world. Then slowly but surely that kindness gets replaced by something not so nice until you realize you are going out with a witch. That is how I feel about media hero Lonzo Ball. When I first saw him play I was amazed. The more I watched him as the season wore on the warts started to show. That dumbass slingshot three point shot of his, his lack of athletic ability, his inability to pull up and hit a jump shot, his lousy one on one defense and the creeping carelessness with the ball which came to a head vs KY. He was stumbling and bumbling around like a drunken sailor the entire game. Good riddance. If Leaf stays in school which he should UCLA will be just fine next year.
 
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Jack Lambert

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Roy Williams must've been having nightmares; he had two white guys on the floor at the same time!! One of them was senior guard Stilman White, who actually started 2 games for them back in 2012 in the NCAA Tournament. He even scored a bucket!! Luke Maye had a career game against Butler, and is playing well too.
 
celticdb15

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UKs star guards are struggling shooting and they're getting out rebounded. Only guy rebounding for them Adebayo as usual.
 
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Jack Lambert

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You might as well call this game "Unheralded white bench forwards for both teams play great" Isaac Humphries has 12 points and 5 boards for UK!
 
celticdb15

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Luke Maye with a buzzer beater to beat UK!! Poetic Justice!
 
Freethinker

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northwinds said:
Luke Maye.......33 points in the last two games.......maybe old Roy will give that 'walk-on' a scholarship now.....
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That can't possibly be true, can it? Maye was a top 100 recruit coming out of HS, albeit in the 90 range. He would have been a real cuck to pay his way to play at NC.
 
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Stlouis

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Freethinker said:
That can't possibly be true, can it? Maye was a top 100 recruit coming out of HS, albeit in the 90 range. He would have been a real cuck to pay his way to play at NC.
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Texhnically, Luke Maye was not a walk-on according to the Charlotte Observer: he committed to UNC as a preferred walk-on; however, the coach was able to offer him a full scholarship before he finished high school.

Also, I just saw an interesting video of the standing ovation that Maye received in his 8 AM class this morning; what is interesting is not that his fellow students applauded but that he was there. He is an actual Student-athlete.
 
Deceptive Speed

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Watching the Final Four Gonzaga vs South Carolina game, and there's not a whole lot to cheer for. Scar is all black with one white F Makik Kotsar ( whom yall have been mentioning earlier this page) who seems to start, if not he plays a whole lot off the bench. Gonzaga used to have mostly white teams now they seem to start 1 C Przemek Karnowski ( he's huge 7'2 300 lbs) and play another 2 off the bench F Zach Collins ( being hyped up as a one-and-done player) and F Killian Tilley. Zach Collins is pretty much a starter as he's a very skilled and athletic 7 footer. Hope Gonzage gets the win!
 
Deceptive Speed

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Riggins44 said:
After the victory Few said "Our culture is just so strong. This was a culture win, and a culture statement, and I couldn't be prouder." What a great perspective for a coach and a program.

Just read that Zach Collins is being considered as a first round pick if he goes pro not after next season, but THIS year. That would suck if Gonzaga doesn't have him next season.
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I think he should stay as well, as he only plays around 20 mins a night for Gonzaga doesnt even start some games. If he stayed he would be the Zags top player next season and maybe even put himself in the top ten of next years draft.
 
The Hock

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Good game. Karnowski has really good hands. Looks like some Kevin Love in his game except I don't see a jumper.

They said the 7 footer Collins is a possible one and done, but he doesn't even start. Maybe the Gonzaga coach has enough other talent to limit his playing time so he'll come back another year?

Not an unwatchable game for me.
 
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