Random Thoughts on This 2011 Tourney

by uclahy on Mar 27, 2011 12:43 AM PDT

Am I the only one who thinks we could beat any one of the Elite Eight teams in the Tournament if Zeke Jones hadn't had to play with just one hand the last two months of the season?

Maybe we aren't that far from elite in today's college basketball. Because there really is no elite in this era of "one and dones."

Would any one of our championship teams have a problem with this 2011 Tourney field? I don't think so, and that includes 1995.

The Big East and the Big 10 are the biggest league busts of the Tournament. Can you say overrated?

The way Arizona killed Duke and the way Washington played North Carolina, you can say the same about the ACC, too, IMO.

The biggest team bust has to be Louisville, the team I picked to win it all, but I think their star got hurt in the middle of the game. Can you way bad luck?

Our loss to VCU early in the season doesn't look so bad now, does it? The Montana loss is still inexplicable.

The refs absolutely killed Arizona with their early foul calls on Derek Williams. Arizona wins by 10-15 if he doesn't sit on the bench for most of the first half.

Did anyone else notice that the finesse team, Uconn, beat the Big East style Arizona team even though the Cats absolutely destroyed them in the paint? Talk about role reversal.

The games are exciting because there's so much at stake and they're so close, but the style of play seems like a throwback, way back, to the days of the pass/pass/pass and throw up a set shot [I mean three pointer by today's rules]. It's like the era of John Wooden, West coast, up-tempo, fast break, full-court press basketball never happened.

How many players on the Butler team would start for UCLA this season? I say one, their guard, Mack. What does that say about their Coach or how weak college basketball is today? Good arguments both ways.

Do you think it would help if we played a stronger out of conference schedule? I say yes, to build our confidence and get a better gauge on the other leagues before March Madness. What say you?

Next year's dream season. We make it to the Final Game and we expose Florida and Billy Donovan by winning by 20 points and spend our entire post-game press conference saying what a great team they were. No more coulda, shoulda, woulda.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.

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I know we've had our share of cupcakes, but

it’s hard to complain about our OOC schedule when we played both teams that are facing each other for a trip to the Final Four right now (VCU and Kansas).

Next year, we play in the Maui invitational which is STACKED (Duke, Kansas, G’Town, Memphis, Mich, Tenn) plus we’ve got Texas at “home,” and who-knows-what w/ the Wooden Classic. Put Arizona, Wash, and an improving Oregon team into the mix once conference play starts, then factor in that we’ll have zero true home games, and I think it’s fair to say that we’ll be battle tested once the tournament rolls around.

by insomniacslounge on Mar 27, 2011 11:41 AM PDT reply actions

Hope we do well on the ROAD since we don't have a home court

We don’t even know where home away home is yet.

by LA Bruin on Mar 27, 2011 12:34 PM PDT up reply actions

O-o-o-o-o; the word home is gaining a whole new meaning.

LA with your sophistcated use of the ever so well turned phrase

“where home away home is”

and Mr. Lounge’s notably insightful use of quotation marks to reference our

“home games”

next year gives the word “home” an entirely new zeitgeist.

Now a zeitgeist is a spirit of a time or age. It bears emphasis that next year’s home away from home games will be played in a different spirit of an age. I know this has a mystical thrust to it but if it makes us a better team so we can blow out Florida next year in the NCAA finals as uclahy sees as a consummation devoutely to be wished, then this new age will be wondrous.

Now if Achilles suggests the concept of the zeitgeist as it relates to “where home away home” is should be the subject of an extensive Fan Post, he is talking to you or Mr. Lounge—not me.

Go Bruins!

by peggysue69 on Mar 27, 2011 1:59 PM PDT up reply actions

Why they don't play the game like they used to

The most thoughtful point in uclahy’s post IMHO is the following analysis:

It’s like the era of John Wooden, West coast, up-tempo, fast break, full-court press basketball never happened.

Itzhak Perlman, the great cellist, appeared 30 or so years ago on the Tonight Show and Johnny Carson asked words to the effect of, “Why don’t composers today write music like Bach or Beethoven?” And Mr. Pearlman responded (and I think I have this pretty close to verbatim), “Because, Johnny, they don’t write music like that anymore.” (He may have said “they don’t compose music. . . .” Pardon the geezerette memory.) Great line by a distinguished musician.

The reason “up-tempo, fast break, full-court press basketball” never happens is because none of the coaches are John Wooden. To me it is that simple. Today’s coaches lack his discipline and knowledge of the nuances of the game. Even coaches who see themselves as Wooden disciples can’t get the job done. And God knows they try.

That’s why we call him Coach.

by peggysue69 on Mar 27, 2011 2:19 PM PDT reply actions