We've discussed in this community over the years that Sweet 16s and Elite 8s and Final 4s don't mean sh*t if you don't win. If you're not a program that hangs banners for coming in third then those are not goals . . . the only goal is to win.

Mark Gottfried, the coach of "Sweet 16" NC State, former coach at Murray State and Alabama, and member of Jim Harrick's coaching staff in 1995, could not have encapsulated this any better . . . after the hump.

In response to ESPN's Dana O'Neil's fluff piece entitled "Is Sweet 16 still a sweet thrill", Gottfried had this to say:

"I can remember when I was at UCLA, those first 30 games were all exhibition games,'' NC State coach Mark Gottfried said. "Your season begins in March, and sometimes that really is unfair. No matter who you are, it's hard to advance, but in some places it's expected. John Wooden used to always say, 'Don't give 'em too much too early because then they want it all the time.' That's the truth.''

This proves that the criticisms of the last two basketball coaching regimes are not only accurate, but should be well-known to Ben Howland as much as they were to his predecessor, Sixteen Steve.

You can read the article in its entirety here