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Post by TexasBlue on Jun 27, 2005 18:58:54 GMT -5
SPAM, settle down now, you are getting all wound up.
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Post by xukfan on Jun 27, 2005 19:08:51 GMT -5
guess which one i voted for. never. also, 98 was pitino gift to former assistant. every day Tubby coaches proves that. we are stuck with the tubster, but i will never like it. sad because Tubby is just a few yrs older and i could die before he does, so i may never see another champ at uk. Tubby will probably cut down the nexts 1 week after you are in the ground. i'm going to keep taking my tonic and preaching. hopefully, the end of the Tubby terror will end before i kick out.
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Post by katman on Jun 27, 2005 19:42:42 GMT -5
I would give him 1 more year. I like Tubby but we have lost our momentum as a program. Hes a fine coach though, but he does not have the MOJO.
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Post by TexasBlue on Jun 27, 2005 20:25:21 GMT -5
Katman2000, I like that, MOJO. Yeah! or should JI say missing MOJO.
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Post by katman on Jun 28, 2005 3:35:28 GMT -5
Katman2000, I like that, MOJO. Yeah! or should JI say missing MOJO. Yep, our program is flat with Tubby.
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Post by xukfan on Jun 28, 2005 11:06:11 GMT -5
kinda like the titanic, just another sinking tub(by).................
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Post by TexasBlue on Jun 28, 2005 11:57:14 GMT -5
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Post by CardHater on Jun 28, 2005 13:32:10 GMT -5
Did you just make that up Golf? Nope...never heard of 'em... I swear they were really big on the campuses in the 60s. You dang guys are too young!! Your just too old golf. Old and grumpy.
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Post by TexasBlue on Jun 28, 2005 13:48:20 GMT -5
I swear they were really big on the campuses in the 60s. You dang guys are too young!! Your just too old golf. Old and grumpy. They made a movie about two old guys just like that. Except one of them had great luck with the beautiful gal. Maybe that was Golf after all.
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Post by golfnsr on Jun 28, 2005 14:29:03 GMT -5
Your just too old golf. Old and grumpy. They made a movie about two old guys just like that. Except one of them had great luck with the beautiful gal. Maybe that was Golf after all. Afraid not, I would be the Walter Matthau character!!
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Post by TexasBlue on Jun 28, 2005 18:30:59 GMT -5
He's the one that got the women Golf.
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Post by golfnsr on Jun 28, 2005 19:32:38 GMT -5
He's the one that got the women Golf. Alright!!
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Post by snickram on Jun 29, 2005 23:04:28 GMT -5
guess which one i voted for. never. also, 98 was pitino gift to former assistant. every day Tubby coaches proves that. we are stuck with the tubster, but i will never like it. sad because Tubby is just a few yrs older and i could die before he does, so i may never see another champ at uk. that's sad, but I kinda feel the same way.. Yes Tubby may actually win another title 20 years from now, but if not will I still be alive.. Scary thought...
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Post by Administrator on Jul 10, 2005 3:50:27 GMT -5
This quote is a couple of years old but still maintains it's relavence IMO:
This is not just about today, although that is a factor (N.C. State's 10-year NCAA Tournament drought hurt its case). This is about the long haul, specifically the last 40 years during the game's modern era and more specifically the last 35, when integration changed the sport completely. Winning a Helms title (awarded to the No. 1 ranked team from 1901 to roughly 1939) does not mean as much as capturing a 64-team NCAA title.
The factors are NCAA and NIT (when it mattered) titles, conference crowns, strength of competition, wins, winning percentage, players, coaches, the fervency of fans, the impact on a region, current health of the program and that completely subjective feeling that puts one great program over another and creates the debates that the slow hot days of summer deserve.
Through the many decades of college basketball, there have been plenty of great programs. As of today, here is our top 10:
10. Michigan State: Easily the toughest slot to fill, with the somewhat sporadic Spartans beating out big winners Syracuse, Michigan, North Carolina State, Purdue, Temple and Arkansas on the strength of its two national titles and four Final Fours. Winning nationally is what college hoops is all about and the Spartans have done it, especially lately as State is in the midst of a streak of three Final Fours and four Big Ten titles under Tom Izzo. Through the years, MSU has produced 10 conference champs and 21 All-American selections, not to mention Magic Johnson. The Spartans have won 44 consecutive at the Breslin Center, which today is one of the toughest places in the nation to play.
9. Cincinnati: Since 1990 Cincy has returned to the nation's elite under Bob Huggins and it owns two NCAA titles and six Final Four appearances throughout its history. From 1961-63, Cincinnati played in three consecutive championship games, winning the first two. The program ranks among the top 20 in total wins, is ninth-winningest in NCAA play and produced national player of the year winners Oscar Robertson and Kenyon Martin. Historically, the program ranks neck and neck with the local rival it is so competitive with, the teams haven't played since the Bearcats beat them in the 1962 NCAA final. That program, of course, is ...
8. Ohio State: Consider the stretch from 1959-1964 when the Fred Taylor-coached Buckeyes put together a 47-game regular-season winning streak, captured five consecutive Big Ten titles, reached three National Championship games and took home its lone national title. This is the alma mater of Jerry Lucas, John Havlicek and Bob Knight, 10 All-American selections and four national players of the year. The program has won 16 Big Ten Championships and made the sixth-most nine Final Four appearances, including 1999. Its ridiculously modern $110 million Schottenstein Center is testament to the school's commitment, and the almost-always sold out 19,100 seats proof of its passionate followers.
7. Louisville: This was the program of the 1980s, when Denny Crum took the Cardinals to six Final Fours and took home two NCAA titles. Overall, Louisville has reached the Final Four seven times, made a fourth-best 29 NCAA appearances and ranks in the top 20 in all-time victories. It also gave the world the memorable "Doctors of Dunk." Maybe most notable, however, is the rain-or-shine dedication of its fans, which have placed the program in the top 10 in attendance for 40 consecutive seasons even though there have been a lean season or two. Last season the Cards won just 12 games, but played before 92.5 percent capacity at Freedom Hall. With Rick Pitino now at the helm, the program appears poised to return to its year in, year out elite status.
6. Kansas: The Jayhawks' first coach was Dr. James Naismith, who merely invented the game. Its best coach, Phog Allen, gets a special nod for leading the fight against the worst rule ever invented -- limiting players to a single dribble. During the 1990s, no one won games at a better rate (.827) than Kansas. No surprise then the Jayhawks challenge on this list, especially when you consider their two NCAA titles, third-best 1,738 all-time wins, fourth-best .701 winning percentage, 10 Final Fours, 13 Hall of Famers, 12 All-American selections and the wonderful Allen Fieldhouse, which experiences an empty seat as often as a Jayhawk loss. This is an historic and unlikely national powerhouse in a small Great Plains town far from the nation's most populous regions.
5. Duke: Make this list in 1985 and the Blue Devils probably don't get on the board, but since then Duke has among the best records in college basketball at 475-122 (.796). Now Mike Krzyzewski runs the nation's No. 1 program in the most recognizable arena and is the sport's most respected personality. Overall, Duke has won a fourth-best three NCAA titles, ranks fourth with 12 Final Fours (nine under K) and is fourth on the all-time win list at 1,649. Krzyzewski didn't do it all alone, the Blue Devils were national contenders in the 1960s under Vic Bubbas and an NCAA finalist in 1978 under Bill Foster, but they weren't consistently this good until now. Of course, few have ever enjoyed a better stretch.
4. North Carolina: Let's start with a simple fact no one can trump -- Michael Jordan played here. Then take the 1,781 all-time wins and .739 winning percentage, which both rank second all-time. Don't forget the three NCAA titles, 15 Final Fours, nine national player of the years and a record 15 Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament titles. In terms of consistent modern winners, the Dean Smith-dominated program hasn't posted a losing season since 1962 and has been to 27 consecutive NCAA Tournaments. The program has connected with its proud alumni and home state like few others, making Chapel Hill a place even non-grads call "Blue Heaven."
3. Indiana: If Bob Knight is the most famous college basketball coach of all-time, consider Indiana won two national titles before the General ever arrived in Bloomington. IU's five NCAA championships ranks it third all time and the program is in the top dozen in both wins and winning percentage despite playing in the extremely competitive Big Ten, which it has won 19 times. The Hoosiers can claim the last undefeated team (1976), seven trips to the Final Four, a tied for fourth-best 30 NCAA appearances and arguably the most passionate fan base in the nation. Face it, when you see a game from Assembly Hall come on TV, it just feels like college hoops.
2. UCLA: If the reason you play the game is to win a national championship, then UCLA has the ultimate argument, 11 banners hanging inside Pauley Pavilion in Westwood. This is the home to the sport's greatest dynasty, its two greatest players (Lew Alcindor, Bill Walton) and one of its greatest coaches (John Wooden). For a decade-long stretch in the late 1960s and early '70s, UCLA wasn't just a college basketball program, it was college basketball. It ranks eleventh in overall wins (1489), fifth in winning percentage (.698) and boasts the longest winning streak of all time, 88 games. The Bruins' 1995 NCAA title proved they could win one without Wooden on the sidelines and their commitment to excellence is as strong today as it ever was.
1. Kentucky: It started in 1903 when a man named W.W.H. Mustaine took up a collection, raised three bucks, bought a ball and told some University of Kentucky undergrads to start playing. Seven national titles later, an NCAA-best 1795 total wins, an NCAA-best .763 winning percentage and the most intense cultural impact on a state populace in the game make Kentucky the greatest program. The credentials can go on, 36 All-Americans, five Hall of Famers, 13 Final Four appearances, 41 Southeastern Conference championships, most NCAA Tournament appearances and wins, most 30-win seasons (10), just one losing season since 1927 and the incubator for inventions such as the fast break.
But while through the years, the program that Adolph Rupp built into a dynasty beginning in 1931 has generally been excellent, it has also been relentlessly followed. It is that ability to connect with the fans, to become the pride of its state, that shoves it past UCLA, which has more crowns but not similar support from fans. Consider Kentucky has led the nation in attendance in each of the last six years despite not having the largest building. The tradition -- fervency that gets people to camp out for over a month to attend practice and make a small Southern state a basketball-mecca -- is its most endearing element.
Kentucky isn't the only school that has achieved sustained greatness and made an impact on the people around it, but none has done it better.
Dan Wetzel
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Post by Administrator on Jul 10, 2005 3:50:47 GMT -5
More from Dan:
By my count, I have been in 113 NCAA Division I arenas. Which is barely a third of the existing structures. But I'm tackling the task anyway, relying on an informal blue ribbon panel of experts consisting of coaches, media and super fans. Along with adding the necessary arrogance to make grand proclamations and enough humility to not take it too seriously.
My criteria for best arena are a combination of many factors. History, uniqueness, game atmosphere, passion of fans through thick and thin and overall aura of a structure. This is not just about which appears on television the most; not about who has the most fans. This is about where, if you picked one place to watch a game, you would pick.
For the record, the greatest game atmosphere I have ever been a part of took place at the junior-college level. On a cold night inside the 1,600-seat Hellyer Student Life Center on the campus of Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, Iowa, a throng of at least 3,000 -- many standing seven deep along baselines and in corners -- created a near riot as Southeastern Iowa upset the three-time defending national champion hometown team. No way that atmosphere could ever be duplicated at the more civilized D-I level.
But the list is D-I only, so Indian Hills is out. In its place is ...
10. Hilton Coliseum, Iowa State (14,092) -- Many point to Krzyzewskiville in Durham -- where Duke students live in tents for the opportunity to attend games -- as the ultimate sign of devotion, but 14,000 showing up no matter how much snow or how low the Central Iowa wind chill, is far more impressive. And there they are, night after night, making a largely unremarkable architectural structure one of college basketball's best environs. A few years back, the Raleigh News & Observer statistically proved "Hilton Magic" provided the best home-court advantage in the country. One time I was there the Cyclones fans were so excited to beat Oklahoma, the floor shook from all the noise. Made you forget about the cold wind outside.
9. Freedom Hall, Louisville (18,865) -- At the end of last year some U of L fans were down on coach Denny Crum because attendance had slipped during the 12-17 season. Yep, all the way down to 17,443, which ranked fifth nationally. For decades a throng of nearly 20,000 has packed this wonderful facility, with great sight lines and a historic feel. It has still hosted more NCAA championships than any other facility, not to mention the long run of high-flying Cardinal teams Crum put together. It is also one of the homes of the annual Kentucky-Indiana game that is perhaps the best spectacle in college basketball. Expect things to get even rowdier with Rick Pitino in town.
8. Maples Pavilion, Stanford (7,800) -- This smallish, center-of-campus, multipurpose facility was a fun, unique place to experience a game even before Mike Montgomery made the Cardinal a national power. Now it is among the nation's best. The crowds are rowdy, smart and extremely loud. The building layout is a little unusual but without a bad seat. Knowing its place within the broad spectrum of life at Stanford, the gym floor still has volleyball lines on it, a nice touch in a world where basketball is often segregated and taken too seriously. And, as an added bonus, when the game is over you are in the Bay Area.
7. The Pit, New Mexico (18,100) -- In large lettering at the beginning of the tunnel that visiting players must run down to get to the playing surface of what is officially called University Arena, is a reminder that you are a mile above sea level and that if the Lobos don't get you, the thin air probably will. That sprint onto the floor, with a delirious wall of noise and Lobo howls awaiting you might be the most intimidating in the sport. The arena's interior is steep, jammed with seats and provides a tremendous theater where just watching the game is impossible. Fans are just sucked into cheering, hollering and damn-near participating.
6. Williams Arena, Minnesota (14,395) -- In contrast to New Mexico, where players run down to the floor, at Williams teams must sprint up a small staircase and then onto a raised court, with three decks of Gophers fanatics slowly appearing around you. To get in the game from the bench, you have to literally climb onto the stage. This is a classic Midwest basketball barn if there ever was one; big but intimate. It's loud and quirky, with fans seemingly hanging from the rafters all around you. Just in case you need any added intimidation -- or the snow drifts outside don't chill your jumper -- there are 20-plus foot pictures of Gophers greats such as Kevin McHale and Mychal Thompson staring down at you.
5. Rupp Arena, Kentucky (23,000) -- If this is where Adolph himself actually coached, it might be No. 1. But hoops is so big at UK that the 11,500-seat Memorial Coliseum is basically a practice gym for the Wildcats. Rupp isn't all that plush, not that interesting and isn't even on campus, although it is close by in downtown Lexington. But when the Wildcats take the floor and 23,000 stand to cheer, the power of this immense program simply roars down on you. You needn't be from the Commonwealth to get goose bumps because this is big-time college hoops.
4. The Palestra, Pennsylvania (8,700) -- In the hearts of generations of Philadelphians, the Palestra has a magical spot ranking right up there with the smell of mom's apple pie and their first kiss. It is the official home court of Penn, but it is the city's building, home to so many Big Five double headers that everyone feels comfortable in this wonderful gymnasium. Its wooden bleachers and compact construction makes even small crowds deafening and the place is so old (constructed in 1927) it not only displays a 1908 Ivy League championship banner, but the game clock actually ticks. We've only heard one complaint ever about this creaky gym: "They built it on the wrong campus," said an admittedly jealous John Chaney of Temple.
3. Phog Allen Fieldhouse, Kansas (16,300) -- A huge stadium that somehow retains the feel of a high school gym, Allen Fieldhouse is a remarkable achievement in architecture. There are windows in the end zones that let the weak winter sun in and a huge gathering of throaty Jayhawk fans to keep the noise coming. The place is so packed the only way to tell the players from the fans is with uniforms. And when the traditional chant of "Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk," comes bellowing down from the rafters, you know you are in college basketball heaven.
2. Cameron Indoor Stadium, Duke (9,314) -- Television has made this college basketball's most recognizable arena, and the Cameron Crazies student section has created a level of enthusiasm and organized cheering that has been copied throughout the nation. It is a completely fun, hot, loud and wonderful place to watch a game, or, most likely, a Duke victory. The classic, classy 61-year-old stone building, nestled in the middle of campus, is smallish and quaint, with a cool lobby filled with memorabilia. If the wealthy Iron Dukes, who sit above the Crazies, showed more passion, or fewer of the students spent halftime talking on their cell phones, you wouldn't be able to find any fault with the Cameron Experience.
1. Gallagher-Iba Arena, Oklahoma State (13,611) -- The ultimate combination of history, uniqueness, location and excitement, Gallagher-Iba has even survived a recent expansion to remain the nation's best facility to catch a game. How much tradition does the old barn out where the wind comes sweeping down the plains have? The first game, in 1938, featured Henry Iba's Cowboys besting Phog Allen's Kansas Jayhawks 21-15. The maple playing surface is the building's original and it has not only seen countless great games, it has seen practice sessions where Iba literally invented concepts such as motion offense and man-to-man defense.
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