Official BK's NCAA Men's Basketball 2009-2010 Discussion

[Bishop]

Mississippi St. (#18) is the first ranked team to go down....they lost to Rider 88-74

that's too bad

#14 Washington got a scare from Wright St. but won 74-69

Kentucky looked very impressive

[BobbyBrez]

I <3 college b'ball. IU will be lucky to make the NIT this year, next year they should be a 20-22 win team and 2012 they'll be competing for the Big 10 title again. So much depends on their recruiting, specifically - Jelan Kendrick, Josh Selby, Marquis Teague, Zeller.

[TrickyNicky]

Xavier Henry looked nails for his debut. 27 pts and 5 rebs. Going to be a good year for the Big 12 as a whole. Go KU

[tak]

ucla lost to cs fullerton. this is going to be a long season.

[elgigante]

syracuse manhandled unc tonight. tarheels were waaay overranked

[Pain Dont Hurt]

The Heels got that ass whooped. I look for the Big Ten to have at least 8 teams in the dance this year. That conference is stacked.

[BobbyBrez]

He's still the man.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Bob Knight felt right at home in Indiana.

For more than 90 minutes Thursday night, Knight recounted tales from his coaching days, stories from the recruiting trail, lessons he passed along to players and, oh yes, even a new critique of the NCAA.

Just like old times, except this speech had some poignant moments, too.

"You know, I've always been a Kenny Rogers fan and I always liked that song where he says 'You've got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away and know when to run," Knight said. "I've tried to follow that philosophy, and I should have run at Indiana when the trustees and the administration had gotten too far apart and that's probably as much my fault as it was theirs."

“

Dobbs We've gotten into this situation where integrity is really lacking and that's why I'm glad I'm not coaching. You see we've got a coach at Kentucky, who put two schools on probation and he's still coaching. I really don't understand that.
” -- Bob Knight, during a speech at the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame

Knight, who wore a green sweater, instead of his trademark red one, said he had been advised by three different people early in his career that he was too strong-willed to stay at Indiana forever. Instead of heeding that advice, though, Knight said he couldn't find a better basketball environment and stayed right up until the moment Myles Brand fired him in September 2000.

It's close as Knight has gotten to admitting he may have made a mistake in Bloomington.

Those who paid $50 for the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame didn't come to hear Knight offer regrets, they came to hear the man they still revere and Knight welcomed the two standing ovations he received.

"I'll always take great pleasure in having been part of the heritage of basketball in Indiana," he said.

It was a rare trip to the state where Knight was treated like a royalty, and it was his first public appearance in Indiana since skipping his own induction into the Indiana University Hall of Fame last month.

Before the induction, new athletic director Fred Glass made a personal plea to reunite The General and the university, to no avail. Knight said then that he didn't want to distract from the induction of others into the Hall of Fame.

It may not have been the only reason he didn't go.

"I would have loved to have seen him back for the induction," said longtime broadcaster Chuck Marlowe, who writes to Knight on a regular basis. "But he explained to me that 'You do know there are still reasons why I cannot do it."

Marlowe was one of the friends hoping Thursday night's appearance may open the door to getting Knight and the university back together.

"I think somewhere along the line, there will be a relationship renewed that will bring him back into a relationship with IU," Marlowe said.

But Knight is in town on a business trip. He is scheduled to be an analyst on ESPN's broadcast of the Xavier-Butler game Saturday afternoon.

The fiery coach set a Division I record with 902 wins before retiring at Texas Tech, winning three national championships at Indiana and the hearts of many Hoosiers fans with his outspokenness.

Before dinner, Knight took pictures with fans and signed autographs, and he spent much of the speech telling tales about former players, like Quinn Buckner and Scott May, who were in attendance and some, like former Army player Mike Krzyzewski, who were not.

That drew plenty of laughter from a loyal fan base that nearly sold out all the tickets in less than three weeks.

"He was very gracious and easy to work with," Hall of Fame executive director Chris May said. "I think he's very excited to be back with his old friends from Indiana."

But Knight still lobbed memorable one-liners at some old targets.

He criticized a proposed tournament expansion to 96 teams, saying nobody should get a bye in the NCAA tournament.

He urged the governing body's administration to require tournament teams to submit eligibility reports, an effort to assure that players who are competing in postseason games have been attending classes and earning acceptable grades.

"We've gotten into this situation where integrity is really lacking and that's why I'm glad I'm not coaching," he said. "You see we've got a coach at Kentucky [John Calipari], who put two schools on probation and he's still coaching. I really don't understand that.

"And very few people know this, but a kid can play the first semester as a freshman, pass six hours of anything and play in the NCAA tournament without ever attending a class in the second semester. I don't think that's right."

Knight also said he was glad to be out of coaching because he no longer had to deal with poor officials or incompetent administrators.

Clearly, though, Indiana basketball carries a special fondness.

"There is nobody in the history of coaching who knows how hard and how intelligently his players played," Knight said. "That was my joy in life."

[BobbyBrez]

Texas/UNC was a good one today. Texas is just too athletic and talented for an ACC team right now, Duke included.

SuperFrosh Mo Creek just put up 29 for IU including 5 3s against powerhouse North Carolina Central. Creek looks to be the favorite for Big 10 Frosh of the Year.

[elgigante]

texas made me 100 bucks today. bet a stupid heel fan straight up on who would win. anyone watch the duke game? it was awful basketball.

[Bishop]

DUKE! DUKE! DUKE!

[elgigante]

Originally Posted by Bishop

DUKE! DUKE! DUKE!

negs. hey rumbin, wtf happened today? cant handle richmond of all teams?

[Bishop]

DUKE! DUKE! DUKE!

[elgigante]

Originally Posted by Bishop

DUKE! DUKE! DUKE!

burn in hell

[BobbyBrez]

I'd love to see Florida knock off those hicks from Lexington tonight. Kentucky is freakishly athletic, they're literally going to lose their whole team after this season:

NBA - Wall, Cousins, Bledsoe, Patterson, Orton.

I really hope Marquis Teague and/or Josh Selby doesn't bail them out and signs with Kentucky's dirty ass. Looks like CJ Leslie might commit to Kentucky too.

**Edit: Orton too, he's gonzo.

[elgigante]

im pissed because maryland is gonna lose terrence ross to them

[Oliver Klosov]

Originally Posted by BobbyBrez

I'd love to see Florida knock off those hicks from Lexington tonight. .

yeah, the team is full of rednecks.

[BobbyBrez]

Maybe. Ross is an interesting recruit though, personally I think he ends up at Duke. He's friends with Kyrie Irving who committed and Duke suits his game. People have been shitting on Gary Williams for not keeping the MD instate guys at home (Durant, Mo Creek, Selby, Ross, etc.). He did get a really good one in Mychel Parker who I saw a bit this summer. He's going to be a very good player.

[BobbyBrez]

Originally Posted by Oliver Klosov

yeah, the team is full of rednecks.

No, just WWW scumbags and NBA lottery picks.

[the chairman211]

Dick Vitale announcing the Florida-Kentucky game:

[On Mark McGwire]" I'm sick of talking about him. The bottom line is he cheated. His unbelievable run with Sosa was nothing but a fraud. I want to talk about Kentucky and Florida. This is passion, this is fun. I'm sick of talking about those cheaters....HALL OF SHAME!"

Uh, Dick. You do motherfucking realize that John Calipari is a proven multiple time CHEATER.

[BobbyBrez]

Vitale is a senile douche, I can't stand listening to them. I watched most of that game on mute. His flip-flopping and general absurdity make it impossible to take anything he says serious. I cannot stand him.

Example: [When talking about Brandon Knight, who has already given a verbal to Florida. "Calipari is in onBrandon Knight, the #1 player in the class. Can you imagine? Rose - Evans - Wall - Knight? What a great recruiter."

No, what a fucking scumbag. Rose only committed after Eric Gordon de-committed from U of I and Rod Strickland and WWW started after him. He cheated through the SATs and Calamari was forced to vacate his 2nd Final Four (UMass b/c of Camby). Somehow the NCAA doesn't crush Calipari, they smash Memphis for it (completely the opposite of how they handled Kelvin Sampson and IU).

Tyreke Evans - Calipari got him to pull a near-verbal from Villanova and Jay Wright by talking shit and again sending in WWW. Another one and done.

Wall - As a 5th year senior (again, grade and character issues). He committed to UK after WWW met him at a basketball camp and took him under his wing. He was suspended to start the year for accepting illegal benefits from his AAU coach and certified agent.

If Brandon Knight retracts his verbal from Donovan (no choir boy on his own), it'll be nothing out of the ordinary for Calimari who has made a career of cheating the rules and somehow dodging all repercussions. Brandon Knight also took a trip up to Duke to look around, fwiw.

[elgigante]

down goes kentucky. south carolina with the upset. also maryland is lookin good. waxed miami tonight and sit at 4 and 1 in the acc

[GNP]

Cuse Georgetown tonight, could go either way.

[BobbyBrez]

Enis Kanter just de-committed from Washington, he's going to be an absolute monster in both the NCAA and NBA. Every school in the country is all over him, including the cheater from Lexington. Kanter is an import from Turkey.

[elgigante]

maryland pulled one out of their ass yesterday w a wild buzzerbeater over ga tech. they are sitting pretty solid in terms of getting into the tourney at 19-7 overall and 9-3 in conference. jordan williams is gonna be a beast of a PF in a yr or two

[elgigante]

its bullshit if the terps dont get ranked this week. they are on fire