NCAA Hoops: 2021-2022

[Valmy]

And after watching that Arizona game I don't feel so bad about Texas losing to TCU in the Big 12 Tournament now as well. Our fans were pretty suicidal after that, but we had all been traumatized by so many years of Shaka Smart idiocy.

[Berkut]

Jesus Christ. Who the hell is that Lampkin guy?

Arizona almost exits to a smaller, slower team that outrebounds them. Freaking March.

If there is a better guard in the country then Benedict Mathurin, I don't know who it is.

[Berkut]

@Berk How do you like your Frenchie Baller?

    

Which one of them is French?

Arizona's #0 Benjamin Mathurin

I like him a lot. He is an amazing player. Probably the most talented player in the team overall

OK, so he isn't French, he is Canadian! I mean...he was born in Quebec - does that make him French Canadian kind of automatically?

He doesn't have any kind of French accent that I could tell. I've never heard him referred to as French (although like every single Arizona player is foreign, so I knew he was not from the US - I thought he was Canadian because every time I heard him speak in an interview his English is pretty much unaccented)

[HVC]

If he's from Quebec he's probably of Haitian descent, if that means anything.

[Berkut]

I honestly don't know - if someone was described as French Canadian, does that mean one would expect that their first language is French? Or is being born in Quebec to Anglo parents still make you French Canadian, because you are born in Quebec?

I really don't care by the way - I was prepared to believe he was from France France, and I would like him just as much. He is an amazing player.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgcqbq5iphQ

Dunk of the year

[crazy canuck]

Auburn down.  Two of my regional brackets busted.  But my Villanova Zag final is still possible.

[Berkut]

I am kind of terrified of Houston. That looks like an upset waiting to happen.

I think one of Arizona's major weaknesses is that they don't have NCAA Tourney experience, and this is Houstons third trip to the Sweet-16 in a row.

Arizona has so many good players, and they play very unselfishly. I hope last nights game sees Mathurin be just a little bit more selfish. Arizona needs one of their stars to just start dominating games, and force their opponents to do something about that. If you can force any team to reliably double team Mathurin, Toubelis will go off. Or force double teams on Koloko, and Toubelis or Mathurin will go off. ETtc., etc. 

But I am sure Tommy Lloyd has forgotten more about basketball coaching then I have ever known...

[Grey Fox]

@Berk How do you like your Frenchie Baller?

    

Which one of them is French?

Arizona's #0 Benjamin Mathurin

I like him a lot. He is an amazing player. Probably the most talented player in the team overall

OK, so he isn't French, he is Canadian! I mean...he was born in Quebec - does that make him French Canadian kind of automatically?

He doesn't have any kind of French accent that I could tell. I've never heard him referred to as French (although like every single Arizona player is foreign, so I knew he was not from the US - I thought he was Canadian because every time I heard him speak in an interview his English is pretty much unaccented)

He was born in Montreal to Haitian parents. Around here, people of Haitian descent are francophones. I don't know when  he moved to the US to play B-ball but when he went to school here, he did it in French.

While I made it confusing by only calling him a frenchie(as a language qualifier, not a national qualifier). Blame YI for teaching me that one. There are not a lot of subset of people born in Quebec that I would only call Canadian as oppose to French-Canadian.

[CountDeMoney]

Losing the Tourney to COVID in 2020 when they were scheduled to host their bracket in their own field house as the #1 seed, last year's folding chair act to Baylor made Gonzaga Nation howl even more.  It was a two-fer of pain the last two seasons. 

I would like to think things happen in threes.

[Caliga]

There went like....97% of the brackets.

I didn't enter the office pool this year, which is a damn shame because when I do I always bet against UK and U of L, because all of the hicks down here MUST pick one or the other to win it all... it's like their religion almost.

[crazy canuck]

Damn that Houston defence causes complete chaos.

[Berkut]

Houston exposed that Arizona is young and inexperienced. Arizona is a much better team talent wise, but not enough better to beat Houston playing Houston basketball. 

Still, one hell of an amazing season for a first year coach. I am not going to complain.

[crazy canuck]

I liked the composure of the Arizona coach. A lot of other coaches would've lost their shit when mistakes were made. But that would not have helped the Arizona team at all.

[Berkut]

I liked the composure of the Arizona coach. A lot of other coaches would've lost their shit when mistakes were made. But that would not have helped the Arizona team at all.

Lloyd has great composure. So far it hasn't been reflected in his team though.

I figure he has a couple decades of coaching experience, but no head coaching experience. And learning how to control the emotional balance of a team is hard, and this team happens to be really fucking good. So he probably did not really know how to impose his composure on them without risking screwing up their rather nicely working pasdion and vibe.

Kerr Krissa for example, is an excellent PG. But he is a bit of an asshole, doesn't know when to shut up, and has had a couple incidents where he has responded after games to the crowd, or taunted the opposing bench. In game, he has no fear, and not in a good way all the time. He jacks up threes and he is not nearly as good a shooter as he thinks he is - but he plays with fire and passion and the team responds to that. Arizona is a better team when he is on the floor in almost every statistical category, even if HIS stats are not all that impressive at times.

How do you tamp down the 19 year old dumb shit while still encouraging that swagger and passion? 

Lloyd will figure it out, I am sure.

It's only been one year, but I love the guy. Incredible recruiter, great X and Os, and so far looks to have the class and sportsmanship and composure to represent the school well.

[crazy canuck]

I was wondering why Kerr was taking the shot when it seemed he had better options to feed.  That shooting guard is smooth as silk and those bigs are athletic, strong and have a lot of skill.

But as you say, you also need a pg with a lot of confidence or the whole thing collapses.