College Hoops Thread '10-'11

[The Poet]

Originally Posted by NCRadioMan

Compared to who? UNCA, CoC, Evansville, Long Beach St., William and Mary, Rutgers or St. Francis?

I don't know about you, but I knew Marquette was a very tough team this year and so did most of the talking heads on tv and radio. Everybody and their brother knew they would be facing K State. Yeah, Pac 10 sux but Oregon is still a tourny team and that is a very, very tough place to play on the road. Agreed on Butler but they are also still a tourny team. And Mich St. has always had Duke's number no matter how good or bad they are. That games scares me most as Izzo is the K-Buster.

I'm as fair as anyone. All teams have "cupcakes" as you can't and don't wanna schedule all top 25 teams for the non-con. But when you contrast those cupcakes with tough teams in Duke's schedule, it seems quite balanced to me.

BTW, I watched Harrison Barnes play three games and even though he went off in one of them, he is about as All American as a Zippo knock-off from China.

I could argue that Charleston is a tough team (just ask the Terps), and that Rutgers is improving. But I won't. I could also protest that you left Illinois, Kentucky, and Texas off your list of UNC opponents above. But I won't. And I could argue that, after losing to the Heels for the previous three years, and crapping out of the NCAA Tourney early to boot, the Dookies have been crowing for the last one about how much better they are than the Heels, and thus SHOULD have a tougher schedule than their neighbors over in Chapel Hill. But I won't. Yet I must insist that not all schools have cupcakes in their non-conference schedule, since those self-same cupcakes always have a tough row to hoe, and are working low cotton all fall long.

As for Barnes, I myself have said I never buy into pre-season hype, much less the pre-career hype that was dumped on this young man. Until you prove it on the court, both you and everyone else should just hold their peace. There's a big difference between potential and production. However, I will submit that, had he signed with Duke, as most experts thought he would before he shocked them by going to the Heels, you may have a bit more patience and tolerance with his learning-curve.

I'll be back sometime today with the post-holiday update.