I think Memphis has the best overall team. It is not a matter of liking one over another, but just who I think has the best team. Of the group, I originally picked Kansas, but now see them as last of the 4.
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In talking about recruiting THIS YEAR, I am not so sure it is great for Memphis to win it all. Calipari is reportedly recruiting Leslie McDonald (a Memphis native) pretty hard. He is definitely one of our top targets. It is tough to tell how a Memphis win might effect McDonald, but Calipari would be able to show him a trophy and promise him tons of playing time since half the team would leave...
Would you have said the same thing about Eliot Williams had he chosen Memphis?
Krzyzewski is going after McDonald because he thinks the kid is a good fit for Duke; I doubt his opinion will change based on where the kid decides to go to school. I still think Monroe would've been a good fit for Duke even though he chose elsewhere.
Being a good fit is about the kid and his character; something that doesn't change based on where the kid eventually decides to go to school.
I don't know Eliot Williams or McDonald; but I think you are reading me backwards - I don't think choosing Memphis would make them bad kids; but I think that if they ultimately choose Memphis that is an *indicator* that they probably wouldn't have been a good fit at Duke.
I have no doubt that Coach K only recruits kids he thinks will be good fits at Duke. If a kid chooses Memphis and Calipari after considering what they want their college career to be about, I don't think that what they want is a good fit for what Duke is all about.
After not seeing much of Memphis all year, I have to admit that I've been really impressed in watching them play through the tournament. Dorsey could get into foul trouble, which would give Love an extra big game. Otherwise Memphis is a lot better than UCLA. I don't think Kansas can beat UNC, unfortunately, especially since they plan on running full speed. A lot of points should be scored, and I suspect that the deeper team will win that game. Hansbrough will probably not be a big factor, simply because the game will go faster than him, after awhile. Of course, I'd like for Kansas to win.
The championship would then be Memphis vs. UNC. Again, Dorsey would have to stay out of foul trouble. In the game between Tenn & Memphis, the men in stripes really let them play. Will that happen in the championship? If they do, Memphis should win, as Hansbrough derives most of his points on foul shots, or others backing off for fear of fouling. I think that Rose vs. Lawson would have Texas overtones. Rose was so much taller than Augustin that he had trouble getting off his shots - Rose should have the same effect on Lawson. Ellington is 6'4", but Douglas Roberts is 6'7". I think Memphis wins on defense, the same way they won against Texas.
I'll be rooting for the mute button once Billy Packer's voice starts to come though my tv speakers - just so I won't slip into some absurdly negative state of mind and start to have a strange distaste to the game of basketball.
I will be turning the volume back on however during Roy's post game press conference to play my favorite drinking game --> 'Drink every time Roy refers to himself in the 3rd person'.
What the hell, I'll keep playing Devil's advocate ;)
What, in your words, is Duke all about as compared to Memphis?
You're still implying that what "indicates" a kid being a good fit for Duke is based upon whether or not they actually end up choosing Duke, which I disagree with. The way I understand it, you're not far off from saying that a kid isn't a good fit for us unless he chooses us. Maybe it's just a Memphis thing but I hope that's not how you feel about every other school besides Duke. We don't get every kid that is a good fit for us and every kid that is a good fit for us doesn't always end up in Durham. Heck, one of the reasons I find Hansbrough so annoying is that I could so easily picture him in a Duke uniform. That's a kid I believe would've fit right in at Duke.
I realize Duke and Memphis aren't identical schools but if the two schools were that night-and-day then why would Duke ever recruit kids that listed Memphis as another possibility? McDonald is the 2nd kid in 3 years that we're competing with Memphis for. We happened to get EW but him choosing Memphis wouldn't have changed the fact that he is/was/would've been a good fit for Duke.
Either you really don't think too highly of Calipari and Memphis or you're making Duke out to be more unique than it really is. Playing basketball at Duke is a wonderful opportunity. But it ain't the only school where that's the case.
No - you've got me all wrong. I am referring specifically to MEMPHIS and CALIPARI. Sleazy coach, basketball factory/no academics program.
There are plenty of good, reputable, well run programs out there besides Duke. I would (unfortunately) put UNC among them.
I just regard Memphis as in the same category as Cincinnati, or UNLV in the 1990s is all...
I want UNC to win.
#1. I cheer for all ACC teams unless they are playing Duke. (I have a hierarchy within the ACC after Duke but that's a different subject.)
#2. If UNC wins it is more likely that anyone considering leaving early for pro will do so.
#3. If UNC wins, commentators will say UNC only lost to two teams during the year, one of them being Duke.
Calamari is a squid!
Calipari! Calamari!
Calimari is a squid!
Kansas because...
1) They will have to beat UNC in the process
2) Roy will lose to his old team.
3) Kansas will win the national championship that Roy could never get them without him at the helm.
I want Memphis because it would be nice to seem them get the money off their back and because I think they are the least likely of the Four to rack up more titles in the future.
On the surface, Kansas would be the easy pick because it would be sweet to see Self beat the man who could never win the Big One at Kansas. However, Kansas already has one National Title from back in the day, so another one would make them a threat to eventually take over Duke's total of three.
UCLA has enough already. Enough said.
Of course, I could never pull for UNC for a multitude of reasons that aren't even worth mentioning because everyone on this board knows what they are.
UNC, makes the acc look better.
MEMPHIS!
Met them all, really nice kids. Calipari is getting too much hate here, IMO. He is really down to earth, also is a good coach. I'll DEFINITELY be rooting for Memphis, been following them all year, really like the way they play. I hope they kill UCLA and then kill UNC/Kansas to prove to everyone they are legit.
Thought this would be a good addition to the earlier thread.
... or dudess who voted for other? Do we have a Tar Heel in our midst?
Whoever voted "other" better be a Tar Heel.