Midwest/St. Louis region discussion (uncch #1)

[Duvall]

Harrison Barnes opens up about his favorite topic.

[uh_no]

Harrison Barnes opens up about his favorite topic.

Through his quotes, he points out the very things that put him and jordan on such different planes.

For jordan, the goal was to be the best basketball player...yes he was arrogant...but the goal was to be the best at basketball, and success and fame followed, which he of course embraced

For barnes, the goal is to be rich, famous, and popular...he's every bit as arrogant, but basketball is only a means to his end...and while he has that attitude, which it seems he does and has had at unc, he won't ever be the great that jordan was (regardless of how similar he thinks he is to jordan in his head)

I think the perfect anecdote is in the middle of last season, barnes was having a conversation with some mentor...forget who...might have even been jordan, and he asks him "do you think i can still win national player of the year"

wow...your team is playing mediocre basketball, you're playing terrible basketball, and your concern is whether you can win the award for being the best player...can you be more vain?

Now, I wasn't around when jordan was at UNC, but my guess is that he would be taking his lack of success and having it push him to work harder to be a better player himself, and for his team. Without that drive, he wouldn't have been arguably the greatest ever...I don't think he would be sitting around pondering whether he will be the NPOY...

And the verdict is that barnes isn't even that good (relative to what he thinks he is)...he doesn't play an ounce of defense, barely scraped 1st team all ACC (forget all american and NPOY...) and is just a pretty good player who thrives off matchup issues...and he certainly doesn't have the game to back up his ego....

Will he succeed in the NBA? probably...don't need defense where he's going...but he will likely never have a "brand" becuase he'll be another role player in the NBA...and despite the fact that he flatters himself as such, he'll never be the next jordan

we dodged a bullet with this one.

[Jderf]

...unfortunately they're the reason we lost our record for biggest comeback

Well, that all depends. Do you consider the play-in game as a part of the NCAA tournament? Either way, at least we still have the biggest Final Four comeback ever, which still sounds pretty good

[superdave]

State wins by 14. They looked good. Their defense got key stops down the stretch when SDSU was trying to make a run.

More importantly, State's just been playing all-around good ball for the last few weeks.

[pfrduke]

Great win for the Wolfies. 1-0 for the ACC already, and an upset (by seed, at least) to boot.

[davekay1971]

Very happy for State! That was a huge win for them. It's one thing to get in the tournament, it's another to get a statement win by scoring a first round upset. Everything from here on out is icing on the cake of Gottfried's first season. And what a season it's turning out to be. Winning record in the ACC. NCAA tournament bid. NCAA tournament win. Monster recruiting class coming in next season, even if he doesn't beat us out for Jefferson. The only thing he missed out on was wins against his biggest rivals, and it took a miracle comeback for us to avoid losing to State and a brutal zebra hose-job for Carolina to avoid it.

I really, really hope he leaves some of his past trouble behind him. I'm happy to see State on the upswing. I would hate to see it ruined in a few years by some form of scandal.

Good luck to State making the sweet 16. I don't see them beating Kansas in St. Louis, as long as the Jayhawks get there. But a Sweet 16 for State in Gottfried's first year would put a stamp on this as being a very, very successful year for him and the program.

[uh_no]

State up on georgetown with 10 minutes left

[Kedsy]

State 66 Georgetown 63. Way to go, Wolfpack!

[uh_no]

State 66 Georgetown 63. Way to go, Wolfpack!

I feel less worried about picking state to be in the sweet 16 now

[cptnflash]

And down goes Georgetown. Kansas is the only team left in this bracket that can beat the Heels.

[uh_no]

And down goes Georgetown. Kansas is the only team left in this bracket that can beat the Heels.

um...i'm pretty sure State can beat the heels...it took some crafty officiating to get UNC the win last time...

[MCFinARL]

That was great (and I even kind of like Georgetown)! Now one other outcome could make this as close to a perfect day as it can be without Duke. Go Blue Jays!

[davekay1971]

Another huge win for State! That was very solid, coming from behind in the first half, withstanding a Hoya run, and making (most of) the plays they needed to win the game. A couple more made free throws could have made it a lot less dramatic, but State got the stops they needed and closed out the win.

Terrific tournament already for the Pack!

Now...Go Creighton!

[Indoor66]

GO Wolfies. Now my favorite team in the Tourney.

[Greg_Newton]

I'll be rooting strongly against the Pack next game. For one thing, I think KU's got a better chance against UNC, and for another, we're currently neck-in-neck for a top-20 recruit.

IMO, they've passed the "aw, good for them" stage and are now at the "okay, you're starting to become threatening" level. They may well win the ACC next year if Leslie returns.

[uh_no]

I'll be rooting strongly against the Pack next game. For one thing, I think KU's got a better chance against UNC, and for another, we're currently neck-in-neck for a top-20 recruit.

IMO, they've passed the "aw, good for them" stage and are now at the "okay, you're starting to become threatening" level. They may well win the ACC next year if Leslie returns.

I mean, NCSU was a bad call away from beating UNC a week ago... I do think KU has a better shot, but its not like NCSU has no shot at them....for the record, i don't think state will beat kansas

[DevilWearsPrada]

Go Wolfpack! I have them in my Sweet 16 brackets. I have been calling NCState, The Cardiac Pack 2.0. Congratulations to Coach Goffriend and the Pack Pride team for surviving and advancing over Georgetown to the Sweet 16.

Go Creighton! GTHC! On CBS, they announced John Henson is playing today in Greensboro. Go Creighton! GTHC!

[Greg_Newton]

I mean, NCSU was a bad call away from beating UNC a week ago... I do think KU has a better shot, but its not like NCSU has no shot at them....for the record, i don't think state will beat kansas

...without John Henson. Big difference. And that was with UNC shooting 5-20 from 3 and Zeller fouling out, and NCSU playing for their championship.

I doubt they stay within double digits in a rematch, especially with UNC at full strength and playing for a final four. I'll take 7' Withey, Robinson, Taylor and the rest of KU in St. Louis over NCSU any day.

[uh_no]

Just in:

Henson back for today's game.

[PackMan97]

IMO, they've passed the "aw, good for them" stage and are now at the "okay, you're starting to become threatening" level. They may well win the ACC next year if Leslie returns.

Anyone in the ACC should feel threatened by NC State. It's our fault for dropping that ball over the past 20 seasons.