Running 2022-23 NCAA Basketball Thread

One other thing that I'm curious about. Mike Davis in general only coached offense. Donnie Marsh coached UAB's defense, and it was very solid. How common is it for a HC to have what amounts to a defensive coordinator coaching the defense and calling the sets in college hoops? I don't know that I've ever seen it before, but it's not something that I would necessarily be aware of on other teams.

 

In all fairness, can we put constraints on what head coaches do within the program vs. the assistants (was going to say "in a box," but that could draw a technical or two)? Some know offense, some know defense, some are strong recruiters, some are better with Xs and Os (the mad scientists). IMO, the smart thing for a head coach to do is find assistants whose strengths are where the head coach lacks and who can minimize, if not eliminate, any weaknesses. It just depends on the overall staff makeup.

I knew an assistant coach who coached post players who is maybe 5-foot-10. Not exactly common, but it worked with that particular staff.

 

On the very low end of the bubble for sure. They'd have to win out all the way to the A-10 title game and have a lot of stuff break their way. They're playing better than anyone in the league right now and the only team I see taking them out is Dayton. Bonaventure beat them in Richmond earlier this year but VCU just played like total ass in that one. Path looks like it will be Bona-Davidson, then SLU/Duquesne and eventually Dayton.

There are some weird teams up in the 40s in the NET, like Liberty at 40. They have no shot of getting in without winning the ASun. Their best win is ... checks notes ... Bradley? I don't understand the metrics that have them at 40. Oral Roberts doesn't have a shot of getting in without winning the Summit, either, despite being up there in the 40s. Best win was Liberty. The best chances for at-larges from mid-major conferences are Florida Atlantic and Charleston.

 

Sure. I've seen that. It's just that defense was very much Marsh's baby, top to bottom. I'm sure Davis had things to say about it, especially if things went wrong - Mike Davis is an open book emotionally on the sidelines, grinning or pouting or blowing up angry - but Marsh really was very much like a DC in football. It was what he did. Agree, he also coached other stuff, certainly. Davis worked the offense, particularly the big men.

It just struck me funny. Thanks for the feedback.

 

Not saying that Davis is better than Pete; Maravich was a once-in-a-lifetime talent. I'm just noting that he has a great chance to break the record. Pete Rose breaking Ty Cobb's hit record is probably the best analogy. Rose wasn't better than Cobb, he just played more games and got more hits.

Pete didn't have the 3-pointer. Davis wasn't able to shoot one free throw on a common foul before the bonus in each half, like Pete was. I expect it pretty much balances out.

Speaking of Cobb, had he wanted to, or had the DH been in effect, he could have made it impossible for his record to ever be broken by continuing to play. He hit .343 at 40 and 41 with the Philadelphia A's, with 175 hits in 1927 and 114 more in 1928. Play another year of two and he has well over 4,300 hits instead of 4,189.

He loved playing for Connie Mack and got along with almost all his teammates. He just couldn't run well anymore and become a liability in the OF. His legs deserted him long before his bat ever did.

 

Pete was a clear All-American, but again, he shot the damn ball 37 times a game. He had more attempts in three years than Davis has in 5. Pete had more than 950 FGA each of his three years; since 1990, only one player has had more than 800 FGA in a season. Pete had a green light like no one has ever had in basketball history, and probably never will again.

 

I think it's pretty common. But like Sam was saying, there are a number of different areas that an assistant coach can bring a particular value to the team. With only three assistant spots, it's not universal that you have something equivalent to an offensive coordinator or defensive coordinator in football, and the best coaches find assistants who fill the voids where the head coach is less strong.

 

I'd started to ignore them a few weeks back but dammit some injuries hurt more than others. He's such a good guy.

 

Seriously. He was amazing, but his numbers were completely skewed by the way LSU played. While it is weird/possibly predictable that a coach's son is about to break another coach's son's record, it's insane that the "daddyball" discussion is only focused on Davis when, by all accounts, "Get a bucket, son" was basically the entirety of the Maravich offense.

 

Except when you watched Pete play, it was always his passing and ball-handling that was truly inventive and amazing, more than his shooting or scoring.

 

I flipped over to it, saw a guy hit a three, and said, It’s good! Oh, shit, not you.

 

LSU running the whole offense through Pistol Pete was a great idea considering how dog dick terrible the program was otherwise. When he got to Baton Rouge the Tigers were playing in a livestock exhibition hall. They had one winning season in the 13-year stretch between Bob Pettit and Maravich.