Running 2023-24 NCAA Basketball Thread

Tickets available starting at $2 for NC State-Louisville in DC. Happy Les Robinson Invitational Day to all who observe.

 

The women's college game develops stars while the men's game does not (at best the best 18-22 year old men's players are one and done). Caitlan Clark is probably the best known basketball player in America not in the NBA.

 

Column: LSU coach Kim Mulkey manages to go even lower after brawl at SEC championship

https://apnews.com/article/kim-mulkey-sec-dawn-staley-887e764ac7699d33ff8cc3a23d3e2c10

 

That wasn't nearly harsh enough.

 

Nearly had a great moment in board history today. Alas, it was Green Bay 64, Cleveland State 40 in the Horizon League women's final.

 

You put it in your post but the reason is she, and others, have been around forever while the men's side they are gone before they even become stars.

Imagine college basketball this season with junior Paolo Banchero and sophomore Derrick Lively at Duke, junior Chet Holmgren at Gonzaga, junior Jabari Smith and senior Walker Kessler at Auburn, senior Keegan Murray at Iowa, senior Jaden Ivey at Purdue, senior Bennedict Mathurin at Arizona and junior Shaedon Sharpe at Kentucky.

 

I would settle for sophomores Brandon Miller and Noah Clowney at Alabama.

 

I'm a touch sad this Les Robinson Day. It feels like the last one, to be honest, what with only 15 teams making the field next year.

 

Funny, I was just thinking there should be a hard cap of 10 teams for every league tournament (and every league come to think of it.)

 

I love Les Robinson. One of the greats. One year, they won the play-in game and he said, "Well, if they name a game after you, then you might as well win it."

 

As a young (terrible small daily SE at the time) about a year out of school, I sat with Les for a luncheon sponsored by the Wolfpack Club and interviewed him. I believe he was the AD then and Sendek was coaching. So was Chuck Amato, who was complete tool and sat by himself with his coaching staff. He didn't even interact with the alumni. It was so, so odd. I got three minutes with him. It was more than enough.

Les was an absolute gem. I spent the entire lunch at his table, he told stories and just could not be a better host to the alumni around him.

At one point, he asked, "Where'd you go to school, son?"

I hesitated ever so briefly.

Guffaws.

"No worries, son. I won't hold it against ya. And none of these boys should either."

 

Charleston repeats in the CAA with an 82-79 OT win over Stony Brook in a fucking great game. Stony Brook, trying to win four games in four days, overcame a nine-point deficit in the final minutes and had the ball with the shot clock off at the end of regulation. Then they nearly overcame a seven-point OT deficit. People don't like Pat Kelsey for reasons good (burned bridges by taking then leaving the UMass gig, is ALWAYS on and has never seen a microphone he didn't like) and bad (had the temerity to say shooting kids is bad after Sandy Hook) but he is a fucking great head coach and program-builder. Finds kids from D-II, turns them into stars and does it all over again the next year. Any power school should offer him a blank check.