Now that the NCAA brackets are out, who is in the NIT?

[KitchenWitch]

[MemphisTiger]

1. My team the Memphis Tigers

[joeybee12]

2. Probably quite a few teams who could beat about half of the teams that

got into the NCAA Tournament!:puke:

[ThorsHammer]

3. Exactly

ND, IU, Georgetown, Maryland, Memphis State, DePaul, Va. Tech, and St. Joe's off the top of my head


EDIT: Here is the bracket - http://216.197.108.8/sj/cache/post-bracket.cfm

From the way they set it up, it looks like they want a Maryland, Miami/Georgetown, IU, and ND/DePaul Final 4.

[joeybee12]

4. Hey, are they gonna fire Brey?

Have you heard anything?

I'm very open to that option right now!

[ThorsHammer]

5. Not that I know of, and I don't think he should be, but........

However, I'd have no problem with them ending his honeymoon period. Yeah the Sweet 16 was great 2 years ago, but we have underacheived badly since then. I can't think of any team with 2 McDonalds AA's who missed the tournament, let alone twice in a year. It's also not like they are on an island with a bunch of scrubs around them - Quinn, Falls, the Cornett(e)s, and Latimore are all talented veterans as well. We should be at the point where we don't have to worry about being on the bubble every year, but our poor end of season and BET play puts us there every time. We're going to be squeezed even more with the C-USA teams coming in, and we have to step up our program ASAP or risk being left out as a perennial bubble team. Brey has brought in a very solid recruiting class, but we're going to need to get some results to go with this. I do think FB and BB are different, as Lou left FB in fair shape whereas BB with McLeod was inconsistent.

[joeybee12]

6. True, it's not like Brey inherited a powerhouse program, however,

the way the team has performed the last two years indictes--to me, at least--a sub-par coaching job. There were plenty of games that they should have won, and that they simply let get away. They have the talent, what they don't have is the discipline to get out of tight spots, or not let themselves get into those tight spots. That's the job of the coach.

BTW, two years ago they should have made the Elite Eight.

[ThorsHammer]

7. That sounds a lot like Coach Willingham

"There were plenty of games that they should have won, and that they simply let get away. They have the talent, what they don't have is the discipline to get out of tight spots, or not let themselves get into those tight spots. That's the job of the coach."

I think we got spoiled a little at the beginning, with Murphy, Humphrey, Carroll, Graves, Swanagan, and Thomas pre-injury. The first 3 were all talented veterans who are drawing NBA paychecks, while Graves and Swanagan were experienced guys who fit their roles perfectly. Since that core group finished (Carroll's graduation in 2003, our Sweet 16 year), we've struggled a lot. Torrian Jones was a good leader last year, and I think we miss him more than we realize. Quinn and Thomas are both good players, but neither is a vocal leader that can get the other guys fired up. If the freshmen aren't as good as advertised, we could be in serious trouble next year, especially with the C-USA teams moving in.

I was very pleased with the Sweet 16 two years ago, but don't think there's any way we could have made the Elite 8 unless we were in a different bracket. Arizona was on a different level - Walton, Gardner, Iguodola, Frye, Adams, and Stoudamire, and way too fast for us. The one that still bugs me is the Duke loss the year before. If we had won that, we would have had IU in the next round, and may have made the Final 4.

[joeybee12]

8. Yeah, and look at what happened to Wilingham!

Well, I don't thnk Brey is going to get canned...but if next year is a repeat of this year (wait, this year is a repeat of last year, so this is a three-peat), then he really has to go.

[ThorsHammer]

9. Bingo

That's what I was saying in that FB is different from BB. Willingham also had the disadvantage of following an inept coach who failed for 5 years, putting even more pressure on him (TW) to get it turned it out around quickly. Brey's Sweet 16 bought him some time, but is being discounted more and more with each burst bubble, and next year will be tough w/o Thomas. I think we could be decent if Latimore and Francis can click, as Quinn and Falls are pretty solid at the guards. I also hope that we dump some of the lesser OOC games and try to pick up games against mid-majors instead, as our OOC rating was a mess.

I'd love to pull Tubby Smith from UK, although that's a pipe dream. He's done damn well there, but the fans don't seem to appreciate him for some inexplicable reason. If he did the same at ND, we'd be building statues of him. I also like Romar at UW, and Few at Gonzaga, both of whom have done a good job building programs.

[joeybee12]

10. Do you think any of the coaches you mentioned are willing and able

to go to ND? Just wondering if you've ever heard of them expressing an interest.

What's-his-name...oh, Gruden (probably spelled wrong) let it be known for quite some time he would have gone to ND in a flash. But they ignored him for so long and let the program go so far downhill he passed this time around when they finally got around to asking him! Second choice, too. Can't say I blame him.

[ThorsHammer]

11. No, but I would still approach them discretely

I doubt any of them would actually come, but you never know until you try. We'd probably have better luck getting a young up and comer, although that is much more risky. The only chance we might have at Tubby is if he feels unappreciated, and even then I think he's more likely to go to the NBA. Romar has built his team into a potential power, as has Few. I don't think we need to be doing anything now, but I would start making a list just in case.

[midlandsdawg]

13. Nope, and I wouldn't want him

1) Tubby has done well, but his recruiting is somewhat questionable. Don't get me wrong, he coaches well, but I don't think he is the savior some like Vitale do. His classes have gotten weaker, strength wise, which will lead to some tough years in the SEC, this was a down year for that conference, but it is loaded coaching wise. UK doesn't board like they did under Pitino and they are getting smaller weight wise. I think the same problem could hurt him in the Big East as well. For further prove, look at what he left GA with when he went to UK. Now a guy I might think of going after in the SEC is Dennis Felton of UGA. He is an absolute gem of a coach, when you look at what he had this year, 8 games was unbelievable, especially 2 league games, when he had walk ons playing non-stop and most of the media thought they would win 4 at most. Plus, he plays such a great half court defense that you can win almost any game with less talent. Plus he might be sick of the whole probation/news mess down there.

2) If ND does go after a big name, they need to go strong, they do not need to repeat the Urban Meyer debacle.

[ThorsHammer]

14. I'd love to have that 'questionable' recruiting; Felton is intriguing too

Their current class is loaded - Rondo, Crawford, Morris, and Bradley; with Adam Williams as a greyshirt (one of those Oak Hill type places for the year, I think). He also brought in Allenye and the tall European kid (Linus?) last year. I agree that they could use some better big men, but no school is really doing well at this anymore thanks to the NBA draft. At most, a big man might come for a year or 2 and then leave, like Bosh, Carmelo, or Deng. However, he did bring in 2 touted recruits in Morris and Allenye. He also seems like the type of guy who can develop a diamond in the rough, like Chuck Hayes. Their postseason losses do puzzle me, as they have too much talent to go out early.

Who would you suggest among the big names? I'm just curious, as I don't think ND can pull in a star coach like Carolina did with Williams. The only reason we might have a chance (and a miniscule one at that) with Tubby would be if he felt underappreciated. The other exception would be someone with ND connections, like John Paxson. I don't think many coaches are going to be willing to play second fiddle to football, and the facilities leave something to be desired as well. Money can be an equalizer, but I don't think BB is given the same priority as FB. Felton does sound intriguing, and he seems like the type of guy (solid coach who wins with what he has, but could move up to a bigger and better stage) we could attract.

[MikeG]

12. Losers. Bwahahahahaha!!!