Last year I decided to give college bball another try. Found out that it is really easy to watch in a short amount of time. Between free throws and constant stoppages of play, it is a very fast forward DVR friendly sport. I can knock out a bball game in 15-20 minutes.

Last year I picked Ben Simmons as my guy to follow and he was awesome, but his team was a fucking pathetic joke full of selfish jealous upper classmen who decided ruining the season but getting the ball was more important than being good.

This year, I stumbled on UCLA a month ago. They've got an amazing freshman PG, Lonzo Ball. Guy is a Jason Kidd clone except he shoots better (but damn does he have an ugly jumper). They also have a great freshman big in TJ Leaf. And they shoot 5 seconds into the shot clock. Fun team to watch. Seem them beat Kentucky and others. Last night they played Oregon. What a game! Ball was horrible int eh first half and Oregon was up. He took over the 2nd half and UCLA came back, but then a buzzer beater by Brooks from Oregon won the game and ended UCLA's undefeated season. Such a great game even having Bill walton do it didn't ruin it.

Also gotta give props to DEPAUL! Holy shit, they took #1 Nova down to the wire on the road before losing to a Josh Hart 3 pointer. I'm calling it the greatest DePaul basketball game in over a decade.

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Lonzo Ball's two brothers will be going to UCLA the next couple years, too. LaMelo (Soph) and LiAngelo (Senior).

Real hot shot types.

That's really cool. The big question is though, will any of them ever be teammates at UCLA? Lonzo is one and done. He started the year at around #6 on nbadraft.net, but last I checked he was up to #2. If his brothers are anything like him they might be lottery picks as well.

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THe little I have watched and heard so far in College Basketball on UCLA, they have a team where every guy can score too, not just one or 2 guys.

They went to Kentucky and won

yea UCLA is offensively loaded. Besides the 2 freshmen, they also have Alford's kid, Jru Holiday's brother and Isaac Hamilton just to name a few guys who can get 20 on any night. And some big guy Welsh had a career high 20 the other night vs Oregon.

Overall, I'm a big proponent of the belief that a couple tough early season losses aren't necessarily a bad thing for a young hot shot team. You can learn a lot from a loss and it helps keep the freshman grounded in reality rather than going through the season thinking college basketball is easy. A good team will learn to work even harder after suffering a loss or two.

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So true, you see what kind of team you have after a loss.

Got my first look at Markele Fultz this weekend. Guy is a stud. Reminds me somewhat of Rose in that he's so smooth he almost looks effortless and yet he gets to the rim whenever he wants. Shoots better than Rose though. His team is shit so get a look at him while you can. Washington is 0-5 when Fultz scores 20+ and something like 7-2 when he scores under 20. So basically the whole team sits around and watches him when he gets going.


Very much looking forward to seeing him battle vs Lonzo Ball a couple times this season.

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watched Villanova go down at Butler last night. Too much Jay Brunson and not enough Josh Hart was my diagnosis.

Really enjoying the Big East this season. Not sure which teams are in it, but the games I've seen have been a lot of fun.

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Baylor's first ever reign as #1 in the country ended before it even started with a trouncing at West Virginia last night. Tough draw for Baylor, I think I can think of probably 200 places and teams that would be easier to play.

Also watched Villanova dispatch Xavier. Rough start for Nova, but they woke up about 10 minutes into the game and took control.

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There is a good shot this is the year Northwestern makes the tournament.

I think the state will get two bids this year, which is like a bumper crop compared to the last few.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

1 bid for the state and that's for ISU.

Northwestern isn't going to make it, they have a tough road schedule still and probably need 10 conference wins to make the tournament.

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Some great games over the weekend. Of course the one I really wanted to watch the most, UCLA @ Utah, wasn't televised.

But, did get to see Duke get beat which is always fun. Nova and Kansas continue to roll. UNC over Florida State, the freshman on FSU is really good. Zags looked very good vs St. Marys. Baylor responded to their first loss with a nice win at Kansas State.

DVR'ing the 4 game BigEast marathon on FS1 today.

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Potentially big injury last night. Maurice Williams, stud senior PG for Creighton, went down with a knee injury in the first half of the win vs Xavier and didn't return.

That said, it looked like he just got a bad knee on knee bone bruise so hopefully he won't miss any significant time. But, something to pay attention to because with him they are a legit final 4 contender. Without him they are still good, but more like a sweet 16 contender.

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agreed

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I'm going to bounce from the spot for awhile but I will be back at some point to argue with you about this hoops stuff again. Playoffs have been great this season. See ya up the road.

I'm out.

Out for year with torn ACL

yea saw that last night. As a fan of college bball this is devastating news. He was leading the NCAA in assists and was one of the most exciting players to watch. Watching him and Patton play together was a joy. They really had a legit final 4 shot. Now, they'll be lucky to get out of the first weekend of the tournament.

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Watched future NBA #1 pick Markelle Fultz drop 37 on Colorado in an OT win last night. Guy is amazing, looks completely effortless out there.

Washington vs UCLA is going to be must see tv, however Ball has a huge advantage in the teammates department.

Also watched the NC State vs Pitt game from teh night before to get a look at possible #3 pick Dennis Smith Jr. He had his worst game of the year so tough to judge, but he can't shoot for shit. But as good a 6'3 athlete as we've seen. Does everything well except shoot and when he misses a shot its pretty ugly. Some serious bricks.

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Got a good game here between Kansas and West Virginia. Too bad I have to hear Vitale on the broadcast to ruin it.

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Kansas can't play defense or block out for rebounds.

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Probably the weakest Kansas team in recent memory. The B12 is deep with solid teams but no really good team. Would not want to play West Va in the tournament though.

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Soccer 1,2,3
Spanish Honor Society 1,2,3,4
Forensics 1,2,3,4

"Smiles with Nostrils"

"...no Hmong, go find some blacks"

Yeah, but I doubt they are going to get the second chance opportunities and wide open lanes they got tonight throughout the tournament. Hit some clutch 3's though.

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Unfortunately I missed the game as I set my DVR for it before I went out of town and then the game got switched to a different channel and I ended up with Purdue vs MSU instead


But, I wouldn't put too much stock in this game. WVU might be the toughest road game on anyone's schedule, but they are often a totally diifferent team when they get on a neutral court. I fell for WVU last year so going to be more careful this year. That said, they are a better offensive team than last year so that should help.

As for Kansas, they are far from the weakest Kansas team in recent memory. They might have the best backcourt in the NCAA, plus one of the best frosh in Jackson up front. They do lack some inside presence which could hurt, but I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss a team with that level of guard play.

Today's epic Kansas vs Kentucky game is going to be amazing assumiung that Fox is healthy and playing.

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Some great games tonight, definite must see tv if you are a CBB fan.

Start off with an undercard of Purdue vs Northwestern. Massive game in the Big10 between 2 teams that are on their way to the tourny. Purdue coming off a tough loss to Nebraska, NU on the other hand is rolling.

You warmed up? Good, now settle in for the main event. #2 Baylor visits #3 Kansas. This really should be a battle between #1 and #2 as Kansas should be #1 in the polls, not Gonzaga. Kansas was #2 last week and lost at West Virginia, possibly the toughest road game in CBB these days and then they rebounded with a win AT #4 Kentucky.

Contrast that to Gonzaga who was #3 last week. They didn't lose last week, but wins over Portland, San Diego and Pepperdine pushed them to #1 in the polls. IMO, Kansas had a more impressive week than Gonzaga despite the loss at WVA and should not have been leapfrogged by the Zags in the polls.

Aside from those games, you can also check out two of the top freshman PG's in the country, NC State's Dennis Smith Jr and Washington's Markele Fultz. Not playing each other, but they are both on the tube tonight. Fultz is the probable #1 pick in the NBA draft. Smith reminds me of a poor shooting Steve Francis back in the day. Super athlete, but not a great shooter and not great height.

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shakes getting back into college hoops with a vengeance! I wish I could be that interested again. There was a time when it was hands down my favorite sport, nothing else close. But the rule changes trying to make it more like the NBA game and the one-and-dones caused me to lose interest.

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Don't take it personally.

Between 1985 and 1999ish I don't think there was anyone in the USA who followed CBB closer than me other than people getting paid to do it. It was my favorite sport by far. Used to get Basketball Times subscription every year, great newspaper. There was a time when I could've told you all of the top 100 high school prospects and where they were going to school. Used to be able to name the college that every NBA player went to.

Lost interest after my doc told me I couldn't play hoops anymore. Just got back into it and am really enjoying it again. Love the parity that has resulted from all the one and dones. Sure it would be great to see these guys play out a few years, but I don't really mind it as it makes every season exciting in that you don't really know who is gonna be good.

This season has been great. Great games just about every day or every other day, lots of exciting finishes, lots of upsets.

ON top of that , its the best DVR sport. With creative fast forwarding (skipping all free throws, fast forwarding through whistles until shot clock is at 10) you can knock out a CBB game in 15-20 minutes.

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How many teams do you think can legit win the title this year?

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2018
#ExtendLafleur
10 More Wins

Purdue isn't nearly as good as they should be if they don't roll Northwestern today.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

They are HUGE!! Ethan Happ really struggles against their size, he doesn't have a jump or set shot to combat his low post moves.

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2018
#ExtendLafleur
10 More Wins

My friends and I were intense college hoops fans from about '78 to the late 80s. I can remember how excited I was when the Street & Smith came out.

Here's a good college hoops related story. I may have told it here before, but I think maybe it was in a PM to Hawkeye Vince.

In the late 80s a friend and I worked as the "road crew" for Stu Hirsh, a guy whose orchestra plays a lot of North Shore events and weddings at the high end downtown hotels. Hell, you may have even danced to him before. As an aside, Stu is a great guy with a filthy sense of humor. Sometimes before anyone was in a place he would warm up with this tune he wrote called "She's Sick Again" that had these lyrics:

I could tell by the stench
There was blood in the trench
I could tell from the smell
She wasn't feeling so well

One time I showed up at a golf club in Lake Forest to breakdown and pack up the shit. It was after 2:00 in the morning and the band was still going. All these WASPy motherfuckers were loaded and the old patrician blonde ladies without their shoes and their fat husbands were on the dance floor. Stu was playing "Smoke On The Water". Awesome.

Anyway, sorry to get off track there. One night Stu and the boys were playing a wedding at a downtown hotel, I don't remember which one. I wasn't working it but my buddy who was as big a college hoops fan as I was was. He got done packing up the stuff, it's about one in the morning, and he's driving back through the Loop to get on the expressway and a young 6'8" black dude jumps out in front of his car and he's crying like a baby. It's the middle of winter and the guy has no coat. My buddy rolls down the window and asks the kid what's wrong. The kid is sobbing so hard he can barely speak, but he mumbles something about Coach Billy Tubbs.

The story comes out that he was on the Oklahoma team and somehow he got lost, the team had left for O'Hare without him and Coach Billy Tubbs was going to have his ass, he had no money, and this was the first time he had been in Chicago and he was terrified. My friend was very suspicious and he asked the guy his name. He said it was Anthony Martin. My friend said, "That's a lie. I've watched a lot of Sooners games and I've never seen you." The guy starts blubbering all over and says, "I don't play much. Coach Billy Tubbs says I'm gonna play more next year." So my buddy says, "Okay, how did your team lose in the Tournament last year?" And the kid starts crying really hard and says, "That bald dude from Iowa hit the shot from the top of the key." My friend figured he was telling the truth so he let him get in the car. He wasn't sure what to do with him so he drove him to the Sun-Times building and took him up to the sports department. The guy on the night desk said he would help him.

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Don't take it personally.