College Basketball 2011-2012 Thread

[Gribbz]

Bear down.

[Cameron Frye]

today's top 25 games

[Gribbz]

BALL NIGHT!

[summerkid]

New Mexico is on a roll right now.

[tyles]

Generally, I don't like Kansas but I've enjoyed watching them a ton this year. T. Rob is just the man! Can't help but pull for him.

THIS.

Also, thank you!

Also also, KU's win over Mizzu was a relief, and quite the nailbiter in the end. So glad we sent them home with a loss, which they deserve for walking away from one of the NCAA Basketball's biggest rivalries.

[rag and bone]

Let's be clear...I do not wish to share any camaraderie with Kansas fans whatsoever. Thomas Robinson is just a great story and I hope the best for him. Withey can suck a fat one.

[Gribbz]

I still say Frank Martin is scarier.

Let's be clear...I do not wish to share any camaraderie with Kansas fans whatsoever. Thomas Robinson is just a great story and I hope the best for him. Withey can suck a fat one.

Withey's mama fights his battles for him.

[tyles]

I wasn't too sold on Withey at first, but I have to admit, he has really stepped up in the last two months. But yeah... Thomas Robinson is awesome. If he went pro after this season, I would not be surprised. I would love for him to stay, but I said the same thing about the Morris twins, and they seem to be doing ok for themselves lately.

[Chillzzz]

Withey can suck a fat one.

Don't talk about Jeffery that way!!! He wanted to go to Hard Summer with us!!

[Chillzzz]

If he went pro after this season, I would not be surprised. I would love for him to stay, but I said the same thing about the Morris twins, and they seem to be doing ok for themselves lately.

T-Rob will be going pro this year no doubt, he financially has to to take care of his little sister after what happened last year. He'll be a top 10 pick no doubt. The guy has a motor that won't quit along with the athleticism, length, and skill to make up for the fact he's only around 6'8. Block against Missouri was his hesiman moment and the national POY is between Robinson and Anthony Davis, with all due respect to all other candidates those two are at another level.

[rag and bone]

Don't talk about Jeffery that way!!! He wanted to go to Hard Summer with us!!

Just another empty promise from that dick!

[Chillzzz]

Just another empty promise from that dick!

HHAHAHAHA Don't worry we got Kaleb Tarczewski coming next year to fill that 7ft white guy role. We really could use Withey but he was a Lute recruit. So was Mike Mosser who ended up going to UCLA and transferred to UNLV and killing it!!

[Mr. Porter]

Speaking of the Bruins, who read the SI article? Some eye-opening stuff but I'm not sure how it'll affect Howland's job security.

[HotHamWater]

It probably will affect Howland's job security. The core of that program seemed to go to shit, and they really aren't winning much lately. I don't see how it couldn't affect his standing at UCLA.

Reeves Nelson is crazy. Lol. He pissed on Tyler Honeycutt's clothes and bed because he thought Honeycutt ratted him out for being a part of buying a party bus for New Year's Eve. Abused team managers and assistant coaches, and intentionally injured teammates. I guess he was rightfully dismissed in December, and it probably happened too late.

Some players also raved and rolled on ecstasy one New Year's Eve when they had an 8am practice the following day. Good stuff. Howland seemed to look the other way on most of this.

[Chillzzz]

We all knew Nelson was a dickburger but wow!!!

[boarderwoozel3]

Not sure how Howland keeps his job after this. It's quite the black eye on the program and the academic institution as a whole.

Losing control of your team on issues of drug abuse and staff mistreatment then essentially turning a blind eye? Letting Nelson run amok for three years before FINALLY dismissing him only after losing three good players to transfers and a few in the draft (who might have stayed under better circumstances?) torpedoed this program. His decisions were clearly a detriment to the performance of the team = not doing the job he's paid very well to do = why is he being paid to do it again?

[Still-ill]

I wouldn't be surprised if Romar is the guy who gets the UCLA job, if Howland is fired.

[buddy]

I should be vegas for the first week/weekend of the final four, any recommendations on which casino to watch the games at?

[Gribbz]

Ben Howland still has his job?

I should be vegas for the first week/weekend of the final four, any recommendations on which casino to watch the games at?

My parents have been doing this for the past few years... but I doubt they're the best ones to ask. You should PM Faxman.

[boarderwoozel3]

I wouldn't be surprised if Romar is the guy who gets the UCLA job, if Howland is fired.

I would. Sure UCLA would be a step up prestige-wise but it'd be a rough personnel transition for a year or two until Romar could get his kind of players. His motion offense would be awful with UCLA's roster. Moreover, he's a Husky through and through. Went to UW, starred at UW, and basically IS the program. I can't imagine him leaving for another school in conference. That'd be a (unprecedented?) dick move.

[BlueDevil50]

Hey guys...since Rocke isn't doing his bracket pool this year, I'll be running mine again and you're all welcome to join. It's on yahoo, $20 dollars to join and I usually have about 40 people in it so top three places get winnings. Just pm me with your email if you're interested.

[Still-ill]

I would. Sure UCLA would be a step up prestige-wise but it'd be a rough personnel transition for a year or two until Romar could get his kind of players. His motion offense would be awful with UCLA's roster. Moreover, he's a Husky through and through. Went to UW, starred at UW, and basically IS the program. I can't imagine him leaving for another school in conference. That'd be a (unprecedented?) dick move.

I can't speak for his mindset, I don't know much about his character. What I do know is that there seems to be a lot of buzz around him, seeing as he was an assistant at UCLA. Plus, it would help his odds of landing Jabari Parker, a guy who he already has a good rapport with. But, Dan Guerrero doesn't seem to like to do what the fans of his school are interested in, so it'll probably be someNBA guy who got fired.

[Chillzzz]

You got imagine this effects Shabazz's decision if Howland isn't there. But if they get a high profile coach in there it might give him more reason to go. Word is he's going to go to an Adidas school because of ties there (his sister is already signed with them as a tennis player) UCLA and Kansas are the two Adidas schools on his list, but UCLA closer to home and the new Pauly could be enticing. But who know's what can happen when Coach Cal is on the prowl, plus when I've watched he's wearing Nikes.

[Gribbz]

I doubt Shabazz will end up at UCLA regardless of Howland's job status.

[rag and bone]

Considering this latest report that Shabazz's eligibility might be compromised I highly doubt UCLA would still take him. It sounds like a stupid investigation but the fact that it's even a little murky seems like it would deter the school at this point.
http://www.cbssports.com/collegebask...ds-eligibility

[Chillzzz]

That's so 38 seconds ago, get a 4G network bro, but you're right, it's a stupid investigation that should blow over.

[Gribbz]

Reeves Nelson rips claims of misdeeds

LOS ANGELES -- Former UCLA forward Reeves Nelson, portrayed in the week's Sports Illustrated as one of the main catalysts in UCLA's dysfunctional basketball program, refuted the incidents in the article during a radio interview with Mason and Ireland Friday on ESPN 710.

Nelson said incidents such as his intentionally injuring teammates and urinating on a teammate's clothes described in the article "Not the UCLA Way" were not true and that a quote attributed to him was taken out of context.

"This article makes me look like I'm a scumbag really and I'm not like that," Nelson said. "I just want my good name restored."

The Sports Illustrated story, reported and written by Pulitzer Prize winner George Dohrmann, detailed many incidents of dysfunction in the UCLA program. A large portion of the article is spent on the antics of Nelson, who was dismissed from the team early this season.

Stories that Nelson intentionally injured James Keefe, got into a fight at practice with Mike Moser and gave Drew Gordon a black eye at an off-campus fight are prominent. The story also says Nelson punted basketball into the stands and told student managers to "fetch."

The most memorable anecdote alleged Nelson to have urinated on the clothes of Tyler Honeycutt because Honeycutt supposedly thwarted Nelson's plan to rent a party bus on New Year's Eve.

"I claim and know that they didn't happen," Nelson said of the incidents contained in the story.

Nelson also claimed that Dohrmann never gave him a chance to respond to or give his version of the events depicted in the story.

"He never asked me for my version of any event at all," Nelson said. "He never gave me a chance to defend myself or anything like that. He just took my statement and, like I said, he twisted it to make his point."

Sports Illustrated's parent company Time, Inc., released a statement Thursday stating that it stands behind Dohrmann's reporting.

"Time Inc. and Sports Illustrated unequivocally stand behind George Dohrmann's story, Not the UCLA Way," the statement says. "Dohrmann has multiple sources on the facts uncovered during his reporting. This includes a detailed conversation with Mr. Nelson in which he was given an opportunity to respond to the facts and, to his credit, he did."

Nelson, however, says he has his own trail of evidence in the form of text messages and phone calls from Keefe and Honeycutt, among others, stating that the incidents were falsely reported.

"Regardless if a Pulitzer Prize winning author wrote it, if the person he's writing about or the two people directly involved both say it's not true, then how does that happen," Nelson said.

In the Sports Illustrated report, Dohrmann reports that "Nelson confirmed all these incidents to SI and expressed his regret, saying, 'On all that stuff, I have no trouble admitting that I lost control of my emotions sometimes. I take responsibility for my actions. I'm really just trying to learn from the mistakes I made on all levels.

Nelson, however, contends that he gave that quote before being made aware of the specific incidents to be contained in Sports Illustrated report.

"I felt taken advantage of, to be honest, because he kind of -- not even kind of he pretty much did -- use a quote that I gave at the very beginning of our conversation and then infused it to make his point and make me look like a really bad person," Nelson said.

"In the actual conversation I after saying hello to him -- that's when I made that statement. That was right at the beginning of the conversation and I was not asked -- I had no idea what he was going to put in the article at that point. I was speaking on the actual factual reasons why I was dismissed from the team."

Nelson said the reason he was kicked off the team at UCLA was because of a series of incidents that demonstrated insubordination and a lack of respect. He walked out of a team practice, missed a flight to Hawaii for the Maui Invitational and joked at the end of the bench during a loss to Texas.

"I didn't show a lot of respect to the team and program if you want to put it in a nutshell," Nelson said.

He just wants his good name restored.
http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/ncb/s...tions-misdeeds

[Still-ill]

Washington Ooooof.

[knytt]

That win takes away a little bit of the sting for UCLA, but man, no one on campus even gives a shit about the team right now. There's no advertising for it, no excitement, no buzz; UCLA Men's Basketball is dead in the water right now. Even the Daily Bruin sports page doesn't give them coverage they had the first few weeks, the scandal was the first time I've seen them as the leading story in a while. UCLA Women's Gymnastics and Men's Tennis are the big games advertised for on campus and I haven't seen a Men's Basketball ad board since maybe the third week of the season. Really sad, I was as excited as hell at the beginning of this year. Hopefully the tourney gives them some good momentum for next year.

[Pixiessp]

Someone lock Austin Rivers in a closet. Just for today.