March Madness Discussion (Men's Nat'l Championship Game: Mon 4/8: Purdue vs UCONN)

[___Rand___]

Oregon got absolutely screwed tonight. 40 points in the paint and 3 FTA. Creighton took 20 more threes, has 18 points in the paint and has 12 FTA.

Refs were bull too. Coaching was highly suspect at the end of regulation. I was fuming.

[jkvonny]

Some great games tonite!

Oakland (of so close!)/NCSU. Creighton/Oregon. Texas/Tenn.

[jkvonny]

They are a for profit school….

They have a cult like following here in Phoenix. It’s a very religious school. I mean that in a respectful way

lol my parents went to Grand Canyon and my mom used to teach there. It was good to see them win. Majerle used to coach there. I think they mostly became an online school though...it was a pretty small school before.

Ah so they've been around for at least 60 years now huh? I thought they were like one of them brand new for profit diploma mills like the ones popping up in Canada.

They were D-II forever until recently moving up to D-I. Around 10 years ago.

[azcatz11]

Curious to see Purdue next game

[Repeat 3-peat]

Besides the game vs Uconn, every game I have watched of Marquette, I see Kam Jones being a scoring machine.

Tyler Kolek has the makings of a solid back up guard in the NBA.

[bwgood77]

Marquette vs Colorado is a fun game. Tyler Kolek has such great court vision. I really wanted to watch him after reading about the draft and seeing this from Givony:

Kolek is one of the best stories in the NCAA tournament. An unheralded transfer from George Mason who emerged as the best point guard in college basketball, he led Marquette to a Big East tournament championship and earned conference player of the year honors and All-American status. Kolek doesn't look the part at first glance with a stumpy frame, limited length, average explosiveness and a funky lefty shooting stroke. However, he is a tremendous ball handler who picks apart defenses, gets anywhere on the floor, finishes with toughness at the rim, makes every pass you'd hope for out of pick-and-rolls and is a far better defender than you'd expect. Kolek, who will turn 22 later this month, needs to decide whether to try to strike while the iron is hot or return to Marquette and attempt to win national player of the year honors and vie for a national championship for a team that should return most of its players.

He reminds me a little of Nash. He looks shorter and smaller but he's the same height. It's weird to read a player like him would be in the running for national player of the year. I guess we had Brunson who is the same height, with about the same shooting #s, but a little more of a scoring guard. Kolek almost doubles him in assists though.

It's hard to think of those guys in the NBA and compare him to them, but in college, he is right there with them as a player.

Kolek is projected to go 29-31, and Brunson went 33.

He will probably end up as a much much better version of McConnell with better passing and shooting, or a middle class' Nash...or somewhere in between..but who really knows. Haliburton was fairly highly regarded, though no one expected him to be nearly what he is.

Kolek averages more assists, the same in ppg, though not quite the FG%s Haliburton had. And Haliburton is a couple inches taller.

[2weekswithpay]

Da Silva might've solidified himself as a first round pick.

[azcatz11]

I’d be pretty surprised if Marquette doesn’t pull away here

[Dan33185]

That was a very bizarre last possession. I get the chances of them winning was like 1%, but they basically played with no urgency.

[azcatz11]

That was a very bizarre last possession. I get the chances of them winning was like 1%, but they basically played with no urgency.

I have no idea what I just saw

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

Oregon got absolutely screwed tonight. 40 points in the paint and 3 FTA. Creighton took 20 more threes, has 18 points in the paint and has 12 FTA.

Creighton is the best team in all of D1 and has been for years at not committing fouls. I watched the entire game and their defense was very clean and the refs are well aware of just how clean they defend so getting a whistle is not easy against them especially against Kalkbrenner who understands how to defend without fouling as well as any center in D1. Any plays in particular you were upset about?

[___Rand___]

Is Edey a 1st day draft pick or 2nd day?

[Dan33185]

Is Edey a 1st day draft pick or 2nd day?

33. San Antonio Spurs: Zach Edey

Previous mock draft spot: No. 32
School/team: Purdue
Position: C
Size: 7-foot-4, 300 lbs
Age: 21, Senior
Nationality: Canadian
Pro comparison: Jonas Valanciunas
Despite concerns over Zach Edey’s offensive fit and defensive switchability for today’s NBA, his height, strength, footwork, touch and reach may be too advantageous for some teams pass on in the 20s and 30s. The ability to create and fall into high-percentage shots is what could sway a front office.


https://www.nba.com/news/bleacher-report-latest-2-round-mock-draft-and-pro-comparisons-as-tournament-play-heats-up

[Kurtz]

Edey just dominating this game. Forget asking if he's a first round pick, and start asking if he's breaking into the top 10.

I know he can't defend in space in the NBA, but given his potential dominance inside you can work around that limitation.

[___Rand___]

Fork me. The championship is in Arizona? Should've stayed with AZ as my pick LMAO.

[___Rand___]

Is Edey a 1st day draft pick or 2nd day?

33. San Antonio Spurs: Zach Edey

Previous mock draft spot: No. 32
School/team: Purdue
Position: C
Size: 7-foot-4, 300 lbs
Age: 21, Senior
Nationality: Canadian
Pro comparison: Jonas Valanciunas
Despite concerns over Zach Edey’s offensive fit and defensive switchability for today’s NBA, his height, strength, footwork, touch and reach may be too advantageous for some teams pass on in the 20s and 30s. The ability to create and fall into high-percentage shots is what could sway a front office.


https://www.nba.com/news/bleacher-report-latest-2-round-mock-draft-and-pro-comparisons-as-tournament-play-heats-up

I figured that with a weak draft someone would pick him up. Nobody's excited about this year's draft. Nobody in the NCAA stands out as a prospect. Heck we're tanking and I'm doing even less reading and watching for prospects than other years.

[___Rand___]

Edey just dominating this game. Forget asking if he's a first round pick, and start asking if he's breaking into the top 10.

I know he can't defend in space in the NBA, but given his potential dominance inside you can work around that limitation.

He's too slow for the NBA. He can't stand in the paint like he does in college. They'll just pull him out from the paint and just blow by. NBA court is bigger too. Too much space for him to cover. So if I'm picking him in 1st, it'll be like with 28th or 30th pick, and I desperately need a big body to deal with Joker or something. Otherwise 2nd round is better.

[eminence]

Edey just dominating this game. Forget asking if he's a first round pick, and start asking if he's breaking into the top 10.

I know he can't defend in space in the NBA, but given his potential dominance inside you can work around that limitation.

He's too slow for the NBA. He can't stand in the paint like he does in college. They'll just pull him out from the paint and just blow by. NBA court is bigger too. Too much space for him to cover. So if I'm picking him in 1st, it'll be like with 28th or 30th pick, and I desperately need a big body to deal with Joker or something. Otherwise 2nd round is better.

Maybe you're using it as a metaphor, but NBA and NCAA courts are the same size.

[Kurtz]

Edey just dominating this game. Forget asking if he's a first round pick, and start asking if he's breaking into the top 10.

I know he can't defend in space in the NBA, but given his potential dominance inside you can work around that limitation.

He's too slow for the NBA. He can't stand in the paint like he does in college. They'll just pull him out from the paint and just blow by. NBA court is bigger too. Too much space for him to cover. So if I'm picking him in 1st, it'll be like with 28th or 30th pick, and I desperately need a big body to deal with Joker or something. Otherwise 2nd round is better.

I see your point, but if a 34-year old Brook Lopez can figure out how to be runner-up DPOY in the NBA, I think Edey can make it work too.

[G R E Y]

Agree with all the Edey limitations people are posting here.

But opponent put up a 3 and Edey turned his head to check for a man to box out and did it.

Got me all misty eyed.

You can see both how he can be exploited by opposition in NBA and how his strengths can be absolute assets in spots.

But yeah you can't have a lotto pick on a guy who is a situational advantage or disadvantage in longer minutes.