August 2008 - Posts
What other kinds of challenges can Tom Crean have next season? What else can happen to a team that won’t have any returning scholarship players to start the season?
Maybe Indiana should play with the old three-point line while all the Hoosiers’ opponents get the newer, shorter one. Should the Hoosiers only get two timeouts in a half? Or maybe they should all be forced to wear Chuck Taylors, like Branch McCracken’s team would’ve.
It was already going to be a long season in Bloomington. Not having redshirt senior forward Kyle Tabor for the next 10 weeks isn’t going to be a huge setback, but it’s just one of those things that piles onto an already a brutal players exodus.
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Quick: The most storied coach in your school’s history has retired and you’re trying to maintain your status among the all-time elite programs. How do you do it? By transitioning from one Hall of Fame coach to a future Hall of Famer.
That’s how they roll at Louisville, No. 7 on the list of greatest college basketball programs.
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Say this about Kansas coach Bill Self – he’s earning that new contract.
Self, who guided the Jayhawks to their third NCAA tournament title in April and first since 1988, signed a mega $30 million deal in the offseason. He’ll get a short grace period from fans and school officials because they’re elated to raise another banner in Allen Fieldhouse, but Self admits the pressure will build for KU this season.
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Arizona hasn’t missed the NCAA tournament since 1984. That streak alone – the second longest in NCAA history – would necessitate inclusion among the greatest college basketball programs of all time.
But the Wildcats have done more since ’84 than just consistently win. They’ve produced some of the NCAA's most talented teams, several memorable games (the ’05 regional final against Illinois still amazes) and developed into one of college hoops' truly elite programs.
How else would they end up at No. 8 on this list?
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Blogging during college basketball’s summer months requires a little creativity, which always leads to some sweet projects and posts during July and August.
People toss out “prestige” rankings, improve on those “prestige” rankings or an attempt to rank programs by historical success.
But those are the serious attempts at summer blogging. Others can be a little more creative.
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Few college basketball programs can match Syracuse’s consistent excellence. Yes, the Orange have had their postseason bumps (Richmond, Vermont), but that’s true for any elite team. Everyone has an occasional NCAA tournament misstep.
And ‘Cuse more than makes up for any misstep with their overwhelming hoops résumé. That’s why they’re No. 9 on the list of greatest programs.
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It’s impossible to avoid the Olympics right about now. Even in a college hoops blog.
The ‘Redeem Team, Kobe, LeBron, ‘Melo & Co., has spent the last three years practicing together, working out some of the kinks and trying to get Team USA back on the gold medal podium after a horrid finish at Athens four years ago.
But what if they still chose Team USA from college players? What would that roster look like?
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Once upon a time, Connecticut hoops had a nice, cozy existence as a regional powerhouse.
Between 1947 and 1967, the Huskies won 17 Yankee Conference regular-season titles and reached the NCAA tournament 11 times. Sure, they only won one game in the Big Dance during that time, but that didn’t prevent them from developing a rabid local fan base.
Then two things happened: UConn joined the fledgling Big East in 1979, and it hired Jim Calhoun as its head coach in 1986.
Those two signaled the change from regional powerhouse to No. 10 on the list of greatest college basketball programs.
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