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A Vote for Izzo

  • Prescott
    Stoops isn't liked in the national media like Izzo is that why Izzo isn't thrown under the bus by the media & Stoops is.


    Could it be that basketball teams have to play their way into the Final Four, while football teams are awarded BCS Championship games based on some ridiculous formula.
  • Rebel_ I.N.S.
    Prescott wrote:
    Stoops isn't liked in the national media like Izzo is that why Izzo isn't thrown under the bus by the media & Stoops is.


    Could it be that basketball teams have to play their way into the Final Four, while football teams are awarded BCS Championship games based on some ridiculous formula.
    It could play a part.
  • killer_ewok
    Prescott wrote:
    Stoops isn't liked in the national media like Izzo is that why Izzo isn't thrown under the bus by the media & Stoops is.


    Could it be that basketball teams have to play their way into the Final Four, while football teams are awarded BCS Championship games based on some ridiculous formula.
    Ridiculous formula or not......you can only lose 1, maybe 2, games to benefit from that formula. And some years you need to make it through the entire regular season unscathed to have a shot. Playing your way into the NCAA tourney over a 30 game regular season and conference tournament doesn't seem to be as daunting a task as getting to the BCS title game.
  • TheMightyGators
    killer_ewok wrote:
    Prescott wrote:
    Stoops isn't liked in the national media like Izzo is that why Izzo isn't thrown under the bus by the media & Stoops is.


    Could it be that basketball teams have to play their way into the Final Four, while football teams are awarded BCS Championship games based on some ridiculous formula.
    Ridiculous formula or not......you can only lose 1, maybe 2, games to benefit from that formula. And some years you need to make it through the entire regular season unscathed to have a shot. Playing your way into the NCAA tourney over a 30 game regular season and conference tournament doesn't seem to be as daunting a task as getting to the BCS title game.
    agreed. Getting to the BCS title game is a tougher task, than making the final four.
  • Prescott
    Playing your way into the NCAA tourney over a 30 game regular season and conference tournament doesn't seem to be as daunting a task as getting to the BCS title game.
    Getting into the tournament isn't a big deal. Advancing to the Final Four is a big deal. I don't know if getting to a BCS championship is more difficult than advancing to a Final Four, but I do know a team doesn't get awarded a Final Four Spot. They have to win their way there.
  • killer_ewok
    Prescott wrote:
    Playing your way into the NCAA tourney over a 30 game regular season and conference tournament doesn't seem to be as daunting a task as getting to the BCS title game.
    Getting into the tournament isn't a big deal. Advancing to the Final Four is a big deal. I don't know if getting to a BCS championship is more difficult than advancing to a Final Four, but I do know a team doesn't get awarded a Final Four Spot. They have to win their way there.
    And you have to win your way to the BCS title game as the entire season is basically the playoff, not just a 2-week stretch.
  • Prescott
    And you have to win your way to the BCS title game as the entire season is basically the playoff, not just a 2-week stretch.
    We will agree to disagree. Teams have lost 1 and 2 games and still qualified for the BCS championship game. Obviously, if you lose in the NCAA tournament the championship is no longer attainable.
  • centralbucksfan
    Well, I reserved saying much about Izzo. I do think he is one of the best, no question. But people were going a bit overboard with all this "he is without a doubt the best in college bball" stuff. Getting to the final four is heck of accomplishment...but there is also something to be said for getting it done. And Izzo is now 1 for 6.
  • killer_ewok
    Prescott wrote:
    And you have to win your way to the BCS title game as the entire season is basically the playoff, not just a 2-week stretch.
    We will agree to disagree. Teams have lost 1 and 2 games and still qualified for the BCS championship game. Obviously, if you lose in the NCAA tournament the championship is no longer attainable.
    Fair enough.
  • centralbucksfan
    To be fair to both of you...I think its real difficult to compare basketball to fooball, NCAA to BCS. I just think things are so different with how things are set up.
  • reclegend22
    centralbucksfan wrote:Well, I reserved saying much about Izzo. I do think he is one of the best, no question. But people were going a bit overboard with all this "he is without a doubt the best in college bball" stuff. Getting to the final four is heck of accomplishment...but there is also something to be said for getting it done. And Izzo is now 1 for 6.
    I would agree with this. Definitely going overboard. Obviously I'm partial, but I think, especially after this season, it's pretty difficult to place anyone ahead of Krzyzewski. Tomorrow, he will be coaching in his 8th national championship game. In 11 Final Four appearances, Krzyzewski has accumulated an unprecedented (outside of John Wooden) 8-3 record in the national semi-finals. Frankly, if he reaches the Final Four, you can probably book it that Duke's playing Monday Night. Bob Knight, whom I consider the best coach in the history of the sport, at any level, only coached on Monday Night three times. Dean Smith, five -- and his teams played in the same amount of Final Fours as K's have. Pretty remarkable when you look at what K has accomplished compared to the other all-time greats. I still won't put him ahead of Knight -- not yet -- but I think he's making his case, if he already hasn't, in passing Smith. When he retires, he will have left Smith in the dust, to put it bluntly. And that's not intended as disrespect. Smith was a legend.

    Izzo has reached six Final Fours, but holds a 2-4 record in the semi-finals, and has only one title. He's coached much fewer years than K, but he has an awful lot of ground to make up. This year's run by Duke kind of took people by surprise, but I think has reminded them that Mike Krzyzewski is still Mike Krzyzewski.
  • Prescott
    This year's run by Duke kind of took people by surprise,
    Including Coach k. For all of those who claimed that USA basketball was a hindrance to duke, get real. You can see Mike D'Antoni's imprint on duke's offensive philosophy.

    As I've said before, there is no best. It isn't rocket science. Maybe, Brad Stevens is the best. He took a team with players the big boys ignored to the Final Game. What coach could have done any better?

    Izzo does deserve some accolades since he took a #5 seed to the Final Four after they lost their best player in the second round. Does it make him the best? No, but he is a good coach like so many others including Coach K.
  • reclegend22
    I'd agree with most of that, too.

    While I do think a better case for best coach can be made for Krzyzewski than probably anyone, my real point was that nobody can be considered ahead of Krzyzewski. I think others, like Izzo and Self and Williams, are right there, though, and cases could be made for those coaches, too.

    I find it pretty funny, though, that many here don't even rank Krzyzewski in their top five coaches currently in the game. Even if Duke had lost in the Sweet 16 this year, he's a top five current coach. Look at his wins pattern over the last handful of years, after the "down year" of 22 wins and an NCAA Tourney appearance in 2007, which featured a cast of about two upperclassmen (no seniors) and, at that time, an average group of freshmen and sophomores: 28, 30 and 35.

    But as well all know, Krzyzewski can't develop players and the Duke program died in the mid-2000s.
  • Prescott
    I find it pretty funny, though, that many here don't even rank Krzyzewski in their top five coaches currently in the game.
    I know nothing about that. I don't rank coaches because I don't think there is a #1 , a #2, etc.....There are many very good ones.I have to admit I find it funny that people get so defensive about someone else's opinion about the coach that leads their team. I like OSU and I ok with Matta. Is he the best?? Who knows. He can hold his own as can many coaches. I'm ok with that. So, if somebody thinks Matta sucks, I couldn't care any less.
  • enigmaax
    reclegend22 wrote: But as well all know, Krzyzewski can't develop players and the Duke program died in the mid-2000s.
    Yes and that is exactly why he should take that $12 million a year from the Nets and consider himself lucky that the Russian mob knows nothing about American college basketball.