SB Nation User Blog: Quinn1979

Haunting Moments vs. Michigan St.

Quinn1979 — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 13:58:09 -0000

It's taken me awhile to get any motivation to post after last Sunday. But did anyone else notice some eery parallels during the Michigan St. game that reminded you of other bad memories as a UofL fan?

1. Center hitting 3s: As Suton was going 3-3 from long range in the first half, everyone surely had one word in mind: Pittsnogle.

2. Banked 3: Ahh...Kalin Lucas' banked 3 at a clutch moment when they're up 6. Brought back memories of Patrick Beinlein banking the 3 in from the Lobo logo.

3. Botched Fast Break: I really got the eery feeling when MSU thwarted UofL's 3 on 1 fast break after Samardo's big block. Not only did Michigan St. interrupt the play, but they actually saved the ball. A true dagger. Remember 2003 vs. Butler? Reece Gaines had been money all season and he stole with ball with Garcia (I believe) way ahead. Reece threw the ball over the one single Butler defender, but the guy jumped up and made a heck of a play to steal the ball.

4. T-Will Alley-oop: I've always been surprised that T-Will doesn't get more alley-oops called for him. Obviously, the alley-oop that sticks in my mind is the one vs. Texas A&M (a loss). Unfortunately, my first thought when they ran that play vs. MSU was that the last similar time they ran that play was a loss.

In my opinion, you can hear all you want about Michigan St. "controlling the tempo" or "doing a masterful job to shut down T-Will" or "really listening to the brilliant gameplan by their brilliant coach Tom Izzo." To me, though, the bottom line is that they hit their shots. Let's face it, two UofL opponents have hit 50% from 3 all season and they were both losses (ND and MSU). Bottom line: that was the difference.

1. Think about it, UofL was an inch away from grabbing the game by the throat in the first half which is usually the time they pull away. Suton hit a 3 with 1 second left on the shot clock with PK in his face. Say he misses that and one of his other 3s and UofL has a 9 point lead at some point in the first half, T-Will likely plays the last 4 minutes of the half and it's a totally different ballgame. As a point of reference, Suton had hit two 3s in an entire game only 3 times all season. Of course he hits three 3s in the first half against the #1 overall seed.

2. Lucas' banked 3 was, ahem, the dagger. There's no other way around it. There's a biiiiig difference between being up 6 and up 9.

3. To me, though, the BIGGEST shot in the entire game was Lucas' rainbow 3 after UofL had grabbed a 36-34 lead. That had been the exact point in recent games when UofL steps on the opponent's throat and builds a double digit lead. When we came back against Nova and Syracuse, those shots for the opponent simply didn't go in. I am quite convinced that if he misses that shot, UofL has the ball and the lead 36-34 and wins going away.

I'm not trying to take any credit away from MSU -- they hit they hit the shots and played well. I'm just trying to point out what a mammoth difference a bank 3 here and a desperation 3 by the Center there does impact a game.

I don't know what it is about the Big 10 either. You watch their games and the scores are 38-33 and 52-49 yet someone they always play UofL well. My tally shows Pitino at 3-6 vs. the Big 10 at UofL including 0 for the last 5. That's an amazing statistic.

Big East Pool Update - FINAL

Quinn1979 — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 16:58:45 -0000

Congrats to Adamjd86 and mp502 for winning the pool. Now it's up to Mike to let us know what the tiebreaker submissions were so we can determine which winner should start drafting The Editorial.

Rank	Name	Score
1	Adamjd86	26
1	mp502	26
3	Dais	25
4	BostonCardFan's Wife	24
5	Leigh	23
5	sarasota-card	23
7	mabake02	22
7	system24	22
9	DocCardsFan	21
9	DoctorsofDunk1980	21
9	rickinva	21
9	rwieg22	21
9	statprof	21
9	yawnz	21
15	EvansvilleCard	20
15	Macadu18	20
15	VillinNCincy	20
18	BostonCardFan	19
18	Gavin729	19
18	Luke Whitehead's Rap Career	19
18	Web	19
22	CARD_G6	18
22	DirtRipper	18
22	ericdedwar	18
22	lexcard28	18
22	SpeedStudent	18
22	UL is my hot hot sex	18
28	83fan	17
28	cardscott5	17
28	centrecard	17
28	RedGrassFan	17
28	twistedwedge	17
28	whitacreky	17
34	jaxcard	16
35	cvaughn8086	15
35	rob8	15
35	thecraphead	15
38	CardsFan922	14
38	Mike Rutherford	14
38	njcard	14
38	Quinn1979	14
42	Ben Go CARDS	13
42	checkplease	13
44	Phauz	12
45	cardsfan80	10
45	Chicago's Cardinal 3	10
45	Final4Galore	10
48	zwickz711	9

Big East Pool Update - Rd 5 (IMPORTANT)

Quinn1979 — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 16:37:14 -0000

Adamjd86 and mp502, please email mikeruth5@aol.com with your tiebreaker guess which is the TOTAL points in tonight's UofL/SU game.

Going into the finals, here are the standings:

Rank	Name	Score
1	mabake02	22
2	Adamjd86	21
2	mp502	21
4	Dais	20
4	Macadu18	20
6	BostonCardFan	19
6	BostonCardFan's Wife	19
6	Gavin729	19
6	Luke Whitehead's Rap Career	19
6	Web	19
11	CARD_G6	18
11	DirtRipper	18
11	ericdedwar	18
11	Leigh	18
11	sarasota-card	18
16	83fan	17
16	cardscott5	17
16	RedGrassFan	17
16	system24	17
16	twistedwedge	17
21	DocCardsFan	16
21	DoctorsofDunk1980	16
21	jaxcard	16
21	rickinva	16
21	rwieg22	16
21	statprof	16
21	yawnz	16
28	cvaughn8086	15
28	EvansvilleCard	15
28	rob8	15
28	thecraphead	15
28	VillinNCincy	15
33	CardsFan922	14
33	Mike Rutherford	14
33	njcard	14
33	Quinn1979	14
37	Ben Go CARDS	13
37	checkplease	13
37	lexcard28	13
37	SpeedStudent	13
37	UL is my hot hot sex	13
42	centrecard	12
42	Phauz	12
42	whitacreky	12
45	cardsfan80	10
45	Chicago's Cardinal 3	10
45	Final4Galore	10
48	zwickz711	9

Big East Pool Update - Rd. 3

Quinn1979 — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 14:10:09 -0000

After hearing so much from Doug Gottlieb about UL's body of work, I don't want it to go unsaid that UofL is 3-0 on the road versus the remaining teams.

Here are the scenarios:

1. Louisville over WVU

Rank	Name	Score
1	Adamjd86	26
1	mp502	26
3	Dais	25

2. Louisville over Syracuse

Rank	Name	Score
1	Adamjd86	26
1	mp502	26
3	Dais	25

3. Nova over WVU

Rank	Name	Score
1	mabake02	18
2	Adamjd86	17
2	mp502	17

4. Nova over Syracuse

Rank	Name	Score
1	mabake02	18
2	Adamjd86	17
2	mp502	17

5. WVU over Louisville

Rank	Name	Score
1	mabake02	22
2	Adamjd86	21
2	mp502	21

6. WVU over Nova

Rank	Name	Score
1	mabake02	18
2	Adamjd86	17
2	mp502	17

7. Syracuse over Louisville

Rank	Name	Score
1	mabake02	22
2	Adamjd86	21
2	mp502	21

8. Syracuse over Nova

Rank	Name	Score
1	mabake02	18
2	Adamjd86	17
2	mp502	17

Onto the rankings:

Rank	Name	Score
1	mabake02	18
2	Adamjd86	17
2	mp502	17
4	Dais	16
4	Macadu18	16
6	BostonCardFan	15
6	BostonCardFan's Wife	15
6	Gavin729	15
6	Luke Whitehead's Rap Career	15
6	Web	15
11	CARD_G6	14
11	DirtRipper	14
11	ericdedwar	14
11	Leigh	14
11	sarasota-card	14
16	83fan	13
16	cardscott5	13
16	RedGrassFan	13
16	system24	13
16	twistedwedge	13
21	DocCardsFan	12
21	DoctorsofDunk1980	12
21	jaxcard	12
21	Phauz	12
21	rickinva	12
21	rwieg22	12
21	statprof	12
21	yawnz	12
29	cvaughn8086	11
29	EvansvilleCard	11
29	rob8	11
29	thecraphead	11
29	VillinNCincy	11
34	CardsFan922	10
34	Mike Rutherford	10
34	njcard	10
34	Quinn1979	10
38	Ben Go CARDS	9
38	checkplease	9
38	lexcard28	9
38	SpeedStudent	9
38	UL is my hot hot sex	9
38	zwickz711	9
44	centrecard	8
44	whitacreky	8
46	cardsfan80	6
46	Chicago's Cardinal 3	6
46	Final4Galore	6

Big East Pool Update - Rd. 2

Quinn1979 — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 14:33:24 -0000

Rank	Name	Score
1	CARD_G6	11
1	mp502	11
3	83fan	10
3	Dais	10
3	RedGrassFan	10
6	BostonCardFan	9
6	BostonCardFan's Wife	9
6	mabake02	9
6	Web	9
10	Adamjd86	8
10	DirtRipper	8
10	ericdedwar	8
10	Leigh	8
10	rob8	8
10	sarasota-card	8
10	VillinNCincy	8
17	cardscott5	7
17	CardsFan922	7
17	Macadu18	7
17	Mike Rutherford	7
17	system24	7
17	twistedwedge	7
23	Ben Go CARDS	6
23	checkplease	6
23	DocCardsFan	6
23	DoctorsofDunk1980	6
23	Gavin729	6
23	jaxcard	6
23	lexcard28	6
23	Luke Whitehead's Rap Career	6
23	Phauz	6
23	rickinva	6
23	rwieg22	6
23	SpeedStudent	6
23	statprof	6
23	UL is my hot hot sex	6
23	yawnz	6
23	zwickz711	6
39	centrecard	5
39	cvaughn8086	5
39	EvansvilleCard	5
39	thecraphead	5
39	whitacreky	5
44	njcard	4
44	Quinn1979	4
46	cardsfan80	3
46	Chicago's Cardinal 3	3
46	Final4Galore	3

Big East Pool Update - Rd 1

Quinn1979 — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 04:19:54 -0000

1	BostonCardFan's Wife	3
1	CARD_G6	3
1	Macadu18	3
1	mp502	3
1	Web	3
6	83fan	2
6	Adamjd86	2
6	Ben Go CARDS	2
6	checkplease	2
6	Dais	2
6	DirtRipper	2
6	DocCardsFan	2
6	DoctorsofDunk1980	2
6	ericdedwar	2
6	Gavin729	2
6	jaxcard	2
6	Leigh	2
6	lexcard28	2
6	Luke Whitehead's Rap Career	2
6	njcard	2
6	Phauz	2
6	Quinn1979	2
6	RedGrassFan	2
6	rickinva	2
6	rob8	2
6	rwieg22	2
6	sarasota-card	2
6	SpeedStudent	2
6	statprof	2
6	UL is my hot hot sex	2
6	VillinNCincy	2
6	yawnz	2
6	zwickz711	2
34	BostonCardFan	1
34	cardscott5	1
34	cardsfan80	1
34	CardsFan922	1
34	centrecard	1
34	Chicago's Cardinal 3	1
34	cvaughn8086	1
34	EvansvilleCard	1
34	Final4Galore	1
34	mabake02	1
34	Mike Rutherford	1
34	system24	1
34	thecraphead	1
34	twistedwedge	1
34	whitacreky	1

Big East Tournament Pool

Quinn1979 — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 20:38:55 -0000

Alright, folks, I promised to run the BET pool. I'm sorry for making this pool amateur hour, but it's tough to do without a ESPN or Yahoo site to run it.

Here's what you need to do: Either reply below or (if you're concerned about cheating/secrecy) send me a private message with the winners of the 15 conference tournament games listed 1-15. The games will be numbered reading down and left to right (translation: in the order that the games will be played). If that doesn't make sense, check out the bracket below and use the numbering as an example:

http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/81373/betbrack.jpg

1. Depaul / UC

2. St John / GU

3. Rutgers / ND

4. USF / SH

5. Depaul / UC / Prov

6. St John / GU / Marquette

7. Rutgers / ND / WVU

8. USF / SH / Syracuse

9. ....and so forth....

Please submit your entries to me by 12pm ET tomorrow and I'll post all of the entries ASAP. Maybe Mike could offer the winner the opportunity to get a 1,000 word front page editorial on the UofL-related topic that the winner chooses.

Good luck!

Miscellaneous Thoughts

Quinn1979 — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 02:35:31 -0000

-- I've already heard about this about 10x, but it's only going to get worse over the next several weeks. I'm talking about announcers referring to the fact that the Top 4 seeds in this year's Big East tournament get a huge advantage with a "Double Bye." In fact, there has been no change with the Top 4 seeds as they have historically gotten a bye into the quarterfinals. Further, the new bracket setup actually benefits 3 of the 4 seed groups, but is hugely negative for 1 of the 4 groups.

1. Seeds 1-4: Slight benefit with new bracket setup as they potentially could be playing a more tired team that has played two consecutive games.

2. Seeds 5-8: Big benefit with new bracket setup as their opponent will have just played a game the previous day.

3. Seeds 9-12: HUGELY negatively affected by new bracket setup as they are the ones that have to play an extra game.

4. Seeds 13-16: HUGE benefit with new bracket setup as they now have a chance to win.

-- Among all of his other skills, I think T-Will's most underrated one is also his best: strong hands. I mean, honestly, is there any doubt that if there is a ball near T-Will that he will be the one ending up with it? I bet that skill alone gets him two extra rebounds and an extra steal per game just collecting loose balls. Besides T-Will, UofL's other hands-guys are (in order) Preston, Jerry and Earl.

-- Interesting that the ex-CUSA teams are bookending the standings with Marquette and UofL at the top and Depaul at the bottom (yes, Depaul is worse than Rutgers but more on that later).

-- While I recognize that Marquette's conference schedule is back loaded, I don't want to hear about how Marquette's opponents are like 13-18 in conference play. Hello -- one of the reasons for that is because they are 0-6 vs. Marquette. This reminds me of the argument which happens every year in fantasy football when one guy observes that the #1 team has the weakest schedule and the least points scored against. Hello (again) -- that's because the #1 team hasn't had to face itself and had a bunch of points scored against it.

-- The Big East should really try to figure out a way to swap out Depaul for Miami. I'd be curious to see if, upon reflection, Miami thinks their move to the ACC was a good one. I mean, their football team has basically atrophied into one that plays the Nevada Wolfpack in Boise and their hoops team is simply destined to a middle-to-bottom-half-of-the-pack existence in the ACC. By switching to the Big East, Miami could (i) have a real shot at winning the conference year-in and year-out, (ii) gain access to the major TV markets that the Big East offers and (iii) allow the conference to have nine football schools and a clean eight conference games. I mean, seriously, is Miami / NC State or Miami / Maryland more compelling than great previous rivalries like Miami / Syracuse or Miami / WVU?

Depaul does not belong in the Big East. The school was granted admission because people looked at the Chicago market like it was "infinity." I attended the Depaul / UC game last week and it was embarrassing. Not only is the team bad, but the ENTIRE upper level was completely empty as were the endzones (save the tiny student section). I would honestly bet that the in-person attendance was 1,200 or so, although the announced attendance was in the 4,000s. Depaul needs to be in the A-10. Period. Full stop.

-- Can someone please tell me how Memphis lands top recruits? I saw them play vs. Tennessee on CBS, but now that’s it. Now they fade into oblivion for the rest of the year as their schedule consists of bus trips to Hattiesburg and Tulsa. If you’re Tyreke Evans, why would you go there instead of Big East or ACC? I’m confused.

-- If anybody has any extra @ND or @UC tickets, please let me know.

Is UofL REALLY 2-10 in Reg. Season Neutral Court Games under Pitino???

Quinn1979 — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 15:49:51 -0000

Someone please dig deeper and tell me I'm wrong, but I did a quick search and came up with a 2-10 record for UofL in regular season neutral court games under Pitino. Is this possible?!!?!?

2001-2002

LOSS to Oregon

2002-2003

LOSS to Purdue

2003-2004

LOSS to Iowa

2004-2005

LOSS to Iowa

2006-2007

LOSS to Dayton

LOSS to Arizona

2007-2008

LOSS to BYU

WIN vs. Old Dominion

LOSS to Purdue

2008-2009

LOSS to WKU

WIN vs. Mississippi

LOSS to Minnesota

Turner Gill to UofL?

Quinn1979 — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 15:08:34 -0000

Bumped from FanPosts

UofL should get rid of Kragthorpe. Here's why:

1. All aspects of the team have gotten worse

Since Kragthorpe has arrived, each unit (Offense, Defense and Special Teams) has gotten worse. I won't have the exact stats right here, but UofL's offense is out of the Top 10 this year for the first year since 2002 and this is the worse UofL offense since 1992 or 1993. That's just bad how quickly the offense has gone down. Regarding the Defense, you have to make sure you're not just comparing this year's defense to last year's terrible defense. It was embarrassing what Rutgers did on Thursday and the only thing stopping them from scoring 100 was the fact that they kept trying to run those Wildcat plays as opposed to standing in the pocket and throwing bombs downfield. And don't even get me started on Special Teams. I don't know how many students UofL has (30,000?), but there has got to be someone in the student body who can kick a 30 yard FG. I mean, sheesh.

2. Commitment to stay means nothing

I hope people don't read too deeply into Kragthorpe's recent commitment to stay and help build this program. The only reason he is staying is because he wouldn't be able to get a head coaching job elsewhere. Not even SMU would hire him.

3. Things are going to get worse before they get better

As sluggish as the offense looked this year, one thing that was not mentioned one single time was any criticism of the offensive line. UofL is losing two of its best lineman ever in Eric Wood and George Bussey. I don't even want to think about a nightmare scenario where UofL's O-line is 2002-esque next year. Just think, it coulda been worse this year -- waaay worse.

4. Kragthorpe inherited a NFL roster

One thing you hear about a lot of new, but unsuccessful coaches is they don't have "his guys" yet (ie, "Give him a couple more years so he can get 'his guys' in there."). Last year, Kragthorpe was given a NFL-ready roster and it became worse. That team had NFL draft picks in Brohm, Douglas, Barnidge, Urrutia, Wood, Bussey and Bolen and they lost to Syracuse...at home! Ack! All I'm saying is a team with Kragthorpe's best-case-scenario guys coming in would not be as stacked as the team from last year. Kragthorpe was given a NFL roster on a silver platter with a bow around it and couldn't effectively use it.

5. JUCO is not the answer

Kragthorpe keeps talking about JUCO as the band-aid answer to all of the team's issues. The problem is, JUCO is not a sustainable program builder. If you think about all of the teams that have historically relied on JUCOs (Arkansas hoops, Cincinnati hoops, Kansas St. football, Texas A&M hoops, etc), none of those teams build a consistent winner year-in and year-out. Sure, sometimes the teams are good, but they can drop like a rock quickly. JUCOs are effectively 2-year mercenaries. UofL has spent the last 25 years cultivating relationships with high school coaches in FL, AL and GA. In Alabama specifically, UofL has recruited such NFL starters as Kerry Rhodes, Dewayne White, Amobi Okoye and Brandon Johnson. Kragthorpe has effectively turned off the spigot and cut off this pipeline. The pipeline is important because you need to have local guys still on the team who can speak to some of the younger juniors and seniors from their home area who are getting recruited. And don't even get me started on this kid from Central who UofL hasn't even spoken with. If a top school comes in and signs a kid from Central that UofL doesnt even speak to, then we've got a major issue on our hands. I mean, that's almost negligence.

5. Wasn't Kragthorpe a QB guru?

Didn't we hear all of this stuff like all of Drew Bledsoe's success is directly due to Kragthorpe's mentorship and coaching? There have been two NFL QBs starting the last two years with Brohm and Cantwell. I don't think you can make either of the following statements: (i) Kragthorpe has cultivated a special bond with either of those guys or (ii) either one improved under Kragthorpe's tutelage

6. It's best to cut bait

Rather than giving him several more years to prove himself (can you say, Tyrone Willingham Part II?), wouldn't it be best to simply admit that the program has a downward trajectory and that we should cut bait and start over?

7. Know your audience

I've always been miffed about Kragthorpe's policy with the press. He usually says nothing, but when he says something, he's actually saying nothing. He's got to realize that this isn't Tulsa where he's overshadowed by OU and OSU or at Boston College where the Eagles play fourth-fiddle to all of the pro sports teams. Koach, you're in Louisville where UofL football and basketball are front page news in the offseason. People actually care about your team and simply ask for a modicum of real, substantive information from their head coach. When you don't build rapport with your fans, you lose the tiebreaker in decisions when your performance isn't good and you aren't winning ballgames.

6. John L. Smith is available

You keep hearing about John L. Smith for various openings around the country and there are continued spottings of him at the B&W club at the UofL games. However, I don't think I could ever be supportive of him returning to coach because of (i) that terrible, poisonous feeling we all had in 2002 when ESPN discovered that John L. had accepted the MSU job and annouced it during the bowl game vs. Marshall and (ii) the fact that nobody wants to go back to those faded maroon/red jerseys with no names on the back of them. Michigan St. had the top-of-the-line Nike jerseys when he arrived there and John L. quickly outfitted them in Army green unis (with no name on the back).

For the aforementioned reasons, I'm officially supporting going after Turner Gill as head coach of UofL. That guy is a winner.