***NCAA Tournament THREAD***

[Gables Canes]

I think the Duke-Houston winner wins it all.

 

[King of Allapattah]

My list:

1. John Wooden
2. Coach K
3. Jim Calhoun
4. Roy Williams
5. Dean Smith
6. John Thompson
7. Jay Wright
8. Tom Izzo
9. Lute Olsen
10. Jim Boeheim

Nice list but gotta have Rick Pitino in there somewhere.

 

[Memnon]

I think the Duke-Houston winner wins it all.

Houston was my pick to win it all from the beginning.

 

[King of Allapattah]

I know I would be fired as an NBA GM, but I like D Queen from Maryland better at the next level. Even though he doesn’t play above the rim, he is really good around the basket, can step out and shoot, plays without too much emotion, and reminds me a lot of Zach Randolph. I think Queen has a higher floor than Flagg.

I agree with everything except the last line. Queen is a great prospect but still needs to add to his game if he’s going to have success as a pro. Flagg is a day 1 nba starter. Will be an nba all-star for years to come. His floor is 10+ year nba pro with a few all-star games sprinkled in. His ceiling however is face of the league. Got that kind of potential. Talk about a game that translates at the next level…. That kid is gonna make a lot of money.

 

[Gables Canes]

Houston was my pick to win it all from the beginning.

Same.

 

[hotshot]

I’m not gonna defend his performance, that’d be nuts.

If I’m Jai I make the argument that I’m not gonna leave you on the bench when I need my best players on the floor. It’s an opening. Jai ought to exploit it if possible. Kid is better than he showed today for sure.

In the end, I think he tests the NBA waters then ends up in Europe. Only way that doesn't happen is if his agent finds some school willing to overpay.

 

[King of Allapattah]

Cooper Flagg had real problems yesterday against Bama that the national media isn’t touching because of the hype train.

Nothing I write means he should not be the #1 overall pick as no one else has really stood out in college. But everything I write is meant to argue that he isn’t generational like Wembayama.

With about 5-6 minutes left in the game, Flagg beats one guy at the top and leans in to hammer a dunk. Nelson of Bama blocks it so clean that he knocks Flagg and g himself down. But he took it off Flagg’s hand and blocked it straight down.
1-2 possessions later Flagg drives again and is blocked by another Bama defender.
1-2 possessions later Flagg drives but pulls, undoubtedly because of the 2 blocks, and shoots a brick that get stuck between rim and backboard.

Over the last 3 minutes Bama finally started pressuring Flagg bringing the ball up the court. He commits 2 straight turnovers on passes and then another off the dribble. If Duke tries this strategy again, their next opponent will harass Flagg into TO’s.

Again, he is very good. But he is not “generational” as the media isn’t touching making him out to be. Indeed, he reminds me a lot of another former Duke who was all world in college, Christian Laettner. Similar size. Flagg shoots a little better from 3 but Laettner would have been the same if he played today. As to the 2 blocks yesterday, there are about 3-5 guys on every NBA team who could have blocked those shots. As of today, and he is still very young, Flagg does not have the athleticism to score in the paint at the NBA level. He will likely improve as an athlete as he gets older, but it’s hard to improve the vertical at his age and size. And in the meantime he better develop a knock down 3 point shot and be able to defend NBA 4’s.

Flagg does everything better than Leattner. And let’s keep things in perspective, he’s supposed to still be in high school. Reclassified and graduated early. Flagg just turned 18 a few months ago. Barring any major injuries, I think he’s going to have a long and very successful nba career.

 

[Memnon]

I know I would be fired as an NBA GM, but I like D Queen from Maryland better at the next level. Even though he doesn’t play above the rim, he is really good around the basket, can step out and shoot, plays without too much emotion, and reminds me a lot of Zach Randolph. I think Queen has a higher floor than Flagg.

I think Ace Bailey has higher upside than Flagg tbh.

 

[AtlAtty]

Flagg does everything better than Leattner. And let’s keep things in perspective, he’s supposed to still be in high school. Reclassified and graduated early. Flagg just turned 18 a few months ago. Barring any major injuries, I think he’s going to have a long and very successful nba career.

I think Flagg will be very good and a multi-time All-star as you noted. I just don’t think he’s the generational talent that the media wants him to be. I don’t see the necessary level of athleticism to be that. Victor is generational and only comes around once every 20-30 years. Indeed, I would argue that Victor is the first generational talent since Lebron, who was the first since Jordan.

But I understand why the NBA promotes Flagg as they do. In fact, I would argue that Flagg is the best white, American born basketball player since Larry Bird. I don’t think he is, or will be as good as the great Larry Bird, but he is the best since him. Laettner wasn’t it, neither was Rex Chapman, Adam Morrison, Dan Majerle. And we know the NBA has been dying to find a great white, American born basketball player.

 

[AtlAtty]

My list:

1. John Wooden
2. Coach K
3. Jim Calhoun
4. Roy Williams
5. Dean Smith
6. John Thompson
7. Jay Wright
8. Tom Izzo
9. Lute Olsen
10. Jim Boeheim

Thank you for switching #1 and #2 on the Fox list. Wooden’s UCLA was the equivalent of the Auerbach/Russell Celtics; a dynasty.

Where are you putting Danny Hurley? I think he has to be in the top 20, and arguably top 15

 

[TwentySix]

I think Flagg will be very good and a multi-time All-star as you noted. I just don’t think he’s the generational talent that the media wants him to be. I don’t see the necessary level of athleticism to be that. Victor is generational and only comes around once every 20-30 years. Indeed, I would argue that Victor is the first generational talent since Lebron, who was the first since Jordan.

But I understand why the NBA promotes Flagg as they do. In fact, I would argue that Flagg is the best white, American born basketball player since Larry Bird. I don’t think he is, or will be as good as the great Larry Bird, but he is the best since him. Laettner wasn’t it, neither was Rex Chapman, Adam Morrison, Dan Majerle. And we know the NBA has been dying to find a great white, American born basketball player.

Genuine question, is anyone out there trying to put Flagg in the Wembanyama tier of prospects? I’m much more of an NBA guy than college and that’s just not the vibe I’ve gotten.

From what I’ve seen of Flagg, his ceiling is something around Jayson Tatum, jack of all trades but maybe not a master of any. But I think his floor is extremely high because of his size and positional versatility. A playmaking wing that can switch and hold up at least 2-4 and maybe 2-5 outside of the Jokic, Embiid types of bigs is the most valuable asset in the league.

As someone else pointed out, it’s important to keep in mind that Flagg will be 18 on draft day, he’s a full 2 years younger than Queen.

 

[CANESCANES]

 

[CANESCANES]

My list:

1. John Wooden
2. Coach K
3. Jim Calhoun
4. Roy Williams
5. Dean Smith
6. John Thompson
7. Jay Wright
8. Tom Izzo
9. Lute Olsen
10. Jim Boeheim

John Wooden is #1 and it’s not even close between him and #2

 

[AtlAtty]

Genuine question, is anyone out there trying to put Flagg in the Wembanyama tier of prospects? I’m much more of an NBA guy than college and that’s just not the vibe I’ve gotten.

From what I’ve seen of Flagg, his ceiling is something around Jayson Tatum, jack of all trades but maybe not a master of any. But I think his floor is extremely high because of his size and positional versatility. A playmaking wing that can switch and hold up at least 2-4 and maybe 2-5 outside of the Jokic, Embiid types of bigs is the most valuable asset in the league.

As someone else pointed out, it’s important to keep in mind that Flagg will be 18 on draft day, he’s a full 2 years younger than Queen.

I’m comparing Flagg to Victor only because I heard more than one announcer this weekend refer to Flagg as a “generational” talent. I don’t think the think that comparison is fair to either player.

Flagg should be the #1 pick as I don’t see anyone who is better right now, though I think Queen could be and @Memnon likes Bailey from Rutgers. But the 2 blocks of his shots going to the rim are troubling because if he can’t score at the basket in the NBA, he will be severely limited by guys like Embiid who will challenge dunk attempts.

 

[TwentySix]

I’m comparing Flagg to Victor only because I heard more than one announcer this weekend refer to Flagg as a “generational” talent. I don’t think the think that comparison is fair to either player.

Flagg should be the #1 pick as I don’t see anyone who is better right now, though I think Queen could be and @Memnon likes Bailey from Rutgers. But the 2 blocks of his shots going to the rim are troubling because if he can’t score at the basket in the NBA, he will be severely limited by guys like Embiid who will challenge dunk attempts.

Gotcha, I’ve been watching most games without sound so didn’t catch that, but yeah he’s not in that Wemby tier at all. Anyone tossing that out is a massive prisoner of the moment. Seems every draft (other than one like last year or the Anthony Bennett draft) the first pick gets hyped as “generational” and like, generational talents inherently don’t come around every year lol

I like Queen, but I think a big that doesn’t have proof of concept as a shooter is a really, really tough sell for a top pick in today’s NBA. Especially when he’s not exactly a rim protector or a vertical threat, at least not at an elite level. Maybe he becomes Sabonis, which is a really good player that I think is really tough to build around.

Haven’t watched a ton of Rutgers, the few times I did I was more impressed with Harper but that’s a super small sample. Having both of those guys and not making the tournament is something else.

 

[CANESCANES]

Flagg brought a D- game and Bama still looked like a JV team by comparison. Duke has to be the big time favorite right now.

Fanduel odds Final 4 vs before tournament started

 

[CANESCANES]

 

[CANESCANES]

 

[Memnon]

 

[Angry Ibis]

People throw out “generational talent” too much…

But this thread also described Flagg as the best American born white player since Larry Bird, a likely multiple time NBA All Star and better than Laetner at 18 and should still be in high school.

Kid may be decent at basketball…