Louisville/Illinois:a vision of USF games in B.E.?

[Guest BasketBull.]

You can play tough the whole game, but you're going to need shooters.

Staying close means jack, if in the end you lose.

We need shooters, Coach Mac! FIREPOWER.

[USFreak]

You can play tough the whole game, but you're going to need shooters.

Staying close means jack, if in the end you lose.

We need shooters, Coach Mac! FIREPOWER.

Where's my friggin' Tahitian Shirt? :-)

[Guest BasketBull.]

Where's my friggin' Tahitian Shirt? :-)

Oh, yeah.... Dang, I forgot all about that! I sent it to Dave.  ;D

By betting records over USF bball:

1) Lost a shirt to USFreak

2) Lost bball season tics to Smazza

---Gamgling is bad!

[ChiTownBull]

You can play tough the whole game, but you're going to need shooters.

Staying close means jack, if in the end you lose.

We need shooters, Coach Mac! FIREPOWER.

what vision is this? the Illinois D shut down garcia which i didn't think would happen.

L'ville would have been a top BE team this yr

USF hung with L'ville but I think would have been crushed by Ill like most have been this season.

still not sure what your vision is/was ???

[Guest S.  Bien]

Illinois has been a team on a mission all year.  If you look at their OOC games you get the idea of how good this team really is, and why they're a team of destiny.

They beat Gonzaga, Wake Forest, Georgetown, Arkansas, Missouri, Cincinnati, Oregon, and Oakland BEFORE they beat Minnesota, MSU, Wisconsin (THREE TIMES), and split with OSU!

Did you know that of all those games their closest margin of victory was the 9pt victory over Wisconsin in the Conference Tourney Championship game.  Basically no one has kept up with the Illini all year with the exception of Arizona, and in the end their three guard set killed Zona.  Basically, what I am trying to say is UL was an impressive senior ladened team that was on a mission, and the only team that was capable of stopping them was possibly the nations most consistent team at both ends of the court.  

On a positive, next year the Big East teams will be going through some serious rebuilding!  Uconn could be the odds on favorite to win the NC (yes, they'll be better without Villeneuva) if AJ Price is eligible.  Villanova will be strong again, watch for Georgetown to rise to prominence, and Pitt should be strong again, ditto for Cinci.  After that many are rebuilding.  Syracuse is losing their two, and only two scorers, UL is losing potentially five starters, Depaul (if Wesley Green transfers) could lose four starters, Marquette is losing three starters, Providence is losing a bunch, St. Johns is still rebuilding, and so is Seton Hall.  True that many of the bigger schools are mostly reloading than rebuilding, but in the end if we can find some answers there are teams in the Big East than USF can compete with, and we don't necessarily have to reserve ourselves to being the worst team in the conference- providing we can land some good last minute recruits that can help immediately.

[cygnus34]

About Louisville, they are losing O'Bannon, George and Myles but may get Garcia back, it all depends on where he is projected in the NBA draft.  If he is going to go in the top 20, he is gone otherwise he will stay.   Although the CARDS will welcome eight new players, they are by all accounts the best recruiting class in CARDS history.  Starting with Kansas transfer David Padgett a 6'11" center that sat out this year.  Amir Johnson a 6'10" Power Fwd and McDonald All-American,

Brian Johnson a 6'9" power fwd, who also sat out this year with an ACL injury.  Two shooters in Bryan Harvey and Terrence Williams and Andree McGee a true point guard.  Also joining are Clarence Holloway a 7' 270 center and J. Huffman a 7' forward with good perimeter skills.   Rebounding and bench strength should be no problem.

The Cards are losing one and maybe all assistant coaches.  Reggie Theuss is the new H.C. at New Mexico St., Kevin Willard looks to be headed to Eastern KY and Vince Taylor has an interview set.

[RHBullsFan]

Pitt is losing Chris Taft who just today announced that he is declaring for the draft.

[Guest S.  Bien]

Pitt is losing Chris Taft who just today announced that he is declaring for the draft.

A blow for Pitt with Troutman graduating.  Their biggest hope is Karl Krauser sticks it out another year.

UL definitely gains a bunch, and is the reloading category, but I am betting Garcia jumps regardless.  I would be shocked if he went lower than say 22.  Tough to find a 6-7 silky smooth guard/forward that can shoot lights out from three.  Also, Amire Johnson is expected by some to be NBA bound, and Taquan Dean is exploring his options.  UL is definitely in more of a reloading situation with transfer David Padgett sitting the bench, but if Johnson opted NBA, and Dean as well UL will definitely have a transition year.

[Markeymark]

L'ville would have been a top BE team this yr

I won't disagree, but I would point out that they would be facing a much higher level of competition night in, night out. Things would have been different for them in the Big East, and possibly the post season as well.