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What's your pre season rankings?

That's not an apples to apples comparison though because Beard has nowhere near the talent, facilities and brand name to work with that Cal has had since 2010 while head coach at UK.

Beard became head coach of Little Rock in 2015 and led a no name school even within their own Sunbelt conference to a conference title and then upset Purdue in the 1st round.

Look at the history of TTU Basketball, they've only made the NCAAT 8 times in 30 years before Beard took over. Within 2 years he took them to an Elite 8 and then a Title game the following year.

Now we'll see what Beard is made of now that he has the Texas brand name, facilities and money to work with. I bet the Horns will be damn good though with the roster they have and given what we know about Beard's coaching ability.

Cal is 62 while Beard is only 48 too.

You don't think Cal has a major Xs and O's advantage over Beard do you if the rosters of UK and UT are similar in talent level do you?

Cal went to a final four at UMass and a title game at Memphis. Both programs are smaller than Texas Tech. Yes Cal is farther into his career than Beard. Cal at 48 was much more accomplished though. And a better coach. The talent disparity doesn't matter. Recruiting is part of college coaching.
 
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Duke fans still expecting Mark Williams to be better than Hunter Dickinson this year?

ha.
I will say you cant just look at his stats and get the whole picture of his talent level, we plued them in the regular season and beat em and he didnt do much, but by the time accT rolled around he packed our shit in with i wanna say like a 20-20 game or something ridiculous. He dominated us, point blank.

Not saying dickinson wouldnt have dominayed us too bc we had no healthy C all year, but williams improvement throughout the year was impressive imo and he will be a handful. No slight against dickinson, he should be a handful as well and im not even teying to compare the two, jist goving my opinion on williams after seeing him end our season to the tune of first team out. So yea **** mark williams is pretty mich what triggered this post might as well be honest i tried to be generous at the start lol
 
Chris Beard can win anyway. He learned that from Bobby Knight.

You don’t win with the same style of team every year or even every game
You have to adjust.
One of the most important things he learned

“When people think of Coach you think of discipline and you think of an unbending backbone, but I thought, in my time with Coach, he adjusted more than anybody,” Beard said. “To me, he tried to win the games. So you know, in our man-to-man defense, if this guy can’t shoot, we’re not pressuring him. If this guy can’t dribble we’re over-pressuring him, so there are a lot of individualized parts.”

But that isn’t to say that Knight was willing to adjust everything in his program.

When it came to strategy and personnel, there were new wrinkles for every game. But there were also elements of Knight’s program that never really changed.

“The non-negotiables were the commitment to defend, the commitment to rebound, the commitment to play the right way,” Beard said. “But there were always all sorts of adjustments going on, and if I had to say one thing that I learned from Coach Knight and Pat in terms of listing them out, I would say the idea of preparation and scouting and how we played different people different to win the game, we’re still doing those things here today at Texas.”

No doubt that Beard’s motion offense has made The General proud.
 
Cal went to a final four at UMass and a title game at Memphis. Both programs are smaller than Texas Tech. Yes Cal is farther into his career than Beard. Cal at 48 was much more accomplished though. And a better coach. The talent disparity doesn't matter. Recruiting is part of college coaching.
I get Your last sentence is true to the core, but i dont think u can discount talent disparity when judging actual gametime coaching ability in itself. But i understand its part of the gig.

Regardless, beard would have to go on a ridiculous tear to match what cal did when he got to UK. And i guess at the end of the day its about the wins and the losses, no matter what got you there. But no one considers cal taking memphis with that roster to the FF some great coaching job. It was expected, they had the number 1 pick who eventually went on to be the youngest mvp in nba history and 2 other guys who got drafted. I understand its always a crap shoot, but that team will be more known for choking off a title than taking lil ole memphis all the way to the title game.
 
Low Key, I heart Okie Lite
Love Coach and they have a fun roster!

Absolutely! Feels like Kansas and Texas might have a decent gap on the rest of the conference. But I think Okie State has a great shot at finishing 3rd, and being a top 4 seed. Lots of talent there.
 
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1. UCLA
2. Gonzaga
3. Kansas
4. Michigan
5. Villanova
6. Texas
7. Purdue
8. Duke
9. Oregon
10. Kentucky
11. Baylor
12. Tennessee
13. Alabama
14. North Carolina
15. Houston
16. Ohio State
17. Florida State
18. Arkansas
19. Virginia Tech
20. Saint Bonaventure
21. Oklahoma State
22. Indiana
23. Memphis
24. Maryland
25. Auburn

So UVA no better than 5th in the ACC, huh? I'll take that bet.
 
So UVA no better than 5th in the ACC, huh? I'll take that bet.

I want to say I had UVA coming in at #29. And yes, 5th in the conference.

Gardner is a great offensive talent. Not sure he can necessarily be transformed into a good defender in one season. But, Bennett has certainly proved people wrong before.
 
And as far as the Cal-Beard discussions, Cal has been a head coach for 29 years. Beard has been a head coach for 6 years. Cal didn't reach a Final Four until his 8th season, while Beard reached one in his fourth season. Also, one of Beard's season was at Little Rock, and another one was during COVID. So, basically only 4 complete seasons where he realistically could have advanced to the Final Four.

Don't think comparing Cal-Beard is especially relevant at this point in time. Come back in 20 years, and then compare.
 
What does Va Tech have?

Tyrece Radford just entered the portal last week, I believe (12 ppg, 6 reb, 2 ast). Also lost Jalen Cone to Northern Arizona. Aluma did announce that he was returning, though.

They keep 4 of their top 5 scorers. I might need to re-evaluate them, actually. Losing Radford might drop them out of my top 25.
 
Got a 5 star guard coming, Sallis i thibk is his name but i know nothing about him. Big shoes to fill with suggs gone.

wasnt aware ayayi was goin pro either.
Ya they actually have two 5 star guards coming in with Hickman and Sallies. But idk if either will start. They also got a transfer from Iowa State (Bolton) who was 2nd or 3rd team all Big 12 last year. People are high on Soohmore top 60 recruit Dom Harris as well.

Nembhard is very good and will be perfect for this team. Overall, people don’t know who will be starting at the 2-3 positions, but they definitely have a ton of options.
 
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And as far as the Cal-Beard discussions, Cal has been a head coach for 29 years. Beard has been a head coach for 6 years. Cal didn't reach a Final Four until his 8th season, while Beard reached one in his fourth season. Also, one of Beard's season was at Little Rock, and another one was during COVID. So, basically only 4 complete seasons where he realistically could have advanced to the Final Four.

Don't think comparing Cal-Beard is especially relevant at this point in time. Come back in 20 years, and then compare.
Yeah, it's a bit silly to compare them. Anyone can have a great season and now we're comparing them to a HOF coach.

Calipari has more Final Fours vacated than Beard has total.
 
I get Your last sentence is true to the core, but i dont think u can discount talent disparity when judging actual gametime coaching ability in itself. But i understand its part of the gig.

Regardless, beard would have to go on a ridiculous tear to match what cal did when he got to UK. And i guess at the end of the day its about the wins and the losses, no matter what got you there. But no one considers cal taking memphis with that roster to the FF some great coaching job. It was expected, they had the number 1 pick who eventually went on to be the youngest mvp in nba history and 2 other guys who got drafted. I understand its always a crap shoot, but that team will be more known for choking off a title than taking lil ole memphis all the way to the title game.

I'm not discounting talent disparity, I'm saying accruing talent is part of being a college coach. Does Cal have a better roster most of the time? Yeah. He's one of the best recruiters ever. And his coaching has always been underrated by some because people look at recruiting rankings and thinks all you have to do is roll a ball out. For the record I think Cal has been washed for some time and Beard is a better in game coach today.

And as far as the Cal-Beard discussions, Cal has been a head coach for 29 years. Beard has been a head coach for 6 years. Cal didn't reach a Final Four until his 8th season, while Beard reached one in his fourth season. Also, one of Beard's season was at Little Rock, and another one was during COVID. So, basically only 4 complete seasons where he realistically could have advanced to the Final Four.

Don't think comparing Cal-Beard is especially relevant at this point in time. Come back in 20 years, and then compare.

This is fair, though Beard took over at a power conference school in his 2nd year coaching, and the team had made the tournament the year before. Cal started at UMass who had only made the tournament once before, almost 30 years prior. I feel like Beard is a very impressive coach, even if I hate his style of play. Definitely one of the best "younger" coaches around.
 
Same thing can be said about Akinjo lol. Wheeler actually has a higher career effective field goal percentage.

Difference
Wheeler has no range
Akinjo has range but just takes bad shots
But he is someone that can shoot near 40% from 3.
His shot selection is terrible


Akinjo is actually an interesting player this year
More than that Baylor doesn’t play with a true big.
 
Difference
Wheeler has no range
Akinjo has range but just takes bad shots
But he is someone that can shoot near 40% from 3.
His shot selection is terrible


Akinjo is actually an interesting player this year
More than that Baylor doesn’t play with a true big.

Don't get me wrong, I like Akinjo better than Wheeler. I want to say I had Akinjo as my #15 transfer, whereas Wheeler was around 47th. All I'm saying is they've both had underwhelming shooting percentages in the past. Thought what Boeheim said about Akinjo a year and a half ago was kind of hilarious. He's a better player now, but still, a head coach saying that about another team's player RollLaugh
 
Same thing can be said about Akinjo lol. Wheeler actually has a higher career effective field goal percentage.
He @SheriffBufordTJustice doesn't understand how Cal is going to utilize Wheeler lol. Wheeler can drive, dish and score at the basket. He's not there to hit 3's. We have those guys lol. Wheeler can dish, throw up a layup so the bigs can go after it if it's missed. He's a proto typical point guard and an assist machine.
 
He @SheriffBufordTJustice doesn't understand how Cal is going to utilize Wheeler lol. Wheeler can drive, dish and score at the basket. He's not there to hit 3's. We have those guys lol. Wheeler can dish, throw up a layup so the bigs can go after it if it's missed. He's a proto typical point guard and an assist machine.

How?
You are bringing in bigs to clog the lane
Do you see Kofi as a pick and roll player?

More players in the paint the harder it is to drive
Spacing is huge in basketball. Usually the difference between players who can drive and ones who cannot
 
He is just a winner.
There is a huge difference.
Winners look for people to help them win. This includes players.
One thing about Chris Beard that stands out that he isn’t just a talker
His work ethic proves to the players he wants to win.
Plus how he attacked the transfer portal. When Chris Beard was talking about a Monday Night Program he was talking about this year.


Mark Adams was just a piece. There were a lot of other people involved
But the one thing that stands out is Chris Beard was the boss
Same thing at Texas
His entire staff. Not just the 3 coaching assistants are all top end guys.

According to people in the know. Bob Donewald Jr was the most valuable piece in Lubbock besides Beard
He is the son of a former Bobby Knight assistant.
🤣🤣 nobody in Lubbock even knew who Bob Donewald Jr was, lol. The spin job by Beard on that is hilarious.
 
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🤣🤣 nobody in Lubbock even knew who Bob Donewald Jr was, lol. The spin job by Beard on that is hilarious.
People in Lubbock are pretty clueless and he was there for only one year
Spin?

He doesn’t have to spin anything because of his actions.
Bob Donewald Jr is getting a lot of credit for how Texas is attacking the transfer portal
Point is. Chris Beard brings in people who will help him win.
 
People in Lubbock are pretty clueless and he was there for only one year
Spin?

He doesn’t have to spin anything because of his actions.
Bob Donewald Jr is getting a lot of credit for how Texas is attacking the transfer portal
Point is. Chris Beard brings in people who will help him win.
Beard will bring in the talent, but it remains to be seen if his coaching style works with that type of recruit. He was getting top 10 classes his last couple of years at Tech, and the results weren’t as good. I think he’ll do fine at Texas, but I do think he wears on people.
 
The reason you will see players like Cunningham and Benson will be because of the work people like Donewald Jr did.
Those are the goons will make a 10 point lead into a 25. Coming in to destroy

They might fight each other for the ball out there😂
 
How?
You are bringing in bigs to clog the lane
Do you see Kofi as a pick and roll player?

More players in the paint the harder it is to drive
Spacing is huge in basketball. Usually the difference between players who can drive and ones who cannot
Have you ever even watched Kentucky play? Towns, WCS, Davis and the list goes on at UK. Their primary method of scoring was put backs. Its about spacing, not clogging the lane. I don't see us using the dribble drive this year, but one of Cal's main philosophies will still be there. Guard penetration, layups, floaters and put backs from the bigs.
 
Do you see the difference
Not all bigs are the same…
Anthony Davis isn’t Kofi

Anthony Davis can roll to the rim. Eats up space
Kofi isn’t going to grab a rebound running from the perimeter


If you are looking for rebounds. You already had that.
6-7 guy can out jump 7 footers especially if you box out
 
A few other differences. Anthony Davis and KAT were the indisputable #1 draft picks when they came out of college, and Kofi ain't WVU dude aren't that. WCS was a former football player and had a unique skill set he could literally shut down an opposing PG.

That said, if you are rotating Kofi and the WVU transfer or playing them together, you are loaded in the front court. They have shooters and they have good returning players too. I wouldn't sell UK short, especially coming off last year's sh!t show.
 
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I think many people are forgetting how good Oscar Tshiebwe is. I watched that dude put up 16 pts & 17 boards in a half against Kansas. When I heard he was transferring to UK I said oh shit….he will excel there.
 
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Difference
Wheeler has no range
Akinjo has range but just takes bad shots
But he is someone that can shoot near 40% from 3.
His shot selection is terrible


Akinjo is actually an interesting player this year
More than that Baylor doesn’t play with a true big.
Marcus Carr is also known for being among the worst in the “bad shot” category.

Whether he commits or not, you’ve got a roster full of volume shooters.
 
Marcus Carr is also known for being among the worst in the “bad shot” category.

Whether he commits or not, you’ve got a roster full of volume shooters.
I understand that. He is #1
This is out in the open from what I have heard

Might come off as disrespectful but it is the truth. The coaching staff pretty much doesn’t make false promises.

Carr will have to learn to use his ability to create shots for others when nothing is there
But this is on the teammates as well. Better ones around him
 
Marcus Carr is also known for being among the worst in the “bad shot” category.

Whether he commits or not, you’ve got a roster full of volume shooters.

Only one ball. Beard isn't a great offensive coach. I think Texas is gonna be really good, but should be interesting to see. All that turnover + a new coaching staff could mean some real growing pains.
 
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Cal went to a final four at UMass and a title game at Memphis. Both programs are smaller than Texas Tech. Yes Cal is farther into his career than Beard. Cal at 48 was much more accomplished though. And a better coach. The talent disparity doesn't matter. Recruiting is part of college coaching.
Yes, it is....BUT---If you think recruiting a kid to TTU, is on the level with UK, you are outside of your mind.

Cal had a very good team at UMass, in 1996. Good one in 1995, as well. But other than those two, UMass wasn't nothing to write home about. Now, make no mistake, he transformed that program. BUT---he knew. He knew he wasn't gonna be able to win at Umass, the way he wanted. So he upgraded, and went to Memphis. His first 5 seasons at Memphis were so-so: 3 NIT's/2 NCAAT. But then recruiting picked up. He started getting some dudes. And in his last 4 years, he went to 3 Elite 8's/FF(runner-up).

Cal was good at Umass----Good at Memphis. But the talent he was getting was sparce, here and there. So when UK opened----He knew. The kids he was getting here and there previously, would be every year at Kentucky. Perfect match then.

I like Cal. I do think he's underrated as a coach---BUT----I also think he's overrated as well. When he's on equal footing talent wise, he just seems to struggle. Just an opinion.
 
Do you see the difference
Not all bigs are the same…
Anthony Davis isn’t Kofi

Anthony Davis can roll to the rim. Eats up space
Kofi isn’t going to grab a rebound running from the perimeter


If you are looking for rebounds. You already had that.
6-7 guy can out jump 7 footers especially if you box out
Geez lol
 
How?
You are bringing in bigs to clog the lane
Do you see Kofi as a pick and roll player?

More players in the paint the harder it is to drive
Spacing is huge in basketball. Usually the difference between players who can drive and ones who cannot
Kofi is one of the best pick and roll big men in the entire country.

It’s almost like you have no idea what you are talking about, yet you continue to ramble on to show everyone how ignorant you truly are.

Stick to hyping up Texas, at least that’s semi-entertaining.
 
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