Nice job, Jimmy C., what a gameplan

[ecompt]

Not one dime, huh? Let's turn college basketball back 40 years and attempt only five 3-pointers in 39 minutes. Hope you enjoy probation; that may be the last big game you ever coach.

[4everwarriors]

I thought the Big Ten sucked this season. Silly me, that only pertained to the bottom feeder.

[Nukem2]

4ever, we are only talking about the Big 10/11 champ who ran away with the league title.  Ye, MSU is very good.  does not make the league good however.

[nyg]

2 for 6 in three pointers.  Price was 5 for 20 from the field.  UCONN got out-hustled and MSU has now beaten two BE teams in a row pretty handily. MSU has a great bench going about 9 deep and it is showing in the tournament.

BTW, Calhoun does not look well, especially in HD.   

[Blackhat]

the term student-athlete has become a joke in many quarters...check this article out on Stanley Robinson...hasn't gotten a grade since 2007. 

http://www.individual.com/story.php?story=98929212

[schubert33]

That's pretty disturbing!!!

[ecompt]

How does the NCAA allow this? This school's athletic department needs to be shut down.

[ChicosBailBonds]

4ever, we are only talking about the Big 10/11 champ who ran away with the league title.  Ye, MSU is very good.  does not make the league good however.

Correct.  It would be like saying Conference USA was the second best conference in the nation last year because Memphis went to the title game.

[Marquette_g]

How does the NCAA allow this? This school's athletic department needs to be shut down.

Jim Calhoun is, and has been one of the worst people in college basketball for years.  The fact that his school is close to ESPN headquarters, and that he plays nice with the world wide leader, leads to him getting a free pass.  Quite possibly the most corrupt coach since Jim Harrick.

[butchbadger]

Obviously the NCAA is doing it's job well.

Does anyone think that Stanley Robinson or many a college hoops player over the years even registered for classes?

THis story should blow up but won't. There is a lot of complicity going on.

[ecompt]

you're probably right, badger. Calhoun is one of the good ol' NCAA boys, so everyone will shrug and say, "So what?"
So much for the NCAA rule that players must stay on track to graduate in order to be eligible. Two years without a credit? That's a disgrace. 

[The Lens]

The fact that Stanley Robinson could play the conf season while not attending school the first semester is a disgrace.  I guess you could liken it to Niv.  I never thought of it then but at least Niv was entering school with a clean slate.  "Sticks" has more baggage than Roget Clemens.

Over on the Dodds board Murff points out just how bad of a coaching performance Calhoun had, but that board's M.O. is refuting everything he says so they're in denial.

How many possessions did you see guys just jacking 15 footers 5 seconds in?  When they went to Thabeet they scored.  They ran zero offense most of the time.  Calhoun is living proof that money cures a lot of problems.

[Nukem2]

The fact that Stanley Robinson could play the conf season while not attending school the first semester is a disgrace.  I guess you could liken it to Niv.  I never thought of it then but at least Niv was entering school with a clean slate.  "Sticks" has more baggage than Roget Clemens.

Over on the Dodds board Murff points out just how bad of a coaching performance Calhoun had, but that board's M.O. is refuting everything he says so they're in denial.

How many possessions did you see guys just jacking 15 footers 5 seconds in?  When they went to Thabeet they scored.  They ran zero offense most of the time.  Calhoun is living proof that money cures a lot of problems.

The real problem is that Price, Walker and Austrie had horrible games.  Some of that obviously was due to MSU, but those guys kept missing easy shots and making horrendous passes.  UCONN really missed Dyson for the first time.  Also, MSU was really helped by a phenomenal first half scoring performance by frosh Korey Lucious.  Without Korey's scoring and had some of UCONN's shots had fallen, MSU would have been down double-digits at half-time.

[CTWarrior]

Calhoun is living proof that money cures a lot of problems.

I would say Calhoun is living proof that recruiting cures a lot of problems.

Out here in CT, people have long ago learned to live with the total absence of an organized offense under Calhoun, because of every thing else he brings to the table.  He recruits great athletes almost exclusively (he gets some McDonald's AA types, but not near as many as some other programs, but he always has a stockpile of quick, athletic players, many of them tall)  and consequently his teams play tremendous defense, particularly in the half court. 

His best teams have point guards who can distribute the ball and make plays.  AJ Price is a fine player with all the requisite point guard skills, but he has a 2 guard mentality.  Their championships came with Ricky Moore and Taliek Brown at the point, guys who were more concerned getting everybody involved and shutting down the opposing PG than their own offensive numbers.

I said in some thread here early on this season that I didn't think they would win the Big East or make the Final Four because offensively they lacked discipline and were just a dumb offensive team.    I was obviously wrong about the Final Four because I underestimated how far you can go with such superior talent, but they eventually spit the bit because of it.

Conversely, Izzo is fantastic.  His teams are teams in every sense of the word and maximize their potential.  Michigan State must really be proud of this bunch.

[ecompt]

If Izzo had Calhoun's talent the past 15 years he's had five national titles. Give Izzo Coach K's stockpile and he'd have eight.

[Nukem2]

If Izzo had Calhoun's talent the past 15 years he's had five national titles. Give Izzo Coach K's stockpile and he'd have eight.

Actually, Izzo has had quite a stockpile of his own over the years.  What he has accomplished is probably what he would have done with the other stockpiles.  Lets not make a god out of this guy.  Even our "friends" over at Badgermaniac have posted ad nauseum over the past few years about how little Izzo has done with the high talent level that he has had and has.