Texas

[Pakuni]

Ever heard of a functional alcoholic? Ever heard of someone having an addiction and issue, who's issue becomes more and more serious, and eventually derails them?  It happens...sometimes a slow downward spiral, sometimes rapid, but always inevitable.

Tell me more, Dr. Drew.

Fact is, you have no idea to what extent drinking played a role in Gillespie's failures at UK, or how much (or whether) the unique situation at UK played a part in exacerbating those problems. The record reflects that his problems there went far beyond drinking.
I know you like to pretend to know things you don't (like how Larry Williams was forcing Buzz to suspend players and how the Chicago Tribune was conspiring with DePaul to destroy Marquette), but you don't.

[NersEllenson]

Texas is not a top 7 school.
Texas has the same number of tournament appearances as Marquette, fewer Sweet Sixteens than Marquette, the same number of Final Fours as Marquette (and only one in the last 65 years) and fewer titles than Marquette.
Its size, resources and talent base make Texas a potentially better situation than MU, but they're far from the elite of college basketball.

Which of these four programs do you consider Texas better than:
Duke, North Carolina, Kansas, UCLA, Louisville, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan State, Syracuse, Arizona.

And, FWIW, Wainwright came to DePaul from Richmond, which is not a low major program.

Wainwright was 50-42 in 3 seasons at Richmond and 14-15 in his last.  Richmond is not a high major program...it's a mid major.  Wainwright was a Chicago guy, which is why DePaul took the chance on him.

Lastly, MU as an institution didn't get itself to the Sweet 16s, Final Four, National Championships...its coaches did.  Period.  Al. Tom. Buzz.  Football is king at Texas, but you have a lot more talent to recruit in Texas, to the school that is the flagship school in the state, huge athletic budget/resources...so combine that platform, with a guy like Buzz who has done it at a school/state with a lot less to offer...in the way of talent/school draw appeal.

I'd make the argument that Texas has an equal if not greater upside than do Louisville, Arizona, and Syracuse.  And just to be clear, the university doesn't set the "program," it's all a function of the head coach.  All of the schools you listed have/have had an iconic, longstanding coach who set the course.

On another note - how do you invest your money??  Do you just keep it in CD's where you have a guaranteed rate of return?  Because clearly, you have a very difficult time looking at trends/projecting into the future based on past performance, and evaluating basic fundamental foundations...

[ChicosBailBonds]

Just to put this one to bed once and for all.  Since I have a weekly call with the sports leagues anyway, the timing was great with our call with the NBA today.   Told them I had an interesting question to which they chuckled...."this sounds like someone is trying to win a bet."  

Question:  "When is a player in the NBA officially considered a NBA player by the NBA.  If they play a preseason game?  If they are on a regular season roster?  Do they have to actually play a possession?"  

Here was their response...this is directly from Brett Cicchillo and subsequently confirmed by Adam Silver (who is going to be the new David Stern after he retires next season).

"That person is considered an NBA player as he made the team.....regardless of whether he plays or not, he will still be in the records on a regular season roster.  As long as you are on a regular season roster, you are a player......regardless of whether you ever played a minute.  As long as you are on a roster, you are considered a NBA player.  Nothing to do with playing time."


Jerel McNeal was on TWO regular season rosters by signing two 10 day contracts.  According to the NBA, he is an NBA player.

[Silkk the Shaka]

Just to put this one to bed once and for all.  Since I have a weekly call with the sports leagues anyway, the timing was great with our call with the NBA today.   Told them I had an interesting question to which they chuckled...."this sounds like someone is trying to win a bet."  

Question:  "When is a player in the NBA officially considered a NBA player by the NBA.  If they play a preseason game?  If they are on a regular season roster?  Do they have to actually play a possession?"  

Here was their response...this is directly from Brett Cicchillo and subsequently confirmed by Adam Silver (who is going to be the new David Stern after he retires next season).

"That person is considered an NBA player as he made the team.....regardless of whether he plays or not, he will still be in the records on a regular season roster.  As long as you are on a regular season roster, you are a player......regardless of whether you ever played a minute.  As long as you are on a roster, you are considered a NBA player.  Nothing to do with playing time."


Jerel McNeal was on TWO regular season rosters by signing two 10 day contracts.  According to the NBA, he is an NBA player.

Even when I agree with you, you're annoying.

[Lennys Tap]

Tell me more, Dr. Drew.

Fact is, you have no idea to what extent drinking played a role in Gillespie's failures at UK, or how much (or whether) the unique situation at UK played a part in exacerbating those problems. The record reflects that his problems there went far beyond drinking.
I know you like to pretend to know things you don't (like how Larry Williams was forcing Buzz to suspend players and how the Chicago Tribune was conspiring with DePaul to destroy Marquette), but you don't.

YOU were the one who brought up Billy Gillespie. Using him as an example without any context (his alcoholism) is just plain stupid.

It also stupid to view coaching/recruiting without any context. Getting a once in a lifetime guy when your stiffest competition is Illinois St because BCS schools are prohibited from recruiting him carries an asterisk. I was at Richards High School when Tom Crean himself said that DWade would have crawled on his hands and knees through broken glass all the way to Bloomington to play at Indiana rather than go to Marquette. I'm sure the same thing applied to the 60 or so other BCS schools who couldn't take him.

I can't believe that one as articulate as you can sometimes be is so hostile to considering events/occurances in some sort of factual/historical context, but there you go.

[Lennys Tap]

Just to put this one to bed once and for all.  Since I have a weekly call with the sports leagues anyway, the timing was great with our call with the NBA today.   Told them I had an interesting question to which they chuckled...."this sounds like someone is trying to win a bet."  

Question:  "When is a player in the NBA officially considered a NBA player by the NBA.  If they play a preseason game?  If they are on a regular season roster?  Do they have to actually play a possession?"  

Here was their response...this is directly from Brett Cicchillo and subsequently confirmed by Adam Silver (who is going to be the new David Stern after he retires next season).

"That person is considered an NBA player as he made the team.....regardless of whether he plays or not, he will still be in the records on a regular season roster.  As long as you are on a regular season roster, you are a player......regardless of whether you ever played a minute.  As long as you are on a roster, you are considered a NBA player.  Nothing to do with playing time."


Jerel McNeal was on TWO regular season rosters by signing two 10 day contracts.  According to the NBA, he is an NBA player.

Thank God, Chicos, that you "know a guy who knows a guy". Now we can all comfortably flush all common sense down the toilet and accept the preposterous idea that Jerel McNeal is not only an NBA player but a veteren of TWO franchises.

On a more important issue, can you put me in touch with someone who can get me into heaven on a technicality?

[ChicosBailBonds]

Thank God, Chicos, that you "know a guy who knows a guy". Now we can all comfortably flush all common sense down the toilet and accept the preposterous idea that Jerel McNeal is not only an NBA player but a veteren of TWO franchises.

On a more important issue, can you put me in touch with someone who can get me into heaven on a technicality?

Nothing to do with knowing a guy that knows a guy.  This is part of my job to work with these people on a daily basis.  It is what it is.

No technicality, you guys were just wrong.  You make a NBA roster in the regular season, you are a NBA player.  Again, this is really strange that some of you have a problem with this.  I can't help but think the reason why is very clear considering the group that is questioning whether he was a NBA player.

The guy reaches his dream of making the NBA, for however long, and you question it.  When I was with the Angels and Ducks, we had guys come up for a cup of coffee that never got in to play and then sent back to the minors...some never got back up to the bigs.  Guess what, they were Major Leaguers and NHL Players and recognized as such by MLB and the NHL...they made it to the Show and they are recognized in that special fraternity by the leagues themselves.   Now you want to dismiss his achievement of making two NBA rosters as a technicality when the very leagues in question confirm your original interpretation was flat out wrong?  Again, strange and sad.  McNeal busted his arse to make it, just as those minor league ballplayers did.  Sure it would have been great for him to get into a game, but he was in uniform, on the bench, ready to be called to play.  Just like the 3rd string QB that may never play one snap all year long, he's still on a roster, still recognized by the only folks that matter...the leagues. 

When he gets his NBA pension check each year (which for him will be very small because he only had two stints...about $306.34 per month) he will be reminded when that Jerry West logo appears on the check that he sure as hell was a NBA player.  Along with the memories, the uniform, the stories (however brief) that he was in the Association.  Good for him.


http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-06-25/sports/ct-spt-0626-nba-draft-fringe-prospect20110625_1_nba-lockout-marquette-free-agents

[MuMark]

Somehow I doubt even Jerel thinks of himself as an NBA player.

Love the kid and it's nice he gets a pension(hard to believe this is true) but even MU isn't selling Jerel as one of its NBA players .....

You are spinning because you didn't realize when you posted the link that those were pre-season games.

Players play.....Jerel has never played in an NBA game.....being on a roster for a few games is nice....congrats to him.

ps. As I suspected you were wrong on the pension....Jerel has a long way to go to qualify for it



The N.B.A.’s pension program is seen as one of the most reliable in professional sports. A player qualifies — or becomes vested — for his pension after three seasons, when he is on a team’s active roster for at least 50 percent of the season’s games or is on the roster by Feb. 2 of that season, according to Tim Frank, a league spokesman. Players with 11 or more years of service retiring at age 62 would receive the federally mandated maximum annual benefit, $195,000.

[real chili 83]

Chicos,

You bring good info.  Drop the "strange and sad" from your post(s).

Nothing to do with knowing a guy that knows a guy.  This is part of my job to work with these people on a daily basis.  It is what it is.

No technicality, you guys were just wrong.  You make a NBA roster in the regular season, you are a NBA player.  Again, this is really strange that some of you have a problem with this.  I can't help but think the reason why is very clear considering the group that is questioning whether he was a NBA player.

The guy reaches his dream of making the NBA, for however long, and you question it.  When I was with the Angels and Ducks, we had guys come up for a cup of coffee that never got in to play and then sent back to the minors...some never got back up to the bigs.  Guess what, they were Major Leaguers and NHL Players and recognized as such by MLB and the NHL...they made it to the Show and they are recognized in that special fraternity by the leagues themselves.   Now you want to dismiss his achievement of making two NBA rosters as a technicality when the very leagues in question confirm your original interpretation was flat out wrong?  Again, strange and sad.  McNeal busted his arse to make it, just as those minor league ballplayers did.  Sure it would have been great for him to get into a game, but he was in uniform, on the bench, ready to be called to play.  Just like the 3rd string QB that may never play one snap all year long, he's still on a roster, still recognized by the only folks that matter...the leagues. 

When he gets his NBA pension check each year (which for him will be very small because he only had two stints...about $306.34 per month) he will be reminded when that Jerry West logo appears on the check that he sure as hell was a NBA player.  Along with the memories, the uniform, the stories (however brief) that he was in the Association.  Good for him.


http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-06-25/sports/ct-spt-0626-nba-draft-fringe-prospect20110625_1_nba-lockout-marquette-free-agents

[Lennys Tap]

No technicality, you guys were just wrong.  You make a NBA roster in the regular season, you are a NBA player.  Again, this is really strange that some of you have a problem with this.  I can't help but think the reason why is very clear considering the group that is questioning whether he was a NBA player.

Just as an actor who's never appeared in a movie isn't a "movie actor", so a basketball player who's never appeared in an NBA game isn't an "NBA basketball player". Simple, common sense. The fact that you think people here are denying Jerel his status as an NBA guy because he played for Crean is paranoid and delusional.

[MU82]

McNeal is less of an NBA player than Adam Greenberg is an MLB player. At least Greenberg got hit in the head by a pitch in a game.

[GGGG]

Just as an actor who's never appeared in a movie isn't a "movie actor", so a basketball player who's never appeared in an NBA game isn't an "NBA basketball player". Simple, common sense. The fact that you think people here are denying Jerel his status as an NBA guy because he played for Crean is paranoid and delusional.

Lennys, I know this is hard for you to admit, but you are simply wrong and Chicos is correct.  According to the NBA's standards, McNeal is/was an NBA player.

[Pakuni]

According to the NBA's collective bargaining agreement, any person who signs a uniform player contract with an NBA team is, by definition, an NBA player, at least for the duration of his contract.
So, regardless of what anyone else thinks, both the NBA and the NBA Players Association would define McNeal - at least for a brief time - as an NBA player.

https://www2.bc.edu/~yen/Sports/NBA%20CBA.pdf

[Silkk the Shaka]

McNeal probably got paid ~$40k to suit up and travel with two teams for 20 days.  That's nice coin for his time.  I'm sure he wishes it was for longer, but he was an NBA player for 20 days and I really hope he gets another call up, even if it's only a 10 day stint to ride the pine.  One of my all time favorites.