Mark Few is a smart man

[ChicosBailBonds]

"Someone asked me the other day if I'd trade all of my runs over 15 years for one Final Four," Few said recently. "Absolutely not. Are you kidding me? These seasons are six months long. We usually feel great for six months. One loss shouldn't ruin that. ... The tournament is a crapshoot. It shouldn't be everything. It's such a shallow thing to pin everything on"

-Mark Few
March 15, 2015

[wadesworld]

What runs? Beating up on a bunch of low majors then winning 2 games max in the Tourney before losing to a higher seed? Okay, then. I don't agree with him but that's just me.

[Chicos' Buzz Scandal Countdown]

"Someone asked me the other day if I'd trade all of my runs over 15 years for one Final Four," Few said recently. "Absolutely not. Are you kidding me? These seasons are six months long. We usually feel great for six months. One loss shouldn't ruin that. ... The tournament is a crapshoot. It shouldn't be everything. It's such a shallow thing to pin everything on"

-Mark Few
March 15, 2015

A predictable position for a Crean apologist

[Galway Eagle]

What runs? Beating up on a bunch of low majors then winning 2 games max in the Tourney before losing to a higher seed? Okay, then. I don't agree with him but that's just me.

Perhaps you've forgotten that we were one of those teams they beat up on in the 2010-2011 season. 

[avid1010]

"Someone asked me the other day if I'd trade all of my runs over 15 years for one Final Four," Few said recently. "Absolutely not. Are you kidding me? These seasons are six months long. We usually feel great for six months. One loss shouldn't ruin that. ... The tournament is a crapshoot. It shouldn't be everything. It's such a shallow thing to pin everything on"

-Mark Few
March 15, 2015

hilarious...i know the year for MU that stands out the most for me is their final four run.

anything that is win or go home is a crapshoot, but only to a certain degree when many years are put into the equation...or guys like tom izzo are just the lucky bastards in the game.

[MerrittsMustache]

"Someone asked me the other day if I'd trade all of my runs over 15 years for one Final Four," Few said recently. "Absolutely not. Are you kidding me? These seasons are six months long. We usually feel great for six months. One loss shouldn't ruin that. ... The tournament is a crapshoot. It shouldn't be everything. It's such a shallow thing to pin everything on"

-Mark Few
March 15, 2015

Exact type of quote you'd expect from a head coach who's never made it past the Sweet 16.

[brewcity77]

Why not just start a "Why the Tournament is a crapshoot waste of time" thread and bump it every year? Yeesht...give it a rest. 

[Golden Avalanche]

Exact type of quote you'd expect from a head coach who's never made it past the Sweet 16.

+1

[4everwarriors]

Few is smart. Apparently, doesn't aspire to climb higher mountains, is makin' good money, and is treated like royalty in Spokane.

[WellsstreetWanderer]

Few likes being a big fish in a small pond.  See several of their games each year and couldn't believe people actually were speculating them as a one seed for a while

[Lennys Tap]

Exact type of quote you'd expect from a head coach who's never made it past the Sweet 16.

Yeah, the old "I'm great cause I win in the regular season and I'm unlucky because I can't win in the tournament" is as self serving as it gets. No wonder Chico loves the guy. Mark Few is like the golfer who has made a lot of money and maybe even won the John Deere Classic a couple of times but crapped the bed in the majors. Tell John Wooden, Bob Knight, Coach K. etc., that the tournament is all luck, a roll of the dice. And that it doesn't help define a career. It will give them a good laugh.

[MU82]

I'd be with Few (and Chicos) if that "run" included one Final Four or maybe even a couple of Elite Eights.

Gonzaga obviously is a well-run program that is at the top of the mid-major heap. But anytime it gets to nut-crunchin' time, it can't hang with the big boys.

It's a crapshoot, of course ... and shoot, Gonzaga always craps the bed.

[GGGG]

It is simple statistical ignorance to say the NCAA is a "crapshoot."  Here is the percentage of wins per seed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NCAA_Men%27s_Division_I_Basketball_Tournament#/media/File:NCAA_Wins-rank.png

Furthermore, here are the seeds to reach the Final Four.

#1 - 43 appearances (44.7%)
#2 - 20 appearances (20.8%)
#3 - 12 appearances (12.5%)
#4 - 9 appearances (9.4%)
#5 - 4 appearances (4.1%)
#6 - 3 appearances (3.1%)
#7 - 0 appearances (0%)
#8 - 3 appearances (3.1%)
#9 - 0 appearances (0%)
#10 - 0 appearances (0%)
#11 - 2 appearances (2.1%)


Seeds to win the championship:

#1 - 15 championships (62.5%)
#2 - 3 championships (12.5%)
#3 - 3 championships (12.5%)
#4 - 1 championships (4.2%)
#5 - 0 championships (0%)
#6 - 1 championships (4.2%)
#7 - 0 championships (0%)
#8 - 1 championships (4.2%)

If it were more random, as a "crapshoot" implies, these figures would be much more level than they are.

[GooooMarquette]

Few is smart. Apparently, doesn't aspire to climb higher mountains, is makin' good money, and is treated like royalty in Spokane.

Yep.  Making tons of money, treated like royalty, seems to enjoy his job.  Sounds pretty darn smart to me....

[JWags85]

Its the line Badger fans used to spout about Bo until last year.  I doubt they say it now.

As for Gonzaga, they looked REALLY good early in the year.  Beat down SMU, beat SJU and Georgia who are tourney teams, took Zona to OT on the road, and won 22 in a row after that.  I think this may be the best team Few has had.

[ChicosBailBonds]

A predictable position for a Crean apologist

Mark Few is a Crean apologist?

[wadesworld]

Yep.  Making tons of money, treated like royalty, seems to enjoy his job.  Sounds pretty darn smart to me....

That's not the quote Chicos was calling him smart for though...

[ChicosBailBonds]

Exact type of quote you'd expect from a head coach who's never made it past the Sweet 16.

I guess when Coach K and Al McGuire said it, that nullifies your point...entirely.  LOL

[The Lens]

Tom Izzo is totally lucky. 

[ChicosBailBonds]

It is simple statistical ignorance to say the NCAA is a "crapshoot."  Here is the percentage of wins per seed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NCAA_Men%27s_Division_I_Basketball_Tournament#/media/File:NCAA_Wins-rank.png

Furthermore, here are the seeds to reach the Final Four.

#1 - 43 appearances (44.7%)
#2 - 20 appearances (20.8%)
#3 - 12 appearances (12.5%)
#4 - 9 appearances (9.4%)
#5 - 4 appearances (4.1%)
#6 - 3 appearances (3.1%)
#7 - 0 appearances (0%)
#8 - 3 appearances (3.1%)
#9 - 0 appearances (0%)
#10 - 0 appearances (0%)
#11 - 2 appearances (2.1%)


Seeds to win the championship:

#1 - 15 championships (62.5%)
#2 - 3 championships (12.5%)
#3 - 3 championships (12.5%)
#4 - 1 championships (4.2%)
#5 - 0 championships (0%)
#6 - 1 championships (4.2%)
#7 - 0 championships (0%)
#8 - 1 championships (4.2%)

If it were more random, as a "crapshoot" implies, these figures would be much more level than they are.

And in comparison to the NBA and their best of 7, it isn't even close.  That's why the term is used. 

So in your mathematcial  statistical prowess, exactly what do those figures have to be to be a crapshoot....how much more "level"?   You do realize the term crapshoot is an analogy, yes?  An analogy in terms of how the sports world functions in the playoff space, which is normally amazingly predictable year after year.   

Let's also not forget there are FOUR #1 seeds, not just one #1 seed.  Yet despite the multiple distribution set, they still can't even get there half the time.  We're not talking a #1 seed from the west and one from the east, we're talking four #1 seeds.

One and done.  Anything can happen.

[ChicosBailBonds]

That's not the quote Chicos was calling him smart for though...

Actually I think his entire quote is smart.  Go back to my days on Prodigy with MU as some of us have been posting for nearly 20 years about MU hoops.  I've always divided the season up into different sections.  Preseason, conference, post-season.  You can be great for 6 months and have one bad day, it doesn't ruin a season in my opinion.  People disagree, that's fine, but in the nature of college hoops where one two hour session can end 6 months of great work, I believe it is important to understand the true accomplishments throughout.

The same is true on the flip side where a team has been so so, Florida Gulf Coast, but gets hot for 3 weeks.  So-so season, great post season.  Two different things.

[wadesworld]

And in comparison to the NBA and their best of 7, it isn't even close.  That's why the term is used. 

So in your mathematcial  statistical prowess, exactly what do those figures have to be to be a crapshoot....how much more "level"?   You do realize the term crapshoot is an analogy, yes?  An analogy in terms of how the sports world functions in the playoff space, which is normally amazingly predictable year after year.   

Let's also not forget there are FOUR #1 seeds, not just one #1 seed.  Yet despite the multiple distribution set, they still can't even get there half the time.  We're not talking a #1 seed from the west and one from the east, we're talking four #1 seeds.

One and done.  Anything can happen.

There are also 4 2 seeds, 4 3 seeds, 4 4 seeds, 4 5 seeds, 4 6 seeds, 4 7 seeds, 4 8 seeds, 4 9 seeds, 4 10 seeds, 6 11 seeds, 4 12 seeds, 4 13 seeds, 4 14 seeds, 4 15 seeds, and 6 16 seeds.  If the tournament were a crapshoot you would see a slightly higher percentage of 11 and 16 seeds making the Final Four and winning the title and the other seeds all having equal winning percentages.  So you're just simply wrong.

[GGGG]

And in comparison to the NBA and their best of 7, it isn't even close.  That's why the term is used.  

So in your mathematcial  statistical prowess, exactly what do those figures have to be to be a crapshoot....how much more "level"?   You do realize the term crapshoot is an analogy, yes?  An analogy in terms of how the sports world functions in the playoff space, which is normally amazingly predictable year after year.  

Let's also not forget there are FOUR #1 seeds, not just one #1 seed.  Yet despite the multiple distribution set, they still can't even get there half the time.  We're not talking a #1 seed from the west and one from the east, we're talking four #1 seeds.

One and done.  Anything can happen.

Anything can happen in a best of 7 as well.  You are correct that the likelihood decreases with the one-off nature of the NCAA tournament.  But the likelihood is that a top seed will win the tournament again this year.

And now the crapshoot is an "analogy."  After years of repeating the same line over and over and over again, all of the sudden it becomes an "analogy."

OK...

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

It is simple statistical ignorance to say the NCAA is a "crapshoot."  Here is the percentage of wins per seed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NCAA_Men%27s_Division_I_Basketball_Tournament#/media/File:NCAA_Wins-rank.png

Furthermore, here are the seeds to reach the Final Four.

#1 - 43 appearances (44.7%)
#2 - 20 appearances (20.8%)
#3 - 12 appearances (12.5%)
#4 - 9 appearances (9.4%)
#5 - 4 appearances (4.1%)
#6 - 3 appearances (3.1%)
#7 - 0 appearances (0%)
#8 - 3 appearances (3.1%)
#9 - 0 appearances (0%)
#10 - 0 appearances (0%)
#11 - 2 appearances (2.1%)


Seeds to win the championship:

#1 - 15 championships (62.5%)
#2 - 3 championships (12.5%)
#3 - 3 championships (12.5%)
#4 - 1 championships (4.2%)
#5 - 0 championships (0%)
#6 - 1 championships (4.2%)
#7 - 0 championships (0%)
#8 - 1 championships (4.2%)

If it were more random, as a "crapshoot" implies, these figures would be much more level than they are.

I think your data is a little old. UConn was a 7 seed last season.

[Lennys Tap]

Anything can happen in a best of 7 as well.  You are correct that the likelihood decreases with the one-off nature of the NCAA tournament.  But the likelihood is that a top seed will win the tournament again this year.

And now the crapshoot is an "analogy."  After years of repeating the same line over and over and over again, all of the sudden it becomes an "analogy."

OK...

The NCAA tournament is more of a crapshoot than the NBA playoffs and less of a crapshoot than many other playoffs (NFL, MLB, NHL, etc.). This can be proven to anyone with an understanding of very basic (think 3rd grade, nothing more complex than long division) math. Either it's over Chico's head or he's too stubborn to admit he's wrong but he clings to the provably false "biggest crapshoot in sports" narrative. All the facts in the world won't change that.