PAC 12

[Pakuni]

Sampson's winning percentage as a college coach is .649
Alford's winning percentage as a college coach is .663

So there's that....

Sampson at Oklahoma and Indiana: 322-124 (.721)
Alford and Iowa and UCLA: 276-169 (.620)

[Marcus92]

I totally hear his voice in my head saying that.

My favorite LaVar Ball quote: "Back in my heyday, I would kill Michael Jordan one-on-one." This from a guy who averaged 2.2 points a game in his one season at Washington State.

[MU82]

At this point, I'm not even sure Steve Alford survives the season.

Nicely done, Nostradamus!

[Pakuni]

My favorite LaVar Ball quote: "Back in my heyday, I would kill Michael Jordan one-on-one." This from a guy who averaged 2.2 points a game in his one season at Washington State.

Maybe he meant Dr. J vs Bird on ColecoVision.

[GooooMarquette]

Sampson at Oklahoma and Indiana: 322-124 (.721)
Alford and Iowa and UCLA: 276-169 (.620)

So Sampson is better where recruiting is easier. Great.

[BM1090]

So Sampson is better where recruiting is easier. Great.

Sampson is the better coach and I don't think it's really close. When he was banned from the NCAA he was a successful assistant for the Bucks and Rockets. And now he's turned Houston into a good team.

I doubt any NBA team will be giving Alford a call.

[GooooMarquette]

So do people here really think Alford won't get a call from some desperate school? Really?

[Pakuni]

So Sampson is better where recruiting is easier. Great.

Or Alford can succeed at mid-major and smaller programs, where the level of competition and expectations are lower, but has failed to match that success against the big boys.
Just to further drive home the point:
Alford's Big 10/Pac 12 record: 114-102 (.528)
Sampson's Big 12/Big 10 record: 149-68 (.687)

[GooooMarquette]

Or Alford can succeed at mid-major and smaller programs, where the level of competition and expectations are lower, but has failed to match that success against the big boys.
Just to further drive home the point:
Alford's Big 10/Pac 12 record: 114-102 (.528)
Sampson's Big 12/Big 10 record: 149-68 (.687)

Right. But my point was that some desperate school - i.e., not an established power - will probably hire Alford in a New York minute if the price is right. Alford's greatest success was in the MWC, exactly the sort of environment I'm referring to.

Sounds like maybe we agree more than we disagree....

[rocky_warrior]

Luke Walton to UCLA.  Better for him  to take the long term contract now than wait and get fired by Lebron.

Make it his dad, Bill, and we've got a deal.  I'd love to watch him coach rather than hear him be obnoxious on TV.

[MU82]

Make it his dad, Bill, and we've got a deal.  I'd love to watch him coach rather than hear him be obnoxious on TV.

He could be the first coach who openly consumes cannabis products before, during and after games.

That would be, like, totally awesome.

[GooooMarquette]

Make it his dad, Bill, and we've got a deal.  I'd love to watch him coach rather than hear him be obnoxious on TV.

It would drive me crazy to have him call a Marquette game, but I find him hilarious on games I don't really give a crap about (i.e. any PAC-12 game).

[rocky_warrior]

I think the 3 of us have had this debate about BW before   Happy new year gents.

[GooooMarquette]

I think the 3 of us have had this debate about BW before   Happy new year gents.

Happy New Year, Rocky!

[Mr. Nielsen]

Make it his dad, Bill, and we've got a deal.  I'd love to watch him coach rather than hear him be obnoxious on TV.

No! I love Bill Walton on TV!
Is that you, Dave? 

[Herman Cain]

It would drive me crazy to have him call a Marquette game, but I find him hilarious on games I don't really give a crap about (i.e. any PAC-12 game).

Bill is a big MU fan. Dates back to his teammate Maurice Lucas. Walton named his son Luke after him.

[GGGG]

Right. But my point was that some desperate school - i.e., not an established power - will probably hire Alford in a New York minute if the price is right. Alford's greatest success was in the MWC, exactly the sort of environment I'm referring to.

Sounds like maybe we agree more than we disagree....

But you never actually made this point. You compared his coaching record with Sampson's without going any deeper than that.

[GooooMarquette]

But you never actually made this point. You compared his coaching record with Sampson's without going any deeper than that.

You obviously missed my comment from 9:53:01 this morning.

You're welcome.

[WhiteTrash]

It would drive me crazy to have him call a Marquette game, but I find him hilarious on games I don't really give a crap about (i.e. any PAC-12 game).

You watch PAC 12 basketball? You are a true college basketball junkie. Tip of the cap to you.

[Herman Cain]

https://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-ucla-alford-plaschke-20181231-story.html

[Mr. Nielsen]

You watch PAC 12 basketball? You are a true college basketball junkie. Tip of the cap to you.

Yes, I'm a proud junkie. Conference of Champions.

[asdfasdf]

Is there a story behind why UCLA teams fly coach? I've seen it mentioned numerous times, but no explanation is given.

[GGGG]

Is there a story behind why UCLA teams fly coach? I've seen it mentioned numerous times, but no explanation is given.

Most high level teams used to.  Other programs have invested in charter jets (like Marquette), but UCLA simply hasn't.

If people still think this is an elite job, read this from the LA Times.

https://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-ucla-alford-plaschke-20181231-story.html

"I never thought I would write this, but the stark reality is that coaching the UCLA men's basketball team is not a great job.

Your bosses seem to care more about football. Your arena sits mostly quiet and half-empty. Your recruiting efforts rarely benefit from the legend of John Wooden because most of today's prospects have never heard of him.

You don't have the amenities of a Kansas or Kentucky, where every road trip is on a chartered plane and where the coaches recruit from private jets. You mostly fly commercial, which affects everything from practice schedules to body clocks.

You don't have the national exposure of a North Carolina or Duke, where every game is played in a full arena. You play home games that are scheduled at 6 p.m. during the middle of the week because of the enduring embarrassment of the Pac-12 Conference's TV deal, and your players are virtually unknown because of the sham that is the Pac-12 Network.

The ticket prices at new Pauley Pavilion are too high. The local perception of the program is shockingly low. The school's support of the program has lagged such that when the Bruins traveled to Dayton, Ohio, for an NCAA Tournament play-in game last March, the pep band didn't even make the trip.

In ways that stretch far beyond the current 23-year national championship drought — the longest since before Wooden stepped on campus — the reality is as chilling as the malaise that often runs through Pauley when the team occupies the floor.

UCLA basketball is no longer UCLA basketball."

[MUBigDance]

PAC 12 plight a warning for BE. If the league as a whole loses credibility in the non-conf, there is no way for it to bootstrap itself up to respectability.

We are ok this year as we lost the big guns but teams like MU have stepped up.

But a year of mediocrity will really hurt us. At least the PAC12 are state schools with built in budgets and fan bases. The BE are private schools with basketball as the flagship. Won't matter how good your soccer or lacrosse or archery team is. basketball has to succeed.

[GGGG]

The Pac 12's problems run deeper than a poor non-conference performance.  There are fundamental problems with how the conference operates, including terrible TV exposure.  It is not only affecting basketball, but football as well.  We should thank the Lord that the BE is run extremely well.