drsmitty74
- Rochester
Would agree with the 1st team you mentioned.
Andre Curbelo in the transfer portal
- Status
UConn has won the national championship 4 times in the past 23 years. We’ve had one runner up during that time frame. I know the Big East isn’t what it once was, but UConn is a basketball powerhouse.
DaChief4ever
- Urbana
St. John’s Georgia Tech Pittsburgh Kansas state St. Mary’s Clemson Texas A&M.....meh?
drsmitty74
- Rochester
True fact. Not looking for a debate.
Just stating my opinion.
Forgot you're not allowed to have an opinion these days.
You said that there was not a "power team" among those who have reportedly contacted Curbelo. Other posters identified schools like Gonzaga, UConn, and Texas that have reached out to him and would certainly qualify as a "power team."
Is it possible that you were referring not to college basketball but to the actual Power Team, a group of Christian evangelist martial artists from the 80s? Curbelo is a talented guy but not sure that's his thing, and he's probably too quick for those absolute legends at this point of their lives.
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Tacomallini
- Washington State
I think UI has been the better than UCONN the past three years, and I'm hoping that'll be the trend moving forward. UCONN had some subpar teams post-Boatwright, but UI was awful then too.
Hope Curbelo ends up somewhere that's a good fit for him and vice versa. I'm selfishly hoping it's Gonzaga or St. Mary's so I can see him play in person.
What a simplistic uninformed take
UCONN appeared to be trending in the right direction this year, but like a number of other teams, they've had their share of transfers out this post-season. This is a team that beat Auburn, Marquette (we didn't), and Villanova. And as another posted earlier, they've won 4 National Championships in the past 25 years. I'd say that's a pretty solid program.
Tacomallini
- Washington State
Agree 100%. I'd be ecstatic with that level of success for Illinois. Someone stated that they're not a solid basketball program, which is a view I don't support. Thought I'd try and find some middle ground - and I do think Illinois has been a better program than UCONN the past 3 years. Chapeau to them for beating Nova and Auburn this year. I don't think any of us see Illinois losing to Marquette though, if Kofi's in the game.
So it’s on every manager if the job isn’t a long-term fit for every employee?
MDchicago
- Lake Norman NC
Agree with the middle ground approach regarding UConn.
KenPom rankings (out of 350+ D1 programs)
(13 seasons, 2022 (season to date) back to 2010)
UConn: 21, 21, 52, 98, 179, 96, 26, 73, 15, 49, 38, 10, 51
Illinois: 20, 4, 30, 84, 102, 66, 125, 61, 53, 39, 76, 18, 57
Both programs had some good years but were mostly mediocre during this period. Illinois was better in 8 of the last 13 seasons, including each of the last 6, and had the only team that ranked in the top 5 of KenPom at season end.
Yet UConn managed to win 2 national championships in this period, and catching some major breaks along the way to do so (and were good enough to take advantage of those opportunities).
2011: Finish 9th in conference, win title in broken bracket tournament, beating 5, 4 and 8 seeds in the Elite 8/Final 4/championship games. 3rd weakest champ of the KenPom era (since 2002) based on KenPom rankings.
2014: Win title as 7 seed (lowest ever) with a coach with 2 years of head coach experience, again beating an 8 seed in the title game. Weakest champ of the KenPom era.
I would love for Illinois to have that kind of good fortune just once!
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I lol’d at this. However, as far as Christian Martial Arts Teams from the 80s go, I am partial to “Strike Force”.
And yeah. There’s really no debate here. UConn, Gonzaga, and Texas are all “power teams”. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but not their own facts.
Ha! Sorry to be off topic, but was just reminded of the Power Team the other night by my now 33-year-old son. Parental regrets never end. Lol. Actually I suppose player and coach regrets never end either.
SuperMetroid
- Evanston
I had to Google 'Power Team' after reading this. I'm still laughing at the first comment posted on the first YouTube video that came up:
"the Power Team came to my school and the “ninja” one slid down the wooden railing and got a giant splinter in his !!! and had to go to the hospital"
Ripping phone books in half with their bare hands? Check.
Breaking stacks of flaming bricks with their skulls? Yes.
Blowing up hot water bottles until they burst using only the tremendous power of their lungs? Oh yeah!
Beating dead horses? Absolutely not! It was a family show!
This has to be trolling.
Weber inherits top ten program. Drives it off the rails.
Underwood takes over a team that had the least punt of talent since Lou took over and gets them back into top 20 in five years.
Superb comparison by that guy.
illini80
- Forgottonia
Few coaches have adapted their offense and defense styles more than Underwood has since he’s been here. When Kofi leaves I expect he will do so again.
I know you indirectly referenced some on the court and off the court maturity issues with Curbelo.
Just out of curiosity, were these also problems before the concussion, or just after(or maybe just way worse after)?
Totally agree....when Kofi leaves I think BU will trend towards a little more up tempo style of play....full court, maybe half court trap pressure defense...getting the ball down the floor quicker on offense with shots going up quicker in the shot clock....to play that style now, basically negates Kofi's strengths....was hoping to see a little more of that style of play this year, but pretty sure once Kofi is gone we'll see more
The concussion probably heightened them more.
- Status