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SignUp Now!SeanMayTriedToEatMe said:Yeah so the main point of this whole parallel luck universe nonsense is not to find one equal example of bad luck for every example of good luck, or vice versa, but to consider that the six seasons starting with 2012 really haven't been good. The best team he had, by far, in this twilight of his career was 2015. He cashed that team in for a title, basically with magic. Magic defense at the end. Magic Tyus whenever he felt like it. Magic Grayson at the most clutch of times. Magic foul trouble for Okafor. Magic Sulaimon sexual assault. Magic Wisconsin doing us the greatest favor. It just hasn't been good lately, and that stroke of luck in 2015 shouldn't distract anyone from this as much as it does.
DurhamSon said:So with the 1.5-2 in that span, I guess it's not too out of the norm, but then again besides Cal none of those guys are getting the caliber of recruiting classes we are. It will be interesting (and possibly maddening) to see if by 2020 if those other coaches have leapfrogged K.
Pantone287 said:As an aside, I'm not convinced that too many OADs = doom. This year, our second-half six including a RS-SR, SR, JR, and and SO, and I'd argue that the remaining two frosh were our most consistent 2-way players in the postseason. For all the talk of our talent, we only had one guy who seems to safely be a first-round pick.
If you're getting 3-4 elite, can't-miss guys in a class like Cal does, that seems to work out as well as any other strategy, as evidenced by his 4 contending teams as per the Dson Matrix (TM). It's also what won us the 2015 title - our 3 top 10 guys all panned out as expected, and our other guy was Grayson freaking Allen. We talk about that team as if it had the perfect mix of veterans and young guys - and yeah, Quinn Cook played a huge role - but people tend to forget that freshmen scored all but EIGHT (!) of our points in the championship game.
Long-term pieces are important for leadership and continuity, and if you can get high-end talent to stick around, all the better. However, I think it's worth noting that we're 1 for 1 when we've actually succeeded in stockpiling an elite collection of OADs. Talent tends to rise in March.
deeyoukayeee said:Obviously, a pg would have helped tremendously vs. SC, but I think the notion that this team's NC hopes actually died in 11/15 (and maybe 11/16) is more accurate. We lost/struggled in many more games this year, IMO, because we lacked the theoretical God-like rim protector/rebounder that was a healthy Giles. Even in glimpses, it is clear the guy's hands are freakishly magnetic when it comes to grabbing the ball, and he was all over the court defending in the U-17s. And even with two sketchy knees, his athleticism is off the fucking charts. His inability to get in sync with the team until at least January killed us. We were too far behind at that point (and he was still shaky) to proceed through trial and error. I do wish K had played him and Amile more together.
Amile is a warrior, and got almost everything out of his talent, but Giles had the Garnett gene. If his legs stay healthy, I'd bet he is an all-star in the next decade. And it will break our hearts.
Because Collins and Fitzgerald are apparently enthusiastic enough about taking on that dynamic, and because they can apparently win games while doing it, spending big to retain them—while including what Phillips described as “cost-prohibitive” buyout provisions—is a sensible bet. “If you are reactive with any of your coaches,” Phillips said, “your coaches are going to be gone.” So then Northwestern is left to hope the shiny new resources afforded to both men dovetail with their ability to coach well, which keeps the victories and the money flowing in. According to Phillips, the athletic department has raised more than $330 million in the last three plus years.
Both coaches insisted they weren’t going anywhere, anyway. Fitzgerald described his family as “owners, not renters,” and by now it’s fairly evident virtually no college job could lure him away from Evanston. Collins may never escape the specter of Duke calling when Mike Krzyzewski calls it quits, but he also has been steadfast in public statements about a commitment to Northwestern. Tuesday was no different. “It was never about being here to go somewhere else,” Collins said. “I came to Northwestern to be the Northwestern coach for a long time.”