TheWatShot

We spent like $2 million on this roster...I would sure hope we could do better than 13 and freaking 7.

Connections > Qualifications

They're leading the league in attendance just two years after averaging only 1,500 per game (not a typo). Clark's effect is unprecedented.

Don't forget drop ceilings.

I'll never forget people wondering how UK was going to find an elite coach when they gave up on Billy Gillispie after just two years, because who would want to coach under that kind of pressure? All they did was get the best recruiter of the modern era, and were foolish enough to get rid of him after 15 years because he suddenly wasn't getting the #1 class every season.

If you're winning at a respectable level, you don't need to change coaches. Right? We have a bad retention rate because we've hired bad coaches. It's that simple.

So, I pay little to no attention to preseason games nor do I put any stock in them, but I couldn't help but notice Richardson didn't play last night. Tell me he's not injured already?

I forgot that we're playing USC and UCLA at home too. Even though those are now considered conference games, they are a pretty big step up from what games against Northwestern or Penn State would have been.

Battle 4 Atlantis field includes Ball State, Baylor, Columbia, North Carolina, Southern Miss, Texas A&M and Villanova. Hopefully we can pick up a few tough games there because outside of Stanford, the rest of this schedule looks pretty light.

It would be far better for the program if he stepped down after a successful season. Every coach since Knight (except for Sampson) has been fired and the result was someone else coming in to clean up the mess and getting multiple seasons of built-in excuses. It's not going to be as easy as some people think to land a quality replacement, but our chances go up significantly if we're looking to build off a big year instead of launching yet another rebuild.

Saying the Bucks win that series if Giannis plays rings a bit hollow when you consider he played in all five games against the Pacers during the season and the Pacers won four of them. He had 64 in a game the Bucks won by 14 points. He had 54, 37, 30 and 26 in the others and the Pacers still won them.

Yeah, anyone who thinks Clark isn't a winning player is probably still holding some kind of grudge from her days at Iowa. It's actually only been about 5 months since our fans were heckling her in Assembly Hall. She had the first triple-double ever by a rookie, and did it against the best team in the league. She just set the single-game assists record, and did it while also scoring 24 points. Pretty amazing stuff. The Fever are horrific defensively and need to seriously address that in the offseason.

Do we know any of next year's non-conference games yet?

I'm guessing after getting our fingers burnt with the Auburn and Arizona games we decided to dial it back a bit. Not going to be fun times around here when we hit the new year and Purdue has a better record than us with a tougher schedule.

And only 6 times in the last 15. We haven't made 3 in a row since the mid-2000's. We'd be on the outside looking in a lot more than not if only 32 teams got in.

LOL, we'd probably never make it again if it was only 32. We hardly ever make it now at 68.

When you have a team as dominant as Boston was this year, it's going to lead to less interest. The Celtics were 7 games ahead of the top seed in the West and 14 games ahead of everyone else in the East. I think another reason ratings have dropped recently is that Lebron really isn't a factor in the playoffs anymore.

Nobody would be happier than me if NIL undercut Purdue's program and made them an afterthought in college basketball, but we thought it was the beginning of the end when they lost out on Nigel Pack two years ago and all they've done since then is continue to pull in talent and get stronger.

Culture doesn't graduate. They won't be top 5, but I could still see them being in the 15-20 range, and I think they'll still make the tournament comfortably even if they aren't anywhere close to a 1 seed. Loyer and Smith will still be a better backcourt than most Big Ten teams and if the Jacobsen kid is any good they're still going to win a lot.

If I had a dollar for every time I've thought this... I can't think of a fanbase that deserves a regression year with unexpected setbacks more than that one.

It'd be hilarious if he went to FSU or BYU and they knocked Purdue out of next year's tournament.

I had actually been meaning to post recently, Purdue was oversigned by one and we had an open scholarship. Wouldn't mind seeing us take one off their hands.

Grace got fouled on a 3 point shot today and missed all three attempts. Can't help but wonder if the Fever's culture of losing and ineptitude is starting to swallow her up. Luckily it didn't matter as the Fever did just enough to not lose today.

I guess the Fever coach remembered Grace exists...she got to play 10 minutes in the first half. She was the only player to have a positive +/- . As usual, Fever behind at the break.

Gainbridge would be lit tonight if the Pacers had a chance to tie the series. It's impossible to get excited about a playoff game when you're down 3-0. Even if you win it just feels like you're prolonging the inevitable.