2022-23 Open Thread

[Queens_NYC]

Tied at 55 after 3. Big run from Zip early on but Nasty Nati managed to step up the intensity over the last few minutes.

 

[Queens_NYC]

Electric ending to an instant classic last night as Nasty Nati nearly gave away the game when Caupain missed a game-winning (technical style) free throw attempt, but all was forgiven when Evans made a step back 3 for the win on the next possession.

Evans and Jarron have been the catalysts for the back-to-back wins while Caupain, Diarra, DeBerry, and Letcher-Ellis have all been solid role players.

Shaq Thomas and Deshaun Mormon haven't contributed much.

Nasty Nati faces the 2022 TBT Runner-up and the region's #1 seed The Program for Autism on Monday evening at Cintas.

 

[sedziobs]

Nasy Nati destroyed the top seed by 25 points. Now on to face the winner of the Dayton regional, which strangely hasn't started yet. Next game is July 31.

 

[Queens_NYC]

Nasy Nati destroyed the top seed by 25 points. Now on to face the winner of the Dayton regional, which strangely hasn't started yet. Next game is July 31.

Last night was a very surprising but satisfying performance. We were long overdue for some success in this tournament after a handful of disappointing first round departures over the years.

Letcher-Ellis had 6 (!) blocks last night. He's really been the final piece that has transformed this team.

The next game will be in Dayton. Hope the fans will continue to travel and support the team.

 

[sirthought]

I only got to see a highlight reel of this one, but it seemed like the Nati guys were just bigger and more physical throughout.

Diarra looks like he's improved. Evans and Cumberland look pretty much like they did at UC.

It's fun to have this in the off season.

 

[sedziobs]

Letcher-Ellis had 6 (!) blocks last night. He's really been the final piece that has transformed this team.

I wish Tre Scott was playing, but Letcher-Ellis has been great. I also wish we had Keith Williams instead of Morman.

 

[sedziobs]

Looks like UConn and Colorado could be the top candidates to replace Texas and Oklahoma in the B12. I wonder if we'll end up with two divisions, maybe east-west:

Cincinnati, UConn, West Virginia, UCF, Iowa St, Kansas, Kansas St

Baylor, Houston, TCU, Texas Tech, Oklahoma St, Colorado, BYU

Or swap BYU and UCF and call it north-south. There's also a lot of rumors about Arizona and Gonzaga. What a ridiculous basketball conference that would be.

Colorado is official. I assume they'll try to add one more to get back to 14 teams for 2024.

 

[Queens_NYC]

Colorado is official. I assume they'll try to add one more to get back to 14 teams for 2024.

Great pickup for the league from a branding/profile standpoint but they're a program that we should aspire to beat every year on the hardwood no matter whether we're home or away.

Their recruiting will have to improve big time in the new Big 12.

Most Pac 12 schools have a very strong top half of the roster coupled vastly inferior athletes at the end of the bench due to population dynamics/demographics out west.

 

[sirthought]

I heard Tre and Keith are going to play in the TBT in Dayton. Should be a nice lineup.

 

[Queens_NYC]

Nasty Nati caught a break Saturday evening when Friday Beers beat Carmen's Crew 72-63 to win the Dayton Regional.

Carmen's Crew is an OSU alum team while Friday Beers has a hodge podge of players with no local connections, so Nasty Nati will likely continue to have a sizable homecourt advantage at UD Arena this evening.

The top 6 players from Friday Beers are:

-Aubrey Dawkins (6'6) | 15.6 ppg, 5 rpg at UCF in 18/19
-Coty Clarke (6'7) | 9.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg at Arkansas in 13/14
-Dee Bost (6'2) | 15.8 ppg, 5.5 apg at Miss St in 11/12
-Gabe York (6'3) | 15 ppg, 3.2 rpg at Arizona in 15/16
-Julian Gamble (6'10) | 6.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg at Miami (FL) in 12/13
-Rion Brown (6'6) | 15.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg at Miami (FL) in 13/14

Tonight's game tips off at 7:00 pm on ESPN+.

 

[sirthought]

Thanks for the update. I don't have ESPN+ so I haven't been trying to follow all of the games.

 

[sedziobs]

This one was on ESPN. Tre and Keith barely played in the first quarter as we fell into a huge deficit. We gradually clawed our way back but it was too little too late. Evans couldn't find his shot and the Friday Beers hit close to 50% from three.

It was a fun ride.

 

[sirthought]

Yeah I got to watch it. It seemed to me like we were completely disorganized and got manhandled. They had some big dudes.

 

[sedziobs]

Sounds like Arizona to the Big12 is a done deal. Now speculation is on Arizona St and Utah possibly joining this weekend. I don't think those schools offer much. They aren't new markets and aren't prestigious compared to what we already have. I'd rather go after UConn and then get creative with the final 16th spot. Maybe Gonzaga or San Diego St. I'd even consider a school like New Mexico that has untapped potential in a top 50 media market.

 

[sirthought]

Big 12 fans really like to spend money on travel dates. Let's bring in Hawaii and Alaska! Maybe Puerto Rico.

 

[sedziobs]

Arizona St and Utah are in. A better fit geographically, despite duplicating markets. 16 teams still means a lot of travel and is unwieldy for an 8 game football schedule. Splitting into divisions would help:

EAST- Cincinnati, West Virginia, UCF, Iowa St, Kansas, Kansas St, Oklahoma St, Houston
WEST- Utah, BYU, Arizona, Arizona St, Colorado, Texas Tech, Baylor, TCU

NORTH- Cincinnati, West Virginia, Iowa St, Kansas, Kansas St, Colorado, Utah, BYU
SOUTH- Arizona, Arizona St, Texas Tech, Baylor, TCU, Houston, Oklahoma St, UCF

 

[Queens_NYC]

Arizona St and Utah are in. A better fit geographically, despite duplicating markets. 16 teams still means a lot of travel and is unwieldy for an 8 game football schedule. Splitting into divisions would help:

EAST- Cincinnati, West Virginia, UCF, Iowa St, Kansas, Kansas St, Oklahoma St, Houston
WEST- Utah, BYU, Arizona, Arizona St, Colorado, Texas Tech, Baylor, TCU

NORTH- Cincinnati, West Virginia, Iowa St, Kansas, Kansas St, Colorado, Utah, BYU
SOUTH- Arizona, Arizona St, Texas Tech, Baylor, TCU, Houston, Oklahoma St, UCF

East and West divisions would make a lot more sense from a travel perspective.

Houston would be getting the shaft not being in the same division as the other Texas schools but hopefully they could make up for that with their crossover games.

 

[Queens_NYC]

Bidunga commits to Kansas.

We're still in good standing with a few other 4 stars for 2024. Hopefully we get some good recruiting news soon.

 

[justinhub2003]

This should be a great week for top 50 recruit news for UC. Having 2 top 50ish recruits in the same class with more spots to fill is going to be huge for the program. Land Richardson or Travis Perry and you have yourself a top 15 class.

Jizzle
Rayvon
Mckinley
Skillings
Tyler Betsey

That's a pretty damn good haul over the past few cycles.

 

[Queens_NYC]

This should be a great week for top 50 recruit news for UC. Having 2 top 50ish recruits in the same class with more spots to fill is going to be huge for the program. Land Richardson or Travis Perry and you have yourself a top 15 class.

Jizzle
Rayvon
Mckinley
Skillings
Tyler Betsey

That's a pretty damn good haul over the past few cycles.

It seems like we're in good standing for Betsey. Is he a quiet lock?

Alabama and UConn are two very tough schools to be in a final 3 with but it sounds like he really values the way our coaching staff has recruited him and connected with him.