And that first year Alford was at UCLA, that was Howland's recruits which included 4 NBA players. And he got to Sweet 16.
How many did Crean have a few years ago?
Doug Gottleib says the elephant in the room...
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And that first year Alford was at UCLA, that was Howland's recruits which included 4 NBA players. And he got to Sweet 16.
How many did Crean have a few years ago?
The current team is very offensively talented, but other than Ball, Holiday, and Anibogu they are extremely limited defensive players. Bryce, Hamilton and Welsh are particularly slow footed. Alford struggled in recruiting the Cali kids the first couple of years and has failed to 6-6 to 6-9 small forward type of player that helps so much on the defensive end.
UCLA fans themselves say that the early recruiting woes were due to damaged relations caused by Howland. Even the haterz give him high marks for improving those relations. The recruiting worm has turned. If Alford lasts 2-3 more years, I think we'll see much improved defense as his teams become more athletic and longer.
If you aren't so big on nostalgia, are you planning to layout your arguments for bringing in Lon Kruger or Rick Barnes next?
If Alford fizzles out in the tournament again this year I don't want him to be considered. However, if he makes a run I think he's proven that he can recruit and coach at an elite level. This is only his 4th year at a good school.
Hard to project what he would do at IU by looking at his results from lowly Iowa and New Mexico.
Hard to project what he would do at IU by looking at his results from lowly Iowa and New Mexico.
In other threads here on this board, I've already proclaimed my love for Bennett, Collins, Archie Miller and even the Butler dude whose name escapes me now. I've also said that I prefer Alford at UCLA.
I just think that the mocking and jeering at Alford supporters says more about the detractor than the supporter.
One last thing and I'll be done with this. Little old ladies like my Momma have to use their dusty old brackets to decide who the good coaches are. I would like to see IU be forward thinking the next time. The last 2 guys had a Final Four on their resume and they both sucked and will always suck. Forget about history and look to the future. Consult with people who actually know what a good basketball coach looks like rather than consulting past brackets from a chaotic tournament. losers look at coaching resume's rather than observing actual coaching!
That is a massive jump. Perhaps the majority of coaches have been able to catch up, learn, and install variations of the position-less style TC tries to run here?
Thanks for the response, as always it was great to read. I'm on the fence about Alford, but those defensive #'s aren't as bad as my initial impression (having only known UCLA def. eff. is at #103 this year).
It would be a hugfest if Steve came to IU, but it would not last very long. What tells us he would be any better than Crean? At least Crean has coached in a Final 4.
Do they hang banners for offensive rating? Do they give out rings for defensive improvement at mid majors?
Nobody gives a flying &^%$ what someone's KenPom defensive rating was 10 years ago to justify getting beat in the first round as a 3 seed while at Iowa. Or getting beat in the second round again as a 3 seed while at New Mexico.
Crean is getting pushed out the door for the exact reason your momma even cares about college basketball.
You people crack me up.....ok....let's play this game.
How long do we give Alford to get past the Sweet 16 at IU? Something he has NEVER DONE. IN 21 YEARS.
Past performance indicates future success.
Well, unless you are an ex-IU basketball player and the hand of god comes down a touches you to pass on all knowledge of the motion offense. .... lol
And what kills me.....is Alford's defensive numbers are average at best!!! They are no better than Creans!!!!
And you still haven't got to this guy yet. I bet your momma would have an opinion about what happened there....
Do they hang banners for offensive rating? Do they give out rings for defensive improvement at mid majors?
Nobody gives a flying &^%$ what someone's KenPom defensive rating was 10 years ago to justify getting beat in the first round as a 3 seed while at Iowa. Or getting beat in the second round again as a 3 seed while at New Mexico.
Crean is getting pushed out the door for the exact reason your momma even cares about college basketball.
You people crack me up.....ok....let's play this game.
How long do we give Alford to get past the Sweet 16 at IU? Something he has NEVER DONE. IN 21 YEARS.
Past performance indicates future success.
Well, unless you are an ex-IU basketball player and the hand of god comes down a touches you to pass on all knowledge of the motion offense. .... lol
And what kills me.....is Alford's defensive numbers are average at best!!! They are no better than Creans!!!!
And you still haven't got to this guy yet.
So, We agree that we both prefer Alford at UCLA... or are you thinking Hades? At least it's tournament time, always an exciting time of year for Hoosiers. Good luck in the bracket pools!
It seems once he gets his players and system implemented his defense statistically finishes where it needs to be in the context of the "top 20" stat I referenced yesterday.
I'm a big horse racing fan, and betting on horses (in spite of it's drawbacks) teaches you to embrace deeper analysis. The goal is to uncover the good ones that are not obvious to the general public. That can't happen if you just accept the numbers everyone else is looking at and assume that those numbers tell the full story.
Kenpom's defensive efficiency numbers are very cool, but they don't really tell you anything. For example; UCLA ranks 35th in the nation in Opponents Shooting Efficiency and #1 in Foul Rate.
Is it truly terrible defense to rank in the top 35 in Shooting Efficiency defense... without fouling?
The rub is that UCLA is only an average defensive rebounding team, therefor their opponents get extra cracks at their defense. The poor defensive rebounding is partially by choice. This team is devastating in the open court with Lonzo Ball. So for offensive reasons, they can live with the opponent getting a few extra cracks themselves.
Fortunately, for the Bruins, they have the personnel to lock up the defensive boards if the game dictates that they need to dial back the transition and focus on defensive boards. Alford, for the most part, has done a great job at making the proper adjustments as the game develops. Earlier in the year, they had a game where they gave up 12 offensive boards in the first half, but didn't give up a single offensive board in the second until under 2 minutes remained and the game was well in hand... coaching!
https://www.teamrankings.com/ncaa-basketball/team/ucla-bruins/stats
