2020-2021 Basketball Preseason

I Love it. I love energetic coaches in general. A reason why I love the football staff so much. They dont hesitate on twitter

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The Hauser Bowl has to happen right?

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Hauser Bowl could be what Clegane Bowl should’ve been, for all my GOT fans out there

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https://www.instagram.com/p/CF2G7mqAVeL/?igshid=1tmg5rsw3ivq9

Actually, I think it’s a pretty bad idea. Admittedly, I am speculating, but I don’t believe either brother will be comfortable with this matchup. I get it that fans might be titillated by the prospect, but I hope that the PTB will canvas both Hausers before going through with this. If they’re okay with it: fine. If not, there is precedent for a change. Ohio State shifted a contest from Louisville to UVa because of concerns about a player both schools (OSU and Louisville) had recruited which ended ugly.

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Gotta be a joke, right? Katz can’t honestly believe three Big Ten teams are better than the best ACC team. I mean that conference hasn’t won a national title in 20 years. I get he is a Wisconsin grad and works for the Big Ten Network but he should try to have a little bit of objectivity. Especially when the programs he’s predicting have coaches that have never produced top 10 level teams.

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Tbf, Wisconsin is rolling out a 5 senior starting lineup (with 2 more seniors off the bench), Iowa has the best player in the country along with an experienced supporting cast, but I will say that UVA should be above Illinois. I won’t be surprised to see UVA ahead of all 3 at the end of the year, but for now, I don’t have an issue with that ranking.

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I can buy the argument for Wisconsin even though Gard’s best KenPom finish is 16th. Fran’s highest ever KenPom finish is 21st or 22nd and he can’t coach defense. Unless he hired a defensive guru in the offseason they’ll end up like they were last year. Easy to get caught up in Garza but there are two sides of the court. Illinois has a similar issue in that you have to bank on Underwood beating his previous best team by a considerable margin to rank them top 5. Not impossible but typically doesn’t happen for coaches that have already been in power conferences for a while. Incredibly unlikely three coaches from the same power conference make that kind of leap in the same season.

Actually, Coach Underwood has been at Illinois just three seasons. It wasn’t until Coach Bennett’s fourth year at Virginia that UVa finished in the Top Ten. Coach Gard hasn’t been at Wisconsin for much longer. Certainly not long enough to to qualify as an lengthy tenure. Only Coach McCaffery has been in the job for a while, and he’s only been there ten years. I am not convinced your criticism is justified if you’re basing it on their length of tenure.

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Gard does qualify for my critique since this will be his 6th season at Wisconsin. Typically if a coach is going to make a large jump it happens in the first 4 seasons. They can obviously improve after that but it’s usually incremental rather than a large single season leap. A large jump can happen, like Baylor last year, but it’s rare. Reasonable to disagree about whether Underwood’s time at Oklahoma State should be taken into consideration or not. I’d say they are the most likely of the three to make the jump to a top 5 team just because of Ayo and unlike Iowa they can play defense. The guys from three man weave talk about this a lot but there is a lot of program inertia that comes into play once you get to the top 10-15. The coaches that bust into that top range usually do it quickly.

Gotta disagree with that speculation. Joey signed up with MSU knowing that he could be going into Madison once a year. Won’t get more hostile than that.Got to think he wouldn’t be opposed to playing big brother and vice versa if they’re true competitors.

I think the leading story line to UVA fans is overcoming the MSU hump more than a Hauser event anyway. Think MSU would also welcome the competition (and a break from the Duke / UNC matchup). That brother story line just would sell nationally. Both fan bases are just happy to have one of them.

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Technically, Coach Gard just finished his fifth full season as the Wisconsin coach, and his 2020 squad tied for 1st in the Big Ten. And, Wisconsin has nearly everyone of consequence back. I can understand a bit of skepticism about McCaffery, but Underwood and Gard appear to be solid. FWIW, it took Dean Smith six years to get things going at UNC, and Jay Wright’s record has been more than a bit up and down. That four year timetable seems to be a bit arbitrary to me.

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It’s when a coach has all of his own guys. Not arbitrary at all. And yes Wisconsin split the BIG title last year yet they still were only 17th in the Final AP Poll and 22nd in KenPom. Wisconsin will be a good team but to be top 5 you either need an elite coach, NBA players, or both. Gard is a solid coach but he’s not TB. Not sure anyone on their roster projects as an All American or NBA type of player. Iowa might have the best offense in the country but won’t be top 10 because of their defense. Only chance they have is if some assistant has come in to change their defense like Michigan did a few years ago. The one with the best shot at the top 5 is Illinois but that is still a large jump from last year for them with a coach that’s never done it before. UVA, Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, and Tennessee are all much safer bets than Illinois because their coaches have proven they can create elite teams in the past.

BTW I said Gard is entering his 6th season and you said he completed his 5th year so at least we agree on that lol

Hmmm…not sure that having all your guys for the first time isn’t still arbitrary…I mean I am pretty sure Gary Williams falls into this category as a late bloomer…I just don’t know
If it is as rare as you say it is…nor do I want to do the research…

I mean a coach ever having a top 5 team at all is rare. Projecting 2 first time ever guys, with another at 6, from the same conference to make that jump at the same time is just blatant homerism.

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I wasn’t thinking about the hostility of the playing venue. I don’t believe that is an issue. However, I do wonder if one, or both, of the Hausers are reluctant to play against the other, and the extent to which that reticence might affect their performances. Will either, consciously or unconsciously, hold back in deference to the other? I believe that they are rather close to one another as demonstrated by their departure from Marquette. One felt slighted, and both left. If playing one another is an issue which might affect their performances, I think other options should be pursued. Now, if they meet in the NCAAs, that’s another story.

I get that concern but alternatively, they’ve spent the late Spring and most of the Summer competing against one another in one-on-one practices at home. So if anything that might even make them more comfortable competing against one another on such a big stage. They both seem like professional-minded competitors and might even appreciate the chance to put those years of one-on-one practice to use

Hauser Bowl needs to happen…it’s not like the Klitschko brothers promising their mom they wouldn’t beat the hell out of each other…it’s a basketball game, they’ll be alright…

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Continuing my preseason coverage, I’ve broken down the three things this team will be able to rely on this season. Sure, there are some question marks defensively, but this offense appears set to be deadly.

What are you most confident will go well for the Hoos this season and what are you counting on?

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I am most confident about Morsell’s dramatic improvement. His shooting will be better and his defense will be lockdown.

Any word on whether Carson will redshirt?

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