I guess itās a point I really didnāt need to make for a mock draft. Iām sure heās slotting guys on talent and upside and not accounting for agent manipulations of draft slots or teams floating players down or anything like that. Just ignore me and carry on.
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Thatās good to hear that they retract the screens. Was headed out to Austin next week to visit a friend and got some Billy Strings tickets for Saturday at Moody. However, they are in the upper level (first row, but I was nervous from your description that it was blocked views). Sounds like itāll be ok.
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this
Never!
And in defense of @newjerseyhoo Iāve posted here nearly every day (or every day?) for 5 years or so and Iāve complained about something hoops-related for almost all of those days (or all of those days perhaps?). There was a particular bountiful Haney complaint harvest in the 22-23 season, as I recall. Just the right mix of rain / sunlight and Coach Bennett overplaying mid major talent from Wisconsinā¦
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Probably not literally every day, but it felt like it, I think we can all agree 
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That is a really, really long story thatās just a lesson in poor communication practices and stubbornness.
Both sides absolutely meant well and thought they were doing the right thing - but, man, was it ever avoidable. FWIW, I do know that CTB has privately acknowledged after his retirement that he made mistakes with the situation - which was a cool finding - and many of the players on that roster all remain very tight. Think thereās been some level of healing across the board there.
I think that season was probably CTBās biggest test/culture shock with how the new landscape of college basketball had changed the way he was able to manage his team - and also probably caused those well-known discussions where he asked former players if they would have stayed with the program under the new rules.
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Both. Lower expectations AND the first round loss in the NCAAās didnāt 100% overshadow everything else but it certainly lowered perceptions of the season.
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And, if weāre being truthful, Iām surprised its only been 5 years. Feels like weāve been listening to Haney complain for decades now.
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Reading through a bunch of the recent posts about CTBās stubbornness, who his best players have been, and his teamās tendencies to fade a bit during the season and into the NCAA tournament, a weird theory struck me.
A number of UVAās best players, and guys who seemed to click especially well with CTB, have made the incredibly brave choice to go public with their mental health struggles. I donāt follow other teams as closely as UVA, so I have no idea if this is unusual or not. But the armchair psychologist in me wonders if CTBās focus on giving continuous effort and obsession with perfectly executing complicated schemes clicked with kids with anxiety issues. I mean, every coach is going to do well with super talented kids who put an unhealthy degree of focus into learning and executing their gameplan. But I wonder if for CTB that was even more than case?
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RJ Moore that 2027 big guard we offered has been liking UVA posts on Instagram. Since heās a Charlotte kid wonder if he will be at the UVA games on Saturday
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This is an interesting thought.
Or, were anxiety issues potentially magnified through that environment? Maybe it was both; an attraction but also a bit of a snowball.
I think CTBās approach to almost everything was growth through adversity. He believed that personally, in team building, and in player development. I think part of his redshirt strategy, for example, was absolutely all of the benefits around weight training and practice to maximize eligibility, that everyone talked about (debated); but it was also because he thought that forcing that patience for some players would make them hungrier and even more motivated. His short leash with certain players and benching of others was the same idea - that the time out would light a fire and motivate. And itās very much why heād often play worse players who were playing like he wanted them to play over better players who werenāt quite there yet - because it was an all-in long-game philosophical strategy.
He was kind of like Pai Mei from Kill Bill in that he sort of demanded that you just trust him, submit, learn the lesson that he wanted you to learn, and then youād be stronger/better off for it.
The problem was two-fold; not every player is a Black Mamba (Uma, not Kobeā¦ but also Kobe) who would respond to that in the way he wanted; which is fine when you have the depth to support the failure rate but not good when the talent drop off is significant. And, secondly, when the rules adjusted so that players were no longer bound to the program via needing to sit out a year, his ability to be paternal and just kind of force these guys to do things his way was eroded.
At least, thatās my view. To his point about the game changing when he retired; he was spot on. His first 10 years with the program - all of the rules of college basketball (not to mention playstyle of the game itself) were all perfectly aligned with his strengths and how he wanted to be able to do things/what he valued.
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Malik Thomas:
What I like about him is that he can score outside but actually has a good enough handle to drive the lane, absorb contact and often finish or get fouled. This is great because he is someone that Iāve noticed has worn down our opponents and has hit them with some body blows, momentum stymying or swinging scoring plays.
Where I think he will get better is the searching for teammates and letting the game come to him. What heās trying to decide and figure out is if he is the 1st or tied for 2nd with GrĆ¼nloh option.
In addition going all out for defense, because if not then we can bring in Jamari or Tillis and probably go a little bit bigger as needed.
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100% spot on. It wasnāt only his approach. His player development and growth ETHOS wasnāt compatible with the landscape, and thatās what he loved most about coaching.
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He also really loved the multi-year relationship building, which became much harder to do now. I think that sucked some joy out of it.
He should coach high school. Some small school that isnāt even that into sports. I think heād have fun.
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Iāll even connect to this yearās team.
Ugo is basically Shedrick. Better, yesā¦ but very similar in how they try to play and also very similar in how both were hyper-focused on not disappointing their coaches/teammates and had the ability to get in their heads. Ugo did that at KSU, Shedrick did that here.
I think CTB would have struggled to get the most out of Ugo - but, as we see, he has a lot to give.
TDR, on the other hand, maybe CTB sharpens him even more. Zero doubt TDR would have thrived under Bennett.
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Needs to land somewhere with 5 Pillars zoning laws.
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Takeaway from the game: Xavier fans really hate Sean Miller. Michelin Star Slander being served when you search āSean Millerā on twitter
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Facts
Not often your own coach burns you twice
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The Legend of Kadin Shedrick continues. If he was only half as good as yāall and his mama thought he was.
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I donāt have strong feelings about Sean Miller, but he was very complimentary of the Hoos in his post-game interview. He said U.Va. ādestroyed us,ā really praised our depth, and predicted we would win a lot of games.
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