Welcome, everybody, to another edition of Shot Takers. Dana O’Neil and I are here to talk actual college basketball stuff today, which we can definitely say is a day of the week.
It’s anyone’s guess beyond that. But with any luck, Dana and I can help you pass the time by discussing hoopsy things and whatever else comes to mind. And, hey, it helps us cope too. In an alternate universe, I’m on a 2 p.m. flight to Atlanta on April 1, primed to hunker down for the Final Four. Instead my time might be spent discussing the similarities and differences between beluga whales and harp seals.
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But we can dream. That might have to be enough, Dana.
Dana: Yes, I, too, am en route to Atlanta today for the Final Four. Or trying to pick off the remnants of my last manicure. I’ll let you decide which is truth.
But since you so nicely set me up with the “dream” scenario, I will share that my subconscious is clearly feeling the effects of no basketball and no NCAA Tournament. The other night I had a very vivid dream of a group of us (you, me, Shannon Ryan of the Chicago Tribune, and Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated) heading to the Final Four media room, only to discover there was a huge cement wall we had to scale in order to enter. Somehow we did, which tells you this is a dream because generally we whine if the media room is a long walk to the court.
Anyway, upon admission we discovered it was strangely dark inside — like nightclub dark. Apparently there was some sort of party going on, and to gain admittance, you had to have the proper credential. Lo and behold, I had a collection of the gigantic (and I mean as big as the palm of your hand) CBS logo pins required. I was lauded as a hero.
That is the extent of my dream. I’m fairly certain it’s not difficult to analyze, but please, have first crack Dr. Hamilton Freud.
Brian: Here’s my take. You really miss the Final Four. Or giant pins. Or both.
Dana: I was thinking it was more about the insurmountable odds we are all facing, and how we must persevere to scale the wall and overcome all that we can. Or pins.
But hey, at least we at The Athletic conjured up a Final Four: Kansas vs. Seton Hall, Michigan State vs. San Diego State. What do you think about this quartet, Brian?
Brian: It about as valid as any prediction or fever dream could be. The most glaring omission would have been Kansas, because I would have picked the Jayhawks to win the national title. In fact, I picked Kansas to win the national title in our preseason prognostications. So there is no small part of me angry with the fates that I could not trumpet my foresight throughout March and early April. But show me a better bet. Second-most efficient defense, top-10 efficient offense, potent inside-outside go-to outlets on the offensive end. The 3-point shooting wasn’t absolutely, positively spectacular, but that’s probably picking nits. Even in what was a topsy-turvy season, you have to leave room for a team just being better than most everyone else.
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I probably would’ve hopped on board the Cassius Winston Express as well. He was Prime Cassius Winston over the last month and a half of the season after understandably struggling to find his footing following the death of his brother. Where the Spartans had scuffled along the way, they’d recovered to take the shape of a Final Four team, in terms of efficiency on both ends of the floor. Ditto San Diego State. I don’t know that I would’ve had the Aztecs in Atlanta — Azt-lanta? — but their balance was as good as anyone’s and Malachi Flynn was a dominant lead guard. Again, that’s the formula. (And I did cover both of these teams/dynamics in my Things I’ll Miss About the NCAA Tournament story of recent vintage.)
Seton Hall is the outlier for me. I know coaches deemed the Pirates “Final Four good.” I think it would’ve been a little too much feast-or-famine with Myles Powell scoring and Romaro Gill staying out of foul trouble and/or not running into a matchup that neutralized him as a shot-blocking threat. Ultimately I would’ve had a real hard time keeping Gonzaga out of the Final Four, depending on how the bracket shook out. Offense can be a bad bet in March, but only if you have a good offense that doesn’t really feature truly elite individual scorers. The Zags had multiple pros out there. This season that seemed like enough to overcome someone’s stifling defense.
What say you? Who’s missing? Or did we nail it?
Dana: We got close. I’m totally on board with Kansas and Michigan State. Easy picks, in my opinion, and I’ve been tooting the Seton Hall horn all season. I understand your reservations, but give me a team with a star player, good defense, depth, a rim protector, shooters and a solid point guard (though admittedly Quincy McKnight struggles with poorly timed turnovers) and I’m in. I also thought the Pirates were flat-out hungry, especially after an end-of-the-season swoon cost them an outright Big East title.
I’m less on board with San Diego State. I hate to be that person, because I’m not that person. I didn’t have a problem with the Aztecs’ ranking or would-be seeding. They’re a good team, regardless of league, but I just can’t envision a Final Four without Gonzaga, and if someone had to get the boot over the Zags, it would be San Diego State.
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But our matchups, if you will, are Kansas versus Seton Hall, and Michigan State versus San Diego State. Who makes the title game?
Brian: Kansas and Michigan State. Kansas gets the confetti shower.
Dana: I agree with your final. I disagree with your champion.
But we shall see how the staff votes.
Brian: We shall. We also shall move on to real-life basketball matters, because there are at least some of those. Take, for example, coaches being hired! It’s true. This is happening!
The carousel certainly isn’t spinning, by any measure. Power-conference schools, in particular, are standing pat when they might not in any other circumstances. (Speaking of, someone should really take an in-depth look at Shaka Smart saving his job at Texas.) Understandable, given that the school would have to pay millions of dollars in buyouts just to create more uncertainty for itself. But there has been some movement at lower levels, and I dare say, it’s pretty intriguing?
I’ll start with a couple of less click-grabbing hires: Stan Johnson at Loyola-Marymount and Brian Burg at Georgia Southern. Admittedly, I’ve spent a lot of time over the past couple of years around their previous employers at Marquette and Texas Tech, respectively. I’ve seen Johnson and Burg at work inside the practice gym on top of talking to them for routine sportswriter duties, so there may be a sort of familiarity bias at work here. But these schools and their fan bases should be entirely happy with the new guy on the sideline.
Johnson has a perfect head-coach demeanor and delivery. He has that knack for building relationships that allow him to be demanding in the practice gym. When he delivered a scout, the preparation was meticulous and the communication clear and precise. And he’ll build relationships to build the roster in basically no time. Burg’s personnel scouts were the stuff of legend at Texas Tech. No shock that he, too, prepared meticulously and worked tirelessly, given that he attended the Chris Beard Finishing School for Coaches. If Burg operates anywhere near how he operated in Lubbock, and if he has guys with the right makeup, it’s going to be a revelation — in a good way — when they see how much they’re pushed to get better daily. Not to mention that he’s inheriting a pretty intriguing roster at Georgia Southern, if he can persuade a potential transfer or two to stick around.
I think I know where you’re going to go with this, but: What’s the hire that caught your eye?
Dana: So on the good side, Illinois-Chicago scooping up Luke Yaklich is impressive. I’ll be honest, I was surprised UIC let go of Steve McClain just as he appeared to be getting things on track, but Yaklich is a terrific hire. I know you spoke to him, so I’ll let you talk about that one.
Then there is the curious: Iona hiring Rick Pitino. I mean, it’s Rick Pitino at Iona. I get it. He’s a Hall of Famer and he’s at Iona! But there’s a real chance he might have all the coaching influence of a potted plant. If and when the NCAA gets back in business, I’m guessing there’s a rather lengthy game suspension coming Pitino’s way. He has already signed five players, which, considering the circumstances, is mind-boggling. But will he actually get to coach anyone? This is the question.
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Finally there is the, you’re not serious, are you? Billy Gillispie will lead Tarleton State in Texas into the Division I promised land. I know a lot of prominent head coaches, including Bill Self, touted the hire, but Gillispie has a reputation for treating his players horribly at various stops, and having spent four torturous days around him for an all-access while he was at Kentucky, I can say he has the social charms of a lizard. He was distant to the point of making life awkward, barely interacting with his players, and nasty to his “subordinates.” What he went through with his kidney transplant, I wouldn’t wish on anyone, and I’m happy he’s healthy and well.
But that doesn’t mean he belongs back in college basketball. He doesn’t. And any person who uses the words “overcoming adversity” to describe Gillispie’s return, I reserve the right to pummel with my sneaker.
So anyway … about Yaklich?
Brian: Well, yes, I spent a lot of time around Yaklich this season. (Did I mention that season-long all-access piece at Texas?) It sounds cliché, what with him being a former high school teacher, but he really is a good teacher. I sat in on a bunch of film sessions that led with his defensive prep, and what struck me was his ability to keep the message fresh — he could communicate the plan, but it wasn’t the same-old, same-old approach every time, which helps stoke the short-attention-span audience he’s coaching. He’s resolutely himself — oh, the Dad jokes — and his practice energy is full-tilt, all the time. Going for the good teacher with Illinois roots and the verve for his first college head-coaching job makes a ton of sense.
But UIC is a hard job. A really hard job. It’s worth noting McClain won more games than he lost over the past three seasons, so maybe it’s not an aircraft-carrier turn for Yaklich. He’s still working against a strong current created by a few decades of meh.
I’m all good with Pitino, by the way. If you want to take that risk, Iona, go ahead. The upside, from a basketball success standpoint, is undeniable. The downside is you have to hurry to hire someone you might’ve hired anyway if Pitino wasn’t a candidate. You’re Iona. Take a cut. If you bash yourself in the back of the head on the backswing, so be it.
Dana: I do look forward to all of these introductory press conferences in November, prior to the first game being played. (I’m being optimistic, aren’t I?)
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I’m also wondering if the carousel is done or if, for example, LSU administrators watch “The Scheme” on HBO and feel compelled to finally do something?
Brian: Inertia will rule the day. There are so, so, sooooo many other pressing issues for college administrators right now, everyone is going to skate until a time when trivialities like accusations of paying for players seems remotely pressing. And that’s going to be months.
On that note: Let’s stipulate that neither of us is an epidemiologist. At the risk of overstepping into an area we’re woefully underqualified to discuss, when do we think we might have college basketball again? What are the return scenarios rattling around in your skull?
Dana: I resolutely cling to optimism, even when it seems foolish. Like, say, right now. I keep hoping that people will do what they’re supposed to do, and we will come through this. But I also hope we come through it slowly, because a mad rush back to normalcy won’t work.
So with that said, I am fairly certain my son will not see the inside of his high school again this year. I’m not sure if my daughter will be able to move out of her dorm room before she moves into her apartment, and I imagine a very cramped and crowded calendar will make things wildly complicated. But I still hope we can see a normal start, or just a mildly delayed start to the college season. October is so very far off.
You’re much more of a realist than I am. So lay it on me. When are we starting?
And by realist, I mean abject pessimist.
Brian: Pessimism means you’re never disappointed, Dana.
We’re all guessing. Any coach I’ve been in contact with recently, I’ve asked for their gut feel, because they at least get to talk to administrators making these calls. I’m getting theoretical entry points that range from June to August to January to the possibility of having no college sports, at all, until the fall semester of 2021.
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I’m cynical, but not that cynical. I’m calling it a December or January start. The nugget that has me less inclined to project an on-time November start: our friend Matt Norlander’s story late last week in which Notre Dame coach Mike Brey noted that school finances may take such a hit that “buy” games are effectively out of the question. Or severely limited. If that’s the case, and because everything is entirely unpredictable right now, does that mean teams have to create new schedules on the fly? And when do they start that process? It’s a somewhat fraught exercise under normal circumstances. What happens if you have to put together a schedule in, like, two or three weeks?
That’s partly why I’m expecting a delay, to say nothing of any challenges that arise if/when campuses are full of people in close quarters again. Maybe college basketball is a second-semester sport, so to speak. Or frankly maybe it’s just a mad dash from Jan. 1, playing only conference games. How does any of that sound to you?
Dana: My only worry would be the little guys, and the effects on March. Without giving mid-major programs a chance to impress in the regular season, we’d almost be eliminating the chance for at-large bids. And then I spiral down the worry stairs to a place where high-major schools think this is better, and thereby all but eliminate the mid-majors.
But that is paranoia extreme, and under the circumstances, it’s a small-potatoes worry.
I hope it doesn’t come to that. I’d like normalcy. But that at least is palatable, and could be intriguing as it will create a real crunch toward March. A lot, of course, will hinge on college football. It’s the money train for everything, and if it doesn’t start, all bets are off.
I still can’t believe we’re here, to be honest. It feels like it was 10 years ago that I was waiting for Michigan and Rutgers to tip in the Big 10 tournament.
Brian: Here’s the one ray of sunshine I latch on to: How many people do you realistically need to stage a college basketball game? Maybe fewer than any other sport at this level. College hoops should be pretty nimble from a logistical standpoint, and that allows for flexibility and creativity in maintaining something close to a viable regular season.
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But again, I could be playing disease expert here and doing so very poorly. I’m sure someone can jump into the comments and tell me I’m wildly wrong. I do hope I’m not that far off, at least.
I am, however, extremely well-versed in how to kill time at home. But I’ll let you go first. Any stay-at-home recs for the group this week, D.O.?
Dana: We’ve been pretty ordinary around here. Kids are back in “school,” so that keeps them busy most of the day. Card games — mostly Go Fish and Rummy — continue to be a hit. We were trying to figure out how to get some of our friends together on Zoom and play a family contest of some sort, like homemade remote “Family Feud.”
A few Zoom happy hours have been godsends. I’d strongly recommend to those who need to connect with friends. Have one tomorrow with college friends. We’re supposed to have a reunion in May, but this might be it.
Nike Training Club, coupled with walks and running, makes me at least feel human, though I still refuse to blow my hair dry.
I have refrained (refused?) to jump on the “Tiger King” bandwagon. I feel like I must resist as long as possible. Someone suggested “McMillions.” Tried an episode. It was interesting, but not so interesting to watch more.
So we are pretty useful. Do you have any recommendations I might steal?
I feel like there’s like a social media quarantine competition. Like who can be the most creative. I am losing. Actually, I’m not entered.
Brian: There was a bit of a thing on the Twitters last week, in which people ranked their top-five favorite TV dramas ever. My top three is completely unsurprising: “The Sopranos,” “Mad Men” and “Breaking Bad.”
But there were three contenders that I even surprised myself with in considering, mostly because until recently only six seasons of these shows existed, combined. Two apiece. In short, watch “Ozark.” Watch “Killing Eve.” Watch “Mindhunter.” They’re all that good. All of them have premiered within the last two or three years (I think) and did enough to convince me to consider them among my all-time favorite shows. In fact, “Ozark” Season 3 just premiered and “Killing Eve” Season 3 debuts this month. That is just a great many shows of good television at everyone’s fingertips … or at least those with fingertips that can navigate to Netflix or AMC/BBC America. Thank me later.
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In the interest of supporting any establishment you can, I want to shout out a couple of Chicago-area spots for any of our subscribers in my fine city. Mikerphone Brewing is still brewing and open for pickup five days a week and I can testify that the product is fantastic. Get you a Like This And Like That Pale Ale our-pack, or several of them, because there are much worse ways to pass the time. And one of our family favorites, Crosby’s Kitchen, remains open for pickup or delivery. Probably the best turkey burger I’ve ever consumed, but pretty much everything is good. And it definitely kept well from their doorstep to ours.
I also recommend a walk. The putting of one foot in front of another, outside, is actually quite nice.
Dana: I have done the walking and the running when the weather permits. It is restorative. I just hope I don’t end up like Forrest Gump one day.
Brian: Hey, we’ve gotten this far. Might as well just turn back and keep right on going.
(Top photo of Cassius Winston: Tommy Gilligan / USA Today Sports)