“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.
With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do. He may as well concern himself with his shadow on the wall. Speak what you think now in hard words and tomorrow speak what tomorrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict everything you said to-day.
-’Ah, so you shall be sure to be misunderstood.’-
Is it so bad then to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood.”
I’ve been waiting for this one. I originally planned on posting this video after Bobby Knight broke Dean Smith’s record for wins, but for two reasons, I’ve decided to post it early:
1) Adolph Rupp - whom Bobby Knight passed on the all-time wins list tonight - was a son of a bitch. Don’t even begin to think that I’m basing that opinion on that worthless movie Glory Road, either. Because Disney didn’t even have the guts to mention the reason I don’t like Adolph Rupp:
During his tenure as Kentucky’s head coach, he called the editor of the New York Times and asked him to put an asterisk next to black players in the box scores.
Why?
He wanted to know which ones - despite their great stats - he shouldn’t bother to recruit.
Congratulations, Adolph. You make the RFS “Up Yours” list along with Billy Packer and Jim Nantz.
2) This halftime speech by Bobby Knight - seriously - brings a tear to my eye. I played high school basketball, and had some hard-ass coaches. I played college basketball, and had a hard-ass coach there as well. This speech brings a tear to my eye, because… we’ll never have another coach like him. The game has changed so much that the prima donna high schoolers don’t want to play for coaches like Knight… which means that coaches like Knight cease to develop.
I’m not saying that I subscribe to abusive behavior, but Bobby Knight is a credit to the game. He’s made everyone around him better, and added flavor to the game. I don’t think I would have survived, but I would have loved to play for him.
*Warning - there’s a lot of language in the clip*
“YOU GUYS WILL RUN UNTIL YOU CAN’T EVEN SUFFER!”
Until you CAN’T… EVEN… SUFFER.
Does anyone have a hanky? I need one. Greatness. Pure… freaking… greatness.
“After this shoot is done and I can quit smiling, I’m going to make you run lines until you puke”
Now would probably be the right time to mention my favorite scene from “Knight School”, which aired on ESPN last year:
During a practice session focusing on half court offense, a wing threw an entry pass to a post player with his back to the basket in the short corner (the area between the block and the 3 point line).
Coach Knight blows the whistle and says
————————————————————— “GOD-DAMMIT!!! WHY THE HELL ARE YOU THROWING IT TO HIM THERE!?!?!?! DO YOU KNOW THE ONLY THING A GUY CAN DO WITH THE BALL IN THAT SPOT?!?!?!”
————————————————————–
At that point, The General gets a basketball and PUNTS it 30 rows up into the stands. Hilarious, entertaining, and educational.
Because if you’ve ever played basketball, you know that the short corner isn’t worth shit, except for a defense that likes to trap the post.
By the way, I just remembered - Myles Brand has officially been added to the RFS “Up Yours” list.
On to the notebook…
WHAT I LEARNED IN COLLEGE BASKETBALL THIS WEEKEND:
I learned that Indiana is decent, but they ain’t ready - Kentucky is NOT a good team. And I’m not just saying that because I don’t like Tubby. RFS will continue to look for opportunities to bet against them.
George Mason is NOT the George Mason from last year. Jai Lewis and Tony Skinn left a bigger hole than expected. That being said, I thought they played pretty well at Duke, who is susceptible.
I learned that either (1) I am a genius for picking UA-LR over Minny, or (2) that Minnesota’s problems are deeper than expected. I didn’t see enough clips of the game to ascertain whether UALR pressed Minny. But they won. On second thought, I’m going with #1.
Kansas is a wild card. No disrespect to Toledo, but… wild card. That’s all I can say. Please keep winning, Bill…
Wisconsin keeps traipsing along that road toward their first upset (Note - RFS doesn’t consider their loss to Missouri State an upset). Mark my words - they’re susceptible. I hope to be there when they stumble. Nice win against Marquette though.
Watch out for Michigan State. No evidence, just a feeling.
Texas A&M is the real deal. Took UCLA to the wire, and they were shooting horribly from the field. They just need a little fine tuning on shot selection, and there’s no doubt in my mind that Billy Clyde will take care of that. To all of you bandwagoners out there, this team is WAY more than Joseph Jones and Acie Law. To everyone that appreciates quality basketball, watch the way aTm plays half-court defense. Beautiful. A close second to Southern Illinois. I smell a future RFS Bunker Buster when A&M takes on Texas or Kansas.
Like I said, UIC scared the crap out of Illinois.
I can’t honestly say I’ve ever seen a game like GW-USC. USC was in control early, up 12-10. Then they went cold, and by cold I mean absolute-freaking-zero.
G-Dub scored the first 7 points of the second half for a 36-16 lead. Read that last sentence again.
USC won the game, 74-65. Read THAT last sentence again. To everyone that watched on WGN, you were privileged.
Wichita State rolled at Wyoming. One of the last 10 undefeated teams, and the ONLY team that’s beaten two top-25 teams on the road. In a typical “we can’t get anyone to play us” story, Wichita State has gone on the road the last 4 weekends - at George Mason, at LSU, at Syracuse, and at Wyoming. 4-0. To all the chickenshits voting in the polls… give them some credit. That resume is worth a top-8 ranking.
I learned that South Carolina has a nice squad. Baylor is rebounding from the Dave Bliss debacle, but they’re still not worth a 6 point spread at home.
Missouri State. Watch out - they’re pissed after being the highest rated RPI (21) to be left out of the Dance. The Valley’s gonna be wild this year.
I learned that the Indiana State Sycamores are still inclined to upsets. Indiana last year, Butler this year. I really wish I hadn’t bumped my prognostication down from 4 units to 2 units. Nice win, Trees! The Valley of Death has returned…
What happened, Illy State?
If you’re a college hoops junkie and didn’t watch So Illy at Western Kentucky, you missed out. You’ll see the big-time tip-dunk on SportsCenter, but you won’t see (1) pound for pound, the best man-to-man defense in the country from Southern Illinois, (2) a great home court in Kentucky, (3) one of the best point guards in the country in Bryan Mullins - for me, he’s a close second to Raivio. Coach’s son, great handle, smart player, decent-sized - watch out, he’ll use somebody up in the tournament.
THE VALLEY IS FOR REAL… AGAIN - quit kidding yourself if you think otherwise and think you’re actually informed about college basketball. Rest assured I’ll be writing another column about this before the conference schedule starts. In the interim, here’s a piece of trivia - there are only two conferences that have every team above a .500 winning percentage…
The ACC and the MVC. And the MVC plays 75% of their games on the road.
For the 8th time, Billy… up yours!
Bonus Bobby Knight Material #1:
Bonus Bobby Knight Material #2:
Bonus Bobby Knight Material #3:
Just in case you’re wondering, the “NBA vs. Fuzzy Frogs” quote cracks the RFS top 5 all-time basketball quotes list.
Pickstravaganza #2 - RFS was on FYYYY-YAH. 16-6 against the spread, + 23 units, not including Zaga. And that was including misses on Kansas (I hate) and Wichita State (I love). Bunker Buster #1 was a hit, as Creighton handled #24 Xavier. If Danny Sheridan is reading this, I’m totally open to a buyout… as long as I retain creative control.
I’ve got some better clips, but I’m saving them. This one’s still really solid for two reasons: (1) I’ve always been a fan of high-flyers, and David Thompson … aka Luke Skywalker… was certainly one of them, and (2) I’ve always been a fan of Bill Walton getting ‘faced. Worst… announcer… EVER!
Luke Skywalker Soars
Anyway – the YouTube video is available only via link, so I can’t post it on this page. The footage isn’t very easy to see, but let your imagination do the work – 6’3” David Thompson gets up against 7-footer Bill Walton. Watch the video here.
YES! IN THE FACE!!!!
1. RFS Pickstravaganza #2 – See below for the picks, plus RFS Bunker Buster #1 (copyrighted). In case you’re wondering, it’s named Bunker Buster because if it misses it can destroy your house.
(3 units) Indiana + 6 @ Kentucky
(1 unit) George Mason + 14 @ Duke
(1 unit) UALR + 9 @ Minnesota
(1 unit) Drexel + 10.5 @ Villanova
(2 units) Kansas – 17.5 vs. Toledo
(2 units) Missouri + 5 @ Purdue
(2 units) Wisconsin + 3 @ Marquette
(2 units) Michigan St - 7 vs. BYU
(2 units) DePaul + 3 @ UAB
(1 unit) Texas A&M + 6 @ UCLA
(1 unit) UI-Chicago + 11 @ Illinois
(3 units) USC – 3.5 vs. GW
(1 unit) Wyoming + 6.5 vs. Wichita State
(4 units) South Carolina + 6 @ Baylor
(2 units) Memphis - 15 vs. Ole Miss
(2 units) Missouri St – 8.5 @ UNC-Wilmington
(2 units) Indiana State + 10 vs. Butler
(1 unit) Oklahoma St - 14 vs. Ball St
(1 unit) Gon-Zaga - 6 vs. Washington
(3 units) Southern Illinois + 2.5 @ Western Kentucky
(5 units) Creighton + 2 vs. Xavier
(4 units) Illinois St + 2 @ Evansville
(2 units) Colorado State – 2.5 @ Colorado
I think Indiana and Kelvin are ready to put the hurt on a big-time school.
I think George Mason is weaker than expected, but I also think they have three guards better than Greg Paulus.
I think UALR is… I have no idea. But if their coaches aren’t idiots, they’ll press Minnesota and pick up a nice win against a Big Ten contender.
I think Missouri is a team on the rise, and I think that Purdue wishes that they hadn’t thought Matt Painter was the second coming of Gene Keady.
I think Michigan State is ready to blow up.
I think DePaul is ready to say they’re not a fluke.
I think Texas A&M is a badass mofo of team… if they can only get themselves to believe it.
I think UIC will scare the shit out of a mediocre Iliinois.
I think Wichita State will pound the shit out of Wyoming, but I can’t bring myself to pick it. GO SHOCKS!!!!!!!
I think South Carolina will take offense at the big spread at Baylor.
I think Memphis is going to prove their dominance after being embarrassed at Tennessee.
I think Missouri State is going to prove their dominance! GO VALLEY!
I think Indiana State is good enough to win. It’s midnight, Cinderella! Go Trees!
I think Oklahoma State is ready to make run after embarrassing the ‘Cuse in the Garden.
‘Zaga was going to be my Bunker Buster, but they’re still favored by 6. I was counting on the line being much smaller (or a pick ‘em) after the Washington State debacle. If it was a pick-em , I’d say back the truck up. ‘Zaga will win, though. Washington’s 7-footer is overrated and Appleby would struggle to score at a D-3 school. Raivio and Pargo run circles around Dentmon and Appleby, and unless Zaga is unbelievably cold from the field… the better team wins in a walk.
I think Southern Illinois will handle Western Kentucky.
I think Creighton HAS TO HANDLE Xavier, and has morphed into the first RFS Bunker Buster. I like Xavier, and Drew Lavender is a great guard. Had the ball bounced the right way a couple of times, they could have taken down ‘Bama earlier this season. But Creighton has stumbled enough that the preseason favorite in the Valley is NOW GETTING TWO POINTS AT HOME. It’s risky, but I believe in them. You have no choice, Jays… this is your season - if you don’t win this, you’re going to have to win the Valley or the Valley tournament to get a ticket to the Dance.
I think Illinois State is easily better than E-ville.
And finally, I think that Colo St is showing something. If they can handle Kansas State, they can handle Colorado!
And lastly… DISCLAIMER… I think I made these picks at 2AM after my company’s Christmas party. Good luck!
