2023 Champions of NCAA Basketball
5-0 All Time in Championship Games.
A truly sobering fact to consider when you all act like Arizona is something more than we are, a 1-time, 1-off Champion (as a 4 seed) in the most random of runs possible. A legacy of high seeds squandered to which I will say Tommy is doing an excellent job of continuing that attribute of this program pissing away a 1 and 2 seed like they come a dime a dozen.
Excited to see what the future holds for Arizona Basketball as we will be seeing an enormous overhaul. Tommy is going to have to actually figure out how to coach now. How to bring in recruits now that the clout of the program has soured from the outside looking in AND the inside looking out.
Interested to see if certain boosters are going to pull their funding or double down. There are some big implications that come with exiting March the way Tommy has and while my requirements have been satisfied (A Conference Title and 2 Conference Tournament Banners in 2 seasons thus far), I know a few boosters personally who are leaning toward giving it 1 more shot before bowing out. So here is to hoping Tommy can right the ship and turn things around.
I don't know what you mean by "we". Are you considering yourself an Arizona fan?
Note that Arizona wasn't even a relevant basketball program until 1983, unlike Uconn, who has had consistent success since the 1940's (except the 80's, when they were awful).
Lloyd has been a head coach for TWO years; bringing him into the equation makes no sense. Uconn has won 5 titles of their 6 Final Four appearances over a 25 year window. Compare that to your daddy, Sean Miller, who respectively has Zero and Zero over a 20 year span. That's a relevant comparison because Xavier is in the same conference as the Huskies and Arizona provided all the tools for success over a 10 year period. No results.
Quote from: KansasCityCats on April 04, 2023, 06:58:41 AM
I don't know what you mean by "we". Are you considering yourself an Arizona fan?
Note that Arizona wasn't even a relevant basketball program until 1983, unlike Uconn, who has had consistent success since the 1940's (except the 80's, when they were awful).
Lloyd has been a head coach for TWO years; bringing him into the equation makes no sense. Uconn has won 5 titles of their 6 Final Four appearances over a 25 year window. Compare that to your daddy, Sean Miller, who respectively has Zero and Zero over a 20 year span. That's a relevant comparison because Xavier is in the same conference as the Huskies and Arizona provided all the tools for success over a 10 year period. No results.
1. I paid my tuition. I can say "we" whenever I want. That is something you will have to live with.
2. Sean Miller beat UConn Twice and went further than "Tournament Tommy" this year
3. No real fan counts Final 4s. National Championships are all that matter. Getting 1 made shot further than the Elite 8 then losing in the Final 4 wouldn't have put any respect on Miller's name especially around here. He would been thought of the same way, as a coach that had chances and couldn't get it done. Don't pretend like the LOUD MINORITY on this forum speaks for the silent majority of the fan base.
Wow. Miller took down TWO sub-.500 UConn teams? Way to win when it matters most...
Fans DO care about final fours. They involve banners and massive publicity, as well as assistance towards recruiting.
Winning four consecutive tournament games wasn't impossible for any hall of fame coaches. Perhaps Lloyd will eclipse Miller's final four and/or national title totals within the next few years...
Quote from: KansasCityCats on April 04, 2023, 06:19:14 PM
Wow. Miller took down TWO sub-.500 UConn teams? Way to win when it matters most...
Fans DO care about final fours. They involve banners and massive publicity, as well as assistance towards recruiting.
Winning four consecutive tournament games wasn't impossible for any hall of fame coaches. Perhaps Lloyd will eclipse Miller's final four and/or national title totals within the next few years...
Miller will be a HOF Head Coach when all is said and done. Just because his teams missed 1 shot in 3 different games that could have sent us to the final 4 doesn't mean he isn't a master of navigation to the moment. He wasn't out there to stop Aaron Craft either in the Sweet 16. He got a rag tag group to the Sweet 16 this year without his best player Freemantle. It's really a model of consistency that makes him Elite. There's no sense in debating Miller with me. We both like him, but I don't put heavy emphasis on Derrick Williams sinking a wide open 3 vs Uconn in 2011? the way you and some others do. But I do recognize it was a wide open 3. drawn up perfectly to our best player who went on to have basically a 10 year career in the NBA along with plenty of other UofA players who have gone Pro and been successful.
Coaches like Miller are magnets for Talent and not many "recruits" nor "transfers" care about a team they weren't on making a final 4. They care more about being in marquee OOC games, "Maui tournaments", and competing for Conference titles and banners. March Madness is literally just the fun "chance" at a payoff for the hard work put in.
Fan bases love and hate our players long before March. The term "fan favorite" doesn't only show up in the Big Dance. But I digress.
I hope Miller ends up in the HOF. He's on track...and is one of the best coaches at attractive high-level talent. Personally, I wish he'd stick with the type of players that are already at Xavier (4* hard workers) because they typically embrace his intensity.
I can't think of many college HOF coaches that don't have Final Fours. Lefty Driesell, Ralph Miller and John Chaney? Regardless, Sean can get there if he has the right kids. Horne's missed 3 still haunts me because I was living in Houston and already had Final Four tickets. It wasn't the coaches that missed the shot but they didn't adjust on the offensive end and we essentially lost to a bad offensive team. Hit our FT's and we win the title. Arg...thinking about it still frustrates me.