Icky3284

How about Artis Beatie (sp??) Woodville 90's, Kenyon Spears HJ, and T. Thomas EC And for you HJ guys, would you put Isabelle, Holmes, or both on the 90's team

I agree with both of you 100%. I was one of the guys that thought Bill G was crazy for leaving, but I also think in this situation that Cal SHOULD take the UK job. The word I would describe the difference between these 2 situations is CEILING. There is was a pretty high ceiling at A&M, being that it was in the Big 12 (great competition and exposure), A&M being a big time state school, and the emergence of the state of Texas being a basketball hotbed. Memphis on the other hand has a pretty low ceiling. I mean we probably stop the discussion at Conference USA, right? And to be honest its REMARKABLE the job Cal has done getting such prized recruits to come and play in such a weak conference with such little regular season exposure. I don't know what y'all feel, but it just seems like Cal is a natural fit for UK, kinda of like Mack was a natural fit for UT. It just seems like he is destined to solidify his legacy in Lexington.

Well then what is "I thought you were BIGGER than those guys" mean??? And the reason I ask that is because I find it hard to believe you would make that post if lets say "stevenash" and "bluedove" were having this discussion. And if you and Nos want to think that Im taking shots at him after he says this \ on a valid comment that I made, then I don't know what to tell y'all Im done with this. I really feel like a girl in Jr High having arguments over who's inviting who over for the weekend.

Wow!!! I thought you were a little bigger than those guys Icky!!! Guess I was wrong! Who are "those guys"? Are you talking about "those guys" that simply told me posting on a message board is liking beating your head up against a wall. So are you saying "those guys" are BAD people? BTW, why are me and you even discussing this? Nos is a big boy!!! LOL

Now I see why people call you Nostradamus!!!! You are the all knowing and I also realize why I stop posting. I should have listened to that advice I was given.

It may be that I would have Syracuse going all the way to the Final 4. I have to tell you Flynn and Co are looking mighty good and if they can get past OU (which I think they will) their athleticism could give UNC lots of problems. BTW, if UNC and Syracuse meet up it will look less like a NCAA game, and more like a Phx/Golden State game. Lots of points and little defensive stops

And you said UK never made contact with Rick Barnes, right? They may never have, but that didn't mean they didn't contact his agent or friend close to him, to gauge his interest. And if Barnes did inform them of his thoughts towards the job, why would UK ever act like they had interest in him. So even though that might have been the story told to many, I'm not buying it, because these universities are way to shady for me to trust them. And to answere you other question: No, if I was at my dream job or I was consderably happy at my current job with what I felt was "enough" compensation I wouldn't leave for UK or any company that would compare to them in my respected field.

Nos, are you 100% sure of it? Im not saying your wrong, but unless your tied to the situation (which you may be), its your word against multiple reports. I have read not only local (austin), but national reports saying that Barnes actually declined simply due to his friendship with Tubby. I also read the other day that in fact that was true and if they came knocking again, which could come soon, it would be tough for him to turn them away again. Like I said Im not saying your wrong, but you better be really tied in on this, because your sounding like a insider or a...... LOL

I know Rick Barnes turned down UK last time they came a knocking. And I would add that Mark Fue would be NO GUARNTEE to leave GU for Lexington.

LOL Good Point!! But Billy G Court sounds Ok. Not quiet Coach K Court but it could work

Let me clarify on the $$/Echo issue. What I was trying to say is that if your making GREAT money at 1 school (A&M) and your job security is at 100%, its harder to leave for a school like UK where the money might be better but your going to be on the hot seat each year that you don't win a national championship (Ok maybe not that bad, but close). LOL But in this case obviously not. I can assure you Im not comparing Billy G to those guys, simply pointing out he would be the guy they name the arena or court in honor of just like those other guys. Poppa, you in Vegas with Spinks?

1. There will never be another Adolph Rupp, There are only a handful of coaches like that (Coach K, Coach Knight, Dean Smith) so there will never be an Adolph Rupp of A&M and thats not an insult to a&M 2. Not many coaches at the d 1 level live normal lives lol. 3. Billy has to be a competitor to get to where he is so im sure he thrives on pressure as most competitors do. 4. A&M could never offer the money that kentucky could. 5. Im sorry but the Aggie job is not the best job in the state of texas. Also Texas A&M has only has one basketball recruiting class ranked and that was 22 since 2003. Texas has been in the top ten twice in that same time period. The A. Rupp comment was directed at saying Billy G would have been a legend at his respected school like the former UK coach. I don't know if you got the memo, but A&M hasn't exactly been a great basketball school in years past, so anything good done in CS, is deemed as GREAT. So even though he may not be as good as A. Rupp in your eyes, in some Aggie fans, he would have been THEIR modern day A. Rupp. I get the competitor comment, but like I said earlier. Todays $$$ has made it much more business than ego. Im a Longhorn fan so of course I think A&M is a 2nd rate job, but he was quickly making the Aggies a very nice program to play ball at. I mean getting D'Andre Jordan was proof he was putting A&M on the national recruiting map. So to act like the Aggies weren't relevant isn't really fair.

DV, I get that part, and totally understand and repect that, BUT..... I just think Billy G should have taken a page out of Mark Fue's (Gonzaga coach) book and put his stamp on the Aggie program, but different strokes for different folks. And I'll add this, I know athletics and even COACHING is to a large extent all about ego's and confidence, but in todays game the $$$ has gotten to be so great that its has 2 become more about the business side of it than the before mentioned confidence.

NOS knows I thought it was a bad move from the start for Billy G to leave A&M for UK (and this is coming from a DIE HARD Longhorn fan) and I will give you my reasons why. 1. At UK if he does great, its expected and will be just another coach who will never be A. Rupp. At A&M he would have been the Aggie version of A. Rupp with the court being named after him. 2. Billy G was known to hang out at WestGate after games drinking his Coors Light at the bars with the fans and that was Win or Lose. At UK that would and could NEVER happen for numerous reasons, but mainly because their fans or CRAZY!!!!! I say this just to state that the guy is simple man, that wants to live a normal life, and at UK you get anything but that. 3. At A&M there would NEVER EVER be any pressure on him because was BASKETBALL GOD that put their Univ back on the map, and at UK, well we see whats happening in Lexington. 4. $$$$ wouldn't have been an issue so in most cases where that is a sticking point, in this situation it made no difference. and most importantly 5. He was a legend in the HS coaching ranks being that he rose from Texas High School basketball coach to arguably the 2nd (and in some eyes the best) best job in the State of Texas. So he was getting the majority of the big recruits from the state, and basically kicking Rick Barnes butt in the process. As a Texas fan it was really getting frustrating. I know many says hind sight is 20/20 but I truely thought the deck was stacked against Bill G from the jump. Nos, I told you when he took the job, and I will tell you again, "Remember the grass isn't always greener on the other side."

It really comes down to March Madness and the NFL Playoffs. I would probably go with March Madness simply because of the 1st 4 days is like no other sporting event in the world. Its a sport fan paradise. BUT lets not discount how great the NFL playoffs are, which leads up the single best sporting event in the nation, the Super Bowl. Enough said, my vote in a close one goes to March madnesss

Watch it NOS, Don't bite the hand that feeds you. LOL What do you know on J-Mychal Reese

Just saw on TABC that the kid made the 5A All-State team as a Freshman. WOW!!!!! If anyone has seen him play I would love to hear what you thought of him. Making the All-State team in any classification as a Freshman is something special, but to do it at the 5A level is CRAZY!!!! Congrats to the kid.

Spinks, you have to realize back when your brother was playing in Little Dribblers, EC and HF played together in 1 league, so you practically had 2 3A schools to pick talent from. It wasn't til the early 90's that HF-WS Little Dribblers split up and went their separate ways.

All I know is if the NW kid doesn't hit the 2 FT's at the end of the game, the NW coach would have had a REAL hard time explaining that loss to the Bulldog faithful. And I'm 100% sure you wouldn't be defining what "Stall-ball" is. But congrats on getting back to Austin. Hopefully the Bulldogs will put on a better performance than they did last year.

who did the 98 Tiger team lose to in the 1st rd???

EC down 17 after 3

I had the great pleasure of being coached by 2 of the now HJ coaches (Sutherland and Lee) back when i was in High School. We were lucky enough to play in 2 Regional Tournaments and a State Final and experience something few players in the state get to. Through all that we as players heard many in the stands criticize and ridicule every decision that those coaches made. And I have always laughed about how crazy and ridiculous those parents and fans sounded. Not to knock the many good people of EC and Kountze but I always knew both of those fan bases had a few bad apples that would loudly voice their unhappy opinions, and no one would speak up and tell them to knock it off. In these 2 communities its almost an excepted practice. BUT, I always thought HJ was different. They always seemed like very rational and basketball knowledge people, but boy was I wrong. Its amazing at what some of the parents will say, even after their kid gets to win District and State Titles while playing the game they love. Its almost as if these very same parents live so vicariously through there kids that when their "superstar" doesn't get the playing time or number of shots they think is sufficent then NOTHING else matters. Simply put: they will cut their nose off to spite their face. They can't see the larger picture, nor do they want to. I was talking to a parent the other day that still thinks their kid got shafted during his career, and never stops to think how lucky his kid was to get to play in Huntsville twice and cut the nets down in Austin. SIMPLY AMAZING!!!!!!!! To those parents: Please stop the nonsense, you have no idea how dumb you sound.

Mike Tirico has to be someone on the list for me. Like Spinks said about Jim Nance, Tirico is the #1 for ESPN and he does MNF, NBA, PGA, and he use to be the lead guy for ESPN Thursday night Football. Not to mention, he has his own Radio Show. That guy is GREAT!!!!!!!!!

WORST: Hardin's Old Gym- It had the stands that where above the court, so you couldn't see the action, and there was no room between the sidelines and the bleacher walls. And the worst part was that the floor was warped (and Im talking big bubbles on the floor), so in certain spots when you dribble the ball would bounce away from you. ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE!!!!! Honorable Mention: The design and seating capacity of the New Hardin Gym- What was their adminstration thinking? Spending $$$ to build a new gym, and make it where you can only seats like 100 people (ok maybe 110, LOL) makes no sense.

Looks like the Bucs might be coming around. that was a pretty good Hitchcock team that they hung with tonight. And I have a strong feeling 2 or 3 weeks ago EC would have gotten run into the ground by that very same team. Keep up the progress boys. BTW, AAW thanks all the updates 2day.