Tom Jones

they are students. The away games during the regular season already keep them away from class so much. This already could get worse with the addition of west coast teams and the resulting travel time. Spreading out the tournament would require more sitting around hotels away from home time. I am really not sure how other major conferences handle their tournaments, but maybe somebody else has figured it out. Perhaps an alternative would be to have a tournament with just the top 8 teams from the regular season making only three games necessary to get a champion. But that really reduces revenue. All these factors, and more, interact with each other such that it's almost impossible to make one change without having to make others.

Why? 1) Because it may well be that, when comes the time to support allegations with facts - Scoggins won't have any facts. I am sure that those who negotiate and approve any restructured contract are fully briefed on the Scoggins-Love matter. They know what we don''t. 2) Because she deserves to be rewarded for the performance of her team and (hopefully) having maintained a stable program. 3) Because, given the number of head coach vacancies and AW's success, other programs will come calling. If, while waiting for the Scoggins case to be settled, we lose her, then WE join the ranks of those hunting for a quality coach whose system is conducive to the players AW has assembled and who can keep returning players and new recruits together. No thanks to that.

She, with her players in tow, takes whining to a new level! To win that tournament under the present format EVERY winner had to play three in a row. I don't recall ANY other coach whining about it.

ESPECIALLY NP, but also the other two freshmen. They too are bound for successful careers here

well that's intriguing. would be nice if she had more than one year left.

WOW! the nebraska women will ALSO play A&M in the first round. This can’t be simple coincidence

yeah .... like Fred and the men being paired with A&M

oh yeah - grad transfers. I forgot. Also i think the others that confused me might have been bc of coaching changes. thanks

i am confused about the portal dates. The NCAA site ways that the portal opens tomorrow, yet sounds like a lot of players are already in it. ???? perhaps those "in it" have simply signaled that they intend to enter it as soon as it is officially open. Or maybe the "open" dates refer to when schools can make contact. Anyone know for sure?

yup. he put his personal interests ahead of his contract, his responsibility, people in the Athletic Dept, and the fan base. Boo! And he let all his supporters find out only via leaks from the TX media.

yes, there always is. always! But I do accept* TA's explanation that this was the basis for it. Three times in my own work history (once inside it and twice having a view from outside but very close up) I have seen organizations in a prolonged state of leadership instability. Many positions at multiple levels of management being occupied by people in an "acting capacity". It's a toxic environment with superiors in "lame duck" status and therefore being unable to really be sure that people with comply with the directions they give. People wondering if they really have to be taking direction from a superior bc they wonder how long he or she will even be there. Employees wondering who their new boss will be and those in the "acting capacity" not sure that they will be appointed to the position permanently and, if not, if they will have jobs to return to. It can be a real mess. *accept it as being true and accurate even if incomplete. But I still think he had a responsibility to put the enterprise and his staff above his personal interests. He was a rare island of stability in a very unstable ocean and his leaving only accentuates the instability.

Yes! Yes, Yes, YES!! He is a skilled, talented, experienced genius as a VB coach. Perhaps he has, or could develop, abilities as an administrator or CEO. But it's a huge "maybe". His experience is in recruiting/coaching/mentoring/motivating and even when necessary disciplining 18-22 year old student athletes and a small staff. In a single program. And at two institutions. And he has been as successful as anyone at it. But does that portend an ability to preside over and apply those skills to a range of personnel and programs that are 10, 12, 15, or 20 times larger than the VB program? And, for lack of better words, to supervise and direct the work of adult coaches all of whom have had (lesser but still significant) successes of their own? And who have done so in a variety of other institutions? "The Peter Principle" describes and explains a phenomenon that occurs in virtually all areas of employment. And it explains one reason why things go wrong. It occurs when individuals demonstrate skill and ability at one position such that they are promoted to a higher position - at which they demonstrate such skill and ability that they rise to an even higher position. And so on. Until they reach a level at which they cannot continue to succeed. And there they stay. under matched to their responsibilities and no longer totally competent. They seldom go back down a rung. I like JC right where he is.

I agree with Merlin that the most likely explanation is TA's disappointment with the leadership situation at UNL. But i feel it was his responsibility - after having signed a multi year contract - to be a pillar of stability. To stabilize the programs from his position on down. His not having done that .... well, for me I have never in my life been more disappointed in the decision of a public official. Not that I ever knew TA personally, and not that my opinion matters, I feel that I have never been more wrong in judging the character of a public official. We don't know that this part is true, so I will say "if true" his failure to alert anyone one in the department - not his top aides nor his coaches - that this was a possibility and to let them (and all fans) get first wind of this only via a leak from the Texas media .... and then to notify all the people who supported him only via e-mail .... well the most apt adjectives that come to mind for me are profane. So I will just say "cold blooded".

here is how bad it is: "The only person at the top within the leadership (UNL) infrastructure currently serving in the position they were originally hired to fill is UNL Chancellor Rodney Bennett. And he’s only been with Nebraska since July." This is from Amy Just's column

I so don't believe that it has anything to do with Scoggins. While much about the incident is unknown to us, if his oversight/conduct in the Scoggins case was so egregious as to cause him to leave NU .... why would it be overlooked by A&M? A&M knew, probly before but certainly after contacting TA, about the Scoggins thing and during negotiations TA would have to have made full disclosure. A&M was not going to get hoodwinked into buying a "pig in a poke" like that. I am still hopeful that the whole deal falls apart.

the "window" opens Monday, March 18, 2024 and ends on May 1.

Hmmm. NCAA doesn't think so. Gina Cross was selected to work the final four in 2022. Felicia Grinter was named co-winner 2020 Naismith Award for College Officials of the Year. Bugs, you seem to call them ALL garbage. Are there ANY college bb officials whom you think are at least competent?

yes! two offensive fouls - one per team - called in the first minute of the game. Given the last three games in this tourney and the start of this one all personnel should take note of the

In the Iowa vs Mich game, two offensive fouls have been called in the first ONE MINUTE - one against the ever non-fouling Caitlyn. All personnel should take note of this change in the charge-block dynamic

which one this time. is your comment related to any particular play or are these "bad call" posts just randomly generated?

AFTER THE ELBOW TO THE SHOULDER!

No, sir! i watched it again. Yes the defender fell/flopped after the contact. but AM's elbow into the defender's shoulder BEFORE the flop was an offensive foul. The call was correct. All coaches and players should know by now that the balance is changing between charge and block in favor of defenders. It's time to adapt to this.

looks great with making all those threes. my fear is that the Terps are more likely to keep hitting those penetration lay ups than we are to keep hitting threes.

which one? The call on Markowski (elbow) was spot on. and after the way OFs were called yesterday, all players should be on alert

Yeah, more chirping from guys who have never worn the stripes. Mitchell went on to say "It’s like it’s impossible to avoid an offensive foul and impossible to get a defensive foul." Hmmm, let's see how that stands up to the objective facts. Well there were a total of 32 fouls called. I could pour over the play by play to refine this, but I will go forward with my recollection that 6 of those were offensive. Now comparing the whine with the facts ... As an indication of offensive activity, there were 121 shots taken with, let's say, 6 offensive fouls. This first impossibility (avoiding an offensive foul) was accomplished 115 times. Conversely, the impossibility of getting a defensive foul was actually accomplished (remember - Mitchell thinks it was impossible) 26 times. While the occurrence of offensive foul calls was higher than in typical games, it was reasonably consistent between teams. We say that consistency is what we hope for. Personally, I think restoring a balance between the aggressiveness permitted of shooters and defenders has been long overdue. Too often I see offensive players go out of their way to create contact unnecessary to their shot in hopes (often successful) of getting to the line. And let's stop and ponder. Do we really think that the NCAA and the conferences talk among themselves saying "Let's go out and see if we can recruit some dolts, morons, clowns, and stooges who really don't know much about basketball to referee our games! This would help us market our product, don't you think?". Or are those in charge doing the best they can to hire, evaluate, retain or discontinue individuals based on their performance ? Criticizing the officials with invective name calling and colorful hyperbole is easy and it's kinda fun. Comporting the criticism with the facts is far more difficult.