Atlantic Region

[IUPalum]

Re: Atlantic Region

Not sure what Joe or IUP players have to do with the topic, but, ...

Nothing... just adds nonsense to the board!

[Chuck Norris]

[boatcapt]

Re: Atlantic Region

Not sure what Joe or IUP players have to do with the topic, but, ...

Same as calling the NBA a joke...

[Columbuseer]

Re: Atlantic Region

Hahahahaha!!! Wonder if Joe would go if an NBA team offered him a HC position? Wonder if any of IUP's players consider the NBA to be a joke?? SILLY comment from you...kind of like saying Apple is a joke because you like Android phones!!

The NBA is attractive for many reasons such as:
- Money
- Fame
- Groupies
- Chance to test your skills against some of the best athletes in the world.

I think the point folks were making is that many teams violate the purity and beauty of the game and replace it with selfish playground ball.
- Few passes before a shot.
- Excessive dribbling
- Taking difficult, low % shots
- Shooting with no one in position for an offensive rebound
- Frequent uncalled traveling and palming violatIons as well as fouls
- Lack of teamwork with the exception of a few teams
- Frequent low basketball iq plays

NBA is a showcase for incredibly gifted athletes playing one on one.

I will watch golden state because they pass and are unselfish despite being gifted athletes.
No interest otherwise.

[boatcapt]

Re: Atlantic Region

The NBA is attractive for many reasons such as:
- Money
- Fame
- Groupies
- Chance to test your skills against some of the best athletes in the world.

I think the point folks were making is that many teams violate the purity and beauty of the game and replace it with selfish playground ball.
- Few passes before a shot.
- Excessive dribbling
- Taking difficult, low % shots
- Shooting with no one in position for an offensive rebound
- Frequent uncalled traveling and palming violatIons as well as fouls
- Lack of teamwork with the exception of a few teams
- Frequent low basketball iq plays

NBA is a showcase for incredibly gifted athletes playing one on one.

I will watch golden state because they pass and are unselfish despite being gifted athletes.
No interest otherwise.

Ahhh...The old "violating the sanctity of the game" argument. Weather we want them to or not, sports change over time and there is always a group of old "purists" who resist. While some may miss:

Two hand set shots,
No shouldering, holding, pushing, tripping or striking in any way,
Disqualification of a player after two fouls until the other team scores,
Underhand free throws,
No dribbling,
Made baskets counting one point,
etc...

I don't and I'd venture to say that most basketball fans don't either.

I'm sure if there had been such thing as the internet and message boards "back in the day", there would have been a group of people criticizing teams that employed new fangled tactics, and how the rule changes negatively effected the purity of the game. Contrary to what these crumogines said, fans and players adapted and the game was better for it. I mean, imagine the game without dribbling, jump shots and the 3 point line! These and more are changes from how basketball was originally played...players and fans adapted to these changes and now they are integral to what we think of as basketball.

While traveling is different in the NBA than it is in college, I would venture to bet that even in college they aren't calling traveling nearly as tightly as they did back in the days that some are harkening back to as "how basketball should be played."

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: Atlantic Region

The Atlantic has 3 of the top 5 scorers in points per game in the country.

Amir Hinton is averaging 34.3 ppg for Shaw and is the leading scorer in all of D2.

Second is Anthony Lee of Kutztown with 28.2 ppg, and Concord's Tommy Bolte is fifth at 27.0 ppg.

[Chuck Norris]

Re: Atlantic Region

Ahhh...The old "violating the sanctity of the game" argument. Weather we want them to or not, sports change over time and there is always a group of old "purists" who resist. While some may miss:

Two hand set shots,
No shouldering, holding, pushing, tripping or striking in any way,
Disqualification of a player after two fouls until the other team scores,
Underhand free throws,
No dribbling,
Made baskets counting one point,
etc...

I don't and I'd venture to say that most basketball fans don't either.

I'm sure if there had been such thing as the internet and message boards "back in the day", there would have been a group of people criticizing teams that employed new fangled tactics, and how the rule changes negatively effected the purity of the game. Contrary to what these crumogines said, fans and players adapted and the game was better for it. I mean, imagine the game without dribbling, the 3 point shot, shot clock and the player for the team that gets to an out of bounds ball getting possession of it?

[boatcapt]

Re: Atlantic Region

That's just it...They won't find it. Even the time they think was the "perfect" time for basketball included so many changes from what basketball originally was to make it almost unrecognizable! So we are talking about an evolutionary game that is still evolving and changing to this day. Quite possible that 50 years from today, fan's of the game will look back and scratch their heads about how the game was interesting without the 4 point line, half court dunks or the 30 second penalty box!

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: Atlantic Region

That's just it...They won't find it. Even the time they think was the "perfect" time for basketball included so many changes from what basketball originally was to make it almost unrecognizable! So we are talking about an evolutionary game that is still evolving and changing to this day. Quite possible that 50 years from today, fan's of the game will look back and scratch their heads about how the game was interesting without the 4 point line, half court dunks or the 30 second penalty box!

I'm actually not sure why I haven't watched it now that the topic is up. I certainly prefer the college game. Not having an NBA team here probably contributes. That said I do enjoy playing fantasy basketball every year but that doesn't require watching it. That's just number-crunching. Personally, I don't watch the NFL, either.

[boatcapt]

Re: Atlantic Region

I'm actually not sure why I haven't watched it now that the topic is up. I certainly prefer the college game. Not having an NBA team here probably contributes. That said I do enjoy playing fantasy basketball every year but that doesn't require watching it. That's just number-crunching. Personally, I don't watch the NFL, either.

I don't particularly like the NBA game and don't pay a lot of attention to it, but I can't deny that in it's current form, it is undergoing a surge in popularity while the college game is declining in popularity. Lot's of reasons for that shift that range from the perceived quality of the on-court products to general athletic disinterest among students. What ever the reason, can't deny the general trend of both "brands" of basketball.

I don't watch NFL football like I once did but that's largely a decision I made that has nothing to do with the game. I do follow my pro team but when you are out of their market and you refuse to pay for the NFL package, it is kind of difficult. Heck, D1 football and basketball are almost as hard to follow out of market as NFL football is. I may get to watch a random broadcast/ESPN or B1G Network game but those are few and far between. At least with many DII's, all games are broadcast for free through the internet!!!

[Chuck Norris]

Re: Atlantic Region

I don't particularly like the NBA game and don't pay a lot of attention to it, but I can't deny that in it's current form, it is undergoing a surge in popularity while the college game is declining in popularity. Lot's of reasons for that shift that range from the perceived quality of the on-court products to general athletic disinterest among students. What ever the reason, can't deny the general trend of both "brands" of basketball.

I don't watch NFL football like I once did but that's largely a decision I made that has nothing to do with the game. I do follow my pro team but when you are out of their market and you refuse to pay for the NFL package, it is kind of difficult. Heck, D1 football and basketball are almost as hard to follow out of market as NFL football is. I may get to watch a random broadcast/ESPN or B1G Network game but those are few and far between. At least with many DII's, all games are broadcast for free through the internet!!!

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: Atlantic Region

No doubt. The college game is terrible. These freshmen teams winning titles would have got blown out of the building by Patrick Ewing's Georgetown teams. The Duke teams with Hurley, Laetner and Grant Hill would have crushed today's top teams.

Imagine Phi Slamma Jamma playing this year's Kentucky. They'd win by 35 points. The big UNLV teams versus today's North Carolina? Thirty points. Easily.

But, yes, March Madness is reaping the benefits. You get a loaded up mid-Major full of juniors and seniors playing kids who attended the prom 8 months earlier ... anything can happen.

I always look at the NBA draft results the day after ... may know about 5 names.

The college game missed a whole generation of superstars -- Kevin Garnet, Kobe, LeBron, etc. Add to it all the guys who made horrible decisions and left way too early or skipped college all together.

[boatcapt]

Re: Atlantic Region

faster pace and scoring going up, the perception that no defense is played will persist (and to be fair sometimes defense is definitely lacking). But right now, in my opinion, the NBA puts out a vastly superior product to the college game.

Hummm...

NBA players by an large have such a diverse skill set that it is almost impossible to defend them...play hard D on them outside to deny their jumper and they blow by you to the hoop...take their lane and they will pull-up and drain 3's on you all day. NBA players could probably do a bit better on the defensive end but still they are going to get beat most of the time! NBA players have also learned that hard D takes a toll on the offensive end and defenders don't get big contracts and endorsement deals!!!

For me, the Laker v Celtic finals back in the day were probably the preeminent clash of two styles - both being played at a very high level. Lakers represented the beginning of what the NBA has become (almost position less basketball) while the Celtics were the zenith of "old school" position specific basketball. Such a contrast in styles with neither giving an inch. Unfortunately it was the swan song for position basketball. It will never happen but I'd probably enjoy the NBA more if there were teams built to play the old school way and teams built to play the current "free flowing" way. Always more interesting to watch different styles clash than it is to watch a 47-50 "defensive shoot out" or a 145-140 offensive "track meet." If I HAVE to chose, I'll take the track meet...but it would be much more interesting to see a defensive dynamo go up against a prolific offense.

[boatcapt]

Re: Atlantic Region

No doubt. The college game is terrible. These freshmen teams winning titles would have got blown out of the building by Patrick Ewing's Georgetown teams. The Duke teams with Hurley, Laetner and Grant Hill would have crushed today's top teams.

Imagine Phi Slamma Jamma playing this year's Kentucky. They'd win by 35 points. The big UNLV teams versus today's North Carolina? Thirty points. Easily.

But, yes, March Madness is reaping the benefits. You get a loaded up mid-Major full of juniors and seniors playing kids who attended the prom 8 months earlier ... anything can happen.

I always look at the NBA draft results the day after ... may know about 5 names.

The college game missed a whole generation of superstars -- Kevin Garnet, Kobe, LeBron, etc. Add to it all the guys who made horrible decisions and left way too early or skipped college all together.

I agree...One and done is a stupid idea that doesn't really do anyone EXCEPT the NBA any good. Although many players think of themselves as one and done quality, truth is not many really are...NCAA teams lose because they have little depth or chemistry and almost zero chance to redshirt a HS player who might have holes in his game. NBA wins because they get a year of what effectively is a scouting league to rank and stack the one and dones and then gets to draft and market them after they have had one year of free national exposure.

March Madness has become an NCAA cash cow and they are going to do nothing to change how it plays out...even if that means the in-season product becomes less and less relevant.

[Golden89]

Re: Atlantic Region

Hummm...

NBA players by an large have such a diverse skill set that it is almost impossible to defend them...play hard D on them outside to deny their jumper and they blow by you to the hoop...take their lane and they will pull-up and drain 3's on you all day. NBA players could probably do a bit better on the defensive end but still they are going to get beat most of the time! NBA players have also learned that hard D takes a toll on the offensive end and defenders don't get big contracts and endorsement deals!!!

For me, the Laker v Celtic finals back in the day were probably the preeminent clash of two styles - both being played at a very high level. Lakers represented the beginning of what the NBA has become (almost position less basketball) while the Celtics were the zenith of "old school" position specific basketball. Such a contrast in styles with neither giving an inch. Unfortunately it was the swan song for position basketball. It will never happen but I'd probably enjoy the NBA more if there were teams built to play the old school way and teams built to play the current "free flowing" way. Always more interesting to watch different styles clash than it is to watch a 47-50 "defensive shoot out" or a 145-140 offensive "track meet." If I HAVE to chose, I'll take the track meet...but it would be much more interesting to see a defensive dynamo go up against a prolific offense.

This is why I still feel cheated that we never got to see a Reilly / Crutchfield matchup in the NCAA tournament. It would have been the ultimate clash in styles. It was usually Gannon that did the losing that never made this a reality.