03-04-2007, 05:48 AM | #11 | |
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Second, Utah beat two teams from the ACC and Pac 10 that have been ranked almost all year and were among the elite of those conferences--UVA tied for first, and WA State second place. I believe WA State cracked the top ten. It is currently ranked no. 13. This is something that BYU may not have achieved since Ainge for all I know and probably won't match even this year. Some people not unreasonably believe it takes some real talent to beat UVA (on a neutral court) and WA St if not AF for that matter. BYU got a scheduling break in that it didn't play AF until it began its annual death spiral. The Utes handed AF its frist MWC loss, when AF was ranked no. 11. These facts suggest a more than respectable talent pool.
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03-04-2007, 05:58 AM | #12 |
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The other thing to bear in mind about Utah is that some losses that early on looked horrible were not so bad--for example, Albany, Rhode Island and Santa Clara all finished at or near the top of their conferences, won more than 20 games, and would have beaten, say, Boise State, by 20 or so. Utah's schedule was within the 25 toughest in the country last I checked.
That being said the Utes had losses to teams like SUU, Northwestern (blown out), Colorado and TCU that looked terrible when they occurred and stayed that way, and the Utes finished in the bottom half of a mediocre conference. The schizofrenia as much as anything else makes it difficult to judge this team's talent and makes you see how really at loose ends was Giacoletti.
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03-04-2007, 07:34 AM | #13 |
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I am with the Ute fans on this. The Utes are not the most taleted team by a long shot, but they definitely have more talent than an 11 win squad. Do they have enough talent on hand to have expected a 20 win season? No way. But a tiny bit better than .500 ought to have been expected, on the strength of having Neville on the squad alone. How many 7 footers that can do jack are there in the NCAA this year? Not more than a dozen.
The really perplexing losses coupled with the equally perplexing wins point to an erratically coached team, and one that teams with good prepation could beat. That responsibility lies with Giacoletti. |
03-04-2007, 12:59 PM | #14 |
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If one were to argue that with a good coach, this team should have ended up at .500--that is hardly a ringing endorsement of the quality of players you are working with.
I'm not saying Giac was a good coach. I'm just saying that Giac being mediocre isn't the whole picture. I see a court full of stiffs. Neville is a stiff (only 29 blocks), but a good one. |
03-04-2007, 01:12 PM | #15 |
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Just read the trib article that the Utes only have one senior and one junior on the team. That sounds almost unprecedented. His back was against the wall.
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03-04-2007, 01:20 PM | #16 | |
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03-04-2007, 06:17 PM | #17 |
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Well, I think Giac's resignation was more along the lines of Crowton's - he was given the chance to resign before he got fired. Dr. Hill isn't going to announce that he gave Giac the chance to resign.
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03-04-2007, 07:08 PM | #18 |
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Il Pad will vouch I don't revere him. Also, only you belive he wasn't really fired.
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03-04-2007, 07:10 PM | #19 | |
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Another reason some people hypothesize this young Ute team has talent is that it is a good shooting team and has demonstrated the ability to light up the scoreboard, which most informed people agree takes athleticism and basketball skills.
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Interrupt all you like. We're involved in a complicated story here, and not everything is quite what it seems to be. —Paul Auster Last edited by SeattleUte; 03-04-2007 at 08:30 PM. |
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03-04-2007, 08:49 PM | #20 |
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True, Seattle believes that he's done a good job but he hasn't built a Dr. Hill shrine.
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