bitterwhiteguy is quitting writing because chris beard is killing his joy

[BurgleBro 787]

Man yall really do hate him lol

[shadow_operative 15932]

2 hours ago, BurgleBro said:

Man yall really do hate him lol

he brought it on himself. wescott eberts is just as clueless, self absorbed, and holier than thou as bwg, but eberts never signed up for shaggy and then spent time telling everyone there/here how he just understands the game on a level that none of us can really comprehend, which is why he is the expert and we don't know shit. mind you, he said this as he was explaining to all of us how shaka was actually a really good coach who had simply had some bad breaks, and that nobody else could have done any better than shaka was doing anyway. and this was like year 5 under shaka. now he hates chris beard and actively roots for Texas to fail. yeah, fuck him. 

[SilasCoade 2622]

23 hours ago, MaybeACoordinator said:

Yeah Derka you might want to be careful with insinuations about BWG’s mental health. It’s all fun and games when it’s just an anonymous message board but this approaches defamation of character. 

Derka never said anything about his mental health. At least in this thread.

Edited October 22, 2022 by SilasCoade

[justhookit 4191]

Let’s invite him to the TCU tailgate and Derka can shoulder check him and Nicole can slap him in the face. I’m in.

[shadow_operative 15932]

"first play of the tailgate, i'm going right through bwg's fucking chest."

#mambamentality

Edited October 22, 2022 by shadow_operative

[SL Xpress 7514]

4 hours ago, shadow_operative said:

he brought it on himself. wescott eberts is just as clueless, self absorbed, and holier than thou as bwg, but eberts never signed up for shaggy and then spent time telling everyone there/here how he just understands the game on a level that none of us can really comprehend, which is why he is the expert and we don't know shit. mind you, he said this as he was explaining to all of us how shaka was actually a really good coach who had simply had some bad breaks, and that nobody else could have done any better than shaka was doing anyway. and this was like year 5 under shaka. now he hates chris beard and actively roots for Texas to fail. yeah, fuck him. 

 

That's so delicious.

I remember Eberts taking a personal shot at me at one point over my stance that my one issue with Herman is that he'd hired a bunch of small college try hards rather than going out and getting the best available assistants in college football. This is before Herman's first season.

I don't even understand what kind of love machine bwg had going on with Smart. I watched the guy coach at UT and gave up on him midway through his second year. I mean, absolutely gave up on him. Couldn't even handle following the team on message boards any more. All I would have done is constantly screech about how terrible he is for 4 1/2 more years. All of you who stuck it out get all my admiration. 

And then he has so many issues with Beard? Look, if you don't like his style or how he carries himself, I can get that. But the fact is the guy has a vision for what he wants in a program and a team, and then he's really good at bringing in players who fit that vision and will buy into what he preaches. Then in terms of actual play on the court, the team got better over the course of the year. It wasn't the miracle work of Barnes' first year, but it was a similar result to what Penders gave us in his first year - in results if not in style. I honestly don't understand anyone who professes to be a Longhorn fan who isn't at least ready to give the team a benefit of the doubt this year in terms of what they can accomplish. 

 

[Herpa Derpa 6126]

On 10/22/2022 at 9:47 AM, BurgleBro said:

Man yall really do hate him lol

I have no hate, just pity. He used to be a good read. But that was a long time ago.

[Brian Fantana 6689]

My mom linked this to me a few minutes ago asking who this guy was lol

State of the Program: Texas Longhorns - by Bitterwhiteguy (substack.com)

[shadow_operative 15932]

18 minutes ago, Brian Fantana said:

My mom linked this to me a few minutes ago asking who this guy was lol

State of the Program: Texas Longhorns - by Bitterwhiteguy (substack.com)

 

his opening line:

that's right. shaka smart's most ardent defender is shitting on beard for not winning the national title in his first year at Texas with the bombed out and depleted roster that was left for him by shaka. hooooly shit, it just never gets old for me. i know what to expect, and i still laugh out loud every time.

Edited October 24, 2022 by shadow_operative

[Pam Cummings 9642]

The most confounding part about the "Hate Beard, love Shaka" bit is that it's not even like Shaka is some genuinely great guy that everyone loves rooting for. Dude's a snake oil salesman.

[Brian Fantana 6689]

6 minutes ago, shadow_operative said:

his opening line:

that's right. shaka smart's most ardent defender is shitting on beard for not winning the national title in his first year at Texas with the bombed out and depleted roster that was left for him by shaka. hooooly shit, it just never gets old for me. i know what to expect, and i still laugh out loud every time.

Yeah. I read the whole thing out of curiosity. He makes some decent points in the piece, it's not poorly written, but he just immediately undermines himself before you even get to the meat of the piece with dumb shit like that. Anyone with half a basketball brain can see the difference he made in one year over Shaka.

He makes a fair point re: Arterio Morris in my opinion (keep in mind that I am an uber sensitive hardliner with regard to this kind of thing due to some horrifying shit that happened to members of my own family, so that influences my opinion to some degree), I'd like to see more, but that's less a criticism of Beard than of the university system in general. It can be tough to get any bureaucracy to move at a pace faster than a snail. He's doing exactly what he did at Tech, he's doing his thing with his guys and (mostly) deferring to the school administration to handle the rest. I don't agree with his using Corprew and Clarke as examples of Beard's impropriety. Regardless of the order of operations, Corprew was swiftly dealt with by Beard/Tech, the circumstances were different, and I don't think anyone took an issue with it on any level. As far as Clarke goes, I don't even know if that's true. I certainly was not aware of any alleged assault that took place at Va Tech and I followed his recruitment as close as anyone.

He could go on being a decent writer if he'd just drop the Shaka/Beard act.

[shadow_operative 15932]

lolololol, we "kinda sorta" addressed our lack of athleticism this offseason. 🤣🤣🤣 yeah and Kevin Durant was kinda sorta good during his one year at Texas. this dude cannot help himself, and i thank him for that. it's making the off-season much more entertaining.

[ztejas 43450]

So Tyrese Hunter, Arterio Morris and Dillon Mitchell aren't an upgrade athletically from (checks notes) Courtney Ramey, Andrew Jones and Jase Febres? 

I do think our biggest weakness is probably shooting from BTA - but I believe we'll be able to hit enough 3s and score in other ways. 

[shadow_operative 15932]

16 minutes ago, Brian Fantana said:

Yeah. I read the whole thing out of curiosity. He makes some decent points in the piece, it's not poorly written, but he just immediately undermines himself before you even get to the meat of the piece with dumb shit like that. Anyone with half a basketball brain can see the difference he made in one year over Shaka.

He makes a fair point re: Arterio Morris in my opinion (keep in mind that I am an uber sensitive hardliner with regard to this kind of thing due to some horrifying shit that happened to members of my own family, so that influences my opinion to some degree), I'd like to see more, but that's less a criticism of Beard than of the university system in general. It can be tough to get any bureaucracy to move at a pace faster than a snail. He's doing exactly what he did at Tech, he's doing his thing with his guys and (mostly) deferring to the school administration to handle the rest. I don't agree with his using Corprew and Clarke as examples of Beard's impropriety. Regardless of the order of operations, Corprew was swiftly dealt with by Beard/Tech, the circumstances were different, and I don't think anyone took an issue with it on any level. As far as Clarke goes, I don't even know if that's true. I certainly was not aware of any alleged assault that took place at Va Tech and I followed his recruitment as close as anyone.

He could go on being a decent writer if he'd just drop the Shaka/Beard act.

your point about him undermining himself is spot on, because even if every word that he printed re: arterio morris is 100% spot on, nobody who knows anything about bwg can take him seriously about it because of his outward hatred for chris beard. as verbose as bwg is (he makes my posts look like haikus), he never dedicates that many words/paragraphs to anything positive about Texas or Beard. he'll write 1,000 words on how chris beard lets thugs and sexual deviants run amok in his programs, but then when Texas wins a tourney game he'll dedicate 150 words to how it was cool but was really an underachievement. he's so extreme when it comes to his hatred for beard that he makes fox news look impartial. 

[OnAComputer 1405]

1 hour ago, shadow_operative said:

lolololol, we "kinda sorta" addressed our lack of athleticism this offseason. 🤣🤣🤣 yeah and Kevin Durant was kinda sorta good during his one year at Texas. this dude cannot help himself, and i thank him for that. it's making the off-season much more entertaining.

I agree that BWG was very pessimistic here for a team that will likely win 18-20 games. I think it is in the name "Bitter," and when you are reading a writer you have to understand their relative ratio of optimism to pessimism and standardize it from there. Once you do that you can still get a good read balanced amongst other views.

They did upgrade in athleticism. I understand his hesitancy in potential for growth because of Beards track record with transfers. Lastly, he's spot on with this analysis on 3pt shooting and rim protection. This offense is banking of Hunter both stepping up as a 3pt shooter and being a creator. He needs to be either or. You can't really be both (unless you are an elite player). Also the lack of rim defender last season hurt, and Texas did not address it again.

I think my problem with Texas this year and last year is fairly assessed by BWG. Texas is banking on being very good in the mid-game and being very efficient on offense and defense. Chris Beard does this by controlling everything he possibly can in the game (i.e. limiting possession, determining what happens on a possession, and focusing on turnover ratio). 1.) that's slow boring basketball and 2.) it lowers the ceiling of the team by not allowing you to let players play and beat a better team based on things the coach cannot control BUT 3.) it raises the floor of the team tremendously so you don't lose to teams you shouldn't which is something Shaka had trouble with. It's a give and take. It almost feels like Jimbo Fisher type situation this season. However, he doesn't go over the positives I think Texas has in seniority, a year under a system, and more tests early in the season. I think Texas will be a decent team. I think they'll likely win a game in the tourney. I think they'll likely be the 3-5th best team in the Big 12. I think their ceiling is very low because there are a lot of holes on this team and players who will be asked to do things that are not really in their skill sets to do.

[Brian Fantana 6689]

5 minutes ago, longhornmatt said:

2.  Strongly disagree on this team’s ceiling.  Last year’s team was great defensively even though we should have been a below average defensive team with our lack of size and athleticism.  This year’s team should be able to lock people down for real like his best Tech teams.  That alone creates a high ceiling.  

3. Hunter will be an effective distributor / playmaker even if his 3 point shot is still erratic.  I’m not sure where this concern is even coming from.  He’s not Marcus Carr.  He can blow by defenders and get in the lane.

From an outside perspective, I think the team's ceiling is higher than that as well. I think the points about rim protection and 3-point shooting are very important, though. Beard's two best Tech teams had shot erasers and 3-point shooters though and it is curious that doesn't seem to be a priority for him anymore.

I don't think Beard is banking on Hunter as much as fans probably think he is. His sample size of standout games from last season is pretty small and he'll need to be drastically more consistent to be an effective weapon (certainly a possible jump from freshman->sophomore seasons). The Buddy Hield comparison is kinda silly but at least he points that out in the piece.

[OnAComputer 1405]

15 minutes ago, Brian Fantana said:

From an outside perspective, I think the team's ceiling is higher than that as well. I think the points about rim protection and 3-point shooting are very important, though. Beard's two best Tech teams had shot erasers and 3-point shooters though and it is curious that doesn't seem to be a priority for him anymore.

I don't think Beard is banking on Hunter as much as fans probably think he is. His sample size of standout games from last season is pretty small and he'll need to be drastically more consistent to be an effective weapon (certainly a possible jump from freshman->sophomore seasons). The Buddy Hield comparison is kinda silly but at least he points that out in the piece.

Again, you have to know the biases of the author and adjust your reading to fit them. BWG still knows a lot more than probably most fans and is a fun read. Knowing he liked the upside Shaka provided in theory vs Beard is important in understanding his analysis.

Regardless, I hope you're right about the ceiling, @longhornmatt. As Brian pointed out, I think it is a bit higher this year due to some more consistency in the program, but the lack of an outside threat and inside threat I think severely hamper the team on paper. I could be proven wrong during the season with somebody having a breakout season, but I'm not gonna bank on a breakout season.

The concern about Hunter is not what Hunter can do, it is what those around him can do. The point is that there is not a proven shooter on the perimeter for Hunter to distribute to. So you are relying on Hunter doing it all himself of somebody like Sir'Jabari Rice, Marcus Carr, or Arterio Morris to be uncharacteristically good from 3. Otherwise, the defenses Texas will face have a clear game plan for him and this offense. Cut off access to the hoop to stop layups/mid-range and force the team to try to jack up 3's.

[Brian Fantana 6689]

2 minutes ago, longhornmatt said:

That’s fair about Tech’s defense, although I only remember Tariq Owens being there one year when you went to the title game.  Did you have a shot blocker on the Elite Eight team the year before?  I don’t remember one. And Moretti is the only real plus 3 point shooter I remember.

Yeah we had Zach Smith. He wasn't quite the shot blocker Tariq Owens was (not many players are, to be fair), and his senior year stats are skewed a bit by him missing like half the season due to injury, but the constant threat of him being there was a big deal for that team's defense toward the end of the season and the tourney. Beard didn't try to get shot blockers after those two seasons, which was somewhat bewildering to Tech fans.

That said, our defense still finished #1 in Kenpom last year despite us not having a shot blocking threat, so it's probably not THAT big of a deal, but we did still have quite a bit of size on the team which helped.

[Brian Fantana 6689]

Yeah I mean I'll defer to you guys as to how to interpret his position. Y'all are way more familiar with his work than I am. I've probably only read 2-3 of his pieces over the years.

[Wulaw Horn 19070]

On 10/22/2022 at 4:16 PM, SL Xpress said:

 

That's so delicious.

I remember Eberts taking a personal shot at me at one point over my stance that my one issue with Herman is that he'd hired a bunch of small college try hards rather than going out and getting the best available assistants in college football. This is before Herman's first season.

I don't even understand what kind of love machine bwg had going on with Smart. I watched the guy coach at UT and gave up on him midway through his second year. I mean, absolutely gave up on him. Couldn't even handle following the team on message boards any more. All I would have done is constantly screech about how terrible he is for 4 1/2 more years. All of you who stuck it out get all my admiration. 

And then he has so many issues with Beard? Look, if you don't like his style or how he carries himself, I can get that. But the fact is the guy has a vision for what he wants in a program and a team, and then he's really good at bringing in players who fit that vision and will buy into what he preaches. Then in terms of actual play on the court, the team got better over the course of the year. It wasn't the miracle work of Barnes' first year, but it was a similar result to what Penders gave us in his first year - in results if not in style. I honestly don't understand anyone who professes to be a Longhorn fan who isn't at least ready to give the team a benefit of the doubt this year in terms of what they can accomplish. 

 

ME & you and Derka were out on him at the same time- half way through year 2.  I was told I was a reactionary idiot for pointing out that the emperor had no clothes.  He killed my joy for UT hoops in a way that even chuckles the fucking clown and late era Mack couldn't kill my love for UT football.  It was so fucking depressing to think about what a worthless clown he was as a head coach.  

[justhookit 4191]

So he took a whole 4 days off from writing about Texas basketball?

[jimmyjazz 45957]

Beard took Texas Fucking Tech to the championship game with the same philosophy.  How is that anything but a very high "ceiling"?

[Gut Wagon 8071]

Were it not for Surly, I wouldn't even know who said writer is. So it's easy to be sure I won't miss him. 

[JesusSweatDuck 17781]

What if Shaka IS BWG?

mindblown.gif also, thatsracist.gif

[Huckleberry 32861]

1 hour ago, OnAComputer said:

BWG still knows a lot more than probably most fans and is a fun read.

Go quote yourself on the 9.95 worth every penny thread because this is one of the worst opinions I've ever read. 

[Brian Fantana 6689]

26 minutes ago, JesusSweatDuck said:

What if Shaka IS BWG?

mindblown.gif also, thatsracist.gif

Well you're half right

[Monahorns 34]

I thought BWG was a Texas fan.  But it really sounds like he is a fan of offensive style points.  Some styles are more fun to watch than others, but if Texas is winning games I'm happy.  Beard had to build a team from scratch last year, ended our tournament losing streak, and had a real chance to make it to the Sweet 16.  I'm with Beard.

[Huckleberry 32861]

10 minutes ago, Monahorns said:

I thought BWG was a Texas fan.  But it really sounds like he is a fan of offensive style points.  Some styles are more fun to watch than others, but if Texas is winning games I'm happy.  Beard had to build a team from scratch last year, ended our tournament losing streak, and had a real chance to make it to the Sweet 16.  I'm with Beard.

That is not his problem. If you stan for Shaka Smart you can't be a fan of offensive style points. BWG heard Smart speak, got starstruck and conned, and like most marks will never admit it. He will give every last penny to that conman because he's right and everyone else is wrong. 

In his defense, Smart has fooled multiple ADs who are actually paid to know better.

The only troublesome part about it is that actual good and important discussions like the Morris situation are lost because you can't take someone seriously who is negative about literally everything a coach does. If he were reasonable most of the time and then had a problem with how that's being handled people might pay attention. 

Edited October 24, 2022 by Huckleberry

[Valmy77 13226]

3 hours ago, OnAComputer said:

1.) that's slow boring basketball 

Shaka's teams were slow and boring as hell. I found that very frustrating after he came here famous for running a strategy called "havoc". I thought we were going to see Tom Penders type stuff. But nope.

I wasn't bored by Beard last year. As somebody who just sort of gets basketball I appreciated that. 

Edited October 24, 2022 by Valmy77

[Herpa Derpa 6126]

Beard accomplished more in one year than Shaka did in his entire tenure. And he did it with a motley crew of mid-tier transfers and Shakablah leftovers with nowhere else to go. And the projected rim protector sidelined the majority of the year.

There is no debate for those that argue in good faith.

As pointed out by others, BWG is a bad writer because he writes in bad faith. He is an unreliable, highly biased commentator and his pedantic pieces are easily disregarded as the mewlings of a Shaka sucker simp. Any illuminating basketball insight he may possess is buried underneath his inability to admit error. He can quit every five days if he wants, it makes not one lick of difference. He has become a clown and his laughable belief he's some kind of a barometer of morality and sportsmanship makes him look the fool. One can only hope he uses his time off to fall in love with something else desperate for his sophomoric approach and leaves us all behind.

[ztejas 43450]

46 minutes ago, longhornmatt said:

My favorite BWG post is still the one where he took a screenshot of Beard’s players setting screens away from the ball, claimed it was bad spacing (because our players were close to each other - you know, while SETTING A SCREEN), and then did a breakdown of how brilliant a Shaka smart offensive set was where everyone spread out and stood motionless while our PG pounded the air out of the ball for 20 seconds at the top of the key waiting on a ball screen.  His takeaway: “Look at how well the floor was spaced with Shaka!”

You just don't understand basketball. BWG has forgotten more about hoops than most poster on here will ever know. 

/s

[conVINCEd 21469]

Applauding the style of play or watchability of Shaka’s teams here might be the dumbest fucking thing ever posted on a sports message board.  I might’ve watched 5 games his last 2 years here.  They were unwatchable aside from the 4-5 badass dunks per year from one of the crazy athletic big guys, and those would make Sportscenter, so no reason to suffer through the rest of it.

[BurgleBro 787]

On 10/21/2022 at 3:58 PM, Rickylovesweed said:

4 nonconference games against top 25 teams is a joke? 

It's funny you bring up "aggieesque." They play zero top 25 AP teams in nonconference. Our non-conference schedule is nothing like that. 

He already broke down how the bulk of the ranked games last season were committed to prior to Beard and the ones that were basically "SW alabama Christian" types were his.  I'm done tho this is clearly a sensitive nerve around here lol

[HtownHorn 14682]

This team has a high ceiling, because they are going to attack teams. If they can replicate the FT shooting from last year, it more than makes up for the BTA shooting.

[shadow_operative 15932]

13 minutes ago, BurgleBro said:

He already broke down how the bulk of the ranked games last season were committed to prior to Beard and the ones that were basically "SW alabama Christian" types were his.  I'm done tho this is clearly a sensitive nerve around here lol

you're announcing that "you're done" because a couple of people disagreed with your take and you think it's everyone else who is sensitive? lol ok.

[BurgleBro 787]

12 minutes ago, shadow_operative said:

you're announcing that "you're done" because a couple of people disagreed with your take and you think it's everyone else who is sensitive? lol ok.

The visceral hate from this thread came from more than a couple of people.  Comments about the dudes mental health lol.  

I'm not trying to convince anyone my opinion about him, I enjoyed his writing he cracked me up.  I'd just rather leave it at that at this point 

[shadow_operative 15932]

i wouldn't call it hate. i don't believe in hate. my father was a hateful man, and i'll always hate him for that. i'd say a more accurate word would be "disdain". i disdain everything about bitterwhiteguy.

[Rimbo 25936]

9 hours ago, Brian Fantana said:

He could go on being a decent writer if he'd just drop the Shaka/Beard act.

You think it's an act?

1 hour ago, BurgleBro said:

The visceral hate from this thread came from more than a couple of people.  Comments about the dudes mental health lol.  

I'm not trying to convince anyone my opinion about him, I enjoyed his writing he cracked me up.  I'd just rather leave it at that at this point 

1. You must be new here.

2. They're not wrong.

[Sheep Have Wool 1053]

8 hours ago, OnAComputer said:

I agree that BWG was very pessimistic here for a team that will likely win 18-20 games. I think it is in the name "Bitter," and when you are reading a writer you have to understand their relative ratio of optimism to pessimism and standardize it from there. Once you do that you can still get a good read balanced amongst other views.

I absolutely find value in commentators and reviewers who provide takes and commentary that don't align with my own. I can think of a number of folks who have preferences pretty much diametrically opposed to my own, but whose insight I find valuable, even if I disagree with it. You think Texas will suck this year and Beard is overrated? I'm here to hear your reasoned argument. Maybe you'll convince me.

"Chris Beard fucked my girlfriend in college, and Shaka Smart once made eyes at me from across the court and later told me I was handsome so it was clearly the players' fault and not the coach" isn't valuable critique: it's just noise, and it's gotten pretty fucking pathetic at this point. There's plenty to criticize about Beard, but I think most people's problems with BWG's articles is that they don't read like they're written in good faith. He had an opinion, then went looking for facts - but also "facts" - to support it.

You can argue that he's just a pessimist, but I can't read that as anything as other than professional courtesy or unfamiliarity with his oeuvre. Did you miss his takes on Marquette and Texas last year? I'm pretty sure people have met BWG, but if you told me that he was actually Shaka Smart in a dipshit blogger/podcaster suit, I'd believe you.

 

 

[Valmy77 13226]

2 hours ago, BurgleBro said:

He already broke down how the bulk of the ranked games last season were committed to prior to Beard and the ones that were basically "SW alabama Christian" types were his.  I'm done tho this is clearly a sensitive nerve around here lol

And what? How the hell does he know that? In any case I was responding to a claim that this year the schedule was crap. It's not, that's just a lie. 

If some future unknown schedule is bad, well let me know when I can see it.

It's not that any nerves were hit, it is just that lies were told. Bullshit was presented as facts. True statements backed up by reality will get you a better response.

Edited October 25, 2022 by Valmy77

[Valmy77 13226]

I don't care at all about bitterwhiteguy but if he says stupid things, I am going to respond. Nothing against him personally, if he is going through some personal stuff I hope it works out for him. If he isn't well carry on bitterwhiteguy, just maybe write better things in the future.

[conVINCEd 21469]

7 minutes ago, Sheep Have Wool said:

I absolutely find value in commentators and reviewers who provide takes and commentary that don't align with my own. I can think of a number of folks who have preferences pretty much diametrically opposed to my own, but whose insight I find valuable, even if I disagree with it. You think Texas will suck this year and Beard is overrated? I'm here to hear your reasoned argument. Maybe you'll convince me.

"Chris Beard fucked my girlfriend in college, and Shaka Smart once made eyes at me from across the court and later told me I was handsome so it was clearly the players' fault and not the coach" isn't valuable critique: it's just noise, and it's gotten pretty fucking pathetic at this point. There's plenty to criticize about Beard, but I think most people's problems with BWG's articles is that they don't read like they're written in good faith. He had an opinion, then went looking for facts - but also "facts" - to support it.

You can argue that he's just a pessimist, but I can't read that as anything as other than professional courtesy or unfamiliarity with his oeuvre. Did you miss his takes on Marquette and Texas last year? I'm pretty sure people have met BWG, but if you told me that he was actually Shaka Smart in a dipshit blogger/podcaster suit, I'd believe you.

 

 

If you repeat a lie often enough, and do it loudly enough, a decent percentage will be willing to believe it.  Learn from the world we currently live in.

[Catdaddyhorn 3444]

44 minutes ago, Valmy77 said:

And what? How the hell does he know that? In any case I was responding to a claim that this year the schedule was crap. It's not, that's just a lie. 

If some future unknown schedule is bad, well let me know when I can see it.

It's not that any nerves were hit, it is just that lies were told. Bullshit was presented as facts. True statements backed up by reality will get you a better response.

I know the original Gonzaga game at home was canceled during the covid season. With Moody opening up this season it actually works out much better to have that game here this year. The Creighton and Tennessee games are just part of Big East and SEC conference challenges with the Big 12. The Illinois game is really the only high profile game that Beard had a true hand in.  The biggest difference in terms of scheduling philosophies between Shaka and even Barnes compared to Beard is what they do with the rest of the schedule. Beard schedules an inordinate amount of games (in terms of what we're used to) against teams in the 220to 300+ range of NCAA D1 teams whereas Barnes and Shaka typically scheduled more of the middle tier teams in the 100 to 200 range ie your SFAs and UTAs.

[Valmy77 13226]

So what BWG is upset about is not enough exciting games against Stephen F Austin and UT Arlington but rather UTEP, Houston Christian, Rice, Ulala, and Texas A&M Commerce?

Those teams all look interchangeable to me. Maybe they are slightly lower ranked in the RPI but I have a hard time seeing somebody enraged the UT Arlington Game became the Houston Christian or whatever game. It is the same kind of game.

Edited October 25, 2022 by Valmy77

[Catdaddyhorn 3444]

Another good thing about having the Gonzaga game at Moody this year is if I remember correctly the covid season Gonzaga game was supposed to take place during December at a time when students wouldn't even be on campus. Additionally if you remember the Villanova game that year took place in late December or early January that year as well. This year's Gonzaga game is smack dab at a time when students will be on campus and we can get the full benefit of a home court advantage. That's another not so incidental aspect of Beard that I love. He's a full service college basketball coach who takes into consideration the marketing aspects as well. 

[shadow_operative 15932]

37 minutes ago, Valmy77 said:

So what BWG is upset about is not enough exciting games against Stephen F Austin and UT Arlington but rather UTEP, Houston Christian, Rice, Ulala, and Texas A&M Commerce?

Those teams all look interchangeable to me. Maybe they are slightly lower ranked in the RPI but I have a hard time seeing somebody enraged the UT Arlington Game became the Houston Christian or whatever game. It is the same kind of game.

a)this is correct, and b)for someone who claims to be a basketball savant bwg sure is being dense about this weak schedule hill that he insists on dying on. since his hiring bwg has been vocally critical/skeptical of chris beard's seeming preference to overturn his roster essentially every year, being aggressive in the transfer portal and with juco players. he is very aware and very critical of this fact, which is why bwg's bitching about the schedule is so disingenuous and stupid.

rick barnes built teams full of 3 and 4-year players, and it made sense for him to schedule ucla, villanova, sparty, wake forest, unc, duke, etc with regularity. rick's teams had lots of player retention and cohesion, and sharpening their teeth against top 10 teams in november and december made sense for his squads.

Beard on the other hand schedules a bunch of cupcakes, not because he's afraid of competition or because he just really really wants to piss off bitterwhiteguy, he does it because when you have lots of roster turnover and you play in the toughest league in america you don't need to throw your guys to the wolves in november and december, you need to use those games as essentially dress rehearsals for the games that actually matter- the 18 games against the best league in america. let them build chemistry and confidence against the sisters of the poor; they've got enough games against top 10, 15, 25, 30 teams between january and march. 

seems like that formula is working out for him so far:

 

Edited October 25, 2022 by shadow_operative

[Rimbo 25936]

50 minutes ago, shadow_operative said:

a)this is correct, and b)for someone who claims to be a basketball savant bwg sure is being dense about this weak schedule hill that he insists on dying on. since his hiring bwg has been vocally critical/skeptical of chris beard's seeming preference to overturn his roster essentially every year, being aggressive in the transfer portal and with juco players. he is very aware and very critical of this fact, which is why bwg's bitching about the schedule is so disingenuous and stupid.

rick barnes built teams full of 3 and 4-year players, and it made sense for him to schedule ucla, villanova, sparty, wake forest, unc, duke, etc with regularity. rick's teams had lots of player retention and cohesion, and sharpening their teeth against top 10 teams in november and december made sense for his squads.

Beard on the other hand schedules a bunch of cupcakes, not because he's afraid of competition or because he just really really wants to piss off bitterwhiteguy, he does it because when you have lots of roster turnover and you play in the toughest league in america you don't need to throw your guys to the wolves in november and december, you need to use those games as essentially dress rehearsals for the games that actually matter- the 18 games against the best league in america. let them build chemistry and confidence against the sisters of the poor; they've got enough games against top 10, 15, 25, 30 teams between january and march. 

seems like that formula is working out for him so far:

 

Odd.

I don't see Shaka listed.

 

[jimmyjazz 45957]

I said it earlier, either on this thread or the 2022-2023 thread, but Texas' schedule strength is plenty high (#22 in 2021-2022).  There is no need to push it any further, and it doesn't matter that our strength of schedule largely comes from our Big XII games.  Here are the Sagarin schedule strengths for the Big XII teams last year, listed in order of his final rankings:

2. Kansas #5 (gee, I wonder why, maybe that championship run pitted them against some great teams)

5. Baylor #18

12. Texas Tech #21

19. Texas #22

31. Oklahoma #13

37. TCU #9

41. Oklahoma State #11

54. Iowa State #14

64. West Virginia #8

74. Kansas State #7

 

All 10 teams fall between #5 and #22 in terms of schedule strength.  Yes, we're the "weakest". LOL.  Here's his top 5:

1. Gonzaga #94

2. Kansas #5

3. Houston #74

4. Arizona #64

5. Baylor #18

 

Big XII teams are doing just fine in terms of strength of schedule.  One could argue we all need to dumb it down even more in non-conference games.

 

 

 

[mantis toboggan 850]

On 10/24/2022 at 11:38 PM, Rimbo said:

Odd.

I don't see Shaka listed.

 

I believe just a couple spots ahead of Rick Barnes. 

[ztejas 43450]

On 10/25/2022 at 11:01 AM, jimmyjazz said:

I said it earlier, either on this thread or the 2022-2023 thread, but Texas' schedule strength is plenty high (#22 in 2021-2022).  There is no need to push it any further, and it doesn't matter that our strength of schedule largely comes from our Big XII games.  Here are the Sagarin schedule strengths for the Big XII teams last year, listed in order of his final rankings:

2. Kansas #5 (gee, I wonder why, maybe that championship run pitted them against some great teams)

5. Baylor #18

12. Texas Tech #21

19. Texas #22

31. Oklahoma #13

37. TCU #9

41. Oklahoma State #11

54. Iowa State #14

64. West Virginia #8

74. Kansas State #7

 

All 10 teams fall between #5 and #22 in terms of schedule strength.  Yes, we're the "weakest". LOL.  Here's his top 5:

1. Gonzaga #94

2. Kansas #5

3. Houston #74

4. Arizona #64

5. Baylor #18

 

Big XII teams are doing just fine in terms of strength of schedule.  One could argue we all need to dumb it down even more in non-conference games.

 

 

 

Very SECesque but in a different sport.