Coach Cooley: I don't give a damn about Kentucky

[billyjack]

One other thing regarding this weekend's games...
EXCEPT for the teams that win these mini 8 team tourneys, EVERY SCHOOL will lose at least one game... so a 2-1 weekend is fine, because you're as good or better than every team except the winner...

[billyjack]

One other thing... Bill Self has come unglued with a tech cuz Villanova's up 10... expect calls to to KU's way now, the whiny @#$/&...

Ok, the KU prima donnas are getting calls now, and cut it to 7 at the half... this is what Cooley is talking about with Kentucky-- these a-hole schools that think they're entitled to every freakin call... but VU with relentless D... keep it up...

[stever20]

One other thing regarding this weekend's games...
EXCEPT for the teams that win these mini 8 team tourneys, EVERY SCHOOL will lose at least one game... so a 2-1 weekend is fine, because you're as good or better than every team except the winner...

true. 5 teams in those tournaments. 3 are undefeated so far(with Creighton and Nova playing right now). Butler is 1-1 playing LSU on Sunday. Xavier already 0-2.

I'd amend what you said to 2-1 weekend is fine unless you lose that 1st game. In a lot of these tournies there is such a huge difference between winner and loser brackets. I mean- look at Butler/Wash St yesterday. Butler won- and gets Oklahoma St/LSU. Wash St lost- and gets Purdue/St Joe's. Night and day difference there. Georgetown got darn lucky last weekend.

[billyjack]

One other thing regarding this weekend's games...
EXCEPT for the teams that win these mini 8 team tourneys, EVERY SCHOOL will lose at least one game... so a 2-1 weekend is fine, because you're as good or better than every team except the winner...

true. 5 teams in those tournaments. 3 are undefeated so far(with Creighton and Nova playing right now). Butler is 1-1 playing LSU on Sunday. Xavier already 0-2.

I'd amend what you said to 2-1 weekend is fine unless you lose that 1st game. In a lot of these tournies there is such a huge difference between winner and loser brackets. I mean- look at Butler/Wash St yesterday. Butler won- and gets Oklahoma St/LSU. Wash St lost- and gets Purdue/St Joe's. Night and day difference there. Georgetown got darn lucky last weekend.

Well, we went 5-1 yesterday, so today things are cool, because the 2-1 applies here...

[stever20]

One other thing regarding this weekend's games...
EXCEPT for the teams that win these mini 8 team tourneys, EVERY SCHOOL will lose at least one game... so a 2-1 weekend is fine, because you're as good or better than every team except the winner...

true. 5 teams in those tournaments. 3 are undefeated so far(with Creighton and Nova playing right now). Butler is 1-1 playing LSU on Sunday. Xavier already 0-2.

I'd amend what you said to 2-1 weekend is fine unless you lose that 1st game. In a lot of these tournies there is such a huge difference between winner and loser brackets. I mean- look at Butler/Wash St yesterday. Butler won- and gets Oklahoma St/LSU. Wash St lost- and gets Purdue/St Joe's. Night and day difference there. Georgetown got darn lucky last weekend.

Well, we went 5-1 yesterday, so today things are cool.

actually 4-1. This weekend still hanging in the balance. Marquette is 2-0.. Butler 1-1. Xavier 0-2. Creighton and Nova are 1-0 with games going on right now. If they lose- the 3rd game will determine if it's a good weekend or not.

[mel ott]

of course he would say that. He's trying to deflect pressure off his team. To act like everything is just perfect in the conference like he's trying to say, is just not accurate. 6 of our 10 teams now have 2 losses at least. With Villanova and Providence having huge games this weekend that they aren't favorites in. To act like he's going to have another game like Kentucky this year- nope.

No, his point is that he doesn't give a sh!t about Kentucky... he cares about the Friars, he cares about playing mistake free ball, he knows we have talented players, he knows what PC is capable of, he has pride in our conference... PC has spent the last 33+ years playing Georgetown, etc, etc, etc, etc, playing in the best conference. Top to bottom, complete, the Big East remains as good or better than every other conference. Like he said-- UK has great players... congratulations to them... but we or any Big East team is supposed to be in awe of these freakin guys...??? Eff that...

I like his attitude. Respect them, but we are not taking a back seat to them. It takes some guts to come out and say that to the so called "elite teams". I'm glad he did, because if he doesn't believe it, how the hell is his team supposed to believe it? The Big East showed it's for real. Xavier loses to Iowa by 1, Butler to Ok St by 1, and CU blows out Ariz St and back from 19 down to San Diego St to lose in last seconds. This is going to be a battle. Love CC for sticking up for the conference and he is right. There are 5-7 teams in this conference that can play with ANYONE in the country- I don't believe there is another conference that could say that!!!

[Bill Marsh]

of course he would say that. He's trying to deflect pressure off his team. To act like everything is just perfect in the conference like he's trying to say, is just not accurate. 6 of our 10 teams now have 2 losses at least. With Villanova and Providence having huge games this weekend that they aren't favorites in. To act like he's going to have another game like Kentucky this year- nope.

No, his point is that he doesn't give a sh!t about Kentucky... he cares about the Friars, he cares about playing mistake free ball, he knows we have talented players, he knows what PC is capable of, he has pride in our conference... PC has spent the last 33+ years playing Georgetown, etc, etc, etc, etc, playing in the best conference. Top to bottom, complete, the Big East remains as good or better than every other conference. Like he said-- UK has great players... congratulations to them... but we or any Big East team is supposed to be in awe of these freakin guys...??? Eff that...

Absolutely.

And he knows that Providence is capable of beating teams at this level because they do it every year. Knocked of Notre Dame and Cincy last year when both were ranked. Knocked off Louisville in back-to-back seasons, including 2 years ago when they were on their way to the Final Four. In fact they blew out Louisville by 30 points and Notre Dame by 17. They beat #8 Villanova by 15 points 3 years ago, #19 UConn (coming off a Final Four season) by 15 points 4 years ago, and #1 Pitt by 8 points 5 years ago just a month after they had beaten #15 Syracuse. That's life in the Big East.

I don't think that Cooley was just trying to give a pep talk to the troops, which he was, or to demand respect for the Big East, as he also was, but to say that playing a team like Kentucky is just another day at he office when you play in the Big East, which is just a statement of fact as the reality that Big East teams face day in and day out.

Ultimately I think that Cooley is showing is how cranky someone becomes when you take the Big Macs off his diet.

(Nodisrespect intended. I actually admire what he's done.)

Ignored in all of this is the assumption that Kentucky is a tough out. First of all, Kentucky is the one who is not in the habit of playing tough competition game in and game out as Big East schools are. They play in the SEC. And despite having all of those heralded recruits on their team, they're the ones who choked in the SEC tournament last year. They have simply been handed the #1 ranking on a platter this year despite having accomplished absolutely nothing. They didn't even win the NIT last year. In fact, they went out in the first round to a Robert Morris team that PC dispatched handily in the next round. Throwing together a bunch of high school all stars is no guarantee that you actually have a team. In recent years, Wichita State, VCU, Butler, etc. have shown what can be accomplished by a group that has played together for 4 years and has actually learned how to play together.

PC is a tough, experienced, battle tested team. Cotton, Batts, Henton, Harris, and the rest have been through the wars. Even their best newcomers like Desrosiers are experienced. Their freshmen are doing what freshmen are supposed to be doing. Learning the ropes. Cooley is making sure of that. Their freshmen are actually going to class because they know they must in order to stay eligible.

The freshmen at Kentucky are being treated like celebrities despite the fact that they have never accomplished a damn thing. They are the second coming of Derrick Rose, a faux student, who was not a legitimate student-athlete in Calipari's last incarnation. I doubt that any of them go to class because they all expect to be one and done. They're already eligible for the year, so why bother? And they know that Kentucky, the most penalized program in NCAA history, is not going to declare them ineligible after poor first semester grades the way a Big East school would.

What Cooley is saying is that the Friars will be out there, representing the Big East and the integrity of true college basketball vs the ultimate example of corruption in the sport - the University of Kentucky, coached by the #1 sneaker salesman in America.

In a final note, I can't ignore the fact that Kentucky failed to show up the last time these 2 teams were scheduled to play. Did NOT appear. This game was schedule for The Garden last March. But there was the small matter of Robert Mortis in between. The celebrities at Kentucky, still sulking after being passed over for the NCAA tournament lost to Robert Morris. That tells you all you need to know about the character if this team and this coach. If they aren't being treated as the spoiled prima donnas that they are, they are a NO SHOW. PC knew that if they wanted to play Kentucky, they would have to put them on their schedule because they couldn't count on them being able to win a gimme in order to get to the next game.

[GumbyDamnit!]

Ok, we've learned that BillM really doesn't like Kentucky.

[TheHall]

No, his point is that he doesn't give a sh!t about Kentucky... he cares about the Friars, he cares about playing mistake free ball, he knows we have talented players, he knows what PC is capable of, he has pride in our conference... PC has spent the last 33+ years playing Georgetown, etc, etc, etc, etc, playing in the best conference. Top to bottom, complete, the Big East remains as good or better than every other conference. Like he said-- UK has great players... congratulations to them... but we or any Big East team is supposed to be in awe of these freakin guys...??? Eff that...

I like his attitude. Respect them, but we are not taking a back seat to them. It takes some guts to come out and say that to the so called "elite teams". I'm glad he did, because if he doesn't believe it, how the hell is his team supposed to believe it? The Big East showed it's for real. Xavier loses to Iowa by 1, Butler to Ok St by 1, and CU blows out Ariz St and back from 19 down to San Diego St to lose in last seconds. This is going to be a battle. Love CC for sticking up for the conference and he is right. There are 5-7 teams in this conference that can play with ANYONE in the country- I don't believe there is another conference that could say that!!!

This promo from FOX highlights the challenge CC is addressing. He wants his team to see itself as a headliner too (who cares what outsiders think), not just chum for the anointed big fish!

[Bill Marsh]

Ok, we've learned that BillM really doesn't like Kentucky.

You've got it.

Actually I really, really, really don't like Kentucky. How do you feel about them?