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Post by smoothcat on Mar 29, 2015 17:32:49 GMT -8
I am extremely into this years NCAA Tournament. Despite the fact that our beloved Mighty Aztecs were knocked out, there is certainly no disgrace in losing to Duke.
The players, teams and coaches in this years Final Four are strong, really strong.
Let's look at the teams who LOST and didn't make the Final 4:
1. Louisville - Brilliantly coached by Pitino and played a ferocious first half vs. Michigan State only to have their streak of winning games (95?) when leading by 6 points or more at the half broken in the cruelest of ways. SDSU was not going to beat this version of Louisville.
2. Gonzaga - Really good team with huge size, skill and heart. Also very well coached by Mark Few, although I thought Coach K got the better of him today. Another team I have a hard time seeing SDSU beating this year, Sabonis is a star in the making and Wiltjer is legit.
3. Arizona - Another team with only 3 losses who played an epic Elite 8 rematch vs. Wisconsin. Played a gritty game, but just could not match the incredible playmaking of Dekker and the skill of the Wisconsin team overall. I don't think we are beating Arizona this year either.
4. Notre Dame - My favorite team to watch after SDSU in this years tournament. So hard nosed, so well coached, such good shooters, such a great senior PG....these guys were absolutely balling at the end of this year (beat Duke/UNC in consecutive days to win ACC Tourney) and then outplayed Kentucky and honestly should have won the game. No way is SDSU beating this years Norte Dame team either.
Those are the four teams that LOST in their chance to get to the Final Four.
Meanwhile, you have Duke (crushed us), Kentucky (undefeated but fortunate vs. Notre Dame), Michigan State (toughest guys and coach in the tourney) and a Wisconsin team that I expect to win it.
We have a ways to go to get to the level of these final 8 teams, we need better shooting obviously and clearly. You have to be able to score to win at this level of these final 8 teams.
Thoughts?
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Final Four
Mar 29, 2015 17:42:07 GMT -8
via mobile
Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2015 17:42:07 GMT -8
A "ways to go." Understatement of the young year.
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Final Four
Mar 29, 2015 17:57:08 GMT -8
via mobile
Post by dtay2004 on Mar 29, 2015 17:57:08 GMT -8
Depends what version of the aztecs show up. The team that played St.Johns could of competed with any of the 4 teams left. The team that played Duke....well...they would lose like they did to Duke. We struggled with consistency all year, we need to get that fix if we want to win big next year. The talent is there, the coaching is there. Now it's time to just put it all together on a consistent bases.
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Post by laaztec on Mar 29, 2015 17:58:02 GMT -8
Not really watching the tourney since SDSU got knocked out. Too many other things to do.
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Post by richpjr on Mar 29, 2015 18:12:40 GMT -8
Duke is going to their 12th final four under Coach K - damn!
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Post by Fishn'Aztec on Mar 29, 2015 18:43:50 GMT -8
I am extremely into this years NCAA Tournament. Despite the fact that our beloved Mighty Aztecs were knocked out, there is certainly no disgrace in losing to Duke. The players, teams and coaches in this years Final Four are strong, really strong. Let's look at the teams who LOST and didn't make the Final 4: 1. Louisville - Brilliantly coached by Pitino and played a ferocious first half vs. Michigan State only to have their streak of winning games (95?) when leading by 6 points or more at the half broken in the cruelest of ways. SDSU was not going to beat this version of Louisville. 2. Gonzaga - Really good team with huge size, skill and heart. Also very well coached by Mark Few, although I thought Coach K got the better of him today. Another team I have a hard time seeing SDSU beating this year, Sabonis is a star in the making and Wiltjer is legit. 3. Arizona - Another team with only 3 losses who played an epic Elite 8 rematch vs. Wisconsin. Played a gritty game, but just could not match the incredible playmaking of Dekker and the skill of the Wisconsin team overall. I don't think we are beating Arizona this year either. 4. Notre Dame - My favorite team to watch after SDSU in this years tournament. So hard nosed, so well coached, such good shooters, such a great senior PG....these guys were absolutely balling at the end of this year (beat Duke/UNC in consecutive days to win ACC Tourney) and then outplayed Kentucky and honestly should have won the game. No way is SDSU beating this years Norte Dame team either. Those are the four teams that LOST in their chance to get to the Final Four. Meanwhile, you have Duke (crushed us), Kentucky (undefeated but fortunate vs. Notre Dame), Michigan State (toughest guys and coach in the tourney) and a Wisconsin team that I expect to win it. We have a ways to go to get to the level of these final 8 teams, we need better shooting obviously and clearly. You have to be able to score to win at this level of these final 8 teams. Thoughts? First thought? This is OT!
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Post by standiego on Mar 29, 2015 18:44:52 GMT -8
Believe it shows how much we need to improve to get to where these teams are now . they also play D but shoot and can really take the ball to the basket with authority - finish when you get to the basket .
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Post by Fishn'Aztec on Mar 29, 2015 18:57:21 GMT -8
I liked Shrigley vs. Duke, he actually made some moves and finished strong at the rim! Good effort Matt!
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Post by jdaztec on Mar 29, 2015 20:24:15 GMT -8
Shrigley is more that a 3 point shooter. He has good athleticism, defends well and can drive. I hope Fish uses him in a more versatile role next year.
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Post by rednblk on Mar 29, 2015 21:25:38 GMT -8
I agree Smoothcat
The only way we have a chance against any of those teams is if we play near perfect basketball along with a great scoring night. And we all saw our guys are no where close to near perfect basketball. We seem to lack the simple pass to the open man or the urgency to take care of the ball. I love our Aztecs and I'm an Aztec for life. When it comes to next year's squad, I'm gonna dial back my expectations big time.
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Post by aztecfury on Mar 29, 2015 22:21:54 GMT -8
I think we could take Louisville. They honestly kind of remind me of SDSU's team last year.
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Post by zed on Mar 30, 2015 8:00:07 GMT -8
I'm rooting for Bo, Tank and the Badgers although the heavy favorite has to be the Buick commercials. I'm setting the over/under at 30, including the pregame show.
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Post by Fishn'Aztec on Mar 30, 2015 8:01:28 GMT -8
Duke is going to their 12th final four under Coach K - damn! I tried to watch a replay of the game & didn't get too far all I could see was that SDSU missed a lot of open looks and bunnies making Duke's job easier. I also noticed that if SDSU played strong offense Duke players would commit fouls and either get them benched or put an AZTEC at the line. I was really sad when the game was 18-11 and our AZTECS had 3 chances to cut that lead & did nothing but miss! O.K. get them next year! GO AZTECS!
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Post by gigglyforshrigley on Mar 30, 2015 8:16:23 GMT -8
I totally think we could take on Louisville since they lost their PG Jones. He was a beast, that was a huge loss for them. I think they'd have a shot at a title with him
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Post by standiego on Mar 30, 2015 9:08:02 GMT -8
Have been a season ticket holder for a while . but think we need to be realistic when you say we would have had any chance against the final 4 teams or even most of the E8 . We had very poor guard play compared to those teams . Duke beat us soundly , with OK4 doing about anything he wanted to on offense , better then against teams , even though we had SS . Compare our go to guy JJ with other teams . MS is a very streaky player who took 30 games to realize he could drive to the basket to score . If he is our key player for 2015-16 season we are in trouble , we are going to need a consistent scorers - led by MP . Also going to need scoring from the 5/C position and quality PG play - not TK - who should be back at the SG position . Would guess the BSU , with Webb , Dremic , Austin ( PG they signed from CA HS Championship game that beat Cage's team), Duncan could be the MW favorite . So hold off on the drinks until we see what we have and how we can flip the offense into gear . Would guess we could have a very different style of offense to use the very good athletic guys we have, if so with guys really running and attacking the basket we could be interesting but could take a while to get it together. See you at Viejas for the first X game.
But the next month should be interesting to see who returns to what teams, leaves school , who signs where for HS recruits and college transfers . Also hope we hang on to Coach Hutson
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Post by bearfoot on Mar 30, 2015 9:25:15 GMT -8
I agree with the original psot.
We were not, in any way, a F4 team. We have made two S-16s and lost close games.
Our next step is to win one of those. We had a much better chance to get to the E8 last season, but it didn't work out.
As Stan wrote right ^^^^^ up there, the next month or two will go a long way to determine if we have a good chance next season. I believe the most important decision is which senior transfer decides to spend a semester, or two, on the Mesa.
The second is whether Winston stays or leaves.
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Post by sdcoug on Mar 30, 2015 10:00:18 GMT -8
First, completely agree. This Final 4 is incredibly strong, as was the E8. You have 4 legend coaches, a ton of lottery level talent (which makes the coaches jobs MUCH easier), and some contrasting styles. Should be VERY entertaining.
As for next year, the KEY decision is WS. Along with SS, he'd be the anchor on D' & will be a guy who fills up the stat sheet. We need him for any chance of a run next year. Otherwise, we get the "young" label. Pretty convinced Pope is staying & is excited about playing with Zylan, but those 2 are still young & raw. We need stability.
Lastly, I wish people would give Duke credit for their D'. They held one of the best offensive teams in the country to 52 points, basically 1 bucket more than we scored against them. No one has hit 60 on them in the dance, and many of our misses were gimmes. We were very competitive against one of the elite teams in the country.
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Post by junior on Mar 30, 2015 10:02:47 GMT -8
I don't see the current line up as capable of competing with any of the SS teams - with maybe the exception of efUCLA. Having watched all 8 games, those teams were on a different level than SDSU. While the Aztecs might have been competitive - at least for a half - with most of those teams, talent would have eventually led the way.
This is not to say the Aztecs don't have talent, they just don't have elite talent - yet. I'd go as far as saying they don't face elite talent or competition in the MWC, but neither does Gonzaga in their league.
So what's the difference? I think it's elite talent. the 'zags showed they could compete with elite talent and win - because they had their own. But in the last 8, you could see differences - even in a level we call "elite".
Will the Aztecs ever get there? Who knows. But it will take much more than the team they have today. It will take at least one truly elite player - and a strong team to support him.
And then you still have to hope for the best: good seeding, no bad luck with health or injuries, stuff like that. This year was not a debacle by any means, it was a part of what's hopefully a natural progression. But that progression may take another 10 years to come to fruition. It ain't happening tomorrow - or even next year.
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Post by robthevol on Mar 30, 2015 10:53:33 GMT -8
To: SmoothCat From: Robthevol
I don't post often but feel it now necessary.
Your post was well thought out and well written. One of the better entries I've seen on this board in a long time.
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Post by aztech on Mar 30, 2015 11:55:00 GMT -8
I don't see the current line up as capable of competing with any of the SS teams - with maybe the exception of efUCLA. Having watched all 8 games, those teams were on a different level than SDSU. While the Aztecs might have been competitive - at least for a half - with most of those teams, talent would have eventually led the way. This is not to say the Aztecs don't have talent, they just don't have elite talent - yet. I'd go as far as saying they don't face elite talent or competition in the MWC, but neither does Gonzaga in their league. So what's the difference? I think it's elite talent. the 'zags showed they could compete with elite talent and win - because they had their own. But in the last 8, you could see differences - even in a level we call "elite". Will the Aztecs ever get there? Who knows. But it will take much more than the team they have today. It will take at least one truly elite player - and a strong team to support him. And then you still have to hope for the best: good seeding, no bad luck with health or injuries, stuff like that. This year was not a debacle by any means, it was a part of what's hopefully a natural progression. But that progression may take another 10 years to come to fruition. It ain't happening tomorrow - or even next year. Even though we lacked at the guard position, consider how we would have done had we been a good shooting team. If anything, that's what killed us. We had open shots galore in every game, but we know the results. Had our shooting continued as it was in Maui, there's no telling how far we could have gone.
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