Read on Twitter
Thread for my #bbn followers. Been too busy to keep up with the @KySportsRadio discussions, so these thoughts might not be novel to me, but here they are: Admittedly, this team is not just awful, but nearly unwatchable (I say nearly, because of course I will keep watching) (1/8)
That said, just as coaches throw away the film of an uncharacteristically bad game, I'm throwing this whole season away as an uncharacteristically bad season. There is just something about college basketball that makes it uniquely susceptible to COVID challenges (2/8)
Success in college basketball disproportionately depends upon young, raw talent. That requires a process of development that COVID simply won't allow. In every other sports, the traditional powers have flourished in the pandemic, because their advantages are highlighted (3/8)
But the trend I'm seeing in college basketball is the opposite. The traditional powers are really struggling (us, UNC, and Duke all out of top 25), while the non-traditional schools with experienced players built for a certain system of play are flourishing. (4/8)
In normal years, give me elite talent over experience (and even X's and O's) any day, but not this year. While in other sports, the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, the opposite is happening in CB this year. (5/8)
And this doesn't even take into account the huge home court advantage elite CB schools enjoy. Strangely even on the road, where they face packed hostile crowds that they can feed off of. (6/8)
Another newer advantage we've had is the ability to attract the best transfers. Players prove themselves at lesser programs and then transfer for their last year to elite programs. But this too requires a process of integration that COVID has significantly restricted (7/8)
All to say, I'm resisting over-reactions (Fire CAL? Are you kidding me!?) knowing that chaos is never the time to make significant changes. I'm throwing the season away in my mind and emotions, having empathy for these players and coaches, and I'll see you next year (8/8)
