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A blog featuring Praise, Commentary, News, Silliness and Resentment regarding the Green Bay Packers and the University of Wisconsin Football and Men's Basketball Teams. Plus, musings on sports generally. You have been warned.
2 comments:
I truly believe that we missed Butch more than we know. He was like Paul Davis for the Spartans last year. You couldn't count on him consistently, but other teams had to account for him because he was like Nuke Laloosh in Bull Durham. You never knew where he was going to go.
That said, it was also the fact that we were a man short on the rotation up front, and I think we ran out of gas down the stretch. I was holding out hope that we could sneak into the Sweet 16 and have Butch back as a "power boost". (That's for you, Andy.) Alas, it was not to be.
Basically, I feel robbed. I feel like this was our best shot. We will not have a first team All-American on our team in the foreseable future, and we will return to being a solid team that will make the tourney every year, but not have a legit shot at the Final 4 consistently.
I guess I saw this coming when I saw Butch's arm bent the wrong way, I just didn't want it to be true.
Maybe I'm wrong, and Keaton Nankvil will turn into an explosive scorer, but somehow I doubt it, even if he did go to Memorial.
I don't care whether "radio jocks are hammering us." Of course they are. If you're a high seed and you lose, you get hammered. Screw those guys. Thye need something to talk about.
Krueger might be a better in-game coach than Bo, by the way. I think Bo is better at developing players, though.
Sal, I agree that Butch was definitely missed, if just for his injury's effect on team chemistry. We looked off, except maybe for the first two Big Ten tournament games, without him. I'll admit that my reaction when Butch ganked his arm, similar to you, was "there goes the season."
I also agree that this was our "best shot" to win a national title. I also think that given the randomness and one and done nature of the tournament, and being a solid team, we will always have a shot at the Final Four. Someone gets hot, someone gets upset, you make some clutch plays, and you're there. Especially if you're a top 5 seed in your regional. See 2000 and, almost, 2005.
But there's hope for the future. I believe we were the only Big Ten school to offer Alando a scholarship. He would have gone to Souther Illinois, otherwise. We're now getting guys that are more highly reputed than Alando or Kam or Chappell or Flowers. I have confidence that these guys will develop, and we'll be pretty good.
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