Bear Down Wildcats

Frybry02 wrote:Those 5v12 matchups are unpredictable.

That was great!

I wonder what their seed would be if the NCAA opened things up to...say...200 teams. Maybe a 90 or 100 seed?

UAEebs86 wrote:

I saw that billboard on the way to Phoenix. I took it to mean that if you return this year's season tickets, you can use that as an advance on next's year's purchase.

Dudek is a funny man...

I'm at the park wearing my UA hat and there's this fat guy wearing a ASSU hoodie. I started to laugh. He said, "Yeah yeah, I know..."

asu is a #5 seed in the NIT and plays at UCONN. I would like to see them win a couple of games so Herb could get another contract extension.

Irish27 wrote:asu is a #5 seed in the NIT and plays at UCONN. I would like to see them win a couple of games so Herb could get another contract extension.

I want them to lose in the NIT Finals and just to see how that bandwagon ticks

Can ASU and UConn both lose and give Calhoun a heart attack on the way out?

Irish27 wrote:asu is a #5 seed in the NIT and plays at UCONN. I would like to see them win a couple of games so Herb could get another contract extension.

In ASU terms, a NIT berth is a marginal success. Thing is, I'm actually not joking, I think this year qualifies as a success.

hell i want asu to win 2-3 games in the nit. get herb that extension!
#herbivore4lyfe

Main Event wrote:

Massive blow.

http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/h ... /24858029/

"In August of 2014, I was given the opportunity to accept a scholarship to Arizona State University. I accepted the offer and made a verbal commitment. In doing so, it was a very exciting time for me, not realizing until now the complexity of making such a decision at such an early stage of my athletic experience. I don't believe I took the appropriate time to go through the process that would decide my academic and athletic future.

"After much thought and discussion with my family, I've decided to open up my recruitment and decommit from Arizona State University. My decision is in no way a reflection of the coaching staff. They have exhibited nothing but professionalism and sincerity. My relationship with them is the reason why this decision has been so difficult. I hope that ASU will continue to be a college option for me. My family and I would like to personally thank Coach Sendek and his coaching staff for their grace during this entire process.

"This has been a deeply personal decision that some will criticize and many will understand. That is why I trust the fans and those who know my heart will respect my choice to take this time. I sincerely appreciate your understanding."

"I have received interest from better programs so I am forking off."

Kid was a class of 2017 recruit anyway. Why anyone would commit to asu early in their sophomore year of high school as a 4 star needs to reevaluate.

ASUHATER! wrote:Kid was a class of 2017 recruit anyway. Why anyone would commit to asu early in their sophomore year of high school as a 4 star needs to reevaluate.

Yeah this.

More on this. Dump Sendek to get three prized in-state kids?

http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/h ... /24864065/

They'll be lucky to get one of those kids

gumby wrote:More on this. Dump Sendek to get three prized in-state kids?

http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/h ... /24864065/

Lol, ASSU is such a dump of a program...the only positive things they accomplished this year were not finishing at the bottom of the Pac12, an NIT bid and their 'Curtain of Distraction'. I love seeing them suffer.

They don't deserve anyone better than Herb. Hell, he beat us two years in a row as well. They think they can do better? LMAO.

If a coach good enough to take NC State to the tournament five years in a row can only go twice in 9 years at ASU that's the best ASU can do.

Main Event wrote:

Smart kid.

No kidding Katz, he is still a prick and an ignorant one at that! I can tell his ASSU education is paying off......He still doesn't know how to speak English....Great representative for ASU.

Took after his mom with his twitter skillz I see.

Btw I find that last series annoying. My millenial sister says similar things as her justification for saying or acting how ever she wants will little regard to the actual situation she finds herself in.

"I'm my own person, blah blah blah" bullshit

Sendek is the best Tempe can do. Their frustration of realizing this nearly every year is comparable what I see from certain friends in their 30s who realize this - being a bartender, a untenured prof, an overworked lawyer with no hope at partnership - is about the best they'll do for the long term.

Most ASU fans/grads that I talk to really genuinely don't care about basketball. Unless that attitude changes, Sendek will be safe as long as his teams aren't an embarrassment on or off the court.

ASU passion for men's basketball = UofA passion for women's basketball.

azthrillhouse wrote:Most ASU fans/grads that I talk to really genuinely don't care about basketball. Unless that attitude changes, Sendek will be safe as long as his teams aren't an embarrassment on or off the court.

ASU passion for men's basketball = UofA passion for women's basketball.

Whenever we beat them or they have a bad loss or season, their fans on their board immediately go into "well it's just basketball..it's a fringe sport no one cares about. It's a dying sport. We are a football and baseball power anyway so basketball is as important as gymnastics. Only Arizona fans and a couple other people nationwide watch the sport."

ASUHATER! wrote:

azthrillhouse wrote:Most ASU fans/grads that I talk to really genuinely don't care about basketball. Unless that attitude changes, Sendek will be safe as long as his teams aren't an embarrassment on or off the court.

ASU passion for men's basketball = UofA passion for women's basketball.

Whenever we beat them or they have a bad loss or season, their fans on their board immediately go into "well it's just basketball..it's a fringe sport no one cares about. It's a dying sport. We are a football and baseball power anyway so basketball is as important as gymnastics. Only Arizona fans and a couple other people nationwide watch the sport."

I have no problem with that attitude as long as they keep their mouths shut when their basketball team does something good for once. Thankfully my ASU friends are consistent about their apathy and did not say a peep when they beat us this year.

BTW that "basketball doesn't matter" attitude you describe is actually, unfortunately, somewhat accurate. I'd use hockey as a better comparison - extremely passionate and devoted fandom in some areas, completely casual and passive in others, and not a top-tier, front-of-mind sport for most of the country. This time of year is the obvious exception, but during the regular season, college hoops is a niche sport, similar to hockey. Sucks to say it, but it's true.

p.s. I like hockey too, so not trying to slag on hockey.

"(name sport here) doesn't matter" says fans of teams whose (name sport here) team sucks on a regular basis. if there baseball team always sucked baseball wouldn't matter.

I believe I heard that in the terms of betting, March Madness will have 9 billion spent on it...the superbowl had a little over 3 billion spent...

I don't think 9 billion makes anything "fringe". The "dying" sport is a mantra that is talked about endlessly and it simply isn't true.

It's not dying. It's the closest thing we have in America to the fandom and passion of European and Latin American club team soccer.

Mid February to early April college basketball is a top 2 sports with the nba that nearly every sports fan cares about and watches. The issue is that from early November to early February, it only has 1/3 of the audience and is only religiously Followed in the northeast, Illinois/Indiana/Kentucky and in Tucson and Spokane.

ASUHATER! wrote:

azthrillhouse wrote:Most ASU fans/grads that I talk to really genuinely don't care about basketball. Unless that attitude changes, Sendek will be safe as long as his teams aren't an embarrassment on or off the court.

ASU passion for men's basketball = UofA passion for women's basketball.

Whenever we beat them or they have a bad loss or season, their fans on their board immediately go into "well it's just basketball..it's a fringe sport no one cares about. It's a dying sport. We are a football and baseball power anyway so basketball is as important as gymnastics. Only Arizona fans and a couple other people nationwide watch the sport."

I posted it above, but I think this is a good season for them, and that's the saddest reflection on their program.

They beat us in Tempe, which is the only game their fans care about. They made the NIT, which is an acceptable result for ASU. Around here, that sort of season would mean the sky was falling. There, it's not only acceptable, but good.

Herb Sendek is like the song "Never make a pretty woman your wife" come to life in the CBB arena. He's ugly, but he sure can cook and you never have to worry about him cheating on you.

Marotta just shows that they still don't have a clue how to build a competitive basketball program in Tempe.

How does VCU keep Shaka Smart around? How did Arizona keep Lute from going to Lexington? Why does Billy Donovan stay in Gainesville, and Mark Few in Spokane?

None of these programs were national brands when the big schools came calling. Yet the name coaches stayed. Why?

It's called loyalty. When ASU figures out how to engender that, then I'll start taking the school seriously as a threat in hoops.

But I doubt anybody there ever will. After all, it involves character, commitment and integrity, and holding up Todd Graham as your shining example just illustrates how distant a school culture is from understanding any of those qualities.

azthrillhouse wrote:Most ASU fans/grads that I talk to really genuinely don't care about basketball. Unless that attitude changes, Sendek will be safe as long as his teams aren't an embarrassment on or off the court.

ASU passion for men's basketball = UofA passion for women's basketball.

Most ASU fans/grads only care about whatever the passing fancy is at the moment. Its not like they have purist dedication to football or anything. If football tanked and their basketball suddenly got good for a few years, they WOULD care. Since we're good at basketball, they constantly devalue it. They have no consistency in their fandoms. How bout the days when the Suns were perennially good and the Cardinals bad? and they way ASU is culturally situated, thats the way it will always be.

For better or worse, UA basketball being the only thing consistently good for 30 years has a bred a deeper loyalty. If our bball was like most generic D-1 programs with a boom and bust cycle every few years, we'd probably be more fickle as well. Its just fortunate thats the way the dice rolled.

1stNGrant Frys wrote:

azthrillhouse wrote:Most ASU fans/grads that I talk to really genuinely don't care about basketball. Unless that attitude changes, Sendek will be safe as long as his teams aren't an embarrassment on or off the court.

ASU passion for men's basketball = UofA passion for women's basketball.

Most ASU fans/grads only care about whatever the passing fancy is at the moment. Its not like they have purist dedication to football or anything. If football tanked and their basketball suddenly got good for a few years, they WOULD care. Since we're good at basketball, they constantly devalue it. They have no consistency in their fandoms. How bout the days when the Suns were perennially good and the Cardinals bad? and they way ASU is culturally situated, thats the way it will always be.

For better or worse, UA basketball being the only thing consistently good for 30 years has a bred a deeper loyalty. If our bball was like most generic D-1 programs with a boom and bust cycle every few years, we'd probably be more fickle as well. Its just fortunate thats the way the dice rolled.

Great post. I do know some hardcore ASU football fans though, people that have been tailgating since Kush was the coach etc. There's probably 25,000 (somewhat diluted from 40-50,000 back in the 80's before the Cardinals got here) die-hard ASU football fans that would buy tickets regardless of how bad the team sucked.

I do think our fanbase culture is more loyal and more passionate (across sports) than theirs by a longshot, though. Part of that is probably ASU being a commuter school, part of that is probably the fact that UofA is the only game in town in Tucson.

The ASSu basketball fan, AKA unicorn are impossible to find.

1stNGrant Frys wrote: If our bball was like most generic D-1 programs with a boom and bust cycle every few years, we'd probably be more fickle as well. Its just fortunate thats the way the dice rolled.

Still see plenty of fickle fans on here!

One less now anyway.

azgreg wrote:The ASSu basketball fan, AKA unicorn are impossible to find.

Hey I saw two ASU shirts at the Oregon game Saturday, plus two punks that were talking shit to us in the casino on Friday (which was puzzling to say the least, on multiple levels)....so I guess that's 4 of them?

azthrillhouse wrote:

azgreg wrote:The ASSu basketball fan, AKA unicorn are impossible to find.

Hey I saw two ASU shirts at the Oregon game Saturday, plus two punks that were talking shit to us in the casino on Friday (which was puzzling to say the least, on multiple levels)....so I guess that's 4 of them?

Saw a dude walking around with a long sleeved "fork" asu shirt. People were giving him shit all night.

I also saw an older lady, but people seemed to look at her with pity.

azthrillhouse wrote:

1stNGrant Frys wrote:

azthrillhouse wrote:Most ASU fans/grads that I talk to really genuinely don't care about basketball. Unless that attitude changes, Sendek will be safe as long as his teams aren't an embarrassment on or off the court.

ASU passion for men's basketball = UofA passion for women's basketball.

Most ASU fans/grads only care about whatever the passing fancy is at the moment. Its not like they have purist dedication to football or anything. If football tanked and their basketball suddenly got good for a few years, they WOULD care. Since we're good at basketball, they constantly devalue it. They have no consistency in their fandoms. How bout the days when the Suns were perennially good and the Cardinals bad? and they way ASU is culturally situated, thats the way it will always be.

For better or worse, UA basketball being the only thing consistently good for 30 years has a bred a deeper loyalty. If our bball was like most generic D-1 programs with a boom and bust cycle every few years, we'd probably be more fickle as well. Its just fortunate thats the way the dice rolled.

Great post. I do know some hardcore ASU football fans though, people that have been tailgating since Kush was the coach etc. There's probably 25,000 (somewhat diluted from 40-50,000 back in the 80's before the Cardinals got here) die-hard ASU football fans that would buy tickets regardless of how bad the team sucked.

I do think our fanbase culture is more loyal and more passionate (across sports) than theirs by a longshot, though. Part of that is probably ASU being a commuter school, part of that is probably the fact that UofA is the only game in town in Tucson.

Yeah I actually rather respect the ASU of the late 70s to the very early 90s. Even though its a commuter school, their residential portion alone is still larger than many medium sized universities. My least favorite thing ever, is the awful analogy ASU: Football --- UofA : basketball. As if they are somehow equals.

Not to sell ourselves short either, there are plenty of schools where the university is the only game in town and still no one cares or they cannot maintain consistent success. We really hit a perfect storm of sustainability and excitement (for now).

azthrillhouse wrote:

azgreg wrote:The ASSu basketball fan, AKA unicorn are impossible to find.

Hey I saw two ASU shirts at the Oregon game Saturday, plus two punks that were talking shit to us in the casino on Friday (which was puzzling to say the least, on multiple levels)....so I guess that's 4 of them?

i was walking by myself in Vegas, and a group of girls started chanting ASU ASU. Then one asked me the result of the tournament. I told them how U of A and ASU did. "oh well ASU is better than U of A anyway!" and they continued chanting. This is pretty much the mentality of their fanbase.

1stNGrant Frys wrote:

azthrillhouse wrote:

azgreg wrote:The ASSu basketball fan, AKA unicorn are impossible to find.

Hey I saw two ASU shirts at the Oregon game Saturday, plus two punks that were talking shit to us in the casino on Friday (which was puzzling to say the least, on multiple levels)....so I guess that's 4 of them?

i was walking by myself in Vegas, and a group of girls started chanting ASU ASU. Then one asked me the result of the tournament. I told them how U of A and ASU did. "oh well ASU is better than U of A anyway!" and they continued chanting. This is pretty much the mentality of their fanbase.

Just be thankful you didn't catch anything from them.

1stNGrant Frys wrote:

azthrillhouse wrote:

azgreg wrote:The ASSu basketball fan, AKA unicorn are impossible to find.

Hey I saw two ASU shirts at the Oregon game Saturday, plus two punks that were talking shit to us in the casino on Friday (which was puzzling to say the least, on multiple levels)....so I guess that's 4 of them?

i was walking by myself in Vegas, and a group of girls started chanting ASU ASU. Then one asked me the result of the tournament. I told them how U of A and ASU did. "oh well ASU is better than U of A anyway!" and they continued chanting. This is pretty much the mentality of their fanbase.

lol that's a perfect example. They have no idea how their team is doing or anything about the sport, get told they suck and we're really good and they just say they are better anyway.

ASUHATER! wrote:

azthrillhouse wrote:Most ASU fans/grads that I talk to really genuinely don't care about basketball. Unless that attitude changes, Sendek will be safe as long as his teams aren't an embarrassment on or off the court.

ASU passion for men's basketball = UofA passion for women's basketball.

Whenever we beat them or they have a bad loss or season, their fans on their board immediately go into "well it's just basketball..it's a fringe sport no one cares about. It's a dying sport. We are a football and baseball power anyway so basketball is as important as gymnastics. Only Arizona fans and a couple other people nationwide watch the sport."

that sounds familiar. how many ucla fans do we know whose mantra in recent years have flipped from "who cares about football, we're a basketball school!" to "who cares about basketball, we're a football school now!"

(or ku fans who suddenly stopped caring about football again when things didn't work out with charlie weis)

Katzenfreund wrote:

Damn Katz, every time I look at these I LMAO!!! I think you might want to start a separate thread for these....maybe 'Herb Sendek - The Lonely Guy' or whatever......too much potential just sitting here!

Potential ideas: Herb on the ASU Hindenburg, Firing Squad, Where's Waldo?, etc.....this could be a hell of a thread! Just an idea.

That's why he calls ASU's NIT invitation a "well-deserved opportunity."

"The teams in this tournament would be equivalent to teams going to good bowl games in football,'' Sendek said. "They're having successful seasons whether it's Murray State, whether it's Miami, which won (seven) road games including a blowout win at Duke, whether it's Arizona State, a team that finished fifth in the conference with wins over UCLA and Arizona.

This fucking guy

http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/n ... /24933181/