Ghenges t1_jbhbpmr wrote on March 9, 2023 at 1:12 AM

The one and only time I ever did a bracket and won. Thanks Carmelo!

stoolsample2 t1_jbkbs5h wrote on March 9, 2023 at 5:41 PM

I was gambling heavily back then and followed a lot of smaller conferences - one of which was the MAC. Manhattan won the conference in dominant fashion that year and won me a lot of money. I told anyone who would listen they would make a sweet 16 run. Their first round opponent: Syracuse - who I said they would upset. Pretty much summed up how good I was at gambling. Lol

msw1984 t1_jbheaxl wrote on March 9, 2023 at 1:32 AM

I mean only 15 coaches all time have won 2 or more men's NCAA championships... it's not that easy of a thing to do.

lovesStrawberryCake t1_jbhvrwt wrote on March 9, 2023 at 3:45 AM

It's just a 64 team, 6 round, single elimination tournament with a roster that completely turns over every 4 years, is it that hard? (/s in case it's not obvious)

Yung_Corneliois t1_jbi0uer wrote on March 9, 2023 at 4:30 AM

>with a roster that completely turns over every 4 years

And your best players are only there for 1-2 years typically.

l_--__--_l t1_jbivo3m wrote on March 9, 2023 at 10:55 AM

For much of his career 4 years was the norm.

Torcal4 t1_jbhgkt6 wrote on March 9, 2023 at 1:49 AM

But have they all coached around 47 seasons? That’s a pretty important comparison I’m sure.

(I don’t follow college basketball at all so I’m not sure about the average “shelf life” of a coach)

fartypicklenuts t1_jbhrsp5 wrote on March 9, 2023 at 3:13 AM

There have been a lot of long-tenured coaches in college basketball, maybe not 47 years, but once you're a basketball coach, you're basically a lifer.

I wouldn't say it's "baffling" that he only won 1 championship, the NCAA tournament has a big randomness factor to it. You have to beat 6 teams in a row, most of which are really good teams and are playing to keep their season alive. If your team has one poor shooting night or the other team shoots 70% from 3 or something flukey, your season is over. It's very difficult just to make it to The Final Four. No doubt he would have liked to win one or two more, but it's much better to have one than none!

Cartman55125 t1_jbhp6r9 wrote on March 9, 2023 at 2:53 AM

47 years and his only championship was the team with Carmelo? I don’t mean to diminish his legacy, but winning the tournament def not his strong suit.

SolWizard t1_jbhwo15 wrote on March 9, 2023 at 3:53 AM

Syracuse had a lot of years where they shot themselves in the foot in March, it was a running theme. Probably should've had at least one more championship either in the 80s or during their strong run in the late 2000s early 2010s.

Merpninja t1_jbiexny wrote on March 9, 2023 at 7:03 AM

2011-12 Syracuse was probably better than Kentucky when they had Fab Melo (RIP). Probably Boeheim's best team ever.

SolWizard t1_jbj8u8p wrote on March 9, 2023 at 1:16 PM

That year and the year Arinze Onuaku hurt his knee right before the tournament come to mind. The 2013 final four team also had a legit shot just couldn't get it done

SOEsucksbad t1_jbjap92 wrote on March 9, 2023 at 1:32 PM

I knew this comment was herp, but when I saw the flair, I knew it was derp too.

Merpninja t1_jbieul0 wrote on March 9, 2023 at 7:02 AM

There are plenty of HOF-level coaches that didn't even win one tournament. Kruger, Huggins, Keady. Izzo also only has one and for the past two decades has been considered one of the best tournament coaches ever. The NCAA tournament is one of the hardest tournaments to win in all of American sports, and the fact he got a player like Carmelo to play basketball at Syracuse is a testament to the program he built.

AlsoIHaveAGroupon t1_jbi7ch1 wrote on March 9, 2023 at 5:35 AM

Eddie Sutton and Bob Huggins and Lon Kruger coached 30+ years without winning even one.

[deleted] t1_jbhqhdj wrote on March 9, 2023 at 3:03 AM

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[deleted] t1_jbhlyy5 wrote on March 9, 2023 at 2:29 AM

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pargofan t1_jbjw82s wrote on March 9, 2023 at 4:03 PM

It's just so incredibly random.

Keith Smart misses and Boeheim has 2 national championships.

Mario Chalmers misses and Bill Self has only 1 national championship.

I could go on and on.

Bearloom t1_jbkcawu wrote on March 9, 2023 at 5:44 PM

With the Derrick Rose scandal, KU still would have ended up hanging a banner if Mario missed.

pargofan t1_jbkcpez wrote on March 9, 2023 at 5:46 PM

You mean along with OU's 2004 national champion banner because of the Reggie Bush scandal?

EDIT: Or along with UM's 2013 national championship banner?

GetsThruBuckner t1_jbjesbc wrote on March 9, 2023 at 2:04 PM

We miss you Billy

A_Random_Username_0 t1_jbhxjc5 wrote on March 9, 2023 at 4:00 AM

Syracuse averages about 10 feet of snow each winter. It's uncommon to be over 50F from November until about April and there are usually a few weeks that are under 10F and days under 0F. Recruiting players to come experience that weather if they're from a part of the country that doesn't really get winter can't be an easy sell.

pixelflop t1_jbj5omx wrote on March 9, 2023 at 12:47 PM

This is a big one most casual fans don’t think about.

You can go to a team in the Carolinas where 50° is cold, or to Syracuse where 50° is the high for most of the months of your college career. Not exactly an even playing field.

Neans888 t1_jbhr1ub wrote on March 9, 2023 at 3:07 AM

Almost had another. Keith Smart ruined it.

syrstorm t1_jbiblj5 wrote on March 9, 2023 at 6:23 AM

Shot that'll haunt me forever...

Alex_butler t1_jbia7n4 wrote on March 9, 2023 at 6:06 AM

“Only” is a heavy word. Winning an NCAA championship is extremely difficult

[deleted] t1_jbhew4t wrote on March 9, 2023 at 1:36 AM