Takes

Cincinnati would have won a national title in 2000 if Kenyon Martin didn't get hurt

I think anybody who doesn't [think we would have won] don't know anything about basketball. [I think about it] not more than four or five times a day.

Deflections are the most important stat when playing a press defense

Since we started pressing, it's deflections. Deflections is a sign of activity and energy. It's disruptive.

John Wooden could not have coached in the current one-and-done era

I don't think Coach Wooden could have coached in this era because he wanted us to graduate. He wanted us to become educated and learn some moral lessons and how to deal with the people that you care about in meaningful ways.

Coach K is using bizarre 'freshman roommate' pitches to recruit Zion Williamson

This is a weird move by Coach K. He's telling Zion Williamson, at a school like Duke, it's tough to get in. So he said, you never know who you could be living with. You might be on the hall with a person who will be the president one day or a brain surgeon.

College basketball referees ruined the 2017 National Championship game

The refs ruined it so much. ... The refs ruined the game, and I can't stand when they do that, especially college basketball is the worst of all the sports. Everyone who watched that game was like, that sucked.

Kansas will win the 2019 National Championship

I'm going to go with Kansas [for 2019 champion].

San Diego State will win the 2019 National Championship

I like San Diego State. They got a decent class this year, great class in two years.

College athletes should be allowed to profit off their own likeness

I do think that a player should be able to profit off their own likeness in some form or fashion. ... Put the money in a blind trust? ... Pay them after they get out of college?

The 2017 UConn women's team are frauds

The UConn women's team lost. So they're bad for college basketball, but for a different way because they're frauds now. So I'm the first person on the Fire Gino train.

Mark Few will win the Jim Nance tie in 2017

UNC's going to win, but Mark Few's going to get the tie. That guy is all class... I think the winning team has to get the tie. [But] it's someone who represented great character and leadership... Sounds like Mark Few to me.

Gino Auriemma was secretly happy UConn lost to relieve the pressure of the win streak

I think Gino [Auriemma] was actually happy they lost that game. Well, if you saw after the shot went in, his immediate reaction was a smile. Right. So it took all the pressure off.

Adam Morrison is the 'Godfather of Crying' in NCAA tournament history

Do you consider yourself kind of like the godfather of crying? You were a true revolutionary when it comes—the first person gets all the shit, and then everybody else kind of reaps the rewards. Now everyone's like, wow, look at this emotion.

The biggest difference for the 2017 Gonzaga team is their commitment to defense

They play defense. For years, we were always really good offensively, obviously, and we weren't terrible defensively, but we really didn't completely buy into it. I think that's the biggest difference that this team does is they rotate... overall, the attention to detail on defense has just made it a difference.

Gonzaga will beat North Carolina 75-71 in the National Championship

I'm going to go... Gonzaga, 75. North Carolina, 71.

Roy Williams is a great cultivator of talent but is overrated as an in-game coach

I'm going to get a lot of heat if UNC wins because I've been on the Roy Williams is overrated train. I think he's actually a great cultivator of talent. He gets the most out of his guys. I still don't think he's the best at the end of games, timeouts, X's and O's.

South Carolina is a guaranteed winner in the Final Four

Bet it on South Carolina. That's a guaranteed winner. Let's go.

Playing the Final Four in football stadiums ruins the players' shooting

My favorite thing that the Final Four to the NCAA basketball does is they play the entire season in arenas, and then they're like, hey, let's play in a football stadium and screw up everyone's shot.

I'm taking Gonzaga -7 and North Carolina in the Final Four.

I've got Gonzaga winning. Minus seven? Yeah. And then I've got UNC.

Oregon is a bad matchup for North Carolina due to a lack of size

I do think North Carolina is going to win. I think they're the better team. And they're a bad matchup for Oregon... [Oregon] has athleticism. They do not have—they have a little length. A lot of athleticism. No size.

North Carolina will win their Final Four game by 20 and the championship by 10

I think [North Carolina] are going to win this game by 20. And then I don't care who they play in the finals. They're going to win by at least 10.

The South Carolina Gamecocks should change their name to just 'The Cox' because Gamecocks is offensive

South Carolina should change its name from the Gamecocks, which is offensive, to just the Cox. Which is not. It's 2017.

Bill Self underachieves with his talent at Kansas

[Bill Self's] teams are always really, really good, but they should be better. He doesn't get the most out of his talent. That's the side I'm on.

Every coach who doesn't win the National Championship should be fired

Every coach that doesn't win the national championship should probably get fired. I agree. It's a failure.

North Carolina was the favorite to win the NCAA Tournament from the start of the year

I thought they were the favorite at the beginning, honestly. I thought for the whole year, since I saw them at Maui in November, that Carolina was the best team.

If North Carolina plays well, they will win the National Championship

I just think Carolina's got too many weapons. If Carolina plays well, they win. For them to lose, they're going to have to play less than well, less than their best.

Gonzaga will beat South Carolina in the Final Four because of their scoring depth

I favor Gonzaga because they've got so many more scorers and shooters. You know, South Carolina's not been a great offensive team all year... otherwise, I like Gonzaga to win the game.

Coach K will retire in four or five years

My guess is like four years or so, four or five, but you never know... Four to five years. I don't know, but that's my guess.

A broadcaster will not get a Power 5 head coaching job like Oklahoma State

I just don't see places like Oklahoma State, like Power 5 Jobs, going to broadcasters like us. I would find that kind of hard to believe, but you never know.

It is a near certainty that college players will eventually boycott a game

I do think as the players, as we go forward, the players are getting more sort of socially aware and their awareness of their power in the marketplace is becoming greater. I think we'll see at some point somebody will boycott. I don't know when it's going to come, but I think it's a near certainty it's going to happen.

Kansas is currently the best-looking team in the NCAA tournament

Purdue looked awful in the second half, but also Kansas. I mean, they are the best-looking team right now.

Bill Self and John Calipari having their sons on their teams will provide a great Final Four storyline

One thing that we haven't talked enough shit about Bill Self is the fact that his son's on the team... So I guess we're tracking towards Bill Self's son, John Calipari's son, Final Four... That'll be wonderful. Good storyline.

Oregon is a 'Team of Destiny' because of the Chris Boucher injury

Don't sleep on Oregon because remember, Oregon takes on Michigan's Team of Destiny and Oregon had the big injury to [Chris] Boucher right before this tournament started... when you lose someone, that's a big Team of Destiny situation.

My heart can only be ripped out by Wisconsin if they blow a 20-point lead

I don't think my heart can't be ripped out unless Wisconsin gets like a 20-point lead because it's still the Sweet 16. So I think they'll either have a huge lead and blow it or they will advance and that will be the heart rip out on Sunday.

Tournament games will be lower-scoring (unders) this weekend as teams tighten up

I think it'll tighten up. I think when teams tighten up, when more is on the line, normally the under is prevalent.

North Carolina is the best team left in the NCAA tournament

I would say if North Carolina plays a perfect game, they're the best team left in the NCAA tournament.

South Carolina will upset Baylor in the Sweet 16

I think South Carolina is real. I think they're not a fluke. I think they're on a mission... I think that I would call for an upset here. I think South Carolina is the bet here.

UCLA will defeat Kentucky because Calipari always has a 'brain fart' at the end of games

Calipari is extremely, extremely tough to beat. He's a great coach up until the last minute of the game, and then he just has a brain fart, and he's fucking horrific... I see Euclid [UCLA] somehow, someway, getting over the hump here and eliminating Kentucky.

Florida will beat Wisconsin in the Sweet 16

I'm going to lay the number with Florida. I think Florida's going to prevail here.

The ACC is soft

The ACC is dead... The ACC is soft. Sucks, and they're soft.

The Big Ten is back

The Big Ten is back.

Upsets in the first round usually mean bad games in the second round

Upsets in the first round usually mean bad games in the second round. We didn't have a lot of upsets in the first round. We had some pretty good games in the second round.

Coach K will retire this offseason

Coach K's 70. Coach K's going to retire. Oh, this offseason. That's the new rumor. This is the year.

Duke's loss proves you need to play like a team, not just have talent

This actually is a point for people against all the Sabermetrics nerds who say you just need the talent. If you watch Duke all year, they never really played like a team... they had obviously the highest ceiling because they had the most talent, but you've got to play like a team.

Wisconsin will lose in heartbreaking fashion on a buzzer-beater

Wisconsin is going to lose in heartbreaking fashion. That's going to be fun... South Carolina will probably win on a buzzer beater right in my face. I'll have front row seats.

Jay Wright is a big-time choker if you take away his one ring

Jay Wright on CBS coverage... People forget if you take away that one ring, it's a big-time choker.

Michigan will win the national championship

I got them [Michigan] winning national championship. I don't know if McAfee kept it... But I got them winning national championship because of all that stuff.

Kansas is the best team left in the field besides Michigan

If I'm going to pick one team, I'm going to say what I saw today. I'll pick Kansas. I thought they were really good. I think they did. And that kid Josh Jackson, man, he's really good.

Steve Alford will be the next coach at Indiana

I think [Steve] Alford's going to be the coach, but they'll probably talk to [Marshall], probably. I would think... I figured the AD already had Alford in place because you don't fire somebody... unless you've got somebody in place.

Tom Crean shouldn't have been fired by Indiana

I feel bad for Tom. I like him. I like his family... But, you know, you put yourself in a position, man, they're going to fire you, so he'll be fine, but I didn't think he should have been fired.

Indiana will fly a plane full of money to Boston to sit down with Brad Stevens

I've always said you just fill a plane full of money and you just fly it to Boston and, you know, Brad, here you go, man. Let's figure this out together... I think, yeah, I do. I think they're going to talk to him.