Takes

Rick Pitino's NCAA defense that recruits didn't like the prostitutes is absurd

He's pleading that a lot of the recruits didn't even like the prostitutes they hired. It says at least one prospect reported that this experience resulted in his disliking the university. That guy is a fucking weirdo. Rick Pitino actually got me a stripper with 36 D's so I really didn't even want to commit to Louisville.

Kentucky basketball fans wouldn't care if Charles Manson were their coach as long as he won titles

I was like, look, let's be real about what [John Calipari's] job is, is to win basketball games and compete for national titles. And I was like, given how the Kentucky fan base is so rabid, they wouldn't care if Charles Manson was their coach as long as he won a title.

I hate that the NCAA is releasing top 16 seeds in mid-February

They are now going to try to drum up a little more intrigue to the NCAA tournament. So they're going to release the top 16 seeds starting mid-February... I hate that. Takes a little bit out of it. One of the great things about that tournament was I didn't have to spend any time thinking about it until that Sunday night.

Rick Pitino only vouched for Grayson Allen because Allen didn't snitch on him

Rick Pitino... he vouched for [Grayson Allen]. He said, I think it's a reflex action when he does something wrong. He'll lunge out or he'll trip somebody. But he's a good person. I know he's a good person. Rick Pitino went and checked it out... Grayson Allen's a good guy. He didn't tell on Rick. So he's a good guy.

Grayson Allen's tripping incidents are victimless pranks that don't actually matter

The thing about Grayson Allen that I absolutely love is that all of this is victimless and it doesn't actually matter. The stakes are non-existent in this story. And we pretend like they are because we just love to hate Duke so much.

Coach K's leave of absence was a PR move to shield Grayson Allen from the headlines

My theory is that the Coach K leave of absence is one to take headlines away from Grayson. Because that's all he was talking about. And K said, if I step away—and by the way, both of these things are happening right after they get smoked at Virginia Tech. That's not a coincidence either.

Coach K gave Jeff Capel the Duke team as a tryout to become the future head coach

Um, that K, this whole Capel thing is a tryout for Capel because K wants Capel to get the job after he leaves. So this is, this is not actually like a, his back doesn't hurt. He's just saying, here you go, Capel. I'm going to give you the most talented team, maybe in college basketball history... prove to everyone that you're a great coach. And then that way, when I retire, you can be like, 'Hey, remember that time that I took 12 McDonald's All-Americans to a 4-0 record?'

I do not trust UCLA because they play no defense whatsoever

I don't trust UCLA. Everyone's really excited that UCLA is back, but they play no defense whatsoever.

College basketball teams in major cities suck because they are too densely populated

New York City, a lot of really good basketball players. How come all the college teams suck? ... I'm going to start betting on teams just based on which one has the lowest population density in their hometown.

Eating a book of lit matches is a valid and effective football motivational technique

Well, not only was it a book of matches, but let's go ahead and remember there was a book of lit matches... Anybody can eat a book of matches. It takes some toughness to eat a book of lit matches... I was an old football guy... us basketball coaches have to rely on some of those [techniques]. My guys loved it, so it seemed to get them fired up for the game.

Tom Crean's face is the most marketable asset in sports business

Tom Crean has a face that you cannot look away from. You'll never forget it either. If you are walking down the grocery aisle and you see Tom Crean's stupid fucking face, you're buying that product. Tom Crean should actually... we could sell anything with Tom Crean's face on it.

Coach K isn't actually hurt because you coach with your spine, not your back

Hurt or injured, Coach K? I'd say neither. You don't coach with your back. You coach with your spine. And I know that sounds counterintuitive. It's like you coach with your spine, bro. Do you really need to have a functional back to coach? He could just lay down. Larry Bird did it.

Grayson Allen should seek treatment for his tripping addiction

He's addicted to tripping. He's got a problem. He should go to rehab. Go to rehab for tripping. Seek treatment.

Grayson Allen is everything I need in college basketball right now

Grayson Allen is everything I need in college basketball. And I think most Duke fans, the rational Duke fans, we have a mutual respect. I hate their guts. But they're like, you know what? [We] need [each other] to exist.

Coach K uses 'dizzy spells' and gray hair as deflection tactics when Duke is struggling

Look out for Coach K to maybe take a little heat off Grayson Allen, have a little dizzy spell sometime soon... Or he could grow the gray hair out a little bit and be like, you boys are giving me gray hairs. And then once they start playing well again, just dye it totally jet black again.

Kansas is a complete team that has everything

I really like this Kansas team. And maybe it was because Duke seemed like a classic Duke team where they were a little soft down low. But I thought this Kansas team has everything.

You watch college basketball to see Duke players cry after tournament losses

If you are not a Duke fan, you watch college basketball for the moment that Luke Kennard and Grayson Allen cry during the tournament after they get stunned by a 10-seed. That's why you watch.

If Brad Stevens became available, Indiana would fire Tom Crean immediately

I don't think it would matter if Indiana was good or not. If Brad Stevens became available... You just fired Tom Crean. Yeah, Tom Crean is gone.

Rick Pitino did not know about the escort scandal in the Louisville dorms

I truly take Coach's side on this. I don't think he knew that Andre McGee was doing that for the players. I think he was caught up surprised by that. Coach is not around the dorms and those things with the guys. You know, that's why he hires his ex-coaches or ex-young coaches so they can handle that type of stuff.

Tyler Summit is the Jackie Robinson of coaches getting their own players pregnant.

The Jackie Robinson of getting a player that you coach pregnant. ... Say what you want about about women's basketball. But I think this is the first time that a head coach has ever gotten one of their players pregnant. ... I don't really know where I'm going with that, except I can tell you that it's never, ever happened in the history of men's basketball. So kind of groundbreaking by him.

The rims at the Final Four were so soft I could have shot 50% on them.

I could have shot like 50% on those rims. Those rims, there was a few shots that were laughably like they would, the ball would just kind of like bounce around and just stay on the rim and then go in. It would hit like five pieces of the rim and then just fall in.

I deserve 75% credit for Villanova's NCAA tournament run

I would say I'm going to give myself like 75 percent credit for Nova's run. I don't know if you want to throw, like, 15 to Raleigh Massimino, another 10 to maybe Jay Wright's, like, suits, but 75% is about right for me.

Roy Williams is legitimately smarter about basketball than any sports reporter

As crazy as it is for Roy to be this surly to everyone, especially after a win, he's not wrong. He does know way more about basketball than we do. So when you second guess him on that stuff... in terms of X's and O's, I don't know... he's smarter.

The Saturday Final Four games will go under because players can't shoot in the NRG Stadium dome

I told everyone i think two days ago the unders are going to come in on saturday no one can shoot in the houston [NRG] something or other dome. So take the unders.

Duke basketball players are the type of guys who get cheated on

Kyrie Irving, if you go to Duke, you're a guy who gets cheated on. That just kind of – that feels like a Duke thing that happens. If Kyrie Irving had gone to North Carolina or Kentucky or Kansas, I don't think he gets cheated on. I just think that Duke is a very – guys who go to Duke get cheated on.

Villanova is a totally different team than they were earlier in the season when Oklahoma beat them

Villanova's a totally different team than what they faced early in the year. They were still trying to figure themselves out. Oklahoma had a little bit more of a veteran team. They played together. So, you know, that was an advantage for the Sooners. But, you know, if OU goes in there with the mindset like, hey, you know, we already beat this team by 25 and you start overlooking them... Your butt might be going home on Saturday.

Bet the unders for the Final Four because Houston's NRG Stadium is a very bad shooting stadium

Houston is a very, very bad shooting stadium. Very bad. It's in the big dome, the Reliant Energy Center, whatever the hell it's called. I think it went 7-1 unders last year when they played part of the tournament there.

Syracuse is a team of destiny to win the NCAA tournament

I'd probably put it on Syracuse at this point. I think they're a team of destiny. Might as well throw it some long shot odds. Have them win. I think I saw 10 to 1 to win the tournament. That's just two games. That's a nice little payday.

The Big Ten hasn't been truly relevant in basketball since 2000

Midwestern people in general, we like to shit on ourselves and our situations... we know we're terrible. We haven't won a title since 2000. Every single program in the Big Ten is lost in the national championship. It's like the most devastating thing.

Tom Izzo is the only blue blood coach who gets a free pass from criticism

He's like the only blue blood coach who gets a free pass by everybody. Like he's just universally beloved. Everyone hates how [Coach K] is stuck up. Bill Self, people think he's a joker. Calipari is a sleazeball. Pitino is a sleazeball... Everyone has shitty things to say about every coach at a big-time program except Izzo.

Syracuse's defense is as unpredictable as a knuckleball pitcher

Syracuse's defense to me is like R.A. Dickey's knuckleball and – when he's got it working, it's unhittable. But then when it's not working, he just gets fucking rocked. Like, that's how I feel about Syracuse. And right now, like, the knuckleball's humming.

Malcolm Brogdon is a top 3 player in the country

He has Malcolm Brogdon, who is... maybe the best player in the country, probably not, but he's certainly one of the top three players in the country.

Ryan Spangler (Oklahoma) wins the 'Pitsnoggle Award' for the worst tattoo in college basketball

This dude [Ryan Spangler] has probably the worst tattoo that I've seen this year in college basketball on his shoulder. It's like a massive tribal design that I don't think he even knows what it is. I feel like there needs to be an award every year... name it after like Kevin Pittsnogle... The Pittsnogle Award for the shittiest college tattoo. I think, without a doubt, this year Spangler's got it.

North Carolina is untouchable if they continue to hit three-pointers

UNC, the way to beat them is that they don't make threes, and for some reason they're making threes... if they're shooting like that, yeah, no one's touching them... If they shoot like they are, they're untouchable.

The 2015 Villanova team was better than the 2016 Final Four team

I think last year's [Villanova] team beats this year's team... They don't have Pinkston or Hilliard now. Just to me, they're the same team, they just lost two seniors who were great.

Villanova will win the National Championship

I'm going to have UNC and Nova in the final. I'm going to give it to Nova. I'm going to say Nova is just going to find a way. The ghost of Rollie Massimino, even though he's not dead. I feel like we could get that going, too.

Oklahoma fans will forget they even played in the National Championship game two weeks after it ends

I got the Sooners and the Tar Heels in the finals, and I got UNC winning, and like Oklahoma, their fans just really don't—forget about it like two weeks later that they were ever in the national championship game because they don't really give a shit about basketball.

Grayson Allen has the potential to be the most hated Duke player of all time

He absolutely has the chance to be the most hated Duke player of all time. I know that's crazy to say because of Christian Laettner, but I'm talking about with internet culture, with winning a national title, with the tripping, with his face, the fact he looks like Ted Cruz.

Duke will be the #1 team in the country next season (2016-17)

Duke's going to be the number one team in the country next year. They're going to be amazing. So I want [Grayson Allen] back. I want him leading the charge.

Coach K is the ultimate sore loser

He basically told a kid [Dylan Brooks], don't showboat. And, like, don't show up the other team while showing up the other coach by coaching a kid that's not his kid. And that's Coach K to a T. Like, he's the sore loser.

There is 'no chance' Coach K's program at Duke has been run as squeaky clean as people believe

There's got to be dozens of Coach K scandals that have been covered up over the past 20 years, right? There's no chance that his program has been run as squeaky clean as we've been led to believe that it has.

Syracuse's zone defense is essentially cheating and violates the gentleman's agreement of college basketball

I feel like playing the zone defense is something that any team could do in the tournament, but nobody does it because it's cheating, basically. Like, it's a gentleman's agreement that, yeah, we could all play zone and be pretty good at defense. It's like playing against your friend in GoldenEye and they play as Oddjob.

The NCAA banning the slam dunk for nine years was the most racist rule in sports history

So people forget that college basketball banned the slam dunk for nine years. And they banned it because of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar because he was dunking on all these white guys. I think that's probably the most racist rule to ever be enacted—like blatantly racist rule to ever be enacted in sports is that you're not allowed to dunk the ball anymore in basketball.

Indiana has found its next long-term head coach in Tom Crean

Has Indiana found its next head coach in Tom Crean? Oh, yeah. Yeah, I think so. I mean, Tom Crean's done a really good job, I think, growing with this particular team. Once he cleaned out some guys over the last summer, yeah, I think they have.

Michigan State's loss to Middle Tennessee was a total shock

I thought Michigan State... were getting set for a run. And the way they got beat, man... They looked slow. They looked sluggish. They got their ass beat, and they got it beat all day. That surprised me more than anything. I don't get shocked much, but that was a shock.

Kansas will win the 2016 National Championship

I thought it was going to be Michigan State and North Kansas. And I like Kansas to win. I liked them before the tournament. I like them now.

The winner of the Indiana vs. North Carolina game will play for the National Championship

North Carolina, Indiana winner. I think it's going to play for [the title]. I do. I think that, you know, I think they'll beat the next team.

Coaches should be allowed to bring firearms to practice for motivation

I think the NCAA should reinstate the rule that allows coaches to bring firearms to practices. I think that would — you'd see a lot more toughness coming out of these guys.

The inconsistency of NCAA tournament referees makes it impossible for players to adjust

The refs not only aren't consistent game to game, they're not consistent in game. If you watch the Wisconsin Xavier game, the first 10 minutes they let them play. They let them bang down low. Then the last 30 minutes, it was ticky-tack all the way through. They were calling every little contact. I just don't know how, as a player, you can handle that.

Watching the first half of any March Madness game is a waste of time

What are you even doing if you're watching the first five minutes of a March Madness game? I don't think I've ever done that.