Takes

The Louisville scandal is brazen because it happened one month after they were put on probation

The part that really affects Louisville is basically an Adidas guy met with a Louisville assistant coach... one month after Louisville had agreed to their probation with the NCAA. One month later, they have him on tape in a hotel meeting with Adidas and saying he needs $100,000 to get a player to Louisville.

Kentucky fans will eventually miss hating Rick Pitino

I think Kentucky fans are going to miss Rick Pitino. Hating Rick Pitino was awesome. He was the perfect villain. And I actually think I'm going to miss him.

AAU coaches are the real victims in the NCAA scandal because players force them to profit off their likeness

The players are the ones who are victimizing the AAU coaches by putting them in a position to profit off of the players.

Coach K cheated in the 2015 National Championship game by pressuring referees at halftime

In the 2015 National Championship game against Wisconsin, Wisconsin was dominating the game, and at halftime, Coach K went and talked to the refs, and they called 13 fouls against Wisconsin in the second half, even though they averaged 12 fouls a game, so he obviously was cheating.

Coach K used his knee surgery as an alibi to recruit Marvin Bagley

Coach K went into surgery on Friday, and then boom, on Monday, the best recruit says, I'm going to Duke. Now, he went in surgery at Duke's hospitals, so is there a chance he just didn't go to the surgery, and that's the greatest alibi ever, and he was on a private jet greasing the wheels... for Bagley?

John Calipari intentionally finishes in the Final Four instead of winning titles to avoid NCAA sanctions

Calipari, yeah, he's crooked. He's rigged. But guess what? He's not drawing all that attention to himself by flaunting his rings. He's staying right behind. He's got his rabbit pace car that he's chasing. And he's fine. That's how he gets away with it. That's why he's slick Cal.

Kentucky has effectively won the last ten national titles if you ignore specific outcomes

Actually, Kentucky, when you really think about it, Kentucky has won the last ten national titles, when you think about it that way.

Louisville will likely have to take down their 2013 championship banner

The sanctions just came down... Five ACC games. And it looks like they might have to take down the banner for the 2013 championship team. We don't know yet.

The NCAA basketball championship plaque looks like an employee of the month award

I had three that plaque they give the NCAA basketball champion, which just looks like employee of the month plaque. Like J.D. Power Associates giving Audi their award for best foreign car.

Ohio State's unrealistic coaching wish list is a strategic 'anchoring' move

This is a great move by OSU, though, because if you just throw out the wish list that's just insane, everyone's like, okay, well, that's crazy. And then you get one of those second-tier guys that you probably were a third-tier. Yes, it's called anchoring. Anybody who's negotiated knows this. You ask for way, way more than you should get, then you'll get a little bit more than you deserve.

I want to coach at a championship level again

Well, I want to coach. But I want to coach. I want to go to a championship capacity type program... having the job taken from us like that [at Indiana], I mean, I've never let it get in and take my nerve or create doubt that I can't do this at the highest level.

Duke bullied the refs into calling the 2015 Championship game differently at halftime

That Final Four, that championship game, would you agree with my assessment that Coach K got to the refs at halftime and basically bullied them into calling a completely different second half? Therefore, Wisconsin technically was the national champion.

Duke's 2015 comeback was due to Grayson Allen putting pressure on the whistle

Mike [Krzyzewski] really went into a complete, we're going to drive the ball game. He put a lot of pressure on the whistle... they have an incredible record when they were getting into the bonus at the 12-minute mark of each half... you could see it because they kept driving Grayson Allen from the left wing to the middle. It was the Grayson Allen coming out part of him. If he doesn't get them in the bonus that quick, it's a different game.

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

Coach K. He also said, 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... Why not just be like, hey, Zion, come to Duke and then you'll go to the draft and be a millionaire.

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?

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.

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

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

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.

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 does not get the most out of 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.

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 sons on their teams will result in a great Final Four storyline

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.

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 in the Sweet 16

I see UCLA somehow, someway, getting over the hump here and eliminating Kentucky. I would like UCLA.

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.

Gonzaga wins the Northwestern game regardless of the bad goaltending call

I think Gonzaga wins that game no matter what... [The call] changed the game. Did it change the outcome? Probably not. I mean, they were still going to be down three, but it changed the game.