Swoll Cracker

Kyle was a late add to the roster during the summer when Roddy left CSU. He’s a really good athlete and visited CSU, USC, and Missouri before settling on CSU. His biggest issue is that while 6’10” he only weighs 200 lbs. The coaches wanted him to bulk up last summer and he put on 20 lbs. which he somehow found a way to lose before the season began. The staff was not happy. A lot of us were hoping things would work at CSU but him leaving is probably best for all parties.

Given where things are at right now I’d order the top 3 as Boise State, New Mexico, San Diego State. But it’s still way too early given what can happen thru the portal. Those are the three that I would expect to challenge for At Large bids. The next four (some order of CSU, Nevada, UNLV, Utah State) have work to do to improve their rosters. The last four (some order of Air Force, Fresno State, San Jose State, and Wyoming) are no hopers next season.

Anderson’s biggest issue is that passing to create an opportunity for a teammate does not come naturally for him. Many of his assists were created by him dribbling a lot and then passing to as perimeter player for an open three. Theres some value in that but the better playmakers create layups for their teammates.

This is a great addition for Boise. Cardenas gives them the ball distribution and perimeter shooting that they consistently lacked last season. Boise media wont say it but I will. Cardenas is levels above Roddie Anderson. Cardenas will have to learn how to temper down his frantic playing style to best benefit how the Broncos want to run their offense but I have no doubt he will make the Broncos way better.

My sources say NIL was a huge factor. And thats not a criticism. Boise is in great shape when it comes to NIL.

The front line is solid with Agbo, Degenhart, Stanley. I doubt youre going to get a top notch big looking for starters minutes with those three firmly entrenched. Personally, i think the Broncos’ biggest need is an athletic guard who can put the ball in the basket from everywhere. An upgrade to Rice.

Is it just me or does it feel like Fresno had Tiny Grant on the top of their list until they realized he was dead?

Cam was a walk-on who had been the Colorado 4A Player of the Year. He attended the Air Force Prep School for a year before deciding to come to CSU. On paper it’s not really a big loss but I’ll miss him because he’s a really good kid. Hope he lands at a local school like Northern Colorado so that I can see him play.

When I saw CSU practice over the summer, I described them as an NIT level roster with an outside chance of an NCAA At-large. Through the non-con portion of the schedule they went well beyond expectations. The highest national ranking ever (12,13), Top 10 in the very first NET rankings. That led to higher expectations during the conference season and they didnt come to fruition; sadly, they were 10 seconds away from a 13-5 MWC record. In the end, I was very pleased that they got as far as they did. Their record/resume was built on strong play against top teams and less on smashing weaker teams. And the First Four win over Virginia was the second best post-season win by any MWC team.

Theres a reason NBA teams dont make two trips across the country in a week. Rebels never had a chance in this game due to the travel and the fact that Seton Hall has been home the entire time. Credit to the Rebels for two nice post season wins over Top 75 teams. Now its on to the portal just like every other MWC program that wants to win next year.

I had a great cross-country coach in high school way back when. Very leading edge in terms of endurance and speed workouts. We went on to win a state championship and our #1 man won the individual title, running 12:18 over 2.5 miles. We had different coaches for the track and field season and they were terrible. Absolutely no idea how to structure workouts for those of us who ran events between the 800 and 3200. I had a coach tell me to run four consecutive 1/4 miles in 60 seconds without rest. I tried to explain to him that would be a 4-minute mile and he couldnt understand why it was a problem. Even though we had plenty of talent, none of us qualified for the state track and field meet. To give you an idea of what a great coach can do, my buddy who was the state champ in cross-country was lightly recruited but found a very good college program with a very good coach. He went on to become a 9-time All American in both cross-country and track. Top 15 nationally in cross-country and good enough to run on an American record-setting 4-mile relay team. Coaches make a huge difference.

Just a friendly reminder that Petraitis played AAU ball with CSU’s Jalen Lake.

Its like the late 60’s/early 70’s for the men.

I watched the first 12 minutes before boarding a plane, then the final 8 minutes once they got the WiFi working. I feel bad for New Mexico. The way Clemson played those first 12 minutes would have had them up big on virtually any team in the tournament. The Tigers were absolutely humming inside and out offensively and never really let the Lobos get any traction. Obviously the last 8 minutes were pretty much going thru the motions.

I really feel for you Nevada fans that had to go through that. They pu the game on the big scoreboard screen in Charlotte prior to the start of CSU-Texas. Most of us were watching it earlier during a CSU pre-game event. We say Dayton take the lead on that three-point play, then it was time to introduce the starting lineups so the game was no longer being shown. I loaded the game on my phone, just in time to see Davison lose the ball. Then the free throws, then the missed three balls. Just a horrible way to exit. And then CSU, for some inexplicable reason, decided to out horrible Nevada. I think they succeeded. But then again, Maybe we should just score it a tie and call it a day.

Tough, tough, tough tonight. Rams started fine and then completely disintegrated once they went to the bench. From up 8-2 to down 27-11. Thats a 25-3 run for those that are counting. Texas were the aggressors and CSU never responded until it was too late. I had hoped to go further but in the end , it was a great season as no one expected CSU to make it to the NCAA Tournament this year.

Busy day ahead for me. I just bought a nosebleed seat for the first session which features two over seeded teams in Miss St and Michigan State, followed by UNC VS Wagner. Then on to a CSU pregame event, then the evening games. Met a friend last night at an off the beaten path place last night. Also ran into the couple I sat next to at CSU’s last Round of 64 win in 2013. That was a good omen. Later we were joined by a CSU entourage including the president and AD.

I did make a new friend yesterday. CSU President Amy Parsons

I also wanted to say something about Dayton and the First Four games. They are amazing hosts. From ther minute I arrived this afternoon,, everybody was interested to talk about the games. Asking who i was here to see, where i was from. And the feel at the arena is much more about local community and really good basketball fans. Not the corporate feel at the bigger sites. Yes, I was disappointed CSU was sent here but in the end it was worth every penny. As silly as this sounds, if you ever have a chance to attend these First Four games, hop on it.

They’ll be fine. They came out of this one pretty fresh. As I told Pat Cattier after the game, at least they get to fly for free.

I booked a flight before the game and spent a few extra bucks to make it fully refundable. Im headed to Charlotte at noon tomorrow. Trying to meet up with a guy who used to write for the Denver Post and Charlotte Observer to watch Boise State with him. Go Broncos!

Well, i dont now what to say other than it felt like CSU’s opponent tonight was the worst ever edition of Fresno State;. You know, the ones that did a lot of good things but could never get the ball in the basket. On to Charlotte. Go Rams. Go MWC!

The locals who attend will cheer loudly against Arizona. Many will be Ute fans that can’t stand them. When I went to SLC in 2003 to see CSU-Duke, the entire crowd, sand the 500 or so Duke fans that traveled, got behind gthe Rams. The 14,000+ nearly carried CSU to a monumental upset as a 14-seed.

Im jealous of Nevada for getting Salt Lake CIty. Only a 6.5 hour drive from Fort Collins and my daughter lives there. I like the matchup. Go Pack.

Between the two play-in games and the other first round matchups, I think that Boise State got the toughest draw. Colorado is legit. They have a really good lead guard in KJ Simpson (runner up for Pac12 POY), a really good PF in Tristan da Silva (borderline NBA draft pick), and a super talented freshman in Cody Williams, who is a projected lottery pick.The Buffs biggest weakness is that they are not very deep with sixth man Luke O’Brien the only one who packs any consistent scoring punch. Isaiah Stevens absolutely torched the Buffs when they met (20 points, 11 assists). A bunch of those assists came on attacks into the paint and then cross court passes to wide open perimeter players for open 3’s. I’m not sure Boise State has a guard who can consistently do that. I do think the Broncos will cause CU’s offense to struggle a bit.