2024 NCAA Tournament Thread

TClone99

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Bluder's Bunch making the championship game 2 years in a row is impressive. I can also appreciate the sheer talent that Clark possesses. That said, had Iowa won today, it would have absolutely ramped up Fry-era levels of delusions of grandeur amongst that fan base. The tavern-hoks around my area have been ferocious in their chest thumping these last two years (even though they hadn't cared about Iowa WBB since Vivian Stringer was there). Thanks South Carolina for ending the Clark era as well as the hopes and dreams of all those obnoxious tavernhoks!!
Just think how many versions of tacky National Champions crew necks we would’ve had to look at.
 

alarson

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Good for her for recruiting them. Iowa had the best player that ever played according to most and didn't win.

Yeah, one might be better asking why Iowa couldn't use the portal to put more options around Caitlin.
 
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SolterraCyclone

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Iowa went further than I thought they would. Which is a testament to Clark. But the loss the last two years only cements my theory, you cannot win championships (ncaa or NBA) with usage rates at Clark’s level. It can’t be done
 

HFCS

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You do have to give her a ton of credit, she overcame the odds of having 2 teams of McDonald's All-Americans at her disposal.

Every coach is going to copy her brilliant strategy of a 9 player rotation where every player averages 28 minutes.

Even Phil Jackson never thought of that!
 

Jer

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Feb 28, 2006
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Now you get it. If you are a Hawk you are a tool and I don't like or respect you.
I can't stand when people say "it's good for Iowa State if Iowa is good". The **** it is. It helps them in recruiting (especially in-state), gives them more press, helps their NIL, and makes my blood boil. I would literally let myself be castrated before I'd root for the Hawks in ANYTHING.
 

swclone11

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Also Iowa's other players are pretty good! Maybe they weren't highly recruited, but they became a great team.
Yeah I'm always baffled with the instinct by many (fans of Iowa and others) to put down the other players on their team. Stuelke and Affolter are going to be key pieces in the future, Marshall and Martin are great players too. They're collectively not at South Carolina levels by any means, but they're pretty good. Just not deep. Clark neglected to use her teammates enough, especially in the 4th.
 

Gonzo

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Yeah, one might be better asking why Iowa couldn't use the portal to put more options around Caitlin.
From what I understand we had 1 spot and about 3 options for bigs that would've made sense, and couldn't outbid UCLA, LSU, et al.