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I know that my passion for basketball is almost completely gone. I think the one and done and Kentuckys heavy usage of it has soured me on basketball. I agree with Kyle Macy about UK basketball
I kind of agree too. I am tired of seeing this inconsistency snd the same excuses (young, short bench). I like being relevant every year, but dont push the players away so quickly. Jmo.
 
I'd like a hoops rule that if you lose a scholarship player after one year & he signs a pro contract anywhere, you lose a scholarship for a year. I think that might cut down on the one & dones a lot. And maybe that's severe enough.
 
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I kind of agree too. I am tired of seeing this inconsistency snd the same excuses (young, short bench). I like being relevant every year, but dont push the players away so quickly. Jmo.
This is where I am at. Watching last night as the team went through the motions I just sat there not concerned if we won or lost. I can't believe I typed this I think college basketball is in big trouble nation wide. .
 
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Maybe it is time to think about reducing the seating capacity at Rupp. Say down to about 15,000. A 20,000 seat arena in today's society is a bit much, especially in the age of 70" HDTV and all games televised. When Rupp was built UK did not televise every game and the game was much more exciting. Times changed and the Cats may need to change with it.
 
How long has it been since we had more UK fans attend an away football game than a home basketball game? I think the passion for basketball is on the wane.
I feel that you are correct. I now only watch the big games even on TV. I haven't watched one second of any game except the Michigan State game - and said to some other fans, while being laughed at, that I wasn't as impressed with UK, as I thought Michigan State really played poorly- unfortunately - it looks like my observation was spot on.

Getting back to Football, I bought season tickets the last two years - but guess what - I live 800 miles away- I can't even give them away to most games! I think that the power five schools are going to have to realize that most people don't want to watch Tenn. Martin! It's time for college football to look more like the basketball model in the sense that, you can lose 2 or 3 games and still play for the National Championship! If every game was against a power 5 school, then the games become more important, interesting and the teams make more money as well.

It's actually not that hard to do - well it would be because of the fight from the existing powers to remain on top forever! But the scenario would be something like this. Have 68 to 80 teams in the power 5 group. Expand the conferences to either 16 teams and two divisions or 10 team conferences. Have a total of 8 divisions and or conferences. Have the teams play everyone in their division plus two rotating teams from the other division of the conference. The teams with the best division records and the ten team league champion go into the playoffs. So, a team could lose all 3 power five out of conference games and even one or two conference games - and still make the playoffs! Realisticly we know that will probably not happen - but look at the excitement at the end of the season for a lot more teams!

The regular season matchups could be Kentucky versus Oklahoma, Kentucky versus Clemson, Kentucky versus Ohio State and then 9 conference games. I know that is exaggerated, but you get the point. Every senior would have the opportunity to play against every team in the conference over his career - a great thing for both the players and the fans. Would you being going to see Clemson this weekend instead of not going to see Tenn. Martin? Tickets would generate more income for every school and lets face it ticket prices are not cheap for the better games - but - look which games are prices more and which games have higher attendance - its the expensive tickets!

I know it will not happen, but overall records wouldn't be such a measuring stick and early season injuries would have a lot less affect on the final season situation. The time has come for the power 5's to take over football and run it more like this. The NCAA is almost dead anyway- and the new rules as to payment of players might end up being the final straw.

Go Big Blue!
 
I've turned down football and basketball tickets just for the simple fact that it's easier and cheaper to watch it on TV. I watch a bigger percentage of the football games, but I probably won't watch the entire game next week. Just like in basketball I don't have much of an interest in watching blowouts. I actually forgot that the basketball team was even on last night. That would of never happened ten years ago and I love the cats as much now as I did then. Constant roster turnover makes it where I don't even know who plays for them until January. Life is busier now too.
 
College basketball has been dying a slow death for a decade plus now IMO. I know that I grew up in the 80s and 90s and loved UK/college hoops more than anything, but I've quit having an interest in it a while ago, which is something I never imagined would have ever happened. Don't get me wrong, I still hope the Cats win every game, but the intense love that I once had for the sport is just no longer there. I don't blame Cal at all, it's just the AAU, one and done, etc culture as a whole that has ruined the sport. Again JMO.
 
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You contradicted yourself by stating your wouldn’t have happened 10 years ago. Saying you don’t have same passion.note: this is directed to NoDef.
 
I know that my passion for basketball is almost completely gone. I think the one and done and Kentuckys heavy usage of it has soured me on basketball. I agree with Kyle Macy about UK basketball
I will admit that I enjoyed college basketball before the one and done era more. We had a good idea what the team was going to look like when they had to stay through their junior year. Watching players like Ewing etc for 3 years was exciting. The reality is, the NCAA has no control over the OAD era, and the colleges who could had to adjust to the OAD era to get the best players. Every one blames Cal for OAD but he was just quicker to adjust. Others who do the same thing, many paying for services, but Cal is the one the media jumps on. Seems like Coach K had the greatest recruiting class ever to barely get to the Elite 8. Imagine what the media would have done to Cal if it had happened to him.

Attendance now will continue to suffer, big screen tv's, availability of all games, ticket prices, concession prices and lastly a generational differences in fan base. Sorry but the younger generation just doesn't have the passion as the older generation that mostly grew up with Claude Sullivan and Caywood on the radio. We used to have to sit up to see a replay of the game after the 10:00 pm news. At work the next day everyone had stayed up to see the replay, and it didn't matter who they played, Transy or NC. It's just a different time.
 
This is where I am at. Watching last night as the team went through the motions I just sat there not concerned if we won or lost. I can't believe I typed this I think college basketball is in big trouble national wide. .
It’s been in trouble for a while IMO. After we lost to Evansville there wasn’t a lot of discussion about it nationally that I gathered. Twitter was active that night, but didn’t mention it then. One person at work brought it up, but that’s it. Not many people care about college basketball until March. I know Kentuckians do, but it’s not a huge sport in the regular season on a national level.
 
I feel that you are correct. I now only watch the big games even on TV. I haven't watched one second of any game except the Michigan State game - and said to some other fans, while being laughed at, that I wasn't as impressed with UK, as I thought Michigan State really played poorly- unfortunately - it looks like my observation was spot on.

Getting back to Football, I bought season tickets the last two years - but guess what - I live 800 miles away- I can't even give them away to most games! I think that the power five schools are going to have to realize that most people don't want to watch Tenn. Martin! It's time for college football to look more like the basketball model in the sense that, you can lose 2 or 3 games and still play for the National Championship! If every game was against a power 5 school, then the games become more important, interesting and the teams make more money as well.

It's actually not that hard to do - well it would be because of the fight from the existing powers to remain on top forever! But the scenario would be something like this. Have 68 to 80 teams in the power 5 group. Expand the conferences to either 16 teams and two divisions or 10 team conferences. Have a total of 8 divisions and or conferences. Have the teams play everyone in their division plus two rotating teams from the other division of the conference. The teams with the best division records and the ten team league champion go into the playoffs. So, a team could lose all 3 power five out of conference games and even one or two conference games - and still make the playoffs! Realisticly we know that will probably not happen - but look at the excitement at the end of the season for a lot more teams!

The regular season matchups could be Kentucky versus Oklahoma, Kentucky versus Clemson, Kentucky versus Ohio State and then 9 conference games. I know that is exaggerated, but you get the point. Every senior would have the opportunity to play against every team in the conference over his career - a great thing for both the players and the fans. Would you being going to see Clemson this weekend instead of not going to see Tenn. Martin? Tickets would generate more income for every school and lets face it ticket prices are not cheap for the better games - but - look which games are prices more and which games have higher attendance - its the expensive tickets!

I know it will not happen, but overall records wouldn't be such a measuring stick and early season injuries would have a lot less affect on the final season situation. The time has come for the power 5's to take over football and run it more like this. The NCAA is almost dead anyway- and the new rules as to payment of players might end up being the final straw.

Go Big Blue!
Personally, I think expanding the playoff will dilute the regular season, much like we see in college basketball. I think games aren’t interesting for people because they don’t matter. If the same setup were to occur in college football, I think people would lose interest as well.

If Alabama has a playoff spot locked up already the Iron Bowl and SEC championship would mean nothing. It would lose some of its luster because a lot of times that game has huge playoff implications, or BCS implications, or determines who wins the SEC West. Without that, I just don’t see how that game would be a huge deal to a lot of people outside of those fan bases. We’d lose out on a memory like the kick 6.

The highest the playoff should go is 8. Anything higher makes the regular season much less entertaining IMO because even with 8 we have a good idea on who will get into the playoffs. Maybe we’d let UCF in, but it’d be 15 or so teams competing for 8 spots compared to now with 8-10 teams competing for 4 spots.

The less you value the regular season, the less people will watch. I don’t want to see the regular season lose it’s importance like it has in college basketball.
 
How long has it been since we had more UK fans attend an away football game than a home basketball game? I think the passion for basketball is on the wane.

My passion for sports overall is on the wane & its so expensive to go to a game in Lexington for me. That said, I live in Nashville area and didn't go Saturday. I enjoyed watching on my big screen in the warm house with all the cheap beer and food I could want.

The older I get the more I understand living vicariously through 18-21 year olds over a game is not healthy.

I grew up playing football though so I enjoy the sport better overall.
 
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My passion for sports overall is on the wane & its so expensive to go to a game in Lexington for me. That said, I live in Nashville area and didn't go Saturday. I enjoyed watching on my big screen in the warm house with all the cheap beer and food I could want.

The older I get the more I understand living vicariously through 18-21 year olds over a game is not healthy.

I grew up playing football though so I enjoy the sport better overall.

Same for me basically. As a kid, I grew up idolizing UK/pro athletes, but as you get older, you just look at it differently. I'm old enough now that I could be the father of these kids at UK so you don't look up to the guys as you once did.

It's still crazy though seeing the pics that are coming from Rupp this year. I mean, they took out 3K seats and the place is still empty in spots for these games.
 
College basketball has been dying a slow death for a decade plus now IMO. I know that I grew up in the 80s and 90s and loved UK/college hoops more than anything, but I've quit having an interest in it a while ago, which is something I never imagined would have ever happened. Don't get me wrong, I still hope the Cats win every game, but the intense love that I once had for the sport is just no longer there. I don't blame Cal at all, it's just the AAU, on and done, etc culture as a whole that has ruined the sport. Again JMO.
I could have written the exact same thing. This is my feelings exactly. I used to watch college basketball every night, regardless of who was playing and would never miss a UK game. I can't remember the last time I watched more than 10 minutes of a game outside of the NCAA Tournament and I watched maybe 30 minutes of the game last night. Still root my Cats on and still love them, just don't have nearly the interest level I used to.
 
Personally, I think expanding the playoff will dilute the regular season, much like we see in college basketball. I think games aren’t interesting for people because they don’t matter. If the same setup were to occur in college football, I think people would lose interest as well.

If Alabama has a playoff spot locked up already the Iron Bowl and SEC championship would mean nothing. It would lose some of its luster because a lot of times that game has huge playoff implications, or BCS implications, or determines who wins the SEC West. Without that, I just don’t see how that game would be a huge deal to a lot of people outside of those fan bases. We’d lose out on a memory like the kick 6.

The highest the playoff should go is 8. Anything higher makes the regular season much less entertaining IMO because even with 8 we have a good idea on who will get into the playoffs. Maybe we’d let UCF in, but it’d be 15 or so teams competing for 8 spots compared to now with 8-10 teams competing for 4 spots.

The less you value the regular season, the less people will watch. I don’t want to see the regular season lose it’s importance like it has in college basketball.
I'm not sure of your point here - or maybe I didn't explain my self clearly? I am saying 8 teams - actually that is almost what we have now - think about it? Sec East Versus SEC West - winner to the final four - so it would be the same thing in reality. The difference is in non conference games we actually play teams you want to see - but they non conference games would have little if any bearing on the playoffs. I am just saying take your conference champions and/or division champions and play for the championship. Why this works is it basically already in play. Pac 12, ACC, Big Ten, SEC and Big 12 all have conference championship games. Those games become the playoff games. No increase in games played and really no change in bowls- just you have playoff teams determined by actual games, not opinions!

Go Big Blue!
 
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How long has it been since we had more UK fans attend an away football game than a home basketball game? I think the passion for basketball is on the wane.
I 'think' that I know the name of one player on the team. I know that times, and my brain, have changed, but I maintained season tickets for about 15 years, and knew the name of all 10-12 players.
 
You contradicted yourself by stating your wouldn’t have happened 10 years ago. Saying you don’t have same passion.note: this is directed to NoDef.

I do love the cats just as much but life has gotten in the way. When you get up at 4:30 a.m it's just a little harder to stay up on the week day games. I pull for them just as hard in the tournament, but it still doesn't change the fact that you don't seem to get to know the players before they are one and done. Heck, years ago these types of games were lucky to be on anything but delayed broadcast.

Hard to compare basketball and football crowds. You are only talking a sport that on a good night that might draw 23,000 vs. a sport that will have 100,000 + at a game. I've seen bad high school football teams draw 1,500 fans against a non-rival while the same schools "good" basketball team would be lucky to have 250 against a non-rival. Football is as much about the pageantry as it is the game. Basketball is pretty much just the game on the floor. No tailgates , no bands, no fireworks, less booze, and 30+ games compared to 12. With all the downtime in a football game there is also more time to socialize.
 
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I'm not sure of your point here - or maybe I didn't explain my self clearly? I am saying 8 teams - actually that is almost what we have now - think about it? Sec East Versus SEC West - winner to the final four - so it would be the same thing in reality. The difference is in non conference games we actually play teams you want to see - but they non conference games would have little if any bearing on the playoffs. I am just saying take your conference champions and/or division champions and play for the championship. Why this works is it basically already in play. Pac 12, ACC, Big Ten, SEC and Big 12 all have conference championship games. Those games become the playoff games. No increase in games played and really no change in bowls- just you have playoff teams determined by actual games, not opinions!

Go Big Blue!

It may actually make the schools look at how I can maximize revenue ex...butts in the seats, instead of only worrying about non-conference cupcake wins.
 
Getting back to Football, I bought season tickets the last two years - but guess what - I live 800 miles away- I can't even give them away to most games! I think that the power five schools are going to have to realize that most people don't want to watch Tenn. Martin! It's time for college football to look more like the basketball model in the sense that, you can lose 2 or 3 games and still play for the National Championship! If every game was against a power 5 school, then the games become more important, interesting and the teams make more money as well.

I’ve had season tickets once, two season ago but doubt i’ll Get them again under the current format of games. Had great seats and only cost $1600 for the pair which on the surface isn’t that bad. We had 7 games that season and actually 4 good games from what I recall, Florida, TN, ole miss and Louisville. But that’s still $400/game when you consider the other games are hardly worth watching much less paying over $200/game just for the tickets themselves and not even figuring in gas from Louisville and concessions. It was more of a pain and without a parking pass made it even less enjoyable. I’ll just buy tickets now to the games I’d like to attebd
 
I’ve had season tickets once, two season ago but doubt i’ll Get them again under the current format of games. Had great seats and only cost $1600 for the pair which on the surface isn’t that bad. We had 7 games that season and actually 4 good games from what I recall, Florida, TN, ole miss and Louisville. But that’s still $400/game when you consider the other games are hardly worth watching much less paying over $200/game just for the tickets themselves and not even figuring in gas from Louisville and concessions. It was more of a pain and without a parking pass made it even less enjoyable. I’ll just buy tickets now to the games I’d like to attebd

That’s what I started doing after 40 years of tailgating . Will make four games this year . We have found less is more . Only going to three SEC games and UL. Mostly I waited until 12 days out to see the game time and weather forecast .

Got chair back seats for all games and spent about $500 less than I did for seven games . Going is great . Staying home and flipping channels is great . Not wearing ourselves out getting in at 130 AM seven Saturday nights is great.

UK is missing the mark not making premium tickets with a,parking pass available in three and four game packages . I know they have three game packages but the seats allotted to them are inferior and I would rather wait and get chair backs when I can.

Due to so many people opting out for the myriad of reasons discussed on this board I find acquiring the tickets I want for the three or four games I want at a reasonable price is not a problem.
 
I watch a bigger percentage of the football games, but I probably won't watch the entire game next week.
I think this game will be interesting from the POV of getting to see young guys plays. Sorta like the Spring Game. Those are worth the $1-2 UK charges.
 
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I think this game will be interesting from the POV of getting to see young guys plays. Sorta like the Spring Game. Those are worth the $1-2 UK charges.

I’ll have my reading glasses and game program handy.

I want to see the youngsters play.
 
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I think that the power five schools are going to have to realize that most people don't want to watch Tenn. Martin! It's time for college football to look more like the basketball model in the sense that, you can lose 2 or 3 games and still play for the National Championship!


The regular season matchups could be Kentucky versus Oklahoma, Kentucky versus Clemson, Kentucky versus Ohio State and then 9 conference games. I know that is exaggerated, but you get the point. Every senior would have the opportunity to play against every team in the conference over his career - a great thing for both the players and the fans. Would you being going to see Clemson this weekend instead of not going to see Tenn. Martin? Tickets would generate more income for every school and lets face it ticket prices are not cheap for the better games - but - look which games are prices more and which games have higher attendance - its the expensive tickets!

I know it will not happen, but overall records wouldn't be such a measuring stick and early season injuries would have a lot less affect on the final season situation. The time has come for the power 5's to take over football and run it more like this. The NCAA is almost dead anyway- and the new rules as to payment of players might end up being the final straw.

Go Big Blue!
Do it more like the nfl model. Have two conferences, North and South. Within your confence, have smaller divisions with 6 or so teams.
Play those teams every year. THEN have schedules based on the previous season. For example: The champion would play its division rivals along with random high quality p5 schools. While the team with the worst record would play its mandatory division rivals but it other P5 rivals would play against teams with moderate to poor records from the previous season.

Sprinkle in a weakling for the champion team and a strong opponent for the poor team. In general, that's the nfl model designed for parity. Wouldn't be a problem. They'd develop a software template. You just put teams plug teams in by order of finish the previous year. Maybe using some sort of end of year power rating system. The computer plugs all the info in and spits out a schedule.

As to your idea: Would I be more inclined to go see ohiiiiio state vs Ky this weekend or Ut Martin? Good question. If we had a really good record, osu. As we are right now, UTMartin.

I will never be in favor of eliminating the bowl games....for any reason. I can think of anything I'd like less than seeing 16 teams in a CF tournament while the other 110 or so stayed home (with our beloved CATS likely being one of the 110 in most years) Would you or others watch the ncaa bball tournament if your team wasn't in it??? I sure as heck wouldn't.
 
Personally, I think expanding the playoff will dilute the regular season, much like we see in college basketball. I think games aren’t interesting for people because they don’t matter. If the same setup were to occur in college football, I think people would lose interest as well.

If Alabama has a playoff spot locked up already the Iron Bowl and SEC championship would mean nothing. It would lose some of its luster because a lot of times that game has huge playoff implications, or BCS implications, or determines who wins the SEC West. Without that, I just don’t see how that game would be a huge deal to a lot of people outside of those fan bases. We’d lose out on a memory like the kick 6.

The highest the playoff should go is 8. Anything higher makes the regular season much less entertaining IMO because even with 8 we have a good idea on who will get into the playoffs. Maybe we’d let UCF in, but it’d be 15 or so teams competing for 8 spots compared to now with 8-10 teams competing for 4 spots.

The less you value the regular season, the less people will watch. I don’t want to see the regular season lose it’s importance like it has in college basketball.
This. If the Cats weren't in the running for a bowl game, I wouldn't go this weekend. But as they are, I'll be right there. While some fans don't care about the bowls, for me it's the most exciting time of the entire sports season....even topping the ncaa bball tournament. I love watching the various bowl games.

When it comes to bball, for me they can win the sec/have a good record but it's all about the nc. If they don't have much of a shot (like this year is looking) I won't pay much attention until they do something to merit that attention.
 
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This. If the Cats weren't in the running for a bowl game, I wouldn't go this weekend. But as they are, I'll be right there. While some fans don't care about the bowls, for me it's the most exciting time of the entire sports season....even topping the ncaa bball tournament. I love watching the various bowl games.

I will be there for the same reason, bowl eligibility. But due to the crappy weather, I doubt I will be able to get anyone else to go, and I walk to the games!!. Hoping for a big win so I can walk home and catch the 4th quarter on DVR later on.
 
I think there is some nuance to this. I don't think the passion of the UK fanbase is much lower (if at all) than it has ever been; however, I think it has changed:

-Actually going to the games is less of an indicator than it once was. I have NEVER seen a picture like what the showed in Rupp arena against Utah valley with basically the entire upper end zone empty during the game.
-Football attendance is down. They sell out the UF game, but now they rarely even sell out the UL game. There were empty seats for UT despite the fact that UT probably brought 8,000 fans.
-UK football still has a large and devoted fanbase, but I think fans are choosier as to how they spend their dollars. There were easily 30,000 UK fans in Orlando for the bowl game, it was awesome. There were 15,000 UK fans in nashville last weekend for a game against a bad Vandy team. But, fans are not going to show up in droves any longer to see games against UT Martin or Toledo.
-UK has made a series of bad PR moves (i'm not trying to rehash anything, but this is a statement of fact): Moving people out of seats that they had held for 30 years; moving people out of the parking lots in which they had tailgated for a generation; calling UK's long suffering fanbase "microwave" fans; and most recently, allowing wealthy fans to drink in luxury boxes but deciding not to sell beer to the common folk. All of these factors have alienated a segment of the fanbase.
-A proliferation of tv games is awesome b/c we can all watch every game on TV, along with seeing every other SEC and big national games from noon until 2 AM every week. The downside is that people don't want to leave their couch b/c the TVs are so good and the ease of use is so high (throw in cheap booze and food, and not having to pay for parking and game tickets).
-Lastly, I maintain that Stoops' biggest "sin" of his tenure is failing to close out the big rivalry games or "splash" wins at home. Not closing the deal on UT in 2019. Failing to close the deal on UF seemingly every year, but certainly 2019, 2017, and 2015. Failing to beat UL at home. Losing to Auburn in the school's first ever Thursday night home game. Losing to Georgia in Kirby's first year on a last second field goal. Sure, we have beaten a ranked Miss state team and we have beaten south carolina multiple times, but those games above move the needle. As a guy who spends a ton of time and money going to games, planning big tailgates, etc, It's deflating to continually walk out of that stadium disappointed.

For some people, it's all of the above. For others, it's just some of the above. There are certainly other reasons not listed. But, the dynamics of sports fans are changing. I don't think sports is losing its popularity, but I think people are changing the way in which they consume sports and the Schools have failed to adjust.
 
I hate OAD. Ive always liked football and baseball more but the OAD has me not nearly as passionate about basketball as I used to be.
No one like OAD but that’s the system now. ALL of the best players want to be OAD. Do you not want the best players?.
 
No one like OAD but that’s the system now. ALL of the best players want to be OAD. Do you not want the best players?.
People keep saying this. I just dont care. Im not an NBA fan at all. And we arent getting the best. We're getting the 2nd tier down. And I would rather develop guys over 4 yrs to be a cohesive team than get the best freshmen. We dont get to reap a y of the benefits of their growth, we just come up short.

So no, I dont want to watch us keep shooting ourselves in the foot by turning over the roster in the name of talent while scheduling poorly so they can acclimate, and want us to change our philosophy.
 
People keep saying this. I just dont care. Im not an NBA fan at all. And we arent getting the best. We're getting the 2nd tier down. And I would rather develop guys over 4 yrs to be a cohesive team than get the best freshmen. We dont get to reap a y of the benefits of their growth, we just come up short.

So no, I dont want to watch us keep shooting ourselves in the foot by turning over the roster in the name of talent while scheduling poorly so they can acclimate, and want us to change our philosophy.
It has to start with Cal. As long as he's a Players first and not Kentucky First coach It'll NEVER change.
 
No one like OAD but that’s the system now. ALL of the best players want to be OAD. Do you not want the best players?.

Actually it is the next best players. We have struggled to get the best players the last 4 years. That shows in the lack of Final Fours or better. It's much easier to stomach having OAD players when they go to a Final Four or beyond like they did in 4 of the first 6 years. Lately it is Elite 8 or worse with terrible starts to the year.
 
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No one like OAD but that’s the system now. ALL of the best players want to be OAD. Do you not want the best players?.
Exactly.

This may be the season we're grateful for OAD and look forward to next year's OAD crop.
 
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