Host: And now we bring in Doug Gottlieb to talk about the 1 vs 2 matchup from Saturday Night.
Host: I'm curious about your perspective because alot of the buzz coming out of the game was how intense it was, what a great spectacle it was, how great the crowd was, the energy was great, but to be honest, I thought it was a lousy basketball game.
Gottlieb: I thought the energy was great, the crowd, considering it was a pro arena, not a college one, was great. I thought both teams played their tails off as far as how hard the game was played. But I didn't learn anything from the game. Nothing. I know that if Tennessee shoots less 3's than their opponents with a better % they will generally win. That Memphis still lacks the ability to make a free throw. To make a stop in a big situation and to get a good shot. I mean look, it's two talented teams with coaches who, atlest while their there, turned around the prospects of their program. Because they do have alot of talent, and they do play really hard, but you're not winnning a NCAA Championship playing like that. I cannot tell you how many Emails I got...
Host: I think they were all from me...
Gottlieb: You sent me one that was along the same lines, but I got like five, from other guys that like coached teams asking, is Chris Lofton throwing this game? Or are those just the worst shots you've ever seen.
Host: Let me pull you back for a second, you obviously played in lots of big games during your career at Ok State. You guys played in a Elite 8 game that was close down the stretch, you've been in these big moments, maybe not as crazy as that arena was, in that big of spot. Is it possible that the moment was just to big, and the styles these teams play just were not compatible to give us a good quality basketball game? Or should we read more into what each team showed us?
Gottlieb: It's a little of both, I stand by the fact, that of the end of the day, it's basically what we thought. Memphis is really really good, despite the fact they're really athletic, it's the little things. Did they box out the entire game?
Host: No
Gottlieb: I mean like once, shot goes up, find a body, and go meat to meat. It never happend. At any point did we see this, attack, attack, skip, attack, attack offense.
Host: No, I thought Luke Wynn said it best for SI.com, he said that the DDM offense [Dribble, Drive, Motion] became the DRD Offense [Derrick Rose Driving] Offense. That was essentially all that was happening.
Gottlieb: Yea, thats call game flipage, you know where, things you work on, if you're not polished enough on the things you work on, they become exposed, and its like when you take a 3 point shot, you don't practice 3's right at the line, you stand back 2 feet or so, because game flipage you're not gonna get a 3 point shot right at the line in a game. You always wanna make it harder than the actual game. The game flipage in this game, granted, you're not gonna play against that type of speed on a regular basis, but the flipage was so great, so astounding, that you could see it. You almost feel bad for Memphis. Because they haven't had a good chance to work with a good team in seemingly forever. Even when they played Arizona, that was without Jerryd Bayless.
Host: Georgetown doesn't present the same perimeter quickness so they weren't gonna pressure them like that.
Gottlieb: I would also like to point out, Tennessee..I love Bruce Pearl, and what he's done for the program, he's good for the game. But this, "our 10 are better than anybody elses 10" not really, their bench is incrediblely unimpressive, I mean, Williams? Willaims can't play. He's a good story, lost 100 pounds but can't play. The shooter coming off the bench is a low D1 player at best. Fact is, Chris Lofton, thats kind of what he is...I'm just amazed of how many people gave him open shots early in his career, when Pearl first got there, he's a limited athelete when left alone is a prolific shooter, he's nothing else.
Host: Let me clarify, nobody on this program was implying that Lofton was doing anything [to throw the game away] other than making bad shots.
Gottlieb: The worst shot selection I've ever seen in a game of that magnitude.
Host: Shot selection was extremely poor
Gottlieb: Terrible, Dickie V just called and said he couldn't find a word to describe it.
Host: But it would have been loud if he found one.
Gottlieb: It would have been, all capital letters.
Host: Let me get back to Memphis for a second when were looking at this game. I picked Memphis to win a close game and I heard Tennessee is gonna come in with no fear, and thats that type of thing a team that has nothing going for them says. I thought all of the advantages in that game were going to Memphis. The two issues that stood out to me, one the we just adressed, other than Rose, none of their guys could beat their man off the dribble, which basically blew up their offense. The 2nd one was they got killed on the glass, by a Tennessee team that can't rebound. Forget the Free Throws, what do you say if you John Calapari after that?
Gottlieb: First he is gonna use this to motivate his kids, and prior to this game, I had done 11 or 12 Memphis games in the past few years..thats how he motivates, but to tell you the truth, there is alot of truth in his sarcasm. Like Joey Dorsey, wanted to go in the crowd moments, wanted to fight the other team moments, he said Joey, you think your so good, if you were so good, what are you doing here, why aren't you playing later tonight at FedEx, why are you playing in College, he'd say that to other guys on the team. I think the answers pretty clear. Are they good? Yes. They are better as a collective group rather than an indvidual group. But because they've been the bullies on the block, because of the level of talent they play against, and the fear factor, and they step on the floor and one of the other C-USA team pees down their leg. Because of that, they don't get exposed, for not boxing out, for the little things like that. For that, CDR is a good player, not elite. The talk was before the game, he was a lottery pick, if he's a lottery pick, again from Calapari, whats he doing here? He's a Junior.
Host: Yea
Gottlieb: Its became clear to me in the last 15 years, One, wanna win a National Championship, you better better be sound in the halfcourt offensively and defensively specifically on the boards, Two, learn to shoot free throws, and Three Tell me a team that has won a national championship without 3 first round draft picks, I believe it happend with Syracuse, and they had two. Look on both of these teams. Tell me where the first round draft picks are? They're not there. There's one. Derrick Rose. Maybe CDR. Based on those three factors, it was a competitive game, high energy, I'm not trying to downplay what these teams have done this season in College Basketball.
Host: Fact is, this was an impressive win for Tennessee, lets not overlook that.
Gottlieb: Yes, no question.
Host: But I agree with you point, I left this game with more concerns about these teams than I was impressed by what either of them did the other night, and you wonder if it was just this one game in that type of atmosphere, or these were bigger problems that will manifest themselves in March.
Gottlieb: Yea, I think it's a mix, but I think they'll benefit. I think Bruce Pearl said it best, [during the pregame speech] I don't know if we're the best team in the country, but we're 40 mins away from being #1, and that's nice, he's right, he nailed it. He knows they're not the best team, can they beat the best team?
Host: Yes
Gottlieb: Maybe, maybe.
Host: And they're probably gonna be a one seed in the NCAA Tourney, which doesn't hurt.
Gottlieb: That's fine, they were a two seed two years ago, and they got beat in the 2nd round.
Host: That was a different team now, come on. Lets give them some benefit of how good this team is.
Gottlieb: Yes that was a different team, this team has more talent, but I'm not sure. You have a school thats never been past the Sweet Sixteen, a style thats never been past the Sweet Sixteen. You look back to Dr.Tom Davis, he never won big with this style, and again, I'm a friend of Bruce Pearl, and I told him this to his face, and I'll tell it to any Tennessee fan. I think it's great for College Basketball, I think Indiana would be stupid not to atleast make a move, and go after him. But there is no way in h3ll that you win a National Championship taking those kind of shots. Never, Never, Never. Even Rick Pitino at Kentucky, when he had alot more talent, he never won a title until he became a defined coach in the halfcourt and became more sound defensively in the halfcourt. It's different when you have 3 min timeouts, when you have a week to prepare, and you have as good or better players as Tennessee has.
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