On this episode, the fellas welcome on The Athletic's Sam Vecenie to talk about the differences between the NBA and college, inefficiencies at the college level, and evaluation philosophies for prospects. The deadline has passed and the Draft is approaching - what makes certain players make so much better/worse as prospects compared to their college production? The Rundown(0:10) - Intro + Reviews (7:48) - Root's Roundup (scheduling, recruiting, transfer news)  (21:59) - Sam Vecenie Interview

#262: Draft Philosophy Talk with Sam Vecenie

We are three men passionate about all things college basketball. And we all have weaves.

Sports

Our postseason conference postmortems continue with the home of the back-to-back national champions: the Big East! We go through the highs (the top 3), the lows (good god, DePaul and Georgetown), and everything in between for the league that is the pride of John Fanta. Plus, we discuss the state of each program and whether each fanbase should feel encouraged going forward. Will the BEast see a resurgence in NCAA appearances in 2025? We certainly think so... The Rundown (0:10) - Intro (3:25) - Root's Roundup (23:17) - Big East Overview (26:51) - UConn (31:30) - Creighton (33:39) - Marquette (36:23) - Seton Hall (40:04) - St. John's (43:42) - Villanova (46:17) - Providence (49:53) - Xavier (52:11) - Butler (55:52) - Georgetown (59:26) - DePaul (1:03:30) - How Many Bids, Other Fun Nuances (1:05:55) - Reviews

#353: Season Recap Series: Big East

The boys look back upon the ACC's season and discuss the state of the program for each team. Where were we right? Where were we wrong? Who is looking good? And who is fading into the abyss?  The Rundown: (0:00) Intro (4:18) Root's Roundup (News & Notes) (16:23) State of the ACC (Recap & Look Forward)  (1:09:40) Reviews

#352: Season Recap Series: ACC

Time's up, portal poachers. Either they're in or they're out, as the portal pool is finally set in stone (kind of). Jim and Matt dive into who needs what based on what the rosters look like on May 1st while Ky and the Mrs. elope in Switzerland. Rundown:  Intro (0:00) Root's Roundup (7:55) Remaining Portal Needs & Team Breakdowns (23:30)  ACC (24:50) Big 12 (37:30) Big Ten (51:40) Big East (1:02:40) SEC (1:08:15) Other (1:19:05)   

#351: When the Portal Shuts, A Door Opens

On the true debut of our offseason pod schedule, the fellas give all 60 hires a grade from A through F (apologies to Chicago State, Mount St. Mary's, and Florida A&M;, whose jobs remain unfilled).  THE TWIST: We can only give out 12 A's and 15 B's, and each guy must give at least eight D's and five F's. Grade inflation, be gone!  Who LOVED the Calipari hire, and who simply gave it a C? Which select few coaches earned A's across the board from us? And, gulp, who earned the dreaded scarlet letter F? The Rundown:(0:10) - Intro (2:46) - Quick Root's Roundup (10:33) - Coaching Hire Grades (NOTE: Done grades in alphabetical order by school name - a couple reference points provided below to help you skip around if you'd like) (11:58) - Arkansas (22:54) - DePaul (29:34) - FAU (38:41) - Kentucky (44:32) - Michigan (53:54) - Saint Louis (57:20) - Stanford (1:05:59) - Washington (1:12:29) - Review(s)!

#350: Coaching Hire Report Cards

The season is over, and UConn won the national title easily! Is it 2023 or 2024? 2024, you say? Well, that means the Huskies went back-to-back! We look back on the incredible, buzzsaw-esque run of inevitability, particularly the meticulous dismantling of Purdue in the title game. Dan Hurley can coach some ball, folks.  We also give Zach Edey and the Boilermakers some love, hat tip to NC State and Alabama, and have a detailed discussion on the WILD week that was in the coaching carousel.  Thank you to everyone who tuned in this year - it's been a ton of fun interacting with folks about our beloved college hoops.  The Rundown (0:10) - Intro (6:32) - Root's Roundup (heavy coaching carousel talk, plus a little NIT chatter) (35:24) - Final Four Roundup (55:07) - Extremely Quick 2025 Lookahead + one Review

#262: Draft Philosophy Talk with Sam Vecenie

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