In Episode 5, Mike and Bob take a deep dive into rivalries and the many critical roles they play in the college sports ecosystem -- not just for fans, but for coaches and administrators too.

In this episode …

Segment 1: One, Two, Three, Four … wait, what are we fighting for?

• Why are there no moral absolutes in the souls of fans?
• What are rivalries and how do they happen?
• Why do we see prestige as a “zero sum” game?

Segment 2: The Constant Battle of Keeping Ahead (or Up With) The Joneses

• How does the performance of a rival drive our greatest fears or confirm our greatest hopes?
• When does a rival push a program to make substantive changes?
• Why are rivals, oftentimes, polar opposites of one another in their style?

Segment 3: Telling what we truly think: What are Mike’s and Bob’s deep feelings and thoughts on rivals?

• Purdue
• Kentucky
• Why is this healthy? We hope…

Wrap-Up: How could and have changes in conferences and throughout athletics impact functional rivalries and why these matchups need special consideration?

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In Episode 4 of Xs and Joes, Mike Wiemuth (iu-in-philly) and Bob Moats (cbobmoats) tell the origin story of The Sweet Spot™ -- what it is, how it came about, and what it means for hanging banners.

In this episode ...

Segment 1: How Two Frequent Title Winners Tried Change The Game?

1. Get Dudes and Win- The Blended Recruiting Tracks to Titles (Slides 1 and 2)
2. The Calipari Doctrine: Talent Over Experience Every Time (Slide 3)
3. Coach K Becomes a Disciple of the OAD Strategy (Slide 3)

Segment 2: What Did Blended Tracks Look Like During the OAD Transition?

1. Butler, VCU, and Wichita State- Mid Major Breakthroughs
2. Purdue- The Baby Boilers, Effective Players, then a Quest for Higher Level Talent
3. Indiana- A Total Rebuild, A Movement and A Rapid Decline

Segment 3: What Were The Consequences of The Heavy OAD Teams?

1. 2016 and 2017- How Villanova and UNC were different (Slide 4)
2. Two Tracks and the Baby Blue Utopian Spot
3. The Sweet Spot of The Highest Level of Talented Players Staying For Multiple Years (Slides 5-10)

Epilogue: Dean Wormer Talks with Cal and Coach K (Slide 11)

Get the slides here: https://www.assemblycall.com/p/xj4

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In Episode 3 of Xs and Joes, Mike Wiemuth (iu-in-philly) and Bob Moats (cbobmoats) dive into what makes for good roster construction and analyze a few of this season's rosters from across the country.

In this episode …

Segment 1: A High Performing Roster: A simple yet very difficult thing to do.

1) Follow the Shoe/Follow the Gourd: How do we, oftentimes, miss the point of Rankin/Bass by thinking that “misfits” have clear, binary paths?

2) The Sweet Spot Performance Curve: Why are OADs better than most other freshmen but are, usually, not as good as Sweet Spot Upperclassmen? (Charts)

3) The only thing that matters…is it working? Can the Good, the Bad and the Ugly basically be the same thing?

Segment 2: Model Rosters: Who they are and how are they performing

1) UConn: Could they be the last to “do it this way”? What the model program actually looks like. (Team Sheets)

2) Kentucky: Is this your dad’s UK team? How shooting has changed some things in Lexington.

3) Michigan State: Can you blame players for “effort” or is there shared responsibility here? The parts can be greater than the sum.

Segment 3: Misfit Rosters: What are they trying to do and how are they doing it?

1) Purdue: Can a true system-scoring-based team actually achieve at the highest level? Just how much can you exponentially increase the sum of the parts.

2) Houston: Will they continue to stifle in the toughest conference in D1? Small ball and lockdown faces a great overall test.

3) Indiana: Do they have what it takes to get somewhere? Is the gun loaded or do they need a shovel?

Segment 4: Results

You will not win a National Title, a Conference Title or even gain a tournament berth in the first half of the season, but you certainly can lose one. Where do you need to be at the end? 

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In Episode 2 of Xs and Joes, Mike Wiemuth (iu-in-philly) and Bob Moats (cbobmoats) dive into what really creates momentum -- and possibly even stability -- for new coaches.

As usual, when you take a peek under the hood, the factors lead that lead to success or failure may not quite be what you assume.

In this episode …

Segment One: There are very few happy endings for college coaches

1. How do Mob Movies (Godfather and Scorsese Trilogy) help explain eventual outcomes for college coaches?
2. Job Stability in Coaching: An Oxymoron (Chart)
3. Convening the College of the Cardinals and Getting to White Smoke: Crean to Woodson

Segment Two: The Honeymoon Phase- What Are Danger Signs A Program May Need A Divorce Lawyer Sooner Rather Than Later?

1. Getting The Right Pieces In Place- Assistant Coaches and the First Three Classes
2. Get Kids Then Win Over Fans- What Role Does Style of Play Play
3. Can Early Winning Cause Problems Later On?

Segment Three: Your Chipstack- What does your stake look like?

• All Programs Are Not Created Equally- Some Places Are Higher Risk/Higher Reward
• Whiffs and Losses- Keeping Fans Engaged During The Transition
• The Payoff aka The Extension Season- What Does It Look Like?

Segment Four: The Crown Lies Uneasy on the Heads of Mob Bosses and College Coaches: If You Think Getting To The Top Was Tough…Try Staying There

To view the visuals used in this episode, click here to download the PDF. (Images arranged in order of how they are displayed and discussed in the episode.)

URL: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jtVnG5B6O4xINOkNTTX9Q8YM4m8lJr5H/view?usp=sharing

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In Episode 1 of Xs and Joes, Mike and Bob provide the backstory on their decades-long research project and conversation trying to identify what it takes to build a winner in college basketball. Then they jump right into exploring one of the Big Questions they've been wrestling with since 1996.

Here's the outline for the episode:

Segment One: The Conversation at 7th and Washington that launched the primary question. 

1) Dec. 7th, 1996...A Date That Lives In Infamy.

2) Comparing the two teams

3) The Initial Findings: Talent does matter, and IU was quite talented in their heyday

Segment Two: The Hoosiers Mythos: The movie is not a documentary.

1) Mike's Process: How Excel aggregated the paradigm?

2) Elements of Winning Programs: Two Good Examples and Butler. 

3) "Convincing" the Barbershop

Segment Three: Is talent enough? 

1) 2015: Wisconsin Saves the 1976 Legacy

2) The Tobacco Road Scrolls: Dean Smith on System vs Flexible Coaching

3) What this means for IU right now? Can Woodson get "buy in"?

Segment Four: 1996-97 Season Epilogue

1) A Trip to Tobacco Road, A Disaster, and An Open Practice: recognizing just how special the sauce has to be.

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In this short trailer, you'll get a taste for what X's and Joe's, hosted by Mike Wiemuth (iu-in-philly) and Bob Moats (cbobmoats), is all about.

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