EricBear said:
No, 170 is not something to be proud of. I definitely am not. I was addressing one thing: the value of beating SDSU in light of their having lost to USD. Your opinion notwithstanding, all data indicates that USD is a pretty good team.
I actually am proud of the win over SDSU. I liked how the team looked: the way the ball moved, how the guys communicated on the floor, the joy in which they played, the atmosphere in Haas. Fun night. Given how hard these guys work, and how beaten down they looked after St. Mary's and USF, I liked the character the team showed. That makes me proud. Is it sustainable? We'll see. Long season.
I am not celebrating the win as if Calbear80 is wrong and that people who are anti-Wyking should now be pro-Wyking. Simply pointing out that it was a pretty good win for this team, at this time, and there is no reason to devalue it simply because SDSU previously lost to USD.
I'm not quite sure I get this. Whether USD is a team that is 87 KenPom/55 Haslametrics, is rated 171 on both just below Cal, or is rated 17 on both just above Iowa St., the value of the win over SDSU is less if SDSU is a team that loses at home by double digits to USD instead of winning. The win over SDSU would be worth more if SDSU was a team that could have been competitive on a neutral court against Duke or even Iowa St. instead of being blown out by both. SDSU is currently 115 Haslametrics/96 KenPom, and that seems about right. Cal played them pretty evenly most of the night at home. The program is in pretty bad shape if we think winning a close game at home against a team that is 115/96 is a pretty good win (and given our 170/170 ranking, perhaps the program is in pretty bad shape, so maybe you are right that it is a pretty good win).
That said, like you, I am proud of the win over SDSU. Not because the quality of the opponent. Winning a tight game against a team that is rated 115/96 isn't something by itself to be proud of. I am proud because, like you, I liked how the team looked. The stuff you point out matters. They looked beaten down not just after St. Mary's and USF, but during. The effort displayed against USF was discouraging. I would have had no problem with a double digit loss to USF. I had a problem with how the team looked -- they looked way too much like they didn't care.
OTOH, they looked like they cared against SDSU. They played with joy. If they play like they care and play with joy, I'll get my butt into my seat for most of the conference season. I have a crazy day this coming Saturday, and based on how the team has been looking I had been thinking it wasn't worth going to see this team play Cal Poly, but after SDSU, I will probably go, not because we beat a not-very-good SDSU team, but because we played that team with effort and joy.
I am not anti-Wyking, I am not pro-Wyking, I am pro-Cal. I ignore those who can only refer to our MBB coach as "The Guy Mike Williams Hired as MBB 'coach'" -- referring to a coach in that manner demonstrates a lack of objectivity that makes any statements made by that person not worthy of my consideration, and I just skip them. If anybody always referred to Tom Holmoe as "The Guy John Kasser Hired as Football Coach" I would have ignored them, no matter how crappy a coach Holmoe was and how stupid Kasser was to hire him. There are many things to criticize about Wyking. I don't like many things that have happened under Wyking off the court, and I don't like the number of games where the team has played without effort and/or joy, and the offense under Wyking has made me want to tear my hair out at times. Winning at home against a team that has demonstrated it is worthy of its 115/96 rankings and lost at home to USD by double digits isn't a pretty good win unless I consider the team to be be of a quality worthy of the 170 ranking, which would not be a good thing.
But a very young team playing with joy and effort will be worthy of my time and attention. I'd rather watch a team like that every night even if goes 6-12 or even 4-14 in conference than a more experienced talented team that goes 10-8 while mostly playing like it doesn't give a crap. No, there wasn't great value just because we beat SDSU at Haas, SDSU is worthy of a 115/96 raking, but there was great value in seeing the team play with joy and effort. As you say, the big question is whether it is sustainable.
