UND92,96

So four coaches achieved something this year that Jones never has. What does that say about the caliber of the Big Sky during the two years Jones actually had a decent conference record, with some of the most experienced teams in the country?

Keep in mind that Jones and Rahe are the only Big Sky coaches with nine or more years at their current schools. Katz achieved a 20-win season this year, along with three other coaches in the Big Sky. Verlin only has seven years at Idaho. We'll have to see whether he can last two more if he doesn't reach that threshold.

I predict a heavy dose of Mike Eruzione.

Just a guess, but I suspect you would have a difficult time finding another division I coach, or division II for that matter, with as many as nine years at his current job without so much as a single 20-win season to his credit.

You almost never see a head coach resign, unless he's retiring, taking a higher-paying job or is given the choice to resign or be fired. And for coaches making big money and who would be due significant buyouts if they are fired, I guess that's not surprising. But for a coach who doesn't make big money and who knows, or at least should know that he's on very, very thin ice, would it make sense to actively seek another job--most likely an assistant job--rather than waiting for the (almost) inevitable firing to occur? Or is it all about the money, i.e. getting a buyout, regardless of how small it might actually be, is more important than avoiding being fired?

Tyler also?

Do you know anything about Austin Lee from Berthold? I've never seen him play, and have no idea what level of college basketball he might be able to play, but I've heard he might be one of those under-the-radar types who could potentially end up being pretty good. I believe he shared the region player of the year award with Heidlebaugh, but I'm not certain on that.

At this point, I'd say Hooker, Crandall and Seales better be ready to play at least 35 minutes per game.

I will grant you that I didn't take Stefan into account. However, you have to use total points scored rather than ppg for the calculations to be truly accurate. UND scored a total of 2526 points in 2013-14, and collectively Huff, Anderson, Webb, Traylor, Schuler and Stefan scored 1757 of those. 1757 is 69.5% of 2526.

I'm not saying it's necessarily a bad thing. It's more to point out the obvious--that relying on transfers to that degree was an epic fail when you lose big AND you have to replace them after a year anyway. We're now potentially back in a similar situation as it was heading into last year--one proven scorer and a bunch of question marks.

If it does turn out that Tyler and DeRouen aren't returning, that would mean UND will be losing its second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth leading scorers from this past season. That's roughly 60% of the scoring. By comparison, roughly 65% of the scoring was lost after the 2013-14 season.

Yes, I'd assume one would go to Hobaugh. I wouldn't mind taking a chance on a 3-point specialist and hope he develops into a more well-rounded player.

Assuming this is true, it brings up an interesting question--does Jones go the transfer route again, or just try to find the best unsigned high school player(s) he can now that a scholarship or two is available? I know which option I'd prefer. The quick fix hasn't worked very well so far.

They have incredible size and athleticism, but I'm not sold on their guard play at all. As a team they are great defensively, but offensively? Not really. A team that controls the tempo and shoots a good percentage from behind the arc would stand a decent chance against them. Notre Dame would appear to have the best chance of the other remaining teams from that region.

Heidlebaugh named Mr. Basketball and MVP of state tournament.

He's on fire tonight in the championship game.

A 30 or 40 point blowout is pretty rare these days in the tournament. I give Richman full credit for what he did this year with a team that really wasn't particularly talented after Alexander. If he can win 20-plus games next year without Alexander, he's a coaching genius.

What more can you say about Ben Jacobson? You really have to respect what he's built at UNI. Sometimes I wonder what might have been for UND had Greg McDermott decided to remain at UNI long-term...

One-time UND recruiting target Wes Washpun of UNI is playing really well today.

It's too bad Paul Ralston isn't the voice of Baylor basketball. That would have been an interesting post-game interview.

Normally I love it when a big upset happens, but part of me doesn't really want to see anything good happen to the UAB athletic department after the way they dropped their football program. I realize that's not the fault of the players or coaches.

Although it's not an exhaustive list, here's an interesting compilation of coaches' pay and incentives for reaching and winning games in the NCAA tournament: http://sports.newsday.com/long-island/data/college/college-basketball/march-madness-coach-incentives/?currentRecord=1

Sometimes division II success isn't necessarily all that impressive, if the successful team is comprised largely of transfers, many of whom are only playing division II due to being non-qualifiers. But Moorhead's top four scorers are high school recruits from the likes of Moorhead, Staples, Red Wing and Braham. The job Walthall has done at a school where it's not exactly easy to win is nothing short of incredible.

Anybody but Kentucky is fine with me.

You are probably correct with regard to it being a pool. I was basing my theory in large part on Bubba's pay as SIU's associate head coach compared to Lennon's. Whether or not that is similar almost everywhere, or in basketball compared to football, I'm not 100% certain.