Chambers having an incredible run

[Marylovesthelions]

No one mentions the play of our freshman center. He us no Watkins, but he is a solid presence on the boards. Coach has lost one of the leagues best centers and his 6th man.
You could argue that they are actually playing better ball the last two games than during the season. This all points to a great coaching job by the staff and great leadership by the team stars. Next year has to be THE year.

 

[Howie'81]

It's NCAA's or bust for me next year. It'll be year 8.

 

[WPTLION]

If Carr comes back we have a great chance of being ranked in the preseason.....which I would say probably has never happened

 

[JWB389]

Not a huge hoops fan, but winning the NIT this year would still be a disappointment to me. We are better than that.

 

[Howie'81]

Not a huge hoops fan, but winning the NIT this year would still be a disappointment to me. We are better than that.

It's a little like winning the Pinstripe Bowl. Should never be the standard.

 

[JWB389]

It's a little like winning the Pinstripe Bowl. Should never be the standard.

True. And, I didn't intend to take anything away from the team with my statement. They have to play the games they're given. I would hope they are not satisfied either.

 

[NC2017]

Not a huge hoops fan, but winning the NIT this year would still be a disappointment to me. We are better than that.

Unfortunately nothing in the PSU basketball DNA suggests that we're better than NIT winners.

 

[anon_1eeb2b426hv3y]

It's a little like winning the Pinstripe Bowl. Should never be the standard.

What PSU basketball team have you been following for the past 30+ years? A run in the NIT has far exceeded the standard for basketball. Still working on the goal of being consistently post-season worthy...

 

[Cletus11]

if Carr comes back this team has a real shot to do some good things next year. Harrar has shown me that he is going to give better back-up minutes then Moore did this year. Reaves has really improved year over year and i suspect next year his 3 point shooting will continue to improve. Stevens will become more consistent. I think Wheeler will give a lot more next year as his shot form is decent, just needs to be tweaked a little bit plus the added confidence of a year of training. Then two decent frosh coming in with their own set of credentials.

 

[nitlion93]

IYO, What would be better for PSU this season? Making the NCAA tournament and losing in the first round or winning 3 or 4 games in th NIT? So far in the NIT, we’ve beaten a few decent teams equivalent to mid tier BIG with a chance for more. We the added experience and confidence, we may be better off in the long run not making the NCAA. I would have really liked it, but I just don’t think this team was ready to make any noise in the NCAA.

 

[BobPSU92]

Not a huge hoops fan, but winning the NIT this year would still be a disappointment to me. We are better than that.

Penn State is on a great run, in the NIT. I don't think "we are better than that". Penn State had great moments during the season but also had too many letdowns when they needed to prove their place in the big dance. It wasn't one or two losses. It was several. They simply weren't good enough, not consistent enough, to make the big dance. They weren't good enough this year. Hopefully they will be next year.

 

[GregInPitt]

No one mentions the play of our freshman center. He us no Watkins, but he is a solid presence on the boards. Coach has lost one of the leagues best centers and his 6th man.
You could argue that they are actually playing better ball the last two games than during the season. This all points to a great coaching job by the staff and great leadership by the team stars. Next year has to be THE year.

It also points to the fact that even though Chambers blew Harrar's redshirt to start the season he was not smart enough to see that Harrar was a difference maker and should be getting minutes. Lucky for Chambers that when he had to try Harrar it worked...... Moore is also playing somewhat better the last month.

There are two sides to most stories.

Chambers did not manage games well in the first 2/3rds of the season and he is not in the NCAA because of it. But who knows, maybe the NIT wins will help the team more than 1 or no wins in the NCAA. The commentator last night said that he believed that PSU could win games in the NCAA - they way they are playing now, not the way they played in December and January.....

Unfortunately nothing in the PSU basketball DNA suggests that we're better than NIT winners.

The current PSU DNA includes Carr, Reaves, Stevens, and the currently hot shooting Garner, who are the nucleus of an NCAA team. i.e. if they had accumulated the bad losses that prevent entry into the NCAA...... When Carr is hot he takes over games, which has nothing to do with Chambers calling a play that will work. I'm not trying to be too hard on Chambers, but when he loses Carr we will see if his game management and play calling has improved.

 

[JWB389]

I think if you're a team with a solid history, maybe some young talent, there is no shame in missing the NCAA to go deep or even all the way in the NIT.

I think an 8 to 10ish seed for our team in the NCAA's is about the ceiling right now. As a University and team, I believe that would have been desirable.

 

[Bob78]

It also points to the fact that even though Chambers blew Harrar's redshirt to start the season he was not smart enough to see that Harrar was a difference maker and should be getting minutes. Lucky for Chambers that when he had to try Harrar it worked...... Moore is also playing somewhat better the last month.

There are two sides to most stories.

Chambers did not manage games well in the first 2/3rds of the season and he is not in the NCAA because of it. But who knows, maybe the NIT wins will help the team more than 1 or no wins in the NCAA. The commentator last night said that he believed that PSU could win games in the NCAA - they way they are playing now, not the way they played in December and January.....

My thought is that unless we see what goes on in practice every day, we fans are in no position to determine if a coach is smart enough or not to play any particular player at a specific time. As a true frosh, Harrar may have been tentative in practice, or may have just not understood certain aspects of the gameplan on O or D, or whatever.
As another long-time PSU coach used to say, 'it is better to play a player one game too late than one game too soon.' That old adage is followed by most coaches who have a solid nucleus of a team overall.

As for managing games earlier in the season.... well, some of those situations left most of us scratching our heads. But just as players get better, coaches do, too. Chambers may be later to that party than we would like, but it is apparent that he is making strides. (Same as Franklin... a better coach now than he was in 2014, imo. We all grow and learn with experience). Some of Chambers getting smarter this season had to do with managing Carr, as we came to find out. Once he got through to him, Chambers became 'smarter', imo.

 

[Nitwit]

If Reaves hadn’t missed those games we would have made the NCAA. I agree that this team is playing well now and appears well coached. The players have improved since early in the season.

 

[PennStateNate]

Don’t worry 78SweetRevenge will be in to lecture everyone that this team isn’t as good as you think based on a useless RPI number.

 

[Obliviax]

IMHO, Penn St is trying to build a program. PSU needs PR. This is just a stepping stone. Yes, the NITtanny Lions aspire to be in the NCAA's dance, but failing that, success in the NIT is as good as you can do. Coach and the kids are doing well and having fun. Between the first couple of rounds and the Sweet 16, the only college hoops on last night was PSU. Hopefully, some good 16~18 year old kids were watching.

 

[Howie'81]

What PSU basketball team have you been following for the past 30+ years? A run in the NIT has far exceeded the standard for basketball. Still working on the goal of being consistently post-season worthy...

Puhleeezzz! If the NIT is what we should shoot for in hoops, I'll stick to wrestling. 8 years next season!!! It's NCAA's or bust, period!

 

[psuro]

What the hell-its March 20 and PSU is still playing basketball. Just enjoy it for what it is this season. No amount of whiny by the board will change things.

 

[itsofficial101]

Do people honestly believe Carr will attempt to jump to the NBA? I don't know if I see him successful in that leap right now. He likely can greatly improve his position with another year.

 

[Cletus11]

i have always thought that going on a NIT run and winning it is better than being a 10/11 seed in the NCAA tourney and losing in the first round.

 

[Howie'81]

What the hell-its March 20 and PSU is still playing basketball. Just enjoy it for what it is this season. No amount of whiny by the board will change things.

I am, but let's not get giddy because we're having some success in the NIT. We won it 8 or 9 years ago as I recall. We really parlayed that into the future, didn't we?

 

[Raffycorn]

Do people honestly believe Carr will attempt to jump to the NBA? I don't know if I see him successful in that leap right now. He likely can greatly improve his position with another year.

If he declares, he’ll likely be drafted in the late first/early second round. He’s taking a risk by being on the border for guaranteed money, but it’s not unreasonable and it isn’t indefensible for him to go if you’re even in the discussion to be a first rounder.

 

[itsofficial101]

i have always thought that going on a NIT run and winning it is better than being a 10/11 seed in the NCAA tourney and losing in the first round.

For a young team that has its best ball ahead of it, yes. That is what we are. Also, experience going deep in any tourney could prove valuable.

 

[Howie'81]

i have always thought that going on a NIT run and winning it is better than being a 10/11 seed in the NCAA tourney and losing in the first round.

I don't agree. It's nice for a couple weeks, but the best recruits want to play for programs that get to the dance. You want to be able to say that you get there on a relatively consistent basis. 50% of the time would be nice. I don't think we're even at 10%.

 

[wbcincy]

Not a huge hoops fan, but winning the NIT this year would still be a disappointment to me. We are better than that.

It's a little like winning the Pinstripe Bowl. Should never be the standard.

If a coach took over Indiana football and by year 7 took them to the Outback Bowl with a young group, you would mock the life out of any Indiana fan who said "Outback Bowl should never be the standard, it's playoff, Cotton, Fiesta, Rose, Sugar, or Orange next year or bust for this coach!

Sure, our goal for the program isn't to be nothing more than an NIT team, but why in the world would there not be more appreciation for a coach who is consistently making progress with a program that started from nothing?

 

[itsofficial101]

If he declares, he’ll likely be drafted in the late first/early second round. He’s taking a risk by being on the border for guaranteed money, but it’s not unreasonable and it isn’t indefensible for him to go if you’re even in the discussion to be a first rounder.

I'd think that he would have to see the upside of even a little improvement from him in the offseason combined with his ability to showcase it on a completely different stage because of his teammates growth giving them more than just the occasional Ohio St wins to do so.

 

[wbcincy]

It also points to the fact that even though Chambers blew Harrar's redshirt to start the season he was not smart enough to see that Harrar was a difference maker and should be getting minutes. Lucky for Chambers that when he had to try Harrar it worked...... Moore is also playing somewhat better the last month.

There are two sides to most stories.

Chambers did not manage games well in the first 2/3rds of the season and he is not in the NCAA because of it. But who knows, maybe the NIT wins will help the team more than 1 or no wins in the NCAA. The commentator last night said that he believed that PSU could win games in the NCAA - they way they are playing now, not the way they played in December and January.....



The current PSU DNA includes Carr, Reaves, Stevens, and the currently hot shooting Garner, who are the nucleus of an NCAA team. i.e. if they had accumulated the bad losses that prevent entry into the NCAA...... When Carr is hot he takes over games, which has nothing to do with Chambers calling a play that will work. I'm not trying to be too hard on Chambers, but when he loses Carr we will see if his game management and play calling has improved.

This feels very unfair. All of your positions seem to ignore that freshmen and sophomores make significant jumps in development during the year. Perhaps Harrar didn't see more time because he lacked a sufficient understanding of the defensive schemes early on? There's no reason to assume the Harrar we see today against a Marquette team with no inside presence is the same one we would've seen against A&M with two NBA players inside.

Same goes for saying Chambers sucked early on and got better now. Maybe the group of sophomores who have now played twice as many college games in their careers as they had early on just developed significantly? That seems pretty logical to me.

The Chambers haters really dig in their heels, I'll give them that.

 

[Howie'81]

If a coach took over Indiana football and by year 7 took them to the Outback Bowl with a young group, you would mock the life out of any Indiana fan who said "Outback Bowl should never be the standard, it's playoff, Cotton, Fiesta, Rose, Sugar, or Orange next year or bust for this coach!

Sure, our goal for the program isn't to be nothing more than an NIT team, but why in the world would there not be more appreciation for a coach who is consistently making progress with a program that started from nothing?

First of all, I don't think you have the slightest how I'd react if it took Indiana 7 years to get to the Outback Bowl. 2nd, football and basketball are completely different situations. You're talking about a 64 team field for the NCAA's. 64 TEAMS!!! That doesn't happen in football, not even close. Sure some of those slots are locked in for mid major conference champs, but there are still a lot of slots left. The B1G ONLY got 4 teams to the dance this year and that was considered weak, Most years the conference gets what? 5 or 6 or so? Maybe 7 in a great year? If Indiana was serious about football, I'd expect them to get one of the 5 or 6 slots by year 7 or 8 if football were aligned the same way. And so would they.

And I'm sorry, but a football program requires about 40 pretty good players to field a good team. Even if you get a couple studs, if the rest of the recruits are marginal you won't win. In hoops, you can build a really good team around 1 or 2 stars with another 5 or 6 serviceable guys around them. If you're serious, shouldn't take 7 years to get there IMO, even if you're starting from scratch. You know why Penn State is great in wrestling? Simple as 2 + 2. Cael recruits studs and coaches them up. Some are saying Carr is late 1st round, early 2nd round if he comes out. MSU, Purdue, OSU, Michigan, have players as good or better than that EVERY YEAR! So here we are going into year 7 and many say Carr is our best player ever. Good for Carr, but that's an indictment against the program.

There are many basketball programs around the country better than Penn State's at schools that don't really give a crap about hoops. But all I ever here is how hard it is at dear ole State. You guys can say all you want, but until I see a real commitment to hoops, we'll never peak higher than mediocre.

 

[Obliviax]

This feels very unfair. All of your positions seem to ignore that freshmen and sophomores make significant jumps in development during the year. Perhaps Harrar didn't see more time because he lacked a sufficient understanding of the defensive schemes early on? There's no reason to assume the Harrar we see today against a Marquette team with no inside presence is the same one we would've seen against A&M with two NBA players inside.

Same goes for saying Chambers sucked early on and got better now. Maybe the group of sophomores who have now played twice as many college games in their careers as they had early on just developed significantly? That seems pretty logical to me.

The Chambers haters really dig in their heels, I'll give them that.

totally agree. Watching the game last night, it appeared to me PSU got tight early in the 4th. They quit executing the offense and became very conservative/tentative. With a 12 point lead, perhaps warranted but playing against on of the best 3 point shooting teams in the NCAA. But they got too conservative and almost gave the game away. To me, that is not having enough playoff experience. There is a balance between lowering the risk tolerance of the offense and getting afraid to make a mistake. But that is part of the gig. There are no upper class-men with big game experiences. Its just part of the problem of building a program.

 

[Howie'81]

Penn State is on a great run, in the NIT. I don't think "we are better than that". Penn State had great moments during the season but also had too many letdowns when they needed to prove their place in the big dance. It wasn't one or two losses. It was several. They simply weren't good enough, not consistent enough, to make the big dance. They weren't good enough this year. Hopefully they will be next year.

And that's the story of the program's history. "They weren't good enough...."

 

[Obliviax]

First of all, I don't think you have the slightest how I'd react if it took Indiana 7 years to get to the Outback Bowl. 2nd, football and basketball are completely different situations. You're talking about a 64 team field for the NCAA's. 64 TEAMS!!! That doesn't happen in football, not even close. Sure some of those slots are locked in for mid major conference champs, but there are still a lot of slots left. The B1G ONLY got 4 teams to the dance this year and that was considered weak, Most years the conference gets what? 5 or 6 or so? Maybe 7 in a great year? If Indiana was serious about football, I'd expect them to get one of the 5 or 6 slots by year 7 or 8 if football were aligned the same way. And so would they.

And I'm sorry, but a football program requires about 40 pretty good players to field a good team. Even if you get a couple studs, if the rest of the recruits are marginal you won't win. In hoops, you can build a really good team around 1 or 2 stars with another 5 or 6 serviceable guys around them. If you're serious, shouldn't take 7 years to get there IMO, even if you're starting from scratch. You know why Penn State is great in wrestling? Simple as 2 + 2. Cael recruits studs and coaches them up. Some are saying Carr is late 1st round, early 2nd round if he comes out. MSU, Purdue, OSU, Michigan, have players as good or better than that EVERY YEAR! So here we are going into year 7 and many say Carr is our best player ever. Good for Carr, but that's an indictment against the program.

There are many basketball programs around the country better than Penn State's at schools that don't really give a crap about hoops. But all I ever here is how hard it is at dear ole State. You guys can say all you want, but until I see a real commitment to hoops, we'll never peak higher than mediocre.

You make legitimate points but I don't feel like you can compare wrestling to basketball. PSU has always had a decent wrestling team and there is nothing like the NBA to compare.

To your point, you need two or three studs to compete for the B1G. Why would a stud BB player come to PSU? If he lives in NY, Jersey, DC, Philly, Pitt...he's got a ton of programs he can go to that have a track record of putting kids in the NBA. 'Nova, VA, tOSU, UM, Sparty, Indy, Ill, ND, Pitt...all have better track records than we do. And players want to play with other players that compliment them. its a heck of a lot easier to be Tristan Thompson on the Cavs, next to LeBron, than on the Memphis Grizzlies.

It takes time. PSU needs to build a program so that kids want to come and play here. It doesn't help when we have an NIT home game and the attendance looks like the PIAA class A District 5.

 

[Howie'81]

You make legitimate points but I don't feel like you can compare wrestling to basketball. PSU has always had a decent wrestling team and there is nothing like the NBA to compare.

To your point, you need two or three studs to compete for the B1G. Why would a stud BB player come to PSU? If he lives in NY, Jersey, DC, Philly, Pitt...he's got a ton of programs he can go to that have a track record of putting kids in the NBA. 'Nova, VA, tOSU, UM, Sparty, Indy, Ill, ND, Pitt...all have better track records than we do. And players want to play with other players that compliment them. its a heck of a lot easier to be Tristan Thompson on the Cavs, next to LeBron, than on the Memphis Grizzlies.

It takes time. PSU needs to build a program so that kids want to come and play here. It doesn't help when we have an NIT home game and the attendance looks like the PIAA class A District 5.

More than time, it takes investment dollars and commitment. I hear from guys like Nate that we have little of either. That's why studs rarely consider Penn State. If they felt the team was committed to winning and they could parlay that into a possible NBA career, they'd come. State College is a pretty nice place to hang for a couple of years if you're a young man.

 

[tboyer]

The remarks from people on this board are just beyond stupid. People have absolutely no idea of what it takes to do what the PSU coaches and players are doing.

The hardest thing in sports is to change the tier that a football or BB program operates in -- from doormat to big-time. The number of NCAA BB teams that have moved from bottom tier to consistent tournament team -- you can count on less than one hand.

Wisconsin/Bennett is the one example we've seen in the B1G -- and even there, Bennett did it with a brilliant system utilizing 2nd tier recruits that he had access to. Chambers is trying to build it with actual top 200 players.

We know the process takes many years. From the point where you finally break through and recruit good players to the time when those first players set foot on campus is a couple years. Then it's another two years till you have a starting 5-6 made up of good players, then even more time till you have depth.

Once the players are assembled, it's another couple of years coaching and experience so that they learn how to win against tough teams and not blow games to the pesky second-tier teams. That is basically what this season represents.

Then you really should allow for the fact that this process does not happen in a linear fashion -- there are inevitably going to be setbacks -- injuries, eligibility problems.

It's also hard because college basketball is a cesspool, and most of the top recruits are clearly getting paid under the table, which presumably PSU doesn't do -- but that puts PSU at a structural disadvantage to all the top 25-top 40 teams that do funnel money to players and their families.

All things considered, it seems to me Chambers is getting the job done about as fast as it can realistically be done. And if he succeeds, PSU will have built a viable, competitive Big Ten basketball program, which none of us has really seen and few of us expected to ever see.

I just hope Chambers has the stamina to stay and solidify the success the next few years. Parkhill burned himself out getting the program right on the cusp of being competitive in a sustained way, but then just couldn't do it any more, and then it all slipped away so fast under Dunn.

It takes 7-8-9 years to build and it can be destroyed in a season or two.

 

[Art]

More than time, it takes investment dollars and commitment. I hear from guys like Nate that we have little of either. That's why studs rarely consider Penn State. If they felt the team was committed to winning and they could parlay that into a possible NBA career, they'd come. State College is a pretty nice place to hang for a couple of years if you're a young man.

The dollars are there if the AD wouldn't fritter them away on other stupid shit. Which then brings us to the matter of commitment, or intelligence, which, in this case, are effectively the same.

 

[Obliviax]

More than time, it takes investment dollars and commitment. I hear from guys like Nate that we have little of either. That's why studs rarely consider Penn State. If they felt the team was committed to winning and they could parlay that into a possible NBA career, they'd come. State College is a pretty nice place to hang for a couple of years if you're a young man.

Agree...in an earlier thread, someone noted (Art?) that PSU spends less on basketball than any other B1G program.

 

[Howie'81]

The remarks from people on this board are just beyond stupid. People have absolutely no idea of what it takes to do what the PSU coaches and players are doing.

The hardest thing in sports is to change the tier that a football or BB program operates in -- from doormat to big-time. The number of NCAA BB teams that have moved from bottom tier to consistent tournament team -- you can count on less than one hand.

Wisconsin/Bennett is the one example we've seen in the B1G -- and even there, Bennett did it with a brilliant system utilizing 2nd tier recruits that he had access to. Chambers is trying to build it with actual top 200 players.

We know the process takes many years. From the point where you finally break through and recruit good players to the time when those first players set foot on campus is a couple years. Then it's another two years till you have a starting 5-6 made up of good players, then even more time till you have depth.

Once the players are assembled, it's another couple of years coaching and experience so that they learn how to win against tough teams and not blow games to the pesky second-tier teams. That is basically what this season represents.

Then you really should allow for the fact that this process does not happen in a linear fashion -- there are inevitably going to be setbacks -- injuries, eligibility problems.

It's also hard because college basketball is a cesspool, and most of the top recruits are clearly getting paid under the table, which presumably PSU doesn't do -- but that puts PSU at a structural disadvantage to all the top 25-top 40 teams that do funnel money to players and their families.

All things considered, it seems to me Chambers is getting the job done about as fast as it can realistically be done. And if he succeeds, PSU will have built a viable, competitive Big Ten basketball program, which none of us has really seen and few of us expected to ever see.

I just hope Chambers has the stamina to stay and solidify the success the next few years. Parkhill burned himself out getting the program right on the cusp of being competitive in a sustained way, but then just couldn't do it any more, and then it all slipped away so fast under Dunn.

It takes 7-8-9 years to build and it can be destroyed in a season or two.

I don't think the comments you've read are stupid. Next year is year 8 and if we lose Carr, what are the chances we'll be as good next year as this year? While a lot of what you said is true, I don't believe it's the main issue. If you look at what Nate Bauer writes in the Den, he says a lot of what you say, but when pressed he admits that there is an issue with financial commitment to hoops. So tboyer, the issue is as much commitment to the program as anything you mentioned. If all you say is true, then the lack of commitment pretty much dooms the program.

 

[anon_1eeb2b426hv3y]

Puhleeezzz! If the NIT is what we should shoot for in hoops, I'll stick to wrestling. 8 years next season!!! It's NCAA's or bust, period!

Not what we should shoot for, but each step in the right direction is a success. Folks can go ahead and enjoy the wins and cheer for our championship caliber programs when they meet the chest-thumping “we-are” standard of consistent excellence. I’ll cheer for Penn State and enjoy what’s left of this bust of a basketball season.

Yes, I’m being a bit sarcastic. But our BBall team has a long and mostly consistent history of mediocrity, or worse. Hopefully we’ll have a program worthy of disappointment with a Pinstripe Bowl season equivalent. Shows glimmers of going in the right direction. But if we keep dogging our team for not being great, the odds aren’t good that we’ll ever get there.

 

[MtNittany]

"incredible?" Really?

 

[Art]

The remarks from people on this board are just beyond stupid. People have absolutely no idea of what it takes to do what the PSU coaches and players are doing.

The hardest thing in sports is to change the tier that a football or BB program operates in -- from doormat to big-time. The number of NCAA BB teams that have moved from bottom tier to consistent tournament team -- you can count on less than one hand.

Wisconsin/Bennett is the one example we've seen in the B1G -- and even there, Bennett did it with a brilliant system utilizing 2nd tier recruits that he had access to. Chambers is trying to build it with actual top 200 players.

We know the process takes many years. From the point where you finally break through and recruit good players to the time when those first players set foot on campus is a couple years. Then it's another two years till you have a starting 5-6 made up of good players, then even more time till you have depth.

Once the players are assembled, it's another couple of years coaching and experience so that they learn how to win against tough teams and not blow games to the pesky second-tier teams. That is basically what this season represents.

Then you really should allow for the fact that this process does not happen in a linear fashion -- there are inevitably going to be setbacks -- injuries, eligibility problems.

It's also hard because college basketball is a cesspool, and most of the top recruits are clearly getting paid under the table, which presumably PSU doesn't do -- but that puts PSU at a structural disadvantage to all the top 25-top 40 teams that do funnel money to players and their families.

All things considered, it seems to me Chambers is getting the job done about as fast as it can realistically be done. And if he succeeds, PSU will have built a viable, competitive Big Ten basketball program, which none of us has really seen and few of us expected to ever see.

I just hope Chambers has the stamina to stay and solidify the success the next few years. Parkhill burned himself out getting the program right on the cusp of being competitive in a sustained way, but then just couldn't do it any more, and then it all slipped away so fast under Dunn.

It takes 7-8-9 years to build and it can be destroyed in a season or two.

Dick Bennett was in the NIT his first year at Wisconsin and in the NCAA his second. It's far more about the coach than it is about time.