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College Basketball Podcast: Monmouth Having Too Much Fun?

26 November 2015: Monmouth Hawks guard Justin Robinson (12) along with teammates on the Monmouth Hawks bench celebrate after they defeated Notre Dame Fighting Irish 70-68 in the 2015 Advocare Invitational first round game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (17) and Monmouth Hawks at the ESPN Wide World of Sports HP Field House in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Mark LoMoglio/Icon Sportswire)

 

Respect The Hustle Podcast hosted by GetMoreSports

In the second edition of our college basketball podcast, analyst William Whelan is back with authority, throwing praise and shade all over the country. Of note, he expresses his discontent with a tweet sent out by Jay Bilas on Monday evening, claiming that the NCAA is investigating the possibility of instituting new bench decorum rules–likely caused by all of the fun that Monmouth’s bench had during their run early this season.

Remember, this is college basketball. It’s supposed to be fun.

In other news, the Pac-12 Conference had a great week for the most part, with UCLA knocking off top ranked Kentucky at home. But was it enough for Whelan to finally praise Steve Alford’s program, who has received more criticism from him than anyone else? Yes, yes it was. In particular, Whelan provides some insight into why he was so impressed with UCLA sophomore Thomas Welsh and his 21 points, 11 rebounds performance against the former No. 1 Kentucky Wildcats.

Also in the Pac-12, Colorado’s Josh Scott continues to turn in wildly impressive offensive performances, reminding folks around the country why many thought he was the best offensive big man in the conference. For Utah, sophomore Kyle Kuzma has taken a huge leap from his freshman season and provided the Utes a great compliment to Jakob Poeltl.

Elsewhere, Whelan compliments the advancements made by Duke freshman Brandon Ingram in recent games against Indiana and Buffalo. Is Ingram finally starting to live up to the hype? Further north, Bradley Hayes has improved as much or more than anyone else in the country, going from just four minutes per game to dropping 21 points and eight rebounds in a big win over Syracuse.

 

But with praise, comes criticism. Whelan unleashes on Villanova’s poor shooting performance against Oklahoma, Mark Few’s perplexing use of point guard Josh Perkins in a collapse against Arizona. Finally, Whelan lets the world know how he feels about the NCAA and their possible moves to take the fun out of college basketball.

 

 

Finally, Whelan makes the call on several of the week’s top games, including the Jimmy V Classic that tips off tonight in New York City. Can Virginia and Maryland prevail as favorites? Later in the week, how will Wichita State look with Fred Van Vleet back against a talented Utah squad? These are the questions that Whelan answers to get you prepped for everything college basketball this week and beyond.

 

Written by Will Whelan

Somewhere between psychotic and iconic, William finds refuge in the sound of a leather ball bouncing on a wooden floor, preferably with a Burgundy in hand.

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