[04] Discovering The Sweet Spot: How a National Championship Winning Trend Was Exposed

02/01/24 • 105 min

In Episode 4 of Xs and Joes, Mike Wiemuth (iu-in-philly) and Bob Moats (cbobmoats) tell the origin story of The Sweet SpotTM -- 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?

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

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

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

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

2016 and 2017- How Villanova and UNC were different (Slide 4)
Two Tracks and the Baby Blue Utopian Spot
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

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In Episode 4 of Xs and Joes, Mike Wiemuth (iu-in-philly) and Bob Moats (cbobmoats) tell the origin story of The Sweet SpotTM -- 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?

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

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

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

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

2016 and 2017- How Villanova and UNC were different (Slide 4)
Two Tracks and the Baby Blue Utopian Spot
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

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Previous Episode

[03] Roster Construction: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

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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Next Episode

[05] Rivalry Essentials: Unpacking the Crucial Role That Rivalries Play in How We Experience College Sports

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?

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.