UPB Player Development Coaches Share Their Thoughts on March Madness
By: Dylan Tehada
One of the most exciting events in all of basketball is right around the corner. This year’s NCAA March Madness Tournament kicks off on Thursday, March 21st with the first round of 64. After an exciting college basketball season, we are looking forward to the Cinderella stories, upsets, nail biters, and all the excitement that this year’s tournament has in store. We are also looking forward to watching college players define their legacy and realize their potential as hoopers as every tournament players from around the country become household names. This week we caught up with UPB’s player development coaches and picked their brain on what they are looking forward to most and also their keys to success when filling out their brackets.
There are so many reasons to tune into the March Madness games and so many storylines and matches to look forward to. Before the games unfold, we asked UPB player development coaches what they were looking forward to most about this year’s tournament.
Coach Hannah: “I am looking forward to just watching good basketball be played. No matter what seed teams are, this is where the best basketball is played and this is the moment teams have been training for all year. The best part about March Madness this year is the Women’s side. You have so many great basketball players to watch and it’s gonna be fun.”
Coach Danny: “Always excited to see the unlikely one or two Cinderella teams make a run at the championship. In the tournament anything can happen.”
Coach Brittney: “When it comes to the March Madness tournament I always look forward to an underdog team proving people wrong. The team that nobody believes could pull an upset.”
Coach Joey: “I’m looking forward to the storylines, particularly Purdue losing the first round last year to a 16 seed. Last time that happened, Virginia went all the way and won the next year. So I’m curious to see how Purdue responds after last year’s struggles.”
Filling out a March Madness Bracket is one of the many pastimes of the NCAA tournament. Fans from around the world undertake the seemingly impossible task of accurately predicting the outcomes of games when the tournament has proven to be quite unpredictable. Nonetheless, we asked out player development coaches what their key to success is when filling out their brackets.
Coach Walter: My biggest advice would be to take 12 seed over 5 seeds
Coach Hannah: “Don’t underestimate the 11 & 12 seeds. Anything can happen. Look at games played this year and wins and losses. At the end of the day we don’t know. It comes down to what team is better that day.”
Coach Brittney: “My biggest advice for people filling out brackets is to really consider who you’re picking. Usually the teams that have the most success in the tournament are the teams who have been there before.”
Coach Joey: “My biggest advice for people filling out their brackets is to accept that it’s going to fall apart. Whatever you do, don’t get your hopes up. Also, just because your bracket is busted doesn’t mean you can’t win your group. Last year I won my bracket pool with only 1/4 Final 4 teams.”
In addition to the storylines and exciting matches, one of the most appealing aspects of the tournament is watching athletes play on the biggest stage and make a name for themselves. The beauty of the tournament and its unpredictability is that a basketball star can come from anywhere and become a household name. Athletes such as Cody Williams, who trained at the UPB facility last summer, will look to not only lead their team to success, but also leave their imprint on the tournament. We asked UPB coaches what teams and players they were particularly excited about watching
Coach Walter: “I'll be watching San Diego St, Uconn, Purdue and Illinois”
Coach Hannah: “Super excited to watch Juju Watkins with this being her first NCAA tourney. Supporting all my PAC 12 teams. Look forward to watching UConn cause I feel like this will be their time to shine with all the doubt there has been this year. And super excited to watch South Carolina continue to dominate”
Coach Danny: “I’m looking forward to watching my good friend Zyon Pullin and the Florida Gators make their tournament run. Also, if McNeese can make it past the first round- watch out.”
Coach Joey: “Keisei Tominaga from Nebraska is very fun to watch. I also love Jamal Shead from Houston. Saint Mary’s is my hometown team so I’m always pulling for them.”
Coach D’Hey: “Definitely University of Colorado, I’m rooting for and keeping an eye on Cody Williams”
