AP Voter Ron Morris: So What's His Deal?
by Sean Keeley on Jan 3, 2012 9:00 AM EST
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Update: Morris will be on ESPN CNY this afternoon to discuss why he's ranking SU No. 4 every week.
Like all poll-related posts, this should be prefaced with the addendum that all in-season polls are meaningless and of no value to the endgame. But...you know...
Sixty of the sixty-five voters in the AP Poll saw it fit to give their first-place vote to the Syracuse Orange this week. Five others gave their first-place vote to Kentucky.
Of those five, four of them said Syracuse was the No. 2 team in the nation. While I don't agree, I can see a rational argument being made for Kentucky that someone can in fact stand behind and I accept that there are those out there who won't be sold on the Orange until they finish the season undefeated...and even then...
And then there's The State's (SC) Ron Morris. Morris doesn't just think the Orange are No. 3 in the nation...he has them all the way down at No. 4. Behind two-loss North Carolina and behind two-loss Ohio State, who it should be noted lost this past week.
Morris had Syracuse No. 4 last week and has had them at No. 4 for the past five weeks. Incidentally, he had Syracuse at No. 3 way back in the beginning of December, so somehow what he's seen since then has made SU less impressive to him.
Looking back at all his polls from this season, Morris seems to have some North Carolina homerism and unabashed love for Ohio State clouding his judgement. Those two teams have remained in his top four the entire season. He's routinely voted one of the worst votes in the poll.
So there you go. One thing to also keep in mind that Syracuse fans now have something in common with Morris. We both dislike his decision-making ability.
South Carolina Coach Steve Spurrier had an unprecedented weekly news conference Tuesday, as he called out Ron Morris, a columnist with The State, that he said has reported something that isn't true, and refused to hold the news conference with Morris in the room.
The Ol' Ball Coach don't lie.
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Wow
interesting article. Ron Morris’s editor must have thought there was some merit to the story because he wasn’t canned, and he’s working for the same paper.
Thats pretty bad when a coach refuses to hold a press conference due to one of the reporters d-baggery.
So UK's better than SU?
They do have some solid talent, but really? Because the refs handed ‘em the game vs. Lllvlll New Year’s Eve? I dunno if anyone else watched that atrocity, but the refs did Burr and Higgins proud. Every time a basketball game threatened to break out, they smothered it with a wet blanket. Best call was the one where two UK players collided with one another in open space, and the nearest Lllvlll player got a PF just because. I am far from a Lllvll fan, but that game was one of the worst displays of officiating I’ve seen in a while. Let’s make sure neither Jamie Luckie, Michael Stephens, nor Tony Greene replace our favorite Big East duo when they are finally fired.
One thing is almost certain: UK will have a better record than SU come Dance time, thanks to the weak SEC. Maybe that’s what the four #2 voters are hanging their hats on.
Meanwhile, as to Morris: Shouldn’t he also be ranking Duke ahead of us? Why stop at just UNC, UK and OSU? Hell, he oughta throw in Kansas and UCLA too. Traditional powers, y’know. But when it’s all said and done, I’d like to thank this guy for providing some entertainment value in an otherwise boring and meaningless poll.
The officiating during the UK/L'Ville game
Was pretty bad. The one that sticks out to me is a foul called on Payton Silva when he and Doron Lamb were going after a loose ball. Silva was clearly there first and Lamb plowed him over.
"If I ain't gonna be part of the greatest, I gotta be the greatest myself." Busta Rhymes
by FeloniousPhunk on Jan 3, 2012 9:33 AM EST up reply actions
The officiating wasn't great
But I don’t think it cost Louisville the game. The refs were definitely calling the game very tight and that worked to Kentucky’s advantage. Missed calls are missed calls. They happen.
Definitely not
I like to complain about refs as much as anyone, but I don’t think I’ve ever blamed officiating for a loss. Even with what whole backcourt thing against Marquette. Yeah, it was a blown call. But Scoop shouldn’t even be in a position to make that call an issue.
"If I ain't gonna be part of the greatest, I gotta be the greatest myself." Busta Rhymes
by FeloniousPhunk on Jan 3, 2012 10:43 AM EST up reply actions
Let me amend that
It is possible for officiating to cost a game, but it is very rare. But I would seldom attribute that to bias. In most cases where it officiating is blamed, the losing team could have erased that opportunity simply by playing better. This is the case with Louisville. The refs didn’t make them miss so many open shots and commit so many stupid Payton Siva turnovers.
Don't tell this
to Higgins and Burr. You might hurt their feelings, or worse, force them to show you just how wrong you are.
Without Gerry McNamara we wouldn't have won 10 f-- games, not 10
by PoetryInMoten on Jan 3, 2012 10:57 AM EST up reply actions
i cant wait
for Siva’s turnovers to meet our zone. i have a feeling it won’t be cordial.
Cuse fan in ACC country.
Eh
I don’t see Ohio St as a traditional basketball power. They really haven’t done a ton in the past 50 years, not any more than we’ve done. They’ve made 3 Final Fours since 1962. Also, in the last 20 years, they’ve missed the tournament 10 times. Not exactly blue-blood caliber.
Football? Yeah, they’re as blue-blooded as anybody, but not basketball.
Without Gerry McNamara we wouldn't have won 10 f-- games, not 10
by PoetryInMoten on Jan 3, 2012 9:48 AM EST up reply actions
As for us
We’ve been ranked in the top 25 at some point in every season except 1981-82. That’s crazy, and it shows that even if we’re not a top 5 program, we’re at least a top 10 all time.
Without Gerry McNamara we wouldn't have won 10 f-- games, not 10
by PoetryInMoten on Jan 3, 2012 9:52 AM EST up reply actions
According to Pat Forde a few years ago
Okie State and Ohio State are top-10 all-time powers, and we are not. OK, then.
It's the most bullshit thing I've seen in thirty years.
by Girardi Party on Jan 3, 2012 10:03 AM EST up reply actions
I wrote a long post
On the ESPN message boards about a year ago about where Syracuse ranks all-time. One of the things that stood out to me is that, when you consider “all-time”, that goes back to the 30’s and 40’s. Syracuse didn’t really do jack until the 70’s. So, yeah, they’ve had a lot of success recently, but in the long history of college basketball, they’re a newcomer among the elites. At the same time, you can make the argument that records from the early days don’t hold as much weight because there weren’t as many good teams back then. But at the end of the day, W’s are W’s and everything had to be viewed in context.
"If I ain't gonna be part of the greatest, I gotta be the greatest myself." Busta Rhymes
by FeloniousPhunk on Jan 3, 2012 10:47 AM EST up reply actions
We've
actually got the 5th most wins all-time for what it’s worth. The only teams with more wins are Duke, Kentucky, UNC, and Kansas, in some order. We’ve actually won more games than UCLA, Indiana, Temple, you name it.
Without Gerry McNamara we wouldn't have won 10 f-- games, not 10
by PoetryInMoten on Jan 3, 2012 10:56 AM EST up reply actions
Yeah
That was kind of the point of the post I made back in the day. I mean, 88 straight games and 10+ straight titles is impressive no matter what they qulaifiers. But, at the same time, when college basketball consists of UCLA and then everyone else, it’s hard to be AS impressed. Same with UK. Rupp won a shit ton of games for teh Wildcats. But who was around to really challenge them?
"If I ain't gonna be part of the greatest, I gotta be the greatest myself." Busta Rhymes
by FeloniousPhunk on Jan 3, 2012 11:55 AM EST up reply actions
I'll readily admit
That a case can be made for Syracuse not being the best team in the country. I mean, after all, the eventual title winner is going to end up with at least 2 or 3 losses anyway, so what does it matter if those loses come in the OOC, league ot league tourney? All that really matters is winning 6 in a row in March. But there is absolutely no arguement that there are 3 teams better than Syracuse and, if there are, UNC is definitely not among them. UK and OSU maybe, and I’m stuggling to find a 3rd.
"If I ain't gonna be part of the greatest, I gotta be the greatest myself." Busta Rhymes
I like
that we’ve gotten to the point where we should so clearly be a top-ranked team that we can complain about a few voters and not our actual spot in the polls!
I will admit to some light Ron Morris googling
He doesn’t write about college basketball much, so it’s hard to get a feel for his thought process. The only thing I can think of is that he’s filling his poll out in such a way that pat performance doesn’t influence his voting. It would take a catastrophic collapse or an explosive performance versus a ranked opponent on the road for their to be any major movement in his vote. Because it’s not just his top four that’s an outlier.
You could be right
but I guess a loss to FREAKING RUTGERS, as Brent Axe likes to refer to it, isn’t catastrophic enough to touch Florida’s ranking.
It's the most bullshit thing I've seen in thirty years.
by Girardi Party on Jan 3, 2012 10:04 AM EST up reply actions
Yeah, but
If Syracuse lost to Rutgers (a possibility, even is a remote one), we’d be furious if their ranking dropped more than a spot.
"If I ain't gonna be part of the greatest, I gotta be the greatest myself." Busta Rhymes
by FeloniousPhunk on Jan 3, 2012 10:49 AM EST up reply actions
Ron Ron
Send Ron Ron an e-mail… or better yet, give that idiot a call.
Ron Morris Columnist rmorris@thestate.com (803) 771-8432
by deuceforthecuse on Jan 3, 2012 10:42 AM EST reply actions
I don't think I'm going to do that
Light googling is as much as I care about this issue. But are there any SBN bloggers from around that area that might be able to shed light on the mysterious Ron Morris?
Morris
Syracuse shouldn’t feel slighted. I live in Columbia, SC where the State paper is published. Morris is a notorious contrarian. He typically takes outlandish or unpopular views in an attempt to gin up press for himself and readership for his dying paper. It appears to have worked for him personally in this instance, since I see he will be on ESPN CNY. It is par for the course for him, but it is not about Syracuse. It’s just about Morris.
Done
While I guess the uninformed can vote however they want, I still for the life of me can’t figure out how he voted us number 3 a month ago, and this week he feels we are worse???
It's not as simple as
him thinking the Orange ar worse. He just seems to think that someone else is better. How he can think that when everyone in the top tier of college basketball except Syracuse has at least 1 L, I don’t know.
"If I ain't gonna be part of the greatest, I gotta be the greatest myself." Busta Rhymes
by FeloniousPhunk on Jan 3, 2012 11:56 AM EST up reply actions
Morris on ESPN CNY
At some time between 3-6pm on 97.7/100.1FM
Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician - The Syracuse blog that cares.
If you've got time, buy my book "How To Grow An Orange", visit SeanKeeley.com and follow me on Twitter and Facebook.
by Sean Keeley on Jan 3, 2012 12:12 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
And that alone might explain it
Not gaining access to the powerful central New York media market, but being an outlier gives exposure.
Got a bs reply from him. Saying NC Osu and Kentucky are better than SU “by a long shot”. I forwarded the email to Sean to have fun with
by SpartyCuse on Jan 3, 2012 2:31 PM EST via iPhone app reply actions
By what standards?
Born in '87, Orange fan since '86
I guess I made a twitter, follow @StealthTurkey
by StealthTurkey on Jan 3, 2012 3:12 PM EST up reply actions
Here is the text of his email
Michael,
I don’t think I dropped Syracuse one spot. I’ve had Syracuse No. 4 ever since I determined (guessed, surmised, whatever) that Ohio State, Kentucky and North Carolina are the three best teams in the country . . . by a long shot. I believe Syracuse heads the next group. We’ll see how that plays out. You might be right, maybe Syracuse should be higher.
ron
I think I get it
I’m thinking like him and not counting RPI, SoS, or W/L. After that you just pick 3 random teams to call the best and stick with it.
"If Gerry played at Notre Dame he'd probably average 25 a game for four years because that's what he gets when he comes here."-JB
by theNYsportsguy on Jan 3, 2012 3:37 PM EST up reply actions
Thank God he doesn't vote in the BCS
Total DBag that just takes what is fed to him and can’t formulate his own opinion or do his own research.
Ron Morris = Skip Bayless
And is jealous because Syracuse had a better Morris than he ever will be…Joe Morris that is.
"I'm in a Syracuse State Of Mind"
http://www.syracusestateofmind.wordpress.com/
Mike and Larry
are better Morris’ than he’ll ever be.
Or Peterson
"If I ain't gonna be part of the greatest, I gotta be the greatest myself." Busta Rhymes
by FeloniousPhunk on Jan 4, 2012 10:07 AM EST up reply actions
On right now
Saw UK, UNC and OSU a lot and SU once (vs. Florida) and decided then that the three were the best by a long shot and hasn’t seen a lot since to convince him otherwise.
He votes differently than a lot of people
At the beginning of the year he takes one of the preseason magazines that ranks players by position and freshman.
Assigns point values based on that.
I'm assuming
MCW and Xmas are the guys that basically wouldn’t play in your 8-man scenario? (I agree FWIW, but that’s already basically the case now. We’ve been blowing teams out but you’re not going to see Christmas in the second half of a close game against a good team.)
It's the most bullshit thing I've seen in thirty years.
by Girardi Party on Jan 3, 2012 5:13 PM EST up reply actions
He said he watched that game
but if he came away from that game with that impression, I don’t believe him.
It's the most bullshit thing I've seen in thirty years.
by Girardi Party on Jan 3, 2012 5:12 PM EST up reply actions
I listened to most of the interview
on the way home from the gym and he just kind of sounded all over the place and like a bit of an asshat.
What is his voting philosophy? He does this goofy points system for his preseason rankings based on a preseason magazine’s positional player rankings and recruiting rankings, which, whatever, fine. The preseason poll is just a guess and he’s had some success with that, as he noted.
But then when the season starts, he just watches basketball inconsistently and decides who he thinks the best three teams are, and ranks them at the top of the polls, results be damned. So from that you can say his philosophy is he ranks based on who he thinks has the best chance to win a national championship—that was what I got from how he explained his rankings at the top.
But then he said that as soon as Xavier lost those players to suspensions, he immediately dropped them from his Top 25, which, OK, that’s defensible. But if you’re ranking based on where everyone is going to be at the end of the year or something—giving you the benefit of the doubt here, Ron—shouldn’t they stay up there?
He said “if Syracuse runs the table” he’d consider ranking them higher. Or “if one of those three teams implodes, which won’t happen,” which he’s probably right about. But I just love the notion that ONLY an undefeated season by Syracuse could change his mind.
He also said, (paraphrasing) don’t get too butthurt about it, it’s just a basketball poll, we have a playoff. Which, yeah, he’s right, but then why even have a poll if you think that’s an excuse to not take it seriously?
It's the most bullshit thing I've seen in thirty years.
by Girardi Party on Jan 3, 2012 5:19 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
So basically
this guy decides to vote three teams as his top three because some magazine from a few months ago said they were the three teams to watch this season?
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