Conf Play Starts tonight!!!! 10 Predictions...

[ChestRockwell85]

Yeah, I thought that at first too. But the NBA draft is not about current talent, it's about projected talent.

Omari's ceiling at college level is probably Caleb Swanigan. They're actually the same age. It'll take some time for Spellman to build up his draft stock. Won't happen this year. Maybe next year, but I think more likely he's a 3 or 4 year player.

Kayako, with all due respect, Omari's draft stock is ALREADY much higher than you are giving him credit for. There is a realistic shot he is gone after this year. Am I saying it definitely happens? No, but he is certainly in the mix. Would be surprised to see him at Villanova for more than 2 years.

[jaxalum]

As a Xavier fan, even though Louisville is facing an ongoing FBI investigation and will still have the NCAA investigation plus sanctions on the horizon, that is Macks dream job. His wife has family there, and he passed on OSU and IU. Every forum, article, and story written about the Louisville job ALL point to Mack as the #1 choice by leaps and bounds. Its a sh#t situation now, but Mack could essentially ask for anything. I heard somewhere that he would start talking with a starting point of 8 yrs/38 million. I'm sure there would be non-termination clauses, fully guaranteed money....and after the less than slap on the hand that North Carolina received for their infractions, who knows how severe Louisville will be punished? And this last recruiting cycle was difficult to say the least, especially after an Elite 8 run, which must have frustrated the sh#t out of him, as we lost our top targets to OSU/IU, and some other teams P5 teams, that as much as it pains me to say, if he were at Louisville, he would have won 70% of those recruits. We lose a ton after this year as well.

This is a total glass half empty, cynical, worst case scenario, negative outlook at what could happen. I would really love to hear that I'm batshit crazy, and that there is not a snowballs chance in hell that Mack would leave for that train wreck.

[anXUfan]

As a Xavier fan, even though Louisville is facing an ongoing FBI investigation and will still have the NCAA investigation plus sanctions on the horizon, that is Macks dream job. His wife has family there, and he passed on OSU and IU. Every forum, article, and story written about the Louisville job ALL point to Mack as the #1 choice by leaps and bounds. Its a sh#t situation now, but Mack could essentially ask for anything. I heard somewhere that he would start talking with a starting point of 8 yrs/38 million. I'm sure there would be non-termination clauses, fully guaranteed money....and after the less than slap on the hand that North Carolina received for their infractions, who knows how severe Louisville will be punished? And this last recruiting cycle was difficult to say the least, especially after an Elite 8 run, which must have frustrated the sh#t out of him, as we lost our top targets to OSU/IU, and some other teams P5 teams, that as much as it pains me to say, if he were at Louisville, he would have won 70% of those recruits. We lose a ton after this year as well.

This is a total glass half empty, cynical, worst case scenario, negative outlook at what could happen. I would really love to hear that I'm batshit crazy, and that there is not a snowballs chance in hell that Mack would leave for that train wreck.

I don’t think you’re crazy but I do think you’re overly pessimistic. Louisville will be an attractive position to many, many coaches due to the likely compensation, winning history, and conference affiliation it has. For Chris Mack, who strongly values location and family, Louisville presents an even more unique opportunity. So I think he’ll give the job strong consideration. But let me ask you this: What does Chris Mack have to do to convince Xavier Nation of his loyalty? Look at what he’s done and said already and tell me what more we could ask for.

[marquette]

As a Xavier fan, even though Louisville is facing an ongoing FBI investigation and will still have the NCAA investigation plus sanctions on the horizon, that is Macks dream job. His wife has family there, and he passed on OSU and IU. Every forum, article, and story written about the Louisville job ALL point to Mack as the #1 choice by leaps and bounds. Its a sh#t situation now, but Mack could essentially ask for anything. I heard somewhere that he would start talking with a starting point of 8 yrs/38 million. I'm sure there would be non-termination clauses, fully guaranteed money....and after the less than slap on the hand that North Carolina received for their infractions, who knows how severe Louisville will be punished? And this last recruiting cycle was difficult to say the least, especially after an Elite 8 run, which must have frustrated the sh#t out of him, as we lost our top targets to OSU/IU, and some other teams P5 teams, that as much as it pains me to say, if he were at Louisville, he would have won 70% of those recruits. We lose a ton after this year as well.

This is a total glass half empty, cynical, worst case scenario, negative outlook at what could happen. I would really love to hear that I'm batshit crazy, and that there is not a snowballs chance in hell that Mack would leave for that train wreck.

I don’t think you’re crazy but I do think you’re overly pessimistic. Louisville will be an attractive position to many, many coaches due to the likely compensation, winning history, and conference affiliation it has. For Chris Mack, who strongly values location and family, Louisville presents an even more unique opportunity. So I think he’ll give the job strong consideration. But let me ask you this: What does Chris Mack have to do to convince Xavier Nation of his loyalty? Look at what he’s done and said already and tell me what more we could ask for.

My guess is Louisville is in for a rude awakening. NCAA sanctions are only the beginning. Louisville is in a legal battle with slick Rick for some amount approaching $40 million, the academic side of the university is looking at the massive subsidies the athletics department is receiving and noting the huge corruption, they are no longer trying to win conference realignment as they have reached the ACC, and when their arena lease runs out they will not get the same sweetheart deal and they will have massive budget deficits. I doubt they will get much better than what they have for a coach in the near future.


Read starting at the paragraph that begins "MUCH OF THE athletic department's finances..."
http://www.espn.com/espn/otl/story/_/id ... ges-excess

[xusandy]

Who knows what Mack would/will do if/when offered the Louisville job? Will he settle long term in his wife's hometown or his own? How important is ACC membership given the thriving stature of the BEAST? How important is money to him? Does he think he can win it all at XU? Do his kids' opinions matter? FWIW, it doesn't seem like he's particularly money driven.

Given the number of excellent coaches who have left X for supposedly greener pastures (Stack, Gillen, Prosser, Matta, and Miller) us X fans are probably always going to be a bit nervous about losing another good one, but Mack the alum does seem more likely to stay at X for his entire career than any of the others. But it's true that right now Louisville needs Mack a lot more than Mack needs Louisville - so a crazy good offer might be made.

And why in the world other than satisfying an out-of-control ego need would a well-grounded, intelligent person even want to live inside the unforgiving Louisville pressure cooker-- to prove what to whom? But choosing madness over reason for ego's sake is a pretty familiar story among big-time coaches (and professional players) in almost every sport, and none of us has any real insight into Mack's psyche.

So.......Que sera, sera.

[Bluejay]

FWIW, I think the Louisville job may be appealing to Gregg Marshall at WSU as well. The wildcard, of course, is what sort of sanctions are forthcoming.

[gtmoBlue]

Big Weekend in the Conference. If the 'dogs win here, we have gleeful chaos. You gotta luv it.
Marq vs Nova
X vs Prov
Hall vs Butler

I'm rooting for the underdogs here. Throw a wrench into the works. Muck it up good.

[Xudash]

Who knows what Mack would/will do if/when offered the Louisville job? Will he settle long term in his wife's hometown or his own? How important is ACC membership given the thriving stature of the BEAST? How important is money to him? Does he think he can win it all at XU? Do his kids' opinions matter? FWIW, it doesn't seem like he's particularly money driven.

Given the number of excellent coaches who have left X for supposedly greener pastures (Stack, Gillen, Prosser, Matta, and Miller) us X fans are probably always going to be a bit nervous about losing another good one, but Mack the alum does seem more likely to stay at X for his entire career than any of the others. But it's true that right now Louisville needs Mack a lot more than Mack needs Louisville - so a crazy good offer might be made.

And why in the world other than satisfying an out-of-control ego need would a well-grounded, intelligent person even want to live inside the unforgiving Louisville pressure cooker-- to prove what to whom? But choosing madness over reason for ego's sake is a pretty familiar story among big-time coaches (and professional players) in almost every sport, and none of us has any real insight into Mack's psyche.

So.......Que sera, sera.

You addressed it, but the point benefits from being amplified: Xavier in the Big East is far, far different from Xavier before the Big East. Not from the vantage point of what Xavier was able to accomplish prior to becoming a member of the conference, but simply from the fact that the Big East makes the Xavier program so much stronger now.

A firm line can be drawn between Stack/Gillen/Prosser/Matta/Miller and Mack. Hell, three lines could be drawn: pre-Cintas Center, the Cintas Center coming online in 2000, and Xavier/Cintas Center/Big East.

Overall, especially to your point about money and balance, assuming Chris stays successful and the school continues to generate the funding required to maintain the program at this level, including providing competitive assistant coaching salaries, I don't see him leaving for any opportunity. He's a Xavier Guy.

People can retort to the tune of, "yeah, but what if Duke comes calling" but I don't see that kind of stuff happening either; programs like Duke prefer to stay in the family.

UL has some very bad stains on its brand right now. I don't believe they'll get cleaned up that neatly any time soon, and money can't wash away all the mess, especially if sanctions are forthcoming.

I believe that Chris will be in the Big East conference for X for a long time.

[TheBlueTeam]

Big Weekend in the Conference. If the 'dogs win here, we have gleeful chaos. You gotta luv it.
Marq vs Nova
X vs Prov
Hall vs Butler

I'm rooting for the underdogs here. Throw a wrench into the works. Muck it up good.

OMG same here!!! But not really, I don't root for butler. Too soft. They don't know how to dunk. JP can show you how if you like.

MARQETTE over NOVA
HALL over butler
GT over Creighton

[gtmoBlue]

Bluenotes...Kickin' a can.

https://bluenotes2.com/2018/01/08/alls- ... ern-front/