Next Year.

[MullinMayhem]

We can all argue about how the ESPN BPI poll is calculated...but to me it says "St. John's has a lot of talent and if they suck this year it's on the coaches".

[Wizard of Westroads]

We can all argue about how the ESPN BPI poll is calculated...but to me it says "St. John's has a lot of talent and if they suck this year it's on the coaches".

[MullinMayhem]

It's not like we're in the middle of the season...all we have to talk about is this stuff.

[GumbyDamnit!]

It's not like we're in the middle of the season...all we have to talk about is this stuff.

I think the gentleman from Omaha was making a simple observation that he had heard something similar from a SJU fan or two, that mirrored your comments, each of the last few years that we’ve shared this wonderful conference. Optimism springs eternal in Jamaica Queens in the preseason. I sincerely hope “the coaching staff” is equal to the task of getting the Johnnies relevant in March (again).

[stever20]

It rewards teams that have experience, high-impact freshmen and/or high-impact transfers. Marquette has a lot of minutes returning, along with a starting PG that competed in a high-major conference (Chartouney). Toss in Bailey and Hauser, and you get a high ranking. No way do I think we are the #1 offensive team in the nation, but I do think we will be a top-25 team next year.

Conversely, Xavier and Providence are essentially penalized because they are losing a lot of minutes (even though they appear to have solid young players taking their place).

Wait, what? The A10 is a high-major conference? Good to know, as the AAC is better than the A10. Thanks for clarifying that for me....

[GoldenWarrior11]

It rewards teams that have experience, high-impact freshmen and/or high-impact transfers. Marquette has a lot of minutes returning, along with a starting PG that competed in a high-major conference (Chartouney). Toss in Bailey and Hauser, and you get a high ranking. No way do I think we are the #1 offensive team in the nation, but I do think we will be a top-25 team next year.

Conversely, Xavier and Providence are essentially penalized because they are losing a lot of minutes (even though they appear to have solid young players taking their place).

Wait, what? The A10 is a high-major conference? Good to know, as the AAC is better than the A10. Thanks for clarifying that for me....

No, no, no. I insist that a huge thank you is given to you for going to the other site, posting in your own thread entitled "Stever's Thoughts" and, once again, complaining about what is said here over there. Your AAC-apologist defenses and arguments are always well-received for a good laugh and thoughtful debate.

To my count, there are six AAC programs (Memphis, UConn, Cincinnati, SMU, Wichita State and Tulsa) that have higher athletic budgets than the top A-10 program (VCU). AAC programs undoubtedly have a stronger history and a higher level of success than programs in the A10. They have better media markets. They have nicer and better facilities. A lot of boxes are definitely in their favor. However, having said all of that, why is it that the A10 has more tournament bids since 2014 over the American? They don't spend as much. They don't have the same histories. They don't apparently have the same commitment to success. Now, here is where you - Stever - would like to bring in Wichita State's past successes, which would elevated the tournament bids in favor for the AAC. Fine - go ahead (which is, to put it lightly, ironic, since you were the one that was so defiant in the past about not including Butler's tournament success for the reorganized Big East - but, for the sake of argument, let's just go ahead and disregard that personal stance of yours). Alright, Wichita State is now included. Why is it that, just this past year, the AAC and the A10 had the exact same number of tournament bids and the exact same number of tournament wins. For a league (AAC), as you put it, is absolutely 100% positively without question is better than the other (A10), that is interesting. Now, here is where you will go and point to the tournament seeds - once again a clear advantage for the American (in past and prior seasons). However, if the American routinely gets higher tournament seeds, why haven't they gotten better results than the A10? Why don't they get more bids than them? Here, which is my favorite, is where you declare the AAC has "just had bad luck".

The AAC is not a power conference. It is a high-major conference, grouped together at present with the Atlantic 10. It does not have a power conference scheduling agreement, much like the A10. It does not get the high-number of bids like the power conferences do, much like the A10. We have already had five years of data and on-court results for current conference configurations. Data shows that the AAC is closer to the A10 than the power conferences. I'm sorry you do not like how things have gone, and that you are frustrated with the perceptions. It is what it is.

[MullinMayhem]

Gotcha Gumby...I know it's the same song and dance over and over. Loaded with talent but fail to live up. I've been one of the only SJ fans putting blame on our coaching staff. Many don't even want to entertain the idea that maybe, just maybe we will need a new head coach.

They have this year to show signs of life.

[scoscox]

the AAC is better than the A10.

Is it though?

[kayako]

Thanks. Really bummed that Xavier lost Swider to Nova. How deep do you expect Nova to go this year? In the past they have gone with a pretty tight rotation but they seem to have a ton of depth on the wing.

I listed 11 healthy bodies, but we have far less certainties coming back than what we've been used to for a few years. It'll be fascinating how the regular rotation develops into a manageable 9 or so players. Several factors contributed to Nova roster looking thin in recent years, but it wasn't by design. If I am forced to guess, Painter gets less than 5 minutes a game & Bey is a RS candidate unless he looks impressive from the start.

[kayako]

Data shows that the AAC is closer to the A10 than the power conferences.

It's only natural for people to want to close the door behind them.