Conference realignment discussion - v. 2015

[R Jay]

Sorry- but go ask any SLU fan about how good of a coach Crews is. They wanted him gone before he got the full time job even. They think he's awful.

Sorry- but you haven't answered my question. Why don't you do that? Then we'll talk again.
I'm sure SLU fans would be singing praises to his name if he made the NCAA Tournament last year in a rebuilding year. I'm done with this until you actually address my arguments.

[stever20]

Sorry- but go ask any SLU fan about how good of a coach Crews is. They wanted him gone before he got the full time job even. They think he's awful.

Sorry- but you haven't answered my question. Why don't you do that? Then we'll talk again.
I'm sure SLU fans would be singing praises to his name if he made the NCAA Tournament last year in a rebuilding year. I'm done with this until you actually address my arguments.

Well it's pretty obvious he didn't do a good job of filling scholarships after the season SLU had last year. 7 of the last 11 years he's coached, he's lost at least 19 games That is pretty damn hard to do in college basketball today. They would have been singing his praises because he would have shown that he was a good coach. The fact is, he's not.

And even look at the 2nd year- they lost 5 of the last 7 games. Some great coaching there....

Sorry but don't think there are many folks at all that think Crews is a good coach.

[redmen9194]

There really is no reason to expand, and no expansion candidates that make any sense at this point. The only expansion we should jump on is if UCONN downgrades football and wants in. That would be a no brainer under those conditions. If they wanted to maintain their current football level and wanted in, we should say no. But there really is no one pout there that it makes sense to add.

[GoldenWarrior11]

I think institution, location and commitment (financial and support) to basketball, I think, are all more important than on-court success, but, having said that, a lack of on-court success could hurt. In my opinion, if Rick Majerus (RIP) was still alive and coaching at Saint Louis, then SLU is in the Big East today (and probably added back in 2013). I attribute that to name that Majerus had, and all of the proven success he had at all of his stops. He never coached in the Big East, but he was a Big East coach - the personality, the persona, and the on-court success.

Jim Crews, who had a lot of success with recruits that Majerus brought into the SLU program, has been a head coach for 30 years (Saint Louis, Army and Evansville). In those 30 years as a head coach, 14 of those seasons were sub-.500 seasons ( ).

In my view, if Saint Louis struggles again this year, makes a change at the head coaching position, and adds an experienced and respected winning college coach, it would immensely improve the timetable of an invitation into the Big East.

[stever20]

I think institution, location and commitment (financial and support) to basketball, I think, are all more important than on-court success, but, having said that, a lack of on-court success could hurt. In my opinion, if Rick Majerus (RIP) was still alive and coaching at Saint Louis, then SLU is in the Big East today (and probably added back in 2013). I attribute that to name that Majerus had, and all of the proven success he had at all of his stops. He never coached in the Big East, but he was a Big East coach - the personality, the persona, and the on-court success.

Jim Crews, who had a lot of success with recruits that Majerus brought into the SLU program, has been a head coach for 30 years (Saint Louis, Army and Evansville). In those 30 years as a head coach, 14 of those seasons were sub-.500 seasons ( ).

In my view, if Saint Louis struggles again this year, makes a change at the head coaching position, and adds an experienced and respected winning college coach, it would immensely improve the timetable of an invitation into the Big East.

Agree x1000. Totally would have been added back in 2013. But there was just too much uncertainty at that juncture, and the decision was definitely proven correct by the season SLU had last year.

[NJRedman]

I'd rather the AAC be proactive basketball-wise so that if a football revolution occurs we can sustain our relative strength.

I doubt that is the league's stance. Football is their moneymaker and you have a halfway-decent football league. I guess UMASS would be a good pick.

Something something look how good Dayton is

Dayton has had a great 2-year run. But here is the thing, Dayton isn't going anywhere. Big East should take its time and see how we do on our own and if Dayton maintains its level of success after Archie and we need a 12th team. Then we can get them. No rush.

It's not about on the court success that's why it doesn't matter what they do if Archie leaves. It's about institutional fit and what you bring to the table even when you're down.

[marquette]

I think institution, location and commitment (financial and support) to basketball, I think, are all more important than on-court success, but, having said that, a lack of on-court success could hurt. In my opinion, if Rick Majerus (RIP) was still alive and coaching at Saint Louis, then SLU is in the Big East today (and probably added back in 2013). I attribute that to name that Majerus had, and all of the proven success he had at all of his stops. He never coached in the Big East, but he was a Big East coach - the personality, the persona, and the on-court success.

Jim Crews, who had a lot of success with recruits that Majerus brought into the SLU program, has been a head coach for 30 years (Saint Louis, Army and Evansville). In those 30 years as a head coach, 14 of those seasons were sub-.500 seasons ( ).

In my view, if Saint Louis struggles again this year, makes a change at the head coaching position, and adds an experienced and respected winning college coach, it would immensely improve the timetable of an invitation into the Big East.

I think you might be judging Crews a little harshly. Half of those sub .500 seasons were at Army, 6 more were at Evansville. Nobody wins at Army, and Crews is responsible for 4 of Evansville's 5 NCAA tournament appearances, along with both of their NIT appearances. Last year at SLU was at least partially the fault of the administration for allowing him to be stuck with the "interim" tag for his first recruiting cycle.

[stever20]

I think institution, location and commitment (financial and support) to basketball, I think, are all more important than on-court success, but, having said that, a lack of on-court success could hurt. In my opinion, if Rick Majerus (RIP) was still alive and coaching at Saint Louis, then SLU is in the Big East today (and probably added back in 2013). I attribute that to name that Majerus had, and all of the proven success he had at all of his stops. He never coached in the Big East, but he was a Big East coach - the personality, the persona, and the on-court success.

Jim Crews, who had a lot of success with recruits that Majerus brought into the SLU program, has been a head coach for 30 years (Saint Louis, Army and Evansville). In those 30 years as a head coach, 14 of those seasons were sub-.500 seasons ( ).

In my view, if Saint Louis struggles again this year, makes a change at the head coaching position, and adds an experienced and respected winning college coach, it would immensely improve the timetable of an invitation into the Big East.

I think you might be judging Crews a little harshly. Half of those sub .500 seasons were at Army, 6 more were at Evansville. Nobody wins at Army, and Crews is responsible for 4 of Evansville's 5 NCAA tournament appearances, along with both of their NIT appearances. Last year at SLU was at least partially the fault of the administration for allowing him to be stuck with the "interim" tag for his first recruiting cycle.

Your last sentence- not really. The recruiting for the 2014 season would have largely been done prior to Majerus passing away(he passed in Dec 2012). They got rid of the interim tag in March or April of 2013. His first cycle then- including the prime summer months- he would have had that interim tag taken away by then.

I think this year is make or break for him. If they have another 10-12 win season- he's toast. Heck, may even take at least a winning season to save his job. I think SLU knows they need to show improvement to have any shot in the Big East in the near future.

[jaxalum]

The purpose of my lengthy post is to provide relevant verifiable information – not to annoy the BE fans who dislike Dayton.

Like most on this board, I believe that it is in the best interests of the Big East to remain at 10 teams for the foreseeable future.

I don’t see the BE ever inviting a public school to join the conference, and I don’t see Gonzaga ever being interested in joining an East Coast/Midwest conference (due to travel time and expense). That pretty much leaves Dayton, Saint Louis, and Richmond in the running for possible expansion, and at the present time, neither Saint Louis nor Richmond would add value to the Big East brand.

And neither would Dayton. Without writing a two thousand word post, you've had ONE tournament run in the last 25 years. ONE..... Last year you were the LAST team in the tournament, won a "first four" game on your home floor for fucks sake and then essentially played another home game in Columbus. Get over it. And it's downright delusional and sad to hear Dayton spout off about how they have some type of national relevance on the college basketball landscape. You, don't. George Mason made it to a Final Four in the last 15 years. Does that make them relevant on the national landscape? No.


DAYTON
In 20 years (The A-10) you've won your own conference tournament 1 TIME....on your own floor.
n 20 years (the A-10) you've NEVER won an outright regular season championship.

You can write pages and page filled with charts, graphs, and algorithms, those are THE facts......its just not there. If you were to have a record that was half of what a Gonzaga offered, it would be a different story. Now compare that record to two of our newest esteemed colleagues.

CREIGHTON
-20 years Conference Tornament Champions 8 times
-20 years Regular season champions 4 times

BUTLER
20 years Conference Tournament Champions 7 times
20 years Regular Season Champions 10 times

You can be hooked on phonics and still see such a monumental difference. The ONLY reason Dayton is even being discussed is a complete lack of options due to the schools needing to be private, catholic, and in a certain region.

An invite is not deserved now or in the near future. If Dayton goes on an extended run over the next 15 years, then this should be revisited. Why the hell would you think you deserve an invite to the Big East when you struggle in the A10????? Each of the three teams chosen all dominated their conferences to a certain degree. Then again, the majority of Dayton fans are entirely incapable of following very simple logic. Dayton is NOTHING more than a slightly above average team in an above average mid major conference. There's absolutely nothing you can say to change that.

Now seriously, why is a Dayton fan on a Big East board? Frankly, it's creepy and weird.

ITS A MISTAKE TO EVEN CONSIDER A SCHOOL THAT DOESNT HAVE AT LEAST COMPARABLE CREDENTIALS TO THE TWO TEAMS LISTED ABOVE (Creighton/Butler) and X.

[stever20]

I don't think conference tournament/regular season championships are necessarily a great metric to go off of. I mean look at last 2 years. I'd say Xavier has done really well- but they have no conference championships to go off of.

I think NCAA tourney appearances are a good metric. I think Creighton/Butler really shine there compared to Dayton.