College Sports Madness Previews

[GumbyDamnit!]

I think with Alabama/Auburn- we've yet to see their recruits really matter yet. Both have top 50 classes coming in this year- and even better for '17.

Tennessee, Missouri, Arkansas- totally yuck. and LSU is going to take forever to recover from last year.

It'll be interesting to see a team like Miss St. They have 6 4 star guys coming in this year. Maybe not immediately but that's going to pay off.

I think 1 other thing with the SEC why they've struggled- coaches. Even the good ones haven't been around long yet. This is only Pearl's 3rd year. Avery Johnson at Bama- 2nd year. Kevin White at Florida- 2nd year. Ben Howland at Miss St- 2nd year. Barnes at Tennessee- 2nd year. Only 5 of 14 coaches been there more than 5 years. Callipari is the 2nd longest tenured coach in the conference. Compare that to the Big East for instance- 5 guys who have been there more than 5 years(and Cooley 5 years). Think about it- in the Big East Cooley is the 6th longest tenure right now.

Also, we really haven't seen the full money change impact yet. Remember, this is only year 2 for the SEC network. Let's see how it is 4-5 years from now.

Ok we can wait and see about the $. But it's not like they are a fledgling conference that is just now getting money to invest in athletics. Along with the B1G 10 they have had more $ to pass around than any other conference. It's always been there, but they still have been just OK in hoops (other than U.K. Which is clearly a BB school first).

But you do make a good point about coaching. One of our greatest asset is our coaches. Mack, Holtzman, Cooley, Wright, Willard, Big Mac... all relatively young and already well established and seem content where thy are. If that core remains in place another 15 years, there is no reason to think our collective success won't continue.

[stever20]

just looking- probably not realistic for that core to be here in 15 years...

Wright is 54 believe it or not. I'd kind of guess about 6-7 years left for him most likely.

McDermott is 51 already.

Cooley and Mack are 47 and 46 respectively.

The 2 young pups that you list are Holtmann(44) and Willard(41). Those 2(along with Wojo) IMO are the biggest flight risks right now. I think for Willard the key will be to watch next years recruiting class. If they don't have much by this time next year- you really would start to worry.

AS far as the SEC money, I'd say that the money difference between them(and Big Ten now) and the other P5's - has grown considerably. Look at some of the guys that the SEC has gotten coaches wise last few years. Ben Howland prime example.

[Wizard of Westroads]

Iowa State at 27, fourth in Big 12.

[GumbyDamnit!]

just looking- probably not realistic for that core to be here in 15 years...

Wright is 54 believe it or not. I'd kind of guess about 6-7 years left for him most likely.

McDermott is 51 already.

Cooley and Mack are 47 and 46 respectively.

The 2 young pups that you list are Holtmann(44) and Willard(41). Those 2(along with Wojo) IMO are the biggest flight risks right now. I think for Willard the key will be to watch next years recruiting class. If they don't have much by this time next year- you really would start to worry.

AS far as the SEC money, I'd say that the money difference between them(and Big Ten now) and the other P5's - has grown considerably. Look at some of the guys that the SEC has gotten coaches wise last few years. Ben Howland prime example.

Yeah, OK Stever. What a tool statement.

Pitino - 64
Roy Wms - 66
Laranaga - 67
Coach K - 69
Boeheim - 71

Stever: "No way Wright will coach another 15 years" (would be 69), "and probably not MC Dermott either!" (would be 66). Yeah, OK pal.

[Xudash]

just looking- probably not realistic for that core to be here in 15 years...

Wright is 54 believe it or not. I'd kind of guess about 6-7 years left for him most likely.

McDermott is 51 already.

Cooley and Mack are 47 and 46 respectively.

The 2 young pups that you list are Holtmann(44) and Willard(41). Those 2(along with Wojo) IMO are the biggest flight risks right now. I think for Willard the key will be to watch next years recruiting class. If they don't have much by this time next year- you really would start to worry.

AS far as the SEC money, I'd say that the money difference between them(and Big Ten now) and the other P5's - has grown considerably. Look at some of the guys that the SEC has gotten coaches wise last few years. Ben Howland prime example.

Yeah, OK Stever. What a tool statement.

Pitino - 64
Roy Wms - 66
Laranaga - 67
Coach K - 69
Boeheim - 71

Stever: "No way Wright will coach another 15 years" (would be 69), "and probably not MC Dermott either!" (would be 66). Yeah, OK pal.

Ha!

Stever, this reminds me of the example of an attorney who asks a question during a trial, but doesn't know the answer to it as he should prior to asking it, and then gets whacked by the response.

It never dawned on you that going down this road was going to open you up for a broadside shot?

[stever20]

I don't think coaches today will coach as long as the guys there now.

And even with that..... take Wright 15 years from now. That would be 69. That would be 5 years older than Pitino is right now. Do you really think Pitino will coach for 5 more years? I sure don't. I don't really think he'll coach 2 more years even.

[Wizard of Westroads]

Pitt at #26 and 6th in ACC.

Four BE teams in the Top 25.

[Fieldhouse Flyer]

Four BE teams in the Top 25.

Here’s some numbers from last season.

CSM’s 2015-16 Men's Basketball Top 144 – June to November 2015

#11 Villanova
#18 Butler
#26 Georgetown
#30 Xavier
#46 Marquette
#60 Seton Hall
#76 Providence
#77 St. John's

2015-16 AP Preseason Poll – November 2, 2015

#11 Villanova
#24 Butler

2015-16 Final AP Poll – March 14, 2016

6 Villanova
9 Xavier
20 Seton Hall

2015-16 Final RPI Rankings – April 5, 2016

2 Villanova
8 Xavier
23 Seton Hall
32 Providence
53 Butler
94 Creighton
103 Georgetown
111 Marquette
201 DePaul
245 St. John's

[GumbyDamnit!]

I don't think coaches today will coach as long as the guys there now.

And even with that..... take Wright 15 years from now. That would be 69. That would be 5 years older than Pitino is right now. Do you really think Pitino will coach for 5 more years? I sure don't. I don't really think he'll coach 2 more years even.

Oh, thanks for the in depth analysis. Since "you don't think so", I should probably let Coach Wright know that he's got 6-7 years left.

Please tell us... how many years does Coach K have left? Laranaga? And the only reason guys like Pitino, Roy Wms or Boeheim may not coach well into their 70's is b/c they run less than clean programs and may either get forced to move on or just get tired of the microscope. I just read an article about Izzo on Fanside in which he predicts he'll stick around for 8-10 more years. He's 62. Larry Brown, is 76 for God's sake. So other than that same Stever "gut feeling" that predicted the demise of the BE and the rise of the AAC, what are you basing your opinions on? I'll answer for you: nothing.

[GumbyDamnit!]

BTW, Larry Brown and Rollie Massimino are Jay's two mentors. Larry still coaching at 76 and Rollie at 81. But I'm sure that means nothing next to your "gut feeling."